editing large file with vi

[Bernd Dittmar]

i have to edit a large file with vi.
i gget the error "no space left on device".
How can i temporary change the "tmp-space" for vi ?

[Dan Hetzel]

Hi Bernd,

in your $HOME/.exrc file, put a line like the following:
directory=/wherever/you/want

This will set the temp directory to that location instead of the default /var/tmp

Best regards,

Dan

[Alex Glennie]

Not sure if this can be done ?

from man vi : Maximum File Size
The maximum file length of 234,239 lines is silently enforced.

Do a do a "wc -l" on the file if this exceeds
234,239 use the split(1) command to split these large files into smaller files, edit the smaller files and then use cat(1) to concatenate these files back may work ?

[Tony Constantine_1]

vi defaults to /var/tmp, see if can clear down any unwanted log files in /var or can you increase your /var file system. Do a vgdisplay /dev/vg00 to see if you have any free PE's left

or you can put a entry in your .exrc file
directory=/home/

[Dan Hetzel]

Hi Alex,

As the error message was "no space left on device", the problem doesn't seem to come from the file lenght.

Otherwise, you're right as 'split' can be used to break the file into smaller pieces.

The vi (visual) program is a display-oriented text editor that is based on the underlying ex line editor (see ex(1)), that's where the directory= stuff comes from.

Best regards,

Dan

[Tommy Palo]

There's also a better vi at:
http://www.vim.org
whitout some of the limitations in HP-UX vi, and with lots of more useful features.

[Rainer_1 · Accepted solution]

before editing you can set the temorary directory to a filesystem that has sufficient space with

export TMPDIR=

[Dan Hetzel]

Hi Bernd,

Have a look at this post from Stefan Farrelly:
http://my1.itrc.hp.com/cm/QuestionAnswer/1,1150,0x94f05f260cafd4118fef0090279cd0f9!0,00.html

Dan