Trouble with setting ini files : gnuplot and vi

Trouble with setting ini files : gnuplot and vi

[Fergus Daly]

Despite best efforts I cannot find a way of setting user preferences for vi (e.g. preferred syntax-sensitive settings)
and gnuplot (e.g. preferred line colours / thickness).
I have tried editing /etc/vimrc, /etc/virc for vi; and /etc/X11/app-defaults/Gnuplot for gnuplot accordingly.
(I use gnuplot-x11.) No change from standard representation.
Any ideas?

Re: Trouble with setting ini files : gnuplot and vi

[Eliot Moss]

On 12/21/2020 8:36 AM, Fergus Daly via Cygwin wrote:
> Despite best efforts I cannot find a way of setting user preferences for vi (e.g. preferred syntax-sensitive settings)
> and gnuplot (e.g. preferred line colours / thickness).
> I have tried editing /etc/vimrc, /etc/virc for vi; and /etc/X11/app-defaults/Gnuplot for gnuplot accordingly.
> (I use gnuplot-x11.) No change from standard representation.
> Any ideas?

The first thing I would check is whether you have an individual ~/.virc or ~/.gnuplot file that is 
overriding the settings of interest.  For gnuplot, at least, the man page says that its "show 
loadpath" command will indicate where it looks for gnuplotrc.  On my system that is 
/usr/share/gnuplot/5.4/.  Since my gnuplot offers x11 for "set term", I think I'm looking at the 
right thing, but if gnuplot-x11 is truly different, then maybe try the "show loadpath" command for 
it.  I don't have vi installed (only vim) so I can't speak to that.

The next thing I would check are the various permissions, to make sure the program can actually read 
the file(s) in question.

Maybe you have done all this, in which case I'm sorry my ideas were not helpful ...

Best wishes - Eliot Moss

RE: Trouble with setting ini files : gnuplot and vi

[Fergus Daly]

>> Despite best efforts I cannot find a way of setting user preferences 
>> for vi (e.g. preferred syntax-sensitive settings) and gnuplot (e.g. preferred line colours / thickness).
>> I have tried editing /etc/vimrc, /etc/virc for vi; and /etc/X11/app-defaults/Gnuplot for gnuplot accordingly.
>> (I use gnuplot-x11.) No change from standard representation.
>> Any ideas?

>The first thing I would check is whether you have an individual ~/.virc or ~/.gnuplot file that is overriding the settings of interest.
> For gnuplot, at least, the man page says that its "show loadpath" command will indicate where it looks for gnuplotrc.
> On my system that is /usr/share/gnuplot/5.4/.
> Since my gnuplot offers x11 for "set term", I think I'm looking at the right thing, but if gnuplot-x11 is truly different,
> then maybe try the "show loadpath" command for it.  I don't have vi installed (only vim) so I can't speak to that.
> The next thing I would check are the various permissions, to make sure the program can actually read the file(s) in question.
> Maybe you have done all this, in which case I'm sorry my ideas were not helpful ...
> Best wishes - Eliot Moss

Thank you!
For gnuplot your suggestion worked perfectly. I have now tweaked /usr/share/gnuplot/5.4/gnuplotrc as required.
Perplexed by your "vim not vi". I set up my Cygwin platform using setup -P and do not specify any editor beyond nano
(which is perfect to my needs). Nevertheless I get vi. From "Package search" I'm guessing it comes as an adjunct because I also need
groff and latex. You must actually specify vim? which I vaguely recall preferring to vi but cannot remember why.
(Mainly, I  liked neither. But I can remember easily setting and locating /etc/vimrc, and that it was properly picked up.)
Nevertheless, still having problems with setting and location virc - since I've got vi, I'd just like to be able to use it effectively .. ..
Thanks again, anyway.

Re: Trouble with setting ini files : gnuplot and vi

[Eliot Moss]

On my system vi is aliased to vim.  However, there is a /usr/bin/vi and a /usr/bin/vim, and they are 
clearly different (vim is about twice the size).

Regards - Eliot Moss

Re: Trouble with setting ini files : gnuplot and vi

[Achim Gratz]

Fergus Daly via Cygwin writes:
> For gnuplot your suggestion worked perfectly. I have now tweaked
> /usr/share/gnuplot/5.4/gnuplotrc as required.

You are not supposed to fiddle with that file.  Your personal setup goes
into $HOME/.gnuplot instead.


Regards,
Achim.
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Re: Trouble with setting ini files : gnuplot and vi

[Gary Johnson]

On 2020-12-21, Fergus Daly via Cygwin wrote:
> Despite best efforts I cannot find a way of setting user preferences for vi (e.g. preferred syntax-sensitive settings)
> and gnuplot (e.g. preferred line colours / thickness).
> I have tried editing /etc/vimrc, /etc/virc for vi; and /etc/X11/app-defaults/Gnuplot for gnuplot accordingly.
> (I use gnuplot-x11.) No change from standard representation.
> Any ideas?

If you are really using /usr/bin/vi and not /usr/bin/vim, then you
are using the small version of vim, which does not support filetype
detection or syntax highlighting as well as some other vim features.
If you want a full-featured vim, install the vim package.

Regards,
Gary

RE: Trouble with setting ini files : gnuplot and vi

[Fergus Daly]

>> Despite best efforts I cannot find a way of setting user preferences 
>> for vi (e.g. preferred syntax-sensitive settings) and gnuplot (e.g. preferred line colours / thickness).
>> I have tried editing /etc/vimrc, /etc/virc for vi; and /etc/X11/app-defaults/Gnuplot for gnuplot accordingly.
>> (I use gnuplot-x11.) No change from standard representation.
>> Any ideas?

> If you are really using /usr/bin/vi and not /usr/bin/vim, then you are using the small version of vim,
> which does not support filetype detection or syntax highlighting as well as some other vim features.
> If you want a full-featured vim, install the vim package.
> Regards, Gary

Seen immediately after my reply to Eliot. Thanks very much - now all is clear.
Fergus