How to prevent saving file in vim












0















I'm customizing vim (vimdiff) as a testing tool for diffing certain files, and would like to disable saving the files completely - however, I haven't been able to stop :w! .. I've tried starting vim/vimdiff with -R option, and I have also tried setting cpoptions to contain W, which means:




                                                            cpo-W

            W       Don't overwrite a readonly file.  When omitted, ":w!"

                    overwrites a readonly file, if possible.



..but vim seems not to care about this:



echo yo > foo



vim -R foo



:set cpoptions=aABceFsW



:set cpoptions?

cpoptions=aABceFsW



:w

E45: 'readonly' option is set (add ! to override)



:w!

"foo" 1L, 3C written


..bug, or did I misunderstand it?






vim







share|improve this question























  • My understanding: You just told Vim that it should run in "readonly mode". The file itself is not readonly. If you chmod -w foo, then Vim would not allow to write the file on :w!. It prints error "E504".

    – user7369280
    17 hours ago











  • Ahhh you're right.. Thanks! I can accept that as an answer if you'd like.

    – boffman
    17 hours ago
















0















I'm customizing vim (vimdiff) as a testing tool for diffing certain files, and would like to disable saving the files completely - however, I haven't been able to stop :w! .. I've tried starting vim/vimdiff with -R option, and I have also tried setting cpoptions to contain W, which means:




                                                            cpo-W

            W       Don't overwrite a readonly file.  When omitted, ":w!"

                    overwrites a readonly file, if possible.



..but vim seems not to care about this:



echo yo > foo



vim -R foo



:set cpoptions=aABceFsW



:set cpoptions?

cpoptions=aABceFsW



:w

E45: 'readonly' option is set (add ! to override)



:w!

"foo" 1L, 3C written


..bug, or did I misunderstand it?






vim







share|improve this question























  • My understanding: You just told Vim that it should run in "readonly mode". The file itself is not readonly. If you chmod -w foo, then Vim would not allow to write the file on :w!. It prints error "E504".

    – user7369280
    17 hours ago











  • Ahhh you're right.. Thanks! I can accept that as an answer if you'd like.

    – boffman
    17 hours ago














0












0








0








I'm customizing vim (vimdiff) as a testing tool for diffing certain files, and would like to disable saving the files completely - however, I haven't been able to stop :w! .. I've tried starting vim/vimdiff with -R option, and I have also tried setting cpoptions to contain W, which means:




                                                            cpo-W

            W       Don't overwrite a readonly file.  When omitted, ":w!"

                    overwrites a readonly file, if possible.



..but vim seems not to care about this:



echo yo > foo



vim -R foo



:set cpoptions=aABceFsW



:set cpoptions?

cpoptions=aABceFsW



:w

E45: 'readonly' option is set (add ! to override)



:w!

"foo" 1L, 3C written


..bug, or did I misunderstand it?






vim







share|improve this question














I'm customizing vim (vimdiff) as a testing tool for diffing certain files, and would like to disable saving the files completely - however, I haven't been able to stop :w! .. I've tried starting vim/vimdiff with -R option, and I have also tried setting cpoptions to contain W, which means:




                                                            cpo-W

            W       Don't overwrite a readonly file.  When omitted, ":w!"

                    overwrites a readonly file, if possible.



..but vim seems not to care about this:



echo yo > foo



vim -R foo



:set cpoptions=aABceFsW



:set cpoptions?

cpoptions=aABceFsW



:w

E45: 'readonly' option is set (add ! to override)



:w!

"foo" 1L, 3C written


..bug, or did I misunderstand it?






vim




vim






share|improve this question













share|improve this question











share|improve this question




share|improve this question










asked 18 hours ago









boffmanboffman

1411111




1411111













  • My understanding: You just told Vim that it should run in "readonly mode". The file itself is not readonly. If you chmod -w foo, then Vim would not allow to write the file on :w!. It prints error "E504".

    – user7369280
    17 hours ago











  • Ahhh you're right.. Thanks! I can accept that as an answer if you'd like.

    – boffman
    17 hours ago



















  • My understanding: You just told Vim that it should run in "readonly mode". The file itself is not readonly. If you chmod -w foo, then Vim would not allow to write the file on :w!. It prints error "E504".

    – user7369280
    17 hours ago











  • Ahhh you're right.. Thanks! I can accept that as an answer if you'd like.

    – boffman
    17 hours ago

















My understanding: You just told Vim that it should run in "readonly mode". The file itself is not readonly. If you chmod -w foo, then Vim would not allow to write the file on :w!. It prints error "E504".

– user7369280
17 hours ago





My understanding: You just told Vim that it should run in "readonly mode". The file itself is not readonly. If you chmod -w foo, then Vim would not allow to write the file on :w!. It prints error "E504".

– user7369280
17 hours ago













Ahhh you're right.. Thanks! I can accept that as an answer if you'd like.

– boffman
17 hours ago





Ahhh you're right.. Thanks! I can accept that as an answer if you'd like.

– boffman
17 hours ago












2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















3














You just told Vim that it should run in "readonly mode". The file itself is not readonly. If you chmod -w foo, then Vim would not allow to write the file on :w! while W is present in cpoptions.



You could try to start Vim with -M:



vim -M foo


This disallows any changes to the file and prevents writing the file. See :help -M.



Another solution might be:



vim -m foo


This opens the file and you can edit it (you get the warning W10: Warning: Changing a readonly file), but you are not able to write it. The option write is reset (to nowrite) and prevents writing to any file. So this is global.



If you finally decide, that you need to write it anyway, you have to set the option with the command :set write. As said, this is global, so you are than able to write any file.






share|improve this answer


























  • Actually, I want to be able to change the contents of the files, just not save them. But then I also noticed now that there is a -m option, that prevents all kinds of saving.. HOWEVER.. I also would like to run :TOhtml and save the diff as html and -m prevents saving the html :-D

    – boffman
    16 hours ago











  • @boffman See my edit.

    – user7369280
    16 hours ago











  • Perfect. -w in combination with set [no]write solved my problems! Thanks again!

    – boffman
    11 hours ago



















1














It's much better to work on the file permissions, or to use the -M option as stated by @user7369280, but the funny thing is you can also launch vi with certain options that will prevent you to use the classic w or wq commands for example:



vi my_file -c 'cabbrev w <esc>' -c 'cabbrev wq <esc>'


It basically disables the commands w and wq with redefining them with the command escape (which doesn't do much)






share|improve this answer
























  • You can still break out of that, though, with careful character entry and deletion, and cursor movements. Also, there are more commands that write files: :wa, :x, ...

    – L3viathan
    17 hours ago













  • For some reason, those cabbrev commands/options does not seem to work for me, I can still save with :w / :wq

    – boffman
    17 hours ago











  • @boffman it might depends on the vi version. It's actually a vim only feature. You may try with ab instead of cabbrev. For example: vi my_file -c 'ab wq <esc>'

    – Yoric
    16 hours ago













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2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









3














You just told Vim that it should run in "readonly mode". The file itself is not readonly. If you chmod -w foo, then Vim would not allow to write the file on :w! while W is present in cpoptions.



You could try to start Vim with -M:



vim -M foo


This disallows any changes to the file and prevents writing the file. See :help -M.



Another solution might be:



vim -m foo


This opens the file and you can edit it (you get the warning W10: Warning: Changing a readonly file), but you are not able to write it. The option write is reset (to nowrite) and prevents writing to any file. So this is global.



If you finally decide, that you need to write it anyway, you have to set the option with the command :set write. As said, this is global, so you are than able to write any file.






share|improve this answer


























  • Actually, I want to be able to change the contents of the files, just not save them. But then I also noticed now that there is a -m option, that prevents all kinds of saving.. HOWEVER.. I also would like to run :TOhtml and save the diff as html and -m prevents saving the html :-D

    – boffman
    16 hours ago











  • @boffman See my edit.

    – user7369280
    16 hours ago











  • Perfect. -w in combination with set [no]write solved my problems! Thanks again!

    – boffman
    11 hours ago
















3














You just told Vim that it should run in "readonly mode". The file itself is not readonly. If you chmod -w foo, then Vim would not allow to write the file on :w! while W is present in cpoptions.



You could try to start Vim with -M:



vim -M foo


This disallows any changes to the file and prevents writing the file. See :help -M.



Another solution might be:



vim -m foo


This opens the file and you can edit it (you get the warning W10: Warning: Changing a readonly file), but you are not able to write it. The option write is reset (to nowrite) and prevents writing to any file. So this is global.



If you finally decide, that you need to write it anyway, you have to set the option with the command :set write. As said, this is global, so you are than able to write any file.






share|improve this answer


























  • Actually, I want to be able to change the contents of the files, just not save them. But then I also noticed now that there is a -m option, that prevents all kinds of saving.. HOWEVER.. I also would like to run :TOhtml and save the diff as html and -m prevents saving the html :-D

    – boffman
    16 hours ago











  • @boffman See my edit.

    – user7369280
    16 hours ago











  • Perfect. -w in combination with set [no]write solved my problems! Thanks again!

    – boffman
    11 hours ago














3












3








3







You just told Vim that it should run in "readonly mode". The file itself is not readonly. If you chmod -w foo, then Vim would not allow to write the file on :w! while W is present in cpoptions.



You could try to start Vim with -M:



vim -M foo


This disallows any changes to the file and prevents writing the file. See :help -M.



Another solution might be:



vim -m foo


This opens the file and you can edit it (you get the warning W10: Warning: Changing a readonly file), but you are not able to write it. The option write is reset (to nowrite) and prevents writing to any file. So this is global.



If you finally decide, that you need to write it anyway, you have to set the option with the command :set write. As said, this is global, so you are than able to write any file.






share|improve this answer















You just told Vim that it should run in "readonly mode". The file itself is not readonly. If you chmod -w foo, then Vim would not allow to write the file on :w! while W is present in cpoptions.



You could try to start Vim with -M:



vim -M foo


This disallows any changes to the file and prevents writing the file. See :help -M.



Another solution might be:



vim -m foo


This opens the file and you can edit it (you get the warning W10: Warning: Changing a readonly file), but you are not able to write it. The option write is reset (to nowrite) and prevents writing to any file. So this is global.



If you finally decide, that you need to write it anyway, you have to set the option with the command :set write. As said, this is global, so you are than able to write any file.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 16 hours ago

























answered 17 hours ago









user7369280user7369280

803210




803210













  • Actually, I want to be able to change the contents of the files, just not save them. But then I also noticed now that there is a -m option, that prevents all kinds of saving.. HOWEVER.. I also would like to run :TOhtml and save the diff as html and -m prevents saving the html :-D

    – boffman
    16 hours ago











  • @boffman See my edit.

    – user7369280
    16 hours ago











  • Perfect. -w in combination with set [no]write solved my problems! Thanks again!

    – boffman
    11 hours ago



















  • Actually, I want to be able to change the contents of the files, just not save them. But then I also noticed now that there is a -m option, that prevents all kinds of saving.. HOWEVER.. I also would like to run :TOhtml and save the diff as html and -m prevents saving the html :-D

    – boffman
    16 hours ago











  • @boffman See my edit.

    – user7369280
    16 hours ago











  • Perfect. -w in combination with set [no]write solved my problems! Thanks again!

    – boffman
    11 hours ago

















Actually, I want to be able to change the contents of the files, just not save them. But then I also noticed now that there is a -m option, that prevents all kinds of saving.. HOWEVER.. I also would like to run :TOhtml and save the diff as html and -m prevents saving the html :-D

– boffman
16 hours ago





Actually, I want to be able to change the contents of the files, just not save them. But then I also noticed now that there is a -m option, that prevents all kinds of saving.. HOWEVER.. I also would like to run :TOhtml and save the diff as html and -m prevents saving the html :-D

– boffman
16 hours ago













@boffman See my edit.

– user7369280
16 hours ago





@boffman See my edit.

– user7369280
16 hours ago













Perfect. -w in combination with set [no]write solved my problems! Thanks again!

– boffman
11 hours ago





Perfect. -w in combination with set [no]write solved my problems! Thanks again!

– boffman
11 hours ago













1














It's much better to work on the file permissions, or to use the -M option as stated by @user7369280, but the funny thing is you can also launch vi with certain options that will prevent you to use the classic w or wq commands for example:



vi my_file -c 'cabbrev w <esc>' -c 'cabbrev wq <esc>'


It basically disables the commands w and wq with redefining them with the command escape (which doesn't do much)






share|improve this answer
























  • You can still break out of that, though, with careful character entry and deletion, and cursor movements. Also, there are more commands that write files: :wa, :x, ...

    – L3viathan
    17 hours ago













  • For some reason, those cabbrev commands/options does not seem to work for me, I can still save with :w / :wq

    – boffman
    17 hours ago











  • @boffman it might depends on the vi version. It's actually a vim only feature. You may try with ab instead of cabbrev. For example: vi my_file -c 'ab wq <esc>'

    – Yoric
    16 hours ago


















1














It's much better to work on the file permissions, or to use the -M option as stated by @user7369280, but the funny thing is you can also launch vi with certain options that will prevent you to use the classic w or wq commands for example:



vi my_file -c 'cabbrev w <esc>' -c 'cabbrev wq <esc>'


It basically disables the commands w and wq with redefining them with the command escape (which doesn't do much)






share|improve this answer
























  • You can still break out of that, though, with careful character entry and deletion, and cursor movements. Also, there are more commands that write files: :wa, :x, ...

    – L3viathan
    17 hours ago













  • For some reason, those cabbrev commands/options does not seem to work for me, I can still save with :w / :wq

    – boffman
    17 hours ago











  • @boffman it might depends on the vi version. It's actually a vim only feature. You may try with ab instead of cabbrev. For example: vi my_file -c 'ab wq <esc>'

    – Yoric
    16 hours ago
















1












1








1







It's much better to work on the file permissions, or to use the -M option as stated by @user7369280, but the funny thing is you can also launch vi with certain options that will prevent you to use the classic w or wq commands for example:



vi my_file -c 'cabbrev w <esc>' -c 'cabbrev wq <esc>'


It basically disables the commands w and wq with redefining them with the command escape (which doesn't do much)






share|improve this answer













It's much better to work on the file permissions, or to use the -M option as stated by @user7369280, but the funny thing is you can also launch vi with certain options that will prevent you to use the classic w or wq commands for example:



vi my_file -c 'cabbrev w <esc>' -c 'cabbrev wq <esc>'


It basically disables the commands w and wq with redefining them with the command escape (which doesn't do much)







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 17 hours ago









YoricYoric

1,1142710




1,1142710













  • You can still break out of that, though, with careful character entry and deletion, and cursor movements. Also, there are more commands that write files: :wa, :x, ...

    – L3viathan
    17 hours ago













  • For some reason, those cabbrev commands/options does not seem to work for me, I can still save with :w / :wq

    – boffman
    17 hours ago











  • @boffman it might depends on the vi version. It's actually a vim only feature. You may try with ab instead of cabbrev. For example: vi my_file -c 'ab wq <esc>'

    – Yoric
    16 hours ago





















  • You can still break out of that, though, with careful character entry and deletion, and cursor movements. Also, there are more commands that write files: :wa, :x, ...

    – L3viathan
    17 hours ago













  • For some reason, those cabbrev commands/options does not seem to work for me, I can still save with :w / :wq

    – boffman
    17 hours ago











  • @boffman it might depends on the vi version. It's actually a vim only feature. You may try with ab instead of cabbrev. For example: vi my_file -c 'ab wq <esc>'

    – Yoric
    16 hours ago



















You can still break out of that, though, with careful character entry and deletion, and cursor movements. Also, there are more commands that write files: :wa, :x, ...

– L3viathan
17 hours ago







You can still break out of that, though, with careful character entry and deletion, and cursor movements. Also, there are more commands that write files: :wa, :x, ...

– L3viathan
17 hours ago















For some reason, those cabbrev commands/options does not seem to work for me, I can still save with :w / :wq

– boffman
17 hours ago





For some reason, those cabbrev commands/options does not seem to work for me, I can still save with :w / :wq

– boffman
17 hours ago













@boffman it might depends on the vi version. It's actually a vim only feature. You may try with ab instead of cabbrev. For example: vi my_file -c 'ab wq <esc>'

– Yoric
16 hours ago







@boffman it might depends on the vi version. It's actually a vim only feature. You may try with ab instead of cabbrev. For example: vi my_file -c 'ab wq <esc>'

– Yoric
16 hours ago




















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