For the Vim editor, how do I map a function key in .vimrc on Mac OS X?

Question

I'm trying to map f11 to a command within vim, with a line in .vimrc such as:

map <F11> :exe '!ctags -R --python-kinds=-i -f ./tags ' . shellescape(system('python -c "from distutils.sysconfig import get_python_lib; print get_python_lib()"'))<CR>

But if you hit F11 it just turns up the volume. Is it possible to remap keys that have OS-wide functions in OSX?

I don't want to remap any more commonly used key here because regenerating tags takes awhile.

Answer 1

You have two options that I know of:

1) Enable the regular use of the function keys, ie. f1 - f12 no longer executes the OSX specific command such as decrease volume. Instead you will have to hold the fn key press the f key. I have this set up on my computer and I've successfully mapped the function keys in Vim / MacVim. To do this go to System preferences --> Keyboard and check of the Use all F1, F2,...

2) Use fn + F11 to execute the command.

Answer 2

6 years later...

Check out https://github.com/Pyroh/Fluor/releases

It allows you to change the behavior of the function keys based on the app that is currently active.