Out of Temporary Space? Use Another Directory (Unix Power Tools, 3rd Edition)

17.27. Out of Temporary Space? Use Another Directory

vi keeps its temporary copy of the file you're editing in a temporary-file directory -- usually /tmp, /usr/tmp, or /var/tmp. If you're editing a big file or if the temporary filesystem runs out of space, vi may not be able to make your temporary file. When that happens, you can use vi's set directory command to set the pathname of a different temporary directory. (If this happens a lot though, you should talk to the system administrator and see if the standard area can be cleaned up or made bigger.)

First, you'll need the absolute pathname (Section 3.7) of a directory on a filesystem with enough room. Use an existing directory, or make a new one.

The vi command is set directory. For example:

set directory=/usr1/jim/vitemp

You have to type that command before giving vi a filename to edit -- after that, vi has made the temporary file, and you'll be too late. But if you type that command while using vi and then use the :e command (Section 17.3), all files from then on will use the new temporary directory (in the versions I tried, at least).

To set the directory temporarily, it's probably easiest to add that command to the EXINIT environment variable:

setenv EXINIT 'set directory=/usr1/jim/vitemp'

If you already have a .exrc file (Section 17.5), setting EXINIT will make vi ignore your .exrc file. To make the temporary set directory work, too, use a command with a vertical bar (|), like this:

setenv EXINIT 'source /usr1/jim/.exrc|set directory=/usr1/jim/vitemp'

-- JP