Bram Moolenaar | 5e3cb7e | 2006-02-27 23:58:35 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 1 | *autocmd.txt* For Vim version 7.0aa. Last change: 2006 Feb 27 |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
| 7 | Automatic commands *autocommand* |
| 8 | |
| 9 | For a basic explanation, see section |40.3| in the user manual. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | 1. Introduction |autocmd-intro| |
| 12 | 2. Defining autocommands |autocmd-define| |
| 13 | 3. Removing autocommands |autocmd-remove| |
| 14 | 4. Listing autocommands |autocmd-list| |
| 15 | 5. Events |autocmd-events| |
| 16 | 6. Patterns |autocmd-patterns| |
Bram Moolenaar | b5bf5b8 | 2004-12-24 14:35:23 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 17 | 7. Buffer-local autocommands |autocmd-buflocal| |
| 18 | 8. Groups |autocmd-groups| |
| 19 | 9. Executing autocommands |autocmd-execute| |
| 20 | 10. Using autocommands |autocmd-use| |
Bram Moolenaar | b348038 | 2005-12-11 21:33:32 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 21 | 11. Disabling autocommands |autocmd-disable| |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 22 | |
| 23 | {Vi does not have any of these commands} |
| 24 | {only when the |+autocmd| feature has not been disabled at compile time} |
| 25 | |
| 26 | ============================================================================== |
| 27 | 1. Introduction *autocmd-intro* |
| 28 | |
Bram Moolenaar | d4755bb | 2004-09-02 19:12:26 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 29 | You can specify commands to be executed automatically when reading or writing |
| 30 | a file, when entering or leaving a buffer or window, and when exiting Vim. |
| 31 | For example, you can create an autocommand to set the 'cindent' option for |
| 32 | files matching *.c. You can also use autocommands to implement advanced |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 33 | features, such as editing compressed files (see |gzip-example|). The usual |
| 34 | place to put autocommands is in your .vimrc or .exrc file. |
| 35 | |
| 36 | *E203* *E204* *E143* |
| 37 | WARNING: Using autocommands is very powerful, and may lead to unexpected side |
| 38 | effects. Be careful not to destroy your text. |
| 39 | - It's a good idea to do some testing on an expendable copy of a file first. |
| 40 | For example: If you use autocommands to decompress a file when starting to |
| 41 | edit it, make sure that the autocommands for compressing when writing work |
| 42 | correctly. |
| 43 | - Be prepared for an error halfway through (e.g., disk full). Vim will mostly |
| 44 | be able to undo the changes to the buffer, but you may have to clean up the |
| 45 | changes to other files by hand (e.g., compress a file that has been |
| 46 | decompressed). |
| 47 | - If the BufRead* events allow you to edit a compressed file, the FileRead* |
| 48 | events should do the same (this makes recovery possible in some rare cases). |
| 49 | It's a good idea to use the same autocommands for the File* and Buf* events |
| 50 | when possible. |
| 51 | |
| 52 | ============================================================================== |
| 53 | 2. Defining autocommands *autocmd-define* |
| 54 | |
| 55 | Note: The ":autocmd" command cannot be followed by another command, since any |
| 56 | '|' is considered part of the command. |
| 57 | |
| 58 | *:au* *:autocmd* |
| 59 | :au[tocmd] [group] {event} {pat} [nested] {cmd} |
| 60 | Add {cmd} to the list of commands that Vim will |
| 61 | execute automatically on {event} for a file matching |
| 62 | {pat}. Vim always adds the {cmd} after existing |
| 63 | autocommands, so that the autocommands execute in the |
| 64 | order in which they were given. See |autocmd-nested| |
| 65 | for [nested]. |
| 66 | |
Bram Moolenaar | b5bf5b8 | 2004-12-24 14:35:23 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 67 | The special pattern <buffer> or <buffer=N> defines a buffer-local autocommand. |
| 68 | See |autocmd-buflocal|. |
| 69 | |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 70 | Note that special characters (e.g., "%", "<cword>") in the ":autocmd" |
| 71 | arguments are not expanded when the autocommand is defined. These will be |
| 72 | expanded when the Event is recognized, and the {cmd} is executed. The only |
| 73 | exception is that "<sfile>" is expanded when the autocmd is defined. Example: |
| 74 | > |
| 75 | :au BufNewFile,BufRead *.html so <sfile>:h/html.vim |
| 76 | |
| 77 | Here Vim expands <sfile> to the name of the file containing this line. |
| 78 | |
| 79 | When your .vimrc file is sourced twice, the autocommands will appear twice. |
| 80 | To avoid this, put this command in your .vimrc file, before defining |
| 81 | autocommands: > |
| 82 | |
| 83 | :autocmd! " Remove ALL autocommands for the current group. |
| 84 | |
| 85 | If you don't want to remove all autocommands, you can instead use a variable |
| 86 | to ensure that Vim includes the autocommands only once: > |
| 87 | |
| 88 | :if !exists("autocommands_loaded") |
| 89 | : let autocommands_loaded = 1 |
| 90 | : au ... |
| 91 | :endif |
| 92 | |
| 93 | When the [group] argument is not given, Vim uses the current group (as defined |
| 94 | with ":augroup"); otherwise, Vim uses the group defined with [group]. Note |
| 95 | that [group] must have been defined before. You cannot define a new group |
| 96 | with ":au group ..."; use ":augroup" for that. |
| 97 | |
| 98 | While testing autocommands, you might find the 'verbose' option to be useful: > |
| 99 | :set verbose=9 |
| 100 | This setting makes Vim echo the autocommands as it executes them. |
| 101 | |
| 102 | When defining an autocommand in a script, it will be able to call functions |
| 103 | local to the script and use mappings local to the script. When the event is |
| 104 | triggered and the command executed, it will run in the context of the script |
| 105 | it was defined in. This matters if |<SID>| is used in a command. |
| 106 | |
| 107 | When executing the commands, the messages from one command overwrites a |
| 108 | previous message. This is different from when executing the commands |
| 109 | manually. Mostly the screen will not scroll up, thus there is no hit-enter |
| 110 | prompt. When one command outputs two messages this can happen anyway. |
| 111 | |
| 112 | ============================================================================== |
| 113 | 3. Removing autocommands *autocmd-remove* |
| 114 | |
| 115 | :au[tocmd]! [group] {event} {pat} [nested] {cmd} |
| 116 | Remove all autocommands associated with {event} and |
| 117 | {pat}, and add the command {cmd}. See |
| 118 | |autocmd-nested| for [nested]. |
| 119 | |
| 120 | :au[tocmd]! [group] {event} {pat} |
| 121 | Remove all autocommands associated with {event} and |
| 122 | {pat}. |
| 123 | |
| 124 | :au[tocmd]! [group] * {pat} |
| 125 | Remove all autocommands associated with {pat} for all |
| 126 | events. |
| 127 | |
| 128 | :au[tocmd]! [group] {event} |
| 129 | Remove ALL autocommands for {event}. |
| 130 | |
| 131 | :au[tocmd]! [group] Remove ALL autocommands. |
| 132 | |
| 133 | When the [group] argument is not given, Vim uses the current group (as defined |
| 134 | with ":augroup"); otherwise, Vim uses the group defined with [group]. |
| 135 | |
| 136 | ============================================================================== |
| 137 | 4. Listing autocommands *autocmd-list* |
| 138 | |
| 139 | :au[tocmd] [group] {event} {pat} |
| 140 | Show the autocommands associated with {event} and |
| 141 | {pat}. |
| 142 | |
| 143 | :au[tocmd] [group] * {pat} |
| 144 | Show the autocommands associated with {pat} for all |
| 145 | events. |
| 146 | |
| 147 | :au[tocmd] [group] {event} |
| 148 | Show all autocommands for {event}. |
| 149 | |
| 150 | :au[tocmd] [group] Show all autocommands. |
| 151 | |
| 152 | If you provide the [group] argument, Vim lists only the autocommands for |
| 153 | [group]; otherwise, Vim lists the autocommands for ALL groups. Note that this |
| 154 | argument behavior differs from that for defining and removing autocommands. |
| 155 | |
Bram Moolenaar | b5bf5b8 | 2004-12-24 14:35:23 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 156 | In order to list buffer-local autocommands, use a pattern in the form <buffer> |
| 157 | or <buffer=N>. See |autocmd-buflocal|. |
| 158 | |
Bram Moolenaar | ac6e65f | 2005-08-29 22:25:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 159 | *:autocmd-verbose* |
| 160 | When 'verbose' is non-zero, listing an autocommand will also display where it |
| 161 | was last defined. Example: > |
| 162 | |
| 163 | :verbose autocmd BufEnter |
| 164 | FileExplorer BufEnter |
| 165 | * call s:LocalBrowse(expand("<amatch>")) |
| 166 | Last set from /usr/share/vim/vim-7.0/plugin/NetrwPlugin.vim |
| 167 | < |
| 168 | See |:verbose-cmd| for more information. |
| 169 | |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 170 | ============================================================================== |
| 171 | 5. Events *autocmd-events* *E215* *E216* |
| 172 | |
Bram Moolenaar | 4e330bb | 2005-12-07 21:04:31 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 173 | You can specify a comma-separated list of event names. No white space can be |
| 174 | used in this list. The command applies to all the events in the list. |
| 175 | |
| 176 | For READING FILES there are four kinds of events possible: |
| 177 | BufNewFile starting to edit a non-existent file |
| 178 | BufReadPre BufReadPost starting to edit an existing file |
| 179 | FilterReadPre FilterReadPost read the temp file with filter output |
| 180 | FileReadPre FileReadPost any other file read |
| 181 | Vim uses only one of these four kinds when reading a file. The "Pre" and |
| 182 | "Post" events are both triggered, before and after reading the file. |
| 183 | |
| 184 | Note that the autocommands for the *ReadPre events and all the Filter events |
| 185 | are not allowed to change the current buffer (you will get an error message if |
| 186 | this happens). This is to prevent the file to be read into the wrong buffer. |
| 187 | |
| 188 | Note that the 'modified' flag is reset AFTER executing the BufReadPost |
| 189 | and BufNewFile autocommands. But when the 'modified' option was set by the |
| 190 | autocommands, this doesn't happen. |
| 191 | |
| 192 | You can use the 'eventignore' option to ignore a number of events or all |
| 193 | events. |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 194 | *autocommand-events* *{event}* |
| 195 | Vim recognizes the following events. Vim ignores the case of event names |
| 196 | (e.g., you can use "BUFread" or "bufread" instead of "BufRead"). |
| 197 | |
Bram Moolenaar | 4e330bb | 2005-12-07 21:04:31 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 198 | First an overview by function with a short explanation. Then the list |
| 199 | alpabetically with full explanations |autocmd-events-abc|. |
| 200 | |
| 201 | Name triggered by ~ |
| 202 | |
| 203 | Reading |
| 204 | |BufNewFile| starting to edit a file that doesn't exist |
| 205 | |BufReadPre| starting to edit a new buffer, before reading the file |
| 206 | |BufRead| starting to edit a new buffer, after reading the file |
| 207 | |BufReadPost| starting to edit a new buffer, after reading the file |
| 208 | |BufReadCmd| before starting to edit a new buffer |Cmd-event| |
| 209 | |
| 210 | |FileReadPre| before reading a file with a ":read" command |
| 211 | |FileReadPost| after reading a file with a ":read" command |
| 212 | |FileReadCmd| before reading a file with a ":read" comman |Cmd-event| |
| 213 | |
| 214 | |FilterReadPre| before reading a file from a filter command |
| 215 | |FilterReadPost| after reading a file from a filter command |
| 216 | |
| 217 | |StdinReadPre| before reading from stdin into the buffer |
| 218 | |StdinReadPost| After reading from the stdin into the buffer |
| 219 | |
| 220 | Writing |
| 221 | |BufWrite| starting to write the whole buffer to a file |
| 222 | |BufWritePre| starting to write the whole buffer to a file |
| 223 | |BufWritePost| after writing the whole buffer to a file |
| 224 | |BufWriteCmd| before writing the whole buffer to a file |Cmd-event| |
| 225 | |
| 226 | |FileWritePre| starting to write part of a buffer to a file |
| 227 | |FileWritePost| after writing part of a buffer to a file |
| 228 | |FileWriteCmd| before writing part of a buffer to a file |Cmd-event| |
| 229 | |
| 230 | |FileAppendPre| starting to append to a file |
| 231 | |FileAppendPost| after appending to a file |
| 232 | |FileAppendCmd| before appending to a file |Cmd-event| |
| 233 | |
| 234 | |FilterWritePre| starting to write a file for a filter command or diff |
| 235 | |FilterWritePost| after writing a file for a filter command or diff |
| 236 | |
| 237 | Buffers |
| 238 | |BufAdd| just after adding a buffer to the buffer list |
| 239 | |BufCreate| just after adding a buffer to the buffer list |
| 240 | |BufDelete| before deleting a buffer from the buffer list |
| 241 | |BufWipeout| before completely deleting a buffer |
| 242 | |
| 243 | |BufFilePre| before changing the name of the current buffer |
| 244 | |BufFilePost| after changing the name of the current buffer |
| 245 | |
| 246 | |BufEnter| after entering a buffer |
| 247 | |BufLeave| before leaving to another buffer |
| 248 | |BufWinEnter| after a buffer is displayed in a window |
| 249 | |BufWinLeave| before a buffer is removed from a window |
| 250 | |
| 251 | |BufUnload| before unloading a buffer |
| 252 | |BufHidden| just after a buffer has become hidden |
| 253 | |BufNew| just after creating a new buffer |
| 254 | |
| 255 | |SwapExists| detected an existing swap file |
| 256 | |
| 257 | Options |
| 258 | |FileType| when the 'filetype' option has been set |
| 259 | |Syntax| when the 'syntax' option has been set |
| 260 | |EncodingChanged| after the 'encoding' option has been changed |
| 261 | |TermChanged| after the value of 'term' has changed |
| 262 | |
| 263 | Startup and exit |
| 264 | |VimEnter| after doing all the startup stuff |
| 265 | |GUIEnter| after starting the GUI successfully |
| 266 | |TermResponse| after the termainal response to |t_RV| is received |
| 267 | |
| 268 | |VimLeavePre| before exiting Vim, before writing the viminfo file |
| 269 | |VimLeave| before exiting Vim, after writing the viminfo file |
| 270 | |
| 271 | Various |
| 272 | |FileChangedShell| Vim notices that a file changed since editing started |
| 273 | |FileChangedRO| before making the first change to a read-only file |
| 274 | |
| 275 | |FuncUndefined| a user function is used but it isn't defined |
Bram Moolenaar | afeb4fa | 2006-02-01 21:51:12 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 276 | |SpellFileMissing| a spell file is used but it can't be found |
Bram Moolenaar | 4e330bb | 2005-12-07 21:04:31 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 277 | |
| 278 | |FocusGained| Vim got input focus |
| 279 | |FocusLost| Vim lost input focus |
| 280 | |CursorHold| the user doesn't press a key for a while |
Bram Moolenaar | 754b560 | 2006-02-09 23:53:20 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 281 | |CursorHoldI| the user doesn't press a key for a while in Insert mode |
| 282 | |CursorMoved| the cursor was moved in Normal mode |
| 283 | |CursorMovedI| the cursor was moved in Insert mode |
Bram Moolenaar | 4e330bb | 2005-12-07 21:04:31 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 284 | |
| 285 | |WinEnter| after entering another window |
| 286 | |WinLeave| before leaving a window |
Bram Moolenaar | faa959a | 2006-02-20 21:37:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 287 | |TabEnter| after entering another tab page |
| 288 | |TabLeave| before leaving a tab page |
Bram Moolenaar | 4e330bb | 2005-12-07 21:04:31 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 289 | |CmdwinEnter| after entering the command-line window |
| 290 | |CmdwinLeave| before leaving the command-line window |
| 291 | |
| 292 | |InsertEnter| starting Insert mode |
| 293 | |InsertChange| when typing <Insert> while in Insert or Replace mode |
| 294 | |InsertLeave| when leaving Insert mode |
| 295 | |
| 296 | |ColorScheme| after loading a color scheme |
| 297 | |
| 298 | |RemoteReply| a reply from a server Vim was received |
| 299 | |
| 300 | |QuickFixCmdPre| before a quickfix command is run |
| 301 | |QuickFixCmdPost| after a quickfix command is run |
| 302 | |
| 303 | |SessionLoadPost| after loading a session file |
| 304 | |
| 305 | |MenuPopup| just before showing the popup menu |
| 306 | |
| 307 | |User| to be used in combination with ":doautocmd" |
| 308 | |
| 309 | |
| 310 | The alphabetical list of autocommand events: *autocmd-events-abc* |
| 311 | |
| 312 | *BufCreate* *BufAdd* |
| 313 | BufAdd or BufCreate Just after creating a new buffer which is |
| 314 | added to the buffer list, or adding a buffer |
| 315 | to the buffer list. |
| 316 | Also used just after a buffer in the buffer |
| 317 | list has been renamed. |
| 318 | The BufCreate event is for historic reasons. |
| 319 | NOTE: When this autocommand is executed, the |
| 320 | current buffer "%" may be different from the |
| 321 | buffer being created "<afile>". |
| 322 | *BufDelete* |
| 323 | BufDelete Before deleting a buffer from the buffer list. |
| 324 | The BufUnload may be called first (if the |
| 325 | buffer was loaded). |
| 326 | Also used just before a buffer in the buffer |
| 327 | list is renamed. |
| 328 | NOTE: When this autocommand is executed, the |
| 329 | current buffer "%" may be different from the |
| 330 | buffer being deleted "<afile>". |
| 331 | *BufEnter* |
| 332 | BufEnter After entering a buffer. Useful for setting |
| 333 | options for a file type. Also executed when |
| 334 | starting to edit a buffer, after the |
| 335 | BufReadPost autocommands. |
| 336 | *BufFilePost* |
| 337 | BufFilePost After changing the name of the current buffer |
| 338 | with the ":file" or ":saveas" command. |
Bram Moolenaar | 4770d09 | 2006-01-12 23:22:24 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 339 | *BufFilePre* |
Bram Moolenaar | 4e330bb | 2005-12-07 21:04:31 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 340 | BufFilePre Before changing the name of the current buffer |
| 341 | with the ":file" or ":saveas" command. |
| 342 | *BufHidden* |
| 343 | BufHidden Just after a buffer has become hidden. That |
| 344 | is, when there are no longer windows that show |
| 345 | the buffer, but the buffer is not unloaded or |
| 346 | deleted. Not used for ":qa" or ":q" when |
| 347 | exiting Vim. |
| 348 | NOTE: When this autocommand is executed, the |
| 349 | current buffer "%" may be different from the |
| 350 | buffer being unloaded "<afile>". |
| 351 | *BufLeave* |
| 352 | BufLeave Before leaving to another buffer. Also when |
| 353 | leaving or closing the current window and the |
| 354 | new current window is not for the same buffer. |
| 355 | Not used for ":qa" or ":q" when exiting Vim. |
| 356 | *BufNew* |
| 357 | BufNew Just after creating a new buffer. Also used |
| 358 | just after a buffer has been renamed. When |
| 359 | the buffer is added to the buffer list BufAdd |
| 360 | will be triggered too. |
| 361 | NOTE: When this autocommand is executed, the |
| 362 | current buffer "%" may be different from the |
| 363 | buffer being created "<afile>". |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 364 | *BufNewFile* |
| 365 | BufNewFile When starting to edit a file that doesn't |
| 366 | exist. Can be used to read in a skeleton |
| 367 | file. |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 368 | *BufRead* *BufReadPost* |
| 369 | BufRead or BufReadPost When starting to edit a new buffer, after |
| 370 | reading the file into the buffer, before |
| 371 | executing the modelines. See |BufWinEnter| |
| 372 | for when you need to do something after |
| 373 | processing the modelines. |
| 374 | This does NOT work for ":r file". Not used |
| 375 | when the file doesn't exist. Also used after |
| 376 | successfully recovering a file. |
Bram Moolenaar | 4770d09 | 2006-01-12 23:22:24 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 377 | *BufReadCmd* |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 378 | BufReadCmd Before starting to edit a new buffer. Should |
| 379 | read the file into the buffer. |Cmd-event| |
Bram Moolenaar | 4770d09 | 2006-01-12 23:22:24 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 380 | *BufReadPre* *E200* *E201* |
Bram Moolenaar | 4e330bb | 2005-12-07 21:04:31 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 381 | BufReadPre When starting to edit a new buffer, before |
| 382 | reading the file into the buffer. Not used |
| 383 | if the file doesn't exist. |
| 384 | *BufUnload* |
| 385 | BufUnload Before unloading a buffer. This is when the |
| 386 | text in the buffer is going to be freed. This |
| 387 | may be after a BufWritePost and before a |
| 388 | BufDelete. Also used for all buffers that are |
| 389 | loaded when Vim is going to exit. |
| 390 | NOTE: When this autocommand is executed, the |
| 391 | current buffer "%" may be different from the |
| 392 | buffer being unloaded "<afile>". |
| 393 | *BufWinEnter* |
| 394 | BufWinEnter After a buffer is displayed in a window. This |
| 395 | can be when the buffer is loaded (after |
| 396 | processing the modelines), when a hidden |
| 397 | buffer is displayed in a window (and is no |
| 398 | longer hidden) or a buffer already visible in |
| 399 | a window is also displayed in another window. |
| 400 | *BufWinLeave* |
| 401 | BufWinLeave Before a buffer is removed from a window. |
| 402 | Not when it's still visible in another window. |
| 403 | Also triggered when exiting. It's triggered |
| 404 | before BufUnload or BufHidden. |
| 405 | NOTE: When this autocommand is executed, the |
| 406 | current buffer "%" may be different from the |
| 407 | buffer being unloaded "<afile>". |
| 408 | *BufWipeout* |
| 409 | BufWipeout Before completely deleting a buffer. The |
| 410 | BufUnload and BufDelete events may be called |
| 411 | first (if the buffer was loaded and was in the |
| 412 | buffer list). Also used just before a buffer |
| 413 | is renamed (also when it's not in the buffer |
| 414 | list). |
| 415 | NOTE: When this autocommand is executed, the |
| 416 | current buffer "%" may be different from the |
| 417 | buffer being deleted "<afile>". |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 418 | *BufWrite* *BufWritePre* |
| 419 | BufWrite or BufWritePre Before writing the whole buffer to a file. |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 420 | *BufWriteCmd* |
| 421 | BufWriteCmd Before writing the whole buffer to a file. |
| 422 | Should do the writing of the file and reset |
Bram Moolenaar | 1cd871b | 2004-12-19 22:46:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 423 | 'modified' if successful, unless '+' is in |
| 424 | 'cpo' and writing to another file |cpo-+|. |
| 425 | The buffer contents should not be changed. |
| 426 | |Cmd-event| |
Bram Moolenaar | 4e330bb | 2005-12-07 21:04:31 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 427 | *BufWritePost* |
| 428 | BufWritePost After writing the whole buffer to a file |
| 429 | (should undo the commands for BufWritePre). |
| 430 | *CmdwinEnter* |
| 431 | CmdwinEnter After entering the command-line window. |
| 432 | Useful for setting options specifically for |
| 433 | this special type of window. This is |
| 434 | triggered _instead_ of BufEnter and WinEnter. |
| 435 | <afile> is set to a single character, |
| 436 | indicating the type of command-line. |
| 437 | |cmdwin-char| |
| 438 | *CmdwinLeave* |
| 439 | CmdwinLeave Before leaving the command-line window. |
| 440 | Useful to clean up any global setting done |
| 441 | with CmdwinEnter. This is triggered _instead_ |
| 442 | of BufLeave and WinLeave. |
| 443 | <afile> is set to a single character, |
| 444 | indicating the type of command-line. |
| 445 | |cmdwin-char| |
| 446 | *ColorScheme* |
| 447 | ColorScheme After loading a color scheme. |:colorscheme| |
Bram Moolenaar | 754b560 | 2006-02-09 23:53:20 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 448 | |
Bram Moolenaar | 4e330bb | 2005-12-07 21:04:31 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 449 | *CursorHold* |
| 450 | CursorHold When the user doesn't press a key for the time |
| 451 | specified with 'updatetime'. Not re-triggered |
| 452 | until the user has pressed a key (i.e. doesn't |
| 453 | fire every 'updatetime' ms if you leave Vim to |
| 454 | make some coffee. :) See |CursorHold-example| |
| 455 | for previewing tags. |
| 456 | This event is only triggered in Normal mode. |
Bram Moolenaar | e3226be | 2005-12-18 22:10:00 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 457 | While recording the CursorHold event is not |
| 458 | triggered. |q| |
Bram Moolenaar | 4e330bb | 2005-12-07 21:04:31 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 459 | Note: Interactive commands cannot be used for |
| 460 | this event. There is no hit-enter prompt, |
| 461 | the screen is updated directly (when needed). |
| 462 | Note: In the future there will probably be |
| 463 | another option to set the time. |
| 464 | Hint: to force an update of the status lines |
| 465 | use: > |
| 466 | :let &ro = &ro |
| 467 | < {only on Amiga, Unix, Win32, MSDOS and all GUI |
| 468 | versions} |
Bram Moolenaar | 754b560 | 2006-02-09 23:53:20 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 469 | *CursorHoldI* |
| 470 | CursorHoldI Just like CursorHold, but in Insert mode. |
| 471 | |
| 472 | *CursorMoved* |
| 473 | CursorMoved After the cursor was moved in Normal mode. |
Bram Moolenaar | 5e3cb7e | 2006-02-27 23:58:35 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 474 | Also when the text of the cursor line has been |
| 475 | changed, e.g., with "x", "rx" or "p". |
Bram Moolenaar | 754b560 | 2006-02-09 23:53:20 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 476 | Not triggered when there is typeahead or when |
| 477 | an operator is pending. |
Bram Moolenaar | 1d2ba7f | 2006-02-14 22:29:30 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 478 | For an example see |match-parens|. |
Bram Moolenaar | 754b560 | 2006-02-09 23:53:20 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 479 | Careful: Don't do anything that the user does |
| 480 | not expect or that is slow. |
| 481 | *CursorMovedI* |
| 482 | CursorMovedI After the cursor was moved in Insert mode. |
| 483 | Otherwise the same as CursorMoved. |
Bram Moolenaar | 4e330bb | 2005-12-07 21:04:31 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 484 | *EncodingChanged* |
| 485 | EncodingChanged Fires off after the 'encoding' option has been |
| 486 | changed. Useful to set up fonts, for example. |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 487 | *FileAppendCmd* |
| 488 | FileAppendCmd Before appending to a file. Should do the |
Bram Moolenaar | 3fdfa4a | 2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 489 | appending to the file. Use the '[ and '] |
| 490 | marks for the range of lines.|Cmd-event| |
Bram Moolenaar | 4e330bb | 2005-12-07 21:04:31 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 491 | *FileAppendPost* |
| 492 | FileAppendPost After appending to a file. |
| 493 | *FileAppendPre* |
| 494 | FileAppendPre Before appending to a file. Use the '[ and '] |
| 495 | marks for the range of lines. |
| 496 | *FileChangedRO* |
| 497 | FileChangedRO Before making the first change to a read-only |
| 498 | file. Can be used to check-out the file from |
| 499 | a source control system. Not triggered when |
| 500 | the change was caused by an autocommand. |
| 501 | This event is triggered when making the first |
| 502 | change in a buffer or the first change after |
| 503 | 'readonly' was set, |
| 504 | just before the change is applied to the text. |
| 505 | WARNING: If the autocommand moves the cursor |
| 506 | the effect of the change is undefined. |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 507 | *FileChangedShell* |
| 508 | FileChangedShell When Vim notices that the modification time of |
| 509 | a file has changed since editing started. |
| 510 | Also when the file attributes of the file |
| 511 | change. |timestamp| |
| 512 | Mostly triggered after executing a shell |
| 513 | command, but also with a |:checktime| command |
Bram Moolenaar | 19a09a1 | 2005-03-04 23:39:37 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 514 | or when Gvim regains input focus. |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 515 | This autocommand is triggered for each changed |
| 516 | file. It is not used when 'autoread' is set |
| 517 | and the buffer was not changed. If a |
| 518 | FileChangedShell autocommand is present the |
| 519 | warning message and prompt is not given. |
| 520 | This is useful for reloading related buffers |
| 521 | which are affected by a single command. |
Bram Moolenaar | 19a09a1 | 2005-03-04 23:39:37 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 522 | The |v:fcs_reason| variable is set to indicate |
| 523 | what happened and |v:fcs_choice| can be used |
| 524 | to tell Vim what to do next. |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 525 | NOTE: When this autocommand is executed, the |
| 526 | current buffer "%" may be different from the |
| 527 | buffer that was changed "<afile>". |
| 528 | NOTE: The commands must not change the current |
| 529 | buffer, jump to another buffer or delete a |
| 530 | buffer. *E246* |
| 531 | NOTE: This event never nests, to avoid an |
| 532 | endless loop. This means that while executing |
| 533 | commands for the FileChangedShell event no |
| 534 | other FileChangedShell event will be |
| 535 | triggered. |
Bram Moolenaar | 4e330bb | 2005-12-07 21:04:31 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 536 | *FileEncoding* |
| 537 | FileEncoding Obsolete. It still works and is equivalent |
| 538 | to |EncodingChanged|. |
| 539 | *FileReadCmd* |
| 540 | FileReadCmd Before reading a file with a ":read" command. |
| 541 | Should do the reading of the file. |Cmd-event| |
| 542 | *FileReadPost* |
| 543 | FileReadPost After reading a file with a ":read" command. |
| 544 | Note that Vim sets the '[ and '] marks to the |
| 545 | first and last line of the read. This can be |
| 546 | used to operate on the lines just read. |
| 547 | *FileReadPre* |
| 548 | FileReadPre Before reading a file with a ":read" command. |
| 549 | *FileType* |
| 550 | FileType When the 'filetype' option has been set. |
| 551 | <afile> can be used for the name of the file |
| 552 | where this option was set, and <amatch> for |
| 553 | the new value of 'filetype'. |
| 554 | See |filetypes|. |
| 555 | *FileWriteCmd* |
| 556 | FileWriteCmd Before writing to a file, when not writing the |
| 557 | whole buffer. Should do the writing to the |
| 558 | file. Should not change the buffer. Use the |
| 559 | '[ and '] marks for the range of lines. |
| 560 | |Cmd-event| |
| 561 | *FileWritePost* |
| 562 | FileWritePost After writing to a file, when not writing the |
| 563 | whole buffer. |
| 564 | *FileWritePre* |
| 565 | FileWritePre Before writing to a file, when not writing the |
| 566 | whole buffer. Use the '[ and '] marks for the |
| 567 | range of lines. |
| 568 | *FilterReadPost* |
| 569 | FilterReadPost After reading a file from a filter command. |
| 570 | Vim checks the pattern against the name of |
| 571 | the current buffer as with FilterReadPre. |
| 572 | Not triggered when 'shelltemp' is off. |
| 573 | *FilterReadPre* *E135* |
| 574 | FilterReadPre Before reading a file from a filter command. |
| 575 | Vim checks the pattern against the name of |
| 576 | the current buffer, not the name of the |
| 577 | temporary file that is the output of the |
| 578 | filter command. |
| 579 | Not triggered when 'shelltemp' is off. |
| 580 | *FilterWritePost* |
| 581 | FilterWritePost After writing a file for a filter command or |
| 582 | making a diff. |
| 583 | Vim checks the pattern against the name of |
| 584 | the current buffer as with FilterWritePre. |
| 585 | Not triggered when 'shelltemp' is off. |
| 586 | *FilterWritePre* |
| 587 | FilterWritePre Before writing a file for a filter command or |
| 588 | making a diff. |
| 589 | Vim checks the pattern against the name of |
| 590 | the current buffer, not the name of the |
| 591 | temporary file that is the output of the |
| 592 | filter command. |
| 593 | Not triggered when 'shelltemp' is off. |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 594 | *FocusGained* |
| 595 | FocusGained When Vim got input focus. Only for the GUI |
| 596 | version and a few console versions where this |
| 597 | can be detected. |
| 598 | *FocusLost* |
| 599 | FocusLost When Vim lost input focus. Only for the GUI |
| 600 | version and a few console versions where this |
Bram Moolenaar | 843ee41 | 2004-06-30 16:16:41 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 601 | can be detected. May also happen when a |
| 602 | dialog pops up. |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 603 | *FuncUndefined* |
| 604 | FuncUndefined When a user function is used but it isn't |
| 605 | defined. Useful for defining a function only |
| 606 | when it's used. Both <amatch> and <afile> are |
| 607 | set to the name of the function. |
Bram Moolenaar | 7c62692 | 2005-02-07 22:01:03 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 608 | See |autoload-functions|. |
Bram Moolenaar | 4e330bb | 2005-12-07 21:04:31 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 609 | *GUIEnter* |
| 610 | GUIEnter After starting the GUI successfully, and after |
| 611 | opening the window. It is triggered before |
| 612 | VimEnter when using gvim. Can be used to |
| 613 | position the window from a .gvimrc file: > |
| 614 | :autocmd GUIEnter * winpos 100 50 |
| 615 | < *InsertChange* |
| 616 | InsertChange When typing <Insert> while in Insert or |
| 617 | Replace mode. The |v:insertmode| variable |
| 618 | indicates the new mode. |
| 619 | Be careful not to move the cursor or do |
| 620 | anything else that the user does not expect. |
| 621 | *InsertEnter* |
| 622 | InsertEnter When starting Insert mode. Also for Replace |
| 623 | mode and Virtual Replace mode. The |
| 624 | |v:insertmode| variable indicates the mode. |
| 625 | Be careful not to move the cursor or do |
| 626 | anything else that the user does not expect. |
| 627 | *InsertLeave* |
| 628 | InsertLeave When leaving Insert mode. Also when using |
| 629 | CTRL-O |i_CTRL-O|. But not for |i_CTRL-C|. |
| 630 | *MenuPopup* |
| 631 | MenuPopup Just before showing the popup menu (under the |
| 632 | right mouse button). Useful for adjusting the |
| 633 | menu for what is under the cursor or mouse |
| 634 | pointer. |
| 635 | The pattern is matched against a single |
| 636 | character representing the mode: |
| 637 | n Normal |
| 638 | v Visual |
| 639 | o Operator-pending |
| 640 | i Insert |
| 641 | c Commmand line |
| 642 | *QuickFixCmdPre* |
| 643 | QuickFixCmdPre Before a quickfix command is run (|:make|, |
Bram Moolenaar | a655760 | 2006-02-04 22:43:20 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 644 | |:lmake|, |:grep|, |:lgrep|, |:grepadd|, |
| 645 | |:lgrepadd|, |:vimgrep|, |:lvimgrep|, |
| 646 | |:vimgrepadd|, |:vimgrepadd|). The pattern is |
| 647 | matched against the command being run. When |
| 648 | |:grep| is used but 'grepprg' is set to |
| 649 | "internal" it still matches "grep". |
Bram Moolenaar | 4e330bb | 2005-12-07 21:04:31 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 650 | This command cannot be used to set the |
| 651 | 'makeprg' and 'grepprg' variables. |
| 652 | If this command causes an error, the quickfix |
| 653 | command is not executed. |
| 654 | *QuickFixCmdPost* |
| 655 | QuickFixCmdPost Like QuickFixCmdPre, but after a quickfix |
| 656 | command is run. |
| 657 | *RemoteReply* |
| 658 | RemoteReply When a reply from a Vim that functions as |
| 659 | server was received |server2client()|. |
| 660 | <amatch> is equal to the {serverid} from which |
| 661 | the reply was sent, and <afile> is the actual |
| 662 | reply string. |
| 663 | Note that even if an autocommand is defined, |
| 664 | the reply should be read with |remote_read()| |
| 665 | to consume it. |
| 666 | *SessionLoadPost* |
| 667 | SessionLoadPost After loading the session file created using |
| 668 | the |:mksession| command. |
Bram Moolenaar | afeb4fa | 2006-02-01 21:51:12 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 669 | *SpellFileMissing* |
| 670 | SpellFileMissing When trying to load a spell checking file and |
| 671 | it can't be found. <amatch> is the language, |
| 672 | 'encoding' also matters. See |
| 673 | |spell-SpellFileMissing|. |
Bram Moolenaar | 4e330bb | 2005-12-07 21:04:31 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 674 | *StdinReadPost* |
| 675 | StdinReadPost After reading from the stdin into the buffer, |
| 676 | before executing the modelines. Only used |
| 677 | when the "-" argument was used when Vim was |
| 678 | started |--|. |
| 679 | *StdinReadPre* |
| 680 | StdinReadPre Before reading from stdin into the buffer. |
| 681 | Only used when the "-" argument was used when |
| 682 | Vim was started |--|. |
| 683 | *SwapExists* |
| 684 | SwapExists Detected an existing swap file when starting |
| 685 | to edit a file. Only when it is possible to |
| 686 | select a way to handle the situation, when Vim |
| 687 | would ask the user what to do. |
| 688 | The |v:swapname| variable holds the name of |
Bram Moolenaar | b348038 | 2005-12-11 21:33:32 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 689 | the swap file found, <afile> the file being |
| 690 | edited. |v:swapcommand| may contain a command |
| 691 | to be executed in the opened file. |
| 692 | The commands should set the |v:swapchoice| |
| 693 | variable to a string with one character to |
| 694 | tell Vim what should be done next: |
Bram Moolenaar | 4e330bb | 2005-12-07 21:04:31 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 695 | 'o' open read-only |
| 696 | 'e' edit the file anyway |
| 697 | 'r' recover |
| 698 | 'd' delete the swap file |
| 699 | 'q' quit, don't edit the file |
| 700 | 'a' abort, like hitting CTRL-C |
| 701 | When set to an empty string the user will be |
| 702 | asked, as if there was no SwapExists autocmd. |
| 703 | Note: Do not try to change the buffer, the |
| 704 | results are unpredictable. |
| 705 | *Syntax* |
| 706 | Syntax When the 'syntax' option has been set. |
| 707 | <afile> can be used for the name of the file |
| 708 | where this option was set, and <amatch> for |
| 709 | the new value of 'syntax'. |
| 710 | See |:syn-on|. |
Bram Moolenaar | faa959a | 2006-02-20 21:37:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 711 | *TabEnter* |
| 712 | TabEnter Just after entering a tab page. |tab-page| |
Bram Moolenaar | 7e8fd63 | 2006-02-18 22:14:51 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 713 | Before triggering the WinEnter and BufEnter |
| 714 | events. |
Bram Moolenaar | faa959a | 2006-02-20 21:37:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 715 | *TabLeave* |
| 716 | TabLeave Just before leaving a tab page. |tab-page| |
| 717 | A WinLeave event will have been triggered |
| 718 | first. |
Bram Moolenaar | 4e330bb | 2005-12-07 21:04:31 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 719 | *TermChanged* |
| 720 | TermChanged After the value of 'term' has changed. Useful |
| 721 | for re-loading the syntax file to update the |
| 722 | colors, fonts and other terminal-dependent |
| 723 | settings. Executed for all loaded buffers. |
| 724 | *TermResponse* |
| 725 | TermResponse After the response to |t_RV| is received from |
| 726 | the terminal. The value of |v:termresponse| |
| 727 | can be used to do things depending on the |
| 728 | terminal version. |
| 729 | *User* |
| 730 | User Never executed automatically. To be used for |
| 731 | autocommands that are only executed with |
| 732 | ":doautocmd". |
| 733 | *UserGettingBored* |
| 734 | UserGettingBored When the user hits CTRL-C. Just kidding! :-) |
| 735 | *VimEnter* |
| 736 | VimEnter After doing all the startup stuff, including |
| 737 | loading .vimrc files, executing the "-c cmd" |
| 738 | arguments, creating all windows and loading |
| 739 | the buffers in them. |
| 740 | *VimLeave* |
| 741 | VimLeave Before exiting Vim, just after writing the |
| 742 | .viminfo file. Executed only once, like |
| 743 | VimLeavePre. |
| 744 | To detect an abnormal exit use |v:dying|. |
| 745 | *VimLeavePre* |
| 746 | VimLeavePre Before exiting Vim, just before writing the |
| 747 | .viminfo file. This is executed only once, |
| 748 | if there is a match with the name of what |
| 749 | happens to be the current buffer when exiting. |
| 750 | Mostly useful with a "*" pattern. > |
| 751 | :autocmd VimLeavePre * call CleanupStuff() |
| 752 | < To detect an abnormal exit use |v:dying|. |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 753 | *WinEnter* |
| 754 | WinEnter After entering another window. Not done for |
| 755 | the first window, when Vim has just started. |
| 756 | Useful for setting the window height. |
| 757 | If the window is for another buffer, Vim |
| 758 | executes the BufEnter autocommands after the |
| 759 | WinEnter autocommands. |
| 760 | Note: When using ":split fname" the WinEnter |
| 761 | event is triggered after the split but before |
| 762 | the file "fname" is loaded. |
| 763 | *WinLeave* |
| 764 | WinLeave Before leaving a window. If the window to be |
| 765 | entered next is for a different buffer, Vim |
| 766 | executes the BufLeave autocommands before the |
| 767 | WinLeave autocommands (but not for ":new"). |
| 768 | Not used for ":qa" or ":q" when exiting Vim. |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 769 | |
| 770 | ============================================================================== |
| 771 | 6. Patterns *autocmd-patterns* *{pat}* |
| 772 | |
| 773 | The file pattern {pat} is tested for a match against the file name in one of |
| 774 | two ways: |
| 775 | 1. When there is no '/' in the pattern, Vim checks for a match against only |
| 776 | the tail part of the file name (without its leading directory path). |
| 777 | 2. When there is a '/' in the pattern, Vim checks for a match against the |
| 778 | both short file name (as you typed it) and the full file name (after |
| 779 | expanding it to a full path and resolving symbolic links). |
| 780 | |
Bram Moolenaar | b5bf5b8 | 2004-12-24 14:35:23 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 781 | The special pattern <buffer> or <buffer=N> is used for buffer-local |
| 782 | autocommands |autocmd-buflocal|. This pattern is not matched against the name |
| 783 | of a buffer. |
| 784 | |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 785 | Examples: > |
| 786 | :autocmd BufRead *.txt set et |
| 787 | Set the 'et' option for all text files. > |
| 788 | |
| 789 | :autocmd BufRead /vim/src/*.c set cindent |
| 790 | Set the 'cindent' option for C files in the /vim/src directory. > |
| 791 | |
| 792 | :autocmd BufRead /tmp/*.c set ts=5 |
| 793 | If you have a link from "/tmp/test.c" to "/home/nobody/vim/src/test.c", and |
| 794 | you start editing "/tmp/test.c", this autocommand will match. |
| 795 | |
| 796 | Note: To match part of a path, but not from the root directory, use a '*' as |
| 797 | the first character. Example: > |
| 798 | :autocmd BufRead */doc/*.txt set tw=78 |
| 799 | This autocommand will for example be executed for "/tmp/doc/xx.txt" and |
| 800 | "/usr/home/piet/doc/yy.txt". The number of directories does not matter here. |
| 801 | |
| 802 | |
| 803 | The file name that the pattern is matched against is after expanding |
| 804 | wildcards. Thus is you issue this command: > |
| 805 | :e $ROOTDIR/main.$EXT |
| 806 | The argument is first expanded to: > |
| 807 | /usr/root/main.py |
| 808 | Before it's matched with the pattern of the autocommand. Careful with this |
| 809 | when using events like FileReadCmd, the value of <amatch> may not be what you |
| 810 | expect. |
| 811 | |
| 812 | |
| 813 | Environment variables can be used in a pattern: > |
| 814 | :autocmd BufRead $VIMRUNTIME/doc/*.txt set expandtab |
| 815 | And ~ can be used for the home directory (if $HOME is defined): > |
| 816 | :autocmd BufWritePost ~/.vimrc so ~/.vimrc |
| 817 | :autocmd BufRead ~archive/* set readonly |
| 818 | The environment variable is expanded when the autocommand is defined, not when |
| 819 | the autocommand is executed. This is different from the command! |
| 820 | |
| 821 | *file-pattern* |
| 822 | The pattern is interpreted like mostly used in file names: |
| 823 | * matches any sequence of characters |
| 824 | ? matches any single character |
| 825 | \? matches a '?' |
| 826 | . matches a '.' |
| 827 | ~ matches a '~' |
| 828 | , separates patterns |
| 829 | \, matches a ',' |
| 830 | { } like \( \) in a |pattern| |
| 831 | , inside { }: like \| in a |pattern| |
| 832 | \ special meaning like in a |pattern| |
| 833 | [ch] matches 'c' or 'h' |
| 834 | [^ch] match any character but 'c' and 'h' |
| 835 | |
| 836 | Note that for all systems the '/' character is used for path separator (even |
| 837 | MS-DOS and OS/2). This was done because the backslash is difficult to use |
| 838 | in a pattern and to make the autocommands portable across different systems. |
| 839 | |
Bram Moolenaar | b5bf5b8 | 2004-12-24 14:35:23 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 840 | *autocmd-changes* |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 841 | Matching with the pattern is done when an event is triggered. Changing the |
| 842 | buffer name in one of the autocommands, or even deleting the buffer, does not |
| 843 | change which autocommands will be executed. Example: > |
| 844 | |
| 845 | au BufEnter *.foo bdel |
| 846 | au BufEnter *.foo set modified |
| 847 | |
| 848 | This will delete the current buffer and then set 'modified' in what has become |
| 849 | the current buffer instead. Vim doesn't take into account that "*.foo" |
| 850 | doesn't match with that buffer name. It matches "*.foo" with the name of the |
| 851 | buffer at the moment the event was triggered. |
| 852 | |
Bram Moolenaar | b5bf5b8 | 2004-12-24 14:35:23 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 853 | However, buffer-local autocommands will not be executed for a buffer that has |
| 854 | been wiped out with |:bwipe|. After deleting the buffer with |:bdel| the |
| 855 | buffer actually still exists (it becomes unlisted), thus the autocommands are |
| 856 | still executed. |
| 857 | |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 858 | ============================================================================== |
Bram Moolenaar | b5bf5b8 | 2004-12-24 14:35:23 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 859 | 7. Buffer-local autocommands *autocmd-buflocal* *autocmd-buffer-local* |
| 860 | *<buffer=N>* *<buffer=abuf>* *E680* |
| 861 | |
| 862 | Buffer-local autocommands are attached to a specific buffer. They are useful |
| 863 | if the buffer does not have a name and when the name does not match a specific |
| 864 | pattern. But it also means they must be explicitly added to each buffer. |
| 865 | |
| 866 | Instead of a pattern buffer-local autocommands use one of these forms: |
| 867 | <buffer> current buffer |
| 868 | <buffer=99> buffer number 99 |
| 869 | <buffer=abuf> using <abuf> (only when executing autocommands) |
| 870 | |<abuf>| |
| 871 | |
| 872 | Examples: > |
| 873 | :au CursorHold <buffer> echo 'hold' |
| 874 | :au CursorHold <buffer=33> echo 'hold' |
| 875 | :au CursorHold <buffer=abuf> echo 'hold' |
| 876 | |
| 877 | All the commands for autocommands also work with buffer-local autocommands, |
| 878 | simply use the special string instead of the pattern. Examples: > |
| 879 | :au! * <buffer> " remove buffer-local autotommands for |
| 880 | " current buffer |
| 881 | :au! * <buffer=33> " remove buffer-local autotommands for |
| 882 | " buffer #33 |
| 883 | :dobuf :au! CursorHold <buffer> " remove autocmd for given event for all |
| 884 | " buffers |
| 885 | :au * <buffer> " list buffer-local autocommands for |
| 886 | " current buffer |
| 887 | |
| 888 | Note that when an autocommand is defined for the current buffer, it is stored |
| 889 | with the buffer number. Thus it uses the form "<buffer=12>", where 12 is the |
| 890 | number of the current buffer. You will see this when listing autocommands, |
| 891 | for example. |
| 892 | |
| 893 | To test for presence of buffer-local autocommands use the |exists()| function |
| 894 | as follows: > |
| 895 | :if exists("#CursorHold#<buffer=12>") | ... | endif |
| 896 | :if exists("#CursorHold#<buffer>") | ... | endif " for current buffer |
| 897 | |
| 898 | When a buffer is wiped out its buffer-local autocommands are also gone, of |
| 899 | course. Note that when deleting a buffer, e.g., with ":bdel", it is only |
| 900 | unlisted, the autocommands are still present. In order to see the removal of |
| 901 | buffer-local autocommands: > |
| 902 | :set verbose=6 |
| 903 | |
| 904 | It is not possible to define buffer-local autocommands for a non-existent |
| 905 | buffer. |
| 906 | |
| 907 | ============================================================================== |
| 908 | 8. Groups *autocmd-groups* |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 909 | |
| 910 | Autocommands can be put together in a group. This is useful for removing or |
| 911 | executing a group of autocommands. For example, all the autocommands for |
| 912 | syntax highlighting are put in the "highlight" group, to be able to execute |
| 913 | ":doautoall highlight BufRead" when the GUI starts. |
| 914 | |
| 915 | When no specific group is selected, Vim uses the default group. The default |
| 916 | group does not have a name. You cannot execute the autocommands from the |
| 917 | default group separately; you can execute them only by executing autocommands |
| 918 | for all groups. |
| 919 | |
| 920 | Normally, when executing autocommands automatically, Vim uses the autocommands |
| 921 | for all groups. The group only matters when executing autocommands with |
| 922 | ":doautocmd" or ":doautoall", or when defining or deleting autocommands. |
| 923 | |
| 924 | The group name can contain any characters except white space. The group name |
| 925 | "end" is reserved (also in uppercase). |
| 926 | |
| 927 | The group name is case sensitive. Note that this is different from the event |
| 928 | name! |
| 929 | |
| 930 | *:aug* *:augroup* |
| 931 | :aug[roup] {name} Define the autocmd group name for the |
| 932 | following ":autocmd" commands. The name "end" |
| 933 | or "END" selects the default group. |
| 934 | |
| 935 | *:augroup-delete* *E367* |
| 936 | :aug[roup]! {name} Delete the autocmd group {name}. Don't use |
| 937 | this if there is still an autocommand using |
| 938 | this group! This is not checked. |
| 939 | |
| 940 | To enter autocommands for a specific group, use this method: |
| 941 | 1. Select the group with ":augroup {name}". |
| 942 | 2. Delete any old autocommands with ":au!". |
| 943 | 3. Define the autocommands. |
| 944 | 4. Go back to the default group with "augroup END". |
| 945 | |
| 946 | Example: > |
| 947 | :augroup uncompress |
| 948 | : au! |
| 949 | : au BufEnter *.gz %!gunzip |
| 950 | :augroup END |
| 951 | |
| 952 | This prevents having the autocommands defined twice (e.g., after sourcing the |
| 953 | .vimrc file again). |
| 954 | |
| 955 | ============================================================================== |
Bram Moolenaar | b5bf5b8 | 2004-12-24 14:35:23 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 956 | 9. Executing autocommands *autocmd-execute* |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 957 | |
| 958 | Vim can also execute Autocommands non-automatically. This is useful if you |
| 959 | have changed autocommands, or when Vim has executed the wrong autocommands |
| 960 | (e.g., the file pattern match was wrong). |
| 961 | |
| 962 | Note that the 'eventignore' option applies here too. Events listed in this |
| 963 | option will not cause any commands to be executed. |
| 964 | |
| 965 | *:do* *:doau* *:doautocmd* *E217* |
| 966 | :do[autocmd] [group] {event} [fname] |
| 967 | Apply the autocommands matching [fname] (default: |
| 968 | current file name) for {event} to the current buffer. |
| 969 | You can use this when the current file name does not |
| 970 | match the right pattern, after changing settings, or |
| 971 | to execute autocommands for a certain event. |
| 972 | It's possible to use this inside an autocommand too, |
| 973 | so you can base the autocommands for one extension on |
| 974 | another extension. Example: > |
| 975 | :au Bufenter *.cpp so ~/.vimrc_cpp |
| 976 | :au Bufenter *.cpp doau BufEnter x.c |
| 977 | < Be careful to avoid endless loops. See |
| 978 | |autocmd-nested|. |
| 979 | |
| 980 | When the [group] argument is not given, Vim executes |
| 981 | the autocommands for all groups. When the [group] |
| 982 | argument is included, Vim executes only the matching |
| 983 | autocommands for that group. Note: if you use an |
| 984 | undefined group name, Vim gives you an error message. |
| 985 | |
Bram Moolenaar | a5792f5 | 2005-11-23 21:25:05 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 986 | After applying the autocommands the modelines are |
| 987 | processed, so that their overrule the settings from |
| 988 | autocommands, like what happens when editing a file. |
| 989 | |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 990 | *:doautoa* *:doautoall* |
| 991 | :doautoa[ll] [group] {event} [fname] |
| 992 | Like ":doautocmd", but apply the autocommands to each |
| 993 | loaded buffer. Note that {fname} is used to select |
| 994 | the autocommands, not the buffers to which they are |
| 995 | applied. |
| 996 | Careful: Don't use this for autocommands that delete a |
| 997 | buffer, change to another buffer or change the |
| 998 | contents of a buffer; the result is unpredictable. |
| 999 | This command is intended for autocommands that set |
| 1000 | options, change highlighting, and things like that. |
| 1001 | |
| 1002 | ============================================================================== |
Bram Moolenaar | b5bf5b8 | 2004-12-24 14:35:23 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 1003 | 10. Using autocommands *autocmd-use* |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 1004 | |
| 1005 | For WRITING FILES there are four possible sets of events. Vim uses only one |
| 1006 | of these sets for a write command: |
| 1007 | |
| 1008 | BufWriteCmd BufWritePre BufWritePost writing the whole buffer |
| 1009 | FilterWritePre FilterWritePost writing to filter temp file |
| 1010 | FileAppendCmd FileAppendPre FileAppendPost appending to a file |
| 1011 | FileWriteCmd FileWritePre FileWritePost any other file write |
| 1012 | |
| 1013 | When there is a matching "*Cmd" autocommand, it is assumed it will do the |
| 1014 | writing. No further writing is done and the other events are not triggered. |
| 1015 | |Cmd-event| |
| 1016 | |
| 1017 | Note that the *WritePost commands should undo any changes to the buffer that |
| 1018 | were caused by the *WritePre commands; otherwise, writing the file will have |
| 1019 | the side effect of changing the buffer. |
| 1020 | |
| 1021 | Before executing the autocommands, the buffer from which the lines are to be |
| 1022 | written temporarily becomes the current buffer. Unless the autocommands |
| 1023 | change the current buffer or delete the previously current buffer, the |
| 1024 | previously current buffer is made the current buffer again. |
| 1025 | |
| 1026 | The *WritePre and *AppendPre autocommands must not delete the buffer from |
| 1027 | which the lines are to be written. |
| 1028 | |
| 1029 | The '[ and '] marks have a special position: |
| 1030 | - Before the *ReadPre event the '[ mark is set to the line just above where |
| 1031 | the new lines will be inserted. |
| 1032 | - Before the *ReadPost event the '[ mark is set to the first line that was |
| 1033 | just read, the '] mark to the last line. |
Bram Moolenaar | 3fdfa4a | 2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 1034 | - Before executing the *WriteCmd, *WritePre and *AppendPre autocommands the '[ |
| 1035 | mark is set to the first line that will be written, the '] mark to the last |
| 1036 | line. |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 1037 | Careful: '[ and '] change when using commands that change the buffer. |
| 1038 | |
| 1039 | In commands which expect a file name, you can use "<afile>" for the file name |
| 1040 | that is being read |:<afile>| (you can also use "%" for the current file |
| 1041 | name). "<abuf>" can be used for the buffer number of the currently effective |
| 1042 | buffer. This also works for buffers that doesn't have a name. But it doesn't |
| 1043 | work for files without a buffer (e.g., with ":r file"). |
| 1044 | |
| 1045 | *gzip-example* |
| 1046 | Examples for reading and writing compressed files: > |
| 1047 | :augroup gzip |
| 1048 | : autocmd! |
| 1049 | : autocmd BufReadPre,FileReadPre *.gz set bin |
| 1050 | : autocmd BufReadPost,FileReadPost *.gz '[,']!gunzip |
| 1051 | : autocmd BufReadPost,FileReadPost *.gz set nobin |
| 1052 | : autocmd BufReadPost,FileReadPost *.gz execute ":doautocmd BufReadPost " . expand("%:r") |
| 1053 | : autocmd BufWritePost,FileWritePost *.gz !mv <afile> <afile>:r |
| 1054 | : autocmd BufWritePost,FileWritePost *.gz !gzip <afile>:r |
| 1055 | |
| 1056 | : autocmd FileAppendPre *.gz !gunzip <afile> |
| 1057 | : autocmd FileAppendPre *.gz !mv <afile>:r <afile> |
| 1058 | : autocmd FileAppendPost *.gz !mv <afile> <afile>:r |
| 1059 | : autocmd FileAppendPost *.gz !gzip <afile>:r |
| 1060 | :augroup END |
| 1061 | |
| 1062 | The "gzip" group is used to be able to delete any existing autocommands with |
| 1063 | ":autocmd!", for when the file is sourced twice. |
| 1064 | |
| 1065 | ("<afile>:r" is the file name without the extension, see |:_%:|) |
| 1066 | |
| 1067 | The commands executed for the BufNewFile, BufRead/BufReadPost, BufWritePost, |
| 1068 | FileAppendPost and VimLeave events do not set or reset the changed flag of the |
| 1069 | buffer. When you decompress the buffer with the BufReadPost autocommands, you |
| 1070 | can still exit with ":q". When you use ":undo" in BufWritePost to undo the |
| 1071 | changes made by BufWritePre commands, you can still do ":q" (this also makes |
| 1072 | "ZZ" work). If you do want the buffer to be marked as modified, set the |
| 1073 | 'modified' option. |
| 1074 | |
| 1075 | To execute Normal mode commands from an autocommand, use the ":normal" |
| 1076 | command. Use with care! If the Normal mode command is not finished, the user |
| 1077 | needs to type characters (e.g., after ":normal m" you need to type a mark |
| 1078 | name). |
| 1079 | |
| 1080 | If you want the buffer to be unmodified after changing it, reset the |
| 1081 | 'modified' option. This makes it possible to exit the buffer with ":q" |
| 1082 | instead of ":q!". |
| 1083 | |
| 1084 | *autocmd-nested* *E218* |
| 1085 | By default, autocommands do not nest. If you use ":e" or ":w" in an |
| 1086 | autocommand, Vim does not execute the BufRead and BufWrite autocommands for |
| 1087 | those commands. If you do want this, use the "nested" flag for those commands |
| 1088 | in which you want nesting. For example: > |
| 1089 | :autocmd FileChangedShell *.c nested e! |
| 1090 | The nesting is limited to 10 levels to get out of recursive loops. |
| 1091 | |
| 1092 | It's possible to use the ":au" command in an autocommand. This can be a |
| 1093 | self-modifying command! This can be useful for an autocommand that should |
| 1094 | execute only once. |
| 1095 | |
Bram Moolenaar | b348038 | 2005-12-11 21:33:32 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 1096 | If you want to skip autocommands for one command, use the |:noautocmd| command |
| 1097 | modifier or the 'eventignore' option. |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 1098 | |
| 1099 | Note: When reading a file (with ":read file" or with a filter command) and the |
| 1100 | last line in the file does not have an <EOL>, Vim remembers this. At the next |
| 1101 | write (with ":write file" or with a filter command), if the same line is |
| 1102 | written again as the last line in a file AND 'binary' is set, Vim does not |
| 1103 | supply an <EOL>. This makes a filter command on the just read lines write the |
| 1104 | same file as was read, and makes a write command on just filtered lines write |
| 1105 | the same file as was read from the filter. For example, another way to write |
| 1106 | a compressed file: > |
| 1107 | |
| 1108 | :autocmd FileWritePre *.gz set bin|'[,']!gzip |
| 1109 | :autocmd FileWritePost *.gz undo|set nobin |
| 1110 | < |
| 1111 | *autocommand-pattern* |
| 1112 | You can specify multiple patterns, separated by commas. Here are some |
| 1113 | examples: > |
| 1114 | |
| 1115 | :autocmd BufRead * set tw=79 nocin ic infercase fo=2croq |
| 1116 | :autocmd BufRead .letter set tw=72 fo=2tcrq |
| 1117 | :autocmd BufEnter .letter set dict=/usr/lib/dict/words |
| 1118 | :autocmd BufLeave .letter set dict= |
| 1119 | :autocmd BufRead,BufNewFile *.c,*.h set tw=0 cin noic |
| 1120 | :autocmd BufEnter *.c,*.h abbr FOR for (i = 0; i < 3; ++i)<CR>{<CR>}<Esc>O |
| 1121 | :autocmd BufLeave *.c,*.h unabbr FOR |
| 1122 | |
| 1123 | For makefiles (makefile, Makefile, imakefile, makefile.unix, etc.): > |
| 1124 | |
| 1125 | :autocmd BufEnter ?akefile* set include=^s\=include |
| 1126 | :autocmd BufLeave ?akefile* set include& |
| 1127 | |
| 1128 | To always start editing C files at the first function: > |
| 1129 | |
| 1130 | :autocmd BufRead *.c,*.h 1;/^{ |
| 1131 | |
| 1132 | Without the "1;" above, the search would start from wherever the file was |
| 1133 | entered, rather than from the start of the file. |
| 1134 | |
| 1135 | *skeleton* *template* |
| 1136 | To read a skeleton (template) file when opening a new file: > |
| 1137 | |
| 1138 | :autocmd BufNewFile *.c 0r ~/vim/skeleton.c |
| 1139 | :autocmd BufNewFile *.h 0r ~/vim/skeleton.h |
| 1140 | :autocmd BufNewFile *.java 0r ~/vim/skeleton.java |
| 1141 | |
| 1142 | To insert the current date and time in a *.html file when writing it: > |
| 1143 | |
| 1144 | :autocmd BufWritePre,FileWritePre *.html ks|call LastMod()|'s |
| 1145 | :fun LastMod() |
| 1146 | : if line("$") > 20 |
| 1147 | : let l = 20 |
| 1148 | : else |
| 1149 | : let l = line("$") |
| 1150 | : endif |
| 1151 | : exe "1," . l . "g/Last modified: /s/Last modified: .*/Last modified: " . |
| 1152 | : \ strftime("%Y %b %d") |
| 1153 | :endfun |
| 1154 | |
| 1155 | You need to have a line "Last modified: <date time>" in the first 20 lines |
| 1156 | of the file for this to work. Vim replaces <date time> (and anything in the |
| 1157 | same line after it) with the current date and time. Explanation: |
| 1158 | ks mark current position with mark 's' |
| 1159 | call LastMod() call the LastMod() function to do the work |
| 1160 | 's return the cursor to the old position |
| 1161 | The LastMod() function checks if the file is shorter than 20 lines, and then |
| 1162 | uses the ":g" command to find lines that contain "Last modified: ". For those |
| 1163 | lines the ":s" command is executed to replace the existing date with the |
| 1164 | current one. The ":execute" command is used to be able to use an expression |
| 1165 | for the ":g" and ":s" commands. The date is obtained with the strftime() |
| 1166 | function. You can change its argument to get another date string. |
| 1167 | |
| 1168 | When entering :autocmd on the command-line, completion of events and command |
| 1169 | names may be done (with <Tab>, CTRL-D, etc.) where appropriate. |
| 1170 | |
| 1171 | Vim executes all matching autocommands in the order that you specify them. |
| 1172 | It is recommended that your first autocommand be used for all files by using |
| 1173 | "*" as the file pattern. This means that you can define defaults you like |
| 1174 | here for any settings, and if there is another matching autocommand it will |
| 1175 | override these. But if there is no other matching autocommand, then at least |
| 1176 | your default settings are recovered (if entering this file from another for |
| 1177 | which autocommands did match). Note that "*" will also match files starting |
| 1178 | with ".", unlike Unix shells. |
| 1179 | |
| 1180 | *autocmd-searchpat* |
| 1181 | Autocommands do not change the current search patterns. Vim saves the current |
| 1182 | search patterns before executing autocommands then restores them after the |
| 1183 | autocommands finish. This means that autocommands do not affect the strings |
| 1184 | highlighted with the 'hlsearch' option. Within autocommands, you can still |
| 1185 | use search patterns normally, e.g., with the "n" command. |
| 1186 | If you want an autocommand to set the search pattern, such that it is used |
| 1187 | after the autocommand finishes, use the ":let @/ =" command. |
| 1188 | The search-highlighting cannot be switched off with ":nohlsearch" in an |
| 1189 | autocommand. Use the 'h' flag in the 'viminfo' option to disable search- |
| 1190 | highlighting when starting Vim. |
| 1191 | |
| 1192 | *Cmd-event* |
| 1193 | When using one of the "*Cmd" events, the matching autocommands are expected to |
| 1194 | do the file reading or writing. This can be used when working with a special |
| 1195 | kind of file, for example on a remote system. |
| 1196 | CAREFUL: If you use these events in a wrong way, it may have the effect of |
| 1197 | making it impossible to read or write the matching files! Make sure you test |
| 1198 | your autocommands properly. Best is to use a pattern that will never match a |
| 1199 | normal file name, for example "ftp://*". |
| 1200 | |
| 1201 | When defining a BufReadCmd it will be difficult for Vim to recover a crashed |
| 1202 | editing session. When recovering from the original file, Vim reads only those |
| 1203 | parts of a file that are not found in the swap file. Since that is not |
| 1204 | possible with a BufReadCmd, use the |:preserve| command to make sure the |
| 1205 | original file isn't needed for recovery. You might want to do this only when |
| 1206 | you expect the file to be modified. |
| 1207 | |
| 1208 | The |v:cmdarg| variable holds the "++enc=" and "++ff=" argument that are |
| 1209 | effective. These should be used for the command that reads/writes the file. |
| 1210 | The |v:cmdbang| variable is one when "!" was used, zero otherwise. |
| 1211 | |
| 1212 | See the $VIMRUNTIME/plugin/netrw.vim for examples. |
| 1213 | |
Bram Moolenaar | b348038 | 2005-12-11 21:33:32 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 1214 | ============================================================================== |
| 1215 | 11. Disabling autocommands *autocmd-disable* |
| 1216 | |
| 1217 | To disable autocommands for some time use the 'eventignore' option. Note that |
| 1218 | this may cause unexpected behavior, make sure you restore 'eventignore' |
| 1219 | afterwards, using a |:try| block with |:finally|. |
| 1220 | |
| 1221 | *:noautocmd* *:noa* |
| 1222 | To disable autocommands for just one command use the ":noautocmd" command |
| 1223 | modifier. This will set 'eventignore' to "all" for the duration of the |
| 1224 | following command. Example: > |
| 1225 | |
| 1226 | :noautocmd w fname.gz |
| 1227 | |
| 1228 | This will write the file without triggering the autocommands defined by the |
| 1229 | gzip plugin. |
| 1230 | |
Bram Moolenaar | b5bf5b8 | 2004-12-24 14:35:23 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 1231 | |
Bram Moolenaar | 071d427 | 2004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 1232 | vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: |