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I'm trying to move my .vimrc file into my .vim folder. I read that a symbolic link would allow vim to be able to find my .vimrc file. So i go,

ln -s ~/.vim/.vimrc ~/.vimrc

But all this seems to do is create a empty .vimrc file in my home folder!!

What is going on?

2 Answers 2

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You reversed the symlink for creating a .vimrc in ~/.vim. It should be:

ln -s ~/.vimrc ~/.vim/.vimrc

Edit: Try using the absolute location. This is for creating a symlink of /home/username/.vim/.vimrc into /home/username/

ln -s /home/username/.vim/.vimrc /home/username/.vimrc
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  • Yes but when i do that it gives me an error saying file exists. I moved my vimrc file into .vim already. Now i just want vim to find it when it loads. Is that what symbolic links are for?
    – Fawkes5
    Dec 31, 2012 at 4:05
  • If your vim can't find your .vimrc that is a different issue. You can use a symbolic link to link wherever your current .vimrc is to the proper location.
    – sheldonk
    Dec 31, 2012 at 4:06
  • vim assumes that your .vimrc file is in the home directory so you could just leave it where it currently is.
    – sheldonk
    Dec 31, 2012 at 4:10
  • I do have a .vimrc file in my ~/.vim directory. I thought that was the whole point of symbolic links. What i want is for VIM, when it starts up, to look for .vimrc in my home directory, follow the symbolic link, and then read the .vimrc file in my ~/.vim directory. I do not want to keep a copy of it in my home directory. What do i have to do?
    – Fawkes5
    Dec 31, 2012 at 4:11
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    Ah, your initial post said you wanted to move the .vimrc file into the .vim folder. Your initial symlink creates a link from your .vim folder to the home directory. Try using the absolute location. So, ln -s /home/username/.vim/.vimrc /home/username/.vimrc
    – sheldonk
    Dec 31, 2012 at 4:19
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Symbolic links create a link from one location to another. The Wikipedia page on the subject explains it pretty well. From what you're doing, you're trying to create a link from ~/.vim/.vimrc to ~/.vimrc. What has me curious is that your source file is a really weird directory for that file to be in. I expect that it doesn't really exist, and that is why you're coming up with an empty file at the target link.

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  • Whats so weird about the directory ~/.vim?
    – Fawkes5
    Dec 31, 2012 at 4:07

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