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AutoSave : Automatically persist a buffer frequently.

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created by
Ingo Karkat
 
script type
utility
 
description
DESCRIPTION
When developing scripts or programs, one frequently switches between a short
edit in Vim and a test or compiler run in a terminal. If one forgets to
persist the changes in Vim (:w), that run is of no avail, and one has to
switch back to Vim, save, and repeat.

This plugin allows to designate certain buffers for automatic persistence when
GVIM (and Vim in terminals that support the FocusLost event) lose focus, or
optionally also when 'updatetime' passes without a keypress in Vim. With that,
you can just make your edits, switch to another application, and the changes
will have been saved to the file, regardless of whether that file was
currently active inside Vim.

RELATED WORKS
- The todo.txt has an entry for an 'autosave' option, which would persist a
  buffer shortly after the last change.
- vim-auto-save (vimscript #4521) automatically persists _all_ (toggled with
  :AutoSaveToggle) buffers on CursorHold events (and reduces 'updatetime' to
  200 ms).
- vim-autosave (https://github.com/chrisbra/vim-autosave) uses Vim 8 timers to
  persist a backup copy every 5 minutes.

USAGE
:AutoSave[!], :NoAutoSave
                        Turn on / off automatic saving of the current buffer
                        whenever Vim loses focus (in the GUI) or exits; with !
                        also on CursorHold.
                        Note: The saving may trigger |:autocmd|s, and these
                        may (depending on your configuration) trigger dialogs,
                        or run external commands. If you do not want that,
                        either use :noautocmd AutoSave (to disable this for
                        the current buffer only), or globally by adding that
                        to the g:AutoSave_UpdateModifiers configuration.
 
install details
INSTALLATION
The code is hosted in a Git repo at
    https://github.com/inkarkat/vim-AutoSave
You can use your favorite plugin manager, or "git clone" into a directory used
for Vim packages. Releases are on the "stable" branch, the latest unstable
development snapshot on "master".

This script is also packaged as a vimball. If you have the "gunzip"
decompressor in your PATH, simply edit the *.vmb.gz package in Vim; otherwise,
decompress the archive first, e.g. using WinZip. Inside Vim, install by
sourcing the vimball or via the :UseVimball command.
    vim AutoSave*.vmb.gz
    :so %
To uninstall, use the :RmVimball command.

DEPENDENCIES
- Requires Vim 7.0 or higher.
- Requires the ingo-library.vim plugin (vimscript #4433), version 1.033 or
  higher.

CONFIGURATION
For a permanent configuration, put the following commands into your vimrc:

The contents of this configuration are prepended to the :update command; you
can use noautocmd to suppress triggering |autocmd|s, or silent to suppress
the save messages:
    let g:AutoSave_UpdateModifiers = ''
 

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script versions (upload new version)

Click on the package to download.

package script version date Vim version user release notes
AutoSave-1.10.vmb.gz 1.10 2020-02-10 7.0 Ingo Karkat - ENH: Allow customization of :update command via :noautocmd AutoSave, or g:AutoSave_UpdateModifiers configuration. *** You need to update to ingo-library (vimscript #4433) version 1.033! ***
- ENH: Record use of [!] for each buffer, and only update those with :AutoSave! during CursorHold[I] events.
AutoSave-1.00.vmb.gz 1.00 2017-11-13 7.0 Ingo Karkat Initial upload
ip used for rating: 54.146.154.243

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