Editing Vim Tips Wiki:Featured Tip

*'''Please discuss proposals for new Featured Tips on the [[Vim_Tips_Wiki_talk:Featured_Tip|talk page]].'''
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==Now THAT's a Good Tip!==
While most of the tips on this wiki are very helpful, every now and then, you'll stumble on a tip that shines above all the rest. Such a tip is a tip that changes the way you do a basic task, a tip that you try immediately and then use all the time, a tip that makes Vim integrate SO much better with your setup, or a tip that you just ''wish'' somebody gave to you when you started using Vim. We here on the Vim Tips Wiki recognize this, and therefore will on occasion feature a new tip that we feel is among the best of the best. So keep an eye on this page for life-altering (or at least mildly interesting) tips to add to your ''repertoire''.

==Previously featured tips==
This is an archive of the ''Featured tip'' section on the [[Vim Tips Wiki|home page]]. We may not feature these tips again, however they remain great tips!

===[[VimTip630|June 2012]]===
When writing a program it can be convenient if closing brackets are automatically inserted. For example, after typing <code>'''{'''</code> it can be handy if the closing <code>'''}'''</code> is added automatically.

Our [[VimTip630|featured tip]] discusses solutions for this problem: some simple mappings are provided and their shortcomings outlined. More advanced solutions require a plugin, and a list of scripts for the automatic insertion of matching brackets is provided.

===[[VimTip1662|June 2011]]===
Vim can work with all the major [[File format|line-ending formats]] but sometimes does not load a file in the format you want. Usually this is because a different text editor saved a file with mixed line-ending styles. It can be very annoying to load a file in Vim, which reads in with a Unix file format, when only a few lines lack this carriage return. It is worse when you cannot modify it because of strict revision control.

Our [[VimTip1662|featured tip]] automatically reloads such files using DOS format if any DOS-style line endings are found. This will automatically "correct" the file if you save it, so an enhanced version will also tell you how many line endings are in each style so you can decide for yourself which format to use on a save.

===[[VimTip246|April 2011]]===
For a long time now, Vim has had the ability to work with files in a very large set of [[wikipedia:Character encoding|character encodings]]. Using a character encoding with a very large range of characters, such as the Unicode encodings, can provide many benefits to any Vim user. Whether you need to work with multiple languages, or just want to use fancy box-drawing characters and arrows in your 'listchars' option or a plugin, using a Unicode encoding can make editing in Vim even more pleasant than it already is.

There are a lot of options that impact encoding in Vim, and it can be intimidating to someone not familiar with them. (And who really is?) Our [[VimTip246|featured tip]] discusses the various options you will need to start using Unicode successfully. Use the included example as a starting point or a drop-in addition to your [[vimrc]] to start editing in Unicode today!

===[[VimTip1369|February 2011]]===
Vim is made to work well with other tools, which means that whenever Vim saves a file, it correctly adds a line ending of the [[File Format|correct format for your system]] to the end of every line. When the file already existed, this is usually done whether the original file had a line ending on the final line or not. Nevertheless, Vim does keep track of whether the file originally had a line ending on the last line in the {{help|prefix=no|'eol'}} option, so that when writing binary files Vim does not introduce any new bytes.

Our [[VimTip1369|featured tip]] takes advantage of this 'eol' option, to preserve the missing end-of-line on the last line of files which are read in without one.

This can be useful if you work on a project with very strict policies against needless changes to files, or which specifically require no EOL on the final line.

===[[VimTip1585|October 2010]]===
Vim recognizes three file formats (unix, dos, mac) that determine what line ending characters (LF, CRLF, CR) are removed from each line when a file is read, or are added to each line when a file is written. A file format problem can display ^M characters, or can prevent scripts from running correctly.

Our [[VimTip1585|featured tip]] shows how to remove unwanted ^M characters, and explains how to convert from one file format to another.

===[[VimTip671|September 2010]]===
Inserting a line break (newline) before or after each occurrence of specified text is easy.

Our [[VimTip671|featured tip]] shows how to insert newlines using a simple substitute command. It also presents a small script that defines a command to make the job even easier. The script has an explanation that may be helpful for anyone wanting to see how Vim scripts work.

===[[VimTip759|August 2010]]===
After pasting text, you may want to select that text so you can perform another operation. For example, you may want to indent the pasted text, or to perform a substitute within it.

Our [[VimTip759|featured tip]] introduces the <tt>`[</tt> and <tt>`]</tt> marks, and shows a simple mapping that allows you to select the text that was last changed, or the text that was just pasted.

===[[VimTip1361|July 2010]]===
Auto commenting is a handy feature, but it can be frustrating to press <tt>o</tt> to open a new line after a comment, then find the comment string inserted at the start of what you hoped would be a blank line.

Our [[VimTip1361|featured tip]] shows how to disable all auto commenting, or how to disable auto commenting only for <tt>//</tt>-style single-line comments in C/C++ files.

===[[VimTip1561|June 2010]]===
Syntax highlighting is a very useful feature of Vim, and there are many syntax files distributed with Vim to highlight keywords and more, for example, when editing a C or a Python program.

But what if you need syntax highlighting for files you edit, yet there is no standard syntax file? Our [[VimTip1561|featured tip]] is a tutorial showing how to create your own syntax files.

===[[VimTip194|May 2010]]===
Have you ever wanted to insert the same text in the same position in multiple lines? That is easy with visual block mode: press <tt>I</tt> to have text inserted on each line in the selection. If the block visual selection used <tt>$</tt> to select end-of-line, you can also press <tt>A</tt> to have the same text appended to each line.

Our [[VimTip194|featured tip]] has the details. It also shows how to use the substitute command to insert or append text.

===[[VimTip1630|April 2010]]===
We all know what a tab page is – each tab holds a different file. Actually, Vim tabs are ''not'' like that. Instead, tab pages in Vim offer much more flexibility, and provide many features that are unavailable with standard editors.

Our [[VimTip1630|featured tip]] discusses ideas for how to make the most of tab pages in Vim: one tab can show windows for files you are currently working on, while other tabs display ''diffs'', or ''x-ray'' or ''folded'' views, and more.

===[[VimTip1530|March 2010]]===
We have lots of good information on [[searching]]. One special requirement, when writing a program, is to limit the scope of what you search, such as by searching only within the current function, or only within the current code block.

Our [[VimTip1530|featured tip]] provides a script so you can easily search within a specified scope in program languages such as C and C++ that use braces (<tt>{...}</tt>) to delimit blocks.

===[[VimTip1549|February 2010]]===
On Windows systems, Vim can easily run an external program asynchronously without irritating "Press Enter" messages. You can run a GUI program with a command like <tt>:!start&nbsp;calc</tt>, and you can run a console-mode program with a command like <tt>:!start&nbsp;cmd&nbsp;/c&nbsp;myapp.exe&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;pause</tt>. Both examples run the program but immediately return to Vim, allowing you to continue editing while the invoked program runs.

It is also possible use this method with Vim's {{help|prefix=no|clientserver}} features to run a program (like grep) for a long period without interrupting your editing, and notify Vim to take action (like loading the search results) when the program has finished. Our [[VimTip1549|featured tip]] has the details.

===[[VimTip1613|January 2010]]===
You may need to view or edit a binary file. You can do that without leaving home because Vim provides the <tt>xxd</tt> utility to read a dump of a binary file, or to edit the dump then save it in binary form.

[[VimTip1613|Hex dump]] introduces <tt>xxd</tt>, and shows a handy feature to insert the hex equivalent of a binary file into C source code.

==Previous years==
*[[/2009|2009 ''Featured tips'']]
*[[/2008|2008 ''Featured tips'']]

==Comments==