The WideMsg() function below prints a single-line [long] message (of up to (&columns-1) length) without the "Press Enter" prompt, guaranteed: " WideMsg() prints [long] message up to (&columns-1) length " guaranteed without "Press Enter" prompt. function! WideMsg(msg) let x=&ruler | let y=&showcmd set noruler noshowcmd redraw echo a:msg let &ruler=x | let &showcmd=y endfun " To test. :set ruler showcmd :call WideMsg(repeat('x',&co-1)) The WideMsg() function above saves values of these two suspect options, echo the message, then restores the options.