vim setting

Configuration for Vim starts with a vimrc file. It's a text file located by default at ~/.vimrc on Unix  or Linux systems, and $VIM\_vimrc on Windows. If .vimrc doesn't exist, you need to create one.

By default, vim reads /etc/vimrc and ~/.vimrc (the global vimrc and the user-specific one.). For a very old system, the global vimrc was /usr/share/vim/vimrc.
Note: you can put your vimrc into /etc/skel/.vimrc, this will make it available to users you add to the system later. You can also copy the file from /etc/skel/.vimrc to /etc/vimrc and the home directory of users already on the system, like root. Be sure to set permissions, owner, and group if you do copy anything directly from /etc/skel.

a example of a well build of .vimrc setting:

" reset to vim-defaults
if &compatible          " only if not set before:
  set nocompatible      " use vim-defaults instead of vi-defaults (easier, more user friendly)
endif

" display settings
set background=dark     " enable for dark terminals
set nowrap              " dont wrap lines
set scrolloff=2         " 2 lines above/below cursor when scrolling
set number              " show line numbers
set showmatch           " show matching bracket (briefly jump)
set showmode            " show mode in status bar (insert/replace/...)
set showcmd             " show typed command in status bar
set ruler               " show cursor position in status bar
set title               " show file in titlebar
set wildmenu            " completion with menu
set wildignore=*.o,*.obj,*.bak,*.exe,*.py[co],*.swp,*~,*.pyc,.svn
set laststatus=2        " use 2 lines for the status bar
set matchtime=2         " show matching bracket for 0.2 seconds
set matchpairs+=<:>     " specially for html

" editor settings
set esckeys             " map missed escape sequences (enables keypad keys)
set ignorecase          " case insensitive searching
set smartcase           " but become case sensitive if you type uppercase characters
set smartindent         " smart auto indenting
set smarttab            " smart tab handling for indenting
set magic               " change the way backslashes are used in search patterns
set bs=indent,eol,start " Allow backspacing over everything in insert mode

set tabstop=4           " number of spaces a tab counts for
set shiftwidth=4        " spaces for autoindents
set expandtab           " turn a tabs into spaces

set fileformat=unix,dos,mac     " file mode is unix
" only detect unix file format, displays that ^M with dos files

" system settings
set lazyredraw          " no redraws in macros
set confirm             " get a dialog when :q, :w, or :wq fails
set nobackup            " no backup~ files.
set viminfo='20,\"500   " remember copy registers after quitting in the .viminfo file -- 20 jump links, regs up to 500 lines'
set hidden              " remember undo after quitting
set history=50          " keep 50 lines of command history
set mouse=v             " use mouse in visual mode (not normal,insert,command,help mode
                        " in vim 7, you can set mouse=a, so that you can use mouse at any time

" color settings (if terminal/gui supports it)
if &t_Co > 2 || has("gui_running")
  syntax on          " enable colors
  set hlsearch       " highlight search (very useful!)
  set incsearch      " search incremently (search while typing)
endif

" paste mode toggle (needed when using autoindent/smartindent)
map <F10> :set paste<CR>
map <F11> :set nopaste<CR>
imap <F10> <C-O>:set paste<CR>
imap <F11> <nop>
set pastetoggle=<F11>

" Use of the filetype plugins, auto completion and indentation support
filetype plugin indent on

" file type specific settings
if has("autocmd")
  " For debugging
  " set verbose=9

  " if bash is sh.
  let bash_is_sh=1

  " change to directory of current file automatically
  autocmd BufEnter * lcd %:p:h

  " Put these in an autocmd group, so that we can delete them easily.
  augroup mysettings
    au FileType xslt,xml,css,html,xhtml,javascript,sh,config,c,cpp,docbook set smartindent shiftwidth=2 softtabstop=2 expandtab
    au FileType tex set wrap shiftwidth=2 softtabstop=2 expandtab

    " Confirm to PEP8
    au FileType python set tabstop=4 softtabstop=4 expandtab shiftwidth=4 cinwords=if,elif,else,for,while,try,except,finally,def,class
  augroup END

  augroup perl
    " reset (disable previous 'augroup perl' settings)
    au!  

    au BufReadPre,BufNewFile
    \ *.pl,*.pm
    \ set formatoptions=croq smartindent shiftwidth=2 softtabstop=2 cindent cinkeys='0{,0},!^F,o,O,e' " tags=./tags,tags,~/devel/tags,~/devel/C
    " formatoption:
    "   t - wrap text using textwidth
    "   c - wrap comments using textwidth (and auto insert comment leader)
    "   r - auto insert comment leader when pressing <return> in insert mode
    "   o - auto insert comment leader when pressing 'o' or 'O'.
    "   q - allow formatting of comments with "gq"
    "   a - auto formatting for paragraphs
    "   n - auto wrap numbered lists
    "   
  augroup END


  " Always jump to the last known cursor position. 
  " Don't do it when the position is invalid or when inside
  " an event handler (happens when dropping a file on gvim). 
  autocmd BufReadPost * 
    \ if line("'\"") > 0 && line("'\"") <= line("$") | 
    \   exe "normal g`\"" | 
    \ endif 

endif " has("autocmd")

if you configure your vim settings you can store it in ~/.vimrc, or system-wide in /etc/vimrc.local and then by read from the /etc/vimrc file using:

source /etc/vimrc.local

Change Color Scheme:

Open vim and in command mode, type :color , then hit the Tab button instead of Enter to switch between different color. By default, you may see :color blue. If you hit Tab again, you should see :color darkblue. Find a color you think might work for you and hit Enter. 

For the record, I find that the "elflord" color scheme works pretty well in a dark terminal. If your terminal is set to a white background, I like the default scheme or "evening" scheme. (The evening scheme sets a dark background anyway, though.)

Where Colors Live

On Linux Mint, Debian, etc. you'll find the color schemes under /usr/share/vim/vimNN/colors. (Where NN is the version number of Vim, like vim72 or whatever.) But you can also store new color schemes under~/.vim/colors. So if you find something like the Wombat color scheme you can plop that in.

You might also want to take a look at the Vivify tool, which helps you modify color schemes and see the effects. Then you can download the file and create your own scheme.vim.

Now, if you don't want to be setting the color scheme every single time you open Vim, you just need to add this to your ~/.vimrc:

colorscheme oceandeep

It's just that easy.

If you want to create your own color scheme, I recommend using something like Vivify. The actual color scheme files can be very tedious to edit.

VIM QUICK REFERENCE CARD

Basic movement
h l k j	character left, right; line up, down
b w	word/token left, right
ge e	end of word/token left, right
{  }	beginning of previous, next paragraph
( )	beginning of previous, next sentence
0 gm	beginning, middle of line
^  $	first, last character of line
nG ngg	line n, default the last, first
n%	percentage n of the file (n must be provided)
n|	column n of current line
%	match of next brace, bracket, comment, #define
nH nL	line n from start, bottom of window
M	middle line of window
Insertion & replace → insert mode
i a	insert before, after cursor
I A	insert at beginning, end of line
gI	insert text in first column
o O	open a new line below, above the current line
rc	replace character under cursor with c
grc	like r, but without affecting layout
R	replace characters starting at the cursor
gR	like R, but without affecting layout
cm	change text of movement command m
cc or S	change current line
C	change to the end of line
s	change one character and insert
~	switch case and advance cursor
g~m	switch case of movement command m
gum gUm	lowercase, uppercase text of movement m
<m >m	shift left, right text of movement m
n<< n>>	shift n lines left, right
Deletion
x X	delete character under, before cursor
dm	delete text of movement command m
dd D	delete current line, to the end of line
J gJ	join current line with next, without space
:rd↵	delete range r lines
:rdx↵	delete range r lines into register x
Insert mode
^Vc ^Vn	insert char c literally, decimal value n
^A	insert previously inserted text
^@	same as ^A and stop insert → command mode
^Rx ^R^Rx	insert content of register x, literally
^N ^P	text completion before, after cursor
^W	delete word before cursor
^U	delete all inserted character in current line
^D ^T	shift left, right one shift width
^Kc1c2 or c1←c2	enter digraph \c1,c2\
^Oc	execute c in temporary command mode
^X^E ^X^Y	scroll up, down
<esc> or ^[	abandon edition → command mode
Copying
"x	use register x for next delete, yank, put
:reg↵	show the content of all registers
:reg x↵	show the content of registers x
ym	yank the text of movement command m
yy or Y	yank current line into register
p P	put register after, before cursor position
]p [p	like p, P with indent adjusted
gp gP	like p, P leaving cursor after new text
Advanced insertion
g?m	perform rot13 encoding on movement m
n^A n^X	+n, -n to number under cursor
gqm	format lines of movement m to fixed width
:rce w↵	center lines in range r to width w
:rle i↵	left align lines in range r with indent i
:rri w↵	right align lines in range r to width w
!mc↵	filter lines of movement m through command c
n!!c↵	filter n lines through command c
:r!c↵	filter range r lines through command c
Visual mode
v V ^V	start/stop highlighting characters, lines, block
o	exchange cursor position with start of highlighting
gv	start highlighting on previous visual area
aw as ap	select a word, a sentence, a paragraph
ab aB	select a block ( ), a block { }
Undoing, repeating & registers
u U	undo last command, restore last changed line
.  ^R	repeat last changes, redo last undo
n.	repeat last changes with count replaced by n
qc qC	record, append typed characters in register c
q	stop recording
@c	execute the content of register c
@@	repeat previous @ command
:@c↵	execute register c as an Ex command
:rg/p/c↵	execute Ex command c on range r
	where pattern p matches
Complex movement
- +	line up, down on first non-blank character
B W	space-separated word left, right
gE E	end of space-separated word left, right
n_	down n-1 line on first non-blank character
g0	beginning of screen line
g^  g$	first, last character of screen line
gk gj	screen line up, down
fc Fc	next, previous occurence of character c
tc Tc	before next, previous occurence of c
; ,	repeat last fFtT, in opposite direction
[[ ]]	start of section backward, forward
[] ][	end of section backward, forward
[( ])	unclosed (, ) backward, forward
[{  ]}	unclosed {, } backward, forward
[m ]m	start of backward, forward Java method
[# ]#	unclosed #if, #else, #endif backward, forward
[* ]*	start, end of /* */ backward, forward
Search & substitution
/s↵  ?s↵	search forward, backward for s
/s/o↵  ?s?o↵	search fwd, bwd for s with offset o
n or /↵	repeat forward last search
N or ?↵	repeat backward last search
# *	search backward, forward for word under cursor
g# g*	same, but also find partial matches
gd gD	local, global definition of symbol under cursor
:rs/f/t/x↵	substitute f by t in range r
	x: g-all occurrences, c-confirm changes
:rs x↵	repeat substitution with new r & x
Special characters in search patterns
.   ^  $	any single character, start, end of line
\< \>	start, end of word
[c1-c2]	a single character in range c1..c2
[^c1-c2]	a single character not in range
\i \k \I \K	an identifier, keyword; excl. digits
\f \p \F \P	a file name, printable char.; excl. digits
\s \S	a white space, a non-white space
\e \t \r \b	<esc>, <tab>, <↵>, <←>
\= * \+	match 0..1, 0..∞, 1..∞ of preceding atoms
\|	separate two branches ( ≡ or)
\( \)	group patterns into an atom
\& \n	the whole matched pattern, nth () group
\u \l	next character made upper, lowercase
\c \C	ignore, match case on next pattern
Offsets in search commands
n or +n	n line downward in column 1
-n	n line upward in column 1
e+n e-n	n characters right, left to end of match
s+n s-n	n characters right, left to start of match
;sc	execute search command sc next
Marks and motions
mc	mark current position with mark c ∈[a..Z]
`c `C	go to mark c in current, C in any file
`0..9	go to last exit position
`` `"	go to position before jump, at last edit
`[ `]	go to start, end of previously operated text
:marks↵	print the active marks list
:jumps↵	print the jump list
n^O	go to nth older position in jump list
n^I	go to nth newer position in jump list
Key mapping & abbreviations
:map c e↵	map c ↦ e in normal & visual mode
:map!  c e↵	map c ↦ e in insert & cmd-line mode
:unmap c↵  :unmap!  c↵	remove mapping c
:mk f↵	write current mappings, settings... to file f
:ab c e↵	add abbreviation for c ↦ e
:ab c↵	show abbreviations starting with c
:una c↵	remove abbreviation c
Tags
:ta t↵	jump to tag t
:nta↵	jump to nth newer tag in list
^] ^T	jump to the tag under cursor, return from tag
:ts t↵	list matching tags and select one for jump
:tj t↵	jump to tag or select one if multiple matches
:tags↵	print tag list
:npo↵  :n^T↵	jump back from, to nth older tag
:tl↵	jump to last matching tag
^W}  :pt t↵	preview tag under cursor, tag t
^W]	split window and show tag under cursor
^Wz or :pc↵	close tag preview window
Scrolling & multi-windowing
^E ^Y	scroll line up, down
^D ^U	scroll half a page up, down
^F ^B	scroll page up, down
zt or z↵	set current line at top of window
zz or z.	set current line at center of window
zb or z-	set current line at bottom of window
zh zl	scroll one character to the right, left
zH zL	scroll half a screen to the right, left
^Ws or :split↵	split window in two
^Wn or :new↵	create new empty window
^Wo or :on↵	make current window one on screen
^Wj ^Wk	move to window below, above
^Ww ^W^W	move to window below, above (wrap)
Ex commands (↵)
:e f	edit file f, unless changes have been made
:e!  f	edit file f always (by default reload current)
:wn :wN	write file and edit next, previous one
:n :N	edit next, previous file in list
:rw	write range r to current file
:rw f	write range r to file f
:rw>>f	append range r to file f
:q :q!	quit and confirm, quit and discard changes
:wq or :x or ZZ	write to current file and exit
<up> <down>	recall commands starting with current
:r f	insert content of file f below cursor
:r!  c	insert output of command c below cursor
:all	open a window for each file in the argument list
:args	display the argument list
Ex ranges
, ;	separates two lines numbers, set to first line
n	an absolute line number n
.   $	the current line, the last line in file
% *	entire file, visual area
't	position of mark t
/p/ ?p?	the next, previous line where p matches
+n -n	+n, -n to the preceding line number
Folding
zfm	create fold of movement m
:rfo	create fold for range r
zd zE	delete fold at cursor, all in window
zo zc zO zC	open, close one fold; recursively
[z ]z	move to start, end of current open fold
zj zk	move down, up to start, end of next fold
Miscellaneous
:sh↵  :!c↵	start shell, execute command c in shell
K	lookup keyword under cursor with man
:make↵	start make, read errors and jump to first
:cn↵  :cp↵	display the next, previous error
:cl↵  :cf↵	list all errors, read errors from file
^L ^G	redraw screen, show filename and position
g^G	show cursor column, line, and character position
ga	show ASCII value of character under cursor
gf	open file which filename is under cursor
:redir>f↵	redirect output to file f
:mkview [f]	save view configuration [to file f]
:loadview [f]	load view configuration [from file f]
^@ ^K ^_  \  Fn ^Fn	unmapped keys