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| 1 | +`README.md` for version 7.4 of Vim: Vi IMproved. |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | + |
| 4 | +## What is VIM ## |
| 5 | + |
| 6 | +Vim is an almost compatible version of the UNIX editor Vi. Many new features |
| 7 | +have been added: multi-level undo, syntax highlighting, command line history, |
| 8 | +on-line help, spell checking, filename completion, block operations, etc. |
| 9 | +There is also a Graphical User Interface (GUI) available. See |
| 10 | +`runtime/doc/vi_diff.txt` for differences with Vi. |
| 11 | + |
| 12 | +This editor is very useful for editing programs and other plain text files. |
| 13 | +All commands are given with normal keyboard characters, so those who can type |
| 14 | +with ten fingers can work very fast. Additionally, function keys can be |
| 15 | +defined by the user, and the mouse can be used. |
| 16 | + |
| 17 | +Vim runs under Amiga DOS, MS-DOS, MS-Windows (95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, |
| 18 | +7), Atari MiNT, Macintosh, BeOS, VMS, RISC OS, OS/2 and almost all flavours of |
| 19 | +UNIX. Porting to other systems should not be very difficult. |
| 20 | + |
| 21 | + |
| 22 | +## Distribution ## |
| 23 | + |
| 24 | +There are separate distributions for Unix, PC, Amiga and some other systems. |
| 25 | +This `README.md` file comes with the runtime archive. It includes the |
| 26 | +documentation, syntax files and other files that are used at runtime. To run |
| 27 | +Vim you must get either one of the binary archives or a source archive. |
| 28 | +Which one you need depends on the system you want to run it on and whether you |
| 29 | +want or must compile it yourself. Check http://www.vim.org/download.php for |
| 30 | +an overview of currently available distributions. |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | + |
| 33 | +## Documentation ## |
| 34 | + |
| 35 | +The vim tutor is a one hour training course for beginners. Mostly it can be |
| 36 | +started as `vimtutor`. See `:help tutor` for more information. |
| 37 | + |
| 38 | +The best is to use `:help` in Vim. If you don't have an executable yet, read |
| 39 | +`runtime/doc/help.txt`. It contains pointers to the other documentation |
| 40 | +files. The User Manual reads like a book and is recommended to learn to use |
| 41 | +Vim. See `:help user-manual`. |
| 42 | + |
| 43 | + |
| 44 | +## Copying ## |
| 45 | + |
| 46 | +Vim is Charityware. You can use and copy it as much as you like, but you are |
| 47 | +encouraged to make a donation to help orphans in Uganda. Please read the file |
| 48 | +`runtime/doc/uganda.txt` for details (do `:help uganda` inside Vim). |
| 49 | + |
| 50 | +Summary of the license: There are no restrictions on using or distributing an |
| 51 | +unmodified copy of Vim. Parts of Vim may also be distributed, but the license |
| 52 | +text must always be included. For modified versions a few restrictions apply. |
| 53 | +The license is GPL compatible, you may compile Vim with GPL libraries and |
| 54 | +distribute it. |
| 55 | + |
| 56 | + |
| 57 | +## Sponsoring ## |
| 58 | + |
| 59 | +Fixing bugs and adding new features takes a lot of time and effort. To show |
| 60 | +your appreciation for the work and motivate Bram and others to continue |
| 61 | +working on Vim please send a donation. |
| 62 | + |
| 63 | +Since Bram is back to a paid job the money will now be used to help children |
| 64 | +in Uganda. See `runtime/doc/uganda.txt`. But at the same time donations |
| 65 | +increase Bram's motivation to keep working on Vim! |
| 66 | + |
| 67 | +For the most recent information about sponsoring look on the Vim web site: |
| 68 | + http://www.vim.org/sponsor/ |
| 69 | + |
| 70 | + |
| 71 | +## Compiling ## |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +If you obtained a binary distribution you don't need to compile Vim. If you |
| 74 | +obtained a source distribution, all the stuff for compiling Vim is in the |
| 75 | +`src` directory. See `src/INSTALL` for instructions. |
| 76 | + |
| 77 | + |
| 78 | +## Installation ## |
| 79 | + |
| 80 | +See one of these files for system-specific instructions: |
| 81 | + |
| 82 | + README_ami.txt Amiga |
| 83 | + README_unix.txt Unix |
| 84 | + README_dos.txt MS-DOS and MS-Windows |
| 85 | + README_os2.txt OS/2 |
| 86 | + README_mac.txt Macintosh |
| 87 | + README_vms.txt VMS |
| 88 | + |
| 89 | +There are more `README_*.txt` files, depending on the distribution you used. |
| 90 | + |
| 91 | + |
| 92 | +## Information ## |
| 93 | + |
| 94 | +The latest news about Vim can be found on the Vim home page: |
| 95 | + http://www.vim.org/ |
| 96 | + |
| 97 | +If you have problems, have a look at the Vim documentation or tips: |
| 98 | + http://www.vim.org/docs.php |
| 99 | + http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Vim_Tips_Wiki |
| 100 | + |
| 101 | +If you still have problems or any other questions, use one of the mailing |
| 102 | +lists to discuss them with Vim users and developers: |
| 103 | + http://www.vim.org/maillist.php |
| 104 | + |
| 105 | +If nothing else works, report bugs directly: |
| 106 | + Bram Moolenaar <[email protected]> |
| 107 | + |
| 108 | + |
| 109 | +## Main author ## |
| 110 | + |
| 111 | +Send any other comments, patches, flowers and suggestions to: |
| 112 | + Bram Moolenaar <[email protected]> |
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