Here's something similar I use, with these improvements on original post: 1. * Only sets up the mapping when editing perl files 2. * Sets up 1 smart mapping that automatically works for perl functions as well as modules 3. * Uses vim's build-in keyword definition feature instead of defining a new mapping In your .vimrc add these 2 lines: autocmd BufEnter *.pl,*.pm,*.cgi let oldkp=&kp | set keywordprg=perl \ -e\ $c=shift;exec\"perldoc\".($c=~/^[a-z]+$/?\"\ -f\ \":\"\ \").$c' autocmd BufLeave *.pl,*.pm,*.cgi let &keywordprg=oldkp See [help K]. Doesn't work. This is the error message I get.