Hello Vim users,

Announcing:  Vim (Vi IMproved) version 7.3b BETA

This is a BETA release of Vim 7.3.  It consists of Vim 7.2 plus all
patches, updated runtime files and some more.

7.3b both includes lots of fixes and a few new features.  Everything
needs to be tested to verify no new problems have been introduced.

Please report every problem you find!  The time until a 7.3 release
depends on how many problems are reported.

The biggest additions since 7.2:
- Persistent undo, undo for reload
- Blowfish encryption, also encrypt the swap file
- Conceal text (note: since 7.3a 'conc' was renamed to 'cole')
- Lua interface
- Python 3 interface

I will no longer include new features in 7.3, it's only testing now.

Once you have installed Vim 7.3b BETA you can find details about the
changes since Vim 7.2 with:
        :help version-7.3

Known problem: The MS-Windows self-installing executable for 7.2a has
set the wrong path for the uninstaller.  Installing Vim 7.3b after 7.3a
will give an error message.  You can uninstall Vim 7.3a through the
menu: Start/All Programs/Vim 7.3a/Uninstall

Testing
-------

Please especially test the persistent undo and encryption.  These need
to work reliably.

Report anything that isn't right.  That includes a crash but also a typo
in the documentation and a missing file.

Gratitude
---------

If you like Vim, this is the way to say thanks:
http://iccf-holland.org/clinic.html

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

The best way to obtain the latest Vim 7.3 is using Mercurial.
Summary:
        hg clone https://vim.googlecode.com/hg/ vim
        cd vim
        hg update vim73
More information here: http://www.vim.org/mercurial.php

All downloadable files can be found below this directory:
        ftp://ftp.vim.org/pub/vim/unstable/

Information about which files to download for what system (don't use the
links, they are still for Vim 7.2):
        http://www.vim.org/download.php

A list of mirror sites can be found here:
        http://www.vim.org/mirrors.php

An overview of the files below "unstable":

UNIX:
unix/vim-7.3b.tar.bz2           sources + runtime files, bzip2 compressed

MS-WINDOWS one-size-fits-all:
pc/gvim73b.exe                  self-installing, includes all runtime files

VARIOUS:
doc/vim73bhtml.zip              help files converted to HTML

MS-WINDOWS separate files:
pc/vim73brt.zip                 runtime files
pc/gvim73b.zip                  GUI binary for Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP
pc/gvim73bole.zip               GUI binary with OLE support
pc/gvim73b_s.zip                GUI binary for Windows 3.1 (untested)
pc/vim73bd32.zip                console version for MS-DOS/Windows 95/98
pc/vim73bw32.zip                console version for Windows NT/2000/XP
pc/vim73bsrc.zip                sources for PC (with CR-LF)

DIFFS TO PREVIOUS RELEASE:
unix/vim-7.3a-7.3b.diff.gz          sources + runtime files

Omitted in this version are:
- Extra and lang archives, these are now included in the main source
  and runtime archives.
- The 16-bit DOS, OS/2 and Amiga versions, these are obsolete.

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/maillist.php#vim

If you want to help Vim development, discuss new features or get the
latest patches, subscribe to the vim-dev mailing list.  See
http://www.vim.org/maillist.php#vim-dev

Subject specific lists:
Multi-byte issues: http://www.vim.org/maillist.php#vim-multibyte
Macintosh issues:  http://www.vim.org/maillist.php#vim-mac

Before you ask a question you should search the archives, someone may
already have given the answer.

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

Send them to <vim-...@vim.org>.  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 reproducible 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".  Try
different machines if possible.  See ":help bugs" in Vim.  Send me a
patch if you can!

Happy Vimming!

--
<Beeth> Girls are like internet domain names,
        the ones I like are already taken.
<honx>  Well, you can stil get one from a strange country :-P

 /// Bram Moolenaar -- B...@Moolenaar.net -- http://www.Moolenaar.net   \\\
///        sponsor Vim, vote for features -- http://www.Vim.org/sponsor/ \\\
\\\        download, build and distribute -- http://www.A-A-P.org        ///
 \\\            help me help AIDS victims -- http://ICCF-Holland.org    ///