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Tip 636 Printable Monobook Previous Next

created 2004 · complexity basic · version 6.0


When Vim is correctly installed on a Windows 32-bit system (for example, using the Vim without Cream distribution), you should see an "Edit with Vim" item in the right-click context menu in Windows Explorer. The same can be achieved on a Windows 64-bit system providing a 64-bit distribution is used (see I'm using 64-bit Windows). This tip shows how to repair or manually add the context menu on a 32-bit system.

WARNING: Editing your Windows registry may cause unintended side effects that render your system inoperable. Although this tip has worked in the past for some people, there is no guarantee that it will work for you. Use with caution, and at your own risk.

From tip 1068

Using gvim under Windows, if you move your Vim folder, you will find that "Edit with Vim" is missing from the context menu when you right click a file in Windows Explorer.

To fix, run regedit and set the following values to the correct paths:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Vim\Gvim]
path=C:\Program Files\vim\vim72\gvim.exe

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{51EEE242-AD87-11d3-9C1E-0090278BBD99}\InProcServer32]
(Default) = C:\Program Files\vim\vim72\gvimext.dll

Original tip

To add "Edit with Vim" to the Windows File Explorer context menu:

  • Save this file as edit-with-vim.reg.
  • Make sure the paths are right for your machine.
  • Double click on it in Explorer to import this file.
  • The double quotes are needed for filenames with spaces.
  • The '*' means 'for all files'.
REGEDIT4
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\vim]
@="Edit with &Vim"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\vim\command]
@="c:\\bin32\\gvim.exe \"%1\""

See also

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