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Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00001*syntax.txt* For Vim version 7.0aa. Last change: 2005 Jan 26
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002
3
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
5
6
7Syntax highlighting *syntax* *syntax-highlighting* *coloring*
8
9Syntax highlighting enables Vim to show parts of the text in another font or
10color. Those parts can be specific keywords or text matching a pattern. Vim
11doesn't parse the whole file (to keep it fast), so the highlighting has its
12limitations. Lexical highlighting might be a better name, but since everybody
13calls it syntax highlighting we'll stick with that.
14
15Vim supports syntax highlighting on all terminals. But since most ordinary
16terminals have very limited highlighting possibilities, it works best in the
17GUI version, gvim.
18
19In the User Manual:
20|usr_06.txt| introduces syntax highlighting.
21|usr_44.txt| introduces writing a syntax file.
22
231. Quick start |:syn-qstart|
242. Syntax files |:syn-files|
253. Syntax loading procedure |syntax-loading|
264. Syntax file remarks |:syn-file-remarks|
275. Defining a syntax |:syn-define|
286. :syntax arguments |:syn-arguments|
297. Syntax patterns |:syn-pattern|
308. Syntax clusters |:syn-cluster|
319. Including syntax files |:syn-include|
3210. Synchronizing |:syn-sync|
3311. Listing syntax items |:syntax|
3412. Highlight command |:highlight|
3513. Linking groups |:highlight-link|
3614. Cleaning up |:syn-clear|
3715. Highlighting tags |tag-highlight|
3816. Color xterms |xterm-color|
39
40{Vi does not have any of these commands}
41
42Syntax highlighting is not available when the |+syntax| feature has been
43disabled at compile time.
44
45==============================================================================
461. Quick start *:syn-qstart*
47
48 *:syn-enable* *:syntax-enable*
49This command switches on syntax highlighting: >
50
51 :syntax enable
52
53What this command actually does is to execute the command >
54 :source $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/syntax.vim
55
56If the VIM environment variable is not set, Vim will try to find
57the path in another way (see |$VIMRUNTIME|). Usually this works just
58fine. If it doesn't, try setting the VIM environment variable to the
59directory where the Vim stuff is located. For example, if your syntax files
60are in the "/usr/vim/vim50/syntax" directory, set $VIMRUNTIME to
61"/usr/vim/vim50". You must do this in the shell, before starting Vim.
62
63 *:syn-on* *:syntax-on*
64The ":syntax enable" command will keep your current color settings. This
65allows using ":highlight" commands to set your preferred colors before or
66after using this command. If you want Vim to overrule your settings with the
67defaults, use: >
68 :syntax on
69<
70 *:hi-normal* *:highlight-normal*
71If you are running in the GUI, you can get white text on a black background
72with: >
73 :highlight Normal guibg=Black guifg=White
74For a color terminal see |:hi-normal-cterm|.
75For setting up your own colors syntax highlighting see |syncolor|.
76
77NOTE: The syntax files on MS-DOS and Windows have lines that end in <CR><NL>.
78The files for Unix end in <NL>. This means you should use the right type of
79file for your system. Although on MS-DOS and Windows the right format is
80automatically selected if the 'fileformats' option is not empty.
81
82NOTE: When using reverse video ("gvim -fg white -bg black"), the default value
83of 'background' will not be set until the GUI window is opened, which is after
84reading the .gvimrc. This will cause the wrong default highlighting to be
85used. To set the default value of 'background' before switching on
86highlighting, include the ":gui" command in the .gvimrc: >
87
88 :gui " open window and set default for 'background'
89 :syntax on " start highlighting, use 'background' to set colors
90
91NOTE: Using ":gui" in the .gvimrc means that "gvim -f" won't start in the
92foreground! Use ":gui -f" then.
93
94
95You can toggle the syntax on/off with this command >
96 :if exists("syntax_on") | syntax off | else | syntax enable | endif
97
98To put this into a mapping, you can use: >
99 :map <F7> :if exists("syntax_on") <Bar>
100 \ syntax off <Bar>
101 \ else <Bar>
102 \ syntax enable <Bar>
103 \ endif <CR>
104[using the |<>| notation, type this literally]
105
106Details
107The ":syntax" commands are implemented by sourcing a file. To see exactly how
108this works, look in the file:
109 command file ~
110 :syntax enable $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/syntax.vim
111 :syntax on $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/syntax.vim
112 :syntax manual $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/manual.vim
113 :syntax off $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/nosyntax.vim
114Also see |syntax-loading|.
115
116==============================================================================
1172. Syntax files *:syn-files*
118
119The syntax and highlighting commands for one language are normally stored in
120a syntax file. The name convention is: "{name}.vim". Where {name} is the
121name of the language, or an abbreviation (to fit the name in 8.3 characters,
122a requirement in case the file is used on a DOS filesystem).
123Examples:
124 c.vim perl.vim java.vim html.vim
125 cpp.vim sh.vim csh.vim
126
127The syntax file can contain any Ex commands, just like a vimrc file. But
128the idea is that only commands for a specific language are included. When a
129language is a superset of another language, it may include the other one,
130for example, the cpp.vim file could include the c.vim file: >
131 :so $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/c.vim
132
133The .vim files are normally loaded with an autocommand. For example: >
134 :au Syntax c runtime! syntax/c.vim
135 :au Syntax cpp runtime! syntax/cpp.vim
136These commands are normally in the file $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/synload.vim.
137
138
139MAKING YOUR OWN SYNTAX FILES *mysyntaxfile*
140
141When you create your own syntax files, and you want to have Vim use these
142automatically with ":syntax enable", do this:
143
1441. Create your user runtime directory. You would normally use the first item
145 of the 'runtimepath' option. Example for Unix: >
146 mkdir ~/.vim
147
1482. Create a directory in there called "syntax". For Unix: >
149 mkdir ~/.vim/syntax
150
1513. Write the Vim syntax file. Or download one from the internet. Then write
152 it in your syntax directory. For example, for the "mine" syntax: >
153 :w ~/.vim/syntax/mine.vim
154
155Now you can start using your syntax file manually: >
156 :set syntax=mine
157You don't have to exit Vim to use this.
158
159If you also want Vim to detect the type of file, see |new-filetype|.
160
161If you are setting up a system with many users and you don't want each user
162to add the same syntax file, you can use another directory from 'runtimepath'.
163
164
165ADDING TO AN EXISTING SYNTAX FILE *mysyntaxfile-add*
166
167If you are mostly satisfied with an existing syntax file, but would like to
168add a few items or change the highlighting, follow these steps:
169
1701. Create your user directory from 'runtimepath', see above.
171
1722. Create a directory in there called "after/syntax". For Unix: >
173 mkdir ~/.vim/after
174 mkdir ~/.vim/after/syntax
175
1763. Write a Vim script that contains the commands you want to use. For
177 example, to change the colors for the C syntax: >
178 highlight cComment ctermfg=Green guifg=Green
179
1804. Write that file in the "after/syntax" directory. Use the name of the
181 syntax, with ".vim" added. For our C syntax: >
182 :w ~/.vim/after/syntax/c.vim
183
184That's it. The next time you edit a C file the Comment color will be
185different. You don't even have to restart Vim.
186
187
188REPLACING AN EXISTING SYNTAX FILE *mysyntaxfile-replace*
189
190If you don't like a distributed syntax file, or you have downloaded a new
191version, follow the same steps as for |mysyntaxfile| above. Just make sure
192that you write the syntax file in a directory that is early in 'runtimepath'.
193Vim will only load the first syntax file found.
194
195
196NAMING CONVENTIONS
197 *group-name* *{group-name}* *E669* *W18*
198The name for a highlight or syntax group must consist of ASCII letters, digits
199and the underscore. As a regexp: "[a-zA-Z0-9_]*"
200
201To be able to allow each user to pick his favorite set of colors, there must
202be preferred names for highlight groups that are common for many languages.
203These are the suggested group names (if syntax highlighting works properly
204you can see the actual color, except for "Ignore"):
205
206 *Comment any comment
207
208 *Constant any constant
209 String a string constant: "this is a string"
210 Character a character constant: 'c', '\n'
211 Number a number constant: 234, 0xff
212 Boolean a boolean constant: TRUE, false
213 Float a floating point constant: 2.3e10
214
215 *Identifier any variable name
216 Function function name (also: methods for classes)
217
218 *Statement any statement
219 Conditional if, then, else, endif, switch, etc.
220 Repeat for, do, while, etc.
221 Label case, default, etc.
222 Operator "sizeof", "+", "*", etc.
223 Keyword any other keyword
224 Exception try, catch, throw
225
226 *PreProc generic Preprocessor
227 Include preprocessor #include
228 Define preprocessor #define
229 Macro same as Define
230 PreCondit preprocessor #if, #else, #endif, etc.
231
232 *Type int, long, char, etc.
233 StorageClass static, register, volatile, etc.
234 Structure struct, union, enum, etc.
235 Typedef A typedef
236
237 *Special any special symbol
238 SpecialChar special character in a constant
239 Tag you can use CTRL-] on this
240 Delimiter character that needs attention
241 SpecialComment special things inside a comment
242 Debug debugging statements
243
244 *Underlined text that stands out, HTML links
245
246 *Ignore left blank, hidden
247
248 *Error any erroneous construct
249
250 *Todo anything that needs extra attention; mostly the
251 keywords TODO FIXME and XXX
252
253The names marked with * are the preferred groups; the others are minor groups.
254For the preferred groups, the "syntax.vim" file contains default highlighting.
255The minor groups are linked to the preferred groups, so they get the same
256highlighting. You can override these defaults by using ":highlight" commands
257after sourcing the "syntax.vim" file.
258
259Note that highlight group names are not case sensitive. "String" and "string"
260can be used for the same group.
261
262The following names are reserved and cannot be used as a group name:
263 NONE ALL ALLBUT contains contained
264
265==============================================================================
2663. Syntax loading procedure *syntax-loading*
267
268This explains the details that happen when the command ":syntax enable" is
269issued. When Vim initializes itself, it finds out where the runtime files are
270located. This is used here as the variable |$VIMRUNTIME|.
271
272":syntax enable" and ":syntax on" do the following:
273
274 Source $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/syntax.vim
275 |
276 +- Clear out any old syntax by sourcing $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/nosyntax.vim
277 |
278 +- Source first syntax/synload.vim in 'runtimepath'
279 | |
280 | +- Setup the colors for syntax highlighting. If a color scheme is
281 | | defined it is loaded again with ":colors {name}". Otherwise
282 | | ":runtime! syntax/syncolor.vim" is used. ":syntax on" overrules
283 | | existing colors, ":syntax enable" only sets groups that weren't
284 | | set yet.
285 | |
286 | +- Set up syntax autocmds to load the appropriate syntax file when
287 | | the 'syntax' option is set. *synload-1*
288 | |
289 | +- Source the user's optional file, from the |mysyntaxfile| variable.
290 | This is for backwards compatibility with Vim 5.x only. *synload-2*
291 |
292 +- Do ":filetype on", which does ":runtime! filetype.vim". It loads any
293 | filetype.vim files found. It should always Source
294 | $VIMRUNTIME/filetype.vim, which does the following.
295 | |
296 | +- Install autocmds based on suffix to set the 'filetype' option
297 | | This is where the connection between file name and file type is
298 | | made for known file types. *synload-3*
299 | |
300 | +- Source the user's optional file, from the *myfiletypefile*
301 | | variable. This is for backwards compatibility with Vim 5.x only.
302 | | *synload-4*
303 | |
304 | +- Install one autocommand which sources scripts.vim when no file
305 | | type was detected yet. *synload-5*
306 | |
307 | +- Source $VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim, to setup the Syntax menu. |menu.vim|
308 |
309 +- Install a FileType autocommand to set the 'syntax' option when a file
310 | type has been detected. *synload-6*
311 |
312 +- Execute syntax autocommands to start syntax highlighting for each
313 already loaded buffer.
314
315
316Upon loading a file, Vim finds the relevant syntax file as follows:
317
318 Loading the file triggers the BufReadPost autocommands.
319 |
320 +- If there is a match with one of the autocommands from |synload-3|
321 | (known file types) or |synload-4| (user's file types), the 'filetype'
322 | option is set to the file type.
323 |
324 +- The autocommand at |synload-5| is triggered. If the file type was not
325 | found yet, then scripts.vim is searched for in 'runtimepath'. This
326 | should always load $VIMRUNTIME/scripts.vim, which does the following.
327 | |
328 | +- Source the user's optional file, from the *myscriptsfile*
329 | | variable. This is for backwards compatibility with Vim 5.x only.
330 | |
331 | +- If the file type is still unknown, check the contents of the file,
332 | again with checks like "getline(1) =~ pattern" as to whether the
333 | file type can be recognized, and set 'filetype'.
334 |
335 +- When the file type was determined and 'filetype' was set, this
336 | triggers the FileType autocommand |synload-6| above. It sets
337 | 'syntax' to the determined file type.
338 |
339 +- When the 'syntax' option was set above, this triggers an autocommand
340 | from |synload-1| (and |synload-2|). This find the main syntax file in
341 | 'runtimepath', with this command:
342 | runtime! syntax/<name>.vim
343 |
344 +- Any other user installed FileType or Syntax autocommands are
345 triggered. This can be used to change the highlighting for a specific
346 syntax.
347
348==============================================================================
3494. Syntax file remarks *:syn-file-remarks*
350
351 *b:current_syntax-variable*
352Vim stores the name of the syntax that has been loaded in the
353"b:current_syntax" variable. You can use this if you want to load other
354settings, depending on which syntax is active. Example: >
355 :au BufReadPost * if b:current_syntax == "csh"
356 :au BufReadPost * do-some-things
357 :au BufReadPost * endif
358
359
3602HTML *2html.vim* *convert-to-HTML*
361
362This is not a syntax file itself, but a script that converts the current
363window into HTML. Vim opens a new window in which it builds the HTML file.
364
365You are not supposed to set the 'filetype' or 'syntax' option to "2html"!
366Source the script to convert the current file: >
367
368 :runtime! syntax/2html.vim
369<
370Warning: This is slow!
371 *:TOhtml*
372Or use the ":TOhtml" user command. It is defined in a standard plugin.
373":TOhtml" also works with a range and in a Visual area: >
374
375 :10,40TOhtml
376
377After you save the resulting file, you can view it with any HTML viewer, such
378as Netscape. The colors should be exactly the same as you see them in Vim.
379
380To restrict the conversion to a range of lines set "html_start_line" and
381"html_end_line" to the first and last line to be converted. Example, using
382the last set Visual area: >
383
384 :let html_start_line = line("'<")
385 :let html_end_line = line("'>")
386
387The lines are numbered according to 'number' option and the Number
388highlighting. You can force lines to be numbered in the HTML output by
389setting "html_number_lines" to non-zero value: >
390 :let html_number_lines = 1
391Force to omit the line numbers by using a zero value: >
392 :let html_number_lines = 0
393Go back to the default to use 'number' by deleting the variable: >
394 :unlet html_number_lines
395
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +0000396Closed folds are put in the HTML as they are displayed. If you don't want
397this, use the "zR" command before invoking 2html.
398
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000399By default, HTML optimized for old browsers is generated. If you prefer using
400cascading style sheets (CSS1) for the attributes (resulting in considerably
401shorter and valid HTML 4 file), use: >
402 :let html_use_css = 1
403
404By default "<pre>" and "</pre>" is used around the text. This makes it show
405up as you see it in Vim, but without wrapping. If you prefer wrapping, at the
406risk of making some things look a bit different, use: >
407 :let html_no_pre = 1
408This will use <br> at the end of each line and use "&nbsp;" for repeated
409spaces.
410
411The current value of 'encoding' is used to specify the charset of the HTML
412file. This only works for those values of 'encoding' that have an equivalent
413HTML charset name. To overrule this set g:html_use_encoding to the name of
414the charset to be used: >
415 :let html_use_encoding = "foobar"
416To omit the line that specifies the charset, set g:html_use_encoding to an
417empty string: >
418 :let html_use_encoding = ""
419To go back to the automatic mechanism, delete the g:html_use_encoding
420variable: >
421 :unlet html_use_encoding
422<
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +0000423Closed folds are kept as they are displayed. If you don't want closed folds
424in the HTML use the |zR| command before converting.
425
426For diff mode a sequence of more than 3 filler lines is displayed as three
427lines with the middle line mentioning the total number of inserted lines. If
428you prefer to see all the inserted lines use: >
429 :let html_whole_filler = 1
430And to go back to displaying up to three lines again: >
431 :unlet html_whole_filler
432
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000433 *convert-to-XML* *convert-to-XHTML*
434An alternative is to have the script generate XHTML (XML compliant HTML). To
435do this set the "use_xhtml" variable: >
436 :let use_xhtml = 1
437To disable it again delete the variable: >
438 :unlet use_xhtml
439The generated XHTML file can be used in DocBook XML documents. See:
440 http://people.mech.kuleuven.ac.be/~pissaris/howto/src2db.html
441
442Remarks:
443- This only works in a version with GUI support. If the GUI is not actually
444 running (possible for X11) it still works, but not very well (the colors
445 may be wrong).
446- Older browsers will not show the background colors.
447- From most browsers you can also print the file (in color)!
448
449Here is an example how to run the script over all .c and .h files from a
450Unix shell: >
451 for f in *.[ch]; do gvim -f +"syn on" +"run! syntax/2html.vim" +"wq" +"q" $f; done
452<
453
454ABEL *abel.vim* *abel-syntax*
455
456ABEL highlighting provides some user-defined options. To enable them, assign
457any value to the respective variable. Example: >
458 :let abel_obsolete_ok=1
459To disable them use ":unlet". Example: >
460 :unlet abel_obsolete_ok
461
462Variable Highlight ~
463abel_obsolete_ok obsolete keywords are statements, not errors
464abel_cpp_comments_illegal do not interpret '//' as inline comment leader
465
466
467ADA *ada.vim* *ada-syntax*
468
469This mode is designed for the 1995 edition of Ada ("Ada95"), which
470includes support for objected-programming, protected types, and so on.
471It handles code written for the original Ada language
472("Ada83" or "Ada87") as well, though Ada83 code which uses Ada95-only
473keywords will be wrongly colored (such code should be fixed anyway).
474For more information about Ada, see http://www.adapower.com.
475
476The Ada mode handles a number of situations cleanly.
477For example, it knows that the "-" in "-5" is a number, but the same
478character in "A-5" is an operator. Normally, a "with" or "use" clause
479referencing another compilation unit is colored the same way as C's
480"#include" is colored. If you have "Conditional" or "Repeat"
481groups colored differently, then "end if" and "end loop" will be
482colored as part of those respective groups.
483You can set these to different colors using vim's "highlight" command
484(e.g., to change how loops are displayed, enter the command
485":hi Repeat" followed by the color specification; on simple terminals
486the color specification ctermfg=White often shows well).
487
488There are several options you can select in this Ada mode.
489To enable them, assign a value to the option. For example, to turn one on:
490 let ada_standard_types = 1
491To disable them use ":unlet". Example:
492 unlet ada_standard_types = 1
493You can just use ":" and type these into the command line to set these
494temporarily before loading an Ada file. You can make these option settings
495permanent by adding the "let" command(s), without a colon,
496to your "~/.vimrc" file.
497
498Here are the Ada mode options:
499
500Variable Action ~
501ada_standard_types Highlight types in package Standard (e.g., "Float")
502ada_space_errors Highlight extraneous errors in spaces...
503ada_no_trail_space_error but ignore trailing spaces at the end of a line
504ada_no_tab_space_error but ignore tabs after spaces
505ada_withuse_ordinary Show "with" and "use" as ordinary keywords
506 (when used to reference other compilation units
507 they're normally highlighted specially).
508ada_begin_preproc Show all begin-like keywords using the coloring
509 of C preprocessor commands.
510
511Even on a slow (90Mhz) PC this mode works quickly, but if you find
512the performance unacceptable, turn on ada_withuse_ordinary.
513
514
515ANT *ant.vim* *ant-syntax*
516
517The ant syntax file provides syntax highlighting for javascript and python
518by default. Syntax highlighting for other script languages can be installed
519by the function AntSyntaxScript(), which takes the tag name as first argument
520and the script syntax file name as second argument. Example: >
521
522 :call AntSyntaxScript('perl', 'perl.vim')
523
524will install syntax perl highlighting for the following ant code >
525
526 <script language = 'perl'><![CDATA[
527 # everything inside is highlighted as perl
528 ]]></script>
529
530See |mysyntaxfile-add| for installing script languages permanently.
531
532
533APACHE *apache.vim* *apache-syntax*
534
535The apache syntax file provides syntax highlighting depending on Apache HTTP
536server version, by default for 1.3.x. Set "apache_version" to Apache version
537(as a string) to get highlighting for another version. Example: >
538
539 :let apache_version = "2.0"
540<
541
542 *asm.vim* *asmh8300.vim* *nasm.vim* *masm.vim* *asm68k*
543ASSEMBLY *asm-syntax* *asmh8300-syntax* *nasm-syntax* *masm-syntax*
544 *asm68k-syntax* *fasm.vim*
545
546Files matching "*.i" could be Progress or Assembly. If the automatic detection
547doesn't work for you, or you don't edit Progress at all, use this in your
548startup vimrc: >
549 :let filetype_i = "asm"
550Replace "asm" with the type of assembly you use.
551
552There are many types of assembly languages that all use the same file name
553extensions. Therefore you will have to select the type yourself, or add a
554line in the assembly file that Vim will recognize. Currently these syntax
555files are included:
556 asm GNU assembly (the default)
557 asm68k Motorola 680x0 assembly
558 asmh8300 Hitachi H-8300 version of GNU assembly
559 ia64 Intel Itanium 64
560 fasm Flat assembly (http://flatassembler.net)
561 masm Microsoft assembly (probably works for any 80x86)
562 nasm Netwide assembly
563 tasm Turbo Assembly (with opcodes 80x86 up to Pentium, and
564 MMX)
565 pic PIC assembly (currently for PIC16F84)
566
567The most flexible is to add a line in your assembly file containing: >
568 :asmsyntax=nasm
569Replace "nasm" with the name of the real assembly syntax. This line must be
570one of the first five lines in the file.
571
572The syntax type can always be overruled for a specific buffer by setting the
573b:asmsyntax variable: >
574 :let b:asmsyntax=nasm
575
576If b:asmsyntax is not set, either automatically or by hand, then the value of
577the global variable asmsyntax is used. This can be seen as a default assembly
578language: >
579 :let asmsyntax=nasm
580
581As a last resort, if nothing is defined, the "asm" syntax is used.
582
583
584Netwide assembler (nasm.vim) optional highlighting ~
585
586To enable a feature: >
587 :let {variable}=1|set syntax=nasm
588To disable a feature: >
589 :unlet {variable} |set syntax=nasm
590
591Variable Highlight ~
592nasm_loose_syntax unofficial parser allowed syntax not as Error
593 (parser dependent; not recommended)
594nasm_ctx_outside_macro contexts outside macro not as Error
595nasm_no_warn potentially risky syntax not as ToDo
596
597
598ASPPERL and ASPVBS *aspperl-syntax* *aspvbs-syntax*
599
600*.asp and *.asa files could be either Perl or Visual Basic script. Since it's
601hard to detect this you can set two global variables to tell Vim what you are
602using. For Perl script use: >
603 :let g:filetype_asa = "aspperl"
604 :let g:filetype_asp = "aspperl"
605For Visual Basic use: >
606 :let g:filetype_asa = "aspvbs"
607 :let g:filetype_asp = "aspvbs"
608
609
610BASIC *basic.vim* *vb.vim* *basic-syntax* *vb-syntax*
611
612Both Visual Basic and "normal" basic use the extension ".bas". To detect
613which one should be used, Vim checks for the string "VB_Name" in the first
614five lines of the file. If it is not found, filetype will be "basic",
615otherwise "vb". Files with the ".frm" extension will always be seen as Visual
616Basic.
617
618
619C *c.vim* *c-syntax*
620
621A few things in C highlighting are optional. To enable them assign any value
622to the respective variable. Example: >
623 :let c_comment_strings=1
624To disable them use ":unlet". Example: >
625 :unlet c_comment_strings
626
627Variable Highlight ~
628c_gnu GNU gcc specific items
629c_comment_strings strings and numbers inside a comment
630c_space_errors trailing white space and spaces before a <Tab>
631c_no_trail_space_error ... but no trailing spaces
632c_no_tab_space_error ... but no spaces before a <Tab>
633c_no_bracket_error don't highlight {}; inside [] as errors
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +0000634c_no_curly_error don't highlight {}; inside [] and () as errors;
635 except { and } in first column
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000636c_no_ansi don't do standard ANSI types and constants
637c_ansi_typedefs ... but do standard ANSI types
638c_ansi_constants ... but do standard ANSI constants
639c_no_utf don't highlight \u and \U in strings
640c_syntax_for_h use C syntax for *.h files, instead of C++
641c_no_if0 don't highlight "#if 0" blocks as comments
642c_no_cformat don't highlight %-formats in strings
643c_no_c99 don't highlight C99 standard items
644
Bram Moolenaar293ee4d2004-12-09 21:34:53 +0000645When 'foldmethod' is set to "syntax" then /* */ comments and { } blocks will
646become a fold. If you don't want comments to become a fold use: >
647 :let c_no_comment_fold = 1
648
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000649If you notice highlighting errors while scrolling backwards, which are fixed
650when redrawing with CTRL-L, try setting the "c_minlines" internal variable
651to a larger number: >
652 :let c_minlines = 100
653This will make the syntax synchronization start 100 lines before the first
654displayed line. The default value is 50 (15 when c_no_if0 is set). The
655disadvantage of using a larger number is that redrawing can become slow.
656
657When using the "#if 0" / "#endif" comment highlighting, notice that this only
658works when the "#if 0" is within "c_minlines" from the top of the window. If
659you have a long "#if 0" construct it will not be highlighted correctly.
660
661To match extra items in comments, use the cCommentGroup cluster.
662Example: >
663 :au Syntax c call MyCadd()
664 :function MyCadd()
665 : syn keyword cMyItem contained Ni
666 : syn cluster cCommentGroup add=cMyItem
667 : hi link cMyItem Title
668 :endfun
669
670ANSI constants will be highlighted with the "cConstant" group. This includes
671"NULL", "SIG_IGN" and others. But not "TRUE", for example, because this is
672not in the ANSI standard. If you find this confusing, remove the cConstant
673highlighting: >
674 :hi link cConstant NONE
675
676If you see '{' and '}' highlighted as an error where they are OK, reset the
677highlighting for cErrInParen and cErrInBracket.
678
679If you want to use folding in your C files, you can add these lines in a file
680an the "after" directory in 'runtimepath'. For Unix this would be
681~/.vim/after/syntax/c.vim. >
682 syn region myFold start="{" end="}" transparent fold
683 syn sync fromstart
684 set foldmethod=syntax
685
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +0000686CH *ch.vim* *ch-syntax*
687
688C/C++ interpreter. Ch has similar syntax highlighting to C and builds upon
689the C syntax file. See |c.vim| for all the settings that are available for C.
690
691By setting a variable you can tell Vim to use Ch syntax for *.h files, instead
692of C or C++: >
693 :let ch_syntax_for_h = 1
694
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000695
696CHILL *chill.vim* *chill-syntax*
697
698Chill syntax highlighting is similar to C. See |c.vim| for all the settings
699that are available. Additionally there is:
700
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000701chill_space_errors like c_space_errors
702chill_comment_string like c_comment_strings
703chill_minlines like c_minlines
704
705
706CHANGELOG *changelog.vim* *changelog-syntax*
707
708ChangeLog supports highlighting spaces at the start of a line.
709If you do not like this, add following line to your .vimrc: >
710 let g:changelog_spacing_errors = 0
711This works the next time you edit a changelog file. You can also use
712"b:changelog_spacing_errors" to set this per buffer (before loading the syntax
713file).
714
715You can change the highlighting used, e.g., to flag the spaces as an error: >
716 :hi link ChangelogError Error
717Or to avoid the highlighting: >
718 :hi link ChangelogError NONE
719This works immediately.
720
721
722COBOL *cobol.vim* *cobol-syntax*
723
724COBOL highlighting has different needs for legacy code than it does for fresh
725development. This is due to differences in what is being done (maintenance
726versus development) and other factors. To enable legacy code highlighting,
727add this line to your .vimrc: >
728 :let cobol_legacy_code = 1
729To disable it again, use this: >
730 :unlet cobol_legacy_code
731
732
733COLD FUSION *coldfusion.vim* *coldfusion-syntax*
734
735The ColdFusion has its own version of HTML comments. To turn on ColdFusion
736comment highlighting, add the following line to your startup file: >
737
738 :let html_wrong_comments = 1
739
740The ColdFusion syntax file is based on the HTML syntax file.
741
742
743CSH *csh.vim* *csh-syntax*
744
745This covers the shell named "csh". Note that on some systems tcsh is actually
746used.
747
748Detecting whether a file is csh or tcsh is notoriously hard. Some systems
749symlink /bin/csh to /bin/tcsh, making it almost impossible to distinguish
750between csh and tcsh. In case VIM guesses wrong you can set the
751"filetype_csh" variable. For using csh: >
752
753 :let filetype_csh = "csh"
754
755For using tcsh: >
756
757 :let filetype_csh = "tcsh"
758
759Any script with a tcsh extension or a standard tcsh filename (.tcshrc,
760tcsh.tcshrc, tcsh.login) will have filetype tcsh. All other tcsh/csh scripts
761will be classified as tcsh, UNLESS the "filetype_csh" variable exists. If the
762"filetype_csh" variable exists, the filetype will be set to the value of the
763variable.
764
765
766CYNLIB *cynlib.vim* *cynlib-syntax*
767
768Cynlib files are C++ files that use the Cynlib class library to enable
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +0000769hardware modelling and simulation using C++. Typically Cynlib files have a .cc
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000770or a .cpp extension, which makes it very difficult to distinguish them from a
771normal C++ file. Thus, to enable Cynlib highlighting for .cc files, add this
772line to your .vimrc file: >
773
774 :let cynlib_cyntax_for_cc=1
775
776Similarly for cpp files (this extension is only usually used in Windows) >
777
778 :let cynlib_cyntax_for_cpp=1
779
780To disable these again, use this: >
781
782 :unlet cynlib_cyntax_for_cc
783 :unlet cynlib_cyntax_for_cpp
784<
785
786CWEB *cweb.vim* *cweb-syntax*
787
788Files matching "*.w" could be Progress or cweb. If the automatic detection
789doesn't work for you, or you don't edit Progress at all, use this in your
790startup vimrc: >
791 :let filetype_w = "cweb"
792
793
794DESKTOP *desktop.vim* *desktop-syntax*
795
796Primary goal of this syntax file is to highlight .desktop and .directory files
797according to freedesktop.org standard: http://pdx.freedesktop.org/Standards/
798But actually almost none implements this standard fully. Thus it will
799highlight all Unix ini files. But you can force strict highlighting according
800to standard by placing this in your vimrc file: >
801 :let enforce_freedesktop_standard = 1
802
803
804DIRCOLORS *dircolors.vim* *dircolors-syntax*
805
806The dircolors utility highlighting definition has one option. It exists to
807provide compatibility with the Slackware GNU/Linux distributions version of
808the command. It adds a few keywords that are generally ignored by most
809versions. On Slackware systems, however, the utility accepts the keywords and
810uses them for processing. To enable the Slackware keywords add the following
811line to your startup file: >
812 let dircolors_is_slackware = 1
813
814
815DOCBOOK *docbk.vim* *docbk-syntax* *docbook*
816DOCBOOK XML *docbkxml.vim* *docbkxml-syntax*
817DOCBOOK SGML *docbksgml.vim* *docbksgml-syntax*
818
819There are two types of DocBook files: SGML and XML. To specify what type you
820are using the "b:docbk_type" variable should be set. Vim does this for you
821automatically if it can recognize the type. When Vim can't guess it the type
822defaults to XML.
823You can set the type manually: >
824 :let docbk_type = "sgml"
825or: >
826 :let docbk_type = "xml"
827You need to do this before loading the syntax file, which is complicated.
828Simpler is setting the filetype to "docbkxml" or "docbksgml": >
829 :set filetype=docbksgml
830or: >
831 :set filetype=docbkxml
832
833
834DOSBATCH *dosbatch.vim* *dosbatch-syntax*
835
836There is one option with highlighting DOS batch files. This covers new
837extensions to the Command Interpreter introduced with Windows 2000 and
838is controlled by the variable dosbatch_cmdextversion. For Windows NT
839this should have the value 1, and for Windows 2000 it should be 2.
840Select the version you want with the following line: >
841
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +0000842 :let dosbatch_cmdextversion = 1
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000843
844If this variable is not defined it defaults to a value of 2 to support
845Windows 2000.
846
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +0000847A second option covers whether *.btm files should be detected as type
848"dosbatch" (MS-DOS batch files) or type "btm" (4DOS batch files). The latter
849is used by default. You may select the former with the following line: >
850
851 :let g:dosbatch_syntax_for_btm = 1
852
853If this variable is undefined or zero, btm syntax is selected.
854
855
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000856
857DTD *dtd.vim* *dtd-syntax*
858
859The DTD syntax highlighting is case sensitive by default. To disable
860case-sensitive highlighting, add the following line to your startup file: >
861
862 :let dtd_ignore_case=1
863
864The DTD syntax file will highlight unknown tags as errors. If
865this is annoying, it can be turned off by setting: >
866
867 :let dtd_no_tag_errors=1
868
869before sourcing the dtd.vim syntax file.
870Parameter entity names are highlighted in the definition using the
871'Type' highlighting group and 'Comment' for punctuation and '%'.
872Parameter entity instances are highlighted using the 'Constant'
873highlighting group and the 'Type' highlighting group for the
874delimiters % and ;. This can be turned off by setting: >
875
876 :let dtd_no_param_entities=1
877
878The DTD syntax file is also included by xml.vim to highlight included dtd's.
879
880
881EIFFEL *eiffel.vim* *eiffel-syntax*
882
883While Eiffel is not case-sensitive, its style guidelines are, and the
884syntax highlighting file encourages their use. This also allows to
885highlight class names differently. If you want to disable case-sensitive
886highlighting, add the following line to your startup file: >
887
888 :let eiffel_ignore_case=1
889
890Case still matters for class names and TODO marks in comments.
891
892Conversely, for even stricter checks, add one of the following lines: >
893
894 :let eiffel_strict=1
895 :let eiffel_pedantic=1
896
897Setting eiffel_strict will only catch improper capitalization for the
898five predefined words "Current", "Void", "Result", "Precursor", and
899"NONE", to warn against their accidental use as feature or class names.
900
901Setting eiffel_pedantic will enforce adherence to the Eiffel style
902guidelines fairly rigorously (like arbitrary mixes of upper- and
903lowercase letters as well as outdated ways to capitalize keywords).
904
905If you want to use the lower-case version of "Current", "Void",
906"Result", and "Precursor", you can use >
907
908 :let eiffel_lower_case_predef=1
909
910instead of completely turning case-sensitive highlighting off.
911
912Support for ISE's proposed new creation syntax that is already
913experimentally handled by some compilers can be enabled by: >
914
915 :let eiffel_ise=1
916
917Finally, some vendors support hexadecimal constants. To handle them, add >
918
919 :let eiffel_hex_constants=1
920
921to your startup file.
922
923
924ERLANG *erlang.vim* *erlang-syntax*
925
926The erlang highlighting supports Erlang (ERicsson LANGuage).
927Erlang is case sensitive and default extension is ".erl".
928
929If you want to disable keywords highlighting, put in your .vimrc: >
930 :let erlang_keywords = 1
931If you want to disable built-in-functions highlighting, put in your
932.vimrc file: >
933 :let erlang_functions = 1
934If you want to disable special characters highlighting, put in
935your .vimrc: >
936 :let erlang_characters = 1
937
938
939FORM *form.vim* *form-syntax*
940
941The coloring scheme for syntax elements in the FORM file uses the default
942modes Conditional, Number, Statement, Comment, PreProc, Type, and String,
943following the language specifications in 'Symbolic Manipulation with FORM'' by
944J.A.M. Vermaseren, CAN, Netherlands, 1991.
945
946If you want include your own changes to the default colors, you have to
947redefine the following syntax groups:
948
949 - formConditional
950 - formNumber
951 - formStatement
952 - formHeaderStatement
953 - formComment
954 - formPreProc
955 - formDirective
956 - formType
957 - formString
958
959Note that the form.vim syntax file implements FORM preprocessor commands and
960directives per default in the same syntax group.
961
962A predefined enhanced color mode for FORM is available to distinguish between
963header statements and statements in the body of a FORM program. To activate
964this mode define the following variable in your vimrc file >
965
966 :let form_enhanced_color=1
967
968The enhanced mode also takes advantage of additional color features for a dark
969gvim display. Here, statements are colored LightYellow instead of Yellow, and
970conditionals are LightBlue for better distinction.
971
972
973FORTRAN *fortran.vim* *fortran-syntax*
974
975Default highlighting and dialect ~
976Highlighting appropriate for f95 (Fortran 95) is used by default. This choice
977should be appropriate for most users most of the time because Fortran 95 is a
978superset of Fortran 90 and almost a superset of Fortran 77.
979
980Fortran source code form ~
981Fortran 9x code can be in either fixed or free source form. Note that the
982syntax highlighting will not be correct if the form is incorrectly set.
983
984When you create a new fortran file, the syntax script assumes fixed source
985form. If you always use free source form, then >
986 :let fortran_free_source=1
987in your .vimrc prior to the :syntax on command. If you always use fixed source
988form, then >
989 :let fortran_fixed_source=1
990in your .vimrc prior to the :syntax on command.
991
992If the form of the source code depends upon the file extension, then it is
993most convenient to set fortran_free_source in a ftplugin file. For more
994information on ftplugin files, see |ftplugin|. For example, if all your
995fortran files with an .f90 extension are written in free source form and the
996rest in fixed source form, add the following code to your ftplugin file >
997 let s:extfname = expand("%:e")
998 if s:extfname ==? "f90"
999 let fortran_free_source=1
1000 unlet! fortran_fixed_source
1001 else
1002 let fortran_fixed_source=1
1003 unlet! fortran_free_source
1004 endif
1005Note that this will work only if the "filetype plugin indent on" command
1006precedes the "syntax on" command in your .vimrc file.
1007
1008When you edit an existing fortran file, the syntax script will assume free
1009source form if the fortran_free_source variable has been set, and assumes
1010fixed source form if the fortran_fixed_source variable has been set. If
1011neither of these variables have been set, the syntax script attempts to
1012determine which source form has been used by examining the first five columns
1013of the first 25 lines of your file. If no signs of free source form are
1014detected, then the file is assumed to be in fixed source form. The algorithm
1015should work in the vast majority of cases. In some cases, such as a file that
1016begins with 25 or more full-line comments, the script may incorrectly decide
1017that the fortran code is in fixed form. If that happens, just add a
1018non-comment statement beginning anywhere in the first five columns of the
1019first twenty five lines, save (:w) and then reload (:e!) the file.
1020
1021Tabs in fortran files ~
1022Tabs are not recognized by the Fortran standards. Tabs are not a good idea in
1023fixed format fortran source code which requires fixed column boundaries.
1024Therefore, tabs are marked as errors. Nevertheless, some programmers like
1025using tabs. If your fortran files contain tabs, then you should set the
1026variable fortran_have_tabs in your .vimrc with a command such as >
1027 :let fortran_have_tabs=1
1028placed prior to the :syntax on command. Unfortunately, the use of tabs will
1029mean that the syntax file will not be able to detect incorrect margins.
1030
1031Syntax folding of fortran files ~
1032If you wish to use foldmethod=syntax, then you must first set the variable
1033fortran_fold with a command such as >
1034 :let fortran_fold=1
1035to instruct the syntax script to define fold regions for program units, that
1036is main programs starting with a program statement, subroutines, function
1037subprograms, block data subprograms, interface blocks, and modules. If you
1038also set the variable fortran_fold_conditionals with a command such as >
1039 :let fortran_fold_conditionals=1
1040then fold regions will also be defined for do loops, if blocks, and select
1041case constructs. If you also set the variable
1042fortran_fold_multilinecomments with a command such as >
1043 :let fortran_fold_multilinecomments=1
1044then fold regions will also be defined for three or more consecutive comment
1045lines. Note that defining fold regions can be slow for large files.
1046
1047If fortran_fold, and possibly fortran_fold_conditionals and/or
1048fortran_fold_multilinecomments, have been set, then vim will fold your file if
1049you set foldmethod=syntax. Comments or blank lines placed between two program
1050units are not folded because they are seen as not belonging to any program
1051unit.
1052
1053More precise fortran syntax ~
1054If you set the variable fortran_more_precise with a command such as >
1055 :let fortran_more_precise=1
1056then the syntax coloring will be more precise but slower. In particular,
1057statement labels used in do, goto and arithmetic if statements will be
1058recognized, as will construct names at the end of a do, if, select or forall
1059construct.
1060
1061Non-default fortran dialects ~
1062The syntax script supports five Fortran dialects: f95, f90, f77, the Lahey
1063subset elf90, and the Imagine1 subset F.
1064
1065If you use f77 with extensions, even common ones like do/enddo loops, do/while
1066loops and free source form that are supported by most f77 compilers including
1067g77 (GNU Fortran), then you will probably find the default highlighting
1068satisfactory. However, if you use strict f77 with no extensions, not even free
1069source form or the MIL STD 1753 extensions, then the advantages of setting the
1070dialect to f77 are that names such as SUM are recognized as user variable
1071names and not highlighted as f9x intrinsic functions, that obsolete constructs
1072such as ASSIGN statements are not highlighted as todo items, and that fixed
1073source form will be assumed.
1074
1075If you use elf90 or F, the advantage of setting the dialect appropriately is
1076that f90 features excluded from these dialects will be highlighted as todo
1077items and that free source form will be assumed as required for these
1078dialects.
1079
1080The dialect can be selected by setting the variable fortran_dialect. The
1081permissible values of fortran_dialect are case-sensitive and must be "f95",
1082"f90", "f77", "elf" or "F". Invalid values of fortran_dialect are ignored.
1083
1084If all your fortran files use the same dialect, set fortran_dialect in your
1085.vimrc prior to your syntax on statement. If the dialect depends upon the file
1086extension, then it is most convenient to set it in a ftplugin file. For more
1087information on ftplugin files, see |ftplugin|. For example, if all your
1088fortran files with an .f90 extension are written in the elf subset, your
1089ftplugin file should contain the code >
1090 let s:extfname = expand("%:e")
1091 if s:extfname ==? "f90"
1092 let fortran_dialect="elf"
1093 else
1094 unlet! fortran_dialect
1095 endif
1096Note that this will work only if the "filetype plugin indent on" command
1097precedes the "syntax on" command in your .vimrc file.
1098
1099Finer control is necessary if the file extension does not uniquely identify
1100the dialect. You can override the default dialect, on a file-by-file basis, by
1101including a comment with the directive "fortran_dialect=xx" (where xx=f77 or
1102elf or F or f90 or f95) in one of the first three lines in your file. For
1103example, your older .f files may be written in extended f77 but your newer
1104ones may be F codes, and you would identify the latter by including in the
1105first three lines of those files a Fortran comment of the form >
1106 ! fortran_dialect=F
1107F overrides elf if both directives are present.
1108
1109Limitations ~
1110Parenthesis checking does not catch too few closing parentheses. Hollerith
1111strings are not recognized. Some keywords may be highlighted incorrectly
1112because Fortran90 has no reserved words.
1113
1114For further information related to fortran, see |fortran-indent| and
1115|fortran-plugin|.
1116
1117
1118FVWM CONFIGURATION FILES *fvwm.vim* *fvwm-syntax*
1119
1120In order for Vim to recognize Fvwm configuration files that do not match
1121the patterns *fvwmrc* or *fvwm2rc* , you must put additional patterns
1122appropriate to your system in your myfiletypes.vim file. For these
1123patterns, you must set the variable "b:fvwm_version" to the major version
1124number of Fvwm, and the 'filetype' option to fvwm.
1125
1126For example, to make Vim identify all files in /etc/X11/fvwm2/
1127as Fvwm2 configuration files, add the following: >
1128
1129 :au! BufNewFile,BufRead /etc/X11/fvwm2/* let b:fvwm_version = 2 |
1130 \ set filetype=fvwm
1131
1132If you'd like Vim to highlight all valid color names, tell it where to
1133find the color database (rgb.txt) on your system. Do this by setting
1134"rgb_file" to its location. Assuming your color database is located
1135in /usr/X11/lib/X11/, you should add the line >
1136
1137 :let rgb_file = "/usr/X11/lib/X11/rgb.txt"
1138
1139to your .vimrc file.
1140
1141
1142GSP *gsp.vim*
1143
1144The default coloring style for GSP pages is defined by |html.vim|, and
1145the coloring for java code (within java tags or inline between backticks)
1146is defined by |java.vim|. The following HTML groups defined in |html.vim|
1147are redefined to incorporate and highlight inline java code:
1148
1149 htmlString
1150 htmlValue
1151 htmlEndTag
1152 htmlTag
1153 htmlTagN
1154
1155Highlighting should look fine most of the places where you'd see inline
1156java code, but in some special cases it may not. To add another HTML
1157group where you will have inline java code where it does not highlight
1158correctly, just copy the line you want from |html.vim| and add gspJava
1159to the contains clause.
1160
1161The backticks for inline java are highlighted according to the htmlError
1162group to make them easier to see.
1163
1164
1165GROFF *groff.vim* *groff-syntax*
1166
1167The groff syntax file is a wrapper for |nroff.vim|, see the notes
1168under that heading for examples of use and configuration. The purpose
1169of this wrapper is to set up groff syntax extensions by setting the
1170filetype from a |modeline| or in a personal filetype definitions file
1171(see |filetype.txt|).
1172
1173
1174HASKELL *haskell.vim* *lhaskell.vim* *haskell-syntax*
1175
1176The Haskell syntax files support plain Haskell code as well as literate
1177Haskell code, the latter in both Bird style and TeX style. The Haskell
1178syntax highlighting will also highlight C preprocessor directives.
1179
1180If you want to highlight delimiter characters (useful if you have a
1181light-coloured background), add to your .vimrc: >
1182 :let hs_highlight_delimiters = 1
1183To treat True and False as keywords as opposed to ordinary identifiers,
1184add: >
1185 :let hs_highlight_boolean = 1
1186To also treat the names of primitive types as keywords: >
1187 :let hs_highlight_types = 1
1188And to treat the names of even more relatively common types as keywords: >
1189 :let hs_highlight_more_types = 1
1190If you want to highlight the names of debugging functions, put in
1191your .vimrc: >
1192 :let hs_highlight_debug = 1
1193
1194The Haskell syntax highlighting also highlights C preprocessor
1195directives, and flags lines that start with # but are not valid
1196directives as erroneous. This interferes with Haskell's syntax for
1197operators, as they may start with #. If you want to highlight those
1198as operators as opposed to errors, put in your .vimrc: >
1199 :let hs_allow_hash_operator = 1
1200
1201The syntax highlighting for literate Haskell code will try to
1202automatically guess whether your literate Haskell code contains
1203TeX markup or not, and correspondingly highlight TeX constructs
1204or nothing at all. You can override this globally by putting
1205in your .vimrc >
1206 :let lhs_markup = none
1207for no highlighting at all, or >
1208 :let lhs_markup = tex
1209to force the highlighting to always try to highlight TeX markup.
1210For more flexibility, you may also use buffer local versions of
1211this variable, so e.g. >
1212 :let b:lhs_markup = tex
1213will force TeX highlighting for a particular buffer. It has to be
1214set before turning syntax highlighting on for the buffer or
1215loading a file.
1216
1217
1218HTML *html.vim* *html-syntax*
1219
1220The coloring scheme for tags in the HTML file works as follows.
1221
1222The <> of opening tags are colored differently than the </> of a closing tag.
1223This is on purpose! For opening tags the 'Function' color is used, while for
1224closing tags the 'Type' color is used (See syntax.vim to check how those are
1225defined for you)
1226
1227Known tag names are colored the same way as statements in C. Unknown tag
1228names are colored with the same color as the <> or </> respectively which
1229makes it easy to spot errors
1230
1231Note that the same is true for argument (or attribute) names. Known attribute
1232names are colored differently than unknown ones.
1233
1234Some HTML tags are used to change the rendering of text. The following tags
1235are recognized by the html.vim syntax coloring file and change the way normal
1236text is shown: <B> <I> <U> <EM> <STRONG> (<EM> is used as an alias for <I>,
1237while <STRONG> as an alias for <B>), <H1> - <H6>, <HEAD>, <TITLE> and <A>, but
1238only if used as a link that is, it must include a href as in
1239<A href="somfile.html">).
1240
1241If you want to change how such text is rendered, you must redefine the
1242following syntax groups:
1243
1244 - htmlBold
1245 - htmlBoldUnderline
1246 - htmlBoldUnderlineItalic
1247 - htmlUnderline
1248 - htmlUnderlineItalic
1249 - htmlItalic
1250 - htmlTitle for titles
1251 - htmlH1 - htmlH6 for headings
1252
1253To make this redefinition work you must redefine them all with the exception
1254of the last two (htmlTitle and htmlH[1-6], which are optional) and define the
1255following variable in your vimrc (this is due to the order in which the files
1256are read during initialization) >
1257 :let html_my_rendering=1
1258
1259If you'd like to see an example download mysyntax.vim at
1260http://www.fleiner.com/vim/download.html
1261
1262You can also disable this rendering by adding the following line to your
1263vimrc file: >
1264 :let html_no_rendering=1
1265
1266HTML comments are rather special (see an HTML reference document for the
1267details), and the syntax coloring scheme will highlight all errors.
1268However, if you prefer to use the wrong style (starts with <!-- and
1269ends with --!>) you can define >
1270 :let html_wrong_comments=1
1271
1272JavaScript and Visual Basic embedded inside HTML documents are highlighted as
1273'Special' with statements, comments, strings and so on colored as in standard
1274programming languages. Note that only JavaScript and Visual Basic are currently
1275supported, no other scripting language has been added yet.
1276
1277Embedded and inlined cascading style sheets (CSS) are highlighted too.
1278
1279There are several html preprocessor languages out there. html.vim has been
1280written such that it should be trivial to include it. To do so add the
1281following two lines to the syntax coloring file for that language
1282(the example comes from the asp.vim file):
1283
1284 runtime! syntax/html.vim
1285 syn cluster htmlPreproc add=asp
1286
1287Now you just need to make sure that you add all regions that contain
1288the preprocessor language to the cluster htmlPreproc.
1289
1290
1291HTML/OS (by Aestiva) *htmlos.vim* *htmlos-syntax*
1292
1293The coloring scheme for HTML/OS works as follows:
1294
1295Functions and variable names are the same color by default, because VIM
1296doesn't specify different colors for Functions and Identifiers. To change
1297this (which is recommended if you want function names to be recognizable in a
1298different color) you need to add the following line to either your ~/.vimrc: >
1299 :hi Function term=underline cterm=bold ctermfg=LightGray
1300
1301Of course, the ctermfg can be a different color if you choose.
1302
1303Another issues that HTML/OS runs into is that there is no special filetype to
1304signify that it is a file with HTML/OS coding. You can change this by opening
1305a file and turning on HTML/OS syntax by doing the following: >
1306 :set syntax=htmlos
1307
1308Lastly, it should be noted that the opening and closing characters to begin a
1309block of HTML/OS code can either be << or [[ and >> or ]], respectively.
1310
1311
1312IA64 *ia64.vim* *intel-itanium* *ia64-syntax*
1313
1314Highlighting for the Intel Itanium 64 assembly language. See |asm.vim| for
1315how to recognize this filetype.
1316
1317To have *.inc files be recognized as IA64, add this to your .vimrc file: >
1318 :let g:filetype_inc = "ia64"
1319
1320
1321INFORM *inform.vim* *inform-syntax*
1322
1323Inform highlighting includes symbols provided by the Inform Library, as
1324most programs make extensive use of it. If do not wish Library symbols
1325to be highlighted add this to your vim startup: >
1326 :let inform_highlight_simple=1
1327
1328By default it is assumed that Inform programs are Z-machine targeted,
1329and highlights Z-machine assembly language symbols appropriately. If
1330you intend your program to be targeted to a Glulx/Glk environment you
1331need to add this to your startup sequence: >
1332 :let inform_highlight_glulx=1
1333
1334This will highlight Glulx opcodes instead, and also adds glk() to the
1335set of highlighted system functions.
1336
1337The Inform compiler will flag certain obsolete keywords as errors when
1338it encounters them. These keywords are normally highlighted as errors
1339by Vim. To prevent such error highlighting, you must add this to your
1340startup sequence: >
1341 :let inform_suppress_obsolete=1
1342
1343By default, the language features highlighted conform to Compiler
1344version 6.30 and Library version 6.11. If you are using an older
1345Inform development environment, you may with to add this to your
1346startup sequence: >
1347 :let inform_highlight_old=1
1348
1349
1350JAVA *java.vim* *java-syntax*
1351
1352The java.vim syntax highlighting file offers several options:
1353
1354In Java 1.0.2 it was never possible to have braces inside parens, so this was
1355flagged as an error. Since Java 1.1 this is possible (with anonymous
1356classes), and therefore is no longer marked as an error. If you prefer the old
1357way, put the following line into your vim startup file: >
1358 :let java_mark_braces_in_parens_as_errors=1
1359
1360All identifiers in java.lang.* are always visible in all classes. To
1361highlight them use: >
1362 :let java_highlight_java_lang_ids=1
1363
1364You can also highlight identifiers of most standard java packages if you
1365download the javaid.vim script at http://www.fleiner.com/vim/download.html.
1366If you prefer to only highlight identifiers of a certain package, say java.io
1367use the following: >
1368 :let java_highlight_java_io=1
1369Check the javaid.vim file for a list of all the packages that are supported.
1370
1371Function names are not highlighted, as the way to find functions depends on
1372how you write java code. The syntax file knows two possible ways to highlight
1373functions:
1374
1375If you write function declarations that are always indented by either
1376a tab, 8 spaces or 2 spaces you may want to set >
1377 :let java_highlight_functions="indent"
1378However, if you follow the Java guidelines about how functions and classes are
1379supposed to be named (with respect to upper and lowercase), use >
1380 :let java_highlight_functions="style"
1381If both options do not work for you, but you would still want function
1382declarations to be highlighted create your own definitions by changing the
1383definitions in java.vim or by creating your own java.vim which includes the
1384original one and then adds the code to highlight functions.
1385
1386In java 1.1 the functions System.out.println() and System.err.println() should
Bram Moolenaared203462004-06-16 11:19:22 +00001387only be used for debugging. Therefore it is possible to highlight debugging
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001388statements differently. To do this you must add the following definition in
1389your startup file: >
1390 :let java_highlight_debug=1
1391The result will be that those statements are highlighted as 'Special'
1392characters. If you prefer to have them highlighted differently you must define
1393new highlightings for the following groups.:
1394 Debug, DebugSpecial, DebugString, DebugBoolean, DebugType
1395which are used for the statement itself, special characters used in debug
1396strings, strings, boolean constants and types (this, super) respectively. I
1397have opted to chose another background for those statements.
1398
1399In order to help you to write code that can be easily ported between
1400java and C++, all C++ keywords are marked as error in a java program.
1401However, if you use them regularly, you may want to define the following
1402variable in your .vimrc file: >
1403 :let java_allow_cpp_keywords=1
1404
1405Javadoc is a program that takes special comments out of java program files and
1406creates HTML pages. The standard configuration will highlight this HTML code
1407similarly to HTML files (see |html.vim|). You can even add javascript
1408and CSS inside this code (see below). There are four differences however:
1409 1. The title (all characters up to the first '.' which is followed by
1410 some white space or up to the first '@') is colored differently (to change
1411 the color change the group CommentTitle).
1412 2. The text is colored as 'Comment'.
1413 3. HTML comments are colored as 'Special'
1414 4. The special javadoc tags (@see, @param, ...) are highlighted as specials
1415 and the argument (for @see, @param, @exception) as Function.
1416To turn this feature off add the following line to your startup file: >
1417 :let java_ignore_javadoc=1
1418
1419If you use the special javadoc comment highlighting described above you
1420can also turn on special highlighting for javascript, visual basic
1421scripts and embedded CSS (stylesheets). This makes only sense if you
1422actually have javadoc comments that include either javascript or embedded
1423CSS. The options to use are >
1424 :let java_javascript=1
1425 :let java_css=1
1426 :let java_vb=1
1427
1428In order to highlight nested parens with different colors define colors
1429for javaParen, javaParen1 and javaParen2, for example with >
1430 :hi link javaParen Comment
1431or >
1432 :hi javaParen ctermfg=blue guifg=#0000ff
1433
1434If you notice highlighting errors while scrolling backwards, which are fixed
1435when redrawing with CTRL-L, try setting the "java_minlines" internal variable
1436to a larger number: >
1437 :let java_minlines = 50
1438This will make the syntax synchronization start 50 lines before the first
1439displayed line. The default value is 10. The disadvantage of using a larger
1440number is that redrawing can become slow.
1441
1442
1443LACE *lace.vim* *lace-syntax*
1444
1445Lace (Language for Assembly of Classes in Eiffel) is case insensitive, but the
1446style guide lines are not. If you prefer case insensitive highlighting, just
1447define the vim variable 'lace_case_insensitive' in your startup file: >
1448 :let lace_case_insensitive=1
1449
1450
1451LEX *lex.vim* *lex-syntax*
1452
1453Lex uses brute-force synchronizing as the "^%%$" section delimiter
1454gives no clue as to what section follows. Consequently, the value for >
1455 :syn sync minlines=300
1456may be changed by the user if s/he is experiencing synchronization
1457difficulties (such as may happen with large lex files).
1458
1459
1460LITE *lite.vim* *lite-syntax*
1461
1462There are two options for the lite syntax highlighting.
1463
1464If you like SQL syntax highlighting inside Strings, use this: >
1465
1466 :let lite_sql_query = 1
1467
1468For syncing, minlines defaults to 100. If you prefer another value, you can
1469set "lite_minlines" to the value you desire. Example: >
1470
1471 :let lite_minlines = 200
1472
1473
1474LPC *lpc.vim* *lpc-syntax*
1475
1476LPC stands for a simple, memory-efficient language: Lars Pensj| C. The
1477file name of LPC is usually *.c. Recognizing these files as LPC would bother
1478users writing only C programs. If you want to use LPC syntax in Vim, you
1479should set a variable in your .vimrc file: >
1480
1481 :let lpc_syntax_for_c = 1
1482
1483If it doesn't work properly for some particular C or LPC files, use a
1484modeline. For a LPC file:
1485
1486 // vim:set ft=lpc:
1487
1488For a C file that is recognized as LPC:
1489
1490 // vim:set ft=c:
1491
1492If you don't want to set the variable, use the modeline in EVERY LPC file.
1493
1494There are several implementations for LPC, we intend to support most widely
1495used ones. Here the default LPC syntax is for MudOS series, for MudOS v22
1496and before, you should turn off the sensible modifiers, and this will also
1497asserts the new efuns after v22 to be invalid, don't set this variable when
1498you are using the latest version of MudOS: >
1499
1500 :let lpc_pre_v22 = 1
1501
1502For LpMud 3.2 series of LPC: >
1503
1504 :let lpc_compat_32 = 1
1505
1506For LPC4 series of LPC: >
1507
1508 :let lpc_use_lpc4_syntax = 1
1509
1510For uLPC series of LPC:
1511uLPC has been developed to Pike, so you should use Pike syntax
1512instead, and the name of your source file should be *.pike
1513
1514
1515LUA *lua.vim* *lua-syntax*
1516
1517This syntax file may be used for Lua 4.0 and Lua 5.0 (default). If you are
1518programming in Lua 4.0, use this: >
1519
1520 :let lua_version = 4
1521
1522If lua_version variable doesn't exist, it is set to 5.
1523
1524
1525MAIL *mail.vim*
1526
1527Vim highlights all the standard elements of an email (headers, signatures,
1528quoted text and URLs / email addresses). In keeping with standard conventions,
1529signatures begin in a line containing only "--" followed optionally by
1530whitespaces and end with a newline.
1531
1532Vim treats lines beginning with ']', '}', '|', '>' or a word followed by '>'
1533as quoted text. However Vim highlights headers and signatures in quoted text
1534only if the text is quoted with '>' (optionally followed by one space).
1535
1536By default mail.vim synchronises syntax to 100 lines before the first
1537displayed line. If you have a slow machine, and generally deal with emails
1538with short headers, you can change this to a smaller value: >
1539
1540 :let mail_minlines = 30
1541
1542
1543MAKE *make.vim* *make-syntax*
1544
1545In makefiles, commands are usually highlighted to make it easy for you to spot
1546errors. However, this may be too much coloring for you. You can turn this
1547feature off by using: >
1548
1549 :let make_no_commands = 1
1550
1551
1552MAPLE *maple.vim* *maple-syntax*
1553
1554Maple V, by Waterloo Maple Inc, supports symbolic algebra. The language
1555supports many packages of functions which are selectively loaded by the user.
1556The standard set of packages' functions as supplied in Maple V release 4 may be
1557highlighted at the user's discretion. Users may place in their .vimrc file: >
1558
1559 :let mvpkg_all= 1
1560
1561to get all package functions highlighted, or users may select any subset by
1562choosing a variable/package from the table below and setting that variable to
15631, also in their .vimrc file (prior to sourcing
1564$VIMRUNTIME/syntax/syntax.vim).
1565
1566 Table of Maple V Package Function Selectors >
1567 mv_DEtools mv_genfunc mv_networks mv_process
1568 mv_Galois mv_geometry mv_numapprox mv_simplex
1569 mv_GaussInt mv_grobner mv_numtheory mv_stats
1570 mv_LREtools mv_group mv_orthopoly mv_student
1571 mv_combinat mv_inttrans mv_padic mv_sumtools
1572 mv_combstruct mv_liesymm mv_plots mv_tensor
1573 mv_difforms mv_linalg mv_plottools mv_totorder
1574 mv_finance mv_logic mv_powseries
1575
1576
1577MOO *moo.vim* *moo-syntax*
1578
1579If you use C-style comments inside expressions and find it mangles your
1580highlighting, you may want to use extended (slow!) matches for C-style
1581comments: >
1582
1583 :let moo_extended_cstyle_comments = 1
1584
1585To disable highlighting of pronoun substitution patterns inside strings: >
1586
1587 :let moo_no_pronoun_sub = 1
1588
1589To disable highlighting of the regular expression operator '%|', and matching
1590'%(' and '%)' inside strings: >
1591
1592 :let moo_no_regexp = 1
1593
1594Unmatched double quotes can be recognized and highlighted as errors: >
1595
1596 :let moo_unmatched_quotes = 1
1597
1598To highlight builtin properties (.name, .location, .programmer etc.): >
1599
1600 :let moo_builtin_properties = 1
1601
1602Unknown builtin functions can be recognized and highlighted as errors. If you
1603use this option, add your own extensions to the mooKnownBuiltinFunction group.
1604To enable this option: >
1605
1606 :let moo_unknown_builtin_functions = 1
1607
1608An example of adding sprintf() to the list of known builtin functions: >
1609
1610 :syn keyword mooKnownBuiltinFunction sprintf contained
1611
1612
1613MSQL *msql.vim* *msql-syntax*
1614
1615There are two options for the msql syntax highlighting.
1616
1617If you like SQL syntax highlighting inside Strings, use this: >
1618
1619 :let msql_sql_query = 1
1620
1621For syncing, minlines defaults to 100. If you prefer another value, you can
1622set "msql_minlines" to the value you desire. Example: >
1623
1624 :let msql_minlines = 200
1625
1626
1627NCF *ncf.vim* *ncf-syntax*
1628
1629There is one option for NCF syntax highlighting.
1630
1631If you want to have unrecognized (by ncf.vim) statements highlighted as
1632errors, use this: >
1633
1634 :let ncf_highlight_unknowns = 1
1635
1636If you don't want to highlight these errors, leave it unset.
1637
1638
1639NROFF *nroff.vim* *nroff-syntax*
1640
1641The nroff syntax file works with AT&T n/troff out of the box. You need to
1642activate the GNU groff extra features included in the syntax file before you
1643can use them.
1644
1645For example, Linux and BSD distributions use groff as their default text
1646processing package. In order to activate the extra syntax highlighting
1647features for groff, add the following option to your start-up files: >
1648
1649 :let b:nroff_is_groff = 1
1650
1651Groff is different from the old AT&T n/troff that you may still find in
1652Solaris. Groff macro and request names can be longer than 2 characters and
1653there are extensions to the language primitives. For example, in AT&T troff
1654you access the year as a 2-digit number with the request \(yr. In groff you
1655can use the same request, recognized for compatibility, or you can use groff's
1656native syntax, \[yr]. Furthermore, you can use a 4-digit year directly:
1657\[year]. Macro requests can be longer than 2 characters, for example, GNU mm
1658accepts the requests ".VERBON" and ".VERBOFF" for creating verbatim
1659environments.
1660
1661In order to obtain the best formatted output g/troff can give you, you should
1662follow a few simple rules about spacing and punctuation.
1663
16641. Do not leave empty spaces at the end of lines.
1665
16662. Leave one space and one space only after an end-of-sentence period,
1667 exclamation mark, etc.
1668
16693. For reasons stated below, it is best to follow all period marks with a
1670 carriage return.
1671
1672The reason behind these unusual tips is that g/n/troff have a line breaking
1673algorithm that can be easily upset if you don't follow the rules given above.
1674
1675Unlike TeX, troff fills text line-by-line, not paragraph-by-paragraph and,
1676furthermore, it does not have a concept of glue or stretch, all horizontal and
1677vertical space input will be output as is.
1678
1679Therefore, you should be careful about not using more space between sentences
1680than you intend to have in your final document. For this reason, the common
1681practice is to insert a carriage return immediately after all punctuation
1682marks. If you want to have "even" text in your final processed output, you
1683need to maintaining regular spacing in the input text. To mark both trailing
1684spaces and two or more spaces after a punctuation as an error, use: >
1685
1686 :let nroff_space_errors = 1
1687
1688Another technique to detect extra spacing and other errors that will interfere
1689with the correct typesetting of your file, is to define an eye-catching
1690highlighting definition for the syntax groups "nroffDefinition" and
1691"nroffDefSpecial" in your configuration files. For example: >
1692
1693 hi def nroffDefinition term=italic cterm=italic gui=reverse
1694 hi def nroffDefSpecial term=italic,bold cterm=italic,bold
1695 \ gui=reverse,bold
1696
1697If you want to navigate preprocessor entries in your source file as easily as
1698with section markers, you can activate the following option in your .vimrc
1699file: >
1700
1701 let b:preprocs_as_sections = 1
1702
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001703As well, the syntax file adds an extra paragraph marker for the extended
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001704paragraph macro (.XP) in the ms package.
1705
1706Finally, there is a |groff.vim| syntax file that can be used for enabling
1707groff syntax highlighting either on a file basis or globally by default.
1708
1709
1710OCAML *ocaml.vim* *ocaml-syntax*
1711
1712The OCaml syntax file handles files having the following prefixes: .ml,
1713.mli, .mll and .mly. By setting the following variable >
1714
1715 :let ocaml_revised = 1
1716
1717you can switch from standard OCaml-syntax to revised syntax as supported
1718by the camlp4 preprocessor. Setting the variable >
1719
1720 :let ocaml_noend_error = 1
1721
1722prevents highlighting of "end" as error, which is useful when sources
1723contain very long structures that Vim does not synchronize anymore.
1724
1725
1726PAPP *papp.vim* *papp-syntax*
1727
1728The PApp syntax file handles .papp files and, to a lesser extend, .pxml
1729and .pxsl files which are all a mixture of perl/xml/html/other using xml
1730as the top-level file format. By default everything inside phtml or pxml
1731sections is treated as a string with embedded preprocessor commands. If
1732you set the variable: >
1733
1734 :let papp_include_html=1
1735
1736in your startup file it will try to syntax-hilight html code inside phtml
1737sections, but this is relatively slow and much too colourful to be able to
1738edit sensibly ;)
1739
1740The newest version of the papp.vim syntax file can usually be found at
1741http://papp.plan9.de.
1742
1743
1744PASCAL *pascal.vim* *pascal-syntax*
1745
1746Files matching "*.p" could be Progress or Pascal. If the automatic detection
1747doesn't work for you, or you don't edit Progress at all, use this in your
1748startup vimrc: >
1749
1750 :let filetype_p = "pascal"
1751
1752The Pascal syntax file has been extended to take into account some extensions
1753provided by Turbo Pascal, Free Pascal Compiler and GNU Pascal Compiler.
1754Delphi keywords are also supported. By default, Turbo Pascal 7.0 features are
1755enabled. If you prefer to stick with the standard Pascal keywords, add the
1756following line to your startup file: >
1757
1758 :let pascal_traditional=1
1759
1760To switch on Delphi specific constructions (such as one-line comments,
1761keywords, etc): >
1762
1763 :let pascal_delphi=1
1764
1765
1766The option pascal_symbol_operator controls whether symbol operators such as +,
1767*, .., etc. are displayed using the Operator color or not. To colorize symbol
1768operators, add the following line to your startup file: >
1769
1770 :let pascal_symbol_operator=1
1771
1772Some functions are highlighted by default. To switch it off: >
1773
1774 :let pascal_no_functions=1
1775
1776Furthermore, there are specific variable for some compiler. Besides
1777pascal_delphi, there are pascal_gpc and pascal_fpc. Default extensions try to
1778match Turbo Pascal. >
1779
1780 :let pascal_gpc=1
1781
1782or >
1783
1784 :let pascal_fpc=1
1785
1786To ensure that strings are defined on a single line, you can define the
1787pascal_one_line_string variable. >
1788
1789 :let pascal_one_line_string=1
1790
1791If you dislike <Tab> chars, you can set the pascal_no_tabs variable. Tabs
1792will be highlighted as Error. >
1793
1794 :let pascal_no_tabs=1
1795
1796
1797
1798PERL *perl.vim* *perl-syntax*
1799
1800There are a number of possible options to the perl syntax highlighting.
1801
1802If you use POD files or POD segments, you might: >
1803
1804 :let perl_include_pod = 1
1805
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00001806The reduce the complexity of parsing (and increase performance) you can switch
1807off two elements in the parsing of variable names and contents. >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001808
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00001809To handle package references in variable and function names not differently
1810from the rest of the name (like 'PkgName::' in '$PkgName::VarName'): >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001811
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00001812 :let perl_no_scope_in_variables = 1
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001813
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00001814(In Vim 6.x it was the other way around: "perl_want_scope_in_variables"
1815enabled it.)
1816
1817If you do not want complex things like '@{${"foo"}}' to be parsed: >
1818
1819 :let perl_no_extended_vars = 1
1820
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +00001821(In Vim 6.x it was the other way around: "perl_extended_vars" enabled it.)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001822
1823The coloring strings can be changed. By default strings and qq friends will be
1824highlighted like the first line. If you set the variable
1825perl_string_as_statement, it will be highlighted as in the second line.
1826
1827 "hello world!"; qq|hello world|;
1828 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^NN^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^N (unlet perl_string_as_statement)
1829 S^^^^^^^^^^^^SNNSSS^^^^^^^^^^^SN (let perl_string_as_statement)
1830
1831(^ = perlString, S = perlStatement, N = None at all)
1832
1833The syncing has 3 options. The first two switch off some triggering of
1834synchronization and should only be needed in case it fails to work properly.
1835If while scrolling all of a sudden the whole screen changes color completely
1836then you should try and switch off one of those. Let me know if you can figure
1837out the line that causes the mistake.
1838
1839One triggers on "^\s*sub\s*" and the other on "^[$@%]" more or less. >
1840
1841 :let perl_no_sync_on_sub
1842 :let perl_no_sync_on_global_var
1843
1844Below you can set the maximum distance VIM should look for starting points for
1845its attempts in syntax highlighting. >
1846
1847 :let perl_sync_dist = 100
1848
1849If you want to use folding with perl, set perl_fold: >
1850
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00001851 :let perl_fold = 1
1852
1853If you want to fold blocks in if statements, etc. as well set the following: >
1854
1855 :let perl_fold_blocks = 1
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001856
1857
1858PHP3 and PHP4 *php.vim* *php3.vim* *php-syntax* *php3-syntax*
1859
1860[note: previously this was called "php3", but since it now also supports php4
1861it has been renamed to "php"]
1862
1863There are the following options for the php syntax highlighting.
1864
1865If you like SQL syntax highlighting inside Strings: >
1866
1867 let php_sql_query = 1
1868
1869For highlighting the Baselib methods: >
1870
1871 let php_baselib = 1
1872
1873Enable HTML syntax highlighting inside strings: >
1874
1875 let php_htmlInStrings = 1
1876
1877Using the old colorstyle: >
1878
1879 let php_oldStyle = 1
1880
1881Enable highlighting ASP-style short tags: >
1882
1883 let php_asp_tags = 1
1884
1885Disable short tags: >
1886
1887 let php_noShortTags = 1
1888
1889For highlighting parent error ] or ): >
1890
1891 let php_parent_error_close = 1
1892
1893For skipping an php end tag, if there exists an open ( or [ without a closing
1894one: >
1895
1896 let php_parent_error_open = 1
1897
1898Enable folding for classes and functions: >
1899
1900 let php_folding = 1
1901
1902Selecting syncing method: >
1903
1904 let php_sync_method = x
1905
1906x = -1 to sync by search (default),
1907x > 0 to sync at least x lines backwards,
1908x = 0 to sync from start.
1909
1910
1911PPWIZARD *ppwiz.vim* *ppwiz-syntax*
1912
1913PPWizard is a preprocessor for HTML and OS/2 INF files
1914
1915This syntax file has the options:
1916
1917- ppwiz_highlight_defs : determines highlighting mode for PPWizard's
1918 definitions. Possible values are
1919
1920 ppwiz_highlight_defs = 1 : PPWizard #define statements retain the
1921 colors of their contents (e. g. PPWizard macros and variables)
1922
1923 ppwiz_highlight_defs = 2 : preprocessor #define and #evaluate
1924 statements are shown in a single color with the exception of line
1925 continuation symbols
1926
1927 The default setting for ppwiz_highlight_defs is 1.
1928
1929- ppwiz_with_html : If the value is 1 (the default), highlight literal
1930 HTML code; if 0, treat HTML code like ordinary text.
1931
1932
1933PHTML *phtml.vim* *phtml-syntax*
1934
1935There are two options for the phtml syntax highlighting.
1936
1937If you like SQL syntax highlighting inside Strings, use this: >
1938
1939 :let phtml_sql_query = 1
1940
1941For syncing, minlines defaults to 100. If you prefer another value, you can
1942set "phtml_minlines" to the value you desire. Example: >
1943
1944 :let phtml_minlines = 200
1945
1946
1947POSTSCRIPT *postscr.vim* *postscr-syntax*
1948
1949There are several options when it comes to highlighting PostScript.
1950
1951First which version of the PostScript language to highlight. There are
1952currently three defined language versions, or levels. Level 1 is the original
1953and base version, and includes all extensions prior to the release of level 2.
1954Level 2 is the most common version around, and includes its own set of
1955extensions prior to the release of level 3. Level 3 is currently the highest
1956level supported. You select which level of the PostScript language you want
1957highlighted by defining the postscr_level variable as follows: >
1958
1959 :let postscr_level=2
1960
1961If this variable is not defined it defaults to 2 (level 2) since this is
1962the most prevalent version currently.
1963
1964Note, not all PS interpreters will support all language features for a
1965particular language level. In particular the %!PS-Adobe-3.0 at the start of
1966PS files does NOT mean the PostScript present is level 3 PostScript!
1967
1968If you are working with Display PostScript, you can include highlighting of
1969Display PS language features by defining the postscr_display variable as
1970follows: >
1971
1972 :let postscr_display=1
1973
1974If you are working with Ghostscript, you can include highlighting of
1975Ghostscript specific language features by defining the variable
1976postscr_ghostscript as follows: >
1977
1978 :let postscr_ghostscript=1
1979
1980PostScript is a large language, with many predefined elements. While it
1981useful to have all these elements highlighted, on slower machines this can
1982cause Vim to slow down. In an attempt to be machine friendly font names and
1983character encodings are not highlighted by default. Unless you are working
1984explicitly with either of these this should be ok. If you want them to be
1985highlighted you should set one or both of the following variables: >
1986
1987 :let postscr_fonts=1
1988 :let postscr_encodings=1
1989
1990There is a stylistic option to the highlighting of and, or, and not. In
1991PostScript the function of these operators depends on the types of their
1992operands - if the operands are booleans then they are the logical operators,
1993if they are integers then they are binary operators. As binary and logical
1994operators can be highlighted differently they have to be highlighted one way
1995or the other. By default they are treated as logical operators. They can be
1996highlighted as binary operators by defining the variable
1997postscr_andornot_binary as follows: >
1998
1999 :let postscr_andornot_binary=1
2000<
2001
2002 *ptcap.vim*
2003PRINTCAP + TERMCAP *ptcap-syntax* *termcap-syntax* *printcap-syntax*
2004
2005This syntax file applies to the printcap and termcap databases.
2006
2007In order for Vim to recognize printcap/termcap files that do not match
2008the patterns *printcap*, or *termcap*, you must put additional patterns
2009appropriate to your system in your |myfiletypefile| file. For these
2010patterns, you must set the variable "b:ptcap_type" to either "print" or
2011"term", and then the 'filetype' option to ptcap.
2012
2013For example, to make Vim identify all files in /etc/termcaps/ as termcap
2014files, add the following: >
2015
2016 :au BufNewFile,BufRead /etc/termcaps/* let b:ptcap_type = "term" |
2017 \ set filetype=ptcap
2018
2019If you notice highlighting errors while scrolling backwards, which
2020are fixed when redrawing with CTRL-L, try setting the "ptcap_minlines"
2021internal variable to a larger number: >
2022
2023 :let ptcap_minlines = 50
2024
2025(The default is 20 lines.)
2026
2027
2028PROGRESS *progress.vim* *progress-syntax*
2029
2030Files matching "*.w" could be Progress or cweb. If the automatic detection
2031doesn't work for you, or you don't edit cweb at all, use this in your
2032startup vimrc: >
2033 :let filetype_w = "progress"
2034The same happens for "*.i", which could be assembly, and "*.p", which could be
2035Pascal. Use this if you don't use assembly and Pascal: >
2036 :let filetype_i = "progress"
2037 :let filetype_p = "progress"
2038
2039
2040PYTHON *python.vim* *python-syntax*
2041
2042There are four options to control Python syntax highlighting.
2043
2044For highlighted numbers: >
2045 :let python_highlight_numbers = 1
2046
2047For highlighted builtin functions: >
2048 :let python_highlight_builtins = 1
2049
2050For highlighted standard exceptions: >
2051 :let python_highlight_exceptions = 1
2052
2053For highlighted trailing whitespace and mix of spaces and tabs:
2054 :let python_highlight_space_errors = 1
2055
2056If you want all possible Python highlighting (the same as setting the
2057preceding three options): >
2058 :let python_highlight_all = 1
2059
2060
2061QUAKE *quake.vim* *quake-syntax*
2062
2063The Quake syntax definition should work for most any FPS (First Person
2064Shooter) based on one of the Quake engines. However, the command names vary
2065a bit between the three games (Quake, Quake 2, and Quake 3 Arena) so the
2066syntax definition checks for the existence of three global variables to allow
2067users to specify what commands are legal in their files. The three variables
2068can be set for the following effects:
2069
2070set to highlight commands only available in Quake: >
2071 :let quake_is_quake1 = 1
2072
2073set to highlight commands only available in Quake 2: >
2074 :let quake_is_quake2 = 1
2075
2076set to highlight commands only available in Quake 3 Arena: >
2077 :let quake_is_quake3 = 1
2078
2079Any combination of these three variables is legal, but might highlight more
2080commands than are actually available to you by the game.
2081
2082
2083READLINE *readline.vim* *readline-syntax*
2084
2085The readline library is primarily used by the BASH shell, which adds quite a
2086few commands and options to the ones already available. To highlight these
2087items as well you can add the following to your |vimrc| or just type it in the
2088command line before loading a file with the readline syntax: >
2089 let readline_has_bash = 1
2090
2091This will add highlighting for the commands that BASH (version 2.05a and
2092later, and part earlier) adds.
2093
2094
2095REXX *rexx.vim* *rexx-syntax*
2096
2097If you notice highlighting errors while scrolling backwards, which are fixed
2098when redrawing with CTRL-L, try setting the "rexx_minlines" internal variable
2099to a larger number: >
2100 :let rexx_minlines = 50
2101This will make the syntax synchronization start 50 lines before the first
2102displayed line. The default value is 10. The disadvantage of using a larger
2103number is that redrawing can become slow.
2104
2105
2106RUBY *ruby.vim* *ruby-syntax*
2107
2108There are a few options to the Ruby syntax highlighting.
2109
2110By default, the "end" keyword is colorized according to the opening statement
2111of the block it closes. While useful, this feature can be expensive: if you
2112experience slow redrawing (or you are on a terminal with poor color support)
2113you may want to turn it off by defining the "ruby_no_expensive" variable: >
2114 :let ruby_no_expensive = 1
2115In this case the same color will be used for all control keywords.
2116
2117If you do want this feature enabled, but notice highlighting errors while
2118scrolling backwards, which are fixed when redrawing with CTRL-L, try setting
2119the "ruby_minlines" variable to a value larger than 50: >
2120 :let ruby_minlines = 100
2121Ideally, this value should be a number of lines large enough to embrace your
2122largest class or module.
2123
2124Finally, if you do not like to see too many color items around, you can define
2125"ruby_no_identifiers": >
2126 :let ruby_no_identifiers = 1
2127This will prevent highlighting of special identifiers like "ConstantName",
2128"$global_var", "@instance_var", "| iterator |", and ":symbol".
2129
2130
Bram Moolenaar21cf8232004-07-16 20:18:37 +00002131SCHEME *scheme.vim* *scheme-syntax*
2132
2133By default only R5RS keywords are highlighted and properly indented.
2134
2135MzScheme-specific stuff will be used if b:is_mzscheme or g:is_mzscheme
2136variables are defined.
Bram Moolenaar293ee4d2004-12-09 21:34:53 +00002137
2138Also scheme.vim supports keywords of the Chicken Scheme->C compiler. Define
2139b:is_chicken or g:is_chicken, if you need them.
Bram Moolenaar21cf8232004-07-16 20:18:37 +00002140
2141
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002142SDL *sdl.vim* *sdl-syntax*
2143
2144The SDL highlighting probably misses a few keywords, but SDL has so many
2145of them it's almost impossibly to cope.
2146
2147The new standard, SDL-2000, specifies that all identifiers are
2148case-sensitive (which was not so before), and that all keywords can be
2149used either completely lowercase or completely uppercase. To have the
2150highlighting reflect this, you can set the following variable: >
2151 :let sdl_2000=1
2152
2153This also sets many new keywords. If you want to disable the old
2154keywords, which is probably a good idea, use: >
2155 :let SDL_no_96=1
2156
2157
2158The indentation is probably also incomplete, but right now I am very
2159satisfied with it for my own projects.
2160
2161
2162SED *sed.vim* *sed-syntax*
2163
2164To make tabs stand out from regular blanks (accomplished by using Todo
2165highlighting on the tabs), define "highlight_sedtabs" by putting >
2166
2167 :let highlight_sedtabs = 1
2168
2169in the vimrc file. (This special highlighting only applies for tabs
2170inside search patterns, replacement texts, addresses or text included
2171by an Append/Change/Insert command.) If you enable this option, it is
2172also a good idea to set the tab width to one character; by doing that,
2173you can easily count the number of tabs in a string.
2174
2175Bugs:
2176
2177 The transform command (y) is treated exactly like the substitute
2178 command. This means that, as far as this syntax file is concerned,
2179 transform accepts the same flags as substitute, which is wrong.
2180 (Transform accepts no flags.) I tolerate this bug because the
2181 involved commands need very complex treatment (95 patterns, one for
2182 each plausible pattern delimiter).
2183
2184
2185SGML *sgml.vim* *sgml-syntax*
2186
2187The coloring scheme for tags in the SGML file works as follows.
2188
2189The <> of opening tags are colored differently than the </> of a closing tag.
2190This is on purpose! For opening tags the 'Function' color is used, while for
2191closing tags the 'Type' color is used (See syntax.vim to check how those are
2192defined for you)
2193
2194Known tag names are colored the same way as statements in C. Unknown tag
2195names are not colored which makes it easy to spot errors.
2196
2197Note that the same is true for argument (or attribute) names. Known attribute
2198names are colored differently than unknown ones.
2199
2200Some SGML tags are used to change the rendering of text. The following tags
2201are recognized by the sgml.vim syntax coloring file and change the way normal
2202text is shown: <varname> <emphasis> <command> <function> <literal>
2203<replaceable> <ulink> and <link>.
2204
2205If you want to change how such text is rendered, you must redefine the
2206following syntax groups:
2207
2208 - sgmlBold
2209 - sgmlBoldItalic
2210 - sgmlUnderline
2211 - sgmlItalic
2212 - sgmlLink for links
2213
2214To make this redefinition work you must redefine them all and define the
2215following variable in your vimrc (this is due to the order in which the files
2216are read during initialization) >
2217 let sgml_my_rendering=1
2218
2219You can also disable this rendering by adding the following line to your
2220vimrc file: >
2221 let sgml_no_rendering=1
2222
2223(Adapted from the html.vim help text by Claudio Fleiner <claudio@fleiner.com>)
2224
2225
2226SH *sh.vim* *sh-syntax*
2227
2228This covers the "normal" Unix (Bourne) sh, bash and the Korn shell.
2229
2230Vim attempts to determine which shell type is in use by specifying that
2231various filenames are of specific types: >
2232
2233 ksh : .kshrc* *.ksh
2234 bash: .bashrc* bashrc bash.bashrc .bash_profile* *.bash
2235<
2236If none of these cases pertain, then the first line of the file is examined
2237(ex. /bin/sh /bin/ksh /bin/bash). If the first line specifies a shelltype,
2238then that shelltype is used. However some files (ex. .profile) are known to
2239be shell files but the type is not apparent. Furthermore, on many systems
2240sh is symbolically linked to "bash" (linux) or "ksh" (posix).
2241
2242One may specify a global default by instantiating one of the following three
2243variables in your <.vimrc>:
2244
2245 ksh: >
2246 let is_kornshell = 1
2247< bash: >
2248 let is_bash = 1
2249< sh: >
2250 let is_sh = 1
2251
2252If, in your <.vimrc>, you set >
2253 let g:sh_fold_enabled= 1
2254>
2255then various syntax items (HereDocuments and function bodies) become
2256syntax-foldable (see |:syn-fold|).
2257
2258If you notice highlighting errors while scrolling backwards, which are fixed
2259when redrawing with CTRL-L, try setting the "sh_minlines" internal variable
2260to a larger number. Example: >
2261
2262 let sh_minlines = 500
2263
2264This will make syntax synchronization start 500 lines before the first
2265displayed line. The default value is 200. The disadvantage of using a larger
2266number is that redrawing can become slow.
2267
2268If you don't have much to synchronize on, displaying can be very slow. To
2269reduce this, the "sh_maxlines" internal variable can be set. Example: >
2270
2271 let sh_maxlines = 100
2272<
2273The default is to use the twice sh_minlines. Set it to a smaller number to
2274speed up displaying. The disadvantage is that highlight errors may appear.
2275
2276
2277SPEEDUP (AspenTech plant simulator) *spup.vim* *spup-syntax*
2278
2279The Speedup syntax file has some options:
2280
2281- strict_subsections : If this variable is defined, only keywords for
2282 sections and subsections will be highlighted as statements but not
2283 other keywords (like WITHIN in the OPERATION section).
2284
2285- highlight_types : Definition of this variable causes stream types
2286 like temperature or pressure to be highlighted as Type, not as a
2287 plain Identifier. Included are the types that are usually found in
2288 the DECLARE section; if you defined own types, you have to include
2289 them in the syntax file.
2290
2291- oneline_comments : this value ranges from 1 to 3 and determines the
2292 highlighting of # style comments.
2293
2294 oneline_comments = 1 : allow normal Speedup code after an even
2295 number of #s.
2296
2297 oneline_comments = 2 : show code starting with the second # as
2298 error. This is the default setting.
2299
2300 oneline_comments = 3 : show the whole line as error if it contains
2301 more than one #.
2302
2303Since especially OPERATION sections tend to become very large due to
2304PRESETting variables, syncing may be critical. If your computer is
2305fast enough, you can increase minlines and/or maxlines near the end of
2306the syntax file.
2307
2308
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00002309SQL *sql.vim* *sql-syntax*
2310 *sqlinformix.vim* *sqlinformix-syntax*
2311
2312While there is an ANSI standard for SQL, most database engines add their
2313own custom extensions. Vim currently supports the Oracle and Informix
2314dialects of SQL. Vim assumes "*.sql" files are Oracle SQL by default.
2315
2316If you want to use the Informix dialect, put this in your startup vimrc: >
2317 :let g:filetype_sql = "sqlinformix"
2318
2319
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002320TCSH *tcsh.vim* *tcsh-syntax*
2321
2322This covers the shell named "tcsh". It is a superset of csh. See |csh.vim|
2323for how the filetype is detected.
2324
2325Tcsh does not allow \" in strings unless the "backslash_quote" shell variable
2326is set. If you want VIM to assume that no backslash quote constructs exist add
2327this line to your .vimrc: >
2328
2329 :let tcsh_backslash_quote = 0
2330
2331If you notice highlighting errors while scrolling backwards, which are fixed
2332when redrawing with CTRL-L, try setting the "tcsh_minlines" internal variable
2333to a larger number: >
2334
2335 :let tcsh_minlines = 100
2336
2337This will make the syntax synchronization start 100 lines before the first
2338displayed line. The default value is 15. The disadvantage of using a larger
2339number is that redrawing can become slow.
2340
2341
2342TEX *tex.vim* *tex-syntax*
2343
2344Run-on Comments/Math? ~
2345
2346The tex highlighting supports TeX, LaTeX, and some AmsTeX. The
2347highlighting supports three primary zones: normal, texZone, and texMathZone.
2348Although a considerable effort has been made to have these zones terminate
2349properly, zones delineated by $..$ and $$..$$ cannot be synchronized as
2350there's no difference between start and end patterns. Consequently, a
2351special "TeX comment" has been provided >
2352 %stopzone
2353which will forcibly terminate the highlighting of either a texZone or a
2354texMathZone.
2355
2356Slow Syntax Highlighting? ~
2357
2358If you have a slow computer, you may wish to reduce the values for >
2359 :syn sync maxlines=200
2360 :syn sync minlines=50
2361(especially the latter). If your computer is fast, you may wish to
2362increase them. This primarily affects synchronizing (ie. just what group,
2363if any, is the text at the top of the screen supposed to be in?).
2364
2365Excessive Error Highlighting? ~
2366
2367The <tex.vim> supports lexical error checking of various sorts. Thus,
2368although the error checking is ofttimes very useful, it can indicate
2369errors where none actually are. If this proves to be a problem for you,
2370you may put in your <.vimrc> the following statement: >
2371 let tex_no_error=1
2372and all error checking by <tex.vim> will be suppressed.
2373
2374Need a new Math Group? ~
2375
2376If you want to include a new math group in your LaTeX, the following
2377code shows you an example as to how you might do so: >
2378
2379 syn cluster texMathZones add=texMathZoneLOCAL
2380 syn region texMathZoneLOCAL start="\\begin\s*{\s*LOCALMATH\s*}"
2381 \ end="\\end\s*{\s*LOCALMATH\s*}" keepend
2382 \ contains=@texMathZoneGroup
2383 if !exists("tex_no_math")
2384 syn sync match texSyncMathZoneLOCAL grouphere texMathZoneLOCAL
2385 \ "\\begin\s*{\s*LOCALMATH\*\s*}"
2386 syn sync match texSyncMathZoneLOCAL groupthere NONE
2387 \ "\\end\s*{\s*LOCALMATH\*\s*}"
2388 endif
2389 hi link texMathZoneLOCAL texMath
2390<
2391You'll need to change LOCALMATH to the name of your new math group,
2392and then to put it into .vim/after/syntax/tex.vim.
2393
2394Starting a New Style? ~
2395
2396One may use "\makeatletter" in *.tex files, thereby making the use of "@" in
2397commands available. However, since the *.tex file doesn't have one of the
2398following suffices: sty cls clo dtx ltx, the syntax highlighting will flag
2399such use of @ as an error. To solve this: >
2400
2401 :let b:tex_stylish = 1
2402 :set ft=tex
2403
2404Putting "let g:tex_stylish=1" into your <.vimrc> will make <syntax/tex.vim>
2405always accept such use of @.
2406
2407
2408TF *tf.vim* *tf-syntax*
2409
2410There is one option for the tf syntax highlighting.
2411
2412For syncing, minlines defaults to 100. If you prefer another value, you can
2413set "tf_minlines" to the value you desire. Example: >
2414
2415 :let tf_minlines = your choice
2416
2417
2418VIM *vim.vim* *vim-syntax*
2419
2420There is a tradeoff between more accurate syntax highlighting versus
2421screen updating speed. To improve accuracy, you may wish to increase
2422the g:vim_minlines variable. The g:vim_maxlines variable may be used
2423to improve screen updating rates (see |:syn-sync| for more on this).
2424
2425 g:vim_minlines : used to set synchronization minlines
2426 g:vim_maxlines : used to set synchronization maxlines
2427
2428The g:vimembedscript option allows for somewhat faster loading of syntax
2429highlighting for vim scripts at the expense of supporting syntax highlighting
2430for external scripting languages (currently perl, python, ruby, and tcl).
2431
2432 g:vimembedscript == 1 (default) <vim.vim> will allow highlighting
2433 g:vimembedscript doesn't exist of supported embedded scripting
2434 languages: perl, python, ruby and
2435 tcl.
2436
2437 g:vimembedscript == 0 Syntax highlighting for embedded
2438 scripting languages will not be
2439 loaded.
2440
2441
2442XF86CONFIG *xf86conf.vim* *xf86conf-syntax*
2443
2444The syntax of XF86Config file differs in XFree86 v3.x and v4.x. Both
2445variants are supported. Automatic detection is used, but is far from perfect.
2446You may need to specify the version manually. Set the variable
2447xf86conf_xfree86_version to 3 or 4 according to your XFree86 version in
2448your .vimrc. Example: >
2449 :let xf86conf_xfree86_version=3
2450When using a mix of versions, set the b:xf86conf_xfree86_version variable.
2451
2452Note that spaces and underscores in option names are not supported. Use
2453"SyncOnGreen" instead of "__s yn con gr_e_e_n" if you want the option name
2454highlighted.
2455
2456
2457XML *xml.vim* *xml-syntax*
2458
2459Xml namespaces are highlighted by default. This can be inhibited by
2460setting a global variable: >
2461
2462 :let g:xml_namespace_transparent=1
2463<
2464 *xml-folding*
2465The xml syntax file provides syntax |folding| (see |:syn-fold|) between
2466start and end tags. This can be turned on by >
2467
2468 :let g:xml_syntax_folding = 1
2469 :set foldmethod=syntax
2470
2471Note: syntax folding might slow down syntax highlighting significantly,
2472especially for large files.
2473
2474
2475X Pixmaps (XPM) *xpm.vim* *xpm-syntax*
2476
2477xpm.vim creates its syntax items dynamically based upon the contents of the
2478XPM file. Thus if you make changes e.g. in the color specification strings,
2479you have to source it again e.g. with ":set syn=xpm".
2480
2481To copy a pixel with one of the colors, yank a "pixel" with "yl" and insert it
2482somewhere else with "P".
2483
2484Do you want to draw with the mouse? Try the following: >
2485 :function! GetPixel()
2486 : let c = getline(line("."))[col(".") - 1]
2487 : echo c
2488 : exe "noremap <LeftMouse> <LeftMouse>r".c
2489 : exe "noremap <LeftDrag> <LeftMouse>r".c
2490 :endfunction
2491 :noremap <RightMouse> <LeftMouse>:call GetPixel()<CR>
2492 :set guicursor=n:hor20 " to see the color beneath the cursor
2493This turns the right button into a pipette and the left button into a pen.
2494It will work with XPM files that have one character per pixel only and you
2495must not click outside of the pixel strings, but feel free to improve it.
2496
2497It will look much better with a font in a quadratic cell size, e.g. for X: >
2498 :set guifont=-*-clean-medium-r-*-*-8-*-*-*-*-80-*
2499
2500==============================================================================
25015. Defining a syntax *:syn-define* *E410*
2502
2503Vim understands three types of syntax items:
2504
25051. Keyword.
2506 It can only contain keyword characters, according to the 'iskeyword'
2507 option. It cannot contain other syntax items. It will only match with a
2508 complete word (there are no keyword characters before or after the match).
2509 The keyword "if" would match in "if(a=b)", but not in "ifdef x", because
2510 "(" is not a keyword character and "d" is.
2511
25122. Match.
2513 This is a match with a single regexp pattern.
2514
25153. Region.
2516 This starts at a match of the "start" regexp pattern and ends with a match
2517 with the "end" regexp pattern. Any other text can appear in between. A
2518 "skip" regexp pattern can be used to avoid matching the "end" pattern.
2519
2520Several syntax ITEMs can be put into one syntax GROUP. For a syntax group
2521you can give highlighting attributes. For example, you could have an item
2522to define a "/* .. */" comment and another one that defines a "// .." comment,
2523and put them both in the "Comment" group. You can then specify that a
2524"Comment" will be in bold font and have a blue color. You are free to make
2525one highlight group for one syntax item, or put all items into one group.
2526This depends on how you want to specify your highlighting attributes. Putting
2527each item in its own group results in having to specify the highlighting
2528for a lot of groups.
2529
2530Note that a syntax group and a highlight group are similar. For a highlight
2531group you will have given highlight attributes. These attributes will be used
2532for the syntax group with the same name.
2533
2534In case more than one item matches at the same position, the one that was
2535defined LAST wins. Thus you can override previously defined syntax items by
2536using an item that matches the same text. But a keyword always goes before a
2537match or region. And a keyword with matching case always goes before a
2538keyword with ignoring case.
2539
2540
2541PRIORITY *:syn-priority*
2542
2543When several syntax items may match, these rules are used:
2544
25451. When multiple Match or Region items start in the same position, the item
2546 defined last has priority.
25472. A Keyword has priority over Match and Region items.
25483. An item that starts in an earlier position has priority over items that
2549 start in later positions.
2550
2551
2552DEFINING CASE *:syn-case* *E390*
2553
2554:sy[ntax] case [match|ignore]
2555 This defines if the following ":syntax" commands will work with
2556 matching case, when using "match", or with ignoring case, when using
2557 "ignore". Note that any items before this are not affected, and all
2558 items until the next ":syntax case" command are affected.
2559
2560
2561DEFINING KEYWORDS *:syn-keyword*
2562
2563:sy[ntax] keyword {group-name} [{options}] {keyword} .. [{options}]
2564
2565 This defines a number of keywords.
2566
2567 {group-name} Is a syntax group name such as "Comment".
2568 [{options}] See |:syn-arguments| below.
2569 {keyword} .. Is a list of keywords which are part of this group.
2570
2571 Example: >
2572 :syntax keyword Type int long char
2573<
2574 The {options} can be given anywhere in the line. They will apply to
2575 all keywords given, also for options that come after a keyword.
2576 These examples do exactly the same: >
2577 :syntax keyword Type contained int long char
2578 :syntax keyword Type int long contained char
2579 :syntax keyword Type int long char contained
2580<
2581 When you have a keyword with an optional tail, like Ex commands in
2582 Vim, you can put the optional characters inside [], to define all the
2583 variations at once: >
2584 :syntax keyword vimCommand ab[breviate] n[ext]
2585<
2586 Don't forget that a keyword can only be recognized if all the
2587 characters are included in the 'iskeyword' option. If one character
2588 isn't, the keyword will never be recognized.
2589 Multi-byte characters can also be used. These do not have to be in
2590 'iskeyword'.
2591
2592 A keyword always has higher priority than a match or region, the
2593 keyword is used if more than one item matches. Keywords do not nest
2594 and a keyword can't contain anything else.
2595
2596 Note that when you have a keyword that is the same as an option (even
2597 one that isn't allowed here), you can not use it. Use a match
2598 instead.
2599
2600 The maximum length of a keyword is 80 characters.
2601
2602 The same keyword can be defined multiple times, when its containment
2603 differs. For example, you can define the keyword once not contained
2604 and use one highlight group, and once contained, and use a different
2605 highlight group. Example: >
2606 :syn keyword vimCommand tag
2607 :syn keyword vimSetting contained tag
2608< When finding "tag" outside of any syntax item, the "vimCommand"
2609 highlight group is used. When finding "tag" in a syntax item that
2610 contains "vimSetting", the "vimSetting" group is used.
2611
2612
2613DEFINING MATCHES *:syn-match*
2614
2615:sy[ntax] match {group-name} [{options}] [excludenl] {pattern} [{options}]
2616
2617 This defines one match.
2618
2619 {group-name} A syntax group name such as "Comment".
2620 [{options}] See |:syn-arguments| below.
2621 [excludenl] Don't make a pattern with the end-of-line "$"
2622 extend a containing match or region. Must be
2623 given before the pattern. |:syn-excludenl|
2624 {pattern} The search pattern that defines the match.
2625 See |:syn-pattern| below.
2626 Note that the pattern may match more than one
2627 line, which makes the match depend on where
2628 Vim starts searching for the pattern. You
2629 need to make sure syncing takes care of this.
2630
2631 Example (match a character constant): >
2632 :syntax match Character /'.'/hs=s+1,he=e-1
2633<
2634
2635DEFINING REGIONS *:syn-region* *:syn-start* *:syn-skip* *:syn-end*
2636 *E398* *E399*
2637:sy[ntax] region {group-name} [{options}]
2638 [matchgroup={group-name}]
2639 [keepend]
2640 [extend]
2641 [excludenl]
2642 start={start_pattern} ..
2643 [skip={skip_pattern}]
2644 end={end_pattern} ..
2645 [{options}]
2646
2647 This defines one region. It may span several lines.
2648
2649 {group-name} A syntax group name such as "Comment".
2650 [{options}] See |:syn-arguments| below.
2651 [matchgroup={group-name}] The syntax group to use for the following
2652 start or end pattern matches only. Not used
2653 for the text in between the matched start and
2654 end patterns. Use NONE to reset to not using
2655 a different group for the start or end match.
2656 See |:syn-matchgroup|.
2657 keepend Don't allow contained matches to go past a
2658 match with the end pattern. See
2659 |:syn-keepend|.
2660 extend Override a "keepend" for an item this region
2661 is contained in. See |:syn-extend|.
2662 excludenl Don't make a pattern with the end-of-line "$"
2663 extend a containing match or item. Only
2664 useful for end patterns. Must be given before
2665 the patterns it applies to. |:syn-excludenl|
2666 start={start_pattern} The search pattern that defines the start of
2667 the region. See |:syn-pattern| below.
2668 skip={skip_pattern} The search pattern that defines text inside
2669 the region where not to look for the end
2670 pattern. See |:syn-pattern| below.
2671 end={end_pattern} The search pattern that defines the end of
2672 the region. See |:syn-pattern| below.
2673
2674 Example: >
2675 :syntax region String start=+"+ skip=+\\"+ end=+"+
2676<
2677 The start/skip/end patterns and the options can be given in any order.
2678 There can be zero or one skip pattern. There must be one or more
2679 start and end patterns. This means that you can omit the skip
2680 pattern, but you must give at least one start and one end pattern. It
2681 is allowed to have white space before and after the equal sign
2682 (although it mostly looks better without white space).
2683
2684 When more than one start pattern is given, a match with one of these
2685 is sufficient. This means there is an OR relation between the start
2686 patterns. The last one that matches is used. The same is true for
2687 the end patterns.
2688
2689 The search for the end pattern starts right after the start pattern.
2690 Offsets are not used for this. This implies that the match for the
2691 end pattern will never overlap with the start pattern.
2692
2693 The skip and end pattern can match across line breaks, but since the
2694 search for the pattern can start in any line it often does not do what
2695 you want. The skip pattern doesn't avoid a match of an end pattern in
2696 the next line. Use single-line patterns to avoid trouble.
2697
2698 Note: The decision to start a region is only based on a matching start
2699 pattern. There is no check for a matching end pattern. This does NOT
2700 work: >
2701 :syn region First start="(" end=":"
2702 :syn region Second start="(" end=";"
2703< The Second always matches before the First (last defined pattern has
2704 higher priority). The Second region then continues until the next
2705 ';', no matter if there is a ':' before it. Using a match does work: >
2706 :syn match First "(\_.\{-}:"
2707 :syn match Second "(\_.\{-};"
2708< This pattern matches any character or line break with "\_." and
2709 repeats that with "\{-}" (repeat as few as possible).
2710
2711 *:syn-keepend*
2712 By default, a contained match can obscure a match for the end pattern.
2713 This is useful for nesting. For example, a region that starts with
2714 "{" and ends with "}", can contain another region. An encountered "}"
2715 will then end the contained region, but not the outer region:
2716 { starts outer "{}" region
2717 { starts contained "{}" region
2718 } ends contained "{}" region
2719 } ends outer "{} region
2720 If you don't want this, the "keepend" argument will make the matching
2721 of an end pattern of the outer region also end any contained item.
2722 This makes it impossible to nest the same region, but allows for
2723 contained items to highlight parts of the end pattern, without causing
2724 that to skip the match with the end pattern. Example: >
2725 :syn match vimComment +"[^"]\+$+
2726 :syn region vimCommand start="set" end="$" contains=vimComment keepend
2727< The "keepend" makes the vimCommand always end at the end of the line,
2728 even though the contained vimComment includes a match with the <EOL>.
2729
2730 When "keepend" is not used, a match with an end pattern is retried
2731 after each contained match. When "keepend" is included, the first
2732 encountered match with an end pattern is used, truncating any
2733 contained matches.
2734 *:syn-extend*
2735 The "keepend" behavior can be changed by using the "extend" argument.
2736 When an item with "extend" is contained in an item that uses
2737 "keepend", the "keepend" is ignored and the containing region will be
2738 extended.
2739 This can be used to have some contained items extend a region while
2740 others don't. Example: >
2741
2742 :syn region htmlRef start=+<a>+ end=+</a>+ keepend contains=htmlItem,htmlScript
2743 :syn match htmlItem +<[^>]*>+ contained
2744 :syn region htmlScript start=+<script+ end=+</script[^>]*>+ contained extend
2745
2746< Here the htmlItem item does not make the htmlRef item continue
2747 further, it is only used to highlight the <> items. The htmlScript
2748 item does extend the htmlRef item.
2749
2750 Another example: >
2751 :syn region xmlFold start="<a>" end="</a>" fold transparent keepend extend
2752< This defines a region with "keepend", so that its end cannot be
2753 changed by contained items, like when the "</a>" is matched to
2754 highlight it differently. But when the xmlFold region is nested (it
2755 includes itself), the "extend" applies, so that the "</a>" of a nested
2756 region only ends that region, and not the one it is contained in.
2757
2758 *:syn-excludenl*
2759 When a pattern for a match or end pattern of a region includes a '$'
2760 to match the end-of-line, it will make a region item that it is
2761 contained in continue on the next line. For example, a match with
2762 "\\$" (backslash at the end of the line) can make a region continue
2763 that would normally stop at the end of the line. This is the default
2764 behavior. If this is not wanted, there are two ways to avoid it:
2765 1. Use "keepend" for the containing item. This will keep all
2766 contained matches from extending the match or region. It can be
2767 used when all contained items must not extend the containing item.
2768 2. Use "excludenl" in the contained item. This will keep that match
2769 from extending the containing match or region. It can be used if
2770 only some contained items must not extend the containing item.
2771 "excludenl" must be given before the pattern it applies to.
2772
2773 *:syn-matchgroup*
2774 "matchgroup" can be used to highlight the start and/or end pattern
2775 differently than the body of the region. Example: >
2776 :syntax region String matchgroup=Quote start=+"+ skip=+\\"+ end=+"+
2777< This will highlight the quotes with the "Quote" group, and the text in
2778 between with the "String" group.
2779 The "matchgroup" is used for all start and end patterns that follow,
2780 until the next "matchgroup". Use "matchgroup=NONE" to go back to not
2781 using a matchgroup.
2782
2783 In a start or end pattern that is highlighted with "matchgroup" the
2784 contained items of the region are not used. This can be used to avoid
2785 that a contained item matches in the start or end pattern match. When
2786 using "transparent", this does not apply to a start or end pattern
2787 match that is highlighted with "matchgroup".
2788
2789 Here is an example, which highlights three levels of parentheses in
2790 different colors: >
2791 :sy region par1 matchgroup=par1 start=/(/ end=/)/ contains=par2
2792 :sy region par2 matchgroup=par2 start=/(/ end=/)/ contains=par3 contained
2793 :sy region par3 matchgroup=par3 start=/(/ end=/)/ contains=par1 contained
2794 :hi par1 ctermfg=red guifg=red
2795 :hi par2 ctermfg=blue guifg=blue
2796 :hi par3 ctermfg=darkgreen guifg=darkgreen
2797
2798==============================================================================
27996. :syntax arguments *:syn-arguments*
2800
2801The :syntax commands that define syntax items take a number of arguments.
2802The common ones are explained here. The arguments may be given in any order
2803and may be mixed with patterns.
2804
2805Not all commands accept all arguments. This table shows which arguments
2806can not be used for all commands:
2807 *E395* *E396*
2808 contains oneline fold display extend ~
2809:syntax keyword - - - - -
2810:syntax match yes - yes yes yes
2811:syntax region yes yes yes yes yes
2812
2813These arguments can be used for all three commands:
2814 contained
2815 containedin
2816 nextgroup
2817 transparent
2818 skipwhite
2819 skipnl
2820 skipempty
2821
2822
2823contained *:syn-contained*
2824
2825When the "contained" argument is given, this item will not be recognized at
2826the top level, but only when it is mentioned in the "contains" field of
2827another match. Example: >
2828 :syntax keyword Todo TODO contained
2829 :syntax match Comment "//.*" contains=Todo
2830
2831
2832display *:syn-display*
2833
2834If the "display" argument is given, this item will be skipped when the
2835detected highlighting will not be displayed. This will speed up highlighting,
2836by skipping this item when only finding the syntax state for the text that is
2837to be displayed.
2838
2839Generally, you can use "display" for match and region items that meet these
2840conditions:
2841- The item does not continue past the end of a line. Example for C: A region
2842 for a "/*" comment can't contain "display", because it continues on the next
2843 line.
2844- The item does not contain items that continue past the end of the line or
2845 make it continue on the next line.
2846- The item does not change the size of any item it is contained in. Example
2847 for C: A match with "\\$" in a preprocessor match can't have "display",
2848 because it may make that preprocessor match shorter.
2849- The item does not allow other items to match that didn't match otherwise,
2850 and that item may extend the match too far. Example for C: A match for a
2851 "//" comment can't use "display", because a "/*" inside that comment would
2852 match then and start a comment which extends past the end of the line.
2853
2854Examples, for the C language, where "display" can be used:
2855- match with a number
2856- match with a label
2857
2858
2859transparent *:syn-transparent*
2860
2861If the "transparent" argument is given, this item will not be highlighted
2862itself, but will take the highlighting of the item it is contained in. This
2863is useful for syntax items that don't need any highlighting but are used
2864only to skip over a part of the text.
2865
2866The "contains=" argument is also inherited from the item it is contained in,
2867unless a "contains" argument is given for the transparent item itself. To
2868avoid that unwanted items are contained, use "contains=NONE". Example, which
2869highlights words in strings, but makes an exception for "vim": >
2870 :syn match myString /'[^']*'/ contains=myWord,myVim
2871 :syn match myWord /\<[a-z]*\>/ contained
2872 :syn match myVim /\<vim\>/ transparent contained contains=NONE
2873 :hi link myString String
2874 :hi link myWord Comment
2875Since the "myVim" match comes after "myWord" it is the preferred match (last
2876match in the same position overrules an earlier one). The "transparent"
2877argument makes the "myVim" match use the same highlighting as "myString". But
2878it does not contain anything. If the "contains=NONE" argument would be left
2879out, then "myVim" would use the contains argument from myString and allow
2880"myWord" to be contained, which will be highlighted as a Constant. This
2881happens because a contained match doesn't match inside itself in the same
2882position, thus the "myVim" match doesn't overrule the "myWord" match here.
2883
2884When you look at the colored text, it is like looking at layers of contained
2885items. The contained item is on top of the item it is contained in, thus you
2886see the contained item. When a contained item is transparent, you can look
2887through, thus you see the item it is contained in. In a picture:
2888
2889 look from here
2890
2891 | | | | | |
2892 V V V V V V
2893
2894 xxxx yyy more contained items
2895 .................... contained item (transparent)
2896 ============================= first item
2897
2898The 'x', 'y' and '=' represent a highlighted syntax item. The '.' represent a
2899transparent group.
2900
2901What you see is:
2902
2903 =======xxxx=======yyy========
2904
2905Thus you look through the transparent "....".
2906
2907
2908oneline *:syn-oneline*
2909
2910The "oneline" argument indicates that the region does not cross a line
2911boundary. It must match completely in the current line. However, when the
2912region has a contained item that does cross a line boundary, it continues on
2913the next line anyway. A contained item can be used to recognize a line
2914continuation pattern. But the "end" pattern must still match in the first
2915line, otherwise the region doesn't even start.
2916
2917When the start pattern includes a "\n" to match an end-of-line, the end
2918pattern must be found in the same line as where the start pattern ends. The
2919end pattern may also include an end-of-line. Thus the "oneline" argument
2920means that the end of the start pattern and the start of the end pattern must
2921be within one line. This can't be changed by a skip pattern that matches a
2922line break.
2923
2924
2925fold *:syn-fold*
2926
2927The "fold" argument makes the fold level increased by one for this item.
2928Example: >
2929 :syn region myFold start="{" end="}" transparent fold
2930 :syn sync fromstart
2931 :set foldmethod=syntax
2932This will make each {} block form one fold.
2933
2934The fold will start on the line where the item starts, and end where the item
2935ends. If the start and end are within the same line, there is no fold.
2936The 'foldnestmax' option limits the nesting of syntax folds.
2937{not available when Vim was compiled without |+folding| feature}
2938
2939
2940 *:syn-contains* *E405* *E406* *E407* *E408* *E409*
2941contains={groupname},..
2942
2943The "contains" argument is followed by a list of syntax group names. These
2944groups will be allowed to begin inside the item (they may extend past the
2945containing group's end). This allows for recursive nesting of matches and
2946regions. If there is no "contains" argument, no groups will be contained in
2947this item. The group names do not need to be defined before they can be used
2948here.
2949
2950contains=ALL
2951 If the only item in the contains list is "ALL", then all
2952 groups will be accepted inside the item.
2953
2954contains=ALLBUT,{group-name},..
2955 If the first item in the contains list is "ALLBUT", then all
2956 groups will be accepted inside the item, except the ones that
2957 are listed. Example: >
2958 :syntax region Block start="{" end="}" ... contains=ALLBUT,Function
2959
2960contains=TOP
2961 If the first item in the contains list is "TOP", then all
2962 groups will be accepted that don't have the "contained"
2963 argument.
2964contains=TOP,{group-name},..
2965 Like "TOP", but excluding the groups that are listed.
2966
2967contains=CONTAINED
2968 If the first item in the contains list is "CONTAINED", then
2969 all groups will be accepted that have the "contained"
2970 argument.
2971contains=CONTAINED,{group-name},..
2972 Like "CONTAINED", but excluding the groups that are
2973 listed.
2974
2975
2976The {group-name} in the "contains" list can be a pattern. All group names
2977that match the pattern will be included (or excluded, if "ALLBUT" is used).
2978The pattern cannot contain white space or a ','. Example: >
2979 ... contains=Comment.*,Keyw[0-3]
2980The matching will be done at moment the syntax command is executed. Groups
2981that are defined later will not be matched. Also, if the current syntax
2982command defines a new group, it is not matched. Be careful: When putting
2983syntax commands in a file you can't rely on groups NOT being defined, because
2984the file may have been sourced before, and ":syn clear" doesn't remove the
2985group names.
2986
2987The contained groups will also match in the start and end patterns of a
2988region. If this is not wanted, the "matchgroup" argument can be used
2989|:syn-matchgroup|. The "ms=" and "me=" offsets can be used to change the
2990region where contained items do match. Note that this may also limit the
2991area that is highlighted
2992
2993
2994containedin={groupname}... *:syn-containedin*
2995
2996The "containedin" argument is followed by a list of syntax group names. The
2997item will be allowed to begin inside these groups. This works as if the
2998containing item has a "contains=" argument that includes this item.
2999
3000The {groupname}... can be used just like for "contains", as explained above.
3001
3002This is useful when adding a syntax item afterwards. An item can be told to
3003be included inside an already existing item, without changing the definition
3004of that item. For example, to highlight a word in a C comment after loading
3005the C syntax: >
3006 :syn keyword myword HELP containedin=cComment contained
3007Note that "contained" is also used, to avoid that the item matches at the top
3008level.
3009
3010Matches for "containedin" are added to the other places where the item can
3011appear. A "contains" argument may also be added as usual. Don't forget that
3012keywords never contain another item, thus adding them to "containedin" won't
3013work.
3014
3015
3016nextgroup={groupname},.. *:syn-nextgroup*
3017
3018The "nextgroup" argument is followed by a list of syntax group names,
3019separated by commas (just like with "contains", so you can also use patterns).
3020
3021If the "nextgroup" argument is given, the mentioned syntax groups will be
3022tried for a match, after the match or region ends. If none of the groups have
3023a match, highlighting continues normally. If there is a match, this group
3024will be used, even when it is not mentioned in the "contains" field of the
3025current group. This is like giving the mentioned group priority over all
3026other groups. Example: >
3027 :syntax match ccFoobar "Foo.\{-}Bar" contains=ccFoo
3028 :syntax match ccFoo "Foo" contained nextgroup=ccFiller
3029 :syntax region ccFiller start="." matchgroup=ccBar end="Bar" contained
3030
3031This will highlight "Foo" and "Bar" differently, and only when there is a
3032"Bar" after "Foo". In the text line below, "f" shows where ccFoo is used for
3033highlighting, and "bbb" where ccBar is used. >
3034
3035 Foo asdfasd Bar asdf Foo asdf Bar asdf
3036 fff bbb fff bbb
3037
3038Note the use of ".\{-}" to skip as little as possible until the next Bar.
3039when ".*" would be used, the "asdf" in between "Bar" and "Foo" would be
3040highlighted according to the "ccFoobar" group, because the ccFooBar match
3041would include the first "Foo" and the last "Bar" in the line (see |pattern|).
3042
3043
3044skipwhite *:syn-skipwhite*
3045skipnl *:syn-skipnl*
3046skipempty *:syn-skipempty*
3047
3048These arguments are only used in combination with "nextgroup". They can be
3049used to allow the next group to match after skipping some text:
3050 skipwhite skip over space and Tab characters
3051 skipnl skip over the end of a line
3052 skipempty skip over empty lines (implies a "skipnl")
3053
3054When "skipwhite" is present, the white space is only skipped if there is no
3055next group that matches the white space.
3056
3057When "skipnl" is present, the match with nextgroup may be found in the next
3058line. This only happens when the current item ends at the end of the current
3059line! When "skipnl" is not present, the nextgroup will only be found after
3060the current item in the same line.
3061
3062When skipping text while looking for a next group, the matches for other
3063groups are ignored. Only when no next group matches, other items are tried
3064for a match again. This means that matching a next group and skipping white
3065space and <EOL>s has a higher priority than other items.
3066
3067Example: >
3068 :syn match ifstart "\<if.*" nextgroup=ifline skipwhite skipempty
3069 :syn match ifline "[^ \t].*" nextgroup=ifline skipwhite skipempty contained
3070 :syn match ifline "endif" contained
3071Note that the "[^ \t].*" match matches all non-white text. Thus it would also
3072match "endif". Therefore the "endif" match is put last, so that it takes
3073precedence.
3074Note that this example doesn't work for nested "if"s. You need to add
3075"contains" arguments to make that work (omitted for simplicity of the
3076example).
3077
3078==============================================================================
30797. Syntax patterns *:syn-pattern* *E401* *E402*
3080
3081In the syntax commands, a pattern must be surrounded by two identical
3082characters. This is like it works for the ":s" command. The most common to
3083use is the double quote. But if the pattern contains a double quote, you can
3084use another character that is not used in the pattern. Examples: >
3085 :syntax region Comment start="/\*" end="\*/"
3086 :syntax region String start=+"+ end=+"+ skip=+\\"+
3087
3088See |pattern| for the explanation of what a pattern is. Syntax patterns are
3089always interpreted like the 'magic' options is set, no matter what the actual
3090value of 'magic' is. And the patterns are interpreted like the 'l' flag is
3091not included in 'cpoptions'. This was done to make syntax files portable and
3092independent of 'compatible' and 'magic' settings.
3093
3094Try to avoid patterns that can match an empty string, such as "[a-z]*".
3095This slows down the highlighting a lot, because it matches everywhere.
3096
3097 *:syn-pattern-offset*
3098The pattern can be followed by a character offset. This can be used to
3099change the highlighted part, and to change the text area included in the
3100match or region (which only matters when trying to match other items). Both
3101are relative to the matched pattern. The character offset for a skip
3102pattern can be used to tell where to continue looking for an end pattern.
3103
3104The offset takes the form of "{what}={offset}"
3105The {what} can be one of seven strings:
3106
3107ms Match Start offset for the start of the matched text
3108me Match End offset for the end of the matched text
3109hs Highlight Start offset for where the highlighting starts
3110he Highlight End offset for where the highlighting ends
3111rs Region Start offset for where the body of a region starts
3112re Region End offset for where the body of a region ends
3113lc Leading Context offset past "leading context" of pattern
3114
3115The {offset} can be:
3116
3117s start of the matched pattern
3118s+{nr} start of the matched pattern plus {nr} chars to the right
3119s-{nr} start of the matched pattern plus {nr} chars to the left
3120e end of the matched pattern
3121e+{nr} end of the matched pattern plus {nr} chars to the right
3122e-{nr} end of the matched pattern plus {nr} chars to the left
3123{nr} (for "lc" only): start matching {nr} chars to the left
3124
3125Examples: "ms=s+1", "hs=e-2", "lc=3".
3126
3127Although all offsets are accepted after any pattern, they are not always
3128meaningful. This table shows which offsets are actually used:
3129
3130 ms me hs he rs re lc ~
3131match item yes yes yes yes - - yes
3132region item start yes - yes - yes - yes
3133region item skip - yes - - - - yes
3134region item end - yes - yes - yes yes
3135
3136Offsets can be concatenated, with a ',' in between. Example: >
3137 :syn match String /"[^"]*"/hs=s+1,he=e-1
3138<
3139 some "string" text
3140 ^^^^^^ highlighted
3141
3142Notes:
3143- There must be no white space between the pattern and the character
3144 offset(s).
3145- The highlighted area will never be outside of the matched text.
3146- A negative offset for an end pattern may not always work, because the end
3147 pattern may be detected when the highlighting should already have stopped.
3148- The start of a match cannot be in a line other than where the pattern
3149 matched. This doesn't work: "a\nb"ms=e. You can make the highlighting
3150 start in another line, this does work: "a\nb"hs=e.
3151
3152Example (match a comment but don't highlight the /* and */): >
3153 :syntax region Comment start="/\*"hs=e+1 end="\*/"he=s-1
3154<
3155 /* this is a comment */
3156 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ highlighted
3157
3158A more complicated Example: >
3159 :syn region Exa matchgroup=Foo start="foo"hs=s+2,rs=e+2 matchgroup=Bar end="bar"me=e-1,he=e-1,re=s-1
3160<
3161 abcfoostringbarabc
3162 mmmmmmmmmmm match
3163 ssrrrreee highlight start/region/end ("Foo", "Exa" and "Bar")
3164
3165Leading context *:syn-lc* *:syn-leading* *:syn-context*
3166
3167Note: This is an obsolete feature, only included for backwards compatibility
3168with previous Vim versions. It's now recommended to use the |/\@<=| construct
3169in the pattern.
3170
3171The "lc" offset specifies leading context -- a part of the pattern that must
3172be present, but is not considered part of the match. An offset of "lc=n" will
3173cause Vim to step back n columns before attempting the pattern match, allowing
3174characters which have already been matched in previous patterns to also be
3175used as leading context for this match. This can be used, for instance, to
3176specify that an "escaping" character must not precede the match: >
3177
3178 :syn match ZNoBackslash "[^\\]z"ms=s+1
3179 :syn match WNoBackslash "[^\\]w"lc=1
3180 :syn match Underline "_\+"
3181<
3182 ___zzzz ___wwww
3183 ^^^ ^^^ matches Underline
3184 ^ ^ matches ZNoBackslash
3185 ^^^^ matches WNoBackslash
3186
3187The "ms" offset is automatically set to the same value as the "lc" offset,
3188unless you set "ms" explicitly.
3189
3190
3191Multi-line patterns *:syn-multi-line*
3192
3193The patterns can include "\n" to match an end-of-line. Mostly this works as
3194expected, but there are a few exceptions.
3195
3196When using a start pattern with an offset, the start of the match is not
3197allowed to start in a following line. The highlighting can start in a
3198following line though.
3199
3200The skip pattern can include the "\n", but the search for an end pattern will
3201continue in the first character of the next line, also when that character is
3202matched by the skip pattern. This is because redrawing may start in any line
3203halfway a region and there is no check if the skip pattern started in a
3204previous line. For example, if the skip pattern is "a\nb" and an end pattern
3205is "b", the end pattern does match in the second line of this: >
3206 x x a
3207 b x x
3208Generally this means that the skip pattern should not match any characters
3209after the "\n".
3210
3211
3212External matches *:syn-ext-match*
3213
3214These extra regular expression items are available in region patterns:
3215
3216 */\z(* */\z(\)* *E50* *E52*
3217 \z(\) Marks the sub-expression as "external", meaning that it is can
3218 be accessed from another pattern match. Currently only usable
3219 in defining a syntax region start pattern.
3220
3221 */\z1* */\z2* */\z3* */\z4* */\z5*
3222 \z1 ... \z9 */\z6* */\z7* */\z8* */\z9* *E66* *E67*
3223 Matches the same string that was matched by the corresponding
3224 sub-expression in a previous start pattern match.
3225
3226Sometimes the start and end patterns of a region need to share a common
3227sub-expression. A common example is the "here" document in Perl and many Unix
3228shells. This effect can be achieved with the "\z" special regular expression
3229items, which marks a sub-expression as "external", in the sense that it can be
3230referenced from outside the pattern in which it is defined. The here-document
3231example, for instance, can be done like this: >
3232 :syn region hereDoc start="<<\z(\I\i*\)" end="^\z1$"
3233
3234As can be seen here, the \z actually does double duty. In the start pattern,
3235it marks the "\(\I\i*\)" sub-expression as external; in the end pattern, it
3236changes the \1 back-reference into an external reference referring to the
3237first external sub-expression in the start pattern. External references can
3238also be used in skip patterns: >
3239 :syn region foo start="start \(\I\i*\)" skip="not end \z1" end="end \z1"
3240
3241Note that normal and external sub-expressions are completely orthogonal and
3242indexed separately; for instance, if the pattern "\z(..\)\(..\)" is applied
3243to the string "aabb", then \1 will refer to "bb" and \z1 will refer to "aa".
3244Note also that external sub-expressions cannot be accessed as back-references
3245within the same pattern like normal sub-expressions. If you want to use one
3246sub-expression as both a normal and an external sub-expression, you can nest
3247the two, as in "\(\z(...\)\)".
3248
3249Note that only matches within a single line can be used. Multi-line matches
3250cannot be referred to.
3251
3252==============================================================================
32538. Syntax clusters *:syn-cluster* *E400*
3254
3255:sy[ntax] cluster {cluster-name} [contains={group-name}..]
3256 [add={group-name}..]
3257 [remove={group-name}..]
3258
3259This command allows you to cluster a list of syntax groups together under a
3260single name.
3261
3262 contains={group-name}..
3263 The cluster is set to the specified list of groups.
3264 add={group-name}..
3265 The specified groups are added to the cluster.
3266 remove={group-name}..
3267 The specified groups are removed from the cluster.
3268
3269A cluster so defined may be referred to in a contains=.., nextgroup=.., add=..
3270or remove=.. list with a "@" prefix. You can also use this notation to
3271implicitly declare a cluster before specifying its contents.
3272
3273Example: >
3274 :syntax match Thing "# [^#]\+ #" contains=@ThingMembers
3275 :syntax cluster ThingMembers contains=ThingMember1,ThingMember2
3276
3277As the previous example suggests, modifications to a cluster are effectively
3278retroactive; the membership of the cluster is checked at the last minute, so
3279to speak: >
3280 :syntax keyword A aaa
3281 :syntax keyword B bbb
3282 :syntax cluster AandB contains=A
3283 :syntax match Stuff "( aaa bbb )" contains=@AandB
3284 :syntax cluster AandB add=B " now both keywords are matched in Stuff
3285
3286This also has implications for nested clusters: >
3287 :syntax keyword A aaa
3288 :syntax keyword B bbb
3289 :syntax cluster SmallGroup contains=B
3290 :syntax cluster BigGroup contains=A,@SmallGroup
3291 :syntax match Stuff "( aaa bbb )" contains=@BigGroup
3292 :syntax cluster BigGroup remove=B " no effect, since B isn't in BigGroup
3293 :syntax cluster SmallGroup remove=B " now bbb isn't matched within Stuff
3294
3295==============================================================================
32969. Including syntax files *:syn-include* *E397*
3297
3298It is often useful for one language's syntax file to include a syntax file for
3299a related language. Depending on the exact relationship, this can be done in
3300two different ways:
3301
3302 - If top-level syntax items in the included syntax file are to be
3303 allowed at the top level in the including syntax, you can simply use
3304 the |:runtime| command: >
3305
3306 " In cpp.vim:
3307 :runtime! syntax/c.vim
3308 :unlet b:current_syntax
3309
3310< - If top-level syntax items in the included syntax file are to be
3311 contained within a region in the including syntax, you can use the
3312 ":syntax include" command:
3313
3314:sy[ntax] include [@{grouplist-name}] {file-name}
3315
3316 All syntax items declared in the included file will have the
3317 "contained" flag added. In addition, if a group list is specified,
3318 all top-level syntax items in the included file will be added to
3319 that list. >
3320
3321 " In perl.vim:
3322 :syntax include @Pod <sfile>:p:h/pod.vim
3323 :syntax region perlPOD start="^=head" end="^=cut" contains=@Pod
3324<
3325 When {file-name} is an absolute path (starts with "/", "c:", "$VAR"
3326 or "<sfile>") that file is sourced. When it is a relative path
3327 (e.g., "syntax/pod.vim") the file is searched for in 'runtimepath'.
3328 All matching files are loaded. Using a relative path is
3329 recommended, because it allows a user to replace the included file
3330 with his own version, without replacing the file that does the ":syn
3331 include".
3332
3333==============================================================================
333410. Synchronizing *:syn-sync* *E403* *E404*
3335
3336Vim wants to be able to start redrawing in any position in the document. To
3337make this possible it needs to know the syntax state at the position where
3338redrawing starts.
3339
3340:sy[ntax] sync [ccomment [group-name] | minlines={N} | ...]
3341
3342There are four ways to synchronize:
33431. Always parse from the start of the file.
3344 |:syn-sync-first|
33452. Based on C-style comments. Vim understands how C-comments work and can
3346 figure out if the current line starts inside or outside a comment.
3347 |:syn-sync-second|
33483. Jumping back a certain number of lines and start parsing there.
3349 |:syn-sync-third|
33504. Searching backwards in the text for a pattern to sync on.
3351 |:syn-sync-fourth|
3352
3353 *:syn-sync-maxlines* *:syn-sync-minlines*
3354For the last three methods, the line range where the parsing can start is
3355limited by "minlines" and "maxlines".
3356
3357If the "minlines={N}" argument is given, the parsing always starts at least
3358that many lines backwards. This can be used if the parsing may take a few
3359lines before it's correct, or when it's not possible to use syncing.
3360
3361If the "maxlines={N}" argument is given, the number of lines that are searched
3362for a comment or syncing pattern is restricted to N lines backwards (after
3363adding "minlines"). This is useful if you have few things to sync on and a
3364slow machine. Example: >
3365 :syntax sync ccomment maxlines=500
3366<
3367 *:syn-sync-linebreaks*
3368When using a pattern that matches multiple lines, a change in one line may
3369cause a pattern to no longer match in a previous line. This means has to
3370start above where the change was made. How many lines can be specified with
3371the "linebreaks" argument. For example, when a pattern may include one line
3372break use this: >
3373 :syntax sync linebreaks=1
3374The result is that redrawing always starts at least one line before where a
3375change was made. The default value for "linebreaks" is zero. Usually the
3376value for "minlines" is bigger than "linebreaks".
3377
3378
3379First syncing method: *:syn-sync-first*
3380>
3381 :syntax sync fromstart
3382
3383The file will be parsed from the start. This makes syntax highlighting
3384accurate, but can be slow for long files. Vim caches previously parsed text,
3385so that it's only slow when parsing the text for the first time. However,
3386when making changes some part of the next needs to be parsed again (worst
3387case: to the end of the file).
3388
3389Using "fromstart" is equivalent to using "minlines" with a very large number.
3390
3391
3392Second syncing method: *:syn-sync-second* *:syn-sync-ccomment*
3393
3394For the second method, only the "ccomment" argument needs to be given.
3395Example: >
3396 :syntax sync ccomment
3397
3398When Vim finds that the line where displaying starts is inside a C-style
3399comment, the last region syntax item with the group-name "Comment" will be
3400used. This requires that there is a region with the group-name "Comment"!
3401An alternate group name can be specified, for example: >
3402 :syntax sync ccomment javaComment
3403This means that the last item specified with "syn region javaComment" will be
3404used for the detected C comment region. This only works properly if that
3405region does have a start pattern "\/*" and an end pattern "*\/".
3406
3407The "maxlines" argument can be used to restrict the search to a number of
3408lines. The "minlines" argument can be used to at least start a number of
3409lines back (e.g., for when there is some construct that only takes a few
3410lines, but it hard to sync on).
3411
3412Note: Syncing on a C comment doesn't work properly when strings are used
3413that cross a line and contain a "*/". Since letting strings cross a line
3414is a bad programming habit (many compilers give a warning message), and the
3415chance of a "*/" appearing inside a comment is very small, this restriction
3416is hardly ever noticed.
3417
3418
3419Third syncing method: *:syn-sync-third*
3420
3421For the third method, only the "minlines={N}" argument needs to be given.
3422Vim will subtract {N} from the line number and start parsing there. This
3423means {N} extra lines need to be parsed, which makes this method a bit slower.
3424Example: >
3425 :syntax sync minlines=50
3426
3427"lines" is equivalent to "minlines" (used by older versions).
3428
3429
3430Fourth syncing method: *:syn-sync-fourth*
3431
3432The idea is to synchronize on the end of a few specific regions, called a
3433sync pattern. Only regions can cross lines, so when we find the end of some
3434region, we might be able to know in which syntax item we are. The search
3435starts in the line just above the one where redrawing starts. From there
3436the search continues backwards in the file.
3437
3438This works just like the non-syncing syntax items. You can use contained
3439matches, nextgroup, etc. But there are a few differences:
3440- Keywords cannot be used.
3441- The syntax items with the "sync" keyword form a completely separated group
3442 of syntax items. You can't mix syncing groups and non-syncing groups.
3443- The matching works backwards in the buffer (line by line), instead of
3444 forwards.
3445- A line continuation pattern can be given. It is used to decide which group
3446 of lines need to be searched like they were one line. This means that the
3447 search for a match with the specified items starts in the first of the
3448 consecutive that contain the continuation pattern.
3449- When using "nextgroup" or "contains", this only works within one line (or
3450 group of continued lines).
3451- When using a region, it must start and end in the same line (or group of
3452 continued lines). Otherwise the end is assumed to be at the end of the
3453 line (or group of continued lines).
3454- When a match with a sync pattern is found, the rest of the line (or group of
3455 continued lines) is searched for another match. The last match is used.
3456 This is used when a line can contain both the start end the end of a region
3457 (e.g., in a C-comment like /* this */, the last "*/" is used).
3458
3459There are two ways how a match with a sync pattern can be used:
34601. Parsing for highlighting starts where redrawing starts (and where the
3461 search for the sync pattern started). The syntax group that is expected
3462 to be valid there must be specified. This works well when the regions
3463 that cross lines cannot contain other regions.
34642. Parsing for highlighting continues just after the match. The syntax group
3465 that is expected to be present just after the match must be specified.
3466 This can be used when the previous method doesn't work well. It's much
3467 slower, because more text needs to be parsed.
3468Both types of sync patterns can be used at the same time.
3469
3470Besides the sync patterns, other matches and regions can be specified, to
3471avoid finding unwanted matches.
3472
3473[The reason that the sync patterns are given separately, is that mostly the
3474search for the sync point can be much simpler than figuring out the
3475highlighting. The reduced number of patterns means it will go (much)
3476faster.]
3477
3478 *syn-sync-grouphere* *E393* *E394*
3479 :syntax sync match {sync-group-name} grouphere {group-name} "pattern" ..
3480
3481 Define a match that is used for syncing. {group-name} is the
3482 name of a syntax group that follows just after the match. Parsing
3483 of the text for highlighting starts just after the match. A region
3484 must exist for this {group-name}. The first one defined will be used.
3485 "NONE" can be used for when there is no syntax group after the match.
3486
3487 *syn-sync-groupthere*
3488 :syntax sync match {sync-group-name} groupthere {group-name} "pattern" ..
3489
3490 Like "grouphere", but {group-name} is the name of a syntax group that
3491 is to be used at the start of the line where searching for the sync
3492 point started. The text between the match and the start of the sync
3493 pattern searching is assumed not to change the syntax highlighting.
3494 For example, in C you could search backwards for "/*" and "*/". If
3495 "/*" is found first, you know that you are inside a comment, so the
3496 "groupthere" is "cComment". If "*/" is found first, you know that you
3497 are not in a comment, so the "groupthere" is "NONE". (in practice
3498 it's a bit more complicated, because the "/*" and "*/" could appear
3499 inside a string. That's left as an exercise to the reader...).
3500
3501 :syntax sync match ..
3502 :syntax sync region ..
3503
3504 Without a "groupthere" argument. Define a region or match that is
3505 skipped while searching for a sync point.
3506
3507 :syntax sync linecont {pattern}
3508
3509 When {pattern} matches in a line, it is considered to continue in
3510 the next line. This means that the search for a sync point will
3511 consider the lines to be concatenated.
3512
3513If the "maxlines={N}" argument is given too, the number of lines that are
3514searched for a match is restricted to N. This is useful if you have very
3515few things to sync on and a slow machine. Example: >
3516 :syntax sync maxlines=100
3517
3518You can clear all sync settings with: >
3519 :syntax sync clear
3520
3521You can clear specific sync patterns with: >
3522 :syntax sync clear {sync-group-name} ..
3523
3524==============================================================================
352511. Listing syntax items *:syntax* *:sy* *:syn* *:syn-list*
3526
3527This commands lists all the syntax items: >
3528
3529 :sy[ntax] [list]
3530
3531To show the syntax items for one syntax group: >
3532
3533 :sy[ntax] list {group-name}
3534
3535To list the syntax groups in one cluster: *E392* >
3536
3537 :sy[ntax] list @{cluster-name}
3538
3539See above for other arguments for the ":syntax" command.
3540
3541Note that the ":syntax" command can be abbreviated to ":sy", although ":syn"
3542is mostly used, because it looks better.
3543
3544==============================================================================
354512. Highlight command *:highlight* *:hi* *E28* *E411* *E415*
3546
3547There are three types of highlight groups:
3548- The ones used for specific languages. For these the name starts with the
3549 name of the language. Many of these don't have any attributes, but are
3550 linked to a group of the second type.
3551- The ones used for all syntax languages.
3552- The ones used for the 'highlight' option.
3553 *hitest.vim*
3554You can see all the groups currently active with this command: >
3555 :so $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/hitest.vim
3556This will open a new window containing all highlight group names, displayed
3557in their own color.
3558
3559 *:colo* *:colorscheme* *E185*
3560:colo[rscheme] {name} Load color scheme {name}. This searches 'runtimepath'
3561 for the file "colors/{name}.vim. The first one that
3562 is found is loaded.
3563 To see the name of the currently active color scheme
3564 (if there is one): >
3565 :echo g:colors_name
3566< Doesn't work recursively, thus you can't use
3567 ":colorscheme" in a color scheme script.
Bram Moolenaarcfbc5ee2004-07-02 15:38:35 +00003568 After the color scheme has been loaded the
3569 |ColorScheme| autocommand event is triggered.
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00003570 For info about writing a colorscheme file: >
3571 :edit $VIMRUNTIME/colors/README.txt
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003572
3573:hi[ghlight] List all the current highlight groups that have
3574 attributes set.
3575
3576:hi[ghlight] {group-name}
3577 List one highlight group.
3578
3579:hi[ghlight] clear Reset all highlighting to the defaults. Removes all
3580 highlighting for groups added by the user!
3581 Uses the current value of 'background' to decide which
3582 default colors to use.
3583
3584:hi[ghlight] clear {group-name}
3585:hi[ghlight] {group-name} NONE
3586 Disable the highlighting for one highlight group. It
3587 is _not_ set back to the default colors.
3588
3589:hi[ghlight] [default] {group-name} {key}={arg} ..
3590 Add a highlight group, or change the highlighting for
3591 an existing group.
3592 See |highlight-args| for the {key}={arg} arguments.
3593 See |:highlight-default| for the optional [default]
3594 argument.
3595
3596Normally a highlight group is added once when starting up. This sets the
3597default values for the highlighting. After that, you can use additional
3598highlight commands to change the arguments that you want to set to non-default
3599values. The value "NONE" can be used to switch the value off or go back to
3600the default value.
3601
3602A simple way to change colors is with the |:colorscheme| command. This loads
3603a file with ":highlight" commands such as this: >
3604
3605 :hi Comment gui=bold
3606
3607Note that all settings that are not included remain the same, only the
3608specified field is used, and settings are merged with previous ones. So, the
3609result is like this single command has been used: >
3610 :hi Comment term=bold ctermfg=Cyan guifg=#80a0ff gui=bold
3611<
3612 *highlight-args* *E416* *E417* *E423*
3613There are three types of terminals for highlighting:
3614term a normal terminal (vt100, xterm)
3615cterm a color terminal (MS-DOS console, color-xterm, these have the "Co"
3616 termcap entry)
3617gui the GUI
3618
3619For each type the highlighting can be given. This makes it possible to use
3620the same syntax file on all terminals, and use the optimal highlighting.
3621
36221. highlight arguments for normal terminals
3623
3624term={attr-list} *attr-list* *highlight-term* *E418*
3625 attr-list is a comma separated list (without spaces) of the
3626 following items (in any order):
3627 bold
3628 underline
3629 reverse
3630 inverse same as reverse
3631 italic
3632 standout
3633 NONE no attributes used (used to reset it)
3634
3635 Note that "bold" can be used here and by using a bold font. They
3636 have the same effect.
3637
3638start={term-list} *highlight-start* *E422*
3639stop={term-list} *term-list* *highlight-stop*
3640 These lists of terminal codes can be used to get
3641 non-standard attributes on a terminal.
3642
3643 The escape sequence specified with the "start" argument
3644 is written before the characters in the highlighted
3645 area. It can be anything that you want to send to the
3646 terminal to highlight this area. The escape sequence
3647 specified with the "stop" argument is written after the
3648 highlighted area. This should undo the "start" argument.
3649 Otherwise the screen will look messed up.
3650
3651 The {term-list} can have two forms:
3652
3653 1. A string with escape sequences.
3654 This is any string of characters, except that it can't start with
3655 "t_" and blanks are not allowed. The <> notation is recognized
3656 here, so you can use things like "<Esc>" and "<Space>". Example:
3657 start=<Esc>[27h;<Esc>[<Space>r;
3658
3659 2. A list of terminal codes.
3660 Each terminal code has the form "t_xx", where "xx" is the name of
3661 the termcap entry. The codes have to be separated with commas.
3662 White space is not allowed. Example:
3663 start=t_C1,t_BL
3664 The terminal codes must exist for this to work.
3665
3666
36672. highlight arguments for color terminals
3668
3669cterm={attr-list} *highlight-cterm*
3670 See above for the description of {attr-list} |attr-list|.
3671 The "cterm" argument is likely to be different from "term", when
3672 colors are used. For example, in a normal terminal comments could
3673 be underlined, in a color terminal they can be made Blue.
3674 Note: Many terminals (e.g., DOS console) can't mix these attributes
3675 with coloring. Use only one of "cterm=" OR "ctermfg=" OR "ctermbg=".
3676
3677ctermfg={color-nr} *highlight-ctermfg* *E421*
3678ctermbg={color-nr} *highlight-ctermbg*
3679 The {color-nr} argument is a color number. Its range is zero to
3680 (not including) the number given by the termcap entry "Co".
3681 The actual color with this number depends on the type of terminal
3682 and its settings. Sometimes the color also depends on the settings of
3683 "cterm". For example, on some systems "cterm=bold ctermfg=3" gives
3684 another color, on others you just get color 3.
3685
3686 For an xterm this depends on your resources, and is a bit
3687 unpredictable. See your xterm documentation for the defaults. The
3688 colors for a color-xterm can be changed from the .Xdefaults file.
3689 Unfortunately this means that it's not possible to get the same colors
3690 for each user. See |xterm-color| for info about color xterms.
3691
3692 The MSDOS standard colors are fixed (in a console window), so these
3693 have been used for the names. But the meaning of color names in X11
3694 are fixed, so these color settings have been used, to make the
3695 highlighting settings portable (complicated, isn't it?). The
3696 following names are recognized, with the color number used:
3697
3698 *cterm-colors*
3699 NR-16 NR-8 COLOR NAME ~
3700 0 0 Black
3701 1 4 DarkBlue
3702 2 2 DarkGreen
3703 3 6 DarkCyan
3704 4 1 DarkRed
3705 5 5 DarkMagenta
3706 6 3 Brown, DarkYellow
3707 7 7 LightGray, LightGrey, Gray, Grey
3708 8 0* DarkGray, DarkGrey
3709 9 4* Blue, LightBlue
3710 10 2* Green, LightGreen
3711 11 6* Cyan, LightCyan
3712 12 1* Red, LightRed
3713 13 5* Magenta, LightMagenta
3714 14 3* Yellow, LightYellow
3715 15 7* White
3716
3717 The number under "NR-16" is used for 16-color terminals ('t_Co'
3718 greater than or equal to 16). The number under "NR-8" is used for
3719 8-color terminals ('t_Co' less than 16). The '*' indicates that the
3720 bold attribute is set for ctermfg. In many 8-color terminals (e.g.,
3721 "linux"), this causes the bright colors to appear. This doesn't work
3722 for background colors! Without the '*' the bold attribute is removed.
3723 If you want to set the bold attribute in a different way, put a
3724 "cterm=" argument AFTER the "ctermfg=" or "ctermbg=" argument. Or use
3725 a number instead of a color name.
3726
3727 The case of the color names is ignored.
3728 Note that for 16 color ansi style terminals (including xterms), the
3729 numbers in the NR-8 column is used. Here '*' means 'add 8' so that Blue
3730 is 12, DarkGray is 8 etc.
3731
3732 Note that for some color terminals these names may result in the wrong
3733 colors!
3734
3735 *:hi-normal-cterm*
3736 When setting the "ctermfg" or "ctermbg" colors for the Normal group,
3737 these will become the colors used for the non-highlighted text.
3738 Example: >
3739 :highlight Normal ctermfg=grey ctermbg=darkblue
3740< When setting the "ctermbg" color for the Normal group, the
3741 'background' option will be adjusted automatically. This causes the
3742 highlight groups that depend on 'background' to change! This means
3743 you should set the colors for Normal first, before setting other
3744 colors.
3745 When a colorscheme is being used, changing 'background' causes it to
3746 be reloaded, which may reset all colors (including Normal). First
3747 delete the "colors_name" variable when you don't want this.
3748
3749 When you have set "ctermfg" or "ctermbg" for the Normal group, Vim
3750 needs to reset the color when exiting. This is done with the "op"
3751 termcap entry |t_op|. If this doesn't work correctly, try setting the
3752 't_op' option in your .vimrc.
3753 *E419* *E420*
3754 When Vim knows the normal foreground and background colors, "fg" and
3755 "bg" can be used as color names. This only works after setting the
3756 colors for the Normal group and for the MS-DOS console. Example, for
3757 reverse video: >
3758 :highlight Visual ctermfg=bg ctermbg=fg
3759< Note that the colors are used that are valid at the moment this
3760 command are given. If the Normal group colors are changed later, the
3761 "fg" and "bg" colors will not be adjusted.
3762
3763
37643. highlight arguments for the GUI
3765
3766gui={attr-list} *highlight-gui*
3767 These give the attributes to use in the GUI mode.
3768 See |attr-list| for a description.
3769 Note that "bold" can be used here and by using a bold font. They
3770 have the same effect.
3771 Note that the attributes are ignored for the "Normal" group.
3772
3773font={font-name} *highlight-font*
3774 font-name is the name of a font, as it is used on the system Vim
3775 runs on. For X11 this is a complicated name, for example: >
3776 font=-misc-fixed-bold-r-normal--14-130-75-75-c-70-iso8859-1
3777<
3778 The font-name "NONE" can be used to revert to the default font.
3779 When setting the font for the "Normal" group, this becomes the default
3780 font (until the 'guifont' option is changed; the last one set is
3781 used).
3782 The following only works with Motif and Athena, not with other GUIs:
3783 When setting the font for the "Menu" group, the menus will be changed.
3784 When setting the font for the "Tooltip" group, the tooltips will be
3785 changed.
3786 All fonts used, except for Menu and Tooltip, should be of the same
3787 character size as the default font! Otherwise redrawing problems will
3788 occur.
3789
3790guifg={color-name} *highlight-guifg*
3791guibg={color-name} *highlight-guibg*
3792 These give the foreground (guifg) and background (guibg) color to
3793 use in the GUI. There are a few special names:
3794 NONE no color (transparent)
3795 bg use normal background color
3796 background use normal background color
3797 fg use normal foreground color
3798 foreground use normal foreground color
3799 To use a color name with an embedded space or other special character,
3800 put it in single quotes. The single quote cannot be used then.
3801 Example: >
3802 :hi comment guifg='salmon pink'
3803<
3804 *gui-colors*
3805 Suggested color names (these are available on most systems):
3806 Red LightRed DarkRed
3807 Green LightGreen DarkGreen SeaGreen
3808 Blue LightBlue DarkBlue SlateBlue
3809 Cyan LightCyan DarkCyan
3810 Magenta LightMagenta DarkMagenta
3811 Yellow LightYellow Brown DarkYellow
3812 Gray LightGray DarkGray
3813 Black White
3814 Orange Purple Violet
3815
3816 In the Win32 GUI version, additional system colors are available. See
3817 |win32-colors|.
3818
3819 You can also specify a color by its Red, Green and Blue values.
3820 The format is "#rrggbb", where
3821 "rr" is the Red value
3822 "bb" is the Blue value
3823 "gg" is the Green value
3824 All values are hexadecimal, range from "00" to "ff". Examples: >
3825 :highlight Comment guifg=#11f0c3 guibg=#ff00ff
3826<
3827 *highlight-groups* *highlight-default*
3828These are the default highlighting groups. These groups are used by the
3829'highlight' option default. Note that the highlighting depends on the value
3830of 'background'. You can see the current settings with the ":highlight"
3831command.
3832 *hl-Cursor*
3833Cursor the character under the cursor
3834 *hl-CursorIM*
3835CursorIM like Cursor, but used when in IME mode |CursorIM|
3836 *hl-Directory*
3837Directory directory names (and other special names in listings)
3838 *hl-DiffAdd*
3839DiffAdd diff mode: Added line |diff.txt|
3840 *hl-DiffChange*
3841DiffChange diff mode: Changed line |diff.txt|
3842 *hl-DiffDelete*
3843DiffDelete diff mode: Deleted line |diff.txt|
3844 *hl-DiffText*
3845DiffText diff mode: Changed text within a changed line |diff.txt|
3846 *hl-ErrorMsg*
3847ErrorMsg error messages on the command line
3848 *hl-VertSplit*
3849VertSplit the column separating vertically split windows
3850 *hl-Folded*
3851Folded line used for closed folds
3852 *hl-FoldColumn*
3853FoldColumn 'foldcolumn'
3854 *hl-SignColumn*
3855SignColumn column where |signs| are displayed
3856 *hl-IncSearch*
3857IncSearch 'incsearch' highlighting; also used for the text replaced with
3858 ":s///c"
3859 *hl-LineNr*
3860LineNr line number for ":number" and ":#" commands, and when 'number'
3861 option is set.
3862 *hl-ModeMsg*
3863ModeMsg 'showmode' message (e.g., "-- INSERT --")
3864 *hl-MoreMsg*
3865MoreMsg |more-prompt|
3866 *hl-NonText*
3867NonText '~' and '@' at the end of the window, characters from
3868 'showbreak' and other characters that do not really exist in
3869 the text (e.g., ">" displayed when a double-wide character
3870 doesn't fit at the end of the line).
3871 *hl-Normal*
3872Normal normal text
3873 *hl-Question*
3874Question |hit-enter| prompt and yes/no questions
3875 *hl-Search*
3876Search Last search pattern highlighting (see 'hlsearch').
3877 Also used for highlighting the current line in the quickfix
3878 window and similar items that need to stand out.
3879 *hl-SpecialKey*
3880SpecialKey Meta and special keys listed with ":map", also for text used
3881 to show unprintable characters in the text, 'listchars'.
3882 Generally: text that is displayed differently from what it
3883 really is.
3884 *hl-StatusLine*
3885StatusLine status line of current window
3886 *hl-StatusLineNC*
3887StatusLineNC status lines of not-current windows
3888 Note: if this is equal to "StatusLine" Vim will use "^^^" in
3889 the status line of the current window.
3890 *hl-Title*
3891Title titles for output from ":set all", ":autocmd" etc.
3892 *hl-Visual*
3893Visual Visual mode selection
3894 *hl-VisualNOS*
3895VisualNOS Visual mode selection when vim is "Not Owning the Selection".
3896 Only X11 Gui's |gui-x11| and |xterm-clipboard| supports this.
3897 *hl-WarningMsg*
3898WarningMsg warning messages
3899 *hl-WildMenu*
3900WildMenu current match in 'wildmenu' completion
3901
3902 *hl-User1* *hl-User1..9*
3903The 'statusline' syntax allows the use of 9 different highlights in the
3904statusline and ruler (via 'rulerformat'). The names are User1 to User9.
3905
3906For the GUI you can use these groups to set the colors for the menu,
3907scrollbars and tooltips. They don't have defaults. This doesn't work for the
3908Win32 GUI. Only three highlight arguments have any effect here: font, guibg,
3909and guifg.
3910
3911 *hl-Menu*
3912Menu Current font, background and foreground colors of the menus.
3913 Also used for the toolbar.
3914 Applicable highlight arguments: font, guibg, guifg.
3915
3916 NOTE: For Motif and Athena the font argument actually
3917 specifies a fontset at all times, no matter if 'guifontset' is
3918 empty, and as such it is tied to the current |:language| when
3919 set.
3920
3921 *hl-Scrollbar*
3922Scrollbar Current background and foreground of the main window's
3923 scrollbars.
3924 Applicable highlight arguments: guibg, guifg.
3925
3926 *hl-Tooltip*
3927Tooltip Current font, background and foreground of the tooltips.
3928 Applicable highlight arguments: font, guibg, guifg.
3929
3930 NOTE: For Motif and Athena the font argument actually
3931 specifies a fontset at all times, no matter if 'guifontset' is
3932 empty, and as such it is tied to the current |:language| when
3933 set.
3934
3935==============================================================================
393613. Linking groups *:hi-link* *:highlight-link* *E412* *E413*
3937
3938When you want to use the same highlighting for several syntax groups, you
3939can do this more easily by linking the groups into one common highlight
3940group, and give the color attributes only for that group.
3941
3942To set a link:
3943
3944 :hi[ghlight][!] [default] link {from-group} {to-group}
3945
3946To remove a link:
3947
3948 :hi[ghlight][!] [default] link {from-group} NONE
3949
3950Notes: *E414*
3951- If the {from-group} and/or {to-group} doesn't exist, it is created. You
3952 don't get an error message for a non-existing group.
3953- As soon as you use a ":highlight" command for a linked group, the link is
3954 removed.
3955- If there are already highlight settings for the {from-group}, the link is
3956 not made, unless the '!' is given. For a ":highlight link" command in a
3957 sourced file, you don't get an error message. This can be used to skip
3958 links for groups that already have settings.
3959
3960 *:hi-default* *:highlight-default*
3961The [default] argument is used for setting the default highlighting for a
3962group. If highlighting has already been specified for the group the command
3963will be ignored. Also when there is an existing link.
3964
3965Using [default] is especially useful to overrule the highlighting of a
3966specific syntax file. For example, the C syntax file contains: >
3967 :highlight default link cComment Comment
3968If you like Question highlighting for C comments, put this in your vimrc file: >
3969 :highlight link cComment Question
3970Without the "default" in the C syntax file, the highlighting would be
3971overruled when the syntax file is loaded.
3972
3973==============================================================================
397414. Cleaning up *:syn-clear* *E391*
3975
3976If you want to clear the syntax stuff for the current buffer, you can use this
3977command: >
3978 :syntax clear
3979
3980This command should be used when you want to switch off syntax highlighting,
3981or when you want to switch to using another syntax. It's normally not needed
3982in a syntax file itself, because syntax is cleared by the autocommands that
3983load the syntax file.
3984The command also deletes the "b:current_syntax" variable, since no syntax is
3985loaded after this command.
3986
3987If you want to disable syntax highlighting for all buffers, you need to remove
3988the autocommands that load the syntax files: >
3989 :syntax off
3990
3991What this command actually does, is executing the command >
3992 :source $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/nosyntax.vim
3993See the "nosyntax.vim" file for details. Note that for this to work
3994$VIMRUNTIME must be valid. See |$VIMRUNTIME|.
3995
3996To clean up specific syntax groups for the current buffer: >
3997 :syntax clear {group-name} ..
3998This removes all patterns and keywords for {group-name}.
3999
4000To clean up specific syntax group lists for the current buffer: >
4001 :syntax clear @{grouplist-name} ..
4002This sets {grouplist-name}'s contents to an empty list.
4003
4004 *:syntax-reset* *:syn-reset*
4005If you have changed the colors and messed them up, use this command to get the
4006defaults back: >
4007
4008 :syntax reset
4009
4010This doesn't change the colors for the 'highlight' option.
4011
4012Note that the syntax colors that you set in your vimrc file will also be reset
4013back to their Vim default.
4014Note that if you are using a color scheme, the colors defined by the color
4015scheme for syntax highlighting will be lost.
4016
4017What this actually does is: >
4018
4019 let g:syntax_cmd = "reset"
4020 runtime! syntax/syncolor.vim
4021
4022Note that this uses the 'runtimepath' option.
4023
4024 *syncolor*
4025If you want to use different colors for syntax highlighting, you can add a Vim
4026script file to set these colors. Put this file in a directory in
4027'runtimepath' which comes after $VIMRUNTIME, so that your settings overrule
4028the default colors. This way these colors will be used after the ":syntax
4029reset" command.
4030
4031For Unix you can use the file ~/.vim/after/syntax/syncolor.vim. Example: >
4032
4033 if &background == "light"
4034 highlight comment ctermfg=darkgreen guifg=darkgreen
4035 else
4036 highlight comment ctermfg=green guifg=green
4037 endif
4038
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00004039 *E679*
4040Do make sure this syncolor.vim script does not use a "syntax on", set the
4041'background' option or uses a "colorscheme" command, because it results in an
4042endless loop.
4043
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004044Note that when a color scheme is used, there might be some confusion whether
4045your defined colors are to be used or the colors from the scheme. This
4046depends on the color scheme file. See |:colorscheme|.
4047
4048 *syntax_cmd*
4049The "syntax_cmd" variable is set to one of these values when the
4050syntax/syncolor.vim files are loaded:
4051 "on" ":syntax on" command. Highlight colors are overruled but
4052 links are kept
4053 "enable" ":syntax enable" command. Only define colors for groups that
4054 don't have highlighting yet. Use ":syntax default".
4055 "reset" ":syntax reset" command or loading a color scheme. Define all
4056 the colors.
4057 "skip" Don't define colors. Used to skip the default settings when a
4058 syncolor.vim file earlier in 'runtimepath' has already set
4059 them.
4060
4061==============================================================================
406215. Highlighting tags *tag-highlight*
4063
4064If you want to highlight all the tags in your file, you can use the following
4065mappings.
4066
4067 <F11> -- Generate tags.vim file, and highlight tags.
4068 <F12> -- Just highlight tags based on existing tags.vim file.
4069>
4070 :map <F11> :sp tags<CR>:%s/^\([^ :]*:\)\=\([^ ]*\).*/syntax keyword Tag \2/<CR>:wq! tags.vim<CR>/^<CR><F12>
4071 :map <F12> :so tags.vim<CR>
4072
4073WARNING: The longer the tags file, the slower this will be, and the more
4074memory Vim will consume.
4075
4076Only highlighting typedefs, unions and structs can be done too. For this you
4077must use Exuberant ctags (found at http://ctags.sf.net).
4078
4079Put these lines in your Makefile:
4080
4081# Make a highlight file for types. Requires Exuberant ctags and awk
4082types: types.vim
4083types.vim: *.[ch]
4084 ctags -i=gstuS -o- *.[ch] |\
4085 awk 'BEGIN{printf("syntax keyword Type\t")}\
4086 {printf("%s ", $$1)}END{print ""}' > $@
4087
4088And put these lines in your .vimrc: >
4089
4090 " load the types.vim highlighting file, if it exists
4091 autocmd BufRead,BufNewFile *.[ch] let fname = expand('<afile>:p:h') . '/types.vim'
4092 autocmd BufRead,BufNewFile *.[ch] if filereadable(fname)
4093 autocmd BufRead,BufNewFile *.[ch] exe 'so ' . fname
4094 autocmd BufRead,BufNewFile *.[ch] endif
4095
4096==============================================================================
409716. Color xterms *xterm-color* *color-xterm*
4098
4099Most color xterms have only eight colors. If you don't get colors with the
4100default setup, it should work with these lines in your .vimrc: >
4101 :if &term =~ "xterm"
4102 : if has("terminfo")
4103 : set t_Co=8
4104 : set t_Sf=<Esc>[3%p1%dm
4105 : set t_Sb=<Esc>[4%p1%dm
4106 : else
4107 : set t_Co=8
4108 : set t_Sf=<Esc>[3%dm
4109 : set t_Sb=<Esc>[4%dm
4110 : endif
4111 :endif
4112< [<Esc> is a real escape, type CTRL-V <Esc>]
4113
4114You might want to change the first "if" to match the name of your terminal,
4115e.g. "dtterm" instead of "xterm".
4116
4117Note: Do these settings BEFORE doing ":syntax on". Otherwise the colors may
4118be wrong.
4119 *xiterm* *rxvt*
4120The above settings have been mentioned to work for xiterm and rxvt too.
4121But for using 16 colors in an rxvt these should work with terminfo: >
4122 :set t_AB=<Esc>[%?%p1%{8}%<%t25;%p1%{40}%+%e5;%p1%{32}%+%;%dm
4123 :set t_AF=<Esc>[%?%p1%{8}%<%t22;%p1%{30}%+%e1;%p1%{22}%+%;%dm
4124<
4125 *colortest.vim*
4126To test your color setup, a file has been included in the Vim distribution.
4127To use it, execute these commands: >
4128 :e $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/colortest.vim
4129 :so %
4130
4131Some versions of xterm (and other terminals, like the linux console) can
4132output lighter foreground colors, even though the number of colors is defined
4133at 8. Therefore Vim sets the "cterm=bold" attribute for light foreground
4134colors, when 't_Co' is 8.
4135
4136 *xfree-xterm*
4137To get 16 colors or more, get the newest xterm version (which should be
4138included with Xfree86 3.3 and later). You can also find the latest version
4139at: >
4140 http://invisible-island.net/xterm/xterm.html
4141Here is a good way to configure it. This uses 88 colors and enables the
4142termcap-query feature, which allows Vim to ask the xterm how many colors it
4143supports. >
4144 ./configure --disable-bold-color --enable-88-color --enable-tcap-query
4145If you only get 8 colors, check the xterm compilation settings.
4146(Also see |UTF8-xterm| for using this xterm with UTF-8 character encoding).
4147
4148This xterm should work with these lines in your .vimrc (for 16 colors): >
4149 :if has("terminfo")
4150 : set t_Co=16
4151 : set t_AB=<Esc>[%?%p1%{8}%<%t%p1%{40}%+%e%p1%{92}%+%;%dm
4152 : set t_AF=<Esc>[%?%p1%{8}%<%t%p1%{30}%+%e%p1%{82}%+%;%dm
4153 :else
4154 : set t_Co=16
4155 : set t_Sf=<Esc>[3%dm
4156 : set t_Sb=<Esc>[4%dm
4157 :endif
4158< [<Esc> is a real escape, type CTRL-V <Esc>]
4159
4160Without |+terminfo|, Vim will recognize these settings, and automatically
4161translate cterm colors of 8 and above to "<Esc>[9%dm" and "<Esc>[10%dm".
4162Colors above 16 are also translated automatically.
4163
4164For 256 colors this has been reported to work: >
4165
4166 :set t_AB=<Esc>[48;5;%dm
4167 :set t_AF=<Esc>[38;5;%dm
4168
4169Or just set the TERM environment variable to "xterm-color" or "xterm-16color"
4170and try if that works.
4171
4172You probably want to use these X resources (in your ~/.Xdefaults file):
4173 XTerm*color0: #000000
4174 XTerm*color1: #c00000
4175 XTerm*color2: #008000
4176 XTerm*color3: #808000
4177 XTerm*color4: #0000c0
4178 XTerm*color5: #c000c0
4179 XTerm*color6: #008080
4180 XTerm*color7: #c0c0c0
4181 XTerm*color8: #808080
4182 XTerm*color9: #ff6060
4183 XTerm*color10: #00ff00
4184 XTerm*color11: #ffff00
4185 XTerm*color12: #8080ff
4186 XTerm*color13: #ff40ff
4187 XTerm*color14: #00ffff
4188 XTerm*color15: #ffffff
4189 Xterm*cursorColor: Black
4190
4191[Note: The cursorColor is required to work around a bug, which changes the
4192cursor color to the color of the last drawn text. This has been fixed by a
4193newer version of xterm, but not everybody is it using yet.]
4194
4195To get these right away, reload the .Xdefaults file to the X Option database
4196Manager (you only need to do this when you just changed the .Xdefaults file): >
4197 xrdb -merge ~/.Xdefaults
4198<
4199 *xterm-blink* *xterm-blinking-cursor*
4200To make the cursor blink in an xterm, see tools/blink.c. Or use Thomas
4201Dickey's xterm above patchlevel 107 (see above for where to get it), with
4202these resources:
4203 XTerm*cursorBlink: on
4204 XTerm*cursorOnTime: 400
4205 XTerm*cursorOffTime: 250
4206 XTerm*cursorColor: White
4207
4208 *hpterm-color*
4209These settings work (more or less) for a hpterm, which only supports 8
4210foreground colors: >
4211 :if has("terminfo")
4212 : set t_Co=8
4213 : set t_Sf=<Esc>[&v%p1%dS
4214 : set t_Sb=<Esc>[&v7S
4215 :else
4216 : set t_Co=8
4217 : set t_Sf=<Esc>[&v%dS
4218 : set t_Sb=<Esc>[&v7S
4219 :endif
4220< [<Esc> is a real escape, type CTRL-V <Esc>]
4221
4222 *Eterm* *enlightened-terminal*
4223These settings have been reported to work for the Enlightened terminal
4224emulator, or Eterm. They might work for all xterm-like terminals that use the
4225bold attribute to get bright colors. Add an ":if" like above when needed. >
4226 :set t_Co=16
4227 :set t_AF=^[[%?%p1%{8}%<%t3%p1%d%e%p1%{22}%+%d;1%;m
4228 :set t_AB=^[[%?%p1%{8}%<%t4%p1%d%e%p1%{32}%+%d;1%;m
4229<
4230 *TTpro-telnet*
4231These settings should work for TTpro telnet. Tera Term Pro is a freeware /
4232open-source program for MS-Windows. >
4233 set t_Co=16
4234 set t_AB=^[[%?%p1%{8}%<%t%p1%{40}%+%e%p1%{32}%+5;%;%dm
4235 set t_AF=^[[%?%p1%{8}%<%t%p1%{30}%+%e%p1%{22}%+1;%;%dm
4236Also make sure TTpro's Setup / Window / Full Color is enabled, and make sure
4237that Setup / Font / Enable Bold is NOT enabled.
4238(info provided by John Love-Jensen <eljay@Adobe.COM>)
4239
4240 vim:tw=78:sw=4:ts=8:ft=help:norl: