# Vim documentation: os_mac

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    *os_mac.txt*    For Vim version 7.3c.  Last change: 2006 Apr 30

    		  VIM REFERENCE MANUAL    by Bram Moolenaar et al.

    					*mac* *Mac* *macintosh* *Macintosh*

    This file documents the particularities of the Macintosh version of Vim.

    NOTE: This file is a bit outdated.  You might find more useful info here:
    	http://macvim.org/

    1. Filename Convention		|mac-filename|
    2. .vimrc an .vim files		|mac-vimfile|
    3. FAQ				|mac-faq|
    4. Known Lack			|mac-lack|
    5. Mac Bug Report		|mac-bug|
    6. Compiling Vim		|mac-compile|

    There was a Mac port for version 3.0 of Vim.  Here are the first few lines
    from the old file:

    VIM Release Notes
    Initial Macintosh release, VIM version 3.0
    19 October 1994

    Eric Fischer
    <enf1@midway.uchicago.edu>, <eric@jcp.uchicago.edu>, <etaoin@uchicago.edu>
    5759 N. Guilford Ave
    Indianapolis IN 46220 USA

    ==============================================================================

    1. Filename Convention					*mac-filename*

    Starting with Vim version 7 you can just use the unix path separators with
    Vim. In order to determine if the specified filename is relative to the
    current folder or absolute (i.e. relative to the "Desktop"), the following
    algorithm is used:

    	If the path start by a "/", the path is absolute
    	If the path start by a ":", the path is relative
    	If the path doesn't start by neither a "/" nor ":",
    	  and a ":" is found before a "/" then the path is absolute

    		:e /HD/text
    		:e HD:text
     	Edit the file "text" of the disk "HD"
    		:e :src:main.c
    		:e src/main.c
     	Edit the file "main.c" in the folder "src" in the current folder
    		:e os_mac.c
     	Edit the file "os_mac.c" in the current folder.

    You can use the |$VIM| and |$VIMRUNTIME|  variable.

    		:so $VIMRUNTIME:syntax:syntax.vim

    ==============================================================================

    2. .vimrc and .vim files				*mac-vimfile*

    It is recommended to use Unix style line separators for Vim scripts, thus a
    single newline character.

    When starting up Vim will load the $VIMRUNTIME/macmap.vim script to define
    default command-key mappings.

    On older systems files starting with a dot "." are discouraged, thus the rc
    files are named "vimrc" or "_vimrc" and "gvimrc" or "_gvimrc".  These files
    can be in any format (mac, dos or unix).  Vim can handle any file format when
    the |'nocompatible'| option is set, otherwise it will only handle mac format
    files.

    ==============================================================================

    3. Mac FAQ						*mac-faq*

     On the internet:	http://macvim.org/OSX/index.php#FAQ

    Q: I can't enter non-ASCII character in Apple Terminal.
    A: Under Window Settings, Emulation, make sure that "Escape non-ASCII
       characters" is not checked.

    Q: How do I start the GUI from the command line?
    A: Assuming that Vim.app is located in /Applications:
    	open /Applications/Vim.app
       Or:
    	/Applications/Vim.app/Contents/MacOS/Vim -g  {arguments}

    Q: How can I set $PATH to something reasonable when I start Vim.app from the
       GUI or with open?
    A: The following trick works with most shells.  Put it in your vimrc file.
       This is included in the system vimrc file included with the binaries
       distributed at macvim.org .
    	let s:path = system("echo echo VIMPATH'${PATH}' | $SHELL -l")
    	let $PATH = matchstr(s:path, 'VIMPATH\zs.\{-}\ze\n')

    ==============================================================================

    4. Mac Lack						*mac-lack*

    In a terminal CTRL-^ needs to be entered as Shift-Control-6.  CTRL-@ as
    Shift-Control-2.

    ==============================================================================

    5. Mac Bug Report					*mac-bug*

    When reporting any Mac specific bug or feature change, please use the vim-mac
    maillist |vim-mac|.  However, you need to be subscribed.  An alternative is to
    send a message to the current MacVim maintainers:

    	mac@vim.org

    ==============================================================================

    6. Compiling Vim					*mac-compile*

    See the file "src/INSTALLmac.txt" that comes with the source files.

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