Tip: #714 - Version independent installation of Vim on Windows
Created: May 10, 2004 6:36 Complexity: intermediate Author: Baukje Miedema Version: 5.7 Karma: 15/16 Imported from: Tip#714
Version independent installation of (g)vim on MS-Windows
The installer and the zip versions of the (g)vim distributions for
MS-Windows install (g)vim in a directory hierarchy rooted at vim\vimxy\
where xy in the directory name is the version number. For example, vimxy
would be vim62 for version 6.2. This setup means that the location of
(g)vim.exe is different for every version. This setup makes good sense
if you maintain several versions of vim on your computer. However, if
you only keep one version of (g)vim at a time, it can be convenient to
always have it in the same location. The following shows you one way to
achieve this.
Set up a directory hierarchy as follows
vim\
vim\runtime\
vim\runtime\syntax\
vim\runtime\plugin\
vim\runtime\ftplugin\
vim\runtime\indent\
vim\runtime\doc\
vim\runtime\colors\
vim\runtime\compiler\
vim\runtime\macros\
vim\runtime\tools\
vim\runtime\tutor\
vim\vimfiles\
vim\vimfiles\syntax\
vim\vimfiles\plugin\
vim\vimfiles\ftplugin\
vim\vimfiles\indent\
vim\vimfiles\doc\
vim\vimfiles\colors\
vim\vimfiles\compiler\
1. Put gvim.exe and/or vim.exe, vimrun.exe, xxd.exe, gvimext.dll into vim\
2. Put all the remaining .vim, .txt, and other non-executable files that
are distributed under vim\vimxy\ in to vim\runtime\
3. Put the contents of the distributed vim\vimxy\plugin\ in to
vim\runtime\plugin\ and so on for all the other subdirectories of
vim\vimxy\ including syntax, ftplugin, indent, doc, colors, compiler,
macros, tools, tutor.
4. Put your _vimrc and _gvimrc files in vim\ with the executables.
5. Either ensure that vim\ is in your path, or create shortcuts and/or
batch (bat or cmd) files that can start vim\(g)vim.exe for you.
6. If you have downloaded any scripts from vim.sf.net or elsewhere, put
them in the appropriate spot in the vim\vimfiles\ hierarchy where they
stay separate from the official distribution files in vim\runtime\. In
this way, when you upgrade (g)vim to a newer version, you will not have
to copy, move or do anything with these extra files. For example,
plugins from vim.sf.net go into vim\vimfiles\plugin\ and color scheme
files go into vim\vimfiles\colors\ etc.
7. You are all done. $VIM and $VIMRUNTIME will be set automatically for
you. They will point to vim\ and vim\runtime\ respectively.
Comments
It is generally not a good idea to mis-match runtime files and executable/program as suggested above. Vim's default installer automatically updates shortcuts, desktop icons, context menus, registry entries, and command line batch files.
Rather than contorting the default installation as suggested, simply update your custom batch files to point to the new installation location!
Anonymous
, May 10, 2004 11:23
You may not like this scheme but there is no talk of mismatching runtime and executable files -- just changing their location.
Anonymous , May 10, 2004 11:29
Maybe - on w2k or newer - you should better use a junction point here.
See: "http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=34490";
Anonymous , May 11, 2004 2:40
This scheme also fits very well if you compile your own patched gvim for Windows from the UNIX sources.
Anonymous , July 4, 2004 9:23