What is a .VIMRC file?
The .VIMRC file extension refers to a Vim Runtime Configuration File. This type of file is used by Vim, which is a program for editing text. Vim is commonly used by people who write computer code and by those who manage computer systems. The .VIMRC file contains settings that determine how Vim behaves every time it is opened. By using this file, users can set their preferences for how they want the text editor to work.
These preferences can include how text is indented, the colors of the text and background, and other aspects of the editor's appearance and functionality. The .VIMRC file is a plain text file, which means it can be opened and edited with any text editor. However, it is specifically designed to be used with Vim and similar programs like gVim, MacVim, and Vim on various operating systems.
In Vim, you can execute commands stored in the .VIMRC file by typing a colon (":") followed by the command. This makes it very flexible as users can manually run specific settings or configurations as needed.
On Unix-based systems, such as Linux and macOS, the .VIMRC file is typically stored in the user's home directory and is named as a hidden file (starting with a dot, like this: ~/.vimrc). This means it does not appear in the directory listing unless specifically configured to show hidden files.
For Windows users using gVim, the configuration file is usually named _vimrc instead of .vimrc.
To open and edit a .VIMRC file, you can use Vim itself or any of its variants like gVim or MacVim. Since it's a plain text file, other text editors can also be used, but using Vim or its variants ensures that you can directly test and use the configurations as intended.
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