Changes: Automatic formatting of paragraphs

Revision as of 05:40, 3 February 2016

Tip 440 Printable Monobook Previous Next

created 2003 · complexity basic · author Stanislav Sitar · version 6.0

When editing a plain-text file (not a program) it can be useful to have lines automatically broken when a certain length is reached. For example, the following command sets the current buffer so that lines longer than 60 characters are broken (a newline is automatically inserted):

:setlocal textwidth=60
" Following (using abbreviations) is equivalent.
:setl tw=60

Formatting a paragraph

You may edit a paragraph consisting of several lines. When finished editing, some lines may be shorter than required. To fix this, in normal mode, type gqip to format the "inner paragraph". In this context, "format" means to reflow the paragraph so that all lines are the optimal length.

Alternatively, format options can be set so that a paragraph is reflowed automatically, after each change. :help auto-format

An example setting for formatoptions (fo) is:

:setl fo=aw2tq

Comments

TO DO

Explain what above fo does, and how to configure so paragraphs do not have the first line indented, and are separated by a blank line.
Discuss :setl fo+=a and :setl fo-=a.
Incorporate following comments.

Sometimes it is useful to keep each paragraph as one long line (that is, do not break the paragraph into lines). See these related tips:

The following sets the current buffer so that long lines are automatically wrapped on the screen, with lines only breaking at a space. The mappings move the cursor up/down by screen lines instead of by file lines. There is a space following the backslash for the 'breakat' option (the set command requires a backslash before each space). Each long line will be displayed on the screen as multiple lines.

setlocal wrap nolist linebreak breakat=\ 
nnoremap j gj
nnoremap k gk
vnoremap j gj
vnoremap k gk

Automatically inserting line breaks is a disaster when editing programs, but is very good for editing a text file. With the following in your vimrc, the settings will only be applied to *.txt files:

au BufEnter *.txt setl tx ts=4 sw=4 fo+=n2a

If you make a change to a wrapped paragraph and need to re-format it, you can use gq followed by a movement over the area you want to re-format, e.g. 3j or }.

Automatic text wrapping and re-formatting with gq can work on comments lines also, provided the value of the 'comments' option is set correctly.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{review}}
-{{Deprecated|You CERTAINLY DON'T need to install Cream as this tip suggests.  This feature is built into Vim without Cream!}}
 {{TipImported
 |id=440
 |previous=438
 |next=441
-|created=March 10, 2003
+|created=2003
-|complexity=intermediate
+|complexity=basic
 |author=Stanislav Sitar
 |version=6.0
 |rating=44/17
+|category1=
+|category2=
 }}
+When editing a plain-text file (not a program) it can be useful to have lines automatically broken when a certain length is reached. For example, the following command sets the current buffer so that lines longer than 60 characters are broken (a newline is automatically inserted):
-When I use Vim to create plain-text files (like mail messages) I like the feature that automatically makes lines XY characters long. I simply type ':set tw=60' on the command line, and as I type lines are broken (autorwapped) before they reach 60 characters length. The problem is, when I latter decide to edit the paragraph. When I delete or add some words, the paragraph looks broken.
+<pre>
+:setlocal textwidth=60
+" Following (using abbreviations) is equivalent.
+:setl tw=60
+</pre>
+==Formatting a paragraph==
-The solution is to type '&lt;Esc&gt;gqap' to format a paragraph or make a mapping for this command. However, it annoys me to do it repeatedly.
+You may edit a paragraph consisting of several lines. When finished editing, some lines may be shorter than required. To fix this, in normal mode, type <code>gqip</code> to format the "inner paragraph". In this context, "format" means to reflow the paragraph so that all lines are the optimal length.
+Alternatively, format options can be set so that a paragraph is reflowed automatically, after each change. {{help|auto-format}}
-There is a better solution.
-. Go to http://cream.sourceforge.net/vim.html and download the latest patched Vim
-. Install the program.
-. See {{help|auto-format}}.
-I will not repeat the docs here. For the impatient, set fotmatoptions to aw2tq ':set fo=aw2tq' and start typing.
-The text flows automagically between lines as you type text inside the paragraph.
-==Comments==
-Not bad, but if you do
+An example setting for <code>formatoptions</code> (<code>fo</code>) is:
 <pre>
+:setl fo=aw2tq
-set linebreak
-set breakat=\
-set nolist
 </pre>
+==Comments==
-and place a mapping:
+{{todo}}
+*Explain what above <code>fo</code> does, and how to configure so paragraphs do not have the first line indented, and are separated by a blank line.
+*Discuss <code>:setl fo+=a</code> and <code>:setl fo-=a</code>.
+*Incorporate following comments.
+----
+Sometimes it is useful to keep each paragraph as one long line (that is, do ''not'' break the paragraph into lines). See these related tips:
+*[[VimTip38|38 Move cursor by display lines when wrapping]]
+*[[VimTip989|989 Word wrap without line breaks]]
+The following sets the current buffer so that long lines are automatically wrapped on the screen, with lines only breaking at a space. The mappings move the cursor up/down by screen lines instead of by file lines. There is a space following the backslash for the <code>'breakat'</code> option (the <code>set</code> command requires a backslash before each space). Each long line will be displayed on the screen as multiple lines.
 <pre>
+setlocal wrap nolist linebreak breakat=\&nbsp;
-"move one 'corsor-line' line instead of one 'code-line' up/down
 nnoremap j gj
 nnoremap k gk
@@ Line 45: / Line 46: @@
 vnoremap k gk
 </pre>
-you can also type and edit paragraphs, and will never need to format it (because it will keep one long line :)
 ----
+Automatically inserting line breaks is a disaster when editing programs, but is very good for editing a text file. With the following in your [[vimrc]], the settings will only be applied to *.txt files:
-Keeping paragraphs as a one long line is a pretty bad idea if the text is to be read by other people, with other tools.
+<pre>
+au BufEnter *.txt setl tx ts=4 sw=4 fo+=n2a
+</pre>
 ----
+If you make a change to a wrapped paragraph and need to re-format it, you can use <code>gq</code> followed by a movement over the area you want to re-format, e.g. <code>3j</code> or <code>}</code>.
-This is double-edge settings. I found it is a disaster for editing scripts, such as vimrc and jsp,
-but very good for editing free-style text file.
+Automatic text wrapping and re-formatting with <code>gq</code> can work on comments lines also, provided the value of the {{help|prefix=no|id='comments'}} option is set correctly.
-To get the best of both worlds, I used the following:
- au BufEnter *.txt setl tx ts=4 sw=4 fo+=n2a
-Only all *.txt files will use this auto thing.
-----