Announcing: Vim (Vi IMproved) version 6.3
Author: Bram Moolenaar et al.


Announcement
------------

This is a bugfix release of Vim. Since Vim 6.2 hundreds of reported
problems have been fixed. Also included are new and updated syntax
files, translated menus and messages.

Two Beta versions revealed a number of problems, mostly for MS-Windows
98. They have all been fixed and tested again. A few old problems were
also fixed. I am confident that the 6.3 release is the most stable Vim
ever!

The main new features are:
- Support for translated help files. The files themselves are available
separately, see http://www.vim.org/translations.php.
- More conversions are possible on Macintosh and MS-Windows without help
of the iconv library.
- Amiga binaries are included again. My Amiga was miraculously healed
from a harddisk problem.
- The Win32 self-installing exe now also includes vim.exe, the console
version. Despite that the file size is smaller than before, because
of using LZMA compression.
- When formatting text, marks are kept at the same position.
- Support for the NetBeans interface on MS-Windows.
- MS-Windows: Vim can run inside an MDI window of another application
(see ":help -P"). Doesn't work for all MDI applications though.
- Mousewheel support on the Macintosh.

Once you have installed 6.3 you can find details about the changes since
Vim 6.2 with ":help version-6.3". There is a long list of fixed bugs.


What is next?
-------------

Vim 7! If I keep getting donations from sponsors and registered Vim
users I will be able to add several "big" features. The list of votes
is an indication of the items that might get added in Vim 7:
http://www.vim.org/sponsor/vote_results.php


What is Vim anyway?
-------------------

Vim is an almost 100% compatible version of the UNIX editor Vi. Many
new features have been added: Multi level undo, syntax highlighting,
command line history, filename completion, block operations, etc. Those
who don't know Vi can probably skip this message, unless you are
prepared to learn something new and useful. Vim is especially
recommended for editing programs.

Vim runs on almost any Unix flavor, MS-DOS, MS-Windows 3.1, MS-Windows
95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP, OS/2, Atari MiNT, BeOS, VMS, RISC OS, Macintosh and
Amiga.

For more information, see http://www.vim.org. This is also a great
place to find Vim tips and scripts!


Where to get it
---------------

Information about which files to download for what system, obtaining Vim
through Aap, CVS, etc.:

http://www.vim.org/download.php

All files can be found below this directory:

ftp://ftp.vim.org/pub/vim/

A list of mirror sites can be found here:

http://www.vim.org/mirrors.php

An overview of the files:

UNIX:
unix/vim-6.3.tar.bz2 sources + runtime files, bzip2 compressed
The same in parts that fit on a floppy:
unix/vim-6.3-rt1.tar.gz runtime files part 1
unix/vim-6.3-rt2.tar.gz runtime files part 2
unix/vim-6.3-src1.tar.gz sources part 1
unix/vim-6.3-src2.tar.gz sources part 2

VARIOUS:
extra/vim-6.3-extra.tar.gz extra files
extra/vim-6.3-lang.tar.gz multi-language files
doc/vim63html.zip help files converted to HTML

DIFFS between 6.3b and 6.3:
unstable/unix/vim-6.3b-6.3.diff.gz sources and runtime files
unstable/extra/vim-6.3b-6.3-extra.diff.gz extra files
unstable/extra/vim-6.3b-6.3-lang.diff.gz multi-language files

MS-WINDOWS:
pc/gvim63.exe self-installing, includes all runtime files,
gvim.exe, vim.exe, etc.
pc/vim63rt.zip runtime files (use with one of the binaries)
pc/vim63lang.zip files for translated messages and menus
pc/gvim63.zip GUI binary for Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP
pc/gvim63ole.zip GUI binary with OLE support
pc/vim63d16.zip 16 bits real mode - works on any system
pc/vim63d32.zip 32 bits protected mode - needs 386 and DPMI
pc/vim63w32.zip console version for Windows NT/2000/XP
pc/vim63src.zip sources for PC (with CR-LF)

AMIGA:
amiga/vim63rt.tgz runtime files (always needed)
amiga/vim63bin.tgz executable files
amiga/vim63src.tgz sources packed for Amiga


Mailing lists
-------------

For user questions you can turn to the Vim mailing list. There are a
lot of tips, scripts and solutions. You can ask your Vim questions, but
only if you subscribe. First search the archive, it is full of useful
hints.

If you want to help Vim development or get the latest patches, subscribe
to the vim-dev mailing list.

Subject specific lists:
Multi-byte issues: vim-multibyte
Macintosh issues: vim-mac

More info on the maillists and links to the archives:
http://www.vim.org/maillist.php


Reporting bugs
--------------

Send them to <bugs@...>. Please describe the problem precisely.
All the time spent on answering mail is subtracted from the time that is
spent on improving Vim! Always give a reproducable example and try to
find out which settings or other things influence the appearance of the
bug. Try starting without your own vimrc file: "vim -u NONE -U NONE".
Try different machines if possible. See ":help bugs" in Vim. Send me a
patch if you can!

If something needs discussing with other developers, send a message to the
vim-dev mailing list. You need to subscribe first.


Sponsoring
----------

Fixing bugs and adding new features takes an awful lot of time. Through
your donations Bram will be able to have a part-time job and spend more
time on Vim. See:
http://www.vim.org/sponsor/


Happy Vimming!

--
hundred-and-one symptoms of being an internet addict:
65. The last time you looked at the clock it was 11:30pm, and in what
seems like only a few seconds later, your sister runs past you to
catch her 7am school bus.

/// Bram Moolenaar -- Bram@... -- http://www.Moolenaar.net \\\
/// Sponsor Vim, vote for features -- http://www.Vim.org/sponsor/ \\\
\\\ Project leader for A-A-P -- http://www.A-A-P.org ///
\\\ Buy at Amazon and help AIDS victims -- http://ICCF.nl/click1.html ///