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Vim plugins and config walkthrough

boddy.im

1–10 of 24 posts

Re: Vim plugins and config walkthrough

#2
I really want to use/like Vim. Sounds like I'm going to say it not great, but actually this might be a call for help...

I have used Vim for a couple years I think, maybe more now and learned enough to write my own vimrc file from scratch, understanding all the parts I'm adding, what they do and why and sync it via version control etc etc.

I use it on every server I administer/whenever I use the terminal.

I've added many of the plugins mentioned here, they're great.

But I just can't get around the visual layout and moving throughout a project/codebase. Maybe it's my brain, but I highly value visual representation of the open files I'm working on.

Something like Sublime Text with the open tabs visible is just key for me. I can replicate the sidebar with NERDTree which is OK (still a bit annoying navigating it but whatever) but how can I do the same regarding tabs. Alright buffers, you know what I mean. I want to see a visual representation of the files I've got open, not through CtrlP or a key combo, but on screen like in Sublime Text.

Can it be done?

Re: Vim plugins and config walkthrough

#3
The problem of these kind of articles is that it shows to people who are unfamiliar with vim how hard is it to use it, and how many plugins you need to make it usable.

But I think that most people who use vim everyday just started with the most basic vim during several months and then they added one plugin, then two, then three.

But plugins are not mandatory in vim, and you don't need to remember all the shorcuts either,

I use vim a lot and I use my mouse for a lot of things in vim, and I don't know how to go 15th line below at the third word of the line because I use the mouse.

Re: Vim plugins and config walkthrough

#4

I really want to use/like Vim. Sounds like I'm going to say it not great, but actually this might be a call for help... I have used Vim for a couple years I think, maybe more now and learned enough to write my own vimrc file from scratch, understanding all the parts I'm adding, what they do and why and sync it via version control etc etc. I use it on every server I administer/whenever I use the terminal. I've added m…

You can show open buffers in your status line. I use the 'buftab' plugin for it, but I'm sure there are others as well.

Re: Vim plugins and config walkthrough

#5
post #3

The problem of these kind of articles is that it shows to people who are unfamiliar with vim how hard is it to use it, and how many plugins you need to make it usable. But I think that most people who use vim everyday just started with the most basic vim during several months and then they added one plugin, then two, then three. But plugins are not mandatory in vim, and you don't need to remember all the shorcuts eit…

I don't think that's a problem with these kinds of articles. Consider for a moment that new users and users who are not even users yet are NOT the target audience.

I see this article as a 'more advanced knowledged required', aka the folks who are past the point of slowly building up a workflow (your example).

I've been hunting for a good way to visualize git stuff within vim, and this article introduced me to a neat plugin that I will try out right now!

Re: Vim plugins and config walkthrough

#6

I really want to use/like Vim. Sounds like I'm going to say it not great, but actually this might be a call for help... I have used Vim for a couple years I think, maybe more now and learned enough to write my own vimrc file from scratch, understanding all the parts I'm adding, what they do and why and sync it via version control etc etc. I use it on every server I administer/whenever I use the terminal. I've added m…

If you like tabs, you can just use tabs inside vim instead of buffers

Re: Vim plugins and config walkthrough

#7

I really want to use/like Vim. Sounds like I'm going to say it not great, but actually this might be a call for help... I have used Vim for a couple years I think, maybe more now and learned enough to write my own vimrc file from scratch, understanding all the parts I'm adding, what they do and why and sync it via version control etc etc. I use it on every server I administer/whenever I use the terminal. I've added m…

I used to use bufftabline, https://github.com/ap/vim-buftabline. I think something like it is what you're looking for? If it's not quite right for you the readme in the github repo mentions some other plugins that have similar capabilities.

I really liked bufftabline when I used it. It was lightweight and did exactly what I wanted it to do, give me an immediate visual representation of the buffers I had open in a familiar tab-like format.

Eventually I moved towards an even lighter weight setup. Take at look at this video is you're interested in anything like that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA2WjJbmmoM

Re: Vim plugins and config walkthrough

#8

I really want to use/like Vim. Sounds like I'm going to say it not great, but actually this might be a call for help... I have used Vim for a couple years I think, maybe more now and learned enough to write my own vimrc file from scratch, understanding all the parts I'm adding, what they do and why and sync it via version control etc etc. I use it on every server I administer/whenever I use the terminal. I've added m…

There are many ways, depending on what you specifically need.

For the most basic command that will probably work immediately, just start up vim with multiple files like so:

    vim -p file1 file2
This will open file1 and file2 in separate vim tabs.

But vim tabs may not behave the way you would expect them to coming from other programs. You might prefer to just list all the buffers within one window instead. There are many plugins dealing with buffer management on the vim wiki and elsewhere. Here are two I found with a Google search that look at a glance like they might work [0], [1] (haven't tried, just looked at the page briefly)

[0]: https://github.com/ap/vim-buftabline

[1]: https://github.com/bling/vim-bufferline

Re: Vim plugins and config walkthrough

#9

I really want to use/like Vim. Sounds like I'm going to say it not great, but actually this might be a call for help... I have used Vim for a couple years I think, maybe more now and learned enough to write my own vimrc file from scratch, understanding all the parts I'm adding, what they do and why and sync it via version control etc etc. I use it on every server I administer/whenever I use the terminal. I've added m…

If you like tabs, you can just use tabs inside vim instead of buffers

It kind of feels like sacrilege though :-)

Re: Vim plugins and config walkthrough

#10

I really want to use/like Vim. Sounds like I'm going to say it not great, but actually this might be a call for help... I have used Vim for a couple years I think, maybe more now and learned enough to write my own vimrc file from scratch, understanding all the parts I'm adding, what they do and why and sync it via version control etc etc. I use it on every server I administer/whenever I use the terminal. I've added m…

You can show open buffers in your status line. I use the 'buftab' plugin for it, but I'm sure there are others as well.

Never heard of it, I'll take a look, thanks.
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