Announcing: Vim (Vi IMproved) version 6.1b BETA
Author: Bram Moolenaar et al.


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

This is a bugfix release of Vim. Since Vim 6.0 many reported problems
have been fixed. For people who don't compile Vim, this is a good
opportunity to get all the bug fixes for Vim 6.0. Since the 6.1a beta
release more problems have been fixed.

Also included are new and updated syntax files, translated menus and
messages. The Vim license has been made compatible with the GNU GPL.

Most of the fixes have already been tested by several people. But there
might still be a few new problems, that's why this is a BETA version.
If there are no serious problems, the 6.1 release will follow in a
couple of weeks.

Please try out this version and report any problems you encounter.

Once you have installed 6.1b you can find details about the changes
since Vim 6.0 with ":help version-6.1". The changes since version 6.1a
can be seen by using vimdiff on the version6.txt help files of the two
versions.


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

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://vim.sf.net. 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:

http://vim.sf.net/download.php

The links are for Vim 6.0 though, you need to use the names from below
instead. All files can be found below this directory:

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

NOTE: The "UNRELEASED" directory was used for versions upto 6.0, now
it's "UNSTABLE"! Avoids the confusion about finding a beta release in
the unreleased directory.

An overview of the files:

Unix:
unix/vim-6.1b.tar.bz2 sources + runtime files, bzip2 compressed
unix/vim-6.1b-rt1.tar.gz runtime files part 1
unix/vim-6.1b-rt2.tar.gz runtime files part 2
unix/vim-6.1b-src1.tar.gz sources part 1
unix/vim-6.1b-src2.tar.gz sources part 2
unix/vim-6.1a-6.1b.diff.gz diff between 6.1a and 6.1b

Various:
extra/vim-6.1b-extra.tar.gz extra files
extra/vim-6.1b-lang.tar.gz multi-language files
extra/vim-6.1a-6.1b-extra.diff.gz extra diff
extra/vim-6.1a-6.1b-lang.diff.gz multi-lang diff
doc/vim61bhtml.zip help files converted to HTML

MS-Windows:
pc/gvim61b.exe self-installing, includes runtime files
pc/vim61brt.zip runtime files (all of them)
pc/vim61brt1.zip runtime files (part 1)
pc/vim61brt2.zip runtime files (part 2)
pc/vim61blang.zip extra files for translated messages and menus
pc/gvim61b.zip GUI binary for Windows 95/98/NT/2000
pc/gvim61bole.zip GUI binary with OLE support
pc/gvim61b_s.zip GUI binary for Windows 3.1
pc/vim61bd16.zip 16 bits real mode - works on any system
pc/vim61bd32.zip 32 bits protected mode - needs 386 and DPMI
pc/vim61bw32.zip console version for Windows NT/2000/XP
pc/vim61bsrc.zip sources for PC (with CR-LF)

Amiga:
amiga/vim61brt.tgz runtime files (always needed)
amiga/vim61bbin.tgz binaries
amiga/vim61bsrc.tgz sources packed for Amiga

OS/2:
os2/vim61bos2.zip binaries
os2/vim61brt.zip runtime files (same as for pc)


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. See http://www.vim.org/mail.html. An archive is kept at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vim.

If you want to help developing Vim or get the latest patches, subscribe to
the vim-dev mailing list. An archive is kept at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vimdev.

Subject specific lists:
Multi-byte issues: vim-multibyte http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vim-multibyte
Macintosh issues: vim-mac http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vim-mac


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.


Happy Vimming!

--
hundred-and-one symptoms of being an internet addict:
227. You sleep next to your monitor. Or on top of it.

/// Bram Moolenaar -- Bram@... -- http://www.moolenaar.net \\\
/// Creator of Vim -- http://vim.sf.net -- ftp://ftp.vim.org/pub/vim \\\
\\\ Project leader for A-A-P -- http://www.a-a-p.org ///
\\\ Help me helping AIDS orphans in Uganda - http://iccf-holland.org ///