How can I indent code in the Vim editor on Windows?

Question

How to indent a selection in gvim (win32)?

How do I indent multiple lines quickly in vi?

Using vim under linux I can indent a block of code using the VISUAL mode and pressing ">". In vim under Windows this does not happen.

This is what happens:

Press V, the VIM enter in the VISUAL mode
Press 'Down', the VIM exit for the VISUAL mode. I can't select anything in VISUAL mode.

Alternatively, if I use the SELECT mode for selecting code the ">" does not indent it.

indent is the name of a command that "indent". Why not indentation? — Andrea Francia, Jan 05 '09 at 15:28

score 6 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 05 '09 at 17:19

6

Haven't you keep mswin.vim ? If you want the same behaviour on both OSes, get rid of this file.

answered Jan 05 '09 at 17:19

Luc Hermitte

This is the correct answer. mswin.vim is evil and causes a lot of basic vim functionality to change and/or act differently. – Zathrus Jan 06 '09 at 03:28

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 05 '09 at 14:18

5

Ok, I got it. In Windows I should press Shift+Down to remain in the VISUAL mode.

answered Jan 05 '09 at 14:18

Andrea Francia

this is the correct answer. press v then hold shift and press down to select the text. – nightingale2k1 Jul 28 '09 at 08:02

R. Martinho Fernandes · Answer 3 · 2009-01-05T14:27:21.283

4

If you use V (uppercase) you enter VISUAL LINE mode. For VISUAL mode you should use v (lowercase).

And if you use the standard movement keys (hjkl) everything works fine.

If you dislike the default movement keys, use these mappings:

:map <Up> k
:map <Down> j
:map <Left> h
:map <Right> l

edited Jan 05 '09 at 14:27

answered Jan 05 '09 at 14:21

Hi Martinho -- I downvoted too: this answer doesn't address the main issue in the original question, which is "why do the arrow keys exit visual mode?" – mph Jul 08 '09 at 17:54
From what I see the question reads "How can I..." and was always in that spirit, not in the spirit of "Why ..." – R. Martinho Fernandes Jul 09 '09 at 17:50

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 05 '09 at 15:31

0

Weird, I don't experience this behavior on Vim 7.1 on Win XP. Perhaps setting nocompatible will help you?

answered Jan 05 '09 at 15:31

4 Answers4