Vimdiff, version 7.4 on Windows 7
Marcio Gil
E810: Cannot read or write temp files
E97: Cannot create diffs
Tony Mechelynck
can find (in the $PATH, normally), and which can produce ed-style diffs.
If 'diffexpr' is set, evaluating it must produce a file in the required
format.
See:
:help vimdiff
:help 'diffexpr'
:help diff-diffexpr
Best regards,
Tony.
--
A wood-fetish busboy named Gable
Is rapid, is thorough, is able;
But when everything's cleared,
He gives way to the weird,
As he lovingly busses each table.
Ben Fritz
As Tony suggested, check the value you have for 'diffexpr'.
I just did a fresh install of Vim 7.4 and did:
gvim -N -u NONE -i NONE
:source $VIMRUNTIME/vimrc_example.vim
This actually leaves 'diffexpr' empty.
I was then able to view a diff without seeing any error messages.
Vim is also using the correct 'diff.exe' distributed with Vim:
:!start cmd
C:\Users\btfritz>where diff
C:\Program Files (x86)\vim\vim74\diff.exe
I guess probably your diffexpr is not correct.
Marcio Gil
diffexpr=MyDiff()
then I put the line:
echo '!' . cmd . ' ' . opt . arg1 . ' ' . arg2 . ' > ' . arg3 . eq
before this in the _vimrc (copied from vimrc_example.vim):
silent execute '!' . cmd . ' ' . opt . arg1 . ' ' . arg2 . ' > ' .
arg3 . eq
:vert diffsp vimrc~
!""C:\Program Files (x86)\Vim\vim74\diff" -a --binnary
C:\Users\Marcio\AppData\Local\Temp\VIo4C8B.tmp
C:\Users\Marcio\AppData\Local\Temp\VIn4C8C.tmp >
C:\Users\Marcio\AppData\Local\Temp\VId4C8D.tmp"
E97: Cannot create diffs
It is Ok for me, but is there a failure in the Vim instalation?
Ben Fritz
> :set diffexpr?
>
> diffexpr=MyDiff()
>
>
>
> then I put the line:
>
> echo '!' . cmd . ' ' . opt . arg1 . ' ' . arg2 . ' > ' . arg3 . eq
>
>
>
> before this in the _vimrc (copied from vimrc_example.vim):
>
> silent execute '!' . cmd . ' ' . opt . arg1 . ' ' . arg2 . ' > ' .
>
> arg3 . eq
>
>
The latest vimrc_example.vim distributed with version 7.4 no longer contains the diffexpr setting.
>
> :vert diffsp vimrc~
>
> !""C:\Program Files (x86)\Vim\vim74\diff" -a --binnary
>
> C:\Users\Marcio\AppData\Local\Temp\VIo4C8B.tmp
>
> C:\Users\Marcio\AppData\Local\Temp\VIn4C8C.tmp >
>
> C:\Users\Marcio\AppData\Local\Temp\VId4C8D.tmp"
>
> E810: Cannot read or write temp files
>
> E97: Cannot create diffs
>
>
One of the changes in 7.4 compared to 7.3.0 is improving the external command handling on Windows, so that you no longer need to add extra " characters around the entire command. See the series of patches starting at 7.3.443 for details. So with your diffexpr, there are now extra quote characters.
>
> I just remove the MyDiff() function from _vimrc then the diff works!
>
> It is Ok for me, but is there a failure in the Vim instalation?
Not a failure in the install, since those lines aren't in the vimrc_example file any longer.
Marcio Gil
>
Tony Mechelynck
unwarranted change in your vimrc, and removing that change cures your
problem, well, what can I say? Starting Vim as
vim -u NONE -N
or even as
C:
cd "\Program Files (x86)\vim\vim74"
vim -u .\vimrc_example.vim
ought to work. Making sure that your vimrc is sane is up to you.
Where was that 'diffexpr' set?
:verbose set diffexpr?
There is no MyDiff() in the vimrc_example.vim for Vim 7.4, but there is
one under ":help diff-diffexpr". Are you sure you copied it exactly?
What you typed above doesn't look the same to me as what I see in the
help. Where is the "cmd" variable set? How come you got --binnary with
two n's? This is what _I_ see in the help:
> Example (this does almost the same as 'diffexpr' being empty): >
>
> set diffexpr=MyDiff()
> function MyDiff()
> let opt = ""
> if &diffopt =~ "icase"
> let opt = opt . "-i "
> endif
> if &diffopt =~ "iwhite"
> let opt = opt . "-b "
> endif
> silent execute "!diff -a --binary " . opt . v:fname_in . " " . v:fname_new .
> \ " > " . v:fname_out
> endfunction
>
> The "-a" argument is used to force comparing the files as text, comparing as
> binaries isn't useful. The "--binary" argument makes the files read in binary
> mode, so that a CTRL-Z doesn't end the text on DOS.
Notice v:fname_in, v:fname_out and v:fname_new which aren't the same as
arg1 arg2 arg3.
Best regards,
Tony.
--
I am NOMAD!
Gary Johnson
part of the Vim installation. MyDiff() is/was part of the standard
_vimrc installed under C:\Program Files\Vim (the XP path).
I've been bitten by this before, where I made changes to that
_vimrc, then updated to a newer version of Vim but excluded _vimrc
from the update and couldn't execute diffs because the new version
of Vim had changed MyDiff().
Now I save my old _vimrc, let the installer create a new _vimrc, and
check the differences.
I've also stopped using that system _vimrc and use ~/_vimrc instead,
but I still check for changes to the system _vimrc.
Regards,
Gary
Tony Mechelynck
installer does it IIRC by copying the vimrc_example.vim, which leaves
you in the cold if a later version of Vim comes with a different
vimrc_example.vim.
Rather than use that preinstalled vimrc, I write my own, with the line
runtime vimrc_example.vim
followed (or, in rare cases, preceded) by my own customizations and
overrides. This means any changes in the vimrc_example.vim between one
version and the next are automagically taken in, and if there are things
I don't like in this new stuff I can still override them after coming
back from the :runtime command.
>
> I've been bitten by this before, where I made changes to that
> _vimrc, then updated to a newer version of Vim but excluded _vimrc
> from the update and couldn't execute diffs because the new version
> of Vim had changed MyDiff().
>
> Now I save my old _vimrc, let the installer create a new _vimrc, and
> check the differences.
>
> I've also stopped using that system _vimrc and use ~/_vimrc instead,
> but I still check for changes to the system _vimrc.
DOS/Windows for the "user vimrc" on single-user systems where $HOME has
no sane value. The system vimrc is (by default) $VIM/vimrc without the
leading dot or underscore. Using $HOME/_vimrc or $HOME/.vimrc is better:
it frees your own vimrc from being at a location defined by the
installation directory, and, on multiuser systems, it allows a different
vimrc for each user. A new development in Vim 7.3.1178 and later, not
backward compatible but allowing to place Vim on a USB stick, is to use
~/.vim/vimrc (or, on Windows, ~/vimfiles/_vimrc) so all your
user-customization files are in a single directory.
On my Linux system, the Vim executables which come from my distro are
compiled with a system vimrc at /etc/vimrc instead, so my own-compiled
builds look at the default $VIM/vimrc and find nothing there, which is
exactly what I want. (My user vimrc is, of course, at $HOME/.vimrc)
>
> Regards,
> Gary
>
Best regards,
Tony.
--
Jesuit priests are DATING CAREER DIPLOMATS!!
Gary Johnson
> On 12/08/13 22:10, Gary Johnson wrote:
> >On 2013-08-12, Tony Mechelynck wrote:
> >>No. Your _vimrc is not part of the Vim installation.
> >
> >That's not true. On Windows, at least prior to Vim 7.4, _vimrc _is_
> >part of the Vim installation. MyDiff() is/was part of the standard
> >_vimrc installed under C:\Program Files\Vim (the XP path).
>
> Installing a _vimrc for you the first time is an option, and the
> installer does it IIRC by copying the vimrc_example.vim, which leaves
> you in the cold if a later version of Vim comes with a different
> vimrc_example.vim.
around the first of the year and this was the file installed in
C:\Program Files\vim\_vimrc (i.e., $VIM/_vimrc):
set nocompatible
source $VIMRUNTIME/vimrc_example.vim
source $VIMRUNTIME/mswin.vim
behave mswin
set diffexpr=MyDiff()
function MyDiff()
let opt = '-a --binary '
if &diffopt =~ 'iwhite' | let opt = opt . '-b ' | endif
if arg1 =~ ' ' | let arg1 = '"' . arg1 . '"' | endif
let arg2 = v:fname_new
if arg2 =~ ' ' | let arg2 = '"' . arg2 . '"' | endif
let arg3 = v:fname_out
if arg3 =~ ' ' | let arg3 = '"' . arg3 . '"' | endif
let eq = ''
if $VIMRUNTIME =~ ' '
if &sh =~ '\<cmd'
let cmd = '"' . $VIMRUNTIME . '\diff"'
let eq = '""'
else
let cmd = substitute($VIMRUNTIME, ' ', '" ', '') . '\diff"'
endif
else
let cmd = $VIMRUNTIME . '\diff'
endif
It is not a copy of vimrc_example.vim, it sources vimrc_example.vim.
And it defines MyDiff(). So, one is not left in the cold by later
changes to vimrc_example.vim, but one is by later changes to
MyDiff().
I share the same .vimrc/_vimrc file among all the systems on which I
use Vim. I've found MyDiff() useful even on Linux because it lets
me specify a few extra flags to diff and because it lets me hook the
entry-into-diff-mode event.
> >I've also stopped using that system _vimrc and use ~/_vimrc instead,
> >but I still check for changes to the system _vimrc.
>
> $VIM/_vimrc is not a "system vimrc", it is one possible location on
> DOS/Windows for the "user vimrc" on single-user systems where $HOME
> has no sane value.
shared by all users of the Windows system and I didn't look up the
proper name for it.
Regards,
Gary
Ben Fritz
From later discussion, it came out that the culprit was not vimrc_example.vim but rather $VIM/_vimrc.
So I retested. This also works fine with the installed 7.4 copy:
gvim -N -u NONE -i NONE
:source $VIM/_vimrc
Here, 'diffexpr' is actually set to something. But apparently the issue has been resolved.
Tony Mechelynck
If not using a "cmd" shell, «Program Files (x86)» will become «Program"
Files (x86)» :-???
You will have to change those arg1 arg2 arg3, in 7.4 they have become
something else. If you want a vimrc that will work with versions old and
new you will have to try both, either with ":if exists" or with a try
block (a feature which, however, was new in 6.2).
> It is not a copy of vimrc_example.vim, it sources vimrc_example.vim.
> And it defines MyDiff(). So, one is not left in the cold by later
> changes to vimrc_example.vim, but one is by later changes to
> MyDiff().
ago. It still sources mswin.vim, which masks several useful Vim
keybindings on the pretext of making life easier for Windows users (IMHO
it doesn't; it just cripples Vim).
Personally I don't source that file (I wouldn't touch it with the
proverbial ten-foot pole), and I use neither ":behave mswin" nor
":behave xterm" but something in-between, as follows:
" selectmode=key,mouse and mousemodel=popup as with mswin
" selection=inclusive as with xterm
" keymodel=startsel - shift-left starts a selection but
" non-shift-left doesn't stop it: it extends it
" instead, just like shift-left-again
set selection=inclusive selectmode=key,mouse
set keymodel=startsel mousemodel=popup
I believe it gives me the best of both worlds, but YMMV.
>
> I share the same .vimrc/_vimrc file among all the systems on which I
> use Vim. I've found MyDiff() useful even on Linux because it lets
> me specify a few extra flags to diff and because it lets me hook the
> entry-into-diff-mode event.
>
>>> I've also stopped using that system _vimrc and use ~/_vimrc instead,
>>> but I still check for changes to the system _vimrc.
>>
>> $VIM/_vimrc is not a "system vimrc", it is one possible location on
>> DOS/Windows for the "user vimrc" on single-user systems where $HOME
>> has no sane value.
>
> You're right. I didn't think of it as a user vimrc since it's
> shared by all users of the Windows system and I didn't look up the
> proper name for it.
>
> Regards,
> Gary
>
Tony.
--
BEDEVERE: And that, my lord, is how we know the Earth to be banana-shaped.
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail" PYTHON (MONTY)
PICTURES LTD
Stephen Lin
I read through several replied, including Macio Gill's second post of the following:
echo '!' . cmd . ' ' . opt . arg1 . ' ' . arg2 . ' > ' . arg3 . eq
> before this in the _vimrc (copied from vimrc_example.vim):
arg3 . eq
I did try to follow it and nothing works.
This is what I did and it works (and not confusion):
1. In Win7, I copied "C:\Program Files (x86)\Vim\-vimrc" files to a directory that I have access right.
(such as C:\temp\-vimrc)
2. I edited C:\temp\-vimrc with editor
- remove all the lines below the 4th line
(That is, I deleted lines such as "set diffexpr=MyDiff()"
and all the lines below this "set diffexpr=MyDiff()"
3. Saved this file
4. I manage to copy this file back to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Vim\-vimrc"
In Exploer, cut and paste, I was asked "administive right" to over write the existing "C:\Program Files (x86)\Vim\-vimrc"
5. I went to the directory where I have 2 files that I want to diff. I highlight those two files with mouse, right click and select "Diff with Vim"
6. Now, I no longer get the E810 and E70 errors. Instead, the VIM windows displays the different as expected.
AndyHancock
Prior to doing the above fix, even the admin owner could not do a vim diff if vim was launched with elevated privileges i.e. right-clicking the vim icon launching as administrator. I have no idea why, because elevated privileges should mean less access problems, but instead I saw the errors in the original post. It might be due to the abomination known as the Windows 7 security model, which creates virtual copies of a directory tree so that what is visible is customized for each user, and indeed, possibly for each privilege level (I don't know, my head spins when I try to comprehend the gyrations they try to do in order to build in security without impeding usage). The custom virtual version of the directory is stored at C:\Users\TheUserOfInterest\AppData\Local\VirtualStore The reason I suspect this is because there should be no reason for the aforementioned directory to be restricted because I'm pretty familiar with the problems that this could cause. It may have been *made* restricted when I deleted the above virtual view of the directory.
Welcome to Windows 7. Good attempt at greater security but not without a price.
star...@gmail.com
E810: Cannot read or write temp files
E97: Cannot create diffs
FIX (that worked for me):
In MyDiff() of _vimrc, go to line 13 and change the two single quotes to double quotes. This allows the pattern in the IF-test to match.
So change:
if &sh =~ '\<cmd' (fails)
To:
if &sh =~ "\<cmd" (works)
Or keep single quotes but escape the backslash:
if &sh =~ '\\<cmd' (also works)
Oddly, the original line is technically correct. It seems like there is a bug in vim 7.4 that is swapping the meaning of single and double quotes here.
1 function MyDiff()
2 let opt = '-a --binary '
3 if &diffopt =~ 'icase' | let opt = opt . '-i ' | endif
4 if &diffopt =~ 'iwhite' | let opt = opt . '-b ' | endif
5 let arg1 = v:fname_in
6 if arg1 =~ ' ' | let arg1 = '"' . arg1 . '"' | endif
7 let arg2 = v:fname_new
8 if arg2 =~ ' ' | let arg2 = '"' . arg2 . '"' | endif
9 let arg3 = v:fname_out
10 if arg3 =~ ' ' | let arg3 = '"' . arg3 . '"' | endif
11 let eq = ''
12 if $VIMRUNTIME =~ ' '
13>>> if &sh =~ '\<cmd' <<<--- CHANGE TO DOUBLE QUOTES
14 let cmd = '""' . $VIMRUNTIME . '\diff"'
15 let eq = '"'
16 else
17 let cmd = substitute($VIMRUNTIME, ' ', '" ', '') . '\diff"'
18 endif
19 else
20 let cmd = $VIMRUNTIME . '\diff'
21 endif
22 silent execute '!' . cmd . ' ' . opt . arg1 . ' ' . arg2 . ' > ' . arg3 . eq
23 endfunction
(Credit to fvelasqu...@gmail.com, http://code.google.com/p/vim/issues/detail?id=28#c6)
Ben Fritz
> After installing vim 7.4 on Windows XP, I got the exact same errors as the OP when trying to do diffsplit:
>
> E810: Cannot read or write temp files
> E97: Cannot create diffs
>
> FIX (that worked for me):
> In MyDiff() of _vimrc, go to line 13 and change the two single quotes to double quotes. This allows the pattern in the IF-test to match.
>
> So change:
> if &sh =~ '\<cmd' (fails)
>
> To:
> if &sh =~ "\<cmd" (works)
>
> Or keep single quotes but escape the backslash:
> if &sh =~ '\\<cmd' (also works)
>
> Oddly, the original line is technically correct. It seems like there is a bug in vim 7.4 that is swapping the meaning of single and double quotes here.
>
>
No, there really isn't.
> 1 function MyDiff()
> 2 let opt = '-a --binary '
> 3 if &diffopt =~ 'icase' | let opt = opt . '-i ' | endif
> 4 if &diffopt =~ 'iwhite' | let opt = opt . '-b ' | endif
> 5 let arg1 = v:fname_in
> 6 if arg1 =~ ' ' | let arg1 = '"' . arg1 . '"' | endif
> 7 let arg2 = v:fname_new
> 8 if arg2 =~ ' ' | let arg2 = '"' . arg2 . '"' | endif
> 9 let arg3 = v:fname_out
> 10 if arg3 =~ ' ' | let arg3 = '"' . arg3 . '"' | endif
> 11 let eq = ''
> 12 if $VIMRUNTIME =~ ' '
> 13>>> if &sh =~ '\<cmd' <<<--- CHANGE TO DOUBLE QUOTES
> 14 let cmd = '""' . $VIMRUNTIME . '\diff"'
This line is incorrect in Vim 7.4 with default settings. If this line actually executes you'll probably have problems with your diff. So probably your "fix" works by forcing this line NOT to execute because your shell does NOT match <cmd literally.
> 15 let eq = '"'
> 16 else
> 17 let cmd = substitute($VIMRUNTIME, ' ', '" ', '') . '\diff"'
> 18 endif
> 19 else
> 20 let cmd = $VIMRUNTIME . '\diff'
> 21 endif
> 22 silent execute '!' . cmd . ' ' . opt . arg1 . ' ' . arg2 . ' > ' . arg3 . eq
> 23 endfunction
>
> (Credit to fvelasqu...@gmail.com, http://code.google.com/p/vim/issues/detail?id=28#c6)
Is that in the _vimrc installed by default? Or your own personal _vimrc?
Michael Chu
It was the default _vimrc that I modified to get vimdiff to work properly.
Ben Fritz
> I had the same problem as "star...@gmail.com" after installing Vim on my work laptop running Windows 7, and the solution posted by the user worked for me.
>
> It was the default _vimrc that I modified to get vimdiff to work properly.
The dosinst.c file creates the default _vimrc file, and contains an issue where there is an old workaround for calling an external program at a path containing spaces. But this old workaround fails with the new default value of shellxquote from the middle of the 7.3 patches. It needs an update.
For now you can remove the logic to add an extra pair of quotes around the entire command, or temporarily set shellxquote to empty inside that function and restore it at the end of the function.
Primitivo Roman
set diffexpr=
:)
Stromek Doe
> So change:
> if &sh =~ '\<cmd' (fails)
>
> To:
> if &sh =~ "\<cmd" (works)
This worked for me on Windows 7.
Ben Fritz
That is the WRONG solution, as I pointed out in the exact next message. What this change does, is it BREAKS the test for the cmd shell. Instead of matching "cmd" as a whole word, now it will try matching "<cmd" with a literal < before it. Obviously this will not match your actual shell on Windows.
The ACTUAL PROBLEM is that the code for the cmd.exe shell was broken.
This problem HAS BEEN FIXED in the latest version of the Vim installer by actually fixing the code for cmd.exe. Unfortunately Bram does not update the "official" installers very often.
So, you can either get an installer from an alternate source: http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Where_to_download_Vim
Or compile yourself and run the installer: http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Building_Vim#Building_Vim_on_Windows
Or just copy the result of the default installed .vimrc: http://superuser.com/questions/697847/cant-run-vimdiff-7-4-on-windows-7/697914#697914