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Where to download Vim

From Vim Tips Wiki

Tip 1578 Previous Next created February 3, 2008 · complexity basic · author Metacosm · version 7.0

Which version of Vim should I use?

  • I want a fully patched standard Vim for Windows, without compiling it myself.
See "Vim without Cream problems" below.
The easiest and best solution for Windows users on 32-bit systems is to use the standard Vim (Vim without Cream) at http://sourceforge.net/projects/cream/files/
Enable scripting in your browser.
Near the bottom, click "+" next to "Vim" to expand the list of files.
The first file listed under Vim should have a name like gvim-7-2-234.exe (Vim without Cream, version 7.2.234 = 7.2 with patches 1–234).
You can click the icon in the "Notes/Subscribe" column to see the output of the :version command (which shows what features are in the build).
Click the most recent gvim-7-2-xxx.exe to download; run the download to install.
It installs a patched standard gvim.exe (GUI) and vim.exe (console), with all help and runtime files.
Includes Perl, Python, Ruby, Tcl and MzScheme interfaces.
  • I'm using 64-bit Windows.
See information and download.
  • I want standard Vim (source code to compile for all platforms, or unpatched Windows executables).
Available at http://www.vim.org/download.php
  • I want an easy-to-use configuration for Windows with common menus and standard keyboard shortcuts.
Cream for BSD, Linux and Windows is available at http://cream.sourceforge.net/download.html
Click "Windows One-click installer, includes both Vim and Cream".
You will download a file with a name like cream-0-41-gvim-7-1-293.exe (Cream version 0.41 with gvim version 7.1.293 = 7.1 with patches 1–293).
Note: This package may include an obsolete version of Vim. After you download it, you may want to upgrade the "Vim" part of it from (let's say) 7.1.293 to (let's say) 7.2.234, see above "I want a fully patched Vim for Windows".
  • I want to put Vim on a keydrive and use it on a bunch of Windows machines, but standard versions of Vim choke when the keydrive is mounted as a different drive letter.
Check out GVim Portable http://portablegvim.sourceforge.net/
  • I want Vim on a Macintosh.
See the versions at http://www.vim.org/download.php#mac

[edit] Vim without Cream problems

The "Vim without Cream" at http://sourceforge.net/projects/cream/files/ is the best Vim for Windows (without compiling it yourself), but:

  • The release notes show that it is built with feature +ole which means that it will try to load the OLE interface DLL each time it starts, which would be irritating if you just wanted to run Vim on another computer without bothering to install it.
  • The Sourceforge page has changed again, resulting in a confusing list of versions. The instructions given above (which were correct at 19 July 2009) are no longer appropriate. For Vim and gvim without Cream, look for the highest version of the gvim-7-2-xxx.exe file. Currently that file is "gvim-7-2-245.exe Tue Aug 04 2009 14:29".

[edit] Comments

 TO DO 
This can be our tip on downloading Vim.

The Main Page links to Vim documentation and I would eventually like that page cleaned up with a new section about downloading and building Vim. It would have a link to this tip, and hopefully a link to another tip about building Vim (one for Unix and one for Windows).

The following seem relevant (may need to merge):

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