Scratch

You can use the scratch plugin to create a temporary scratch buffer to store and edit text that will be discarded when you quit/exit vim. The contents of the scratch buffer are not saved/stored in a file.

Installation

1. Copy the scratch.vim plugin to the $HOME/.vim/plugin directory. Refer to the following Vim help topics for more information about Vim plugins:

   :help add-plugin :help add-global-plugin :help runtimepath

   If you are using Vundle then

    BundleInstall 'molok/vim-scratch'
   

   and place

    Bundle 'molok/vim-scratch'
   

   in your vimrc

   If you're prefer using pathogen, place this directory inside ~/.vim/bundle/

2. Restart Vim.

Usage

You can use the following command to open/edit the scratch buffer:

  :Scratch

To open the scratch buffer in a new split window, use the following command:

  :Sscratch

You can toggle the Scratch window using

  :ScratchToggle

Similar command using vertical split instead of horizontal are available:

  :Vscratch
  :VscratchToggle

To open the scratch buffer in a new tab, use the following command:

  :Tscratch

When you close the scratch buffer window, the buffer will retain the contents. You can again edit the scratch buffer by openeing it using one of the above commands. There is no need to save the scatch buffer.

When you quit/exit Vim, the contents of the scratch buffer will be lost. You will not be prompted to save the contents of the modified scratch buffer.

You can have only one scratch buffer open in a single Vim instance. If the current buffer has unsaved modifications, then the scratch buffer will be opened in a new window

User Options

The default is to set the scratch buffer as hidden when closed. If you open the scratch buffer again before you close vim, the contents of the buffer will still be there. If you like the buffer to be deleted upon closing it, add the following to your .vimrc :

let g:scratch_persistent = 0

If you want the scratch buffer to be preserved between sessions:

let g:scratch_persistent = 2

By default, the name of the scratch file is "Scratch". You may set your own scratch file name by adding the following to your .vimrc :

let g:scratch_filename = "~/.vim/scratch_file"

this filename is also the one used to save information between sessions.

You can set the height and the width for Sscratch/Vscratch with:

let g:scratch_height = 20
let g:scratch_width = 100