On Mon, 2007-01-15 at 15:39 -0800, Gary Johnson wrote: > On 2007-01-15, Erin Spiceland <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > On Mon, 2007-01-15 at 14:55 -0800, Gary Johnson wrote: > > > On 2007-01-15, Erin Spiceland <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > I just got a new server and vim wasn't installed. I installed 7.0 from > > > > scratch, but there are some problems with missing features or features > > > > not working: > > > > > > > > 1. syntax highlighting doesn't work. It is turned on in vimrc but I > > > > haven't checked anything else. > > > > 2. using the arrows on the keyboard in insert mode puts A, B, C, or D > > > > and newline into the file instead of moving up, down, left, or right. > > > > 3. doesn't remember my command history > > > > 4. doesn't remember where I was in the file when I closed it. > > > > 5. only remembers 1 change, so I can't use the "u" command to undo more > > > > than 1 change. > > > > > > > > What can I do to fix these problems or enable these features? > > > > > > #5 indicates that, as Tim said, you have 'cp' set. But vim sets > > > 'nocp' automatically when it detects and sources an initialization > > > file named .vimrc or _vimrc. Therefore, it appears that your vimrc > > > file is not being sourced, which would explain #1. > > > > > > Executing :version will show you where your vim is looking for its > > > initialization files and :scriptnames will show you the > > > initialization files vim actually sourced. Reading > > > > > > :help initialization > > > > > > will also help you understand what should be happening when you > > > start vim and may help you track down the root problem. > > > system vimrc file: "$VIM/vimrc" > > > > $VIM is set to "/usr/local/share/vim" but /usr/local/share/vim/vimrc > > doesn't exist, and a vimrc does exist in /etc. How can I change it to > > use /etc? > > There is something wrong with your installation. If vim had never > before been installed on that server, then the only way for > /etc/vimrc to have appeared was for your installation process to > have created it. But if you configured vim to look for vimrc in > /usr/local/share/vim, then that's where your installation process > should have put it. The "right" place to put it depends on your > system and where you want to put stuff and, if you are not the > system administrator, where you are allowed to put stuff. > > You'll have to give us more details of your system and how you > configured vim for us to sort this out properly. > > You wrote originally that there were some features missing or not > working in this installation. That implies that you have used them > before where they did work. How did you get them to work then? Did > you have your own ~/.vimrc or just a system vimrc? If you had just > a system vimrc and that is the file now in /etc, I would just move > that file to /usr/local/share/vim. On the Unix systems where I have > installed vim, I don't even have a system vimrc--I just use > ~/.vimrc. > > There are also ways to set environment variables to get vim to look > in other places for initialization files, but since you built this > vim from scratch, it would be better for you to reconfigure and > rebuild it to get it right, or at least self-consistent. > > > The preferred replying style in the vim list is to put the quoted > text on top and your reply underneath, so I have reformatted your > reply to that style. > > Also, don't forget to reply to the list rather than to just the > author of the message to which you are replying, so that everyone in > the list can follow the discussion and help in solving the problem, > or see that it has been solved. > > Regards, > Gary >
Thanks for the tips. This server was supposedly a fresh install of RHE. I say that vim was not installed only because I tried to use it and got the bash "command not found" message. I downloaded the source from vim.org and did "./configure; make; make install." The machines I have used vim on before were always preinstalled with vim. I use FC6 at home and RHE on my other 4 servers. I've never worked with a vimrc or .viminfo before, except very minimally. The five things I listed in my original email were things that always just worked. I was very surprised to find vim was not installed this time. "rpm -qa | grep vim shows" that vim 6.3 minimal is also installed, but that isn't the one my system is using, because vim --version shows 7.0. Are there any configure options that I can use or is there an enhanced version that I might be used to? Should I reinstall? from source or rpm? Thanks, Erin
