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README.txt for version 6.2 of Vim: Vi IMproved.

WHAT IS VIM

Vim is an almost compatible version of the UNIX editor Vi. Many new features have been added: multi-level undo, syntax highlighting, command line history, on-line help, filename completion, block operations, etc. There is also a Graphical User Interface (GUI) available. See "runtime/doc/vi_diff.txt" for differences with Vi.

This editor is very useful for editing programs and other plain ASCII files. All commands are given with normal keyboard characters, so those who can type with ten fingers can work very fast. Additionally, function keys can be defined by the user, and the mouse can be used.

Vim currently runs under Amiga DOS, MS-DOS, MS-Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP, Atari MiNT, Macintosh, BeOS, VMS, RISC OS, OS/2 and almost all flavours of UNIX. Porting to other systems should not be very difficult.

DISTRIBUTION

There are separate distributions for Unix, PC, Amiga and some other systems. This README.txt file comes with the runtime archive. It includes the documentation, syntax files and other files that are used at runtime. To run Vim you must get either one of the binary archives or a source archive. Which one you need depends on the system you want to run it on and whether you want or must compile it yourself. Check "http://www.vim.org/download.php" for an overview of currently available distributions.

DOCUMENTATION

The best is to use ":help" in Vim. If you don't have an executable yet, read "runtime/doc/help.txt". It contains pointers to the other documentation files. The User Manual reads like a book and is recommended to learn to use Vim. See ":help user-manual".

The vim tutor is a one hour training course for beginners. Mostly it can be started as "vimtutor". See ":help tutor" for more information.

COPYING

Vim is Charityware. You can use and copy it as much as you like, but you are encouraged to make a donation to orphans in Uganda. Please read the file "runtime/doc/uganda.txt" for details (do ":help uganda" inside Vim).

Summary of the license: There are no restrictions on using or distributing an unmodified copy of Vim. Parts of Vim may also be distributed, but the license text must always be included. For modified versions a few restrictions apply. The license is GPL compatible, you may compile Vim with GPL libraries and distribute it.

COMPILING

If you obtained a binary distribution you don't need to compile Vim. If you obtained a source distribution, all the stuff for compiling Vim is in the "src" directory. See src/INSTALL for instructions.

INSTALLATION

See one of these files for system-specific instructions:

README_ami.txt          Amiga
README_unix.txt         Unix
README_dos.txt          MS-DOS and MS-Windows
README_os2.txt          OS/2
README_mac.txt          Macintosh
README_vms.txt          VMS

INFORMATION

The latest news about Vim can be found on the Vim home page:

http://www.vim.org/

If you have problems, have a look at the Vim FAQ:

http://vimdoc.sf.net/vimfaq.html

Send bug reports to:

Bram Moolenaar <Bram@vim.org>

There are four mailing lists for Vim:
<vim@vim.org>

        For discussions about using existing versions of Vim: Useful mappings,
        questions, answers, where to get a specific version, etc.
        Archive: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vim
<vim-dev@vim.org>
        For discussions about changing Vim: New features, porting, beta-test
        versions, etc.
        Archive: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vimdev
<vim-announce@vim.org>
        Announcements about new versions of Vim; also beta-test versions and
        ports to different systems.
        Archive: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vimannounce
<vim-multibyte@vim.org>
        For discussions about using and improving the multi-byte aspects of
        Vim: XIM, Hangul, fontset, etc.
        Archive: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vim-multibyte
<vim-mac@vim.org>
        For discussions about using and improving Vim on the Macintosh.
        Archive: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vim-mac

See "http://www.vim.org/maillist.php"

NOTE

- You can only send messages to these lists if you have subscribed! - You need to send the messages from the same location as where you subscribed from (to avoid spam mail). - Maximum message size is 40000 characters.

If you want to join a maillist, send a message to

<vim-help@vim.org>
Make sure that your "From:" address is correct. Then the list server will send you a help message.

MAIN AUTHOR

Send any other comments, patches, pizza and suggestions to:

        Bram Moolenaar          E-mail: Bram@vim.org
        Clematisstraat 30
        5925 BE  Venlo          Tel: +31 77 3872340
        The Netherlands         Fax/voice-mail: +31 84 8508509