How to use a template in vim - r

Question

This is really a newbie question - but basically, how do I enable a template for certain filetypes.
Basically, I just want the template to insert a header of sorts, that is with some functions that I find useful, and libraries loaded etc.
I interpret
:help template
the way that I should place this in my vimrc
au BufNewFile,BufRead ~/.vim/skeleton.R
Running a R script then shows that something could happen, but apparently does not:
--- Auto-Commands ---
This may be because a template consists of commands (and there are no such in skeleton.R) - and in this case I just want it to insert a text header (which skelton.R consist of).
Sorry if this question is mind boggeling stupid ;-/

Answer 1

The command that you've suggested is not going to work: what this will do is run no Vim command whenever you open ~/.vim/skeleton.R
A crude way of achieving what you want would be to use:
:au BufNewFile *.R r ~/.vim/skeleton.R
This will read (:r) your file whenever a new *.R file is created. You want to avoid having BufRead in the autocmd, or it will read the skeleton file into your working file every time you open the file!
There are many plugins that add a lot more control to this process. Being the author and therefore completely biased, I'd recommend this one, but there are plenty of others listed here.
Shameless plug:
They all work in a relatively similar way, but to explain my script:
You install the plugin as described on the linked page and then create some templates in ~/.vim/templates. These templates should have the same extension as the 'target' file, so if it's a template for .R files, call it something like skeleton.R. In your .vimrc, add something like this:
let g:file_template_default = {}
let g:file_template_default['R'] = 'skeleton'
Then create your new .R file (with a filename, so save it if it's new) and enter:
:LoadFileTemplate
You can also skip the .vimrc editing and just do:
:LoadFileTemplate skeleton
See the website for more details.

Answer 2

Assume that your skeletons are in your ~/.vim/templates/ directory, you can put this
snippet in your vimrc file.
augroup templates
au!
" read in templates files
autocmd BufNewFile *.* silent! execute '0r ~/.vim/templates/skeleton.'.expand("<afile>:e")
augroup END
Some explanation,
BufNewFile . = each time we edit a new file
silent! execute = execute silently, no error messages if failed
0r = read file and insert content at top (0) in the new file
expand(":e") = get extension of current filename
see also http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Use_eval_to_create_dynamic_templates
*fixed missing dot in file path

Answer 3

Create a templates subdirectory in your ~/.vim folder
$ mkdir -p ~/.vim/templates
Create a new file in subdirectory called R.skeleton and put in the header and/or other stuff you want to automagically load upon creating a new ".R " file.
$ vim ~/.vim/templates/R.skeleton
Then, add the following to your ~/.vimrc file, which may have been suggested in a way by "guest"
autocmd BufNewFile * silent! 0r $HOME/.vim/templates/%:e.skeleton
Have a look at my github repository for some more details and other options.

Answer 4

It's just a trick I used to use .
It's cheap but If you ain't know nothing about vim and it's commands it's easy to handle.
make a directory like this :
~/.vim/templates/barney.cpp
and as you konw barney.cpp should be your template code .
then add a function like ForUncleBarney() to end of your .vimrc file located in ~/.vimrc
it should be like
function ForBarneyStinson()
:read ~/.vim/templates/barney.cpp
endfunction
then just use this command in vim
:call ForBarneyStinson()
then you see your template
as an example I already have two templates for .cpp files
:call ForBarney()
:call ACM()
sorry said too much,
Coding's awesome ! :)

Answer 5

Also take a look at https://github.com/aperezdc/vim-template.git.
I use it and have contributed some patches to it and would argue its relatively full featured.

Answer 6

What about using the snipmate plugin? See here

Answer 7

There exist many template-file expanders -- you'll also find there explanations on how to implement a rudimentary template-file expander.
For my part, I'm maintaining the fork of muTemplate. For a simple start, just drop a {ft}.template file into {rtp}/template/. If you want to use any (viml) variable or expression, just do. You can even put vim code (and now even functions) into the template-file if you wish. Several smart decisions are already implemented for C++ and vim files.