...Incoming burst...

Autocommands

You can configure vim to execute commands when certain events happen, with autocmd.

E.g.:

autocmd FileType python setlocal tabstop=8 expandtab shiftwidth=4 softtabstop=4

Here we are looking for the FileType event to have python as pattern, i.e. open a python file in a buffer. The command used in the example is to set indentation rules.

Pitfall of autocommands

There is no way for vim to know if any autocmd you specify are supposed to replace previous ones. It means that any time you source a file containing autocommands, they will be duplicated. This might create problems for you.

The safe way of using autocommands

When usint autocmd, group them with augroup, and start each grouping with autocmd!.

E.g.:

augroup filetype_python
  autocmd!
  autocmd FileType python setlocal tabstop=8 expandtab shiftwidth=4 softtabstop=4
augroup END

Using named groups with augroup allows you to organise your autocommands by topic, and autocmd!, at the beginning, will clear the group every time it is entered, ensuring no duplicates are created (i.e. by default, augroup combines identically named groups).

...Sent by Lazy Monkey...