Tips for using vim as a log viewer

Question

As a log viewer, which of vim's features are convenient?

less -F is quite good. But I believe vim could be better if we knew its hidden features.

* or #
v//d
g//d
etc..

PS. I don't use vim as a code writing tool.

Answer 1

This probably goes without saying but if you're using log files that are overwritten regularly, then you'll want to:

:set autoread

so vim will keep the latest log up on screen at all times.

Answer 2

You could try the LogViewer plugin for viewing multiple parallel log files. While you can use tmux and tail to have a terminal display multiple log files, you won't have your cursor synchronized between the different panes.

Answer 3

IMO the only thing more you're going to get out of using vim as a pager is syntax highlighting if there is a syntax file for the particular log/file you're viewing. You can try out this sh script which does exactly that:

http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=1723

Although it lacks some of less's built in and useful features such as -F, it's not surprising considering vim was designed to be a text editor not a pager.

Answer 4

What makes it convenient? You've got all the power of vim, of course ... I could recommend the LargeFile plugin, though, such that vim doesn't slow down for large log files.

I use vim to search through large log files, using regexps, and sometimes for specific keywords with *, or sometimes create a copy by selecting only specific lines (e.g. :v//delete), and using block select to get some specific columns in the log output (since log lines mostly follow a specific format). Easiest way to create a quick table, IMHO.

Answer 5

For long lines (not only in log files) scrolling horizontally is convenient. From my ~/.vimrc :

"-----------------------------------------------------------
" scroll horizontally     {{{2
"-----------------------------------------------------------
nnoremap <M-Left>  zH
nnoremap <M-Right> zL
inoremap <M-Left>  <Esc>zHi
inoremap <M-Right> <Esc>zLa