1*textprop.txt* For Vim version 8.2. Last change: 2019 Dec 07 2 3 4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar 5 6 7Displaying text with properties attached. *textprop* *text-properties* 8 9 101. Introduction |text-prop-intro| 112. Functions |text-prop-functions| 123. When text changes |text-prop-changes| 13 14 15{not able to use text properties when the |+textprop| feature was 16disabled at compile time} 17 18============================================================================== 191. Introduction *text-prop-intro* 20 21Text properties can be attached to text in a buffer. They will move with the 22text: If lines are deleted or inserted the properties move with the text they 23are attached to. Also when inserting/deleting text in the line before the 24text property. And when inserting/deleting text inside the text property, it 25will increase/decrease in size. 26 27The main use for text properties is to highlight text. This can be seen as a 28replacement for syntax highlighting. Instead of defining patterns to match 29the text, the highlighting is set by a script, possibly using the output of an 30external parser. This only needs to be done once, not every time when 31redrawing the screen, thus can be much faster, after the initial cost of 32attaching the text properties. 33 34Text properties can also be used for other purposes to identify text. For 35example, add a text property on a function name, so that a search can be 36defined to jump to the next/previous function. 37 38A text property is attached at a specific line and column, and has a specified 39length. The property can span multiple lines. 40 41A text property has these fields: 42 "id" a number to be used as desired 43 "type" the name of a property type 44 45 46Property Types ~ 47 *E971* 48A text property normally has the name of a property type, which defines 49how to highlight the text. The property type can have these entries: 50 "highlight" name of the highlight group to use 51 "combine" when omitted or TRUE the text property highlighting is 52 combined with any syntax highlighting; when FALSE the 53 text property highlighting replaces the syntax 54 highlighting 55 "priority" when properties overlap, the one with the highest 56 priority will be used. 57 "start_incl" when TRUE inserts at the start position will be 58 included in the text property 59 "end_incl" when TRUE inserts at the end position will be 60 included in the text property 61 62 63Example ~ 64 65Suppose line 11 in a buffer has this text (excluding the indent): 66 67 The number 123 is smaller than 4567. 68 69To highlight the numbers in this text: > 70 call prop_type_add('number', {'highlight': 'Constant'}) 71 call prop_add(11, 12, {'length': 3, 'type': 'number'}) 72 call prop_add(11, 32, {'length': 4, 'type': 'number'}) 73 74Try inserting or deleting lines above the text, you will see that the text 75properties stick to the text, thus the line number is adjusted as needed. 76 77Setting "start_incl" and "end_incl" is useful when white space surrounds the 78text, e.g. for a function name. Using false is useful when the text starts 79and/or ends with a specific character, such as the quote surrounding a string. 80 81 func FuncName(arg) ~ 82 ^^^^^^^^ property with start_incl and end_incl set 83 84 var = "text"; ~ 85 ^^^^^^ property with start_incl and end_incl not set 86 87Nevertheless, when text is inserted or deleted the text may need to be parsed 88and the text properties updated. But this can be done asynchronously. 89 90 91Internal error *E967* 92 93If you see E967, please report the bug. You can do this at Github: 94https://github.com/vim/vim/issues/new 95 96============================================================================== 972. Functions *text-prop-functions* 98 99Manipulating text property types: 100 101prop_type_add({name}, {props}) define a new property type 102prop_type_change({name}, {props}) change an existing property type 103prop_type_delete({name} [, {props}]) delete a property type 104prop_type_get([{name} [, {props}]) get property type values 105prop_type_list([{props}]) get list of property types 106 107 108Manipulating text properties: 109 110prop_add({lnum}, {col}, {props}) add a text property 111prop_clear({lnum} [, {lnum-end} [, {bufnr}]]) 112 remove all text properties 113prop_find({props} [, {direction}]) search for a text property 114prop_list({lnum} [, {props}) text properties in {lnum} 115prop_remove({props} [, {lnum} [, {lnum-end}]]) 116 remove a text property 117 118 *prop_add()* *E965* 119prop_add({lnum}, {col}, {props}) 120 Attach a text property at position {lnum}, {col}. {col} is 121 counted in bytes, use one for the first column. 122 If {lnum} is invalid an error is given. *E966* 123 If {col} is invalid an error is given. *E964* 124 125 {props} is a dictionary with these fields: 126 length length of text in bytes, can only be used 127 for a property that does not continue in 128 another line; can be zero 129 end_lnum line number for the end of text 130 end_col column just after the text; not used when 131 "length" is present; when {col} and "end_col" 132 are equal, and "end_lnum" is omitted or equal 133 to {lnum}, this is a zero-width text property 134 bufnr buffer to add the property to; when omitted 135 the current buffer is used 136 id user defined ID for the property; when omitted 137 zero is used 138 type name of the text property type 139 All fields except "type" are optional. 140 141 It is an error when both "length" and "end_lnum" or "end_col" 142 are given. Either use "length" or "end_col" for a property 143 within one line, or use "end_lnum" and "end_col" for a 144 property that spans more than one line. 145 When neither "length" nor "end_col" are given the property 146 will be zero-width. That means it will not be highlighted but 147 will move with the text, as a kind of mark. 148 The property can end exactly at the last character of the 149 text, or just after it. In the last case, if text is appended 150 to the line, the text property size will increase, also when 151 the property type does not have "end_incl" set. 152 153 "type" will first be looked up in the buffer the property is 154 added to. When not found, the global property types are used. 155 If not found an error is given. 156 157 Can also be used as a |method|: > 158 GetLnum()->prop_add(col, props) 159 160 161prop_clear({lnum} [, {lnum-end} [, {props}]]) *prop_clear()* 162 Remove all text properties from line {lnum}. 163 When {lnum-end} is given, remove all text properties from line 164 {lnum} to {lnum-end} (inclusive). 165 166 When {props} contains a "bufnr" item use this buffer, 167 otherwise use the current buffer. 168 169 Can also be used as a |method|: > 170 GetLnum()->prop_clear() 171< 172 *prop_find()* 173prop_find({props} [, {direction}]) 174 Search for a text property as specified with {props}: 175 id property with this ID 176 type property with this type name 177 bufnr buffer to search in; when present a 178 start position with "lnum" and "col" 179 must be given; when omitted the 180 current buffer is used 181 lnum start in this line (when omitted start 182 at the cursor) 183 col start at this column (when omitted 184 and "lnum" is given: use column 1, 185 otherwise start at the cursor) 186 skipstart do not look for a match at the start 187 position 188 189 {direction} can be "f" for forward and "b" for backward. When 190 omitted forward search is performed. 191 192 If a match is found then a Dict is returned with the entries 193 as with prop_list(), and additionally an "lnum" entry. 194 If no match is found then an empty Dict is returned. 195 196 197prop_list({lnum} [, {props}]) *prop_list()* 198 Return a List with all text properties in line {lnum}. 199 200 When {props} contains a "bufnr" item, use this buffer instead 201 of the current buffer. 202 203 The properties are ordered by starting column and priority. 204 Each property is a Dict with these entries: 205 col starting column 206 length length in bytes, one more if line break is 207 included 208 id property ID 209 type name of the property type, omitted if 210 the type was deleted 211 start when TRUE property starts in this line 212 end when TRUE property ends in this line 213 214 When "start" is zero the property started in a previous line, 215 the current one is a continuation. 216 When "end" is zero the property continues in the next line. 217 The line break after this line is included. 218 219 Can also be used as a |method|: > 220 GetLnum()->prop_list() 221< 222 *prop_remove()* *E968* 223prop_remove({props} [, {lnum} [, {lnum-end}]]) 224 Remove a matching text property from line {lnum}. When 225 {lnum-end} is given, remove matching text properties from line 226 {lnum} to {lnum-end} (inclusive). 227 When {lnum} is omitted remove matching text properties from 228 all lines. 229 230 {props} is a dictionary with these fields: 231 id remove text properties with this ID 232 type remove text properties with this type name 233 bufnr use this buffer instead of the current one 234 all when TRUE remove all matching text properties, 235 not just the first one 236 A property matches when either "id" or "type" matches. 237 If buffer "bufnr" does not exist you get an error message. 238 If buffer "bufnr" is not loaded then nothing happens. 239 240 Returns the number of properties that were removed. 241 242 Can also be used as a |method|: > 243 GetProps()->prop_remove() 244 245 246prop_type_add({name}, {props}) *prop_type_add()* *E969* *E970* 247 Add a text property type {name}. If a property type with this 248 name already exists an error is given. Nothing is returned. 249 {props} is a dictionary with these optional fields: 250 bufnr define the property only for this buffer; this 251 avoids name collisions and automatically 252 clears the property types when the buffer is 253 deleted. 254 highlight name of highlight group to use 255 priority when a character has multiple text 256 properties the one with the highest priority 257 will be used; negative values can be used, the 258 default priority is zero 259 combine when TRUE combine the highlight with any 260 syntax highlight; when omitted or FALSE syntax 261 highlight will not be used 262 start_incl when TRUE inserts at the start position will 263 be included in the text property 264 end_incl when TRUE inserts at the end position will be 265 included in the text property 266 267 Can also be used as a |method|: > 268 GetPropName()->prop_type_add(props) 269 270prop_type_change({name}, {props}) *prop_type_change()* 271 Change properties of an existing text property type. If a 272 property with this name does not exist an error is given. 273 The {props} argument is just like |prop_type_add()|. 274 275 Can also be used as a |method|: > 276 GetPropName()->prop_type_change(props) 277 278prop_type_delete({name} [, {props}]) *prop_type_delete()* 279 Remove the text property type {name}. When text properties 280 using the type {name} are still in place, they will not have 281 an effect and can no longer be removed by name. 282 283 {props} can contain a "bufnr" item. When it is given, delete 284 a property type from this buffer instead of from the global 285 property types. 286 287 When text property type {name} is not found there is no error. 288 289 Can also be used as a |method|: > 290 GetPropName()->prop_type_delete() 291 292prop_type_get([{name} [, {props}]) *prop_type_get()* 293 Returns the properties of property type {name}. This is a 294 dictionary with the same fields as was given to 295 prop_type_add(). 296 When the property type {name} does not exist, an empty 297 dictionary is returned. 298 299 {props} can contain a "bufnr" item. When it is given, use 300 this buffer instead of the global property types. 301 302 Can also be used as a |method|: > 303 GetPropName()->prop_type_get() 304 305prop_type_list([{props}]) *prop_type_list()* 306 Returns a list with all property type names. 307 308 {props} can contain a "bufnr" item. When it is given, use 309 this buffer instead of the global property types. 310 311 312============================================================================== 3133. When text changes *text-prop-changes* 314 315Vim will do its best to keep the text properties on the text where it was 316attached. When inserting or deleting text the properties after the change 317will move accordingly. 318 319When text is deleted and a text property no longer includes any text, it is 320deleted. However, a text property that was defined as zero-width will remain, 321unless the whole line is deleted. 322 *E275* 323When a buffer is unloaded, all the text properties are gone. There is no way 324to store the properties in a file. You can only re-create them. When a 325buffer is hidden the text is preserved and so are the text properties. It is 326not possible to add text properties to an unloaded buffer. 327 328When using replace mode, the text properties stay on the same character 329positions, even though the characters themselves change. 330 331To update text properties after the text was changed, install a callback with 332`listener_add()`. E.g, if your plugin does spell checking, you can have the 333callback update spelling mistakes in the changed text. Vim will move the 334properties below the changed text, so that they still highlight the same text, 335thus you don't need to update these. 336 337 338Text property columns are not updated: ~ 339 340- When setting the line with |setline()| or through an interface, such as Lua, 341 Tcl or Python. Vim does not know what text got inserted or deleted. 342 343 344 vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl: 345