|
1268
|
1 *usr_11.txt* For Vim version 7.1. Last change: 2006 Apr 24
|
|
7
|
2
|
|
|
3 VIM USER MANUAL - by Bram Moolenaar
|
|
|
4
|
|
|
5 Recovering from a crash
|
|
|
6
|
|
|
7
|
|
|
8 Did your computer crash? And you just spent hours editing? Don't panic! Vim
|
|
|
9 keeps enough information on harddisk to be able to restore most of your work.
|
|
|
10 This chapter shows you how to get your work back and explains how the swap
|
|
|
11 file is used.
|
|
|
12
|
|
|
13 |11.1| Basic recovery
|
|
|
14 |11.2| Where is the swap file?
|
|
|
15 |11.3| Crashed or not?
|
|
|
16 |11.4| Further reading
|
|
|
17
|
|
|
18 Next chapter: |usr_12.txt| Clever tricks
|
|
|
19 Previous chapter: |usr_10.txt| Making big changes
|
|
|
20 Table of contents: |usr_toc.txt|
|
|
|
21
|
|
|
22 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
23 *11.1* Basic recovery
|
|
|
24
|
|
|
25 In most cases recovering a file is quite simple, assuming you know which file
|
|
|
26 you were editing (and the harddisk is still working). Start Vim on the file,
|
|
|
27 with the "-r" argument added: >
|
|
|
28
|
|
|
29 vim -r help.txt
|
|
|
30
|
|
|
31 Vim will read the swap file (used to store text you were editing) and may read
|
|
|
32 bits and pieces of the original file. If all is well, you will see these
|
|
|
33 messages (with different file names, of course):
|
|
|
34
|
|
|
35 Using swap file ".help.txt.swp" ~
|
|
|
36 Original file "~/vim/runtime/doc/help.txt" ~
|
|
323
|
37 Recovery completed. You should check if everything is OK. ~
|
|
7
|
38 (You might want to write out this file under another name ~
|
|
|
39 and run diff with the original file to check for changes) ~
|
|
|
40 Delete the .swp file afterwards. ~
|
|
|
41
|
|
|
42 To be on the safe side, write this file under another name: >
|
|
|
43
|
|
|
44 :write help.txt.recovered
|
|
|
45
|
|
|
46 Compare the file with the original file to check if you ended up with what you
|
|
|
47 expected. Vimdiff is very useful for this |08.7|. Watch out for the original
|
|
|
48 file to contain a more recent version (you saved the file just before the
|
|
|
49 computer crashed). And check that no lines are missing (something went wrong
|
|
|
50 that Vim could not recover).
|
|
|
51 If Vim produces warning messages when recovering, read them carefully.
|
|
|
52 This is rare though.
|
|
|
53
|
|
|
54 It's normal that the last few changes can not be recovered. Vim flushes the
|
|
|
55 changes to disk when you don't type for about four seconds, or after typing
|
|
|
56 about two hundred characters. This is set with the 'updatetime' and
|
|
|
57 'updatecount' options. Thus when Vim didn't get a chance to save itself when
|
|
|
58 the system went down, the changes after the last flush will be lost.
|
|
|
59
|
|
|
60 If you were editing without a file name, give an empty string as argument: >
|
|
|
61
|
|
|
62 vim -r ""
|
|
|
63
|
|
|
64 You must be in the right directory, otherwise Vim can't find the swap file.
|
|
|
65
|
|
|
66 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
67 *11.2* Where is the swap file?
|
|
|
68
|
|
|
69 Vim can store the swap file in several places. Normally it is in the same
|
|
|
70 directory as the original file. To find it, change to the directory of the
|
|
|
71 file, and use: >
|
|
|
72
|
|
|
73 vim -r
|
|
|
74
|
|
|
75 Vim will list the swap files that it can find. It will also look in other
|
|
|
76 directories where the swap file for files in the current directory may be
|
|
|
77 located. It will not find swap files in any other directories though, it
|
|
|
78 doesn't search the directory tree.
|
|
|
79 The output could look like this:
|
|
|
80
|
|
|
81 Swap files found: ~
|
|
|
82 In current directory: ~
|
|
|
83 1. .main.c.swp ~
|
|
|
84 owned by: mool dated: Tue May 29 21:00:25 2001 ~
|
|
|
85 file name: ~mool/vim/vim6/src/main.c ~
|
|
|
86 modified: YES ~
|
|
|
87 user name: mool host name: masaka.moolenaar.net ~
|
|
|
88 process ID: 12525 ~
|
|
|
89 In directory ~/tmp: ~
|
|
|
90 -- none -- ~
|
|
|
91 In directory /var/tmp: ~
|
|
|
92 -- none -- ~
|
|
|
93 In directory /tmp: ~
|
|
|
94 -- none -- ~
|
|
|
95
|
|
|
96 If there are several swap files that look like they may be the one you want to
|
|
|
97 use, a list is given of these swap files and you are requested to enter the
|
|
|
98 number of the one you want to use. Carefully look at the dates to decide
|
|
|
99 which one you want to use.
|
|
|
100 In case you don't know which one to use, just try them one by one and check
|
|
|
101 the resulting files if they are what you expected.
|
|
|
102
|
|
|
103
|
|
|
104 USING A SPECIFIC SWAP FILE
|
|
|
105
|
|
|
106 If you know which swap file needs to be used, you can recover by giving the
|
|
|
107 swap file name. Vim will then finds out the name of the original file from
|
|
|
108 the swap file.
|
|
|
109
|
|
|
110 Example: >
|
|
|
111 vim -r .help.txt.swo
|
|
|
112
|
|
|
113 This is also handy when the swap file is in another directory than expected.
|
|
|
114 If this still does not work, see what file names Vim reports and rename the
|
|
|
115 files accordingly. Check the 'directory' option to see where Vim may have
|
|
|
116 put the swap file.
|
|
|
117
|
|
|
118 Note:
|
|
|
119 Vim tries to find the swap file by searching the directories in the
|
|
|
120 'dir' option, looking for files that match "filename.sw?". If
|
|
|
121 wildcard expansion doesn't work (e.g., when the 'shell' option is
|
|
|
122 invalid), Vim does a desperate try to find the file "filename.swp".
|
|
|
123 If that fails too, you will have to give the name of the swapfile
|
|
|
124 itself to be able to recover the file.
|
|
|
125
|
|
|
126 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
127 *11.3* Crashed or not? *ATTENTION* *E325*
|
|
|
128
|
|
|
129 Vim tries to protect you from doing stupid things. Suppose you innocently
|
|
|
130 start editing a file, expecting the contents of the file to show up. Instead,
|
|
|
131 Vim produces a very long message:
|
|
|
132
|
|
|
133 E325: ATTENTION ~
|
|
|
134 Found a swap file by the name ".main.c.swp" ~
|
|
|
135 owned by: mool dated: Tue May 29 21:09:28 2001 ~
|
|
|
136 file name: ~mool/vim/vim6/src/main.c ~
|
|
|
137 modified: no ~
|
|
|
138 user name: mool host name: masaka.moolenaar.net ~
|
|
|
139 process ID: 12559 (still running) ~
|
|
|
140 While opening file "main.c" ~
|
|
|
141 dated: Tue May 29 19:46:12 2001 ~
|
|
|
142 ~
|
|
|
143 (1) Another program may be editing the same file. ~
|
|
|
144 If this is the case, be careful not to end up with two ~
|
|
|
145 different instances of the same file when making changes. ~
|
|
|
146 Quit, or continue with caution. ~
|
|
|
147 ~
|
|
|
148 (2) An edit session for this file crashed. ~
|
|
|
149 If this is the case, use ":recover" or "vim -r main.c" ~
|
|
|
150 to recover the changes (see ":help recovery"). ~
|
|
|
151 If you did this already, delete the swap file ".main.c.swp" ~
|
|
|
152 to avoid this message. ~
|
|
|
153
|
|
|
154 You get this message, because, when starting to edit a file, Vim checks if a
|
|
|
155 swap file already exists for that file. If there is one, there must be
|
|
|
156 something wrong. It may be one of these two situations.
|
|
|
157
|
|
|
158 1. Another edit session is active on this file. Look in the message for the
|
|
|
159 line with "process ID". It might look like this:
|
|
|
160
|
|
|
161 process ID: 12559 (still running) ~
|
|
|
162
|
|
|
163 The text "(still running)" indicates that the process editing this file
|
|
|
164 runs on the same computer. When working on a non-Unix system you will not
|
|
|
165 get this extra hint. When editing a file over a network, you may not see
|
|
|
166 the hint, because the process might be running on another computer. In
|
|
|
167 those two cases you must find out what the situation is yourself.
|
|
|
168 If there is another Vim editing the same file, continuing to edit will
|
|
|
169 result in two versions of the same file. The one that is written last will
|
|
|
170 overwrite the other one, resulting in loss of changes. You better quit
|
|
|
171 this Vim.
|
|
|
172
|
|
|
173 2. The swap file might be the result from a previous crash of Vim or the
|
|
|
174 computer. Check the dates mentioned in the message. If the date of the
|
|
|
175 swap file is newer than the file you were editing, and this line appears:
|
|
|
176
|
|
|
177 modified: YES ~
|
|
|
178
|
|
|
179 Then you very likely have a crashed edit session that is worth recovering.
|
|
|
180 If the date of the file is newer than the date of the swap file, then
|
|
|
181 either it was changed after the crash (perhaps you recovered it earlier,
|
|
|
182 but didn't delete the swap file?), or else the file was saved before the
|
|
|
183 crash but after the last write of the swap file (then you're lucky: you
|
|
237
|
184 don't even need that old swap file). Vim will warn you for this with this
|
|
7
|
185 extra line:
|
|
|
186
|
|
|
187 NEWER than swap file! ~
|
|
|
188
|
|
|
189
|
|
|
190 UNREADABLE SWAP FILE
|
|
|
191
|
|
|
192 Sometimes the line
|
|
|
193
|
|
|
194 [cannot be read] ~
|
|
|
195
|
|
237
|
196 will appear under the name of the swap file. This can be good or bad,
|
|
7
|
197 depending on circumstances.
|
|
|
198
|
|
|
199 It is good if a previous editing session crashed without having made any
|
|
237
|
200 changes to the file. Then a directory listing of the swap file will show
|
|
|
201 that it has zero bytes. You may delete it and proceed.
|
|
7
|
202
|
|
237
|
203 It is slightly bad if you don't have read permission for the swap file. You
|
|
|
204 may want to view the file read-only, or quit. On multi-user systems, if you
|
|
7
|
205 yourself did the last changes under a different login name, a logout
|
|
237
|
206 followed by a login under that other name might cure the "read error". Or
|
|
7
|
207 else you might want to find out who last edited (or is editing) the file and
|
|
|
208 have a talk with them.
|
|
|
209
|
|
|
210 It is very bad if it means there is a physical read error on the disk
|
|
|
211 containing the swap file. Fortunately, this almost never happens.
|
|
|
212 You may want to view the file read-only at first (if you can), to see the
|
|
|
213 extent of the changes that were "forgotten". If you are the one in charge of
|
|
|
214 that file, be prepared to redo your last changes.
|
|
|
215
|
|
|
216
|
|
|
217 WHAT TO DO?
|
|
|
218
|
|
|
219 If dialogs are supported you will be asked to select one of five choices:
|
|
|
220
|
|
|
221 Swap file ".main.c.swp" already exists! ~
|
|
|
222 [O]pen Read-Only, (E)dit anyway, (R)ecover, (Q)uit, (A)bort, (D)elete it: ~
|
|
|
223
|
|
|
224 O Open the file readonly. Use this when you just want to view the file and
|
|
|
225 don't need to recover it. You might want to use this when you know someone
|
|
|
226 else is editing the file, but you just want to look in it and not make
|
|
|
227 changes.
|
|
|
228
|
|
|
229 E Edit the file anyway. Use this with caution! If the file is being edited
|
|
|
230 in another Vim, you might end up with two versions of the file. Vim will
|
|
|
231 try to warn you when this happens, but better be safe then sorry.
|
|
|
232
|
|
|
233 R Recover the file from the swap file. Use this if you know that the swap
|
|
|
234 file contains changes that you want to recover.
|
|
|
235
|
|
|
236 Q Quit. This avoids starting to edit the file. Use this if there is another
|
|
|
237 Vim editing the same file.
|
|
|
238 When you just started Vim, this will exit Vim. When starting Vim with
|
|
|
239 files in several windows, Vim quits only if there is a swap file for the
|
|
|
240 first one. When using an edit command, the file will not be loaded and you
|
|
|
241 are taken back to the previously edited file.
|
|
|
242
|
|
|
243 A Abort. Like Quit, but also abort further commands. This is useful when
|
|
|
244 loading a script that edits several files, such as a session with multiple
|
|
|
245 windows.
|
|
|
246
|
|
|
247 D Delete the swap file. Use this when you are sure you no longer need it.
|
|
|
248 For example, when it doesn't contain changes, or when the file itself is
|
|
|
249 newer than the swap file.
|
|
|
250 On Unix this choice is only offered when the process that created the
|
|
|
251 swap file does not appear to be running.
|
|
|
252
|
|
|
253 If you do not get the dialog (you are running a version of Vim that does not
|
|
|
254 support it), you will have to do it manually. To recover the file, use this
|
|
|
255 command: >
|
|
|
256
|
|
|
257 :recover
|
|
|
258
|
|
|
259
|
|
|
260 Vim cannot always detect that a swap file already exists for a file. This is
|
|
|
261 the case when the other edit session puts the swap files in another directory
|
|
|
262 or when the path name for the file is different when editing it on different
|
|
|
263 machines. Therefore, don't rely on Vim always warning you.
|
|
|
264
|
|
|
265 If you really don't want to see this message, you can add the 'A' flag to the
|
|
|
266 'shortmess' option. But it's very unusual that you need this.
|
|
|
267
|
|
|
268 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
269 *11.4* Further reading
|
|
|
270
|
|
|
271 |swap-file| An explanation about where the swap file will be created and
|
|
|
272 what its name is.
|
|
|
273 |:preserve| Manually flushing the swap file to disk.
|
|
|
274 |:swapname| See the name of the swap file for the current file.
|
|
|
275 'updatecount' Number of key strokes after which the swap file is flushed to
|
|
|
276 disk.
|
|
|
277 'updatetime' Timeout after which the swap file is flushed to disk.
|
|
|
278 'swapsync' Whether the disk is synced when the swap file is flushed.
|
|
|
279 'directory' List of directory names where to store the swap file.
|
|
|
280 'maxmem' Limit for memory usage before writing text to the swap file.
|
|
|
281 'maxmemtot' Same, but for all files in total.
|
|
|
282
|
|
|
283 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
284
|
|
|
285 Next chapter: |usr_12.txt| Clever tricks
|
|
|
286
|
|
|
287 Copyright: see |manual-copyright| vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl:
|
