Learning the vi and Vim Editors, 8th Edition

Chapter 9. Graphical Vim (gvim)

As a vi derivative, Vim began as a project to extend vi by adding features not available in vi. As an independent effort Vim added and improved on the excellent vi, and Vim could do this quickly, based on user feedback, without the onus of POSIX requirements.

Already at the time of this book’s seventh edition, Vim offered mature and comprehensive graphical user interface (GUI) features discussed in this chapter. In the years since then, Vim continued enhancing the GUI, and today it is better than ever.

A longtime complaint about vi and its clones was their lack of a GUI. Especially for those caught up in the Emacs versus vi religious wars, vi’s lack of a GUI was the ultimate trump card to argue that vi was a nonstarter when discussing editors. That is a complaint long since answered.

The vi clones and “work-alikes” created their own GUI versions. Graphical Vim is called gvim. Like the other vi clones, gvim offers robust and extensible GUI functions and features. We’ll cover the most useful ones in this chapter.

Some of gvim’s graphical functionality wraps commonly used Vim features, whereas others introduce the point-and-click convenience most computer users now expect. Although some veteran Vim users may cringe at the thought of grafting a GUI onto their workhorse editor, gvim is thoughtfully conceived and implemented. gvim offers functionality and features spanning the range of its users’ abilities, softening Vim’s steep learning curve for beginners ...