Tip: #985 - Quickly Get Files in your Environment
Created: September 4, 2005 16:53 Complexity: basic Author: Gochess Version: 6.0 Karma: 15/9 Imported from: Tip#985
Abstract: what are some quick ways to access files? Environment variables
and the gf command.
Using the mouse to navigate to a directory, then clicking-on an icon or
shortcut is too laborious and time consuming. Vim is designed to minimize
mouse usage.
Instead of a directory, one could open a file which contains filenames to
edit. Once your cursor is placed within a filename, the command "gf" will
magically open it. (I memorize that by 'get file'.)
Some operating systems allow the use of the space character in specifying
directories and files. Bad idea, for that practically breaks the use of gf.
Assuming that your username is "amen" and that you adhere to the convention of
no-spaces in names, we will proceed with some examples, in your directory
called "theory_e" and a file called "godel-relativity.txt".
In Windows XP, the full path would look something like this:
C:/Documents and Settings/amen/My Documents/theory_e/godel-relativity.txt
Doing a gf on this mess will bring unpredictable results depending on where
your cursor was placed on that line -- because it is not continguous. Now
luckily that actually fit on one line. If there were subdirectories, that
line will break past the edge, and again gf will malfunction.
Now gf is not buggy, but rather, the file specification is ugly. So a
solution might be to create an environment variable (preferably in your
_vimrc):
let $amen = 'C:/Documents and Settings/amen/My Documents'
Note that the offending spaces are contained within quotes -- which is the
saving grace. Now let's read our notes, somewhere say from drive D:
Kurt Godel constructed a model which was consistent with Einstein's
general theory of relativity in which the direction of time was not
unidirectional, but rather, circular. Einstein's critique is found in
$amen/theory_e/godel-relativity.txt (section 43 needs editing).
Now doing a gf on that filename will open it. And notice the economy in
style. If you move to another system where your user path is different, just
change the assignment of $amen. Your text files need not be revised. For
example, on your Unix machine, .vimrc might include this sane version:
let $amen = /home/amen
Generally, I prefer forward slashes when writing paths, to preserve
multi-platform compatibility. So on a Windows machine which insists on back
slashes, I use this conversion command often:
command! -range Sslash <line1>,<line2>s;\\;/;g
" Substitute back slash to forward SLASH.
Thus :Sslash will work on a single line, or a specified range, e.g.
- 7,14Sslash for lines 7 through 14. Or better yet, just visualize an area,
and then execute the command via ":" which brings up the implied range
- '<,'> -- which can be automated by the following visual mapping,
vmap ,s :Sslash<CR>
" Visualize the desired area, then hit ",s".
Couple of other tips... try _directly_ editing a directory,
:e $amen
Navigate around your file system, using just the <CR> key. For virgins, this
is a holy smokes moment. The ".." you see indicates the parent directory one
level up. While editing a file, try the split-screen directory edit,
:Sex
which is pretty darn easy to remember (actually it's short for Sexplorer).
For Window users, no more complaining about not being able to print the
directory (hey, now you can yank it).
Finally, environment variables are very useful in creating commands:
command! Egodel e $amen/theory_e/godel-relativity.txt
With that in your vimrc, you can quickly edit your favorite file by
simply...
:Egod
Hope this brightens your day! (which will re-occur, sooner or later)
Gochess
http://wiki.43folders.com/index.php/Gochess
Comments
Erratum; kindly add the quotes...
let $amen = '/home/amen'
-
Gochess
, September 4, 2005 17:24
or visual select filename and gf
Anonymous , September 5, 2005 15:42
I find that using ':S' to start the file explorer is far less disrupting to my thought process.
toomuchphp-vim--AT--yahoo.com , October 25, 2005 18:18