Sometimes, you edit text outside of Vim. These are sad times. Enter vim-anywhere!
Once invoked, vim-anywhere will open a buffer. Close it and its contents are copied to your clipboard and your previous application is refocused.
OSX:
- MacVim (
brew install macvim)
Linux:
- Gnome (or a derivative)
- gVim
curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/cknadler/vim-anywhere/master/install | bashOSX caveat: key binding is unbound by default. See keybinding for details.
~/.vim-anywhere/update~/.vim-anywhere/uninstallOSX: ( default = unbound, suggested = ctrl+cmd+v )
The keyboard shortcut for invoking vim-anywhere is unbound by default on OSX.
The installation script will automatically open
System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts. Fill in the following:
Linux: ( default = ctrl+alt+v )
Gnome
$ gconftool -t str --set /desktop/gnome/keybindings/vim-anywhere/binding <custom binding>I3WM
Note that in i3, Alt is denoted Mod1: i3 modifier keys.
This allows the use of $mod + Alt + v to open vim for editing:
$ echo "bindsym $mod+Mod1+v exec ~/.vim-anywhere/bin/run" >> ~/.i3/config # remember to reload your config afterOn some installations (e.g., Arch), the i3 config file may be at ~/.config/i3/config. The following (adding Shift) allows you to start the vim session with the contents of the clipboard already open (which is useful if you would like to edit the contents of a text field):
$ echo "bindsym $mod+Mod1+Shift+v exec ~/.vim-anywhere/bin/run -c" >> ~/.i3/config # remember to reload your config aftervim-anywhere creates a temporary file in /tmp/vim-anywhere when
invoked. These files stick around until you restart your system, giving you
a temporary history.
View your history:
$ ls /tmp/vim-anywhereReopen your most recent file:
$ vim $( ls /tmp/vim-anywhere | sort -r | head -n 1 )I use Vim for almost everything. I wish I didn't have to say almost. My usual workflow is to open Vim, write, copy the text out of my current buffer and paste it into whatever application I was just using. vim-anywhere attempts to automate this process as much as possible, reducing the friction of using Vim to do more than just edit code.
Love vim-anywhere? Hate it? Want to change it completely? Email me or open an issue and lets talk. Pull requests, suggestions and issues of any kind are welcome with open arms.
MIT.