Re:vim

[Michael Webster]

for those who asked about mapping in vim for example:

this mapping in my vimrc:

map lil :w<bar>:!lilypond -o % %<CR>

runs the current file through lilypond when I type 'lil'

likewise:

map pdf :! open %.pdf<CR>

map mid :!quit 'Quicktime Player 7'<CR>:! open -a 'Quicktime Player 7' 
%.midi<CR>

open the pdf and midi (I'm on mac which uses this 'open' command)

I also have an almost working sed script which halves or doubles 
durations (perhaps someone on the list can do this right :) ) Vim allows 
you to pipe selected text through shell scripts rather simply.

I also use the snippets plugin which emulates TextMates very useful 
snippets feature and the Align plugin to align lines of parallel music 
on the '|' character. The snippets let you set small snippets of text to 
expand with the cursor tabbing through values - this allows you to 
automate things like setting up a staff with staffname and midi 
instrument very quickly.

Also vim has a great feature which will open a file the cursor is on - 
so you can straight away open included files with a single keystroke. 
and of course you can navigate multiple open files with the command :b 
followed by a bit of the desired file's name... say 'viola' or 'score' 
or 'two' - you can imagine.

anyway these are a few of vims features.

On the down side vim requires you to relearn how you use a text editor 
in that it requires you to change modes between navigating, inserting, 
selecting, commanding as appropriate so there is some learning 
involved.  try the tutorial to see if vim makes any sense for you -