JohnBeckett (talk | contribs) (→Comments: question on recent edit) |
(Change <tt> to <code>, perhaps also minor tweak.) |
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− | Vim can easily [[highlight all search pattern matches]] and [[Search|search for the current word]] (the word under the cursor). This tip shows how to automatically highlight all occurrences of the current word without searching. That can useful when examining unfamiliar source code: just move the cursor to a variable, and all occurrences of the variable will be highlighted. |
+ | Vim can easily [[highlight all search pattern matches]] and [[Search|search for the current word]] (the word under the cursor). This tip shows how to automatically highlight all occurrences of the current word without searching. That can be useful when examining unfamiliar source code: just move the cursor to a variable, and all occurrences of the variable will be highlighted. |
==Script== |
==Script== |
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− | Put the following code in your [[vimrc]], or create file < |
+ | Put the following code in your [[vimrc]], or create file <code>~/.vim/plugin/autohighlight.vim</code> (Unix) or <code>$HOME/vimfiles/plugin/autohighlight.vim</code> (Windows) containing the script below. Then restart Vim. |
− | To automatically highlight the current word, type < |
+ | To automatically highlight the current word, type <code>z/</code>. To turn off, type <code>z/</code> again. |
<pre> |
<pre> |
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" Highlight all instances of word under cursor, when idle. |
" Highlight all instances of word under cursor, when idle. |
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==Comments== |
==Comments== |
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===Escaping=== |
===Escaping=== |
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− | A recent edit ([http://vim.wikia.com/index.php?title=Auto_highlight_current_word_when_idle&diff=29630&oldid=27148 here]) introduced < |
+ | A recent edit ([http://vim.wikia.com/index.php?title=Auto_highlight_current_word_when_idle&diff=29630&oldid=27148 here]) introduced <code>escape()</code> into the previous line (which was <code>au CursorHold * let @/ = '\<'.expand('<cword>').'\>'</code>). In general the escape is a good idea, but in practice the current word (cword) is unlikely to have punctuation in it that needs escaping. Thoughts? [[User:JohnBeckett|JohnBeckett]] 07:11, March 3, 2011 (UTC) |
+ | :I note that <cword> works depending on the 'isk' setting, which for some filetypes (very notably, help files) could contain a backslash. I note that the backslash is the only character escaped in the addition. Since we are using the "very no magic" \V modifier, this is really the only character that could possibly need escaping. I think we should keep it, but explain why. --[[User:Fritzophrenic|Fritzophrenic]] 15:30, March 3, 2011 (UTC) |
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+ | |||
+ | ===Load at startup=== |
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+ | How can I load this at startup without a mapping? |
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+ | :Either put a <code>call AutoHighlightToggle()</code> into your .vimrc after defining the function, or just grab the "guts" of the function which turn the highlight on, and add them directly to your .vimrc. The latter would be especially useful if you just want the behavior always on. --[[User:Fritzophrenic|Fritzophrenic]] 16:57, June 20, 2011 (UTC) |
Revision as of 12:32, 15 July 2012
created 2003 · complexity basic · author mosh · version 6.0
Vim can easily highlight all search pattern matches and search for the current word (the word under the cursor). This tip shows how to automatically highlight all occurrences of the current word without searching. That can be useful when examining unfamiliar source code: just move the cursor to a variable, and all occurrences of the variable will be highlighted.
Script
Put the following code in your vimrc, or create file ~/.vim/plugin/autohighlight.vim
(Unix) or $HOME/vimfiles/plugin/autohighlight.vim
(Windows) containing the script below. Then restart Vim.
To automatically highlight the current word, type z/
. To turn off, type z/
again.
" Highlight all instances of word under cursor, when idle. " Useful when studying strange source code. " Type z/ to toggle highlighting on/off. nnoremap z/ :if AutoHighlightToggle()<Bar>set hls<Bar>endif<CR> function! AutoHighlightToggle() let @/ = '' if exists('#auto_highlight') au! auto_highlight augroup! auto_highlight setl updatetime=4000 echo 'Highlight current word: off' return 0 else augroup auto_highlight au! au CursorHold * let @/ = '\V\<'.escape(expand('<cword>'), '\').'\>' augroup end setl updatetime=500 echo 'Highlight current word: ON' return 1 endif endfunction
Comments
Escaping
A recent edit (here) introduced escape()
into the previous line (which was au CursorHold * let @/ = '\<'.expand('<cword>').'\>'
). In general the escape is a good idea, but in practice the current word (cword) is unlikely to have punctuation in it that needs escaping. Thoughts? JohnBeckett 07:11, March 3, 2011 (UTC)
- I note that <cword> works depending on the 'isk' setting, which for some filetypes (very notably, help files) could contain a backslash. I note that the backslash is the only character escaped in the addition. Since we are using the "very no magic" \V modifier, this is really the only character that could possibly need escaping. I think we should keep it, but explain why. --Fritzophrenic 15:30, March 3, 2011 (UTC)
Load at startup
How can I load this at startup without a mapping?
- Either put a
call AutoHighlightToggle()
into your .vimrc after defining the function, or just grab the "guts" of the function which turn the highlight on, and add them directly to your .vimrc. The latter would be especially useful if you just want the behavior always on. --Fritzophrenic 16:57, June 20, 2011 (UTC)