.vimrc

You have the option of creating a .vimrc file in your home directory. This file can customize your editing environment. If you use a Mac, you should have these lines in your .vimrc.

syntax on
set et
set tabstop=4

This file runs every time you open a session with vi. The three lines present in the example enable syntax coloring (you want this), expand tabs into spaces (for Python sanity), and set your tabstop to 4 spaces. Note: Type this exactly as shown; do not put spaces around the = or you will get nastygrams whenever you open vi.

If you want line numbers by default, just add this line.

set number

If you find yourself using several colon commands at the start of a session, add them to your .vimrc as well.