1README_dos.txt for version 8.2 of Vim: Vi IMproved. 2 3This file explains the installation of Vim on MS-Windows systems. 4See "README.txt" for general information about Vim. 5 6There are two ways to install Vim: 7A. Use the self-installing .exe file. 8B. Unpack .zip files and run the install.exe program. 9 10 11A. Using the self-installing .exe 12--------------------------------- 13 14This is mostly self-explaining. Just follow the prompts and make the 15selections. A few things to watch out for: 16 17- When an existing installation is detected, you are offered to first remove 18 this. The uninstall program is then started while the install program waits 19 for it to complete. Sometimes the windows overlap each other, which can be 20 confusing. Be sure the complete the uninstalling before continuing the 21 installation. Watch the taskbar for uninstall windows. 22 23- When selecting a directory to install Vim, use the same place where other 24 versions are located. This makes it easier to find your _vimrc file. For 25 example "C:\Program Files\vim" or "D:\vim". A name ending in "vim" is 26 preferred. 27 28- After selecting the directory where to install Vim, clicking on "Next" will 29 start the installation. 30 31 32B. Using .zip files 33------------------- 34 35These are the normal steps to install Vim from the .zip archives: 36 371. Go to the directory where you want to put the Vim files. Examples: 38 cd C:\ 39 cd D:\editors 40 If you already have a "vim" directory, go to the directory in which it is 41 located. Check the $VIM setting to see where it points to: 42 set VIM 43 For example, if you have 44 C:\vim\vim82 45 do 46 cd C:\ 47 Binary and runtime Vim archives are normally unpacked in the same location, 48 on top of each other. 49 502. Unpack the zip archives. This will create a new directory "vim\vim82", 51 in which all the distributed Vim files are placed. Since the directory 52 name includes the version number, it is unlikely that you overwrite 53 existing files. 54 Examples: 55 pkunzip -d gvim82.zip 56 unzip vim82w32.zip 57 58 You need to unpack the runtime archive and at least one of the binary 59 archives. When using more than one binary version, be careful not to 60 overwrite one version with the other, the names of the executables 61 "vim.exe" and "gvim.exe" are the same. 62 63 After you unpacked the files, you can still move the whole directory tree 64 to another location. That is where they will stay, the install program 65 won't move or copy the runtime files. 66 673. Change to the new directory: 68 cd vim\vim82 69 Run the "install.exe" program. It will ask you a number of questions about 70 how you would like to have your Vim setup. Among these are: 71 - You can tell it to write a "_vimrc" file with your preferences in the 72 parent directory. 73 - It can also install an "Edit with Vim" entry in the Windows Explorer 74 popup menu. 75 - You can have it create batch files, so that you can run Vim from the 76 console or in a shell. You can select one of the directories in your 77 $PATH. If you skip this, you can add Vim to the search path manually: 78 The simplest is to add a line to your autoexec.bat. Examples: 79 set path=%path%;C:\vim\vim82 80 set path=%path%;D:\editors\vim\vim82 81 - Create entries for Vim on the desktop and in the Start menu. 82 83That's it! 84 85 86Remarks: 87 88- If Vim can't find the runtime files, ":help" won't work and the GUI version 89 won't show a menubar. Then you need to set the $VIM environment variable to 90 point to the top directory of your Vim files. Example: 91 set VIM=C:\editors\vim 92 Vim version 8.2 will look for your vimrc file in $VIM, and for the runtime 93 files in $VIM/vim82. See ":help $VIM" for more information. 94 95- To avoid confusion between distributed files of different versions and your 96 own modified vim scripts, it is recommended to use this directory layout: 97 ("C:\vim" is used here as the root, replace it with the path you use) 98 Your own files: 99 C:\vim\_vimrc Your personal vimrc. 100 C:\vim\_viminfo Dynamic info for 'viminfo'. 101 C:\vim\vimfiles\ftplugin\*.vim Filetype plugins 102 C:\vim\... Other files you made. 103 Distributed files: 104 C:\vim\vim82\vim.exe The Vim version 8.2 executable. 105 C:\vim\vim82\doc\*.txt The version 8.2 documentation files. 106 C:\vim\vim82\bugreport.vim A Vim version 8.2 script. 107 C:\vim\vim82\... Other version 8.2 distributed files. 108 In this case the $VIM environment variable would be set like this: 109 set VIM=C:\vim 110 Then $VIMRUNTIME will automatically be set to "$VIM\vim82". Don't add 111 "vim82" to $VIM, that won't work. 112 113- You can put your Vim executable anywhere else. If the executable is not 114 with the other Vim files, you should set $VIM. The simplest is to add a line 115 to your autoexec.bat. Examples: 116 set VIM=c:\vim 117 set VIM=d:\editors\vim 118 119- If you have told the "install.exe" program to add the "Edit with Vim" menu 120 entry, you can remove it by running the "uninstall.exe". See 121 ":help win32-popup-menu". 122 123- In Windows 95/98/NT you can create a shortcut to Vim. This works for all 124 DOS and Win32 console versions. For the console version this gives you the 125 opportunity to set defaults for the Console where Vim runs in. 126 127 1. On the desktop, click right to get a menu. Select New/Shortcut. 128 2. In the dialog, enter Command line: "C:\command.com". Click "Next". 129 3. Enter any name. Click "Finish". 130 The new shortcut will appear on the desktop. 131 4. With the mouse pointer on the new shortcut, click right to get a menu. 132 Select Properties. 133 5. In the Program tab, change the "Cmdline" to add "/c" and the name of the 134 Vim executable. Examples: 135 C:\command.com /c C:\vim\vim82\vim.exe 136 C:\command.com /c D:\editors\vim\vim82\vim.exe 137 6. Select the font, window size, etc. that you like. If this isn't 138 possible, select "Advanced" in the Program tab, and deselect "MS-DOS 139 mode". 140 7. Click OK. 141 142 For gvim, you can use a normal shortcut on the desktop, and set the size of 143 the Window in your $VIM/_gvimrc: 144 set lines=30 columns=90 145 146 147For further information, type one of these inside Vim: 148 :help dos 149 :help win32 150