How to get add folder to Projects (like Sublime Text) in VIM?

Question

I just switched from Sublime Text to GVIM (on Windows). I am still debating whether I should continue ST or move completely to VIM. One feature that I desperately need (or miss) are

1. Ctrl+P to go to any file that I want in my list of folders.
2. Ctrl+Shift+f to find (and replace) any text in those list of folders.

I had added number of folders using Add Folders to Project feature in Sublime Text 3. It was really helpful. Now, I know that CtrlP plugin for VIM can do similar thing, but I can't figure out how to make it search the folders that I want, and not the root directory of current file.

I played around a bit with setting path in my vimrc file without much success.

Can you please help. If it is a repeated question, please excuse me.

Thanks.

Answer 1

AFAIK, ctrlp plugin only searches within one directory (and its descendants). Use the Unix features: make a directory with links to out-of-project directories you are interested in. This way, the association with out-of-project directories is not just something the editor knows about, but something recorded in the actual project.

Search and replace is a bit stickier thing. You want to work with all the files you are interested in, then repeat the replace command through all of them. For example, if you want to do the search for foo and replace with bar on all C files here and under,

:args **/*.c
:argdo %s/foo/bar/g

Answer 2

1. Ctrl+P to go to any file that I want in my list of folders.

   The :find command can be used to "find" a file in the directories specified in the 'path' option:

   set path+=/some/arbitrary/path
   set path+=/another/one
   
   :find *foo
   

   I find these two mappings very handy:

   nnoremap <key> :find *                                    " search in every directory
                                                             " in 'path'
   nnoremap <key> :find <C-R>=expand('%:p:h').'/**/*'<CR>    " start from the directory
                                                             " of the current file
   

2. Ctrl+Shift+f to find (and replace) any text in those list of folders.

   What amadan said above.

Answer 3

Good switch! So you’ve discovered CtrlP. It has extensive documentation built in. Use :h ctrlp to see the full vimdocs explaining the various options. It’ll explain some important settings for working dirs, which are pretty important for a good experience with it. Take for example some of the settings I use:

" The one you really care about...
" Set root to CWD. Another good option is 'r' for VCS mode.
" You should start vim in the root of your project tree
let g:ctrlp_working_path_mode = 0
" You _can_ switch dirs
let g:ctrlp_extensions = ['dir']

" Avoid big/unimportant project areas
set wildignore+=*/node_modules/*,*/build/*,*/components/*,*/_public/*,*/tmp/*,*/vendor/*

" Cache -- get used to pressing F5 on tree changes/additions
let g:ctrlp_use_caching = 1
let g:ctrlp_clear_cache_on_exit = 0

" Somewhat self-explanatory
let g:ctrlp_show_hidden = 1
let g:ctrlp_switch_buffer = 2
let g:ctrlp_max_depth = 6
let g:ctrlp_max_height = 50

" Open *h*orizontally and *j*ump to first win.
let g:ctrlp_open_multiple_files = 'hj'
" Use <C-d> to toggle
"let g:ctrlp_by_filename = 1

For further control of where to look for files outside your working tree, consult g:ctrlp_user_command. There is a Windows example using dir. You’d use that, but with your desired extra paths.

You might also want to add NerdTree, a nice complement to CtrlP. It is reminiscent of ST’s sidebar. Use its ? to get help. It has a menu that lets you quickly add files and dirs, maybe like you’re wanting out of “Add folders to project”.

For search-and-replace, look at ag.vim. I map it to <leader>g (meaning “grep”).

Those mentioned are some of my favorites, but you should explore the world of Vim plugins to decide which others are worth adopting. I recommend trying one at a time while you’re new, rather than a sometimes-opaque “distribution”. Tools to make plugin management easier are Vundle / Pathogen (choose one).

Answer 4

Eureka...!!!!!

After searching tirelessly for days (and sleepless nights), I found my answer (please read on).

First some foolosophy though

I was so keen not to give up on Vim. But this issue was just eating me from inside, and was disruptive in my work flow. I have many project folders in windows that I want vim to search through. Ctrl+p for some reason never really worked. I had some not-so-nice thoughts of giving up on Vim. and then I found this!

My Answer

This is a little different from what I expected. But the answer is Everything (by VoidTools). It allows to search from anywhere and gives results in a fraction of sec. It is by far the best filename search tool in Windows. It supports Regex. (though it is not text search tool). It has a command line interface called

es.exe

using Vim's FindEverything.vim plugin (FindEverything), I was able to search not only through my project folders, but pretty much anywhere. It returns the results in the vim buffer.

Thanks Y'all for your help. I know that not everyone may agree with this solution. But on Windows, this is by far the best solution, I found! Hopefully, it is useful for others why are in same boat!!!