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Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00001*syntax.txt* For Vim version 7.0aa. Last change: 2004 Sep 01
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
396By default, HTML optimized for old browsers is generated. If you prefer using
397cascading style sheets (CSS1) for the attributes (resulting in considerably
398shorter and valid HTML 4 file), use: >
399 :let html_use_css = 1
400
401By default "<pre>" and "</pre>" is used around the text. This makes it show
402up as you see it in Vim, but without wrapping. If you prefer wrapping, at the
403risk of making some things look a bit different, use: >
404 :let html_no_pre = 1
405This will use <br> at the end of each line and use "&nbsp;" for repeated
406spaces.
407
408The current value of 'encoding' is used to specify the charset of the HTML
409file. This only works for those values of 'encoding' that have an equivalent
410HTML charset name. To overrule this set g:html_use_encoding to the name of
411the charset to be used: >
412 :let html_use_encoding = "foobar"
413To omit the line that specifies the charset, set g:html_use_encoding to an
414empty string: >
415 :let html_use_encoding = ""
416To go back to the automatic mechanism, delete the g:html_use_encoding
417variable: >
418 :unlet html_use_encoding
419<
420 *convert-to-XML* *convert-to-XHTML*
421An alternative is to have the script generate XHTML (XML compliant HTML). To
422do this set the "use_xhtml" variable: >
423 :let use_xhtml = 1
424To disable it again delete the variable: >
425 :unlet use_xhtml
426The generated XHTML file can be used in DocBook XML documents. See:
427 http://people.mech.kuleuven.ac.be/~pissaris/howto/src2db.html
428
429Remarks:
430- This only works in a version with GUI support. If the GUI is not actually
431 running (possible for X11) it still works, but not very well (the colors
432 may be wrong).
433- Older browsers will not show the background colors.
434- From most browsers you can also print the file (in color)!
435
436Here is an example how to run the script over all .c and .h files from a
437Unix shell: >
438 for f in *.[ch]; do gvim -f +"syn on" +"run! syntax/2html.vim" +"wq" +"q" $f; done
439<
440
441ABEL *abel.vim* *abel-syntax*
442
443ABEL highlighting provides some user-defined options. To enable them, assign
444any value to the respective variable. Example: >
445 :let abel_obsolete_ok=1
446To disable them use ":unlet". Example: >
447 :unlet abel_obsolete_ok
448
449Variable Highlight ~
450abel_obsolete_ok obsolete keywords are statements, not errors
451abel_cpp_comments_illegal do not interpret '//' as inline comment leader
452
453
454ADA *ada.vim* *ada-syntax*
455
456This mode is designed for the 1995 edition of Ada ("Ada95"), which
457includes support for objected-programming, protected types, and so on.
458It handles code written for the original Ada language
459("Ada83" or "Ada87") as well, though Ada83 code which uses Ada95-only
460keywords will be wrongly colored (such code should be fixed anyway).
461For more information about Ada, see http://www.adapower.com.
462
463The Ada mode handles a number of situations cleanly.
464For example, it knows that the "-" in "-5" is a number, but the same
465character in "A-5" is an operator. Normally, a "with" or "use" clause
466referencing another compilation unit is colored the same way as C's
467"#include" is colored. If you have "Conditional" or "Repeat"
468groups colored differently, then "end if" and "end loop" will be
469colored as part of those respective groups.
470You can set these to different colors using vim's "highlight" command
471(e.g., to change how loops are displayed, enter the command
472":hi Repeat" followed by the color specification; on simple terminals
473the color specification ctermfg=White often shows well).
474
475There are several options you can select in this Ada mode.
476To enable them, assign a value to the option. For example, to turn one on:
477 let ada_standard_types = 1
478To disable them use ":unlet". Example:
479 unlet ada_standard_types = 1
480You can just use ":" and type these into the command line to set these
481temporarily before loading an Ada file. You can make these option settings
482permanent by adding the "let" command(s), without a colon,
483to your "~/.vimrc" file.
484
485Here are the Ada mode options:
486
487Variable Action ~
488ada_standard_types Highlight types in package Standard (e.g., "Float")
489ada_space_errors Highlight extraneous errors in spaces...
490ada_no_trail_space_error but ignore trailing spaces at the end of a line
491ada_no_tab_space_error but ignore tabs after spaces
492ada_withuse_ordinary Show "with" and "use" as ordinary keywords
493 (when used to reference other compilation units
494 they're normally highlighted specially).
495ada_begin_preproc Show all begin-like keywords using the coloring
496 of C preprocessor commands.
497
498Even on a slow (90Mhz) PC this mode works quickly, but if you find
499the performance unacceptable, turn on ada_withuse_ordinary.
500
501
502ANT *ant.vim* *ant-syntax*
503
504The ant syntax file provides syntax highlighting for javascript and python
505by default. Syntax highlighting for other script languages can be installed
506by the function AntSyntaxScript(), which takes the tag name as first argument
507and the script syntax file name as second argument. Example: >
508
509 :call AntSyntaxScript('perl', 'perl.vim')
510
511will install syntax perl highlighting for the following ant code >
512
513 <script language = 'perl'><![CDATA[
514 # everything inside is highlighted as perl
515 ]]></script>
516
517See |mysyntaxfile-add| for installing script languages permanently.
518
519
520APACHE *apache.vim* *apache-syntax*
521
522The apache syntax file provides syntax highlighting depending on Apache HTTP
523server version, by default for 1.3.x. Set "apache_version" to Apache version
524(as a string) to get highlighting for another version. Example: >
525
526 :let apache_version = "2.0"
527<
528
529 *asm.vim* *asmh8300.vim* *nasm.vim* *masm.vim* *asm68k*
530ASSEMBLY *asm-syntax* *asmh8300-syntax* *nasm-syntax* *masm-syntax*
531 *asm68k-syntax* *fasm.vim*
532
533Files matching "*.i" could be Progress or Assembly. If the automatic detection
534doesn't work for you, or you don't edit Progress at all, use this in your
535startup vimrc: >
536 :let filetype_i = "asm"
537Replace "asm" with the type of assembly you use.
538
539There are many types of assembly languages that all use the same file name
540extensions. Therefore you will have to select the type yourself, or add a
541line in the assembly file that Vim will recognize. Currently these syntax
542files are included:
543 asm GNU assembly (the default)
544 asm68k Motorola 680x0 assembly
545 asmh8300 Hitachi H-8300 version of GNU assembly
546 ia64 Intel Itanium 64
547 fasm Flat assembly (http://flatassembler.net)
548 masm Microsoft assembly (probably works for any 80x86)
549 nasm Netwide assembly
550 tasm Turbo Assembly (with opcodes 80x86 up to Pentium, and
551 MMX)
552 pic PIC assembly (currently for PIC16F84)
553
554The most flexible is to add a line in your assembly file containing: >
555 :asmsyntax=nasm
556Replace "nasm" with the name of the real assembly syntax. This line must be
557one of the first five lines in the file.
558
559The syntax type can always be overruled for a specific buffer by setting the
560b:asmsyntax variable: >
561 :let b:asmsyntax=nasm
562
563If b:asmsyntax is not set, either automatically or by hand, then the value of
564the global variable asmsyntax is used. This can be seen as a default assembly
565language: >
566 :let asmsyntax=nasm
567
568As a last resort, if nothing is defined, the "asm" syntax is used.
569
570
571Netwide assembler (nasm.vim) optional highlighting ~
572
573To enable a feature: >
574 :let {variable}=1|set syntax=nasm
575To disable a feature: >
576 :unlet {variable} |set syntax=nasm
577
578Variable Highlight ~
579nasm_loose_syntax unofficial parser allowed syntax not as Error
580 (parser dependent; not recommended)
581nasm_ctx_outside_macro contexts outside macro not as Error
582nasm_no_warn potentially risky syntax not as ToDo
583
584
585ASPPERL and ASPVBS *aspperl-syntax* *aspvbs-syntax*
586
587*.asp and *.asa files could be either Perl or Visual Basic script. Since it's
588hard to detect this you can set two global variables to tell Vim what you are
589using. For Perl script use: >
590 :let g:filetype_asa = "aspperl"
591 :let g:filetype_asp = "aspperl"
592For Visual Basic use: >
593 :let g:filetype_asa = "aspvbs"
594 :let g:filetype_asp = "aspvbs"
595
596
597BASIC *basic.vim* *vb.vim* *basic-syntax* *vb-syntax*
598
599Both Visual Basic and "normal" basic use the extension ".bas". To detect
600which one should be used, Vim checks for the string "VB_Name" in the first
601five lines of the file. If it is not found, filetype will be "basic",
602otherwise "vb". Files with the ".frm" extension will always be seen as Visual
603Basic.
604
605
606C *c.vim* *c-syntax*
607
608A few things in C highlighting are optional. To enable them assign any value
609to the respective variable. Example: >
610 :let c_comment_strings=1
611To disable them use ":unlet". Example: >
612 :unlet c_comment_strings
613
614Variable Highlight ~
615c_gnu GNU gcc specific items
616c_comment_strings strings and numbers inside a comment
617c_space_errors trailing white space and spaces before a <Tab>
618c_no_trail_space_error ... but no trailing spaces
619c_no_tab_space_error ... but no spaces before a <Tab>
620c_no_bracket_error don't highlight {}; inside [] as errors
621c_no_ansi don't do standard ANSI types and constants
622c_ansi_typedefs ... but do standard ANSI types
623c_ansi_constants ... but do standard ANSI constants
624c_no_utf don't highlight \u and \U in strings
625c_syntax_for_h use C syntax for *.h files, instead of C++
626c_no_if0 don't highlight "#if 0" blocks as comments
627c_no_cformat don't highlight %-formats in strings
628c_no_c99 don't highlight C99 standard items
629
630If you notice highlighting errors while scrolling backwards, which are fixed
631when redrawing with CTRL-L, try setting the "c_minlines" internal variable
632to a larger number: >
633 :let c_minlines = 100
634This will make the syntax synchronization start 100 lines before the first
635displayed line. The default value is 50 (15 when c_no_if0 is set). The
636disadvantage of using a larger number is that redrawing can become slow.
637
638When using the "#if 0" / "#endif" comment highlighting, notice that this only
639works when the "#if 0" is within "c_minlines" from the top of the window. If
640you have a long "#if 0" construct it will not be highlighted correctly.
641
642To match extra items in comments, use the cCommentGroup cluster.
643Example: >
644 :au Syntax c call MyCadd()
645 :function MyCadd()
646 : syn keyword cMyItem contained Ni
647 : syn cluster cCommentGroup add=cMyItem
648 : hi link cMyItem Title
649 :endfun
650
651ANSI constants will be highlighted with the "cConstant" group. This includes
652"NULL", "SIG_IGN" and others. But not "TRUE", for example, because this is
653not in the ANSI standard. If you find this confusing, remove the cConstant
654highlighting: >
655 :hi link cConstant NONE
656
657If you see '{' and '}' highlighted as an error where they are OK, reset the
658highlighting for cErrInParen and cErrInBracket.
659
660If you want to use folding in your C files, you can add these lines in a file
661an the "after" directory in 'runtimepath'. For Unix this would be
662~/.vim/after/syntax/c.vim. >
663 syn region myFold start="{" end="}" transparent fold
664 syn sync fromstart
665 set foldmethod=syntax
666
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +0000667CH *ch.vim* *ch-syntax*
668
669C/C++ interpreter. Ch has similar syntax highlighting to C and builds upon
670the C syntax file. See |c.vim| for all the settings that are available for C.
671
672By setting a variable you can tell Vim to use Ch syntax for *.h files, instead
673of C or C++: >
674 :let ch_syntax_for_h = 1
675
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000676
677CHILL *chill.vim* *chill-syntax*
678
679Chill syntax highlighting is similar to C. See |c.vim| for all the settings
680that are available. Additionally there is:
681
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000682chill_space_errors like c_space_errors
683chill_comment_string like c_comment_strings
684chill_minlines like c_minlines
685
686
687CHANGELOG *changelog.vim* *changelog-syntax*
688
689ChangeLog supports highlighting spaces at the start of a line.
690If you do not like this, add following line to your .vimrc: >
691 let g:changelog_spacing_errors = 0
692This works the next time you edit a changelog file. You can also use
693"b:changelog_spacing_errors" to set this per buffer (before loading the syntax
694file).
695
696You can change the highlighting used, e.g., to flag the spaces as an error: >
697 :hi link ChangelogError Error
698Or to avoid the highlighting: >
699 :hi link ChangelogError NONE
700This works immediately.
701
702
703COBOL *cobol.vim* *cobol-syntax*
704
705COBOL highlighting has different needs for legacy code than it does for fresh
706development. This is due to differences in what is being done (maintenance
707versus development) and other factors. To enable legacy code highlighting,
708add this line to your .vimrc: >
709 :let cobol_legacy_code = 1
710To disable it again, use this: >
711 :unlet cobol_legacy_code
712
713
714COLD FUSION *coldfusion.vim* *coldfusion-syntax*
715
716The ColdFusion has its own version of HTML comments. To turn on ColdFusion
717comment highlighting, add the following line to your startup file: >
718
719 :let html_wrong_comments = 1
720
721The ColdFusion syntax file is based on the HTML syntax file.
722
723
724CSH *csh.vim* *csh-syntax*
725
726This covers the shell named "csh". Note that on some systems tcsh is actually
727used.
728
729Detecting whether a file is csh or tcsh is notoriously hard. Some systems
730symlink /bin/csh to /bin/tcsh, making it almost impossible to distinguish
731between csh and tcsh. In case VIM guesses wrong you can set the
732"filetype_csh" variable. For using csh: >
733
734 :let filetype_csh = "csh"
735
736For using tcsh: >
737
738 :let filetype_csh = "tcsh"
739
740Any script with a tcsh extension or a standard tcsh filename (.tcshrc,
741tcsh.tcshrc, tcsh.login) will have filetype tcsh. All other tcsh/csh scripts
742will be classified as tcsh, UNLESS the "filetype_csh" variable exists. If the
743"filetype_csh" variable exists, the filetype will be set to the value of the
744variable.
745
746
747CYNLIB *cynlib.vim* *cynlib-syntax*
748
749Cynlib files are C++ files that use the Cynlib class library to enable
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +0000750hardware modelling and simulation using C++. Typically Cynlib files have a .cc
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000751or a .cpp extension, which makes it very difficult to distinguish them from a
752normal C++ file. Thus, to enable Cynlib highlighting for .cc files, add this
753line to your .vimrc file: >
754
755 :let cynlib_cyntax_for_cc=1
756
757Similarly for cpp files (this extension is only usually used in Windows) >
758
759 :let cynlib_cyntax_for_cpp=1
760
761To disable these again, use this: >
762
763 :unlet cynlib_cyntax_for_cc
764 :unlet cynlib_cyntax_for_cpp
765<
766
767CWEB *cweb.vim* *cweb-syntax*
768
769Files matching "*.w" could be Progress or cweb. If the automatic detection
770doesn't work for you, or you don't edit Progress at all, use this in your
771startup vimrc: >
772 :let filetype_w = "cweb"
773
774
775DESKTOP *desktop.vim* *desktop-syntax*
776
777Primary goal of this syntax file is to highlight .desktop and .directory files
778according to freedesktop.org standard: http://pdx.freedesktop.org/Standards/
779But actually almost none implements this standard fully. Thus it will
780highlight all Unix ini files. But you can force strict highlighting according
781to standard by placing this in your vimrc file: >
782 :let enforce_freedesktop_standard = 1
783
784
785DIRCOLORS *dircolors.vim* *dircolors-syntax*
786
787The dircolors utility highlighting definition has one option. It exists to
788provide compatibility with the Slackware GNU/Linux distributions version of
789the command. It adds a few keywords that are generally ignored by most
790versions. On Slackware systems, however, the utility accepts the keywords and
791uses them for processing. To enable the Slackware keywords add the following
792line to your startup file: >
793 let dircolors_is_slackware = 1
794
795
796DOCBOOK *docbk.vim* *docbk-syntax* *docbook*
797DOCBOOK XML *docbkxml.vim* *docbkxml-syntax*
798DOCBOOK SGML *docbksgml.vim* *docbksgml-syntax*
799
800There are two types of DocBook files: SGML and XML. To specify what type you
801are using the "b:docbk_type" variable should be set. Vim does this for you
802automatically if it can recognize the type. When Vim can't guess it the type
803defaults to XML.
804You can set the type manually: >
805 :let docbk_type = "sgml"
806or: >
807 :let docbk_type = "xml"
808You need to do this before loading the syntax file, which is complicated.
809Simpler is setting the filetype to "docbkxml" or "docbksgml": >
810 :set filetype=docbksgml
811or: >
812 :set filetype=docbkxml
813
814
815DOSBATCH *dosbatch.vim* *dosbatch-syntax*
816
817There is one option with highlighting DOS batch files. This covers new
818extensions to the Command Interpreter introduced with Windows 2000 and
819is controlled by the variable dosbatch_cmdextversion. For Windows NT
820this should have the value 1, and for Windows 2000 it should be 2.
821Select the version you want with the following line: >
822
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +0000823 :let dosbatch_cmdextversion = 1
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000824
825If this variable is not defined it defaults to a value of 2 to support
826Windows 2000.
827
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +0000828A second option covers whether *.btm files should be detected as type
829"dosbatch" (MS-DOS batch files) or type "btm" (4DOS batch files). The latter
830is used by default. You may select the former with the following line: >
831
832 :let g:dosbatch_syntax_for_btm = 1
833
834If this variable is undefined or zero, btm syntax is selected.
835
836
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000837
838DTD *dtd.vim* *dtd-syntax*
839
840The DTD syntax highlighting is case sensitive by default. To disable
841case-sensitive highlighting, add the following line to your startup file: >
842
843 :let dtd_ignore_case=1
844
845The DTD syntax file will highlight unknown tags as errors. If
846this is annoying, it can be turned off by setting: >
847
848 :let dtd_no_tag_errors=1
849
850before sourcing the dtd.vim syntax file.
851Parameter entity names are highlighted in the definition using the
852'Type' highlighting group and 'Comment' for punctuation and '%'.
853Parameter entity instances are highlighted using the 'Constant'
854highlighting group and the 'Type' highlighting group for the
855delimiters % and ;. This can be turned off by setting: >
856
857 :let dtd_no_param_entities=1
858
859The DTD syntax file is also included by xml.vim to highlight included dtd's.
860
861
862EIFFEL *eiffel.vim* *eiffel-syntax*
863
864While Eiffel is not case-sensitive, its style guidelines are, and the
865syntax highlighting file encourages their use. This also allows to
866highlight class names differently. If you want to disable case-sensitive
867highlighting, add the following line to your startup file: >
868
869 :let eiffel_ignore_case=1
870
871Case still matters for class names and TODO marks in comments.
872
873Conversely, for even stricter checks, add one of the following lines: >
874
875 :let eiffel_strict=1
876 :let eiffel_pedantic=1
877
878Setting eiffel_strict will only catch improper capitalization for the
879five predefined words "Current", "Void", "Result", "Precursor", and
880"NONE", to warn against their accidental use as feature or class names.
881
882Setting eiffel_pedantic will enforce adherence to the Eiffel style
883guidelines fairly rigorously (like arbitrary mixes of upper- and
884lowercase letters as well as outdated ways to capitalize keywords).
885
886If you want to use the lower-case version of "Current", "Void",
887"Result", and "Precursor", you can use >
888
889 :let eiffel_lower_case_predef=1
890
891instead of completely turning case-sensitive highlighting off.
892
893Support for ISE's proposed new creation syntax that is already
894experimentally handled by some compilers can be enabled by: >
895
896 :let eiffel_ise=1
897
898Finally, some vendors support hexadecimal constants. To handle them, add >
899
900 :let eiffel_hex_constants=1
901
902to your startup file.
903
904
905ERLANG *erlang.vim* *erlang-syntax*
906
907The erlang highlighting supports Erlang (ERicsson LANGuage).
908Erlang is case sensitive and default extension is ".erl".
909
910If you want to disable keywords highlighting, put in your .vimrc: >
911 :let erlang_keywords = 1
912If you want to disable built-in-functions highlighting, put in your
913.vimrc file: >
914 :let erlang_functions = 1
915If you want to disable special characters highlighting, put in
916your .vimrc: >
917 :let erlang_characters = 1
918
919
920FORM *form.vim* *form-syntax*
921
922The coloring scheme for syntax elements in the FORM file uses the default
923modes Conditional, Number, Statement, Comment, PreProc, Type, and String,
924following the language specifications in 'Symbolic Manipulation with FORM'' by
925J.A.M. Vermaseren, CAN, Netherlands, 1991.
926
927If you want include your own changes to the default colors, you have to
928redefine the following syntax groups:
929
930 - formConditional
931 - formNumber
932 - formStatement
933 - formHeaderStatement
934 - formComment
935 - formPreProc
936 - formDirective
937 - formType
938 - formString
939
940Note that the form.vim syntax file implements FORM preprocessor commands and
941directives per default in the same syntax group.
942
943A predefined enhanced color mode for FORM is available to distinguish between
944header statements and statements in the body of a FORM program. To activate
945this mode define the following variable in your vimrc file >
946
947 :let form_enhanced_color=1
948
949The enhanced mode also takes advantage of additional color features for a dark
950gvim display. Here, statements are colored LightYellow instead of Yellow, and
951conditionals are LightBlue for better distinction.
952
953
954FORTRAN *fortran.vim* *fortran-syntax*
955
956Default highlighting and dialect ~
957Highlighting appropriate for f95 (Fortran 95) is used by default. This choice
958should be appropriate for most users most of the time because Fortran 95 is a
959superset of Fortran 90 and almost a superset of Fortran 77.
960
961Fortran source code form ~
962Fortran 9x code can be in either fixed or free source form. Note that the
963syntax highlighting will not be correct if the form is incorrectly set.
964
965When you create a new fortran file, the syntax script assumes fixed source
966form. If you always use free source form, then >
967 :let fortran_free_source=1
968in your .vimrc prior to the :syntax on command. If you always use fixed source
969form, then >
970 :let fortran_fixed_source=1
971in your .vimrc prior to the :syntax on command.
972
973If the form of the source code depends upon the file extension, then it is
974most convenient to set fortran_free_source in a ftplugin file. For more
975information on ftplugin files, see |ftplugin|. For example, if all your
976fortran files with an .f90 extension are written in free source form and the
977rest in fixed source form, add the following code to your ftplugin file >
978 let s:extfname = expand("%:e")
979 if s:extfname ==? "f90"
980 let fortran_free_source=1
981 unlet! fortran_fixed_source
982 else
983 let fortran_fixed_source=1
984 unlet! fortran_free_source
985 endif
986Note that this will work only if the "filetype plugin indent on" command
987precedes the "syntax on" command in your .vimrc file.
988
989When you edit an existing fortran file, the syntax script will assume free
990source form if the fortran_free_source variable has been set, and assumes
991fixed source form if the fortran_fixed_source variable has been set. If
992neither of these variables have been set, the syntax script attempts to
993determine which source form has been used by examining the first five columns
994of the first 25 lines of your file. If no signs of free source form are
995detected, then the file is assumed to be in fixed source form. The algorithm
996should work in the vast majority of cases. In some cases, such as a file that
997begins with 25 or more full-line comments, the script may incorrectly decide
998that the fortran code is in fixed form. If that happens, just add a
999non-comment statement beginning anywhere in the first five columns of the
1000first twenty five lines, save (:w) and then reload (:e!) the file.
1001
1002Tabs in fortran files ~
1003Tabs are not recognized by the Fortran standards. Tabs are not a good idea in
1004fixed format fortran source code which requires fixed column boundaries.
1005Therefore, tabs are marked as errors. Nevertheless, some programmers like
1006using tabs. If your fortran files contain tabs, then you should set the
1007variable fortran_have_tabs in your .vimrc with a command such as >
1008 :let fortran_have_tabs=1
1009placed prior to the :syntax on command. Unfortunately, the use of tabs will
1010mean that the syntax file will not be able to detect incorrect margins.
1011
1012Syntax folding of fortran files ~
1013If you wish to use foldmethod=syntax, then you must first set the variable
1014fortran_fold with a command such as >
1015 :let fortran_fold=1
1016to instruct the syntax script to define fold regions for program units, that
1017is main programs starting with a program statement, subroutines, function
1018subprograms, block data subprograms, interface blocks, and modules. If you
1019also set the variable fortran_fold_conditionals with a command such as >
1020 :let fortran_fold_conditionals=1
1021then fold regions will also be defined for do loops, if blocks, and select
1022case constructs. If you also set the variable
1023fortran_fold_multilinecomments with a command such as >
1024 :let fortran_fold_multilinecomments=1
1025then fold regions will also be defined for three or more consecutive comment
1026lines. Note that defining fold regions can be slow for large files.
1027
1028If fortran_fold, and possibly fortran_fold_conditionals and/or
1029fortran_fold_multilinecomments, have been set, then vim will fold your file if
1030you set foldmethod=syntax. Comments or blank lines placed between two program
1031units are not folded because they are seen as not belonging to any program
1032unit.
1033
1034More precise fortran syntax ~
1035If you set the variable fortran_more_precise with a command such as >
1036 :let fortran_more_precise=1
1037then the syntax coloring will be more precise but slower. In particular,
1038statement labels used in do, goto and arithmetic if statements will be
1039recognized, as will construct names at the end of a do, if, select or forall
1040construct.
1041
1042Non-default fortran dialects ~
1043The syntax script supports five Fortran dialects: f95, f90, f77, the Lahey
1044subset elf90, and the Imagine1 subset F.
1045
1046If you use f77 with extensions, even common ones like do/enddo loops, do/while
1047loops and free source form that are supported by most f77 compilers including
1048g77 (GNU Fortran), then you will probably find the default highlighting
1049satisfactory. However, if you use strict f77 with no extensions, not even free
1050source form or the MIL STD 1753 extensions, then the advantages of setting the
1051dialect to f77 are that names such as SUM are recognized as user variable
1052names and not highlighted as f9x intrinsic functions, that obsolete constructs
1053such as ASSIGN statements are not highlighted as todo items, and that fixed
1054source form will be assumed.
1055
1056If you use elf90 or F, the advantage of setting the dialect appropriately is
1057that f90 features excluded from these dialects will be highlighted as todo
1058items and that free source form will be assumed as required for these
1059dialects.
1060
1061The dialect can be selected by setting the variable fortran_dialect. The
1062permissible values of fortran_dialect are case-sensitive and must be "f95",
1063"f90", "f77", "elf" or "F". Invalid values of fortran_dialect are ignored.
1064
1065If all your fortran files use the same dialect, set fortran_dialect in your
1066.vimrc prior to your syntax on statement. If the dialect depends upon the file
1067extension, then it is most convenient to set it in a ftplugin file. For more
1068information on ftplugin files, see |ftplugin|. For example, if all your
1069fortran files with an .f90 extension are written in the elf subset, your
1070ftplugin file should contain the code >
1071 let s:extfname = expand("%:e")
1072 if s:extfname ==? "f90"
1073 let fortran_dialect="elf"
1074 else
1075 unlet! fortran_dialect
1076 endif
1077Note that this will work only if the "filetype plugin indent on" command
1078precedes the "syntax on" command in your .vimrc file.
1079
1080Finer control is necessary if the file extension does not uniquely identify
1081the dialect. You can override the default dialect, on a file-by-file basis, by
1082including a comment with the directive "fortran_dialect=xx" (where xx=f77 or
1083elf or F or f90 or f95) in one of the first three lines in your file. For
1084example, your older .f files may be written in extended f77 but your newer
1085ones may be F codes, and you would identify the latter by including in the
1086first three lines of those files a Fortran comment of the form >
1087 ! fortran_dialect=F
1088F overrides elf if both directives are present.
1089
1090Limitations ~
1091Parenthesis checking does not catch too few closing parentheses. Hollerith
1092strings are not recognized. Some keywords may be highlighted incorrectly
1093because Fortran90 has no reserved words.
1094
1095For further information related to fortran, see |fortran-indent| and
1096|fortran-plugin|.
1097
1098
1099FVWM CONFIGURATION FILES *fvwm.vim* *fvwm-syntax*
1100
1101In order for Vim to recognize Fvwm configuration files that do not match
1102the patterns *fvwmrc* or *fvwm2rc* , you must put additional patterns
1103appropriate to your system in your myfiletypes.vim file. For these
1104patterns, you must set the variable "b:fvwm_version" to the major version
1105number of Fvwm, and the 'filetype' option to fvwm.
1106
1107For example, to make Vim identify all files in /etc/X11/fvwm2/
1108as Fvwm2 configuration files, add the following: >
1109
1110 :au! BufNewFile,BufRead /etc/X11/fvwm2/* let b:fvwm_version = 2 |
1111 \ set filetype=fvwm
1112
1113If you'd like Vim to highlight all valid color names, tell it where to
1114find the color database (rgb.txt) on your system. Do this by setting
1115"rgb_file" to its location. Assuming your color database is located
1116in /usr/X11/lib/X11/, you should add the line >
1117
1118 :let rgb_file = "/usr/X11/lib/X11/rgb.txt"
1119
1120to your .vimrc file.
1121
1122
1123GSP *gsp.vim*
1124
1125The default coloring style for GSP pages is defined by |html.vim|, and
1126the coloring for java code (within java tags or inline between backticks)
1127is defined by |java.vim|. The following HTML groups defined in |html.vim|
1128are redefined to incorporate and highlight inline java code:
1129
1130 htmlString
1131 htmlValue
1132 htmlEndTag
1133 htmlTag
1134 htmlTagN
1135
1136Highlighting should look fine most of the places where you'd see inline
1137java code, but in some special cases it may not. To add another HTML
1138group where you will have inline java code where it does not highlight
1139correctly, just copy the line you want from |html.vim| and add gspJava
1140to the contains clause.
1141
1142The backticks for inline java are highlighted according to the htmlError
1143group to make them easier to see.
1144
1145
1146GROFF *groff.vim* *groff-syntax*
1147
1148The groff syntax file is a wrapper for |nroff.vim|, see the notes
1149under that heading for examples of use and configuration. The purpose
1150of this wrapper is to set up groff syntax extensions by setting the
1151filetype from a |modeline| or in a personal filetype definitions file
1152(see |filetype.txt|).
1153
1154
1155HASKELL *haskell.vim* *lhaskell.vim* *haskell-syntax*
1156
1157The Haskell syntax files support plain Haskell code as well as literate
1158Haskell code, the latter in both Bird style and TeX style. The Haskell
1159syntax highlighting will also highlight C preprocessor directives.
1160
1161If you want to highlight delimiter characters (useful if you have a
1162light-coloured background), add to your .vimrc: >
1163 :let hs_highlight_delimiters = 1
1164To treat True and False as keywords as opposed to ordinary identifiers,
1165add: >
1166 :let hs_highlight_boolean = 1
1167To also treat the names of primitive types as keywords: >
1168 :let hs_highlight_types = 1
1169And to treat the names of even more relatively common types as keywords: >
1170 :let hs_highlight_more_types = 1
1171If you want to highlight the names of debugging functions, put in
1172your .vimrc: >
1173 :let hs_highlight_debug = 1
1174
1175The Haskell syntax highlighting also highlights C preprocessor
1176directives, and flags lines that start with # but are not valid
1177directives as erroneous. This interferes with Haskell's syntax for
1178operators, as they may start with #. If you want to highlight those
1179as operators as opposed to errors, put in your .vimrc: >
1180 :let hs_allow_hash_operator = 1
1181
1182The syntax highlighting for literate Haskell code will try to
1183automatically guess whether your literate Haskell code contains
1184TeX markup or not, and correspondingly highlight TeX constructs
1185or nothing at all. You can override this globally by putting
1186in your .vimrc >
1187 :let lhs_markup = none
1188for no highlighting at all, or >
1189 :let lhs_markup = tex
1190to force the highlighting to always try to highlight TeX markup.
1191For more flexibility, you may also use buffer local versions of
1192this variable, so e.g. >
1193 :let b:lhs_markup = tex
1194will force TeX highlighting for a particular buffer. It has to be
1195set before turning syntax highlighting on for the buffer or
1196loading a file.
1197
1198
1199HTML *html.vim* *html-syntax*
1200
1201The coloring scheme for tags in the HTML file works as follows.
1202
1203The <> of opening tags are colored differently than the </> of a closing tag.
1204This is on purpose! For opening tags the 'Function' color is used, while for
1205closing tags the 'Type' color is used (See syntax.vim to check how those are
1206defined for you)
1207
1208Known tag names are colored the same way as statements in C. Unknown tag
1209names are colored with the same color as the <> or </> respectively which
1210makes it easy to spot errors
1211
1212Note that the same is true for argument (or attribute) names. Known attribute
1213names are colored differently than unknown ones.
1214
1215Some HTML tags are used to change the rendering of text. The following tags
1216are recognized by the html.vim syntax coloring file and change the way normal
1217text is shown: <B> <I> <U> <EM> <STRONG> (<EM> is used as an alias for <I>,
1218while <STRONG> as an alias for <B>), <H1> - <H6>, <HEAD>, <TITLE> and <A>, but
1219only if used as a link that is, it must include a href as in
1220<A href="somfile.html">).
1221
1222If you want to change how such text is rendered, you must redefine the
1223following syntax groups:
1224
1225 - htmlBold
1226 - htmlBoldUnderline
1227 - htmlBoldUnderlineItalic
1228 - htmlUnderline
1229 - htmlUnderlineItalic
1230 - htmlItalic
1231 - htmlTitle for titles
1232 - htmlH1 - htmlH6 for headings
1233
1234To make this redefinition work you must redefine them all with the exception
1235of the last two (htmlTitle and htmlH[1-6], which are optional) and define the
1236following variable in your vimrc (this is due to the order in which the files
1237are read during initialization) >
1238 :let html_my_rendering=1
1239
1240If you'd like to see an example download mysyntax.vim at
1241http://www.fleiner.com/vim/download.html
1242
1243You can also disable this rendering by adding the following line to your
1244vimrc file: >
1245 :let html_no_rendering=1
1246
1247HTML comments are rather special (see an HTML reference document for the
1248details), and the syntax coloring scheme will highlight all errors.
1249However, if you prefer to use the wrong style (starts with <!-- and
1250ends with --!>) you can define >
1251 :let html_wrong_comments=1
1252
1253JavaScript and Visual Basic embedded inside HTML documents are highlighted as
1254'Special' with statements, comments, strings and so on colored as in standard
1255programming languages. Note that only JavaScript and Visual Basic are currently
1256supported, no other scripting language has been added yet.
1257
1258Embedded and inlined cascading style sheets (CSS) are highlighted too.
1259
1260There are several html preprocessor languages out there. html.vim has been
1261written such that it should be trivial to include it. To do so add the
1262following two lines to the syntax coloring file for that language
1263(the example comes from the asp.vim file):
1264
1265 runtime! syntax/html.vim
1266 syn cluster htmlPreproc add=asp
1267
1268Now you just need to make sure that you add all regions that contain
1269the preprocessor language to the cluster htmlPreproc.
1270
1271
1272HTML/OS (by Aestiva) *htmlos.vim* *htmlos-syntax*
1273
1274The coloring scheme for HTML/OS works as follows:
1275
1276Functions and variable names are the same color by default, because VIM
1277doesn't specify different colors for Functions and Identifiers. To change
1278this (which is recommended if you want function names to be recognizable in a
1279different color) you need to add the following line to either your ~/.vimrc: >
1280 :hi Function term=underline cterm=bold ctermfg=LightGray
1281
1282Of course, the ctermfg can be a different color if you choose.
1283
1284Another issues that HTML/OS runs into is that there is no special filetype to
1285signify that it is a file with HTML/OS coding. You can change this by opening
1286a file and turning on HTML/OS syntax by doing the following: >
1287 :set syntax=htmlos
1288
1289Lastly, it should be noted that the opening and closing characters to begin a
1290block of HTML/OS code can either be << or [[ and >> or ]], respectively.
1291
1292
1293IA64 *ia64.vim* *intel-itanium* *ia64-syntax*
1294
1295Highlighting for the Intel Itanium 64 assembly language. See |asm.vim| for
1296how to recognize this filetype.
1297
1298To have *.inc files be recognized as IA64, add this to your .vimrc file: >
1299 :let g:filetype_inc = "ia64"
1300
1301
1302INFORM *inform.vim* *inform-syntax*
1303
1304Inform highlighting includes symbols provided by the Inform Library, as
1305most programs make extensive use of it. If do not wish Library symbols
1306to be highlighted add this to your vim startup: >
1307 :let inform_highlight_simple=1
1308
1309By default it is assumed that Inform programs are Z-machine targeted,
1310and highlights Z-machine assembly language symbols appropriately. If
1311you intend your program to be targeted to a Glulx/Glk environment you
1312need to add this to your startup sequence: >
1313 :let inform_highlight_glulx=1
1314
1315This will highlight Glulx opcodes instead, and also adds glk() to the
1316set of highlighted system functions.
1317
1318The Inform compiler will flag certain obsolete keywords as errors when
1319it encounters them. These keywords are normally highlighted as errors
1320by Vim. To prevent such error highlighting, you must add this to your
1321startup sequence: >
1322 :let inform_suppress_obsolete=1
1323
1324By default, the language features highlighted conform to Compiler
1325version 6.30 and Library version 6.11. If you are using an older
1326Inform development environment, you may with to add this to your
1327startup sequence: >
1328 :let inform_highlight_old=1
1329
1330
1331JAVA *java.vim* *java-syntax*
1332
1333The java.vim syntax highlighting file offers several options:
1334
1335In Java 1.0.2 it was never possible to have braces inside parens, so this was
1336flagged as an error. Since Java 1.1 this is possible (with anonymous
1337classes), and therefore is no longer marked as an error. If you prefer the old
1338way, put the following line into your vim startup file: >
1339 :let java_mark_braces_in_parens_as_errors=1
1340
1341All identifiers in java.lang.* are always visible in all classes. To
1342highlight them use: >
1343 :let java_highlight_java_lang_ids=1
1344
1345You can also highlight identifiers of most standard java packages if you
1346download the javaid.vim script at http://www.fleiner.com/vim/download.html.
1347If you prefer to only highlight identifiers of a certain package, say java.io
1348use the following: >
1349 :let java_highlight_java_io=1
1350Check the javaid.vim file for a list of all the packages that are supported.
1351
1352Function names are not highlighted, as the way to find functions depends on
1353how you write java code. The syntax file knows two possible ways to highlight
1354functions:
1355
1356If you write function declarations that are always indented by either
1357a tab, 8 spaces or 2 spaces you may want to set >
1358 :let java_highlight_functions="indent"
1359However, if you follow the Java guidelines about how functions and classes are
1360supposed to be named (with respect to upper and lowercase), use >
1361 :let java_highlight_functions="style"
1362If both options do not work for you, but you would still want function
1363declarations to be highlighted create your own definitions by changing the
1364definitions in java.vim or by creating your own java.vim which includes the
1365original one and then adds the code to highlight functions.
1366
1367In java 1.1 the functions System.out.println() and System.err.println() should
Bram Moolenaared203462004-06-16 11:19:22 +00001368only be used for debugging. Therefore it is possible to highlight debugging
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001369statements differently. To do this you must add the following definition in
1370your startup file: >
1371 :let java_highlight_debug=1
1372The result will be that those statements are highlighted as 'Special'
1373characters. If you prefer to have them highlighted differently you must define
1374new highlightings for the following groups.:
1375 Debug, DebugSpecial, DebugString, DebugBoolean, DebugType
1376which are used for the statement itself, special characters used in debug
1377strings, strings, boolean constants and types (this, super) respectively. I
1378have opted to chose another background for those statements.
1379
1380In order to help you to write code that can be easily ported between
1381java and C++, all C++ keywords are marked as error in a java program.
1382However, if you use them regularly, you may want to define the following
1383variable in your .vimrc file: >
1384 :let java_allow_cpp_keywords=1
1385
1386Javadoc is a program that takes special comments out of java program files and
1387creates HTML pages. The standard configuration will highlight this HTML code
1388similarly to HTML files (see |html.vim|). You can even add javascript
1389and CSS inside this code (see below). There are four differences however:
1390 1. The title (all characters up to the first '.' which is followed by
1391 some white space or up to the first '@') is colored differently (to change
1392 the color change the group CommentTitle).
1393 2. The text is colored as 'Comment'.
1394 3. HTML comments are colored as 'Special'
1395 4. The special javadoc tags (@see, @param, ...) are highlighted as specials
1396 and the argument (for @see, @param, @exception) as Function.
1397To turn this feature off add the following line to your startup file: >
1398 :let java_ignore_javadoc=1
1399
1400If you use the special javadoc comment highlighting described above you
1401can also turn on special highlighting for javascript, visual basic
1402scripts and embedded CSS (stylesheets). This makes only sense if you
1403actually have javadoc comments that include either javascript or embedded
1404CSS. The options to use are >
1405 :let java_javascript=1
1406 :let java_css=1
1407 :let java_vb=1
1408
1409In order to highlight nested parens with different colors define colors
1410for javaParen, javaParen1 and javaParen2, for example with >
1411 :hi link javaParen Comment
1412or >
1413 :hi javaParen ctermfg=blue guifg=#0000ff
1414
1415If you notice highlighting errors while scrolling backwards, which are fixed
1416when redrawing with CTRL-L, try setting the "java_minlines" internal variable
1417to a larger number: >
1418 :let java_minlines = 50
1419This will make the syntax synchronization start 50 lines before the first
1420displayed line. The default value is 10. The disadvantage of using a larger
1421number is that redrawing can become slow.
1422
1423
1424LACE *lace.vim* *lace-syntax*
1425
1426Lace (Language for Assembly of Classes in Eiffel) is case insensitive, but the
1427style guide lines are not. If you prefer case insensitive highlighting, just
1428define the vim variable 'lace_case_insensitive' in your startup file: >
1429 :let lace_case_insensitive=1
1430
1431
1432LEX *lex.vim* *lex-syntax*
1433
1434Lex uses brute-force synchronizing as the "^%%$" section delimiter
1435gives no clue as to what section follows. Consequently, the value for >
1436 :syn sync minlines=300
1437may be changed by the user if s/he is experiencing synchronization
1438difficulties (such as may happen with large lex files).
1439
1440
1441LITE *lite.vim* *lite-syntax*
1442
1443There are two options for the lite syntax highlighting.
1444
1445If you like SQL syntax highlighting inside Strings, use this: >
1446
1447 :let lite_sql_query = 1
1448
1449For syncing, minlines defaults to 100. If you prefer another value, you can
1450set "lite_minlines" to the value you desire. Example: >
1451
1452 :let lite_minlines = 200
1453
1454
1455LPC *lpc.vim* *lpc-syntax*
1456
1457LPC stands for a simple, memory-efficient language: Lars Pensj| C. The
1458file name of LPC is usually *.c. Recognizing these files as LPC would bother
1459users writing only C programs. If you want to use LPC syntax in Vim, you
1460should set a variable in your .vimrc file: >
1461
1462 :let lpc_syntax_for_c = 1
1463
1464If it doesn't work properly for some particular C or LPC files, use a
1465modeline. For a LPC file:
1466
1467 // vim:set ft=lpc:
1468
1469For a C file that is recognized as LPC:
1470
1471 // vim:set ft=c:
1472
1473If you don't want to set the variable, use the modeline in EVERY LPC file.
1474
1475There are several implementations for LPC, we intend to support most widely
1476used ones. Here the default LPC syntax is for MudOS series, for MudOS v22
1477and before, you should turn off the sensible modifiers, and this will also
1478asserts the new efuns after v22 to be invalid, don't set this variable when
1479you are using the latest version of MudOS: >
1480
1481 :let lpc_pre_v22 = 1
1482
1483For LpMud 3.2 series of LPC: >
1484
1485 :let lpc_compat_32 = 1
1486
1487For LPC4 series of LPC: >
1488
1489 :let lpc_use_lpc4_syntax = 1
1490
1491For uLPC series of LPC:
1492uLPC has been developed to Pike, so you should use Pike syntax
1493instead, and the name of your source file should be *.pike
1494
1495
1496LUA *lua.vim* *lua-syntax*
1497
1498This syntax file may be used for Lua 4.0 and Lua 5.0 (default). If you are
1499programming in Lua 4.0, use this: >
1500
1501 :let lua_version = 4
1502
1503If lua_version variable doesn't exist, it is set to 5.
1504
1505
1506MAIL *mail.vim*
1507
1508Vim highlights all the standard elements of an email (headers, signatures,
1509quoted text and URLs / email addresses). In keeping with standard conventions,
1510signatures begin in a line containing only "--" followed optionally by
1511whitespaces and end with a newline.
1512
1513Vim treats lines beginning with ']', '}', '|', '>' or a word followed by '>'
1514as quoted text. However Vim highlights headers and signatures in quoted text
1515only if the text is quoted with '>' (optionally followed by one space).
1516
1517By default mail.vim synchronises syntax to 100 lines before the first
1518displayed line. If you have a slow machine, and generally deal with emails
1519with short headers, you can change this to a smaller value: >
1520
1521 :let mail_minlines = 30
1522
1523
1524MAKE *make.vim* *make-syntax*
1525
1526In makefiles, commands are usually highlighted to make it easy for you to spot
1527errors. However, this may be too much coloring for you. You can turn this
1528feature off by using: >
1529
1530 :let make_no_commands = 1
1531
1532
1533MAPLE *maple.vim* *maple-syntax*
1534
1535Maple V, by Waterloo Maple Inc, supports symbolic algebra. The language
1536supports many packages of functions which are selectively loaded by the user.
1537The standard set of packages' functions as supplied in Maple V release 4 may be
1538highlighted at the user's discretion. Users may place in their .vimrc file: >
1539
1540 :let mvpkg_all= 1
1541
1542to get all package functions highlighted, or users may select any subset by
1543choosing a variable/package from the table below and setting that variable to
15441, also in their .vimrc file (prior to sourcing
1545$VIMRUNTIME/syntax/syntax.vim).
1546
1547 Table of Maple V Package Function Selectors >
1548 mv_DEtools mv_genfunc mv_networks mv_process
1549 mv_Galois mv_geometry mv_numapprox mv_simplex
1550 mv_GaussInt mv_grobner mv_numtheory mv_stats
1551 mv_LREtools mv_group mv_orthopoly mv_student
1552 mv_combinat mv_inttrans mv_padic mv_sumtools
1553 mv_combstruct mv_liesymm mv_plots mv_tensor
1554 mv_difforms mv_linalg mv_plottools mv_totorder
1555 mv_finance mv_logic mv_powseries
1556
1557
1558MOO *moo.vim* *moo-syntax*
1559
1560If you use C-style comments inside expressions and find it mangles your
1561highlighting, you may want to use extended (slow!) matches for C-style
1562comments: >
1563
1564 :let moo_extended_cstyle_comments = 1
1565
1566To disable highlighting of pronoun substitution patterns inside strings: >
1567
1568 :let moo_no_pronoun_sub = 1
1569
1570To disable highlighting of the regular expression operator '%|', and matching
1571'%(' and '%)' inside strings: >
1572
1573 :let moo_no_regexp = 1
1574
1575Unmatched double quotes can be recognized and highlighted as errors: >
1576
1577 :let moo_unmatched_quotes = 1
1578
1579To highlight builtin properties (.name, .location, .programmer etc.): >
1580
1581 :let moo_builtin_properties = 1
1582
1583Unknown builtin functions can be recognized and highlighted as errors. If you
1584use this option, add your own extensions to the mooKnownBuiltinFunction group.
1585To enable this option: >
1586
1587 :let moo_unknown_builtin_functions = 1
1588
1589An example of adding sprintf() to the list of known builtin functions: >
1590
1591 :syn keyword mooKnownBuiltinFunction sprintf contained
1592
1593
1594MSQL *msql.vim* *msql-syntax*
1595
1596There are two options for the msql syntax highlighting.
1597
1598If you like SQL syntax highlighting inside Strings, use this: >
1599
1600 :let msql_sql_query = 1
1601
1602For syncing, minlines defaults to 100. If you prefer another value, you can
1603set "msql_minlines" to the value you desire. Example: >
1604
1605 :let msql_minlines = 200
1606
1607
1608NCF *ncf.vim* *ncf-syntax*
1609
1610There is one option for NCF syntax highlighting.
1611
1612If you want to have unrecognized (by ncf.vim) statements highlighted as
1613errors, use this: >
1614
1615 :let ncf_highlight_unknowns = 1
1616
1617If you don't want to highlight these errors, leave it unset.
1618
1619
1620NROFF *nroff.vim* *nroff-syntax*
1621
1622The nroff syntax file works with AT&T n/troff out of the box. You need to
1623activate the GNU groff extra features included in the syntax file before you
1624can use them.
1625
1626For example, Linux and BSD distributions use groff as their default text
1627processing package. In order to activate the extra syntax highlighting
1628features for groff, add the following option to your start-up files: >
1629
1630 :let b:nroff_is_groff = 1
1631
1632Groff is different from the old AT&T n/troff that you may still find in
1633Solaris. Groff macro and request names can be longer than 2 characters and
1634there are extensions to the language primitives. For example, in AT&T troff
1635you access the year as a 2-digit number with the request \(yr. In groff you
1636can use the same request, recognized for compatibility, or you can use groff's
1637native syntax, \[yr]. Furthermore, you can use a 4-digit year directly:
1638\[year]. Macro requests can be longer than 2 characters, for example, GNU mm
1639accepts the requests ".VERBON" and ".VERBOFF" for creating verbatim
1640environments.
1641
1642In order to obtain the best formatted output g/troff can give you, you should
1643follow a few simple rules about spacing and punctuation.
1644
16451. Do not leave empty spaces at the end of lines.
1646
16472. Leave one space and one space only after an end-of-sentence period,
1648 exclamation mark, etc.
1649
16503. For reasons stated below, it is best to follow all period marks with a
1651 carriage return.
1652
1653The reason behind these unusual tips is that g/n/troff have a line breaking
1654algorithm that can be easily upset if you don't follow the rules given above.
1655
1656Unlike TeX, troff fills text line-by-line, not paragraph-by-paragraph and,
1657furthermore, it does not have a concept of glue or stretch, all horizontal and
1658vertical space input will be output as is.
1659
1660Therefore, you should be careful about not using more space between sentences
1661than you intend to have in your final document. For this reason, the common
1662practice is to insert a carriage return immediately after all punctuation
1663marks. If you want to have "even" text in your final processed output, you
1664need to maintaining regular spacing in the input text. To mark both trailing
1665spaces and two or more spaces after a punctuation as an error, use: >
1666
1667 :let nroff_space_errors = 1
1668
1669Another technique to detect extra spacing and other errors that will interfere
1670with the correct typesetting of your file, is to define an eye-catching
1671highlighting definition for the syntax groups "nroffDefinition" and
1672"nroffDefSpecial" in your configuration files. For example: >
1673
1674 hi def nroffDefinition term=italic cterm=italic gui=reverse
1675 hi def nroffDefSpecial term=italic,bold cterm=italic,bold
1676 \ gui=reverse,bold
1677
1678If you want to navigate preprocessor entries in your source file as easily as
1679with section markers, you can activate the following option in your .vimrc
1680file: >
1681
1682 let b:preprocs_as_sections = 1
1683
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001684As well, the syntax file adds an extra paragraph marker for the extended
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001685paragraph macro (.XP) in the ms package.
1686
1687Finally, there is a |groff.vim| syntax file that can be used for enabling
1688groff syntax highlighting either on a file basis or globally by default.
1689
1690
1691OCAML *ocaml.vim* *ocaml-syntax*
1692
1693The OCaml syntax file handles files having the following prefixes: .ml,
1694.mli, .mll and .mly. By setting the following variable >
1695
1696 :let ocaml_revised = 1
1697
1698you can switch from standard OCaml-syntax to revised syntax as supported
1699by the camlp4 preprocessor. Setting the variable >
1700
1701 :let ocaml_noend_error = 1
1702
1703prevents highlighting of "end" as error, which is useful when sources
1704contain very long structures that Vim does not synchronize anymore.
1705
1706
1707PAPP *papp.vim* *papp-syntax*
1708
1709The PApp syntax file handles .papp files and, to a lesser extend, .pxml
1710and .pxsl files which are all a mixture of perl/xml/html/other using xml
1711as the top-level file format. By default everything inside phtml or pxml
1712sections is treated as a string with embedded preprocessor commands. If
1713you set the variable: >
1714
1715 :let papp_include_html=1
1716
1717in your startup file it will try to syntax-hilight html code inside phtml
1718sections, but this is relatively slow and much too colourful to be able to
1719edit sensibly ;)
1720
1721The newest version of the papp.vim syntax file can usually be found at
1722http://papp.plan9.de.
1723
1724
1725PASCAL *pascal.vim* *pascal-syntax*
1726
1727Files matching "*.p" could be Progress or Pascal. If the automatic detection
1728doesn't work for you, or you don't edit Progress at all, use this in your
1729startup vimrc: >
1730
1731 :let filetype_p = "pascal"
1732
1733The Pascal syntax file has been extended to take into account some extensions
1734provided by Turbo Pascal, Free Pascal Compiler and GNU Pascal Compiler.
1735Delphi keywords are also supported. By default, Turbo Pascal 7.0 features are
1736enabled. If you prefer to stick with the standard Pascal keywords, add the
1737following line to your startup file: >
1738
1739 :let pascal_traditional=1
1740
1741To switch on Delphi specific constructions (such as one-line comments,
1742keywords, etc): >
1743
1744 :let pascal_delphi=1
1745
1746
1747The option pascal_symbol_operator controls whether symbol operators such as +,
1748*, .., etc. are displayed using the Operator color or not. To colorize symbol
1749operators, add the following line to your startup file: >
1750
1751 :let pascal_symbol_operator=1
1752
1753Some functions are highlighted by default. To switch it off: >
1754
1755 :let pascal_no_functions=1
1756
1757Furthermore, there are specific variable for some compiler. Besides
1758pascal_delphi, there are pascal_gpc and pascal_fpc. Default extensions try to
1759match Turbo Pascal. >
1760
1761 :let pascal_gpc=1
1762
1763or >
1764
1765 :let pascal_fpc=1
1766
1767To ensure that strings are defined on a single line, you can define the
1768pascal_one_line_string variable. >
1769
1770 :let pascal_one_line_string=1
1771
1772If you dislike <Tab> chars, you can set the pascal_no_tabs variable. Tabs
1773will be highlighted as Error. >
1774
1775 :let pascal_no_tabs=1
1776
1777
1778
1779PERL *perl.vim* *perl-syntax*
1780
1781There are a number of possible options to the perl syntax highlighting.
1782
1783If you use POD files or POD segments, you might: >
1784
1785 :let perl_include_pod = 1
1786
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00001787The reduce the complexity of parsing (and increase performance) you can switch
1788off two elements in the parsing of variable names and contents. >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001789
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00001790To handle package references in variable and function names not differently
1791from the rest of the name (like 'PkgName::' in '$PkgName::VarName'): >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001792
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00001793 :let perl_no_scope_in_variables = 1
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001794
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00001795(In Vim 6.x it was the other way around: "perl_want_scope_in_variables"
1796enabled it.)
1797
1798If you do not want complex things like '@{${"foo"}}' to be parsed: >
1799
1800 :let perl_no_extended_vars = 1
1801
1802{In Vim 6.x it was the other way around: "perl_extended_vars" enabled it.)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001803
1804The coloring strings can be changed. By default strings and qq friends will be
1805highlighted like the first line. If you set the variable
1806perl_string_as_statement, it will be highlighted as in the second line.
1807
1808 "hello world!"; qq|hello world|;
1809 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^NN^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^N (unlet perl_string_as_statement)
1810 S^^^^^^^^^^^^SNNSSS^^^^^^^^^^^SN (let perl_string_as_statement)
1811
1812(^ = perlString, S = perlStatement, N = None at all)
1813
1814The syncing has 3 options. The first two switch off some triggering of
1815synchronization and should only be needed in case it fails to work properly.
1816If while scrolling all of a sudden the whole screen changes color completely
1817then you should try and switch off one of those. Let me know if you can figure
1818out the line that causes the mistake.
1819
1820One triggers on "^\s*sub\s*" and the other on "^[$@%]" more or less. >
1821
1822 :let perl_no_sync_on_sub
1823 :let perl_no_sync_on_global_var
1824
1825Below you can set the maximum distance VIM should look for starting points for
1826its attempts in syntax highlighting. >
1827
1828 :let perl_sync_dist = 100
1829
1830If you want to use folding with perl, set perl_fold: >
1831
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00001832 :let perl_fold = 1
1833
1834If you want to fold blocks in if statements, etc. as well set the following: >
1835
1836 :let perl_fold_blocks = 1
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001837
1838
1839PHP3 and PHP4 *php.vim* *php3.vim* *php-syntax* *php3-syntax*
1840
1841[note: previously this was called "php3", but since it now also supports php4
1842it has been renamed to "php"]
1843
1844There are the following options for the php syntax highlighting.
1845
1846If you like SQL syntax highlighting inside Strings: >
1847
1848 let php_sql_query = 1
1849
1850For highlighting the Baselib methods: >
1851
1852 let php_baselib = 1
1853
1854Enable HTML syntax highlighting inside strings: >
1855
1856 let php_htmlInStrings = 1
1857
1858Using the old colorstyle: >
1859
1860 let php_oldStyle = 1
1861
1862Enable highlighting ASP-style short tags: >
1863
1864 let php_asp_tags = 1
1865
1866Disable short tags: >
1867
1868 let php_noShortTags = 1
1869
1870For highlighting parent error ] or ): >
1871
1872 let php_parent_error_close = 1
1873
1874For skipping an php end tag, if there exists an open ( or [ without a closing
1875one: >
1876
1877 let php_parent_error_open = 1
1878
1879Enable folding for classes and functions: >
1880
1881 let php_folding = 1
1882
1883Selecting syncing method: >
1884
1885 let php_sync_method = x
1886
1887x = -1 to sync by search (default),
1888x > 0 to sync at least x lines backwards,
1889x = 0 to sync from start.
1890
1891
1892PPWIZARD *ppwiz.vim* *ppwiz-syntax*
1893
1894PPWizard is a preprocessor for HTML and OS/2 INF files
1895
1896This syntax file has the options:
1897
1898- ppwiz_highlight_defs : determines highlighting mode for PPWizard's
1899 definitions. Possible values are
1900
1901 ppwiz_highlight_defs = 1 : PPWizard #define statements retain the
1902 colors of their contents (e. g. PPWizard macros and variables)
1903
1904 ppwiz_highlight_defs = 2 : preprocessor #define and #evaluate
1905 statements are shown in a single color with the exception of line
1906 continuation symbols
1907
1908 The default setting for ppwiz_highlight_defs is 1.
1909
1910- ppwiz_with_html : If the value is 1 (the default), highlight literal
1911 HTML code; if 0, treat HTML code like ordinary text.
1912
1913
1914PHTML *phtml.vim* *phtml-syntax*
1915
1916There are two options for the phtml syntax highlighting.
1917
1918If you like SQL syntax highlighting inside Strings, use this: >
1919
1920 :let phtml_sql_query = 1
1921
1922For syncing, minlines defaults to 100. If you prefer another value, you can
1923set "phtml_minlines" to the value you desire. Example: >
1924
1925 :let phtml_minlines = 200
1926
1927
1928POSTSCRIPT *postscr.vim* *postscr-syntax*
1929
1930There are several options when it comes to highlighting PostScript.
1931
1932First which version of the PostScript language to highlight. There are
1933currently three defined language versions, or levels. Level 1 is the original
1934and base version, and includes all extensions prior to the release of level 2.
1935Level 2 is the most common version around, and includes its own set of
1936extensions prior to the release of level 3. Level 3 is currently the highest
1937level supported. You select which level of the PostScript language you want
1938highlighted by defining the postscr_level variable as follows: >
1939
1940 :let postscr_level=2
1941
1942If this variable is not defined it defaults to 2 (level 2) since this is
1943the most prevalent version currently.
1944
1945Note, not all PS interpreters will support all language features for a
1946particular language level. In particular the %!PS-Adobe-3.0 at the start of
1947PS files does NOT mean the PostScript present is level 3 PostScript!
1948
1949If you are working with Display PostScript, you can include highlighting of
1950Display PS language features by defining the postscr_display variable as
1951follows: >
1952
1953 :let postscr_display=1
1954
1955If you are working with Ghostscript, you can include highlighting of
1956Ghostscript specific language features by defining the variable
1957postscr_ghostscript as follows: >
1958
1959 :let postscr_ghostscript=1
1960
1961PostScript is a large language, with many predefined elements. While it
1962useful to have all these elements highlighted, on slower machines this can
1963cause Vim to slow down. In an attempt to be machine friendly font names and
1964character encodings are not highlighted by default. Unless you are working
1965explicitly with either of these this should be ok. If you want them to be
1966highlighted you should set one or both of the following variables: >
1967
1968 :let postscr_fonts=1
1969 :let postscr_encodings=1
1970
1971There is a stylistic option to the highlighting of and, or, and not. In
1972PostScript the function of these operators depends on the types of their
1973operands - if the operands are booleans then they are the logical operators,
1974if they are integers then they are binary operators. As binary and logical
1975operators can be highlighted differently they have to be highlighted one way
1976or the other. By default they are treated as logical operators. They can be
1977highlighted as binary operators by defining the variable
1978postscr_andornot_binary as follows: >
1979
1980 :let postscr_andornot_binary=1
1981<
1982
1983 *ptcap.vim*
1984PRINTCAP + TERMCAP *ptcap-syntax* *termcap-syntax* *printcap-syntax*
1985
1986This syntax file applies to the printcap and termcap databases.
1987
1988In order for Vim to recognize printcap/termcap files that do not match
1989the patterns *printcap*, or *termcap*, you must put additional patterns
1990appropriate to your system in your |myfiletypefile| file. For these
1991patterns, you must set the variable "b:ptcap_type" to either "print" or
1992"term", and then the 'filetype' option to ptcap.
1993
1994For example, to make Vim identify all files in /etc/termcaps/ as termcap
1995files, add the following: >
1996
1997 :au BufNewFile,BufRead /etc/termcaps/* let b:ptcap_type = "term" |
1998 \ set filetype=ptcap
1999
2000If you notice highlighting errors while scrolling backwards, which
2001are fixed when redrawing with CTRL-L, try setting the "ptcap_minlines"
2002internal variable to a larger number: >
2003
2004 :let ptcap_minlines = 50
2005
2006(The default is 20 lines.)
2007
2008
2009PROGRESS *progress.vim* *progress-syntax*
2010
2011Files matching "*.w" could be Progress or cweb. If the automatic detection
2012doesn't work for you, or you don't edit cweb at all, use this in your
2013startup vimrc: >
2014 :let filetype_w = "progress"
2015The same happens for "*.i", which could be assembly, and "*.p", which could be
2016Pascal. Use this if you don't use assembly and Pascal: >
2017 :let filetype_i = "progress"
2018 :let filetype_p = "progress"
2019
2020
2021PYTHON *python.vim* *python-syntax*
2022
2023There are four options to control Python syntax highlighting.
2024
2025For highlighted numbers: >
2026 :let python_highlight_numbers = 1
2027
2028For highlighted builtin functions: >
2029 :let python_highlight_builtins = 1
2030
2031For highlighted standard exceptions: >
2032 :let python_highlight_exceptions = 1
2033
2034For highlighted trailing whitespace and mix of spaces and tabs:
2035 :let python_highlight_space_errors = 1
2036
2037If you want all possible Python highlighting (the same as setting the
2038preceding three options): >
2039 :let python_highlight_all = 1
2040
2041
2042QUAKE *quake.vim* *quake-syntax*
2043
2044The Quake syntax definition should work for most any FPS (First Person
2045Shooter) based on one of the Quake engines. However, the command names vary
2046a bit between the three games (Quake, Quake 2, and Quake 3 Arena) so the
2047syntax definition checks for the existence of three global variables to allow
2048users to specify what commands are legal in their files. The three variables
2049can be set for the following effects:
2050
2051set to highlight commands only available in Quake: >
2052 :let quake_is_quake1 = 1
2053
2054set to highlight commands only available in Quake 2: >
2055 :let quake_is_quake2 = 1
2056
2057set to highlight commands only available in Quake 3 Arena: >
2058 :let quake_is_quake3 = 1
2059
2060Any combination of these three variables is legal, but might highlight more
2061commands than are actually available to you by the game.
2062
2063
2064READLINE *readline.vim* *readline-syntax*
2065
2066The readline library is primarily used by the BASH shell, which adds quite a
2067few commands and options to the ones already available. To highlight these
2068items as well you can add the following to your |vimrc| or just type it in the
2069command line before loading a file with the readline syntax: >
2070 let readline_has_bash = 1
2071
2072This will add highlighting for the commands that BASH (version 2.05a and
2073later, and part earlier) adds.
2074
2075
2076REXX *rexx.vim* *rexx-syntax*
2077
2078If you notice highlighting errors while scrolling backwards, which are fixed
2079when redrawing with CTRL-L, try setting the "rexx_minlines" internal variable
2080to a larger number: >
2081 :let rexx_minlines = 50
2082This will make the syntax synchronization start 50 lines before the first
2083displayed line. The default value is 10. The disadvantage of using a larger
2084number is that redrawing can become slow.
2085
2086
2087RUBY *ruby.vim* *ruby-syntax*
2088
2089There are a few options to the Ruby syntax highlighting.
2090
2091By default, the "end" keyword is colorized according to the opening statement
2092of the block it closes. While useful, this feature can be expensive: if you
2093experience slow redrawing (or you are on a terminal with poor color support)
2094you may want to turn it off by defining the "ruby_no_expensive" variable: >
2095 :let ruby_no_expensive = 1
2096In this case the same color will be used for all control keywords.
2097
2098If you do want this feature enabled, but notice highlighting errors while
2099scrolling backwards, which are fixed when redrawing with CTRL-L, try setting
2100the "ruby_minlines" variable to a value larger than 50: >
2101 :let ruby_minlines = 100
2102Ideally, this value should be a number of lines large enough to embrace your
2103largest class or module.
2104
2105Finally, if you do not like to see too many color items around, you can define
2106"ruby_no_identifiers": >
2107 :let ruby_no_identifiers = 1
2108This will prevent highlighting of special identifiers like "ConstantName",
2109"$global_var", "@instance_var", "| iterator |", and ":symbol".
2110
2111
Bram Moolenaar21cf8232004-07-16 20:18:37 +00002112SCHEME *scheme.vim* *scheme-syntax*
2113
2114By default only R5RS keywords are highlighted and properly indented.
2115
2116MzScheme-specific stuff will be used if b:is_mzscheme or g:is_mzscheme
2117variables are defined.
2118
2119
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002120SDL *sdl.vim* *sdl-syntax*
2121
2122The SDL highlighting probably misses a few keywords, but SDL has so many
2123of them it's almost impossibly to cope.
2124
2125The new standard, SDL-2000, specifies that all identifiers are
2126case-sensitive (which was not so before), and that all keywords can be
2127used either completely lowercase or completely uppercase. To have the
2128highlighting reflect this, you can set the following variable: >
2129 :let sdl_2000=1
2130
2131This also sets many new keywords. If you want to disable the old
2132keywords, which is probably a good idea, use: >
2133 :let SDL_no_96=1
2134
2135
2136The indentation is probably also incomplete, but right now I am very
2137satisfied with it for my own projects.
2138
2139
2140SED *sed.vim* *sed-syntax*
2141
2142To make tabs stand out from regular blanks (accomplished by using Todo
2143highlighting on the tabs), define "highlight_sedtabs" by putting >
2144
2145 :let highlight_sedtabs = 1
2146
2147in the vimrc file. (This special highlighting only applies for tabs
2148inside search patterns, replacement texts, addresses or text included
2149by an Append/Change/Insert command.) If you enable this option, it is
2150also a good idea to set the tab width to one character; by doing that,
2151you can easily count the number of tabs in a string.
2152
2153Bugs:
2154
2155 The transform command (y) is treated exactly like the substitute
2156 command. This means that, as far as this syntax file is concerned,
2157 transform accepts the same flags as substitute, which is wrong.
2158 (Transform accepts no flags.) I tolerate this bug because the
2159 involved commands need very complex treatment (95 patterns, one for
2160 each plausible pattern delimiter).
2161
2162
2163SGML *sgml.vim* *sgml-syntax*
2164
2165The coloring scheme for tags in the SGML file works as follows.
2166
2167The <> of opening tags are colored differently than the </> of a closing tag.
2168This is on purpose! For opening tags the 'Function' color is used, while for
2169closing tags the 'Type' color is used (See syntax.vim to check how those are
2170defined for you)
2171
2172Known tag names are colored the same way as statements in C. Unknown tag
2173names are not colored which makes it easy to spot errors.
2174
2175Note that the same is true for argument (or attribute) names. Known attribute
2176names are colored differently than unknown ones.
2177
2178Some SGML tags are used to change the rendering of text. The following tags
2179are recognized by the sgml.vim syntax coloring file and change the way normal
2180text is shown: <varname> <emphasis> <command> <function> <literal>
2181<replaceable> <ulink> and <link>.
2182
2183If you want to change how such text is rendered, you must redefine the
2184following syntax groups:
2185
2186 - sgmlBold
2187 - sgmlBoldItalic
2188 - sgmlUnderline
2189 - sgmlItalic
2190 - sgmlLink for links
2191
2192To make this redefinition work you must redefine them all and define the
2193following variable in your vimrc (this is due to the order in which the files
2194are read during initialization) >
2195 let sgml_my_rendering=1
2196
2197You can also disable this rendering by adding the following line to your
2198vimrc file: >
2199 let sgml_no_rendering=1
2200
2201(Adapted from the html.vim help text by Claudio Fleiner <claudio@fleiner.com>)
2202
2203
2204SH *sh.vim* *sh-syntax*
2205
2206This covers the "normal" Unix (Bourne) sh, bash and the Korn shell.
2207
2208Vim attempts to determine which shell type is in use by specifying that
2209various filenames are of specific types: >
2210
2211 ksh : .kshrc* *.ksh
2212 bash: .bashrc* bashrc bash.bashrc .bash_profile* *.bash
2213<
2214If none of these cases pertain, then the first line of the file is examined
2215(ex. /bin/sh /bin/ksh /bin/bash). If the first line specifies a shelltype,
2216then that shelltype is used. However some files (ex. .profile) are known to
2217be shell files but the type is not apparent. Furthermore, on many systems
2218sh is symbolically linked to "bash" (linux) or "ksh" (posix).
2219
2220One may specify a global default by instantiating one of the following three
2221variables in your <.vimrc>:
2222
2223 ksh: >
2224 let is_kornshell = 1
2225< bash: >
2226 let is_bash = 1
2227< sh: >
2228 let is_sh = 1
2229
2230If, in your <.vimrc>, you set >
2231 let g:sh_fold_enabled= 1
2232>
2233then various syntax items (HereDocuments and function bodies) become
2234syntax-foldable (see |:syn-fold|).
2235
2236If you notice highlighting errors while scrolling backwards, which are fixed
2237when redrawing with CTRL-L, try setting the "sh_minlines" internal variable
2238to a larger number. Example: >
2239
2240 let sh_minlines = 500
2241
2242This will make syntax synchronization start 500 lines before the first
2243displayed line. The default value is 200. The disadvantage of using a larger
2244number is that redrawing can become slow.
2245
2246If you don't have much to synchronize on, displaying can be very slow. To
2247reduce this, the "sh_maxlines" internal variable can be set. Example: >
2248
2249 let sh_maxlines = 100
2250<
2251The default is to use the twice sh_minlines. Set it to a smaller number to
2252speed up displaying. The disadvantage is that highlight errors may appear.
2253
2254
2255SPEEDUP (AspenTech plant simulator) *spup.vim* *spup-syntax*
2256
2257The Speedup syntax file has some options:
2258
2259- strict_subsections : If this variable is defined, only keywords for
2260 sections and subsections will be highlighted as statements but not
2261 other keywords (like WITHIN in the OPERATION section).
2262
2263- highlight_types : Definition of this variable causes stream types
2264 like temperature or pressure to be highlighted as Type, not as a
2265 plain Identifier. Included are the types that are usually found in
2266 the DECLARE section; if you defined own types, you have to include
2267 them in the syntax file.
2268
2269- oneline_comments : this value ranges from 1 to 3 and determines the
2270 highlighting of # style comments.
2271
2272 oneline_comments = 1 : allow normal Speedup code after an even
2273 number of #s.
2274
2275 oneline_comments = 2 : show code starting with the second # as
2276 error. This is the default setting.
2277
2278 oneline_comments = 3 : show the whole line as error if it contains
2279 more than one #.
2280
2281Since especially OPERATION sections tend to become very large due to
2282PRESETting variables, syncing may be critical. If your computer is
2283fast enough, you can increase minlines and/or maxlines near the end of
2284the syntax file.
2285
2286
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00002287SQL *sql.vim* *sql-syntax*
2288 *sqlinformix.vim* *sqlinformix-syntax*
2289
2290While there is an ANSI standard for SQL, most database engines add their
2291own custom extensions. Vim currently supports the Oracle and Informix
2292dialects of SQL. Vim assumes "*.sql" files are Oracle SQL by default.
2293
2294If you want to use the Informix dialect, put this in your startup vimrc: >
2295 :let g:filetype_sql = "sqlinformix"
2296
2297
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002298TCSH *tcsh.vim* *tcsh-syntax*
2299
2300This covers the shell named "tcsh". It is a superset of csh. See |csh.vim|
2301for how the filetype is detected.
2302
2303Tcsh does not allow \" in strings unless the "backslash_quote" shell variable
2304is set. If you want VIM to assume that no backslash quote constructs exist add
2305this line to your .vimrc: >
2306
2307 :let tcsh_backslash_quote = 0
2308
2309If you notice highlighting errors while scrolling backwards, which are fixed
2310when redrawing with CTRL-L, try setting the "tcsh_minlines" internal variable
2311to a larger number: >
2312
2313 :let tcsh_minlines = 100
2314
2315This will make the syntax synchronization start 100 lines before the first
2316displayed line. The default value is 15. The disadvantage of using a larger
2317number is that redrawing can become slow.
2318
2319
2320TEX *tex.vim* *tex-syntax*
2321
2322Run-on Comments/Math? ~
2323
2324The tex highlighting supports TeX, LaTeX, and some AmsTeX. The
2325highlighting supports three primary zones: normal, texZone, and texMathZone.
2326Although a considerable effort has been made to have these zones terminate
2327properly, zones delineated by $..$ and $$..$$ cannot be synchronized as
2328there's no difference between start and end patterns. Consequently, a
2329special "TeX comment" has been provided >
2330 %stopzone
2331which will forcibly terminate the highlighting of either a texZone or a
2332texMathZone.
2333
2334Slow Syntax Highlighting? ~
2335
2336If you have a slow computer, you may wish to reduce the values for >
2337 :syn sync maxlines=200
2338 :syn sync minlines=50
2339(especially the latter). If your computer is fast, you may wish to
2340increase them. This primarily affects synchronizing (ie. just what group,
2341if any, is the text at the top of the screen supposed to be in?).
2342
2343Excessive Error Highlighting? ~
2344
2345The <tex.vim> supports lexical error checking of various sorts. Thus,
2346although the error checking is ofttimes very useful, it can indicate
2347errors where none actually are. If this proves to be a problem for you,
2348you may put in your <.vimrc> the following statement: >
2349 let tex_no_error=1
2350and all error checking by <tex.vim> will be suppressed.
2351
2352Need a new Math Group? ~
2353
2354If you want to include a new math group in your LaTeX, the following
2355code shows you an example as to how you might do so: >
2356
2357 syn cluster texMathZones add=texMathZoneLOCAL
2358 syn region texMathZoneLOCAL start="\\begin\s*{\s*LOCALMATH\s*}"
2359 \ end="\\end\s*{\s*LOCALMATH\s*}" keepend
2360 \ contains=@texMathZoneGroup
2361 if !exists("tex_no_math")
2362 syn sync match texSyncMathZoneLOCAL grouphere texMathZoneLOCAL
2363 \ "\\begin\s*{\s*LOCALMATH\*\s*}"
2364 syn sync match texSyncMathZoneLOCAL groupthere NONE
2365 \ "\\end\s*{\s*LOCALMATH\*\s*}"
2366 endif
2367 hi link texMathZoneLOCAL texMath
2368<
2369You'll need to change LOCALMATH to the name of your new math group,
2370and then to put it into .vim/after/syntax/tex.vim.
2371
2372Starting a New Style? ~
2373
2374One may use "\makeatletter" in *.tex files, thereby making the use of "@" in
2375commands available. However, since the *.tex file doesn't have one of the
2376following suffices: sty cls clo dtx ltx, the syntax highlighting will flag
2377such use of @ as an error. To solve this: >
2378
2379 :let b:tex_stylish = 1
2380 :set ft=tex
2381
2382Putting "let g:tex_stylish=1" into your <.vimrc> will make <syntax/tex.vim>
2383always accept such use of @.
2384
2385
2386TF *tf.vim* *tf-syntax*
2387
2388There is one option for the tf syntax highlighting.
2389
2390For syncing, minlines defaults to 100. If you prefer another value, you can
2391set "tf_minlines" to the value you desire. Example: >
2392
2393 :let tf_minlines = your choice
2394
2395
2396VIM *vim.vim* *vim-syntax*
2397
2398There is a tradeoff between more accurate syntax highlighting versus
2399screen updating speed. To improve accuracy, you may wish to increase
2400the g:vim_minlines variable. The g:vim_maxlines variable may be used
2401to improve screen updating rates (see |:syn-sync| for more on this).
2402
2403 g:vim_minlines : used to set synchronization minlines
2404 g:vim_maxlines : used to set synchronization maxlines
2405
2406The g:vimembedscript option allows for somewhat faster loading of syntax
2407highlighting for vim scripts at the expense of supporting syntax highlighting
2408for external scripting languages (currently perl, python, ruby, and tcl).
2409
2410 g:vimembedscript == 1 (default) <vim.vim> will allow highlighting
2411 g:vimembedscript doesn't exist of supported embedded scripting
2412 languages: perl, python, ruby and
2413 tcl.
2414
2415 g:vimembedscript == 0 Syntax highlighting for embedded
2416 scripting languages will not be
2417 loaded.
2418
2419
2420XF86CONFIG *xf86conf.vim* *xf86conf-syntax*
2421
2422The syntax of XF86Config file differs in XFree86 v3.x and v4.x. Both
2423variants are supported. Automatic detection is used, but is far from perfect.
2424You may need to specify the version manually. Set the variable
2425xf86conf_xfree86_version to 3 or 4 according to your XFree86 version in
2426your .vimrc. Example: >
2427 :let xf86conf_xfree86_version=3
2428When using a mix of versions, set the b:xf86conf_xfree86_version variable.
2429
2430Note that spaces and underscores in option names are not supported. Use
2431"SyncOnGreen" instead of "__s yn con gr_e_e_n" if you want the option name
2432highlighted.
2433
2434
2435XML *xml.vim* *xml-syntax*
2436
2437Xml namespaces are highlighted by default. This can be inhibited by
2438setting a global variable: >
2439
2440 :let g:xml_namespace_transparent=1
2441<
2442 *xml-folding*
2443The xml syntax file provides syntax |folding| (see |:syn-fold|) between
2444start and end tags. This can be turned on by >
2445
2446 :let g:xml_syntax_folding = 1
2447 :set foldmethod=syntax
2448
2449Note: syntax folding might slow down syntax highlighting significantly,
2450especially for large files.
2451
2452
2453X Pixmaps (XPM) *xpm.vim* *xpm-syntax*
2454
2455xpm.vim creates its syntax items dynamically based upon the contents of the
2456XPM file. Thus if you make changes e.g. in the color specification strings,
2457you have to source it again e.g. with ":set syn=xpm".
2458
2459To copy a pixel with one of the colors, yank a "pixel" with "yl" and insert it
2460somewhere else with "P".
2461
2462Do you want to draw with the mouse? Try the following: >
2463 :function! GetPixel()
2464 : let c = getline(line("."))[col(".") - 1]
2465 : echo c
2466 : exe "noremap <LeftMouse> <LeftMouse>r".c
2467 : exe "noremap <LeftDrag> <LeftMouse>r".c
2468 :endfunction
2469 :noremap <RightMouse> <LeftMouse>:call GetPixel()<CR>
2470 :set guicursor=n:hor20 " to see the color beneath the cursor
2471This turns the right button into a pipette and the left button into a pen.
2472It will work with XPM files that have one character per pixel only and you
2473must not click outside of the pixel strings, but feel free to improve it.
2474
2475It will look much better with a font in a quadratic cell size, e.g. for X: >
2476 :set guifont=-*-clean-medium-r-*-*-8-*-*-*-*-80-*
2477
2478==============================================================================
24795. Defining a syntax *:syn-define* *E410*
2480
2481Vim understands three types of syntax items:
2482
24831. Keyword.
2484 It can only contain keyword characters, according to the 'iskeyword'
2485 option. It cannot contain other syntax items. It will only match with a
2486 complete word (there are no keyword characters before or after the match).
2487 The keyword "if" would match in "if(a=b)", but not in "ifdef x", because
2488 "(" is not a keyword character and "d" is.
2489
24902. Match.
2491 This is a match with a single regexp pattern.
2492
24933. Region.
2494 This starts at a match of the "start" regexp pattern and ends with a match
2495 with the "end" regexp pattern. Any other text can appear in between. A
2496 "skip" regexp pattern can be used to avoid matching the "end" pattern.
2497
2498Several syntax ITEMs can be put into one syntax GROUP. For a syntax group
2499you can give highlighting attributes. For example, you could have an item
2500to define a "/* .. */" comment and another one that defines a "// .." comment,
2501and put them both in the "Comment" group. You can then specify that a
2502"Comment" will be in bold font and have a blue color. You are free to make
2503one highlight group for one syntax item, or put all items into one group.
2504This depends on how you want to specify your highlighting attributes. Putting
2505each item in its own group results in having to specify the highlighting
2506for a lot of groups.
2507
2508Note that a syntax group and a highlight group are similar. For a highlight
2509group you will have given highlight attributes. These attributes will be used
2510for the syntax group with the same name.
2511
2512In case more than one item matches at the same position, the one that was
2513defined LAST wins. Thus you can override previously defined syntax items by
2514using an item that matches the same text. But a keyword always goes before a
2515match or region. And a keyword with matching case always goes before a
2516keyword with ignoring case.
2517
2518
2519PRIORITY *:syn-priority*
2520
2521When several syntax items may match, these rules are used:
2522
25231. When multiple Match or Region items start in the same position, the item
2524 defined last has priority.
25252. A Keyword has priority over Match and Region items.
25263. An item that starts in an earlier position has priority over items that
2527 start in later positions.
2528
2529
2530DEFINING CASE *:syn-case* *E390*
2531
2532:sy[ntax] case [match|ignore]
2533 This defines if the following ":syntax" commands will work with
2534 matching case, when using "match", or with ignoring case, when using
2535 "ignore". Note that any items before this are not affected, and all
2536 items until the next ":syntax case" command are affected.
2537
2538
2539DEFINING KEYWORDS *:syn-keyword*
2540
2541:sy[ntax] keyword {group-name} [{options}] {keyword} .. [{options}]
2542
2543 This defines a number of keywords.
2544
2545 {group-name} Is a syntax group name such as "Comment".
2546 [{options}] See |:syn-arguments| below.
2547 {keyword} .. Is a list of keywords which are part of this group.
2548
2549 Example: >
2550 :syntax keyword Type int long char
2551<
2552 The {options} can be given anywhere in the line. They will apply to
2553 all keywords given, also for options that come after a keyword.
2554 These examples do exactly the same: >
2555 :syntax keyword Type contained int long char
2556 :syntax keyword Type int long contained char
2557 :syntax keyword Type int long char contained
2558<
2559 When you have a keyword with an optional tail, like Ex commands in
2560 Vim, you can put the optional characters inside [], to define all the
2561 variations at once: >
2562 :syntax keyword vimCommand ab[breviate] n[ext]
2563<
2564 Don't forget that a keyword can only be recognized if all the
2565 characters are included in the 'iskeyword' option. If one character
2566 isn't, the keyword will never be recognized.
2567 Multi-byte characters can also be used. These do not have to be in
2568 'iskeyword'.
2569
2570 A keyword always has higher priority than a match or region, the
2571 keyword is used if more than one item matches. Keywords do not nest
2572 and a keyword can't contain anything else.
2573
2574 Note that when you have a keyword that is the same as an option (even
2575 one that isn't allowed here), you can not use it. Use a match
2576 instead.
2577
2578 The maximum length of a keyword is 80 characters.
2579
2580 The same keyword can be defined multiple times, when its containment
2581 differs. For example, you can define the keyword once not contained
2582 and use one highlight group, and once contained, and use a different
2583 highlight group. Example: >
2584 :syn keyword vimCommand tag
2585 :syn keyword vimSetting contained tag
2586< When finding "tag" outside of any syntax item, the "vimCommand"
2587 highlight group is used. When finding "tag" in a syntax item that
2588 contains "vimSetting", the "vimSetting" group is used.
2589
2590
2591DEFINING MATCHES *:syn-match*
2592
2593:sy[ntax] match {group-name} [{options}] [excludenl] {pattern} [{options}]
2594
2595 This defines one match.
2596
2597 {group-name} A syntax group name such as "Comment".
2598 [{options}] See |:syn-arguments| below.
2599 [excludenl] Don't make a pattern with the end-of-line "$"
2600 extend a containing match or region. Must be
2601 given before the pattern. |:syn-excludenl|
2602 {pattern} The search pattern that defines the match.
2603 See |:syn-pattern| below.
2604 Note that the pattern may match more than one
2605 line, which makes the match depend on where
2606 Vim starts searching for the pattern. You
2607 need to make sure syncing takes care of this.
2608
2609 Example (match a character constant): >
2610 :syntax match Character /'.'/hs=s+1,he=e-1
2611<
2612
2613DEFINING REGIONS *:syn-region* *:syn-start* *:syn-skip* *:syn-end*
2614 *E398* *E399*
2615:sy[ntax] region {group-name} [{options}]
2616 [matchgroup={group-name}]
2617 [keepend]
2618 [extend]
2619 [excludenl]
2620 start={start_pattern} ..
2621 [skip={skip_pattern}]
2622 end={end_pattern} ..
2623 [{options}]
2624
2625 This defines one region. It may span several lines.
2626
2627 {group-name} A syntax group name such as "Comment".
2628 [{options}] See |:syn-arguments| below.
2629 [matchgroup={group-name}] The syntax group to use for the following
2630 start or end pattern matches only. Not used
2631 for the text in between the matched start and
2632 end patterns. Use NONE to reset to not using
2633 a different group for the start or end match.
2634 See |:syn-matchgroup|.
2635 keepend Don't allow contained matches to go past a
2636 match with the end pattern. See
2637 |:syn-keepend|.
2638 extend Override a "keepend" for an item this region
2639 is contained in. See |:syn-extend|.
2640 excludenl Don't make a pattern with the end-of-line "$"
2641 extend a containing match or item. Only
2642 useful for end patterns. Must be given before
2643 the patterns it applies to. |:syn-excludenl|
2644 start={start_pattern} The search pattern that defines the start of
2645 the region. See |:syn-pattern| below.
2646 skip={skip_pattern} The search pattern that defines text inside
2647 the region where not to look for the end
2648 pattern. See |:syn-pattern| below.
2649 end={end_pattern} The search pattern that defines the end of
2650 the region. See |:syn-pattern| below.
2651
2652 Example: >
2653 :syntax region String start=+"+ skip=+\\"+ end=+"+
2654<
2655 The start/skip/end patterns and the options can be given in any order.
2656 There can be zero or one skip pattern. There must be one or more
2657 start and end patterns. This means that you can omit the skip
2658 pattern, but you must give at least one start and one end pattern. It
2659 is allowed to have white space before and after the equal sign
2660 (although it mostly looks better without white space).
2661
2662 When more than one start pattern is given, a match with one of these
2663 is sufficient. This means there is an OR relation between the start
2664 patterns. The last one that matches is used. The same is true for
2665 the end patterns.
2666
2667 The search for the end pattern starts right after the start pattern.
2668 Offsets are not used for this. This implies that the match for the
2669 end pattern will never overlap with the start pattern.
2670
2671 The skip and end pattern can match across line breaks, but since the
2672 search for the pattern can start in any line it often does not do what
2673 you want. The skip pattern doesn't avoid a match of an end pattern in
2674 the next line. Use single-line patterns to avoid trouble.
2675
2676 Note: The decision to start a region is only based on a matching start
2677 pattern. There is no check for a matching end pattern. This does NOT
2678 work: >
2679 :syn region First start="(" end=":"
2680 :syn region Second start="(" end=";"
2681< The Second always matches before the First (last defined pattern has
2682 higher priority). The Second region then continues until the next
2683 ';', no matter if there is a ':' before it. Using a match does work: >
2684 :syn match First "(\_.\{-}:"
2685 :syn match Second "(\_.\{-};"
2686< This pattern matches any character or line break with "\_." and
2687 repeats that with "\{-}" (repeat as few as possible).
2688
2689 *:syn-keepend*
2690 By default, a contained match can obscure a match for the end pattern.
2691 This is useful for nesting. For example, a region that starts with
2692 "{" and ends with "}", can contain another region. An encountered "}"
2693 will then end the contained region, but not the outer region:
2694 { starts outer "{}" region
2695 { starts contained "{}" region
2696 } ends contained "{}" region
2697 } ends outer "{} region
2698 If you don't want this, the "keepend" argument will make the matching
2699 of an end pattern of the outer region also end any contained item.
2700 This makes it impossible to nest the same region, but allows for
2701 contained items to highlight parts of the end pattern, without causing
2702 that to skip the match with the end pattern. Example: >
2703 :syn match vimComment +"[^"]\+$+
2704 :syn region vimCommand start="set" end="$" contains=vimComment keepend
2705< The "keepend" makes the vimCommand always end at the end of the line,
2706 even though the contained vimComment includes a match with the <EOL>.
2707
2708 When "keepend" is not used, a match with an end pattern is retried
2709 after each contained match. When "keepend" is included, the first
2710 encountered match with an end pattern is used, truncating any
2711 contained matches.
2712 *:syn-extend*
2713 The "keepend" behavior can be changed by using the "extend" argument.
2714 When an item with "extend" is contained in an item that uses
2715 "keepend", the "keepend" is ignored and the containing region will be
2716 extended.
2717 This can be used to have some contained items extend a region while
2718 others don't. Example: >
2719
2720 :syn region htmlRef start=+<a>+ end=+</a>+ keepend contains=htmlItem,htmlScript
2721 :syn match htmlItem +<[^>]*>+ contained
2722 :syn region htmlScript start=+<script+ end=+</script[^>]*>+ contained extend
2723
2724< Here the htmlItem item does not make the htmlRef item continue
2725 further, it is only used to highlight the <> items. The htmlScript
2726 item does extend the htmlRef item.
2727
2728 Another example: >
2729 :syn region xmlFold start="<a>" end="</a>" fold transparent keepend extend
2730< This defines a region with "keepend", so that its end cannot be
2731 changed by contained items, like when the "</a>" is matched to
2732 highlight it differently. But when the xmlFold region is nested (it
2733 includes itself), the "extend" applies, so that the "</a>" of a nested
2734 region only ends that region, and not the one it is contained in.
2735
2736 *:syn-excludenl*
2737 When a pattern for a match or end pattern of a region includes a '$'
2738 to match the end-of-line, it will make a region item that it is
2739 contained in continue on the next line. For example, a match with
2740 "\\$" (backslash at the end of the line) can make a region continue
2741 that would normally stop at the end of the line. This is the default
2742 behavior. If this is not wanted, there are two ways to avoid it:
2743 1. Use "keepend" for the containing item. This will keep all
2744 contained matches from extending the match or region. It can be
2745 used when all contained items must not extend the containing item.
2746 2. Use "excludenl" in the contained item. This will keep that match
2747 from extending the containing match or region. It can be used if
2748 only some contained items must not extend the containing item.
2749 "excludenl" must be given before the pattern it applies to.
2750
2751 *:syn-matchgroup*
2752 "matchgroup" can be used to highlight the start and/or end pattern
2753 differently than the body of the region. Example: >
2754 :syntax region String matchgroup=Quote start=+"+ skip=+\\"+ end=+"+
2755< This will highlight the quotes with the "Quote" group, and the text in
2756 between with the "String" group.
2757 The "matchgroup" is used for all start and end patterns that follow,
2758 until the next "matchgroup". Use "matchgroup=NONE" to go back to not
2759 using a matchgroup.
2760
2761 In a start or end pattern that is highlighted with "matchgroup" the
2762 contained items of the region are not used. This can be used to avoid
2763 that a contained item matches in the start or end pattern match. When
2764 using "transparent", this does not apply to a start or end pattern
2765 match that is highlighted with "matchgroup".
2766
2767 Here is an example, which highlights three levels of parentheses in
2768 different colors: >
2769 :sy region par1 matchgroup=par1 start=/(/ end=/)/ contains=par2
2770 :sy region par2 matchgroup=par2 start=/(/ end=/)/ contains=par3 contained
2771 :sy region par3 matchgroup=par3 start=/(/ end=/)/ contains=par1 contained
2772 :hi par1 ctermfg=red guifg=red
2773 :hi par2 ctermfg=blue guifg=blue
2774 :hi par3 ctermfg=darkgreen guifg=darkgreen
2775
2776==============================================================================
27776. :syntax arguments *:syn-arguments*
2778
2779The :syntax commands that define syntax items take a number of arguments.
2780The common ones are explained here. The arguments may be given in any order
2781and may be mixed with patterns.
2782
2783Not all commands accept all arguments. This table shows which arguments
2784can not be used for all commands:
2785 *E395* *E396*
2786 contains oneline fold display extend ~
2787:syntax keyword - - - - -
2788:syntax match yes - yes yes yes
2789:syntax region yes yes yes yes yes
2790
2791These arguments can be used for all three commands:
2792 contained
2793 containedin
2794 nextgroup
2795 transparent
2796 skipwhite
2797 skipnl
2798 skipempty
2799
2800
2801contained *:syn-contained*
2802
2803When the "contained" argument is given, this item will not be recognized at
2804the top level, but only when it is mentioned in the "contains" field of
2805another match. Example: >
2806 :syntax keyword Todo TODO contained
2807 :syntax match Comment "//.*" contains=Todo
2808
2809
2810display *:syn-display*
2811
2812If the "display" argument is given, this item will be skipped when the
2813detected highlighting will not be displayed. This will speed up highlighting,
2814by skipping this item when only finding the syntax state for the text that is
2815to be displayed.
2816
2817Generally, you can use "display" for match and region items that meet these
2818conditions:
2819- The item does not continue past the end of a line. Example for C: A region
2820 for a "/*" comment can't contain "display", because it continues on the next
2821 line.
2822- The item does not contain items that continue past the end of the line or
2823 make it continue on the next line.
2824- The item does not change the size of any item it is contained in. Example
2825 for C: A match with "\\$" in a preprocessor match can't have "display",
2826 because it may make that preprocessor match shorter.
2827- The item does not allow other items to match that didn't match otherwise,
2828 and that item may extend the match too far. Example for C: A match for a
2829 "//" comment can't use "display", because a "/*" inside that comment would
2830 match then and start a comment which extends past the end of the line.
2831
2832Examples, for the C language, where "display" can be used:
2833- match with a number
2834- match with a label
2835
2836
2837transparent *:syn-transparent*
2838
2839If the "transparent" argument is given, this item will not be highlighted
2840itself, but will take the highlighting of the item it is contained in. This
2841is useful for syntax items that don't need any highlighting but are used
2842only to skip over a part of the text.
2843
2844The "contains=" argument is also inherited from the item it is contained in,
2845unless a "contains" argument is given for the transparent item itself. To
2846avoid that unwanted items are contained, use "contains=NONE". Example, which
2847highlights words in strings, but makes an exception for "vim": >
2848 :syn match myString /'[^']*'/ contains=myWord,myVim
2849 :syn match myWord /\<[a-z]*\>/ contained
2850 :syn match myVim /\<vim\>/ transparent contained contains=NONE
2851 :hi link myString String
2852 :hi link myWord Comment
2853Since the "myVim" match comes after "myWord" it is the preferred match (last
2854match in the same position overrules an earlier one). The "transparent"
2855argument makes the "myVim" match use the same highlighting as "myString". But
2856it does not contain anything. If the "contains=NONE" argument would be left
2857out, then "myVim" would use the contains argument from myString and allow
2858"myWord" to be contained, which will be highlighted as a Constant. This
2859happens because a contained match doesn't match inside itself in the same
2860position, thus the "myVim" match doesn't overrule the "myWord" match here.
2861
2862When you look at the colored text, it is like looking at layers of contained
2863items. The contained item is on top of the item it is contained in, thus you
2864see the contained item. When a contained item is transparent, you can look
2865through, thus you see the item it is contained in. In a picture:
2866
2867 look from here
2868
2869 | | | | | |
2870 V V V V V V
2871
2872 xxxx yyy more contained items
2873 .................... contained item (transparent)
2874 ============================= first item
2875
2876The 'x', 'y' and '=' represent a highlighted syntax item. The '.' represent a
2877transparent group.
2878
2879What you see is:
2880
2881 =======xxxx=======yyy========
2882
2883Thus you look through the transparent "....".
2884
2885
2886oneline *:syn-oneline*
2887
2888The "oneline" argument indicates that the region does not cross a line
2889boundary. It must match completely in the current line. However, when the
2890region has a contained item that does cross a line boundary, it continues on
2891the next line anyway. A contained item can be used to recognize a line
2892continuation pattern. But the "end" pattern must still match in the first
2893line, otherwise the region doesn't even start.
2894
2895When the start pattern includes a "\n" to match an end-of-line, the end
2896pattern must be found in the same line as where the start pattern ends. The
2897end pattern may also include an end-of-line. Thus the "oneline" argument
2898means that the end of the start pattern and the start of the end pattern must
2899be within one line. This can't be changed by a skip pattern that matches a
2900line break.
2901
2902
2903fold *:syn-fold*
2904
2905The "fold" argument makes the fold level increased by one for this item.
2906Example: >
2907 :syn region myFold start="{" end="}" transparent fold
2908 :syn sync fromstart
2909 :set foldmethod=syntax
2910This will make each {} block form one fold.
2911
2912The fold will start on the line where the item starts, and end where the item
2913ends. If the start and end are within the same line, there is no fold.
2914The 'foldnestmax' option limits the nesting of syntax folds.
2915{not available when Vim was compiled without |+folding| feature}
2916
2917
2918 *:syn-contains* *E405* *E406* *E407* *E408* *E409*
2919contains={groupname},..
2920
2921The "contains" argument is followed by a list of syntax group names. These
2922groups will be allowed to begin inside the item (they may extend past the
2923containing group's end). This allows for recursive nesting of matches and
2924regions. If there is no "contains" argument, no groups will be contained in
2925this item. The group names do not need to be defined before they can be used
2926here.
2927
2928contains=ALL
2929 If the only item in the contains list is "ALL", then all
2930 groups will be accepted inside the item.
2931
2932contains=ALLBUT,{group-name},..
2933 If the first item in the contains list is "ALLBUT", then all
2934 groups will be accepted inside the item, except the ones that
2935 are listed. Example: >
2936 :syntax region Block start="{" end="}" ... contains=ALLBUT,Function
2937
2938contains=TOP
2939 If the first item in the contains list is "TOP", then all
2940 groups will be accepted that don't have the "contained"
2941 argument.
2942contains=TOP,{group-name},..
2943 Like "TOP", but excluding the groups that are listed.
2944
2945contains=CONTAINED
2946 If the first item in the contains list is "CONTAINED", then
2947 all groups will be accepted that have the "contained"
2948 argument.
2949contains=CONTAINED,{group-name},..
2950 Like "CONTAINED", but excluding the groups that are
2951 listed.
2952
2953
2954The {group-name} in the "contains" list can be a pattern. All group names
2955that match the pattern will be included (or excluded, if "ALLBUT" is used).
2956The pattern cannot contain white space or a ','. Example: >
2957 ... contains=Comment.*,Keyw[0-3]
2958The matching will be done at moment the syntax command is executed. Groups
2959that are defined later will not be matched. Also, if the current syntax
2960command defines a new group, it is not matched. Be careful: When putting
2961syntax commands in a file you can't rely on groups NOT being defined, because
2962the file may have been sourced before, and ":syn clear" doesn't remove the
2963group names.
2964
2965The contained groups will also match in the start and end patterns of a
2966region. If this is not wanted, the "matchgroup" argument can be used
2967|:syn-matchgroup|. The "ms=" and "me=" offsets can be used to change the
2968region where contained items do match. Note that this may also limit the
2969area that is highlighted
2970
2971
2972containedin={groupname}... *:syn-containedin*
2973
2974The "containedin" argument is followed by a list of syntax group names. The
2975item will be allowed to begin inside these groups. This works as if the
2976containing item has a "contains=" argument that includes this item.
2977
2978The {groupname}... can be used just like for "contains", as explained above.
2979
2980This is useful when adding a syntax item afterwards. An item can be told to
2981be included inside an already existing item, without changing the definition
2982of that item. For example, to highlight a word in a C comment after loading
2983the C syntax: >
2984 :syn keyword myword HELP containedin=cComment contained
2985Note that "contained" is also used, to avoid that the item matches at the top
2986level.
2987
2988Matches for "containedin" are added to the other places where the item can
2989appear. A "contains" argument may also be added as usual. Don't forget that
2990keywords never contain another item, thus adding them to "containedin" won't
2991work.
2992
2993
2994nextgroup={groupname},.. *:syn-nextgroup*
2995
2996The "nextgroup" argument is followed by a list of syntax group names,
2997separated by commas (just like with "contains", so you can also use patterns).
2998
2999If the "nextgroup" argument is given, the mentioned syntax groups will be
3000tried for a match, after the match or region ends. If none of the groups have
3001a match, highlighting continues normally. If there is a match, this group
3002will be used, even when it is not mentioned in the "contains" field of the
3003current group. This is like giving the mentioned group priority over all
3004other groups. Example: >
3005 :syntax match ccFoobar "Foo.\{-}Bar" contains=ccFoo
3006 :syntax match ccFoo "Foo" contained nextgroup=ccFiller
3007 :syntax region ccFiller start="." matchgroup=ccBar end="Bar" contained
3008
3009This will highlight "Foo" and "Bar" differently, and only when there is a
3010"Bar" after "Foo". In the text line below, "f" shows where ccFoo is used for
3011highlighting, and "bbb" where ccBar is used. >
3012
3013 Foo asdfasd Bar asdf Foo asdf Bar asdf
3014 fff bbb fff bbb
3015
3016Note the use of ".\{-}" to skip as little as possible until the next Bar.
3017when ".*" would be used, the "asdf" in between "Bar" and "Foo" would be
3018highlighted according to the "ccFoobar" group, because the ccFooBar match
3019would include the first "Foo" and the last "Bar" in the line (see |pattern|).
3020
3021
3022skipwhite *:syn-skipwhite*
3023skipnl *:syn-skipnl*
3024skipempty *:syn-skipempty*
3025
3026These arguments are only used in combination with "nextgroup". They can be
3027used to allow the next group to match after skipping some text:
3028 skipwhite skip over space and Tab characters
3029 skipnl skip over the end of a line
3030 skipempty skip over empty lines (implies a "skipnl")
3031
3032When "skipwhite" is present, the white space is only skipped if there is no
3033next group that matches the white space.
3034
3035When "skipnl" is present, the match with nextgroup may be found in the next
3036line. This only happens when the current item ends at the end of the current
3037line! When "skipnl" is not present, the nextgroup will only be found after
3038the current item in the same line.
3039
3040When skipping text while looking for a next group, the matches for other
3041groups are ignored. Only when no next group matches, other items are tried
3042for a match again. This means that matching a next group and skipping white
3043space and <EOL>s has a higher priority than other items.
3044
3045Example: >
3046 :syn match ifstart "\<if.*" nextgroup=ifline skipwhite skipempty
3047 :syn match ifline "[^ \t].*" nextgroup=ifline skipwhite skipempty contained
3048 :syn match ifline "endif" contained
3049Note that the "[^ \t].*" match matches all non-white text. Thus it would also
3050match "endif". Therefore the "endif" match is put last, so that it takes
3051precedence.
3052Note that this example doesn't work for nested "if"s. You need to add
3053"contains" arguments to make that work (omitted for simplicity of the
3054example).
3055
3056==============================================================================
30577. Syntax patterns *:syn-pattern* *E401* *E402*
3058
3059In the syntax commands, a pattern must be surrounded by two identical
3060characters. This is like it works for the ":s" command. The most common to
3061use is the double quote. But if the pattern contains a double quote, you can
3062use another character that is not used in the pattern. Examples: >
3063 :syntax region Comment start="/\*" end="\*/"
3064 :syntax region String start=+"+ end=+"+ skip=+\\"+
3065
3066See |pattern| for the explanation of what a pattern is. Syntax patterns are
3067always interpreted like the 'magic' options is set, no matter what the actual
3068value of 'magic' is. And the patterns are interpreted like the 'l' flag is
3069not included in 'cpoptions'. This was done to make syntax files portable and
3070independent of 'compatible' and 'magic' settings.
3071
3072Try to avoid patterns that can match an empty string, such as "[a-z]*".
3073This slows down the highlighting a lot, because it matches everywhere.
3074
3075 *:syn-pattern-offset*
3076The pattern can be followed by a character offset. This can be used to
3077change the highlighted part, and to change the text area included in the
3078match or region (which only matters when trying to match other items). Both
3079are relative to the matched pattern. The character offset for a skip
3080pattern can be used to tell where to continue looking for an end pattern.
3081
3082The offset takes the form of "{what}={offset}"
3083The {what} can be one of seven strings:
3084
3085ms Match Start offset for the start of the matched text
3086me Match End offset for the end of the matched text
3087hs Highlight Start offset for where the highlighting starts
3088he Highlight End offset for where the highlighting ends
3089rs Region Start offset for where the body of a region starts
3090re Region End offset for where the body of a region ends
3091lc Leading Context offset past "leading context" of pattern
3092
3093The {offset} can be:
3094
3095s start of the matched pattern
3096s+{nr} start of the matched pattern plus {nr} chars to the right
3097s-{nr} start of the matched pattern plus {nr} chars to the left
3098e end of the matched pattern
3099e+{nr} end of the matched pattern plus {nr} chars to the right
3100e-{nr} end of the matched pattern plus {nr} chars to the left
3101{nr} (for "lc" only): start matching {nr} chars to the left
3102
3103Examples: "ms=s+1", "hs=e-2", "lc=3".
3104
3105Although all offsets are accepted after any pattern, they are not always
3106meaningful. This table shows which offsets are actually used:
3107
3108 ms me hs he rs re lc ~
3109match item yes yes yes yes - - yes
3110region item start yes - yes - yes - yes
3111region item skip - yes - - - - yes
3112region item end - yes - yes - yes yes
3113
3114Offsets can be concatenated, with a ',' in between. Example: >
3115 :syn match String /"[^"]*"/hs=s+1,he=e-1
3116<
3117 some "string" text
3118 ^^^^^^ highlighted
3119
3120Notes:
3121- There must be no white space between the pattern and the character
3122 offset(s).
3123- The highlighted area will never be outside of the matched text.
3124- A negative offset for an end pattern may not always work, because the end
3125 pattern may be detected when the highlighting should already have stopped.
3126- The start of a match cannot be in a line other than where the pattern
3127 matched. This doesn't work: "a\nb"ms=e. You can make the highlighting
3128 start in another line, this does work: "a\nb"hs=e.
3129
3130Example (match a comment but don't highlight the /* and */): >
3131 :syntax region Comment start="/\*"hs=e+1 end="\*/"he=s-1
3132<
3133 /* this is a comment */
3134 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ highlighted
3135
3136A more complicated Example: >
3137 :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
3138<
3139 abcfoostringbarabc
3140 mmmmmmmmmmm match
3141 ssrrrreee highlight start/region/end ("Foo", "Exa" and "Bar")
3142
3143Leading context *:syn-lc* *:syn-leading* *:syn-context*
3144
3145Note: This is an obsolete feature, only included for backwards compatibility
3146with previous Vim versions. It's now recommended to use the |/\@<=| construct
3147in the pattern.
3148
3149The "lc" offset specifies leading context -- a part of the pattern that must
3150be present, but is not considered part of the match. An offset of "lc=n" will
3151cause Vim to step back n columns before attempting the pattern match, allowing
3152characters which have already been matched in previous patterns to also be
3153used as leading context for this match. This can be used, for instance, to
3154specify that an "escaping" character must not precede the match: >
3155
3156 :syn match ZNoBackslash "[^\\]z"ms=s+1
3157 :syn match WNoBackslash "[^\\]w"lc=1
3158 :syn match Underline "_\+"
3159<
3160 ___zzzz ___wwww
3161 ^^^ ^^^ matches Underline
3162 ^ ^ matches ZNoBackslash
3163 ^^^^ matches WNoBackslash
3164
3165The "ms" offset is automatically set to the same value as the "lc" offset,
3166unless you set "ms" explicitly.
3167
3168
3169Multi-line patterns *:syn-multi-line*
3170
3171The patterns can include "\n" to match an end-of-line. Mostly this works as
3172expected, but there are a few exceptions.
3173
3174When using a start pattern with an offset, the start of the match is not
3175allowed to start in a following line. The highlighting can start in a
3176following line though.
3177
3178The skip pattern can include the "\n", but the search for an end pattern will
3179continue in the first character of the next line, also when that character is
3180matched by the skip pattern. This is because redrawing may start in any line
3181halfway a region and there is no check if the skip pattern started in a
3182previous line. For example, if the skip pattern is "a\nb" and an end pattern
3183is "b", the end pattern does match in the second line of this: >
3184 x x a
3185 b x x
3186Generally this means that the skip pattern should not match any characters
3187after the "\n".
3188
3189
3190External matches *:syn-ext-match*
3191
3192These extra regular expression items are available in region patterns:
3193
3194 */\z(* */\z(\)* *E50* *E52*
3195 \z(\) Marks the sub-expression as "external", meaning that it is can
3196 be accessed from another pattern match. Currently only usable
3197 in defining a syntax region start pattern.
3198
3199 */\z1* */\z2* */\z3* */\z4* */\z5*
3200 \z1 ... \z9 */\z6* */\z7* */\z8* */\z9* *E66* *E67*
3201 Matches the same string that was matched by the corresponding
3202 sub-expression in a previous start pattern match.
3203
3204Sometimes the start and end patterns of a region need to share a common
3205sub-expression. A common example is the "here" document in Perl and many Unix
3206shells. This effect can be achieved with the "\z" special regular expression
3207items, which marks a sub-expression as "external", in the sense that it can be
3208referenced from outside the pattern in which it is defined. The here-document
3209example, for instance, can be done like this: >
3210 :syn region hereDoc start="<<\z(\I\i*\)" end="^\z1$"
3211
3212As can be seen here, the \z actually does double duty. In the start pattern,
3213it marks the "\(\I\i*\)" sub-expression as external; in the end pattern, it
3214changes the \1 back-reference into an external reference referring to the
3215first external sub-expression in the start pattern. External references can
3216also be used in skip patterns: >
3217 :syn region foo start="start \(\I\i*\)" skip="not end \z1" end="end \z1"
3218
3219Note that normal and external sub-expressions are completely orthogonal and
3220indexed separately; for instance, if the pattern "\z(..\)\(..\)" is applied
3221to the string "aabb", then \1 will refer to "bb" and \z1 will refer to "aa".
3222Note also that external sub-expressions cannot be accessed as back-references
3223within the same pattern like normal sub-expressions. If you want to use one
3224sub-expression as both a normal and an external sub-expression, you can nest
3225the two, as in "\(\z(...\)\)".
3226
3227Note that only matches within a single line can be used. Multi-line matches
3228cannot be referred to.
3229
3230==============================================================================
32318. Syntax clusters *:syn-cluster* *E400*
3232
3233:sy[ntax] cluster {cluster-name} [contains={group-name}..]
3234 [add={group-name}..]
3235 [remove={group-name}..]
3236
3237This command allows you to cluster a list of syntax groups together under a
3238single name.
3239
3240 contains={group-name}..
3241 The cluster is set to the specified list of groups.
3242 add={group-name}..
3243 The specified groups are added to the cluster.
3244 remove={group-name}..
3245 The specified groups are removed from the cluster.
3246
3247A cluster so defined may be referred to in a contains=.., nextgroup=.., add=..
3248or remove=.. list with a "@" prefix. You can also use this notation to
3249implicitly declare a cluster before specifying its contents.
3250
3251Example: >
3252 :syntax match Thing "# [^#]\+ #" contains=@ThingMembers
3253 :syntax cluster ThingMembers contains=ThingMember1,ThingMember2
3254
3255As the previous example suggests, modifications to a cluster are effectively
3256retroactive; the membership of the cluster is checked at the last minute, so
3257to speak: >
3258 :syntax keyword A aaa
3259 :syntax keyword B bbb
3260 :syntax cluster AandB contains=A
3261 :syntax match Stuff "( aaa bbb )" contains=@AandB
3262 :syntax cluster AandB add=B " now both keywords are matched in Stuff
3263
3264This also has implications for nested clusters: >
3265 :syntax keyword A aaa
3266 :syntax keyword B bbb
3267 :syntax cluster SmallGroup contains=B
3268 :syntax cluster BigGroup contains=A,@SmallGroup
3269 :syntax match Stuff "( aaa bbb )" contains=@BigGroup
3270 :syntax cluster BigGroup remove=B " no effect, since B isn't in BigGroup
3271 :syntax cluster SmallGroup remove=B " now bbb isn't matched within Stuff
3272
3273==============================================================================
32749. Including syntax files *:syn-include* *E397*
3275
3276It is often useful for one language's syntax file to include a syntax file for
3277a related language. Depending on the exact relationship, this can be done in
3278two different ways:
3279
3280 - If top-level syntax items in the included syntax file are to be
3281 allowed at the top level in the including syntax, you can simply use
3282 the |:runtime| command: >
3283
3284 " In cpp.vim:
3285 :runtime! syntax/c.vim
3286 :unlet b:current_syntax
3287
3288< - If top-level syntax items in the included syntax file are to be
3289 contained within a region in the including syntax, you can use the
3290 ":syntax include" command:
3291
3292:sy[ntax] include [@{grouplist-name}] {file-name}
3293
3294 All syntax items declared in the included file will have the
3295 "contained" flag added. In addition, if a group list is specified,
3296 all top-level syntax items in the included file will be added to
3297 that list. >
3298
3299 " In perl.vim:
3300 :syntax include @Pod <sfile>:p:h/pod.vim
3301 :syntax region perlPOD start="^=head" end="^=cut" contains=@Pod
3302<
3303 When {file-name} is an absolute path (starts with "/", "c:", "$VAR"
3304 or "<sfile>") that file is sourced. When it is a relative path
3305 (e.g., "syntax/pod.vim") the file is searched for in 'runtimepath'.
3306 All matching files are loaded. Using a relative path is
3307 recommended, because it allows a user to replace the included file
3308 with his own version, without replacing the file that does the ":syn
3309 include".
3310
3311==============================================================================
331210. Synchronizing *:syn-sync* *E403* *E404*
3313
3314Vim wants to be able to start redrawing in any position in the document. To
3315make this possible it needs to know the syntax state at the position where
3316redrawing starts.
3317
3318:sy[ntax] sync [ccomment [group-name] | minlines={N} | ...]
3319
3320There are four ways to synchronize:
33211. Always parse from the start of the file.
3322 |:syn-sync-first|
33232. Based on C-style comments. Vim understands how C-comments work and can
3324 figure out if the current line starts inside or outside a comment.
3325 |:syn-sync-second|
33263. Jumping back a certain number of lines and start parsing there.
3327 |:syn-sync-third|
33284. Searching backwards in the text for a pattern to sync on.
3329 |:syn-sync-fourth|
3330
3331 *:syn-sync-maxlines* *:syn-sync-minlines*
3332For the last three methods, the line range where the parsing can start is
3333limited by "minlines" and "maxlines".
3334
3335If the "minlines={N}" argument is given, the parsing always starts at least
3336that many lines backwards. This can be used if the parsing may take a few
3337lines before it's correct, or when it's not possible to use syncing.
3338
3339If the "maxlines={N}" argument is given, the number of lines that are searched
3340for a comment or syncing pattern is restricted to N lines backwards (after
3341adding "minlines"). This is useful if you have few things to sync on and a
3342slow machine. Example: >
3343 :syntax sync ccomment maxlines=500
3344<
3345 *:syn-sync-linebreaks*
3346When using a pattern that matches multiple lines, a change in one line may
3347cause a pattern to no longer match in a previous line. This means has to
3348start above where the change was made. How many lines can be specified with
3349the "linebreaks" argument. For example, when a pattern may include one line
3350break use this: >
3351 :syntax sync linebreaks=1
3352The result is that redrawing always starts at least one line before where a
3353change was made. The default value for "linebreaks" is zero. Usually the
3354value for "minlines" is bigger than "linebreaks".
3355
3356
3357First syncing method: *:syn-sync-first*
3358>
3359 :syntax sync fromstart
3360
3361The file will be parsed from the start. This makes syntax highlighting
3362accurate, but can be slow for long files. Vim caches previously parsed text,
3363so that it's only slow when parsing the text for the first time. However,
3364when making changes some part of the next needs to be parsed again (worst
3365case: to the end of the file).
3366
3367Using "fromstart" is equivalent to using "minlines" with a very large number.
3368
3369
3370Second syncing method: *:syn-sync-second* *:syn-sync-ccomment*
3371
3372For the second method, only the "ccomment" argument needs to be given.
3373Example: >
3374 :syntax sync ccomment
3375
3376When Vim finds that the line where displaying starts is inside a C-style
3377comment, the last region syntax item with the group-name "Comment" will be
3378used. This requires that there is a region with the group-name "Comment"!
3379An alternate group name can be specified, for example: >
3380 :syntax sync ccomment javaComment
3381This means that the last item specified with "syn region javaComment" will be
3382used for the detected C comment region. This only works properly if that
3383region does have a start pattern "\/*" and an end pattern "*\/".
3384
3385The "maxlines" argument can be used to restrict the search to a number of
3386lines. The "minlines" argument can be used to at least start a number of
3387lines back (e.g., for when there is some construct that only takes a few
3388lines, but it hard to sync on).
3389
3390Note: Syncing on a C comment doesn't work properly when strings are used
3391that cross a line and contain a "*/". Since letting strings cross a line
3392is a bad programming habit (many compilers give a warning message), and the
3393chance of a "*/" appearing inside a comment is very small, this restriction
3394is hardly ever noticed.
3395
3396
3397Third syncing method: *:syn-sync-third*
3398
3399For the third method, only the "minlines={N}" argument needs to be given.
3400Vim will subtract {N} from the line number and start parsing there. This
3401means {N} extra lines need to be parsed, which makes this method a bit slower.
3402Example: >
3403 :syntax sync minlines=50
3404
3405"lines" is equivalent to "minlines" (used by older versions).
3406
3407
3408Fourth syncing method: *:syn-sync-fourth*
3409
3410The idea is to synchronize on the end of a few specific regions, called a
3411sync pattern. Only regions can cross lines, so when we find the end of some
3412region, we might be able to know in which syntax item we are. The search
3413starts in the line just above the one where redrawing starts. From there
3414the search continues backwards in the file.
3415
3416This works just like the non-syncing syntax items. You can use contained
3417matches, nextgroup, etc. But there are a few differences:
3418- Keywords cannot be used.
3419- The syntax items with the "sync" keyword form a completely separated group
3420 of syntax items. You can't mix syncing groups and non-syncing groups.
3421- The matching works backwards in the buffer (line by line), instead of
3422 forwards.
3423- A line continuation pattern can be given. It is used to decide which group
3424 of lines need to be searched like they were one line. This means that the
3425 search for a match with the specified items starts in the first of the
3426 consecutive that contain the continuation pattern.
3427- When using "nextgroup" or "contains", this only works within one line (or
3428 group of continued lines).
3429- When using a region, it must start and end in the same line (or group of
3430 continued lines). Otherwise the end is assumed to be at the end of the
3431 line (or group of continued lines).
3432- When a match with a sync pattern is found, the rest of the line (or group of
3433 continued lines) is searched for another match. The last match is used.
3434 This is used when a line can contain both the start end the end of a region
3435 (e.g., in a C-comment like /* this */, the last "*/" is used).
3436
3437There are two ways how a match with a sync pattern can be used:
34381. Parsing for highlighting starts where redrawing starts (and where the
3439 search for the sync pattern started). The syntax group that is expected
3440 to be valid there must be specified. This works well when the regions
3441 that cross lines cannot contain other regions.
34422. Parsing for highlighting continues just after the match. The syntax group
3443 that is expected to be present just after the match must be specified.
3444 This can be used when the previous method doesn't work well. It's much
3445 slower, because more text needs to be parsed.
3446Both types of sync patterns can be used at the same time.
3447
3448Besides the sync patterns, other matches and regions can be specified, to
3449avoid finding unwanted matches.
3450
3451[The reason that the sync patterns are given separately, is that mostly the
3452search for the sync point can be much simpler than figuring out the
3453highlighting. The reduced number of patterns means it will go (much)
3454faster.]
3455
3456 *syn-sync-grouphere* *E393* *E394*
3457 :syntax sync match {sync-group-name} grouphere {group-name} "pattern" ..
3458
3459 Define a match that is used for syncing. {group-name} is the
3460 name of a syntax group that follows just after the match. Parsing
3461 of the text for highlighting starts just after the match. A region
3462 must exist for this {group-name}. The first one defined will be used.
3463 "NONE" can be used for when there is no syntax group after the match.
3464
3465 *syn-sync-groupthere*
3466 :syntax sync match {sync-group-name} groupthere {group-name} "pattern" ..
3467
3468 Like "grouphere", but {group-name} is the name of a syntax group that
3469 is to be used at the start of the line where searching for the sync
3470 point started. The text between the match and the start of the sync
3471 pattern searching is assumed not to change the syntax highlighting.
3472 For example, in C you could search backwards for "/*" and "*/". If
3473 "/*" is found first, you know that you are inside a comment, so the
3474 "groupthere" is "cComment". If "*/" is found first, you know that you
3475 are not in a comment, so the "groupthere" is "NONE". (in practice
3476 it's a bit more complicated, because the "/*" and "*/" could appear
3477 inside a string. That's left as an exercise to the reader...).
3478
3479 :syntax sync match ..
3480 :syntax sync region ..
3481
3482 Without a "groupthere" argument. Define a region or match that is
3483 skipped while searching for a sync point.
3484
3485 :syntax sync linecont {pattern}
3486
3487 When {pattern} matches in a line, it is considered to continue in
3488 the next line. This means that the search for a sync point will
3489 consider the lines to be concatenated.
3490
3491If the "maxlines={N}" argument is given too, the number of lines that are
3492searched for a match is restricted to N. This is useful if you have very
3493few things to sync on and a slow machine. Example: >
3494 :syntax sync maxlines=100
3495
3496You can clear all sync settings with: >
3497 :syntax sync clear
3498
3499You can clear specific sync patterns with: >
3500 :syntax sync clear {sync-group-name} ..
3501
3502==============================================================================
350311. Listing syntax items *:syntax* *:sy* *:syn* *:syn-list*
3504
3505This commands lists all the syntax items: >
3506
3507 :sy[ntax] [list]
3508
3509To show the syntax items for one syntax group: >
3510
3511 :sy[ntax] list {group-name}
3512
3513To list the syntax groups in one cluster: *E392* >
3514
3515 :sy[ntax] list @{cluster-name}
3516
3517See above for other arguments for the ":syntax" command.
3518
3519Note that the ":syntax" command can be abbreviated to ":sy", although ":syn"
3520is mostly used, because it looks better.
3521
3522==============================================================================
352312. Highlight command *:highlight* *:hi* *E28* *E411* *E415*
3524
3525There are three types of highlight groups:
3526- The ones used for specific languages. For these the name starts with the
3527 name of the language. Many of these don't have any attributes, but are
3528 linked to a group of the second type.
3529- The ones used for all syntax languages.
3530- The ones used for the 'highlight' option.
3531 *hitest.vim*
3532You can see all the groups currently active with this command: >
3533 :so $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/hitest.vim
3534This will open a new window containing all highlight group names, displayed
3535in their own color.
3536
3537 *:colo* *:colorscheme* *E185*
3538:colo[rscheme] {name} Load color scheme {name}. This searches 'runtimepath'
3539 for the file "colors/{name}.vim. The first one that
3540 is found is loaded.
3541 To see the name of the currently active color scheme
3542 (if there is one): >
3543 :echo g:colors_name
3544< Doesn't work recursively, thus you can't use
3545 ":colorscheme" in a color scheme script.
Bram Moolenaarcfbc5ee2004-07-02 15:38:35 +00003546 After the color scheme has been loaded the
3547 |ColorScheme| autocommand event is triggered.
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00003548 For info about writing a colorscheme file: >
3549 :edit $VIMRUNTIME/colors/README.txt
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003550
3551:hi[ghlight] List all the current highlight groups that have
3552 attributes set.
3553
3554:hi[ghlight] {group-name}
3555 List one highlight group.
3556
3557:hi[ghlight] clear Reset all highlighting to the defaults. Removes all
3558 highlighting for groups added by the user!
3559 Uses the current value of 'background' to decide which
3560 default colors to use.
3561
3562:hi[ghlight] clear {group-name}
3563:hi[ghlight] {group-name} NONE
3564 Disable the highlighting for one highlight group. It
3565 is _not_ set back to the default colors.
3566
3567:hi[ghlight] [default] {group-name} {key}={arg} ..
3568 Add a highlight group, or change the highlighting for
3569 an existing group.
3570 See |highlight-args| for the {key}={arg} arguments.
3571 See |:highlight-default| for the optional [default]
3572 argument.
3573
3574Normally a highlight group is added once when starting up. This sets the
3575default values for the highlighting. After that, you can use additional
3576highlight commands to change the arguments that you want to set to non-default
3577values. The value "NONE" can be used to switch the value off or go back to
3578the default value.
3579
3580A simple way to change colors is with the |:colorscheme| command. This loads
3581a file with ":highlight" commands such as this: >
3582
3583 :hi Comment gui=bold
3584
3585Note that all settings that are not included remain the same, only the
3586specified field is used, and settings are merged with previous ones. So, the
3587result is like this single command has been used: >
3588 :hi Comment term=bold ctermfg=Cyan guifg=#80a0ff gui=bold
3589<
3590 *highlight-args* *E416* *E417* *E423*
3591There are three types of terminals for highlighting:
3592term a normal terminal (vt100, xterm)
3593cterm a color terminal (MS-DOS console, color-xterm, these have the "Co"
3594 termcap entry)
3595gui the GUI
3596
3597For each type the highlighting can be given. This makes it possible to use
3598the same syntax file on all terminals, and use the optimal highlighting.
3599
36001. highlight arguments for normal terminals
3601
3602term={attr-list} *attr-list* *highlight-term* *E418*
3603 attr-list is a comma separated list (without spaces) of the
3604 following items (in any order):
3605 bold
3606 underline
3607 reverse
3608 inverse same as reverse
3609 italic
3610 standout
3611 NONE no attributes used (used to reset it)
3612
3613 Note that "bold" can be used here and by using a bold font. They
3614 have the same effect.
3615
3616start={term-list} *highlight-start* *E422*
3617stop={term-list} *term-list* *highlight-stop*
3618 These lists of terminal codes can be used to get
3619 non-standard attributes on a terminal.
3620
3621 The escape sequence specified with the "start" argument
3622 is written before the characters in the highlighted
3623 area. It can be anything that you want to send to the
3624 terminal to highlight this area. The escape sequence
3625 specified with the "stop" argument is written after the
3626 highlighted area. This should undo the "start" argument.
3627 Otherwise the screen will look messed up.
3628
3629 The {term-list} can have two forms:
3630
3631 1. A string with escape sequences.
3632 This is any string of characters, except that it can't start with
3633 "t_" and blanks are not allowed. The <> notation is recognized
3634 here, so you can use things like "<Esc>" and "<Space>". Example:
3635 start=<Esc>[27h;<Esc>[<Space>r;
3636
3637 2. A list of terminal codes.
3638 Each terminal code has the form "t_xx", where "xx" is the name of
3639 the termcap entry. The codes have to be separated with commas.
3640 White space is not allowed. Example:
3641 start=t_C1,t_BL
3642 The terminal codes must exist for this to work.
3643
3644
36452. highlight arguments for color terminals
3646
3647cterm={attr-list} *highlight-cterm*
3648 See above for the description of {attr-list} |attr-list|.
3649 The "cterm" argument is likely to be different from "term", when
3650 colors are used. For example, in a normal terminal comments could
3651 be underlined, in a color terminal they can be made Blue.
3652 Note: Many terminals (e.g., DOS console) can't mix these attributes
3653 with coloring. Use only one of "cterm=" OR "ctermfg=" OR "ctermbg=".
3654
3655ctermfg={color-nr} *highlight-ctermfg* *E421*
3656ctermbg={color-nr} *highlight-ctermbg*
3657 The {color-nr} argument is a color number. Its range is zero to
3658 (not including) the number given by the termcap entry "Co".
3659 The actual color with this number depends on the type of terminal
3660 and its settings. Sometimes the color also depends on the settings of
3661 "cterm". For example, on some systems "cterm=bold ctermfg=3" gives
3662 another color, on others you just get color 3.
3663
3664 For an xterm this depends on your resources, and is a bit
3665 unpredictable. See your xterm documentation for the defaults. The
3666 colors for a color-xterm can be changed from the .Xdefaults file.
3667 Unfortunately this means that it's not possible to get the same colors
3668 for each user. See |xterm-color| for info about color xterms.
3669
3670 The MSDOS standard colors are fixed (in a console window), so these
3671 have been used for the names. But the meaning of color names in X11
3672 are fixed, so these color settings have been used, to make the
3673 highlighting settings portable (complicated, isn't it?). The
3674 following names are recognized, with the color number used:
3675
3676 *cterm-colors*
3677 NR-16 NR-8 COLOR NAME ~
3678 0 0 Black
3679 1 4 DarkBlue
3680 2 2 DarkGreen
3681 3 6 DarkCyan
3682 4 1 DarkRed
3683 5 5 DarkMagenta
3684 6 3 Brown, DarkYellow
3685 7 7 LightGray, LightGrey, Gray, Grey
3686 8 0* DarkGray, DarkGrey
3687 9 4* Blue, LightBlue
3688 10 2* Green, LightGreen
3689 11 6* Cyan, LightCyan
3690 12 1* Red, LightRed
3691 13 5* Magenta, LightMagenta
3692 14 3* Yellow, LightYellow
3693 15 7* White
3694
3695 The number under "NR-16" is used for 16-color terminals ('t_Co'
3696 greater than or equal to 16). The number under "NR-8" is used for
3697 8-color terminals ('t_Co' less than 16). The '*' indicates that the
3698 bold attribute is set for ctermfg. In many 8-color terminals (e.g.,
3699 "linux"), this causes the bright colors to appear. This doesn't work
3700 for background colors! Without the '*' the bold attribute is removed.
3701 If you want to set the bold attribute in a different way, put a
3702 "cterm=" argument AFTER the "ctermfg=" or "ctermbg=" argument. Or use
3703 a number instead of a color name.
3704
3705 The case of the color names is ignored.
3706 Note that for 16 color ansi style terminals (including xterms), the
3707 numbers in the NR-8 column is used. Here '*' means 'add 8' so that Blue
3708 is 12, DarkGray is 8 etc.
3709
3710 Note that for some color terminals these names may result in the wrong
3711 colors!
3712
3713 *:hi-normal-cterm*
3714 When setting the "ctermfg" or "ctermbg" colors for the Normal group,
3715 these will become the colors used for the non-highlighted text.
3716 Example: >
3717 :highlight Normal ctermfg=grey ctermbg=darkblue
3718< When setting the "ctermbg" color for the Normal group, the
3719 'background' option will be adjusted automatically. This causes the
3720 highlight groups that depend on 'background' to change! This means
3721 you should set the colors for Normal first, before setting other
3722 colors.
3723 When a colorscheme is being used, changing 'background' causes it to
3724 be reloaded, which may reset all colors (including Normal). First
3725 delete the "colors_name" variable when you don't want this.
3726
3727 When you have set "ctermfg" or "ctermbg" for the Normal group, Vim
3728 needs to reset the color when exiting. This is done with the "op"
3729 termcap entry |t_op|. If this doesn't work correctly, try setting the
3730 't_op' option in your .vimrc.
3731 *E419* *E420*
3732 When Vim knows the normal foreground and background colors, "fg" and
3733 "bg" can be used as color names. This only works after setting the
3734 colors for the Normal group and for the MS-DOS console. Example, for
3735 reverse video: >
3736 :highlight Visual ctermfg=bg ctermbg=fg
3737< Note that the colors are used that are valid at the moment this
3738 command are given. If the Normal group colors are changed later, the
3739 "fg" and "bg" colors will not be adjusted.
3740
3741
37423. highlight arguments for the GUI
3743
3744gui={attr-list} *highlight-gui*
3745 These give the attributes to use in the GUI mode.
3746 See |attr-list| for a description.
3747 Note that "bold" can be used here and by using a bold font. They
3748 have the same effect.
3749 Note that the attributes are ignored for the "Normal" group.
3750
3751font={font-name} *highlight-font*
3752 font-name is the name of a font, as it is used on the system Vim
3753 runs on. For X11 this is a complicated name, for example: >
3754 font=-misc-fixed-bold-r-normal--14-130-75-75-c-70-iso8859-1
3755<
3756 The font-name "NONE" can be used to revert to the default font.
3757 When setting the font for the "Normal" group, this becomes the default
3758 font (until the 'guifont' option is changed; the last one set is
3759 used).
3760 The following only works with Motif and Athena, not with other GUIs:
3761 When setting the font for the "Menu" group, the menus will be changed.
3762 When setting the font for the "Tooltip" group, the tooltips will be
3763 changed.
3764 All fonts used, except for Menu and Tooltip, should be of the same
3765 character size as the default font! Otherwise redrawing problems will
3766 occur.
3767
3768guifg={color-name} *highlight-guifg*
3769guibg={color-name} *highlight-guibg*
3770 These give the foreground (guifg) and background (guibg) color to
3771 use in the GUI. There are a few special names:
3772 NONE no color (transparent)
3773 bg use normal background color
3774 background use normal background color
3775 fg use normal foreground color
3776 foreground use normal foreground color
3777 To use a color name with an embedded space or other special character,
3778 put it in single quotes. The single quote cannot be used then.
3779 Example: >
3780 :hi comment guifg='salmon pink'
3781<
3782 *gui-colors*
3783 Suggested color names (these are available on most systems):
3784 Red LightRed DarkRed
3785 Green LightGreen DarkGreen SeaGreen
3786 Blue LightBlue DarkBlue SlateBlue
3787 Cyan LightCyan DarkCyan
3788 Magenta LightMagenta DarkMagenta
3789 Yellow LightYellow Brown DarkYellow
3790 Gray LightGray DarkGray
3791 Black White
3792 Orange Purple Violet
3793
3794 In the Win32 GUI version, additional system colors are available. See
3795 |win32-colors|.
3796
3797 You can also specify a color by its Red, Green and Blue values.
3798 The format is "#rrggbb", where
3799 "rr" is the Red value
3800 "bb" is the Blue value
3801 "gg" is the Green value
3802 All values are hexadecimal, range from "00" to "ff". Examples: >
3803 :highlight Comment guifg=#11f0c3 guibg=#ff00ff
3804<
3805 *highlight-groups* *highlight-default*
3806These are the default highlighting groups. These groups are used by the
3807'highlight' option default. Note that the highlighting depends on the value
3808of 'background'. You can see the current settings with the ":highlight"
3809command.
3810 *hl-Cursor*
3811Cursor the character under the cursor
3812 *hl-CursorIM*
3813CursorIM like Cursor, but used when in IME mode |CursorIM|
3814 *hl-Directory*
3815Directory directory names (and other special names in listings)
3816 *hl-DiffAdd*
3817DiffAdd diff mode: Added line |diff.txt|
3818 *hl-DiffChange*
3819DiffChange diff mode: Changed line |diff.txt|
3820 *hl-DiffDelete*
3821DiffDelete diff mode: Deleted line |diff.txt|
3822 *hl-DiffText*
3823DiffText diff mode: Changed text within a changed line |diff.txt|
3824 *hl-ErrorMsg*
3825ErrorMsg error messages on the command line
3826 *hl-VertSplit*
3827VertSplit the column separating vertically split windows
3828 *hl-Folded*
3829Folded line used for closed folds
3830 *hl-FoldColumn*
3831FoldColumn 'foldcolumn'
3832 *hl-SignColumn*
3833SignColumn column where |signs| are displayed
3834 *hl-IncSearch*
3835IncSearch 'incsearch' highlighting; also used for the text replaced with
3836 ":s///c"
3837 *hl-LineNr*
3838LineNr line number for ":number" and ":#" commands, and when 'number'
3839 option is set.
3840 *hl-ModeMsg*
3841ModeMsg 'showmode' message (e.g., "-- INSERT --")
3842 *hl-MoreMsg*
3843MoreMsg |more-prompt|
3844 *hl-NonText*
3845NonText '~' and '@' at the end of the window, characters from
3846 'showbreak' and other characters that do not really exist in
3847 the text (e.g., ">" displayed when a double-wide character
3848 doesn't fit at the end of the line).
3849 *hl-Normal*
3850Normal normal text
3851 *hl-Question*
3852Question |hit-enter| prompt and yes/no questions
3853 *hl-Search*
3854Search Last search pattern highlighting (see 'hlsearch').
3855 Also used for highlighting the current line in the quickfix
3856 window and similar items that need to stand out.
3857 *hl-SpecialKey*
3858SpecialKey Meta and special keys listed with ":map", also for text used
3859 to show unprintable characters in the text, 'listchars'.
3860 Generally: text that is displayed differently from what it
3861 really is.
3862 *hl-StatusLine*
3863StatusLine status line of current window
3864 *hl-StatusLineNC*
3865StatusLineNC status lines of not-current windows
3866 Note: if this is equal to "StatusLine" Vim will use "^^^" in
3867 the status line of the current window.
3868 *hl-Title*
3869Title titles for output from ":set all", ":autocmd" etc.
3870 *hl-Visual*
3871Visual Visual mode selection
3872 *hl-VisualNOS*
3873VisualNOS Visual mode selection when vim is "Not Owning the Selection".
3874 Only X11 Gui's |gui-x11| and |xterm-clipboard| supports this.
3875 *hl-WarningMsg*
3876WarningMsg warning messages
3877 *hl-WildMenu*
3878WildMenu current match in 'wildmenu' completion
3879
3880 *hl-User1* *hl-User1..9*
3881The 'statusline' syntax allows the use of 9 different highlights in the
3882statusline and ruler (via 'rulerformat'). The names are User1 to User9.
3883
3884For the GUI you can use these groups to set the colors for the menu,
3885scrollbars and tooltips. They don't have defaults. This doesn't work for the
3886Win32 GUI. Only three highlight arguments have any effect here: font, guibg,
3887and guifg.
3888
3889 *hl-Menu*
3890Menu Current font, background and foreground colors of the menus.
3891 Also used for the toolbar.
3892 Applicable highlight arguments: font, guibg, guifg.
3893
3894 NOTE: For Motif and Athena the font argument actually
3895 specifies a fontset at all times, no matter if 'guifontset' is
3896 empty, and as such it is tied to the current |:language| when
3897 set.
3898
3899 *hl-Scrollbar*
3900Scrollbar Current background and foreground of the main window's
3901 scrollbars.
3902 Applicable highlight arguments: guibg, guifg.
3903
3904 *hl-Tooltip*
3905Tooltip Current font, background and foreground of the tooltips.
3906 Applicable highlight arguments: font, guibg, guifg.
3907
3908 NOTE: For Motif and Athena the font argument actually
3909 specifies a fontset at all times, no matter if 'guifontset' is
3910 empty, and as such it is tied to the current |:language| when
3911 set.
3912
3913==============================================================================
391413. Linking groups *:hi-link* *:highlight-link* *E412* *E413*
3915
3916When you want to use the same highlighting for several syntax groups, you
3917can do this more easily by linking the groups into one common highlight
3918group, and give the color attributes only for that group.
3919
3920To set a link:
3921
3922 :hi[ghlight][!] [default] link {from-group} {to-group}
3923
3924To remove a link:
3925
3926 :hi[ghlight][!] [default] link {from-group} NONE
3927
3928Notes: *E414*
3929- If the {from-group} and/or {to-group} doesn't exist, it is created. You
3930 don't get an error message for a non-existing group.
3931- As soon as you use a ":highlight" command for a linked group, the link is
3932 removed.
3933- If there are already highlight settings for the {from-group}, the link is
3934 not made, unless the '!' is given. For a ":highlight link" command in a
3935 sourced file, you don't get an error message. This can be used to skip
3936 links for groups that already have settings.
3937
3938 *:hi-default* *:highlight-default*
3939The [default] argument is used for setting the default highlighting for a
3940group. If highlighting has already been specified for the group the command
3941will be ignored. Also when there is an existing link.
3942
3943Using [default] is especially useful to overrule the highlighting of a
3944specific syntax file. For example, the C syntax file contains: >
3945 :highlight default link cComment Comment
3946If you like Question highlighting for C comments, put this in your vimrc file: >
3947 :highlight link cComment Question
3948Without the "default" in the C syntax file, the highlighting would be
3949overruled when the syntax file is loaded.
3950
3951==============================================================================
395214. Cleaning up *:syn-clear* *E391*
3953
3954If you want to clear the syntax stuff for the current buffer, you can use this
3955command: >
3956 :syntax clear
3957
3958This command should be used when you want to switch off syntax highlighting,
3959or when you want to switch to using another syntax. It's normally not needed
3960in a syntax file itself, because syntax is cleared by the autocommands that
3961load the syntax file.
3962The command also deletes the "b:current_syntax" variable, since no syntax is
3963loaded after this command.
3964
3965If you want to disable syntax highlighting for all buffers, you need to remove
3966the autocommands that load the syntax files: >
3967 :syntax off
3968
3969What this command actually does, is executing the command >
3970 :source $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/nosyntax.vim
3971See the "nosyntax.vim" file for details. Note that for this to work
3972$VIMRUNTIME must be valid. See |$VIMRUNTIME|.
3973
3974To clean up specific syntax groups for the current buffer: >
3975 :syntax clear {group-name} ..
3976This removes all patterns and keywords for {group-name}.
3977
3978To clean up specific syntax group lists for the current buffer: >
3979 :syntax clear @{grouplist-name} ..
3980This sets {grouplist-name}'s contents to an empty list.
3981
3982 *:syntax-reset* *:syn-reset*
3983If you have changed the colors and messed them up, use this command to get the
3984defaults back: >
3985
3986 :syntax reset
3987
3988This doesn't change the colors for the 'highlight' option.
3989
3990Note that the syntax colors that you set in your vimrc file will also be reset
3991back to their Vim default.
3992Note that if you are using a color scheme, the colors defined by the color
3993scheme for syntax highlighting will be lost.
3994
3995What this actually does is: >
3996
3997 let g:syntax_cmd = "reset"
3998 runtime! syntax/syncolor.vim
3999
4000Note that this uses the 'runtimepath' option.
4001
4002 *syncolor*
4003If you want to use different colors for syntax highlighting, you can add a Vim
4004script file to set these colors. Put this file in a directory in
4005'runtimepath' which comes after $VIMRUNTIME, so that your settings overrule
4006the default colors. This way these colors will be used after the ":syntax
4007reset" command.
4008
4009For Unix you can use the file ~/.vim/after/syntax/syncolor.vim. Example: >
4010
4011 if &background == "light"
4012 highlight comment ctermfg=darkgreen guifg=darkgreen
4013 else
4014 highlight comment ctermfg=green guifg=green
4015 endif
4016
4017Note that when a color scheme is used, there might be some confusion whether
4018your defined colors are to be used or the colors from the scheme. This
4019depends on the color scheme file. See |:colorscheme|.
4020
4021 *syntax_cmd*
4022The "syntax_cmd" variable is set to one of these values when the
4023syntax/syncolor.vim files are loaded:
4024 "on" ":syntax on" command. Highlight colors are overruled but
4025 links are kept
4026 "enable" ":syntax enable" command. Only define colors for groups that
4027 don't have highlighting yet. Use ":syntax default".
4028 "reset" ":syntax reset" command or loading a color scheme. Define all
4029 the colors.
4030 "skip" Don't define colors. Used to skip the default settings when a
4031 syncolor.vim file earlier in 'runtimepath' has already set
4032 them.
4033
4034==============================================================================
403515. Highlighting tags *tag-highlight*
4036
4037If you want to highlight all the tags in your file, you can use the following
4038mappings.
4039
4040 <F11> -- Generate tags.vim file, and highlight tags.
4041 <F12> -- Just highlight tags based on existing tags.vim file.
4042>
4043 :map <F11> :sp tags<CR>:%s/^\([^ :]*:\)\=\([^ ]*\).*/syntax keyword Tag \2/<CR>:wq! tags.vim<CR>/^<CR><F12>
4044 :map <F12> :so tags.vim<CR>
4045
4046WARNING: The longer the tags file, the slower this will be, and the more
4047memory Vim will consume.
4048
4049Only highlighting typedefs, unions and structs can be done too. For this you
4050must use Exuberant ctags (found at http://ctags.sf.net).
4051
4052Put these lines in your Makefile:
4053
4054# Make a highlight file for types. Requires Exuberant ctags and awk
4055types: types.vim
4056types.vim: *.[ch]
4057 ctags -i=gstuS -o- *.[ch] |\
4058 awk 'BEGIN{printf("syntax keyword Type\t")}\
4059 {printf("%s ", $$1)}END{print ""}' > $@
4060
4061And put these lines in your .vimrc: >
4062
4063 " load the types.vim highlighting file, if it exists
4064 autocmd BufRead,BufNewFile *.[ch] let fname = expand('<afile>:p:h') . '/types.vim'
4065 autocmd BufRead,BufNewFile *.[ch] if filereadable(fname)
4066 autocmd BufRead,BufNewFile *.[ch] exe 'so ' . fname
4067 autocmd BufRead,BufNewFile *.[ch] endif
4068
4069==============================================================================
407016. Color xterms *xterm-color* *color-xterm*
4071
4072Most color xterms have only eight colors. If you don't get colors with the
4073default setup, it should work with these lines in your .vimrc: >
4074 :if &term =~ "xterm"
4075 : if has("terminfo")
4076 : set t_Co=8
4077 : set t_Sf=<Esc>[3%p1%dm
4078 : set t_Sb=<Esc>[4%p1%dm
4079 : else
4080 : set t_Co=8
4081 : set t_Sf=<Esc>[3%dm
4082 : set t_Sb=<Esc>[4%dm
4083 : endif
4084 :endif
4085< [<Esc> is a real escape, type CTRL-V <Esc>]
4086
4087You might want to change the first "if" to match the name of your terminal,
4088e.g. "dtterm" instead of "xterm".
4089
4090Note: Do these settings BEFORE doing ":syntax on". Otherwise the colors may
4091be wrong.
4092 *xiterm* *rxvt*
4093The above settings have been mentioned to work for xiterm and rxvt too.
4094But for using 16 colors in an rxvt these should work with terminfo: >
4095 :set t_AB=<Esc>[%?%p1%{8}%<%t25;%p1%{40}%+%e5;%p1%{32}%+%;%dm
4096 :set t_AF=<Esc>[%?%p1%{8}%<%t22;%p1%{30}%+%e1;%p1%{22}%+%;%dm
4097<
4098 *colortest.vim*
4099To test your color setup, a file has been included in the Vim distribution.
4100To use it, execute these commands: >
4101 :e $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/colortest.vim
4102 :so %
4103
4104Some versions of xterm (and other terminals, like the linux console) can
4105output lighter foreground colors, even though the number of colors is defined
4106at 8. Therefore Vim sets the "cterm=bold" attribute for light foreground
4107colors, when 't_Co' is 8.
4108
4109 *xfree-xterm*
4110To get 16 colors or more, get the newest xterm version (which should be
4111included with Xfree86 3.3 and later). You can also find the latest version
4112at: >
4113 http://invisible-island.net/xterm/xterm.html
4114Here is a good way to configure it. This uses 88 colors and enables the
4115termcap-query feature, which allows Vim to ask the xterm how many colors it
4116supports. >
4117 ./configure --disable-bold-color --enable-88-color --enable-tcap-query
4118If you only get 8 colors, check the xterm compilation settings.
4119(Also see |UTF8-xterm| for using this xterm with UTF-8 character encoding).
4120
4121This xterm should work with these lines in your .vimrc (for 16 colors): >
4122 :if has("terminfo")
4123 : set t_Co=16
4124 : set t_AB=<Esc>[%?%p1%{8}%<%t%p1%{40}%+%e%p1%{92}%+%;%dm
4125 : set t_AF=<Esc>[%?%p1%{8}%<%t%p1%{30}%+%e%p1%{82}%+%;%dm
4126 :else
4127 : set t_Co=16
4128 : set t_Sf=<Esc>[3%dm
4129 : set t_Sb=<Esc>[4%dm
4130 :endif
4131< [<Esc> is a real escape, type CTRL-V <Esc>]
4132
4133Without |+terminfo|, Vim will recognize these settings, and automatically
4134translate cterm colors of 8 and above to "<Esc>[9%dm" and "<Esc>[10%dm".
4135Colors above 16 are also translated automatically.
4136
4137For 256 colors this has been reported to work: >
4138
4139 :set t_AB=<Esc>[48;5;%dm
4140 :set t_AF=<Esc>[38;5;%dm
4141
4142Or just set the TERM environment variable to "xterm-color" or "xterm-16color"
4143and try if that works.
4144
4145You probably want to use these X resources (in your ~/.Xdefaults file):
4146 XTerm*color0: #000000
4147 XTerm*color1: #c00000
4148 XTerm*color2: #008000
4149 XTerm*color3: #808000
4150 XTerm*color4: #0000c0
4151 XTerm*color5: #c000c0
4152 XTerm*color6: #008080
4153 XTerm*color7: #c0c0c0
4154 XTerm*color8: #808080
4155 XTerm*color9: #ff6060
4156 XTerm*color10: #00ff00
4157 XTerm*color11: #ffff00
4158 XTerm*color12: #8080ff
4159 XTerm*color13: #ff40ff
4160 XTerm*color14: #00ffff
4161 XTerm*color15: #ffffff
4162 Xterm*cursorColor: Black
4163
4164[Note: The cursorColor is required to work around a bug, which changes the
4165cursor color to the color of the last drawn text. This has been fixed by a
4166newer version of xterm, but not everybody is it using yet.]
4167
4168To get these right away, reload the .Xdefaults file to the X Option database
4169Manager (you only need to do this when you just changed the .Xdefaults file): >
4170 xrdb -merge ~/.Xdefaults
4171<
4172 *xterm-blink* *xterm-blinking-cursor*
4173To make the cursor blink in an xterm, see tools/blink.c. Or use Thomas
4174Dickey's xterm above patchlevel 107 (see above for where to get it), with
4175these resources:
4176 XTerm*cursorBlink: on
4177 XTerm*cursorOnTime: 400
4178 XTerm*cursorOffTime: 250
4179 XTerm*cursorColor: White
4180
4181 *hpterm-color*
4182These settings work (more or less) for a hpterm, which only supports 8
4183foreground colors: >
4184 :if has("terminfo")
4185 : set t_Co=8
4186 : set t_Sf=<Esc>[&v%p1%dS
4187 : set t_Sb=<Esc>[&v7S
4188 :else
4189 : set t_Co=8
4190 : set t_Sf=<Esc>[&v%dS
4191 : set t_Sb=<Esc>[&v7S
4192 :endif
4193< [<Esc> is a real escape, type CTRL-V <Esc>]
4194
4195 *Eterm* *enlightened-terminal*
4196These settings have been reported to work for the Enlightened terminal
4197emulator, or Eterm. They might work for all xterm-like terminals that use the
4198bold attribute to get bright colors. Add an ":if" like above when needed. >
4199 :set t_Co=16
4200 :set t_AF=^[[%?%p1%{8}%<%t3%p1%d%e%p1%{22}%+%d;1%;m
4201 :set t_AB=^[[%?%p1%{8}%<%t4%p1%d%e%p1%{32}%+%d;1%;m
4202<
4203 *TTpro-telnet*
4204These settings should work for TTpro telnet. Tera Term Pro is a freeware /
4205open-source program for MS-Windows. >
4206 set t_Co=16
4207 set t_AB=^[[%?%p1%{8}%<%t%p1%{40}%+%e%p1%{32}%+5;%;%dm
4208 set t_AF=^[[%?%p1%{8}%<%t%p1%{30}%+%e%p1%{22}%+1;%;%dm
4209Also make sure TTpro's Setup / Window / Full Color is enabled, and make sure
4210that Setup / Font / Enable Bold is NOT enabled.
4211(info provided by John Love-Jensen <eljay@Adobe.COM>)
4212
4213 vim:tw=78:sw=4:ts=8:ft=help:norl: