How to recursively print all files under the current working directory from Vim?

Question

I’m currently using MacVim and I’d like to print out all the files in my working tree. Is there a way to simply do this, perhaps using the hardcopy command?

Answer 1

A convenient way to execute a command for a group of files is to (1) collect the list of their names, define it as the new argument list (see :help arglist), and then (2) iterate the command over that list.

1. To perform the first step, use the :args command with a wildcard matching the desired files. For example,

:args ./**/*

sets the argument list to the names of all files in the current directory and its subdirectories; similarly,

:args /tmp/**/*.{c,h}

selects all .c and .h files in /tmp and its subdirectories. For details about wildcard syntax, see :help wildcard.

If the path to the root of a subtree containing files to print is unknown beforehand and is built by a script, use the command

:exe 'args' join(map(split(glob(p . '/**/*'), '\n'), 'fnameescape(v:val)'))

where the variable p is supposed to contain the path to that root directory.

2. For sending files in the argument list to the printer, execute the :hardcopy command for those files using the :argdo command:

:argdo hardcopy!

The ! specifier suppresses the modal dialog for selecting printing parameters.

A more complicated command can be used to print each file to a separate PostScript document located at the same directory as that file:

:argdo hardcopy! >%:p.ps

Here the name of a printed file is concatenated with the .ps suffix to get the name of a corresponding PostScript file (see :help cmdline-special).

For speeding up the :argdo argument command, Vim ignores the Syntax autocommand event by adding it to the eventignore list. This implies that if Syntax autocommands had not been run for a file in the argument list before the :hardcopy command is :argdone, the corresponding printed document would not be syntax highlighted (despite syntax:y being set in printoptions). To execute Syntax autocommands for all files in the argument list, use the following command first:

:argdo set ei-=Syntax | do Syntax

To do this in the same run as printing, concatenate the two commands:

:argdo set ei-=Syntax | do Syntax | hardcopy! >%:p.ps

Answer 2

Edit Sorry, I misunderstood before.

To print all, say php and C# files in your working directory:

:args ./*.{cs,php} **/*.{cs,php}
:argdo ha