Question

When I type :e, MacVim automatically expands this to :Edit. The problem with this is that I can’t discard my current buffer with :Edit!, because I get an error message saying that “!” isn’t allowed.

I have two questions:

1. Why does :edit! work and not :Edit!
2. Is there a way to disable this auto-expand feature in MacVim, or perhaps switch it to expand to :edit! and not :Edit! ?

Thanks!

Answer 1

If the expansion happens immediately after typing the e, it might be due to a command-mode mapping (i.e. :map!, :cmap or :lmap). If it is only expanded after typing e followed by a space (or enter), then it might be an abbreviation (i.e. :abbreviate or :cabbrev).

You can temporarily avoid a mapping-based expansion by typing Control‑V or Control‑Q before e. Another workaround is to type Control‑F while entering a command-line command (i.e. you are at the : prompt; or type q: instead of : when starting a command). This will bring up the command-line window so that you can edit your command via normal/insert modes (this avoids all command-line mode mappings).

Once you have a way to enter e into a command-line again, you can use :verbose to find the source of the mapping:

:verbose cmap e

(You must either use the command-line window to type this literally, or enter it at the command-line by typing a Control‑V or Control‑Q before each e.)

This will show you the definition of the mapping. Additionally, if it came from a plugin, then the source will be identified with a second line like Last set from /path/to/some/file.

Checking for an abbreviation is a bit tricker since there are two chances for expansion (while typing and when the command line is being parsed):

:verbose cab ^Ve

The ^V needs to be an actual Control‑V. Usually you accomplish this by typing Control‑V twice (or Control‑Q, then Control‑V).

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As for the Edit command itself, it is not a built-in command, so something plugin must be defining it. Very few built-in commands start with an uppercase letter, and all “user defined” commands must start with one; see :help E183.

You can use :verbose again to find where :Edit was defined:

:verbose command Edit

I suspect the mapping/abbreviation and the command probably come from the same place.

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You can manually disable a mapping-based expansion with :cunmap and an abbreviation-based expansion with :cunabbrev:

:cunmap e
:cunabbrev ^Ve

Again, you may need type Control‑V or Control‑Q before each e, and the ^V must be a literal Control‑V (type Control‑V twice to enter it).

Unfortunately, you can not just put these in your ~/.vimrc if the definitions are coming from a plugin because plugins are loaded after ~/.vimrc. You should investigate the plugin to see if it offers a option to disable the intrusive mapping. Sometimes plugins check a :let variable to see if they should enable some feature. Maybe your problematic plugin has a “knob” that will let you tell it not to install its e -> Edit expansion. If not, you might be able to report a bug about :Edit! not working properly and ask for a way to disable the expansion too.