Generic xml imap to make an element of any word you type

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created 2003 · complexity basic · author Bart van Deenen · version 6.0

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We're doing a lot of xml work, in docbook and custom xml files. Here is one mapping that I use all the time.

imap ,,, <Esc>bdwa<<Esc>pa><CR></<Esc>pa><Esc>kA

If in isert mode I type programlisting,,, the text immediately gets modified to

<programlisting>
</programlisting>

with the cursor in between, still in insert mode.

The same happens with any other word I type followed by three commas.

<tryit>
</tryit>

Comments

If you change the b to B and the w to W, then the imap will go over the colon in a namespace.

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If you use :set ai then indenting will be retained.

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I improved my imap with a function. Put the following in xml.vim in your ftplugin directory, or source it in your vimrc. The ^] and ^M are entered via <CTRL-V><Esc> and <CTRL-V><CR>

function! Make_element()
  "function to make an xml element at the current cursor position out of the
  "contents of the just deleted unnamed register "
  "Bart van Deenen
  if match(getline('.'),'^\s*'.@".'\s*$') == -1
    "the deleted word was not alone on the line
    let @w = "i<^[ea></^[pa>^[F<i"
  else "the deleted word was on it's own on the line
    let @w = "i<^[ea>^M</^[pa>^[kA"
  endif
endfunction
"include colon(58) for namespaces in xsl for instance
set iskeyword=@,48-57,_,192-255,58
imap <buffer> ,,, <Esc>bye:call Make_element()<CR>@w

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It's probably better to use :setlocal iskeyword than :set

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Just a quick note, instead of setting the "iskeyword" like that, you can use

:set iskeyword+=:

to add the colon to the list of characters/ranges, this way you won't break anything else if it depends on specific settings of iskeyword.

References

• :help :set+=
• :help :set-=

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This tip is great, but it does not work if the word is only one character long, like "a" in html.

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I uploaded this as script#632 with a correction that handles one-character words.

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Try VimTip583 (Vim as XML Editor).

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This fixes the case where you have only one (or more) character(s):

inoremap ,,, <Esc>diwi<<Esc>pa><CR></<Esc>pa><Esc>kA

Then, typing

p,,,

results in

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