- Download MacVim : http://code.google.com/p/macvim/
: Move everything to the directory to /Applications/

- Download Thunderbird External Editor
: http://globs.org/articles.php?pg=2&lng=en

- In Thunderbird install `External Editor`

- Edit the preferences to `External Editor`
Editor = /Applications/mvim –servername email –remote-wait

- Using Automator, create a new `Workflow`

: Select `Run Shell Script` : For a script enter the two lines :
1 open /Applications/mvim –servername email &
2 open /Applications/Thunderbird.app
: Save -> File Format : Application :

You now have a built application that’ll run Thunderbird, with a background
VIM process.

- CMD + E to load a VIM instance

I would suggest, though, that it is easier to not use either the open command in the shell script nor a shell script at all. You can evoke MacVim directly from the command line. Here is what I am using in the text editor field.

/Applications/MacVim.app/Contents/MacOS/Vim -g -f ‘+/^-=-/+1′

The open command was causing more then a 30 second delay for me when I evoked the shell script. The direct call to the executable takes about 1 second.

The arguments are the same as from a real unix environment: -g to use the GUI, and -f to not fork into the background (the same reason for adding the -W in the shell script). The last argument ‘+/^-=-/+1′ starts me at the first blank line after the headers.

Lastly, if the macvim app name has spaces in it, you should rename it so it does not have spaces. Spaces in the name makes it harder for the unix command line to find the executable.

Your solution works provided that the “Launch Vim processes in a login shell” option is not selected. But Vim-Latex, which I use frequently, needs that option selected in order to work. Any idea as of how to get it to work with this option selected?

Thank you in advance.

Best regards,
Francisco

Here’s a work-around. It’s dirty (very dirty) but I think it’ll prove reliable. Replace your dovim script with the following — best use cut and paste as there’s some subtle quoting in there (and best hold your nose whilst doing so :

Cheers,

Mark


#!/bin/sh

open -a macvim "$@"
sleep 3 # be sure Vim has started
pid=`/bin/ps -A | awk '/\/Vim/ && $NF == "'"/private$@"'" {print $1}'`
while kill -0 $pid 2> /dev/null; do
sleep 1
done
exit 0


Note that the code that starts with pid= and ends with print $1 is all one long line (this should happen anyway if you cut and paste).

This method requires me to close all of my macvim instances just to send an email! This is much less convenient than simply composing in macvim, and then pasting into TB.

Any ideas around this?