Per-File Setups in Separate Files (Unix Power Tools, 3rd Edition)

17.17. Per-File Setups in Separate Files

Do you need to set certain editor options for certain files -- but not use the same setup for every file you edit? Make a special setup file with the same name and an underscore ( _ ) or an extension like .vi, .ex, or .so at the end. For instance, a file named report could have a corresponding setup file named report_ or report.so. (You don't have to use an underscore at the end of the filename. It's convenient, though, because it's not a shell special character (Section 27.17).)

The setup file has the same format as a .exrc file (Section 17.5). To make the editor read it, map (Section 18.2) a function key like F1 (or any other key sequence):

source Section 20.4, ^[Section 18.6

map #1 :source %_^[

When you start vi, tap that key to read the setup file. (The percent sign stands for the current filename (Section 17.3).)

If you want to use the same setup file for several files in a directory, you might want to make hard links (Section 10.4) between them. That will save disk space. It also means that if you decide to change a setup option, you can edit one of the links to the setup file, and the others will have the same change.

-- JP