1- *os_win32.txt* For Vim version 8.0. Last change: 2016 Aug 28
1+ *os_win32.txt* For Vim version 8.0. Last change: 2016 Oct 12
22
33
44 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by George Reilly
77 *win32* *Win32* *MS-Windows*
88This file documents the idiosyncrasies of the Win32 version of Vim.
99
10- The Win32 version of Vim works on Windows NT, 95, 98, ME, XP, Vista and
11- Windows 7. There are both console and GUI versions.
10+ The Win32 version of Vim works on Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10. There are
11+ both console and GUI versions.
1212
1313The 32 bit version also runs on 64 bit MS-Windows systems.
1414
15- There is GUI version for use in the Win32s subsystem in Windows 3.1[1]. You
16- can also use the 32-bit DOS version of Vim instead. See | os_msdos.txt | .
17-
18151. Known problems | win32-problems |
19162. Startup | win32-startup |
20173. Restore screen contents | win32-restore |
21184. Using the mouse | win32-mouse |
22- 5. Running under Windows 3.1 | win32-win3.1 |
23- 6. Win32 mini FAQ | win32-faq |
19+ 5. Running under Windows 95 | win32-win95 |
20+ 6. Running under Windows 3.1 | win32-win3.1 |
21+ 7. Win32 mini FAQ | win32-faq |
2422
2523Additionally, there are a number of common Win32 and DOS items:
2624File locations | dos-locations |
@@ -43,20 +41,7 @@ The GUI version was made by George V. Reilly and Robert Webb.
4341For compiling see "src/INSTALLpc.txt". *win32-compiling*
4442
4543==============================================================================
46- 1. Known problems *windows95* *win32-problems*
47-
48- There are a few known problems with running in a console on Windows 95. As
49- far as we know, this is the same in Windows 98 and Windows ME.
50-
51- Comments from somebody working at Microsoft: "Win95 console support has always
52- been and will always be flaky".
53- 1. Dead key support doesn't work.
54- 2. Resizing the window with ":set columns=nn lines=nn" works, but executing
55- external commands MAY CAUSE THE SYSTEM TO HANG OR CRASH.
56- 3. Screen updating is slow, unless you change 'columns' or 'lines' to a
57- non-DOS value. But then the second problem applies!
58-
59- If this bothers you, use the 32 bit MS-DOS version or the Win32 GUI version.
44+ 1. Known problems *win32-problems*
6045
6146When doing file name completion, Vim also finds matches for the short file
6247name. But Vim will still find and use the corresponding long file name. For
@@ -141,108 +126,27 @@ When the mouse doesn't work, try disabling the "Quick Edit Mode" feature of
141126the console.
142127
143128==============================================================================
144- 5. Running under Windows 3.1 *win32-win3.1*
129+ 5. Running under Windows 95 *win32-win95*
130+ *windows95* *windows98* *windowsme*
131+ Windows 95/98/ME support was removed in patch 8.0.0029 If you want to use it
132+ you will need to get a version older than that.
145133
146- *win32s* *windows-3.1*
134+ ==============================================================================
135+ 6. Running under Windows 3.1 *win32-win3.1*
136+
137+ *win32s* *windows-3.1* *gui-w32s*
147138There was a special version of Gvim that runs under Windows 3.1 and 3.11.
148139Support was removed in patch 7.4.1363.
149140
150141==============================================================================
151- 6. Win32 mini FAQ *win32-faq*
152-
153- Q. Why does the Win32 version of Vim update the screen so slowly on Windows 95?
154- A. The support for Win32 console mode applications is very buggy in Win95.
155- For some unknown reason, the screen updates very slowly when Vim is run at
156- one of the standard resolutions (80x25, 80x43, or 80x50) and the 16-bit DOS
157- version updates the screen much more quickly than the Win32 version.
158- However, if the screen is set to some other resolution, such as by ":set
159- columns=100" or ":set lines=40", screen updating becomes about as fast as
160- it is with the 16-bit version.
161-
162- WARNING: Changing 'columns' may make Windows 95 crash while updating the
163- window (complaints --> Microsoft). Since this mostly works, this has not
164- been disabled, but be careful with changing 'columns' .
165-
166- Changing the screen resolution makes updates faster, but it brings
167- additional problems. External commands (e.g., ":!dir") can cause Vim to
168- freeze when the screen is set to a non-standard resolution, particularly
169- when 'columns' is not equal to 80. It is not possible for Vim to reliably
170- set the screen resolution back to the value it had upon startup before
171- running external commands, so if you change the number of 'lines' or
172- 'columns' , be very, very careful. In fact, Vim will not allow you to
173- execute external commands when 'columns' is not equal to 80, because it is
174- so likely to freeze up afterwards.
175-
176- None of the above applies on Windows NT. Screen updates are fast, no
177- matter how many 'lines' or 'columns' the window has, and external commands
178- do not cause Vim to freeze.
179-
180- Q. So if the Win32 version updates the screen so slowly on Windows 95 and the
181- 16-bit DOS version updates the screen quickly, why would I want to run the
182- Win32 version?
183- A. Firstly, the Win32 version isn't that slow, especially when the screen is
184- set to some non-standard number of 'lines' or 'columns' . Secondly, the
185- 16-bit DOS version has some severe limitations: It can't do big changes and
186- it doesn't know about long file names. The Win32 version doesn't have these
187- limitations and it's faster overall (the same is true for the 32-bit DJGPP
188- DOS version of Vim). The Win32 version is smarter about handling the
189- screen, the mouse, and the keyboard than the DJGPP version is.
190-
191- Q. And what about the 16-bit DOS version versus the Win32 version on NT?
192- A. There are no good reasons to run the 16-bit DOS version on NT. The Win32
193- version updates the screen just as fast as the 16-bit version does when
194- running on NT. All of the above disadvantages apply. Finally, DOS
195- applications can take a long time to start up and will run more slowly. On
196- non-Intel NT platforms, the DOS version is almost unusably slow, because it
197- runs on top of an 80x86 emulator.
142+ 7. Win32 mini FAQ *win32-faq*
198143
199144Q. How do I change the font?
200145A. In the GUI version, you can use the 'guifont' option. Example: >
201146 :set guifont=Lucida_Console:h15:cDEFAULT
202147< In the console version, you need to set the font of the console itself.
203148 You cannot do this from within Vim.
204149
205- Q. When I change the size of the console window with ':set lines=xx' or
206- similar, the font changes! (Win95)
207- A. You have the console font set to 'Auto' in Vim's (or your MS-DOS prompt's)
208- properties. This makes W95 guess (badly!) what font is best. Set an explicit
209- font instead.
210-
211- Q. Why can't I paste into Vim when running Windows 95?
212- A. In the properties dialog box for the MS-DOS window, go to "MS-DOS
213- Prompt/Misc/Fast pasting" and make sure that it is NOT checked. You should
214- also do ":set paste" in Vim to avoid unexpected effects. | 'paste' |
215-
216- Q. How do I type dead keys on Windows 95, in the console version?
217- (A dead key is an accent key, such as acute, grave, or umlaut, that doesn't
218- produce a character by itself, but when followed by another key, produces
219- an accented character, such as a-acute, e-grave, u-umlaut, n-tilde, and so
220- on. Very useful for most European languages. English-language keyboard
221- layouts don't use dead keys, as far as we know.)
222- A. You don't. The console mode input routines simply do not work correctly in
223- Windows 95, and I have not been able to work around them. In the words
224- of a senior developer at Microsoft:
225- Win95 console support has always been and will always be flaky.
226-
227- The flakiness is unavoidable because we are stuck between the world of
228- MS-DOS keyboard TSRs like KEYB (which wants to cook the data;
229- important for international) and the world of Win32.
230-
231- So keys that don't "exist" in MS-DOS land (like dead keys) have a
232- very tenuous existence in Win32 console land. Keys that act
233- differently between MS-DOS land and Win32 console land (like
234- capslock) will act flaky.
235-
236- Don't even _mention_ the problems with multiple language keyboard
237- layouts...
238-
239- You may be able to fashion some sort of workaround with the digraphs
240- mechanism. | digraphs |
241-
242- The best solution is to use the Win32 GUI version gvim.exe. Alternatively,
243- you can try one of the DOS versions of Vim where dead keys reportedly do
244- work.
245-
246150Q. How do I type dead keys on Windows NT?
247151A. Dead keys work on NT 3.51. Just type them as you would in any other
248152 application.
@@ -349,28 +253,6 @@ A. You have two possible solutions depending on what you want:
349253< The first command runs notepad minimized and the second one runs it
350254 normally.
351255
352- Q. I'm using Win32s, and when I try to run an external command like "make",
353- Vim doesn't wait for it to finish! Help!
354- A. The problem is that a 32-bit application (Vim) can't get notification from
355- Windows that a 16-bit application (your DOS session) has finished. Vim
356- includes a work-around for this, but you must set up your DOS commands to
357- run in a window, not full-screen. Unfortunately the default when you
358- install Windows is full-screen. To change this:
359- 1) Start PIF editor (in the Main program group).
360- 2) Open the file "_DEFAULT.PIF" in your Windows directory.
361- 3) Changes the display option from "Full Screen" to "Windowed".
362- 4) Save and exit.
363-
364- To test, start Vim and type >
365- :!dir C:\<CR>".
366- < You should see a DOS box window appear briefly with the directory listing.
367-
368- Q. I use Vim under Win32s and NT. In NT, I can define the console to default to
369- 50 lines, so that I get a 80x50 shell when I ':sh'. Can I do the same in
370- W3.1x, or am I stuck with 80x25?
371- A. Edit SYSTEM.INI and add 'ScreenLines=50' to the [NonWindowsApp] section. DOS
372- prompts and external DOS commands will now run in a 50-line window.
373-
374256 *windows-icon*
375257Q. I don't like the Vim icon, can I change it?
376258A. Yes, place your favorite icon in bitmaps/vim.ico in a directory of
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