30.20 Multiple Editor Setup Files; Starting with a Search

[This article shows vi , but the same thing will work for other editors that read a setup file when they start up. -JP]

Like many people, I want different vi options set for writing a program than for working on a text file. Here's how I do it.

Instead of putting mode lines (30.19 ) within each file, or writing extensions to the filenames (30.21 ) , I've got several different .exrc (30.6 ) startup files... one for each vi mode I'd like to use. I have aliases (10.2 ) that let me select the .exrc file I want. And I have vi aliased so that, when I start it up, it tells me which .exrc file is in use. Here are the lines (with comments) from my .cshrc (2.1 ) file (the CD-ROM has a set for Bourne-type shells):

~
 setenv
 







\!*
 
sleep
 

setenv EXSTAT text        # INITIALIZATION FOR 'vi' ALIAS

        # -- THESE ALIASES RESET THE .exrc FILE -- #
# SET 'vi' FOR 4-CHARACTER TABS/SHIFTS:
alias 4vi 'cp ~/lib/vi/exrc4 ~/.exrc; setenv EXSTAT programming'
# SET 'vi' FOR 8-CHARACTER TABS/SHIFTS:
alias 8vi 'cp ~/lib/vi/exrc8 ~/.exrc; setenv EXSTAT text'
# SET 'vi' FOR QUICK WORK WHEN SYSTEM IS SLOW (NO .exrc FILE):
alias qvi 'rm ~/.exrc; setenv EXSTAT quick'


   # -- THESE ARE THE vi ALIASES. ONE SETS THE vi MODE FIRST -- #
alias vi 'echo "MODE: $EXSTAT"; sleep 1; /usr/ucb/vi \!*'
# CALL vi WITH A SEARCH:
alias vs '8vi; vi +/\!*'

The EXSTAT variable remembers which setup file has been stored in the .exrc file. Also, because you can't start vi with a search (vi +/PATTERN ) unless the wrapscan option has been set... so, I start the vs alias with an 8vi because my exrc8 file sets wrapscan . Here's an example. I'll edit the file report and search for a line that has the word misteak :

% vs misteak report


MODE: text
"report" 45 lines, 2734 characters