xref: /vim-8.2.3635/runtime/doc/quickfix.txt (revision 94688b8a)
1*quickfix.txt*  For Vim version 8.1.  Last change: 2019 Jan 13
2
3
4		  VIM REFERENCE MANUAL    by Bram Moolenaar
5
6
7This subject is introduced in section |30.1| of the user manual.
8
91. Using QuickFix commands		|quickfix|
102. The error window			|quickfix-window|
113. Using more than one list of errors	|quickfix-error-lists|
124. Using :make				|:make_makeprg|
135. Using :grep				|grep|
146. Selecting a compiler			|compiler-select|
157. The error format			|error-file-format|
168. The directory stack			|quickfix-directory-stack|
179. Specific error file formats		|errorformats|
18
19{Vi does not have any of these commands}
20
21The quickfix commands are not available when the |+quickfix| feature was
22disabled at compile time.
23
24=============================================================================
251. Using QuickFix commands			*quickfix* *Quickfix* *E42*
26
27Vim has a special mode to speedup the edit-compile-edit cycle.  This is
28inspired by the quickfix option of the Manx's Aztec C compiler on the Amiga.
29The idea is to save the error messages from the compiler in a file and use Vim
30to jump to the errors one by one.  You can examine each problem and fix it,
31without having to remember all the error messages.
32
33In Vim the quickfix commands are used more generally to find a list of
34positions in files.  For example, |:vimgrep| finds pattern matches.  You can
35use the positions in a script with the |getqflist()| function.  Thus you can
36do a lot more than the edit/compile/fix cycle!
37
38If you have the error messages in a file you can start Vim with: >
39	vim -q filename
40
41From inside Vim an easy way to run a command and handle the output is with the
42|:make| command (see below).
43
44The 'errorformat' option should be set to match the error messages from your
45compiler (see |errorformat| below).
46
47							*quickfix-ID*
48Each quickfix list has a unique identifier called the quickfix ID and this
49number will not change within a Vim session. The |getqflist()| function can be
50used to get the identifier assigned to a list. There is also a quickfix list
51number which may change whenever more than ten lists are added to a quickfix
52stack.
53
54						*location-list* *E776*
55A location list is a window-local quickfix list. You get one after commands
56like `:lvimgrep`, `:lgrep`, `:lhelpgrep`, `:lmake`, etc., which create a
57location list instead of a quickfix list as the corresponding `:vimgrep`,
58`:grep`, `:helpgrep`, `:make` do.
59						*location-list-file-window*
60A location list is associated with a window and each window can have a
61separate location list.  A location list can be associated with only one
62window.  The location list is independent of the quickfix list.
63
64When a window with a location list is split, the new window gets a copy of the
65location list.  When there are no longer any references to a location list,
66the location list is destroyed.
67
68						*quickfix-changedtick*
69Every quickfix and location list has a read-only changedtick variable that
70tracks the total number of changes made to the list.  Every time the quickfix
71list is modified, this count is incremented. This can be used to perform an
72action only when the list has changed.  The |getqflist()| and |getloclist()|
73functions can be used to query the current value of changedtick.  You cannot
74change the changedtick variable.
75
76The following quickfix commands can be used.  The location list commands are
77similar to the quickfix commands, replacing the 'c' prefix in the quickfix
78command with 'l'.
79
80							*E924*
81If the current window was closed by an |autocommand| while processing a
82location list command, it will be aborted.
83
84							*E925* *E926*
85If the current quickfix or location list was changed by an |autocommand| while
86processing a quickfix or location list command, it will be aborted.
87
88							*:cc*
89:cc[!] [nr]		Display error [nr].  If [nr] is omitted, the same
90			error is displayed again.  Without [!] this doesn't
91			work when jumping to another buffer, the current buffer
92			has been changed, there is the only window for the
93			buffer and both 'hidden' and 'autowrite' are off.
94			When jumping to another buffer with [!] any changes to
95			the current buffer are lost, unless 'hidden' is set or
96			there is another window for this buffer.
97			The 'switchbuf' settings are respected when jumping
98			to a buffer.
99
100							*:ll*
101:ll[!] [nr]		Same as ":cc", except the location list for the
102			current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
103
104							*:cn* *:cnext* *E553*
105:[count]cn[ext][!]	Display the [count] next error in the list that
106			includes a file name.  If there are no file names at
107			all, go to the [count] next error.  See |:cc| for
108			[!] and 'switchbuf'.
109
110							*:lne* *:lnext*
111:[count]lne[xt][!]	Same as ":cnext", except the location list for the
112			current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
113
114:[count]cN[ext][!]		*:cp* *:cprevious*  *:cprev* *:cN* *:cNext*
115:[count]cp[revious][!]	Display the [count] previous error in the list that
116			includes a file name.  If there are no file names at
117			all, go to the [count] previous error.  See |:cc| for
118			[!] and 'switchbuf'.
119
120
121:[count]lN[ext][!]		*:lp* *:lprevious* *:lprev* *:lN* *:lNext*
122:[count]lp[revious][!]	Same as ":cNext" and ":cprevious", except the location
123			list for the current window is used instead of the
124			quickfix list.
125
126							*:cnf* *:cnfile*
127:[count]cnf[ile][!]	Display the first error in the [count] next file in
128			the list that includes a file name.  If there are no
129			file names at all or if there is no next file, go to
130			the [count] next error.  See |:cc| for [!] and
131			'switchbuf'.
132
133							*:lnf* *:lnfile*
134:[count]lnf[ile][!]	Same as ":cnfile", except the location list for the
135			current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
136
137:[count]cNf[ile][!]			*:cpf* *:cpfile* *:cNf* *:cNfile*
138:[count]cpf[ile][!]	Display the last error in the [count] previous file in
139			the list that includes a file name.  If there are no
140			file names at all or if there is no next file, go to
141			the [count] previous error.  See |:cc| for [!] and
142			'switchbuf'.
143
144
145:[count]lNf[ile][!]			*:lpf* *:lpfile* *:lNf* *:lNfile*
146:[count]lpf[ile][!]	Same as ":cNfile" and ":cpfile", except the location
147			list for the current window is used instead of the
148			quickfix list.
149
150							*:crewind* *:cr*
151:cr[ewind][!] [nr]	Display error [nr].  If [nr] is omitted, the FIRST
152			error is displayed.  See |:cc|.
153
154							*:lrewind* *:lr*
155:lr[ewind][!] [nr]	Same as ":crewind", except the location list for the
156			current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
157
158							*:cfirst* *:cfir*
159:cfir[st][!] [nr]	Same as ":crewind".
160
161							*:lfirst* *:lfir*
162:lfir[st][!] [nr]	Same as ":lrewind".
163
164							*:clast* *:cla*
165:cla[st][!] [nr]	Display error [nr].  If [nr] is omitted, the LAST
166			error is displayed.  See |:cc|.
167
168							*:llast* *:lla*
169:lla[st][!] [nr]	Same as ":clast", except the location list for the
170			current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
171
172							*:cq* *:cquit*
173:cq[uit][!]		Quit Vim with an error code, so that the compiler
174			will not compile the same file again.
175			WARNING: All changes in files are lost!  Also when the
176			[!] is not used.  It works like ":qall!" |:qall|,
177			except that Vim returns a non-zero exit code.
178
179							*:cf* *:cfile*
180:cf[ile][!] [errorfile]	Read the error file and jump to the first error.
181			This is done automatically when Vim is started with
182			the -q option.  You can use this command when you
183			keep Vim running while compiling.  If you give the
184			name of the errorfile, the 'errorfile' option will
185			be set to [errorfile].  See |:cc| for [!].
186			If the encoding of the error file differs from the
187			'encoding' option, you can use the 'makeencoding'
188			option to specify the encoding.
189
190							*:lf* *:lfile*
191:lf[ile][!] [errorfile]	Same as ":cfile", except the location list for the
192			current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
193			You can not use the -q command-line option to set
194			the location list.
195
196
197:cg[etfile] [errorfile]					*:cg* *:cgetfile*
198			Read the error file.  Just like ":cfile" but don't
199			jump to the first error.
200			If the encoding of the error file differs from the
201			'encoding' option, you can use the 'makeencoding'
202			option to specify the encoding.
203
204
205:lg[etfile] [errorfile]					*:lg* *:lgetfile*
206			Same as ":cgetfile", except the location list for the
207			current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
208
209							*:caddf* *:caddfile*
210:caddf[ile] [errorfile]	Read the error file and add the errors from the
211			errorfile to the current quickfix list. If a quickfix
212			list is not present, then a new list is created.
213			If the encoding of the error file differs from the
214			'encoding' option, you can use the 'makeencoding'
215			option to specify the encoding.
216
217							*:laddf* *:laddfile*
218:laddf[ile] [errorfile]	Same as ":caddfile", except the location list for the
219			current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
220
221						*:cb* *:cbuffer* *E681*
222:cb[uffer][!] [bufnr]	Read the error list from the current buffer.
223			When [bufnr] is given it must be the number of a
224			loaded buffer.  That buffer will then be used instead
225			of the current buffer.
226			A range can be specified for the lines to be used.
227			Otherwise all lines in the buffer are used.
228			See |:cc| for [!].
229
230						*:lb* *:lbuffer*
231:lb[uffer][!] [bufnr]	Same as ":cbuffer", except the location list for the
232			current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
233
234						*:cgetb* *:cgetbuffer*
235:cgetb[uffer] [bufnr]	Read the error list from the current buffer.  Just
236			like ":cbuffer" but don't jump to the first error.
237
238						*:lgetb* *:lgetbuffer*
239:lgetb[uffer] [bufnr]	Same as ":cgetbuffer", except the location list for
240			the current window is used instead of the quickfix
241			list.
242
243							*:cad* *:caddbuffer*
244:cad[dbuffer] [bufnr]	Read the error list from the current buffer and add
245			the errors to the current quickfix list.  If a
246			quickfix list is not present, then a new list is
247			created. Otherwise, same as ":cbuffer".
248
249							*:laddb* *:laddbuffer*
250:laddb[uffer] [bufnr]	Same as ":caddbuffer", except the location list for
251			the current window is used instead of the quickfix
252			list.
253
254							*:cex* *:cexpr* *E777*
255:cex[pr][!] {expr}	Create a quickfix list using the result of {expr} and
256			jump to the first error.
257			If {expr} is a String, then each new-line terminated
258			line in the String is processed using the global value
259			of 'errorformat' and the result is added to the
260			quickfix list.
261			If {expr} is a List, then each String item in the list
262			is processed and added to the quickfix list.  Non
263			String items in the List are ignored.
264			See |:cc| for [!].
265			Examples: >
266				:cexpr system('grep -n xyz *')
267				:cexpr getline(1, '$')
268<
269							*:lex* *:lexpr*
270:lex[pr][!] {expr}	Same as |:cexpr|, except the location list for the
271			current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
272
273							*:cgete* *:cgetexpr*
274:cgete[xpr] {expr}	Create a quickfix list using the result of {expr}.
275			Just like |:cexpr|, but don't jump to the first error.
276
277							*:lgete* *:lgetexpr*
278:lgete[xpr] {expr}	Same as |:cgetexpr|, except the location list for the
279			current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
280
281							*:cadde* *:caddexpr*
282:cadde[xpr] {expr}	Evaluate {expr} and add the resulting lines to the
283			current quickfix list. If a quickfix list is not
284			present, then a new list is created. The current
285			cursor position will not be changed. See |:cexpr| for
286			more information.
287			Example: >
288    :g/mypattern/caddexpr expand("%") . ":" . line(".") .  ":" . getline(".")
289<
290							*:lad* *:laddexpr*
291:lad[dexpr] {expr}	Same as ":caddexpr", except the location list for the
292			current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
293
294							*:cl* *:clist*
295:cl[ist] [from] [, [to]]
296			List all errors that are valid |quickfix-valid|.
297			If numbers [from] and/or [to] are given, the respective
298			range of errors is listed.  A negative number counts
299			from the last error backwards, -1 being the last error.
300			The 'switchbuf' settings are respected when jumping
301			to a buffer.
302			The |:filter| command can be used to display only the
303			quickfix entries matching a supplied pattern. The
304			pattern is matched against the filename, module name,
305			pattern and text of the entry.
306
307:cl[ist] +{count}	List the current and next {count} valid errors.  This
308			is similar to ":clist from from+count", where "from"
309			is the current error position.
310
311:cl[ist]! [from] [, [to]]
312			List all errors.
313
314:cl[ist]! +{count}	List the current and next {count} error lines.  This
315                        is useful to see unrecognized lines after the current
316			one.  For example, if ":clist" shows:
317        8384 testje.java:252: error: cannot find symbol ~
318                        Then using ":cl! +3" shows the reason:
319        8384 testje.java:252: error: cannot find symbol ~
320        8385:   ZexitCode = Fmainx(); ~
321        8386:               ^ ~
322        8387:   symbol:   method Fmainx() ~
323
324:lli[st] [from] [, [to]]				*:lli* *:llist*
325			Same as ":clist", except the location list for the
326			current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
327
328:lli[st]! [from] [, [to]]
329			List all the entries in the location list for the
330			current window.
331
332If you insert or delete lines, mostly the correct error location is still
333found because hidden marks are used.  Sometimes, when the mark has been
334deleted for some reason, the message "line changed" is shown to warn you that
335the error location may not be correct.  If you quit Vim and start again the
336marks are lost and the error locations may not be correct anymore.
337
338Two autocommands are available for running commands before and after a
339quickfix command (':make', ':grep' and so on) is executed. See
340|QuickFixCmdPre| and |QuickFixCmdPost| for details.
341
342						*QuickFixCmdPost-example*
343When 'encoding' differs from the locale, the error messages may have a
344different encoding from what Vim is using.  To convert the messages you can
345use this code: >
346	function QfMakeConv()
347	   let qflist = getqflist()
348	   for i in qflist
349	      let i.text = iconv(i.text, "cp936", "utf-8")
350	   endfor
351	   call setqflist(qflist)
352	endfunction
353
354	au QuickfixCmdPost make call QfMakeConv()
355Another option is using 'makeencoding'.
356
357							*quickfix-title*
358Every quickfix and location list has a title. By default the title is set to
359the command that created the list. The |getqflist()| and |getloclist()|
360functions can be used to get the title of a quickfix and a location list
361respectively. The |setqflist()| and |setloclist()| functions can be used to
362modify the title of a quickfix and location list respectively. Examples: >
363	call setqflist([], 'a', {'title' : 'Cmd output'})
364	echo getqflist({'title' : 1})
365	call setloclist(3, [], 'a', {'title' : 'Cmd output'})
366	echo getloclist(3, {'title' : 1})
367<
368							*quickfix-index*
369When you jump to a quickfix/location list entry using any of the quickfix
370commands (e.g. |:cc|, |:cnext|, |:cprev|, etc.), that entry becomes the
371currently selected entry. The index of the currently selected entry in a
372quickfix/location list can be obtained using the getqflist()/getloclist()
373functions. Examples: >
374	echo getqflist({'idx' : 0}).idx
375	echo getqflist({'id' : qfid, 'idx' : 0}).idx
376	echo getloclist(2, {'idx' : 0}).idx
377<
378For a new quickfix list, the first entry is selected and the index is 1.  Any
379entry in any quickfix/location list can be set as the currently selected entry
380using the setqflist() function. Examples: >
381	call setqflist([], 'a', {'idx' : 12})
382	call setqflist([], 'a', {'id' : qfid, 'idx' : 7})
383	call setloclist(1, [], 'a', {'idx' : 7})
384<
385							*quickfix-size*
386You can get the number of entries (size) in a quickfix and a location list
387using the |getqflist()| and |getloclist()| functions respectively. Examples: >
388	echo getqflist({'size' : 1})
389	echo getloclist(5, {'size' : 1})
390<
391							*quickfix-context*
392Any Vim type can be associated as a context with a quickfix or location list.
393The |setqflist()| and the |setloclist()| functions can be used to associate a
394context with a quickfix and a location list respectively. The |getqflist()|
395and the |getloclist()| functions can be used to retrieve the context of a
396quickfix and a location list respectively. This is useful for a Vim plugin
397dealing with multiple quickfix/location lists.
398Examples: >
399
400	let somectx = {'name' : 'Vim', 'type' : 'Editor'}
401	call setqflist([], 'a', {'context' : somectx})
402	echo getqflist({'context' : 1})
403
404	let newctx = ['red', 'green', 'blue']
405	call setloclist(2, [], 'a', {'id' : qfid, 'context' : newctx})
406	echo getloclist(2, {'id' : qfid, 'context' : 1})
407<
408							*quickfix-parse*
409You can parse a list of lines using 'errorformat' without creating or
410modifying a quickfix list using the |getqflist()| function. Examples: >
411	echo getqflist({'lines' : ["F1:10:Line10", "F2:20:Line20"]})
412	echo getqflist({'lines' : systemlist('grep -Hn quickfix *')})
413This returns a dictionary where the 'items' key contains the list of quickfix
414entries parsed from lines. The following shows how to use a custom
415'errorformat' to parse the lines without modifying the 'errorformat' option: >
416	echo getqflist({'efm' : '%f#%l#%m', 'lines' : ['F1#10#Line']})
417<
418
419EXECUTE A COMMAND IN ALL THE BUFFERS IN QUICKFIX OR LOCATION LIST:
420							*:cdo*
421:cdo[!] {cmd}		Execute {cmd} in each valid entry in the quickfix list.
422			It works like doing this: >
423				:cfirst
424				:{cmd}
425				:cnext
426				:{cmd}
427				etc.
428<			When the current file can't be |abandon|ed and the [!]
429			is not present, the command fails.
430			When an error is detected execution stops.
431			The last buffer (or where an error occurred) becomes
432			the current buffer.
433			{cmd} can contain '|' to concatenate several commands.
434
435			Only valid entries in the quickfix list are used.
436			A range can be used to select entries, e.g.: >
437				:10,$cdo cmd
438<			To skip entries 1 to 9.
439
440			Note: While this command is executing, the Syntax
441			autocommand event is disabled by adding it to
442			'eventignore'.  This considerably speeds up editing
443			each buffer.
444			{not in Vi}
445			Also see |:bufdo|, |:tabdo|, |:argdo|, |:windo|,
446			|:ldo|, |:cfdo| and |:lfdo|.
447
448							*:cfdo*
449:cfdo[!] {cmd}		Execute {cmd} in each file in the quickfix list.
450			It works like doing this: >
451				:cfirst
452				:{cmd}
453				:cnfile
454				:{cmd}
455				etc.
456<			Otherwise it works the same as `:cdo`.
457			{not in Vi}
458
459							*:ldo*
460:ld[o][!] {cmd}		Execute {cmd} in each valid entry in the location list
461			for the current window.
462			It works like doing this: >
463				:lfirst
464				:{cmd}
465				:lnext
466				:{cmd}
467				etc.
468<			Only valid entries in the location list are used.
469			Otherwise it works the same as `:cdo`.
470			{not in Vi}
471
472							*:lfdo*
473:lfdo[!] {cmd}		Execute {cmd} in each file in the location list for
474			the current window.
475			It works like doing this: >
476				:lfirst
477				:{cmd}
478				:lnfile
479				:{cmd}
480				etc.
481<			Otherwise it works the same as `:ldo`.
482			{not in Vi}
483
484=============================================================================
4852. The error window					*quickfix-window*
486
487					    *:cope* *:copen* *w:quickfix_title*
488:cope[n] [height]	Open a window to show the current list of errors.
489
490			When [height] is given, the window becomes that high
491			(if there is room).  When [height] is omitted the
492			window is made ten lines high.
493
494			If there already is a quickfix window, it will be made
495			the current window.  It is not possible to open a
496			second quickfix window.  If [height] is given the
497			existing window will be resized to it.
498
499			The window will contain a special buffer, with
500			'buftype' equal to "quickfix".  Don't change this!
501			The window will have the w:quickfix_title variable set
502			which will indicate the command that produced the
503			quickfix list. This can be used to compose a custom
504			status line if the value of 'statusline' is adjusted
505			properly. Whenever this buffer is modified by a
506			quickfix command or function, the |b:changedtick|
507			variable is incremented.
508
509							*:lop* *:lopen*
510:lop[en] [height]	Open a window to show the location list for the
511			current window. Works only when the location list for
512			the current window is present.  You can have more than
513			one location window opened at a time.  Otherwise, it
514			acts the same as ":copen".
515
516							*:ccl* *:cclose*
517:ccl[ose]		Close the quickfix window.
518
519							*:lcl* *:lclose*
520:lcl[ose]		Close the window showing the location list for the
521			current window.
522
523							*:cw* *:cwindow*
524:cw[indow] [height]	Open the quickfix window when there are recognized
525			errors.  If the window is already open and there are
526			no recognized errors, close the window.
527
528							*:lw* *:lwindow*
529:lw[indow] [height]	Same as ":cwindow", except use the window showing the
530			location list for the current window.
531
532							*:cbo* *:cbottom*
533:cbo[ttom]		Put the cursor in the last line of the quickfix window
534			and scroll to make it visible.  This is useful for
535			when errors are added by an asynchronous callback.
536			Only call it once in a while if there are many
537			updates to avoid a lot of redrawing.
538
539							*:lbo* *:lbottom*
540:lbo[ttom]		Same as ":cbottom", except use the window showing the
541			location list for the current window.
542
543Normally the quickfix window is at the bottom of the screen.  If there are
544vertical splits, it's at the bottom of the rightmost column of windows.  To
545make it always occupy the full width: >
546	:botright cwindow
547You can move the window around with |window-moving| commands.
548For example, to move it to the top: CTRL-W K
549The 'winfixheight' option will be set, which means that the window will mostly
550keep its height, ignoring 'winheight' and 'equalalways'.  You can change the
551height manually (e.g., by dragging the status line above it with the mouse).
552
553In the quickfix window, each line is one error.  The line number is equal to
554the error number.  The current entry is highlighted with the QuickFixLine
555highlighting.  You can change it to your liking, e.g.: >
556	:hi QuickFixLine ctermbg=Yellow guibg=Yellow
557
558You can use ":.cc" to jump to the error under the cursor.
559Hitting the <Enter> key or double-clicking the mouse on a line has the same
560effect.  The file containing the error is opened in the window above the
561quickfix window.  If there already is a window for that file, it is used
562instead.  If the buffer in the used window has changed, and the error is in
563another file, jumping to the error will fail.  You will first have to make
564sure the window contains a buffer which can be abandoned.
565					*CTRL-W_<Enter>* *CTRL-W_<CR>*
566You can use CTRL-W <Enter> to open a new window and jump to the error there.
567
568When the quickfix window has been filled, two autocommand events are
569triggered.  First the 'filetype' option is set to "qf", which triggers the
570FileType event.  Then the BufReadPost event is triggered, using "quickfix" for
571the buffer name.  This can be used to perform some action on the listed
572errors.  Example: >
573	au BufReadPost quickfix  setlocal modifiable
574		\ | silent exe 'g/^/s//\=line(".")." "/'
575		\ | setlocal nomodifiable
576This prepends the line number to each line.  Note the use of "\=" in the
577substitute string of the ":s" command, which is used to evaluate an
578expression.
579The BufWinEnter event is also triggered, again using "quickfix" for the buffer
580name.
581
582Note: When adding to an existing quickfix list the autocommand are not
583triggered.
584
585Note: Making changes in the quickfix window has no effect on the list of
586errors.  'modifiable' is off to avoid making changes.  If you delete or insert
587lines anyway, the relation between the text and the error number is messed up.
588If you really want to do this, you could write the contents of the quickfix
589window to a file and use ":cfile" to have it parsed and used as the new error
590list.
591
592						*location-list-window*
593The location list window displays the entries in a location list.  When you
594open a location list window, it is created below the current window and
595displays the location list for the current window.  The location list window
596is similar to the quickfix window, except that you can have more than one
597location list window open at a time. When you use a location list command in
598this window, the displayed location list is used.
599
600When you select a file from the location list window, the following steps are
601used to find a window to edit the file:
602
6031. If a window with the location list displayed in the location list window is
604   present, then the file is opened in that window.
6052. If the above step fails and if the file is already opened in another
606   window, then that window is used.
6073. If the above step fails then an existing window showing a buffer with
608   'buftype' not set is used.
6094. If the above step fails, then the file is edited in a new window.
610
611In all of the above cases, if the location list for the selected window is not
612yet set, then it is set to the location list displayed in the location list
613window.
614
615							*quickfix-window-ID*
616You can use the |getqflist()| and |getloclist()| functions to obtain the
617window ID of the quickfix window and location list window respectively (if
618present).  Examples: >
619	echo getqflist({'winid' : 1}).winid
620	echo getloclist(2, {'winid' : 1}).winid
621<
622							*getqflist-examples*
623The |getqflist()| and |getloclist()| functions can be used to get the various
624attributes of a quickfix and location list respectively. Some examples for
625using these functions are below:
626>
627    " get the title of the current quickfix list
628    :echo getqflist({'title' : 0}).title
629
630    " get the identifier of the current quickfix list
631    :let qfid = getqflist({'id' : 0}).id
632
633    " get the identifier of the fourth quickfix list in the stack
634    :let qfid = getqflist({'nr' : 4, 'id' : 0}).id
635
636    " check whether a quickfix list with a specific identifier exists
637    :if getqflist({'id' : qfid}).id == qfid
638
639    " get the index of the current quickfix list in the stack
640    :let qfnum = getqflist({'nr' : 0}).nr
641
642    " get the items of a quickfix list specified by an identifier
643    :echo getqflist({'id' : qfid, 'items' : 0}).items
644
645    " get the number of entries in a quickfix list specified by an id
646    :echo getqflist({'id' : qfid, 'size' : 0}).size
647
648    " get the context of the third quickfix list in the stack
649    :echo getqflist({'nr' : 3, 'context' : 0}).context
650
651    " get the number of quickfix lists in the stack
652    :echo getqflist({'nr' : '$'}).nr
653
654    " get the number of times the current quickfix list is changed
655    :echo getqflist({'changedtick' : 0}).changedtick
656
657    " get the current entry in a quickfix list specified by an identifier
658    :echo getqflist({'id' : qfid, 'idx' : 0}).idx
659
660    " get all the quickfix list attributes using an identifier
661    :echo getqflist({'id' : qfid, 'all' : 0})
662
663    " parse text from a List of lines and return a quickfix list
664    :let myList = ["a.java:10:L10", "b.java:20:L20"]
665    :echo getqflist({'lines' : myList}).items
666
667    " parse text using a custom 'efm' and return a quickfix list
668    :echo getqflist({'lines' : ['a.c#10#Line 10'], 'efm':'%f#%l#%m'}).items
669
670    " get the quickfix list window id
671    :echo getqflist({'winid' : 0}).winid
672
673    " get the context of the current location list
674    :echo getloclist(0, {'context' : 0}).context
675
676    " get the location list window id of the third window
677    :echo getloclist(3, {'winid' : 0}).winid
678
679    " get the file window id of a location list window (winnr: 4)
680    :echo getloclist(4, {'filewinid' : 0}).filewinid
681<
682							*setqflist-examples*
683The |setqflist()| and |setloclist()| functions can be used to set the various
684attributes of a quickfix and location list respectively. Some examples for
685using these functions are below:
686>
687    " create an empty quickfix list with a title and a context
688    :let t = 'Search results'
689    :let c = {'cmd' : 'grep'}
690    :call setqflist([], ' ', {'title' : t, 'context' : c})
691
692    " set the title of the current quickfix list
693    :call setqflist([], 'a', {'title' : 'Mytitle'})
694
695    " change the current entry in the list specified by an identifier
696    :call setqflist([], 'a', {'id' : qfid, 'idx' : 10})
697
698    " set the context of a quickfix list specified by an identifier
699    :call setqflist([], 'a', {'id' : qfid, 'context' : {'val' : 100}})
700
701    " create a new quickfix list from a command output
702    :call setqflist([], ' ', {'lines' : systemlist('grep -Hn main *.c')})
703
704    " parse text using a custom efm and add to a particular quickfix list
705    :call setqflist([], 'a', {'id' : qfid,
706		\ 'lines' : ["a.c#10#L10", "b.c#20#L20"], 'efm':'%f#%l#%m'})
707
708    " add items to the quickfix list specified by an identifier
709    :let newItems = [{'filename' : 'a.txt', 'lnum' : 10, 'text' : "Apple"},
710		    \ {'filename' : 'b.txt', 'lnum' : 20, 'text' : "Orange"}]
711    :call setqflist([], 'a', {'id' : qfid, 'items' : newItems})
712
713    " empty a quickfix list specified by an identifier
714    :call setqflist([], 'r', {'id' : qfid, 'items' : []})
715
716    " free all the quickfix lists in the stack
717    :call setqflist([], 'f')
718
719    " set the title of the fourth quickfix list
720    :call setqflist([], 'a', {'nr' : 4, 'title' : 'SomeTitle'})
721
722    " create a new quickfix list at the end of the stack
723    :call setqflist([], ' ', {'nr' : '$',
724			\ 'lines' : systemlist('grep -Hn class *.java')})
725
726    " create a new location list from a command output
727    :call setloclist(0, [], ' ', {'lines' : systemlist('grep -Hn main *.c')})
728
729    " replace the location list entries for the third window
730    :call setloclist(3, [], 'r', {'items' : newItems})
731<
732=============================================================================
7333. Using more than one list of errors			*quickfix-error-lists*
734
735So far has been assumed that there is only one list of errors.  Actually the
736ten last used lists are remembered.  When starting a new list, the previous
737ones are automatically kept.  Two commands can be used to access older error
738lists.  They set one of the existing error lists as the current one.
739
740						*:colder* *:col* *E380*
741:col[der] [count]	Go to older error list.  When [count] is given, do
742			this [count] times.  When already at the oldest error
743			list, an error message is given.
744
745						*:lolder* *:lol*
746:lol[der] [count]	Same as `:colder`, except use the location list for
747			the current window instead of the quickfix list.
748
749						*:cnewer* *:cnew* *E381*
750:cnew[er] [count]	Go to newer error list.  When [count] is given, do
751			this [count] times.  When already at the newest error
752			list, an error message is given.
753
754						*:lnewer* *:lnew*
755:lnew[er] [count]	Same as `:cnewer`, except use the location list for
756			the current window instead of the quickfix list.
757
758						*:chistory* *:chi*
759:chi[story]		Show the list of error lists.  The current list is
760			marked with ">".  The output looks like:
761				  error list 1 of 3; 43 errors ~
762				> error list 2 of 3; 0 errors ~
763				  error list 3 of 3; 15 errors ~
764
765						*:lhistory* *:lhi*
766:lhi[story]		Show the list of location lists, otherwise like
767			`:chistory`.
768
769When adding a new error list, it becomes the current list.
770
771When ":colder" has been used and ":make" or ":grep" is used to add a new error
772list, one newer list is overwritten.  This is especially useful if you are
773browsing with ":grep" |grep|.  If you want to keep the more recent error
774lists, use ":cnewer 99" first.
775
776To get the number of lists in the quickfix and location list stack, you can
777use the |getqflist()| and |getloclist()| functions respectively with the list
778number set to the special value '$'. Examples: >
779	echo getqflist({'nr' : '$'}).nr
780	echo getloclist(3, {'nr' : '$'}).nr
781To get the number of the current list in the stack: >
782	echo getqflist({'nr' : 0}).nr
783<
784=============================================================================
7854. Using :make						*:make_makeprg*
786
787							*:mak* *:make*
788:mak[e][!] [arguments]	1. All relevant |QuickFixCmdPre| autocommands are
789			   executed.
790			2. If the 'autowrite' option is on, write any changed
791			   buffers
792			3. An errorfile name is made from 'makeef'.  If
793			   'makeef' doesn't contain "##", and a file with this
794			   name already exists, it is deleted.
795			4. The program given with the 'makeprg' option is
796			   started (default "make") with the optional
797			   [arguments] and the output is saved in the
798			   errorfile (for Unix it is also echoed on the
799			   screen).
800			5. The errorfile is read using 'errorformat'.
801			6. All relevant |QuickFixCmdPost| autocommands are
802			   executed.  See example below.
803			7. If [!] is not given the first error is jumped to.
804			8. The errorfile is deleted.
805			9. You can now move through the errors with commands
806			   like |:cnext| and |:cprevious|, see above.
807			This command does not accept a comment, any "
808			characters are considered part of the arguments.
809			If the encoding of the program output differs from the
810			'encoding' option, you can use the 'makeencoding'
811			option to specify the encoding.
812
813							*:lmak* *:lmake*
814:lmak[e][!] [arguments]
815			Same as ":make", except the location list for the
816			current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
817
818The ":make" command executes the command given with the 'makeprg' option.
819This is done by passing the command to the shell given with the 'shell'
820option.  This works almost like typing
821
822	":!{makeprg} [arguments] {shellpipe} {errorfile}".
823
824{makeprg} is the string given with the 'makeprg' option.  Any command can be
825used, not just "make".  Characters '%' and '#' are expanded as usual on a
826command-line.  You can use "%<" to insert the current file name without
827extension, or "#<" to insert the alternate file name without extension, for
828example: >
829   :set makeprg=make\ #<.o
830
831[arguments] is anything that is typed after ":make".
832{shellpipe} is the 'shellpipe' option.
833{errorfile} is the 'makeef' option, with ## replaced to make it unique.
834
835The placeholder "$*" can be used for the argument list in {makeprg} if the
836command needs some additional characters after its arguments.  The $* is
837replaced then by all arguments.  Example: >
838   :set makeprg=latex\ \\\\nonstopmode\ \\\\input\\{$*}
839or simpler >
840   :let &mp = 'latex \\nonstopmode \\input\{$*}'
841"$*" can be given multiple times, for example: >
842   :set makeprg=gcc\ -o\ $*\ $*
843
844The 'shellpipe' option defaults to ">" for the Amiga, MS-DOS and Win32.  This
845means that the output of the compiler is saved in a file and not shown on the
846screen directly.  For Unix "| tee" is used.  The compiler output is shown on
847the screen and saved in a file the same time.  Depending on the shell used
848"|& tee" or "2>&1| tee" is the default, so stderr output will be included.
849
850If 'shellpipe' is empty, the {errorfile} part will be omitted.  This is useful
851for compilers that write to an errorfile themselves (e.g., Manx's Amiga C).
852
853
854Using QuickFixCmdPost to fix the encoding ~
855
856It may be that 'encoding' is set to an encoding that differs from the messages
857your build program produces.  This example shows how to fix this after Vim has
858read the error messages: >
859
860	function QfMakeConv()
861	   let qflist = getqflist()
862	   for i in qflist
863	      let i.text = iconv(i.text, "cp936", "utf-8")
864	   endfor
865	   call setqflist(qflist)
866	endfunction
867
868	au QuickfixCmdPost make call QfMakeConv()
869
870(Example by Faque Cheng)
871Another option is using 'makeencoding'.
872
873==============================================================================
8745. Using :vimgrep and :grep				*grep* *lid*
875
876Vim has two ways to find matches for a pattern: Internal and external.  The
877advantage of the internal grep is that it works on all systems and uses the
878powerful Vim search patterns.  An external grep program can be used when the
879Vim grep does not do what you want.
880
881The internal method will be slower, because files are read into memory.  The
882advantages are:
883- Line separators and encoding are automatically recognized, as if a file is
884  being edited.
885- Uses Vim search patterns.  Multi-line patterns can be used.
886- When plugins are enabled: compressed and remote files can be searched.
887	|gzip| |netrw|
888
889To be able to do this Vim loads each file as if it is being edited.  When
890there is no match in the file the associated buffer is wiped out again.  The
891'hidden' option is ignored here to avoid running out of memory or file
892descriptors when searching many files.  However, when the |:hide| command
893modifier is used the buffers are kept loaded.  This makes following searches
894in the same files a lot faster.
895
896Note that |:copen| (or |:lopen| for |:lgrep|) may be used to open a buffer
897containing the search results in linked form.  The |:silent| command may be
898used to suppress the default full screen grep output.  The ":grep!" form of
899the |:grep| command doesn't jump to the first match automatically.  These
900commands can be combined to create a NewGrep command: >
901
902        command! -nargs=+ NewGrep execute 'silent grep! <args>' | copen 42
903
904
9055.1 using Vim's internal grep
906
907					*:vim* *:vimgrep* *E682* *E683*
908:vim[grep][!] /{pattern}/[g][j] {file} ...
909			Search for {pattern} in the files {file} ... and set
910			the error list to the matches.  Files matching
911			'wildignore' are ignored; files in 'suffixes' are
912			searched last.
913			Without the 'g' flag each line is added only once.
914			With 'g' every match is added.
915
916			{pattern} is a Vim search pattern.  Instead of
917			enclosing it in / any non-ID character (see
918			|'isident'|) can be used, so long as it does not
919			appear in {pattern}.
920			'ignorecase' applies.  To overrule it put |/\c| in the
921			pattern to ignore case or |/\C| to match case.
922			'smartcase' is not used.
923			If {pattern} is empty (e.g. // is specified), the last
924			used search pattern is used. |last-pattern|
925:{count}vim[grep] ...
926			When a number is put before the command this is used
927			as the maximum number of matches to find.  Use
928			":1vimgrep pattern file" to find only the first.
929			Useful if you only want to check if there is a match
930			and quit quickly when it's found.
931
932			Without the 'j' flag Vim jumps to the first match.
933			With 'j' only the quickfix list is updated.
934			With the [!] any changes in the current buffer are
935			abandoned.
936
937			Every second or so the searched file name is displayed
938			to give you an idea of the progress made.
939			Examples: >
940				:vimgrep /an error/ *.c
941				:vimgrep /\<FileName\>/ *.h include/*
942				:vimgrep /myfunc/ **/*.c
943<			For the use of "**" see |starstar-wildcard|.
944
945:vim[grep][!] {pattern} {file} ...
946			Like above, but instead of enclosing the pattern in a
947			non-ID character use a white-separated pattern.  The
948			pattern must start with an ID character.
949			Example: >
950				:vimgrep Error *.c
951<
952							*:lv* *:lvimgrep*
953:lv[imgrep][!] /{pattern}/[g][j] {file} ...
954:lv[imgrep][!] {pattern} {file} ...
955			Same as ":vimgrep", except the location list for the
956			current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
957
958						*:vimgrepa* *:vimgrepadd*
959:vimgrepa[dd][!] /{pattern}/[g][j] {file} ...
960:vimgrepa[dd][!] {pattern} {file} ...
961			Just like ":vimgrep", but instead of making a new list
962			of errors the matches are appended to the current
963			list.
964
965						*:lvimgrepa* *:lvimgrepadd*
966:lvimgrepa[dd][!] /{pattern}/[g][j] {file} ...
967:lvimgrepa[dd][!] {pattern} {file} ...
968			Same as ":vimgrepadd", except the location list for
969			the current window is used instead of the quickfix
970			list.
971
9725.2 External grep
973
974Vim can interface with "grep" and grep-like programs (such as the GNU
975id-utils) in a similar way to its compiler integration (see |:make| above).
976
977[Unix trivia: The name for the Unix "grep" command comes from ":g/re/p", where
978"re" stands for Regular Expression.]
979
980							    *:gr* *:grep*
981:gr[ep][!] [arguments]	Just like ":make", but use 'grepprg' instead of
982			'makeprg' and 'grepformat' instead of 'errorformat'.
983			When 'grepprg' is "internal" this works like
984			|:vimgrep|.  Note that the pattern needs to be
985			enclosed in separator characters then.
986			If the encoding of the program output differs from the
987			'encoding' option, you can use the 'makeencoding'
988			option to specify the encoding.
989
990							    *:lgr* *:lgrep*
991:lgr[ep][!] [arguments]	Same as ":grep", except the location list for the
992			current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
993
994							*:grepa* *:grepadd*
995:grepa[dd][!] [arguments]
996			Just like ":grep", but instead of making a new list of
997			errors the matches are appended to the current list.
998			Example: >
999				:call setqflist([])
1000				:bufdo grepadd! something %
1001<			The first command makes a new error list which is
1002			empty.  The second command executes "grepadd" for each
1003			listed buffer.  Note the use of ! to avoid that
1004			":grepadd" jumps to the first error, which is not
1005			allowed with |:bufdo|.
1006			An example that uses the argument list and avoids
1007			errors for files without matches: >
1008                                :silent argdo try
1009				  \ | grepadd! something %
1010				  \ | catch /E480:/
1011				  \ | endtry"
1012<
1013			If the encoding of the program output differs from the
1014			'encoding' option, you can use the 'makeencoding'
1015			option to specify the encoding.
1016
1017							*:lgrepa* *:lgrepadd*
1018:lgrepa[dd][!] [arguments]
1019			Same as ":grepadd", except the location list for the
1020			current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
1021
10225.3 Setting up external grep
1023
1024If you have a standard "grep" program installed, the :grep command may work
1025well with the defaults.  The syntax is very similar to the standard command: >
1026
1027	:grep foo *.c
1028
1029Will search all files with the .c extension for the substring "foo".  The
1030arguments to :grep are passed straight to the "grep" program, so you can use
1031whatever options your "grep" supports.
1032
1033By default, :grep invokes grep with the -n option (show file and line
1034numbers).  You can change this with the 'grepprg' option.  You will need to set
1035'grepprg' if:
1036
1037a)	You are using a program that isn't called "grep"
1038b)	You have to call grep with a full path
1039c)	You want to pass other options automatically (e.g. case insensitive
1040	search.)
1041
1042Once "grep" has executed, Vim parses the results using the 'grepformat'
1043option.  This option works in the same way as the 'errorformat' option - see
1044that for details.  You may need to change 'grepformat' from the default if
1045your grep outputs in a non-standard format, or you are using some other
1046program with a special format.
1047
1048Once the results are parsed, Vim loads the first file containing a match and
1049jumps to the appropriate line, in the same way that it jumps to a compiler
1050error in |quickfix| mode.  You can then use the |:cnext|, |:clist|, etc.
1051commands to see the other matches.
1052
1053
10545.4 Using :grep with id-utils
1055
1056You can set up :grep to work with the GNU id-utils like this: >
1057
1058	:set grepprg=lid\ -Rgrep\ -s
1059	:set grepformat=%f:%l:%m
1060
1061then >
1062	:grep (regexp)
1063
1064works just as you'd expect.
1065(provided you remembered to mkid first :)
1066
1067
10685.5 Browsing source code with :vimgrep or :grep
1069
1070Using the stack of error lists that Vim keeps, you can browse your files to
1071look for functions and the functions they call.  For example, suppose that you
1072have to add an argument to the read_file() function.  You enter this command: >
1073
1074	:vimgrep /\<read_file\>/ *.c
1075
1076You use ":cn" to go along the list of matches and add the argument.  At one
1077place you have to get the new argument from a higher level function msg(), and
1078need to change that one too.  Thus you use: >
1079
1080	:vimgrep /\<msg\>/ *.c
1081
1082While changing the msg() functions, you find another function that needs to
1083get the argument from a higher level.  You can again use ":vimgrep" to find
1084these functions.  Once you are finished with one function, you can use >
1085
1086	:colder
1087
1088to go back to the previous one.
1089
1090This works like browsing a tree: ":vimgrep" goes one level deeper, creating a
1091list of branches.  ":colder" goes back to the previous level.  You can mix
1092this use of ":vimgrep" and "colder" to browse all the locations in a tree-like
1093way.  If you do this consistently, you will find all locations without the
1094need to write down a "todo" list.
1095
1096=============================================================================
10976. Selecting a compiler					*compiler-select*
1098
1099						*:comp* *:compiler* *E666*
1100:comp[iler][!] {name}		Set options to work with compiler {name}.
1101				Without the "!" options are set for the
1102				current buffer.  With "!" global options are
1103				set.
1104				If you use ":compiler foo" in "file.foo" and
1105				then ":compiler! bar" in another buffer, Vim
1106				will keep on using "foo" in "file.foo".
1107				{not available when compiled without the
1108				|+eval| feature}
1109
1110
1111The Vim plugins in the "compiler" directory will set options to use the
1112selected compiler.  For `:compiler` local options are set, for `:compiler!`
1113global options.
1114							*current_compiler*
1115To support older Vim versions, the plugins always use "current_compiler" and
1116not "b:current_compiler".  What the command actually does is the following:
1117
1118- Delete the "current_compiler" and "b:current_compiler" variables.
1119- Define the "CompilerSet" user command.  With "!" it does ":set", without "!"
1120  it does ":setlocal".
1121- Execute ":runtime! compiler/{name}.vim".  The plugins are expected to set
1122  options with "CompilerSet" and set the "current_compiler" variable to the
1123  name of the compiler.
1124- Delete the "CompilerSet" user command.
1125- Set "b:current_compiler" to the value of "current_compiler".
1126- Without "!" the old value of "current_compiler" is restored.
1127
1128
1129For writing a compiler plugin, see |write-compiler-plugin|.
1130
1131
1132GCC					*quickfix-gcc*	*compiler-gcc*
1133
1134There's one variable you can set for the GCC compiler:
1135
1136g:compiler_gcc_ignore_unmatched_lines
1137				Ignore lines that don't match any patterns
1138				defined for GCC.  Useful if output from
1139				commands run from make are generating false
1140				positives.
1141
1142
1143MANX AZTEC C				*quickfix-manx* *compiler-manx*
1144
1145To use Vim with Manx's Aztec C compiler on the Amiga you should do the
1146following:
1147- Set the CCEDIT environment variable with the command: >
1148	mset "CCEDIT=vim -q"
1149- Compile with the -qf option.  If the compiler finds any errors, Vim is
1150  started and the cursor is positioned on the first error.  The error message
1151  will be displayed on the last line.  You can go to other errors with the
1152  commands mentioned above.  You can fix the errors and write the file(s).
1153- If you exit Vim normally the compiler will re-compile the same file.  If you
1154  exit with the :cq command, the compiler will terminate.  Do this if you
1155  cannot fix the error, or if another file needs to be compiled first.
1156
1157There are some restrictions to the Quickfix mode on the Amiga.  The
1158compiler only writes the first 25 errors to the errorfile (Manx's
1159documentation does not say how to get more).  If you want to find the others,
1160you will have to fix a few errors and exit the editor.  After recompiling,
1161up to 25 remaining errors will be found.
1162
1163If Vim was started from the compiler, the :sh and some :!  commands will not
1164work, because Vim is then running in the same process as the compiler and
1165stdin (standard input) will not be interactive.
1166
1167
1168PERL					*quickfix-perl* *compiler-perl*
1169
1170The Perl compiler plugin doesn't actually compile, but invokes Perl's internal
1171syntax checking feature and parses the output for possible errors so you can
1172correct them in quick-fix mode.
1173
1174Warnings are forced regardless of "no warnings" or "$^W = 0" within the file
1175being checked.  To disable this set g:perl_compiler_force_warnings to a zero
1176value.  For example: >
1177	let g:perl_compiler_force_warnings = 0
1178
1179
1180PYUNIT COMPILER						*compiler-pyunit*
1181
1182This is not actually a compiler, but a unit testing framework for the
1183Python language.  It is included into standard Python distribution
1184starting from version 2.0.  For older versions, you can get it from
1185http://pyunit.sourceforge.net.
1186
1187When you run your tests with the help of the framework, possible errors
1188are parsed by Vim and presented for you in quick-fix mode.
1189
1190Unfortunately, there is no standard way to run the tests.
1191The alltests.py script seems to be used quite often, that's all.
1192Useful values for the 'makeprg' options therefore are:
1193 setlocal makeprg=./alltests.py " Run a testsuite
1194 setlocal makeprg=python\ %:S   " Run a single testcase
1195
1196Also see http://vim.sourceforge.net/tip_view.php?tip_id=280.
1197
1198
1199TEX COMPILER						*compiler-tex*
1200
1201Included in the distribution compiler for TeX ($VIMRUNTIME/compiler/tex.vim)
1202uses make command if possible.  If the compiler finds a file named "Makefile"
1203or "makefile" in the current directory, it supposes that you want to process
1204your *TeX files with make, and the makefile does the right work.  In this case
1205compiler sets 'errorformat' for *TeX output and leaves 'makeprg' untouched.  If
1206neither "Makefile" nor "makefile" is found, the compiler will not use make.
1207You can force the compiler to ignore makefiles by defining
1208b:tex_ignore_makefile or g:tex_ignore_makefile variable (they are checked for
1209existence only).
1210
1211If the compiler chose not to use make, it need to choose a right program for
1212processing your input.  If b:tex_flavor or g:tex_flavor (in this precedence)
1213variable exists, it defines TeX flavor for :make (actually, this is the name
1214of executed command), and if both variables do not exist, it defaults to
1215"latex".  For example, while editing chapter2.tex \input-ed from mypaper.tex
1216written in AMS-TeX: >
1217
1218	:let b:tex_flavor = 'amstex'
1219	:compiler tex
1220<	[editing...] >
1221	:make mypaper
1222
1223Note that you must specify a name of the file to process as an argument (to
1224process the right file when editing \input-ed or \include-ed file; portable
1225solution for substituting % for no arguments is welcome).  This is not in the
1226semantics of make, where you specify a target, not source, but you may specify
1227filename without extension ".tex" and mean this as "make filename.dvi or
1228filename.pdf or filename.some_result_extension according to compiler".
1229
1230Note: tex command line syntax is set to usable both for MikTeX (suggestion
1231by Srinath Avadhanula) and teTeX (checked by Artem Chuprina).  Suggestion
1232from |errorformat-LaTeX| is too complex to keep it working for different
1233shells and OSes and also does not allow to use other available TeX options,
1234if any.  If your TeX doesn't support "-interaction=nonstopmode", please
1235report it with different means to express \nonstopmode from the command line.
1236
1237=============================================================================
12387. The error format					*error-file-format*
1239
1240					*errorformat* *E372* *E373* *E374*
1241						*E375* *E376* *E377* *E378*
1242The 'errorformat' option specifies a list of formats that are recognized.  The
1243first format that matches with an error message is used.  You can add several
1244formats for different messages your compiler produces, or even entries for
1245multiple compilers.  See |efm-entries|.
1246
1247Each entry in 'errorformat' is a scanf-like string that describes the format.
1248First, you need to know how scanf works.  Look in the documentation of your
1249C compiler.  Below you find the % items that Vim understands.  Others are
1250invalid.
1251
1252Special characters in 'errorformat' are comma and backslash.  See
1253|efm-entries| for how to deal with them.  Note that a literal "%" is matched
1254by "%%", thus it is not escaped with a backslash.
1255Keep in mind that in the `:make` and `:grep` output all NUL characters are
1256replaced with SOH (0x01).
1257
1258Note: By default the difference between upper and lowercase is ignored.  If
1259you want to match case, add "\C" to the pattern |/\C|.
1260
1261
1262Basic items
1263
1264	%f		file name (finds a string)
1265	%o		module name (finds a string)
1266	%l		line number (finds a number)
1267	%c		column number (finds a number representing character
1268			column of the error, (1 <tab> == 1 character column))
1269	%v		virtual column number (finds a number representing
1270			screen column of the error (1 <tab> == 8 screen
1271			columns))
1272	%t		error type (finds a single character)
1273	%n		error number (finds a number)
1274	%m		error message (finds a string)
1275	%r		matches the "rest" of a single-line file message %O/P/Q
1276	%p		pointer line (finds a sequence of '-', '.', ' ' or
1277			tabs and uses the length for the column number)
1278	%*{conv}	any scanf non-assignable conversion
1279	%%		the single '%' character
1280	%s		search text (finds a string)
1281
1282The "%f" conversion may depend on the current 'isfname' setting.  "~/" is
1283expanded to the home directory and environment variables are expanded.
1284
1285The "%f" and "%m" conversions have to detect the end of the string.  This
1286normally happens by matching following characters and items.  When nothing is
1287following the rest of the line is matched.  If "%f" is followed by a '%' or a
1288backslash, it will look for a sequence of 'isfname' characters.
1289
1290On MS-DOS, MS-Windows and OS/2 a leading "C:" will be included in "%f", even
1291when using "%f:".  This means that a file name which is a single alphabetical
1292letter will not be detected.
1293
1294The "%p" conversion is normally followed by a "^".  It's used for compilers
1295that output a line like: >
1296	    ^
1297or >
1298   ---------^
1299to indicate the column of the error.  This is to be used in a multi-line error
1300message.  See |errorformat-javac| for a  useful example.
1301
1302The "%s" conversion specifies the text to search for, to locate the error line.
1303The text is used as a literal string.  The anchors "^" and "$" are added to
1304the text to locate the error line exactly matching the search text and the
1305text is prefixed with the "\V" atom to make it "very nomagic".  The "%s"
1306conversion can be used to locate lines without a line number in the error
1307output.  Like the output of the "grep" shell command.
1308When the pattern is present the line number will not be used.
1309
1310The "%o" conversion specifies the module name in quickfix entry.  If present
1311it will be used in quickfix error window instead of the filename.  The module
1312name is used only for displaying purposes, the file name is used when jumping
1313to the file.
1314
1315Changing directory
1316
1317The following uppercase conversion characters specify the type of special
1318format strings.  At most one of them may be given as a prefix at the beginning
1319of a single comma-separated format pattern.
1320Some compilers produce messages that consist of directory names that have to
1321be prepended to each file name read by %f (example: GNU make).  The following
1322codes can be used to scan these directory names; they will be stored in an
1323internal directory stack.					*E379*
1324	%D		"enter directory" format string; expects a following
1325			  %f that finds the directory name
1326	%X		"leave directory" format string; expects following %f
1327
1328When defining an "enter directory" or "leave directory" format, the "%D" or
1329"%X" has to be given at the start of that substring.  Vim tracks the directory
1330changes and prepends the current directory to each erroneous file found with a
1331relative path.  See |quickfix-directory-stack| for details, tips and
1332limitations.
1333
1334
1335Multi-line messages				*errorformat-multi-line*
1336
1337It is possible to read the output of programs that produce multi-line
1338messages, i.e. error strings that consume more than one line.  Possible
1339prefixes are:
1340	%E		start of a multi-line error message
1341	%W		start of a multi-line warning message
1342	%I		start of a multi-line informational message
1343	%A		start of a multi-line message (unspecified type)
1344	%>		for next line start with current pattern again |efm-%>|
1345	%C		continuation of a multi-line message
1346	%Z		end of a multi-line message
1347These can be used with '+' and '-', see |efm-ignore| below.
1348
1349Using "\n" in the pattern won't work to match multi-line messages.
1350
1351Example: Your compiler happens to write out errors in the following format
1352(leading line numbers not being part of the actual output):
1353
1354     1	Error 275 ~
1355     2	line 42 ~
1356     3	column 3 ~
1357     4	' ' expected after '--' ~
1358
1359The appropriate error format string has to look like this: >
1360   :set efm=%EError\ %n,%Cline\ %l,%Ccolumn\ %c,%Z%m
1361
1362And the |:clist| error message generated for this error is:
1363
1364 1:42 col 3 error 275:  ' ' expected after '--'
1365
1366Another example: Think of a Python interpreter that produces the following
1367error message (line numbers are not part of the actual output):
1368
1369     1	==============================================================
1370     2	FAIL: testGetTypeIdCachesResult (dbfacadeTest.DjsDBFacadeTest)
1371     3	--------------------------------------------------------------
1372     4	Traceback (most recent call last):
1373     5	  File "unittests/dbfacadeTest.py", line 89, in testFoo
1374     6	    self.assertEquals(34, dtid)
1375     7	  File "/usr/lib/python2.2/unittest.py", line 286, in
1376     8	 failUnlessEqual
1377     9	    raise self.failureException, \
1378    10	AssertionError: 34 != 33
1379    11
1380    12	--------------------------------------------------------------
1381    13	Ran 27 tests in 0.063s
1382
1383Say you want |:clist| write the relevant information of this message only,
1384namely:
1385 5 unittests/dbfacadeTest.py:89:  AssertionError: 34 != 33
1386
1387Then the error format string could be defined as follows: >
1388  :set efm=%C\ %.%#,%A\ \ File\ \"%f\"\\,\ line\ %l%.%#,%Z%[%^\ ]%\\@=%m
1389
1390Note that the %C string is given before the %A here: since the expression
1391' %.%#' (which stands for the regular expression ' .*') matches every line
1392starting with a space, followed by any characters to the end of the line,
1393it also hides line 7 which would trigger a separate error message otherwise.
1394Error format strings are always parsed pattern by pattern until the first
1395match occurs.
1396							*efm-%>*
1397The %> item can be used to avoid trying patterns that appear earlier in
1398'errorformat'.  This is useful for patterns that match just about anything.
1399For example, if the error looks like this:
1400
1401	Error in line 123 of foo.c: ~
1402	unknown variable "i" ~
1403
1404This can be found with: >
1405	:set efm=xxx,%E%>Error in line %l of %f:,%Z%m
1406Where "xxx" has a pattern that would also match the second line.
1407
1408Important: There is no memory of what part of the errorformat matched before;
1409every line in the error file gets a complete new run through the error format
1410lines.  For example, if one has: >
1411  setlocal efm=aa,bb,cc,dd,ee
1412Where aa, bb, etc. are error format strings.  Each line of the error file will
1413be matched to the pattern aa, then bb, then cc, etc.  Just because cc matched
1414the previous error line does _not_ mean that dd will be tried first on the
1415current line, even if cc and dd are multi-line errorformat strings.
1416
1417
1418
1419Separate file name			*errorformat-separate-filename*
1420
1421These prefixes are useful if the file name is given once and multiple messages
1422follow that refer to this file name.
1423	%O		single-line file message: overread the matched part
1424	%P		single-line file message: push file %f onto the stack
1425	%Q		single-line file message: pop the last file from stack
1426
1427Example: Given a compiler that produces the following error logfile (without
1428leading line numbers):
1429
1430     1	[a1.tt]
1431     2	(1,17)  error: ';' missing
1432     3	(21,2)  warning: variable 'z' not defined
1433     4	(67,3)  error: end of file found before string ended
1434     5
1435     6	[a2.tt]
1436     7
1437     8	[a3.tt]
1438     9	NEW compiler v1.1
1439    10	(2,2)   warning: variable 'x' not defined
1440    11	(67,3)  warning: 's' already defined
1441
1442This logfile lists several messages for each file enclosed in [...] which are
1443properly parsed by an error format like this: >
1444  :set efm=%+P[%f],(%l\\,%c)%*[\ ]%t%*[^:]:\ %m,%-Q
1445
1446A call of |:clist| writes them accordingly with their correct filenames:
1447
1448  2 a1.tt:1 col 17 error: ';' missing
1449  3 a1.tt:21 col 2 warning: variable 'z' not defined
1450  4 a1.tt:67 col 3 error: end of file found before string ended
1451  8 a3.tt:2 col 2 warning: variable 'x' not defined
1452  9 a3.tt:67 col 3 warning: 's' already defined
1453
1454Unlike the other prefixes that all match against whole lines, %P, %Q and %O
1455can be used to match several patterns in the same line.  Thus it is possible
1456to parse even nested files like in the following line:
1457  {"file1" {"file2" error1} error2 {"file3" error3 {"file4" error4 error5}}}
1458The %O then parses over strings that do not contain any push/pop file name
1459information.  See |errorformat-LaTeX| for an extended example.
1460
1461
1462Ignoring and using whole messages			*efm-ignore*
1463
1464The codes '+' or '-' can be combined with the uppercase codes above; in that
1465case they have to precede the letter, e.g. '%+A' or '%-G':
1466	%-		do not include the matching multi-line in any output
1467	%+		include the whole matching line in the %m error string
1468
1469One prefix is only useful in combination with '+' or '-', namely %G.  It parses
1470over lines containing general information like compiler version strings or
1471other headers that can be skipped.
1472	%-G		ignore this message
1473	%+G		general message
1474
1475
1476Pattern matching
1477
1478The scanf()-like "%*[]" notation is supported for backward-compatibility
1479with previous versions of Vim.  However, it is also possible to specify
1480(nearly) any Vim supported regular expression in format strings.
1481Since meta characters of the regular expression language can be part of
1482ordinary matching strings or file names (and therefore internally have to
1483be escaped), meta symbols have to be written with leading '%':
1484	%\		The single '\' character.  Note that this has to be
1485			escaped ("%\\") in ":set errorformat=" definitions.
1486	%.		The single '.' character.
1487	%#		The single '*'(!) character.
1488	%^		The single '^' character.  Note that this is not
1489			useful, the pattern already matches start of line.
1490	%$		The single '$' character.  Note that this is not
1491			useful, the pattern already matches end of line.
1492	%[		The single '[' character for a [] character range.
1493	%~		The single '~' character.
1494When using character classes in expressions (see |/\i| for an overview),
1495terms containing the "\+" quantifier can be written in the scanf() "%*"
1496notation.  Example: "%\\d%\\+" ("\d\+", "any number") is equivalent to "%*\\d".
1497Important note: The \(...\) grouping of sub-matches can not be used in format
1498specifications because it is reserved for internal conversions.
1499
1500
1501Multiple entries in 'errorformat'			*efm-entries*
1502
1503To be able to detect output from several compilers, several format patterns
1504may be put in 'errorformat', separated by commas (note: blanks after the comma
1505are ignored).  The first pattern that has a complete match is used.  If no
1506match is found, matching parts from the last one will be used, although the
1507file name is removed and the error message is set to the whole message.  If
1508there is a pattern that may match output from several compilers (but not in a
1509right way), put it after one that is more restrictive.
1510
1511To include a comma in a pattern precede it with a backslash (you have to type
1512two in a ":set" command).  To include a backslash itself give two backslashes
1513(you have to type four in a ":set" command).  You also need to put a backslash
1514before a space for ":set".
1515
1516
1517Valid matches						*quickfix-valid*
1518
1519If a line does not completely match one of the entries in 'errorformat', the
1520whole line is put in the error message and the entry is marked "not valid"
1521These lines are skipped with the ":cn" and ":cp" commands (unless there is
1522no valid line at all).  You can use ":cl!" to display all the error messages.
1523
1524If the error format does not contain a file name Vim cannot switch to the
1525correct file.  You will have to do this by hand.
1526
1527
1528Examples
1529
1530The format of the file from the Amiga Aztec compiler is:
1531
1532	filename>linenumber:columnnumber:errortype:errornumber:errormessage
1533
1534	filename	name of the file in which the error was detected
1535	linenumber	line number where the error was detected
1536	columnnumber	column number where the error was detected
1537	errortype	type of the error, normally a single 'E' or 'W'
1538	errornumber	number of the error (for lookup in the manual)
1539	errormessage	description of the error
1540
1541This can be matched with this 'errorformat' entry:
1542	%f>%l:%c:%t:%n:%m
1543
1544Some examples for C compilers that produce single-line error outputs:
1545%f:%l:\ %t%*[^0123456789]%n:\ %m	for Manx/Aztec C error messages
1546					(scanf() doesn't understand [0-9])
1547%f\ %l\ %t%*[^0-9]%n:\ %m		for SAS C
1548\"%f\"\\,%*[^0-9]%l:\ %m		for generic C compilers
1549%f:%l:\ %m				for GCC
1550%f:%l:\ %m,%Dgmake[%*\\d]:\ Entering\ directory\ `%f',
1551%Dgmake[%*\\d]:\ Leaving\ directory\ `%f'
1552					for GCC with gmake (concat the lines!)
1553%f(%l)\ :\ %*[^:]:\ %m			old SCO C compiler (pre-OS5)
1554%f(%l)\ :\ %t%*[^0-9]%n:\ %m		idem, with error type and number
1555%f:%l:\ %m,In\ file\ included\ from\ %f:%l:,\^I\^Ifrom\ %f:%l%m
1556					for GCC, with some extras
1557
1558Extended examples for the handling of multi-line messages are given below,
1559see |errorformat-Jikes| and |errorformat-LaTeX|.
1560
1561Note the backslash in front of a space and double quote.  It is required for
1562the :set command.  There are two backslashes in front of a comma, one for the
1563:set command and one to avoid recognizing the comma as a separator of error
1564formats.
1565
1566
1567Filtering messages
1568
1569If you have a compiler that produces error messages that do not fit in the
1570format string, you could write a program that translates the error messages
1571into this format.  You can use this program with the ":make" command by
1572changing the 'makeprg' option.  For example: >
1573   :set mp=make\ \\\|&\ error_filter
1574The backslashes before the pipe character are required to avoid it to be
1575recognized as a command separator.  The backslash before each space is
1576required for the set command.
1577
1578				    *cfilter-plugin* *:Cfilter* *:Lfilter*
1579If you have too many matching messages, you can use the cfilter plugin to
1580reduce the number of entries.  Load the plugin with: >
1581   packadd cfilter
1582
1583Then you can use these command: >
1584   :Cfilter[!] /{pat}/
1585   :Lfilter[!] /{pat}/
1586
1587:Cfilter creates a new quickfix list from entries matching {pat} in the
1588current quickfix list. Both the file name and the text of the entries are
1589matched against {pat}. If ! is supplied, then entries not matching {pat} are
1590used.
1591
1592:Lfilter does the same as :Cfilter but operates on the current location list.
1593
1594=============================================================================
15958. The directory stack				*quickfix-directory-stack*
1596
1597Quickfix maintains a stack for saving all used directories parsed from the
1598make output.  For GNU-make this is rather simple, as it always prints the
1599absolute path of all directories it enters and leaves.  Regardless if this is
1600done via a 'cd' command in the makefile or with the parameter "-C dir" (change
1601to directory before reading the makefile).  It may be useful to use the switch
1602"-w" to force GNU-make to print out the working directory before and after
1603processing.
1604
1605Maintaining the correct directory is more complicated if you don't use
1606GNU-make.  AIX-make for example doesn't print any information about its
1607working directory.  Then you need to enhance the makefile.  In the makefile of
1608LessTif there is a command which echoes "Making {target} in {dir}".  The
1609special problem here is that it doesn't print information on leaving the
1610directory and that it doesn't print the absolute path.
1611
1612To solve the problem with relative paths and missing "leave directory"
1613messages Vim uses following algorithm:
1614
16151) Check if the given directory is a subdirectory of the current directory.
1616   If this is true, store it as the current directory.
16172) If it is not a subdir of the current directory, try if this is a
1618   subdirectory of one of the upper directories.
16193) If the directory still isn't found, it is assumed to be a subdirectory
1620   of Vim's current directory.
1621
1622Additionally it is checked for every file, if it really exists in the
1623identified directory.  If not, it is searched in all other directories of the
1624directory stack (NOT the directory subtree!).  If it is still not found, it is
1625assumed that it is in Vim's current directory.
1626
1627There are limitations in this algorithm.  These examples assume that make just
1628prints information about entering a directory in the form "Making all in dir".
1629
16301) Assume you have following directories and files:
1631   ./dir1
1632   ./dir1/file1.c
1633   ./file1.c
1634
1635   If make processes the directory "./dir1" before the current directory and
1636   there is an error in the file "./file1.c", you will end up with the file
1637   "./dir1/file.c" loaded by Vim.
1638
1639   This can only be solved with a "leave directory" message.
1640
16412) Assume you have following directories and files:
1642   ./dir1
1643   ./dir1/dir2
1644   ./dir2
1645
1646   You get the following:
1647
1648   Make output			  Directory interpreted by Vim
1649   ------------------------	  ----------------------------
1650   Making all in dir1		  ./dir1
1651   Making all in dir2		  ./dir1/dir2
1652   Making all in dir2		  ./dir1/dir2
1653
1654   This can be solved by printing absolute directories in the "enter directory"
1655   message or by printing "leave directory" messages.
1656
1657To avoid this problem, ensure to print absolute directory names and "leave
1658directory" messages.
1659
1660Examples for Makefiles:
1661
1662Unix:
1663    libs:
1664	    for dn in $(LIBDIRS); do				\
1665		(cd $$dn; echo "Entering dir '$$(pwd)'"; make); \
1666		echo "Leaving dir";				\
1667	    done
1668
1669Add
1670    %DEntering\ dir\ '%f',%XLeaving\ dir
1671to your 'errorformat' to handle the above output.
1672
1673Note that Vim doesn't check if the directory name in a "leave directory"
1674messages is the current directory.  This is why you could just use the message
1675"Leaving dir".
1676
1677=============================================================================
16789. Specific error file formats			*errorformats*
1679
1680						*errorformat-Jikes*
1681Jikes(TM), a source-to-bytecode Java compiler published by IBM Research,
1682produces simple multi-line error messages.
1683
1684An 'errorformat' string matching the produced messages is shown below.
1685The following lines can be placed in the user's |vimrc| to overwrite Vim's
1686recognized default formats, or see |:set+=| how to install this format
1687additionally to the default. >
1688
1689  :set efm=%A%f:%l:%c:%*\\d:%*\\d:,
1690	\%C%*\\s%trror:%m,
1691	\%+C%*[^:]%trror:%m,
1692	\%C%*\\s%tarning:%m,
1693	\%C%m
1694<
1695Jikes(TM) produces a single-line error message when invoked with the option
1696"+E", and can be matched with the following: >
1697
1698  :setl efm=%f:%l:%v:%*\\d:%*\\d:%*\\s%m
1699<
1700						*errorformat-javac*
1701This 'errorformat' has been reported to work well for javac, which outputs a
1702line with "^" to indicate the column of the error: >
1703  :setl efm=%A%f:%l:\ %m,%-Z%p^,%-C%.%#
1704or: >
1705  :setl efm=%A%f:%l:\ %m,%+Z%p^,%+C%.%#,%-G%.%#
1706<
1707Here is an alternative from Michael F. Lamb for Unix that filters the errors
1708first: >
1709  :setl errorformat=%Z%f:%l:\ %m,%A%p^,%-G%*[^sl]%.%#
1710  :setl makeprg=javac\ %:S\ 2>&1\ \\\|\ vim-javac-filter
1711
1712You need to put the following in "vim-javac-filter" somewhere in your path
1713(e.g., in ~/bin) and make it executable: >
1714   #!/bin/sed -f
1715   /\^$/s/\t/\ /g;/:[0-9]\+:/{h;d};/^[ \t]*\^/G;
1716
1717In English, that sed script:
1718- Changes single tabs to single spaces and
1719- Moves the line with the filename, line number, error message to just after
1720  the pointer line. That way, the unused error text between doesn't break
1721  vim's notion of a "multi-line message" and also doesn't force us to include
1722  it as a "continuation of a multi-line message."
1723
1724						*errorformat-ant*
1725For ant (http://jakarta.apache.org/) the above errorformat has to be modified
1726to honour the leading [javac] in front of each javac output line: >
1727  :set efm=%A\ %#[javac]\ %f:%l:\ %m,%-Z\ %#[javac]\ %p^,%-C%.%#
1728
1729The 'errorformat' can also be configured to handle ant together with either
1730javac or jikes.  If you're using jikes, you should tell ant to use jikes' +E
1731command line switch which forces jikes to generate one-line error messages.
1732This is what the second line (of a build.xml file) below does: >
1733  <property name = "build.compiler"       value = "jikes"/>
1734  <property name = "build.compiler.emacs" value = "true"/>
1735
1736The 'errorformat' which handles ant with both javac and jikes is: >
1737  :set efm=\ %#[javac]\ %#%f:%l:%c:%*\\d:%*\\d:\ %t%[%^:]%#:%m,
1738	   \%A\ %#[javac]\ %f:%l:\ %m,%-Z\ %#[javac]\ %p^,%-C%.%#
1739<
1740						*errorformat-jade*
1741parsing jade (see http://www.jclark.com/) errors is simple: >
1742  :set efm=jade:%f:%l:%c:%t:%m
1743<
1744						*errorformat-LaTeX*
1745The following is an example how an 'errorformat' string can be specified
1746for the (La)TeX typesetting system which displays error messages over
1747multiple lines.  The output of ":clist" and ":cc" etc. commands displays
1748multi-lines in a single line, leading white space is removed.
1749It should be easy to adopt the above LaTeX errorformat to any compiler output
1750consisting of multi-line errors.
1751
1752The commands can be placed in a |vimrc| file or some other Vim script file,
1753e.g. a script containing LaTeX related stuff which is loaded only when editing
1754LaTeX sources.
1755Make sure to copy all lines of the example (in the given order), afterwards
1756remove the comment lines.  For the '\' notation at the start of some lines see
1757|line-continuation|.
1758
1759		First prepare 'makeprg' such that LaTeX will report multiple
1760		errors; do not stop when the first error has occurred: >
1761 :set makeprg=latex\ \\\\nonstopmode\ \\\\input\\{$*}
1762<
1763		Start of multi-line error messages: >
1764 :set efm=%E!\ LaTeX\ %trror:\ %m,
1765	\%E!\ %m,
1766<		Start of multi-line warning messages; the first two also
1767		include the line number.  Meaning of some regular expressions:
1768		  - "%.%#"  (".*")   matches a (possibly empty) string
1769		  - "%*\\d" ("\d\+") matches a number >
1770	\%+WLaTeX\ %.%#Warning:\ %.%#line\ %l%.%#,
1771	\%+W%.%#\ at\ lines\ %l--%*\\d,
1772	\%WLaTeX\ %.%#Warning:\ %m,
1773<		Possible continuations of error/warning messages; the first
1774		one also includes the line number: >
1775	\%Cl.%l\ %m,
1776	\%+C\ \ %m.,
1777	\%+C%.%#-%.%#,
1778	\%+C%.%#[]%.%#,
1779	\%+C[]%.%#,
1780	\%+C%.%#%[{}\\]%.%#,
1781	\%+C<%.%#>%.%#,
1782	\%C\ \ %m,
1783<		Lines that match the following patterns do not contain any
1784		important information; do not include them in messages: >
1785	\%-GSee\ the\ LaTeX%m,
1786	\%-GType\ \ H\ <return>%m,
1787	\%-G\ ...%.%#,
1788	\%-G%.%#\ (C)\ %.%#,
1789	\%-G(see\ the\ transcript%.%#),
1790<		Generally exclude any empty or whitespace-only line from
1791		being displayed: >
1792	\%-G\\s%#,
1793<		The LaTeX output log does not specify the names of erroneous
1794		source files per line; rather they are given globally,
1795		enclosed in parentheses.
1796		The following patterns try to match these names and store
1797		them in an internal stack.  The patterns possibly scan over
1798		the same input line (one after another), the trailing "%r"
1799		conversion indicates the "rest" of the line that will be
1800		parsed in the next go until the end of line is reached.
1801
1802		Overread a file name enclosed in '('...')'; do not push it
1803		on a stack since the file apparently does not contain any
1804		error: >
1805	\%+O(%f)%r,
1806<		Push a file name onto the stack.  The name is given after '(': >
1807	\%+P(%f%r,
1808	\%+P\ %\\=(%f%r,
1809	\%+P%*[^()](%f%r,
1810	\%+P[%\\d%[^()]%#(%f%r,
1811<		Pop the last stored file name when a ')' is scanned: >
1812	\%+Q)%r,
1813	\%+Q%*[^()])%r,
1814	\%+Q[%\\d%*[^()])%r
1815
1816Note that in some cases file names in the LaTeX output log cannot be parsed
1817properly.  The parser might have been messed up by unbalanced parentheses
1818then.  The above example tries to catch the most relevant cases only.
1819You can customize the given setting to suit your own purposes, for example,
1820all the annoying "Overfull ..." warnings could be excluded from being
1821recognized as an error.
1822Alternatively to filtering the LaTeX compiler output, it is also possible
1823to directly read the *.log file that is produced by the [La]TeX compiler.
1824This contains even more useful information about possible error causes.
1825However, to properly parse such a complex file, an external filter should
1826be used.  See the description further above how to make such a filter known
1827by Vim.
1828
1829						*errorformat-Perl*
1830In $VIMRUNTIME/tools you can find the efm_perl.pl script, which filters Perl
1831error messages into a format that quickfix mode will understand.  See the
1832start of the file about how to use it.  (This script is deprecated, see
1833|compiler-perl|.)
1834
1835
1836
1837 vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl:
1838