Vim documentation: filetype
main help file
*filetype.txt* For Vim version 7.0. Last change: 2006 Apr 28
VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
Filetypes *filetype* *file-type*
1. Filetypes |filetypes|
2. Filetype plugin |filetype-plugins|
3. Docs for the default filetype plugins. |ftplugin-docs|
Also see |autocmd.txt|.
{Vi does not have any of these commands}
==============================================================================
1. Filetypes *filetypes* *file-types*
Vim can detect the type of file that is edited. This is done by checking the
file name and sometimes by inspecting the contents of the file for specific
text.
*:filetype* *:filet*
To enable file type detection, use this command in your vimrc:
:filetype on
Each time a new or existing file is edited, Vim will try to recognize the type
of the file and set the 'filetype' option. This will trigger the FileType
event, which can be used to set the syntax highlighting, set options, etc.
NOTE: Filetypes and 'compatible' don't work together well, since being Vi
compatible means options are global. Resetting 'compatible' is recommended,
if you didn't do that already.
Detail: The ":filetype on" command will load one of these files:
Amiga $VIMRUNTIME/filetype.vim
Mac $VIMRUNTIME:filetype.vim
MS-DOS $VIMRUNTIME\filetype.vim
RiscOS Vim:Filetype
Unix $VIMRUNTIME/filetype.vim
VMS $VIMRUNTIME/filetype.vim
This file is a Vim script that defines autocommands for the
BufNewFile and BufRead events. If the file type is not found by the
name, the file $VIMRUNTIME/scripts.vim is used to detect it from the
contents of the file.
To add your own file types, see |new-filetype| below. To search for help on a
filetype prepend "ft-" and optionally append "-syntax", "-indent" or
"-plugin". For example:
:help ft-vim-indent
:help ft-vim-syntax
:help ft-man-plugin
If the file type is not detected automatically, or it finds the wrong type,
you can either set the 'filetype' option manually, or add a modeline to your
file. Example, for in an IDL file use the command:
:set filetype=idl
or add this |modeline| to the file:
/* vim: set filetype=idl : */
*:filetype-plugin-on*
You can enable loading the plugin files for specific file types with:
:filetype plugin on
If filetype detection was not switched on yet, it will be as well.
This actually loads the file "ftplugin.vim" in 'runtimepath'.
The result is that when a file is edited its plugin file is loaded (if there
is one for the detected filetypefiletype). |filetype-plugin|
*:filetype-plugin-off*
You can disable it again with:
:filetype plugin off
The filetype detection is not switched off then. But if you do switch off
filetype detection, the plugins will not be loaded either.
This actually loads the file "ftplugof.vim" in 'runtimepath'.
*:filetype-indent-on*
You can enable loading the indent file for specific file types with:
:filetype indent on
If filetype detection was not switched on yet, it will be as well.
This actually loads the file "indent.vim" in 'runtimepath'.
The result is that when a file is edited its indent file is loaded (if there
is one for the detected filetype). |indent-expression|
*:filetype-indent-off*
You can disable it again with:
:filetype indent off
The filetype detection is not switched off then. But if you do switch off
filetype detection, the indent files will not be loaded either.
This actually loads the file "indoff.vim" in 'runtimepath'.
This disables auto-indenting for files you will open. It will keep working in
already opened files. Reset 'autoindent', 'cindent', 'smartindent' and/or
'indentexpr' to disable indenting in an opened file.
*:filetype-off*
To disable file type detection, use this command:
:filetype off
This will keep the flags for "plugin" and "indent", but since no file types
are being detected, they won't work until the next ":filetype on".
Overview: *:filetype-overview*
command detection plugin indent
:filetype on on unchanged unchanged
:filetype off off unchanged unchanged
:filetype plugin on on on unchanged
:filetype plugin off unchanged off unchanged
:filetype indent on on unchanged on
:filetype indent off unchanged unchanged off
:filetype plugin indent on on on on
:filetype plugin indent off unchanged off off
To see the current status, type:
:filetype
The output looks something like this:
filetype detection:ON plugin:ON indent:OFF
The file types are also used for syntax highlighting. If the ":syntax on"
command is used, the file type detection is installed too. There is no need
to do ":filetype on" after ":syntax on".
To disable one of the file types, add a line in the your filetype file, see
|remove-filetype|.
*filetype-detect*
To detect the file type again:
:filetype detect
Use this if you started with an empty file and typed text that makes it
possible to detect the file type. For example, when you entered this in a
shell script: "#!/bin/csh".
When filetype detection was off, it will be enabled first, like the "on"
argument was used.
*filetype-overrule*
When the same extension is used for two filetypes, Vim tries to guess what
kind of file it is. This doesn't always work. A number of global variables
can be used to overrule the filetype used for certain extensions:
file name variable
*.asa g:filetype_asa |ft-aspvbs-syntax| |ft-aspperl-syntax|
*.asp g:filetype_asp |ft-aspvbs-syntax| |ft-aspperl-syntax|
*.asm g:asmsyntax |ft-asm-syntax|
*.prg g:filetype_prg
*.pl g:filetype_pl
*.inc g:filetype_inc
*.w g:filetype_w |ft-cweb-syntax|
*.i g:filetype_i |ft-progress-syntax|
*.p g:filetype_p |ft-pascal-syntax|
*.sh g:bash_is_sh |ft-sh-syntax|
*.tex g:tex_flavor |ft-tex-plugin|
*filetype-ignore*
To avoid that certain files are being inspected, the g:ft_ignore_pat variable
is used. The default value is set like this:
:let g:ft_ignore_pat = '\.\(Z\|gz\|bz2\|zip\|tgz\)$'
This means that the contents of compressed files are not inspected.
*new-filetype*
If a file type that you want to use is not detected yet, there are four ways
to add it. In any way, it's better not to modify the $VIMRUNTIME/filetype.vim
file. It will be overwritten when installing a new version of Vim.
A. If you want to overrule all default file type checks.
This works by writing one file for each filetype. The disadvantage is that
means there can be many files. The advantage is that you can simply drop
this file in the right directory to make it work.
*ftdetect*
1. Create your user runtime directory. You would normally use the first
item of the 'runtimepath' option. Then create the directory "ftdetect"
inside it. Example for Unix:
:!mkdir ~/.vim
:!mkdir ~/.vim/ftdetect
2. Create a file that contains an autocommand to detect the file type.
Example:
au BufRead,BufNewFile *.mine set filetype=mine
Note that there is no "augroup" command, this has already been done
when sourcing your file. You could also use the pattern "*" and then
check the contents of the file to recognize it.
Write this file as "mine.vim" in the "ftdetect" directory in your user
runtime directory. For example, for Unix:
:w ~/.vim/ftdetect/mine.vim
3. To use the new filetype detection you must restart Vim.
The files in the "ftdetect" directory are used after all the default
checks, thus they can overrule a previously detected file type. But you
can also use |:setfiletype| to keep a previously detected filetype.
B. If you want to detect your file after the default file type checks.
This works like A above, but instead of setting 'filetype' unconditionally
use ":setfiletype". This will only set 'filetype' if no file type was
detected yet. Example:
au BufRead,BufNewFile *.txt setfiletype text
You can also use the already detected file type in your command. For
example, to use the file type "mypascal" when "pascal" has been detected:
au BufRead,BufNewFile * if &ft == 'pascal' | set ft=mypascal
| endif
C. If your file type can be detected by the file name.
1. Create your user runtime directory. You would normally use the first
item of the 'runtimepath' option. Example for Unix:
:!mkdir ~/.vim
2. Create a file that contains autocommands to detect the file type.
Example:
" my filetype file
if exists("did_load_filetypes")
finish
endif
augroup filetypedetect
au! BufRead,BufNewFile *.mine setfiletype mine
au! BufRead,BufNewFile *.xyz setfiletype drawing
augroup END
Write this file as "filetype.vim" in your user runtime directory. For
example, for Unix:
:w ~/.vim/filetype.vim
3. To use the new filetype detection you must restart Vim.
Your filetype.vim will be sourced before the default FileType autocommands
have been installed. Your autocommands will match first, and the
":setfiletype" command will make sure that no other autocommands will set
'filetype' after this.
*new-filetype-scripts*
D. If your filetype can only be detected by inspecting the contents of the
file.
1. Create your user runtime directory. You would normally use the first
item of the 'runtimepath' option. Example for Unix:
:!mkdir ~/.vim
2. Create a vim script file for doing this. Example:
if did_filetype() " filetype already set..
finish " ..don't do these checks
endif
if getline(1) =~ '^#!.*\<mine\>'
setfiletype mine
elseif getline(1) =~? '\<drawing\>'
setfiletype drawing
endif
See $VIMRUNTIME/scripts.vim for more examples.
Write this file as "scripts.vim" in your user runtime directory. For
example, for Unix:
:w ~/.vim/scripts.vim
3. The detection will work right away, no need to restart Vim.
Your scripts.vim is loaded before the default checks for file types, which
means that your rules override the default rules in
$VIMRUNTIME/scripts.vim.
*remove-filetype*
If a file type is detected that is wrong for you, install a filetype.vim or
scripts.vim to catch it (see above). You can set 'filetype' to a non-existing
name to avoid that it will be set later anyway:
:set filetype=ignored
If you are setting up a system with many users, and you don't want each user
to add/remove the same filetypes, consider writing the filetype.vim and
scripts.vim files in a runtime directory that is used for everybody. Check
the 'runtimepath' for a directory to use. If there isn't one, set
'runtimepath' in the |system-vimrc|. Be careful to keep the default
directories!
*autocmd-osfiletypes*
On operating systems which support storing a file type with the file, you can
specify that an autocommand should only be executed if the file is of a
certain type.
The actual type checking depends on which platform you are running Vim
on; see your system's documentation for details.
To use osfiletype checking in an autocommand you should put a list of types to
match in angle brackets in place of a pattern, like this:
:au BufRead *.html,<&faf;HTML> runtime! syntax/html.vim
This will match:
- Any file whose name ends in `.html'
- Any file whose type is `&faf' or 'HTML', where the meaning of these types
depends on which version of Vim you are using.
Unknown types are considered NOT to match.
You can also specify a type and a pattern at the same time (in which case they
must both match):
:au BufRead <&fff>diff*
This will match files of type `&fff' whose names start with `diff'.
Note that osfiletype checking is skipped if Vim is compiled without the
|+osfiletype| feature.
*plugin-details*
The "plugin" directory can be in any of the directories in the 'runtimepath'
option. All of these directories will be searched for plugins and they are
all loaded. For example, if this command:
set runtimepath
produces this output:
runtimepath=/etc/vim,~/.vim,/usr/local/share/vim/vim60
then Vim will load all plugins in these directories:
/etc/vim/plugin/
~/.vim/plugin/
/usr/local/share/vim/vim60/plugin/
Note that the last one is the value of $VIMRUNTIME which has been expanded.
What if it looks like your plugin is not being loaded? You can find out what
happens when Vim starts up by using the |-V| argument:
vim -V1
You will see a lot of messages, in between them is a remark about loading the
plugins. It starts with:
Searching for "plugin/*.vim" in
There you can see where Vim looks for your plugin scripts.
==============================================================================
2. Filetype plugin *filetype-plugins*
When loading filetype plugins has been enabled |:filetype-plugin-on|, options
will be set and mappings defined. These are all local to the buffer, they
will not be used for other files.
Defining mappings for a filetype may get in the way of the mappings you
define yourself. There are a few ways to avoid this:
1. Set the "maplocalleader" variable to the key sequence you want the mappings
to start with. Example:
:let maplocalleader = ","
All mappings will then start with a comma instead of the default, which
is a backslash. Also see |<LocalLeader>|.
2. Define your own mapping. Example:
:map ,p <Plug>MailQuote
You need to check the description of the plugin file below for the
functionality it offers and the string to map to.
You need to define your own mapping before the plugin is loaded (before
editing a file of that type). The plugin will then skip installing the
default mapping.
3. Disable defining mappings for a specific filetype by setting a variable,
which contains the name of the filetype. For the "mail" filetype this
would be:
:let no_mail_maps = 1
4. Disable defining mappings for all filetypes by setting a variable:
:let no_plugin_maps = 1
*ftplugin-overrule*
If a global filetype plugin does not do exactly what you want, there are three
ways to change this:
1. Add a few settings.
You must create a new filetype plugin in a directory early in
'runtimepath'. For Unix, for example you could use this file:
vim ~/.vim/ftplugin/fortran.vim
You can set those settings and mappings that you would like to add. Note
that the global plugin will be loaded after this, it may overrule the
settings that you do here. If this is the case, you need to use one of the
following two methods.
2. Make a copy of the plugin and change it.
You must put the copy in a directory early in 'runtimepath'. For Unix, for
example, you could do this:
cp $VIMRUNTIME/ftplugin/fortran.vim ~/.vim/ftplugin/fortran.vim
Then you can edit the copied file to your liking. Since the b:did_ftplugin
variable will be set, the global plugin will not be loaded.
A disadvantage of this method is that when the distributed plugin gets
improved, you will have to copy and modify it again.
3. Overrule the settings after loading the global plugin.
You must create a new filetype plugin in a directory from the end of
'runtimepath'. For Unix, for example, you could use this file:
vim ~/.vim/after/ftplugin/fortran.vim
In this file you can change just those settings that you want to change.
==============================================================================
3. Docs for the default filetype plugins. *ftplugin-docs*
CHANGELOG *ft-changelog-plugin*
Allows for easy entrance of Changelog entries in Changelog files. There are
some commands, mappings, and variables worth exploring:
Options:
'comments' is made empty to not mess up formatting.
'textwidth' is set to 78, which is standard.
'formatoptions' the 't' flag is added to wrap when inserting text.
Commands:
NewChangelogEntry Adds a new Changelog entry in an intelligent fashion
(see below).
Local mappings:
<Leader>o Starts a new Changelog entry in an equally intelligent
fashion (see below).
Global mappings:
NOTE: The global mappings are accessed by sourcing the
ftplugin/changelog.vim file first, e.g. with
runtime ftplugin/changelog.vim
in your |.vimrc|.
<Leader>o Switches to the ChangeLog buffer opened for the
current directory, or opens it in a new buffer if it
exists in the current directory. Then it does the
same as the local <Leader>o described above.
Variables:
g:changelog_timeformat The date (and time) format used in ChangeLog entries.
The format accepted is the same as for the
|strftime()| function.
The default is "%Y-%m-%d" which is the standard format
for many ChangeLog layouts.
g:changelog_username The name and email address of the user.
The default is deduced from environment variables and
system files. It searches /etc/passwd for the comment
part of the current user, which informally contains
the real name of the user up to the first separating
comma. then it checks the $NAME environment variable
and finally runs `whoami` and `hostname` to build an
email address. The final form is
Full Name <user@host>
g:changelog_new_date_format
The format to use when creating a new date-entry.
The following table describes special tokens in the
string:
%% insert a single '%' character
%d insert the date from above
%u insert the user from above
%c where to position cursor when done
The default is "%d %u\n\n\t* %c\n\n", which produces
something like (| is where cursor will be, unless at
the start of the line where it denotes the beginning
of the line)
|2003-01-14 Full Name <user@host>
|
| * |
g:changelog_new_entry_format
The format used when creating a new entry.
The following table describes special tokens in the
string:
%c where to position cursor when done
The default is "\t*%c", which produces something
similar to
| * |
g:changelog_date_entry_search
The search pattern to use when searching for a
date-entry.
The same tokens that can be used for
g:changelog_new_date_format can be used here as well.
The default is '^\s*%d\_s*%u' which finds lines
matching the form
|2003-01-14 Full Name <user@host>
and some similar formats.
The Changelog entries are inserted where they add the least amount of text.
After figuring out the current date and user, the file is searched for an
entry beginning with the current date and user and if found adds another item
under it. If not found, a new entry and item is prepended to the beginning of
the Changelog.
FORTRAN *ft-fortran-plugin*
Options:
'expandtab' is switched on to avoid tabs as required by the Fortran
standards unless the user has set fortran_have_tabs in .vimrc.
'textwidth' is set to 72 for fixed source format as required by the
Fortran standards and to 80 for free source format.
'formatoptions' is set to break code and comment lines and to preserve long
lines. You can format comments with |gq|.
For further discussion of fortran_have_tabs and the method used for the
detection of source format see |ft-fortran-syntax|.
MAIL *ft-mail-plugin*
Options:
'modeline' is switched off to avoid the danger of trojan horses, and to
avoid that a Subject line with "Vim:" in it will cause an
error message.
'textwidth' is set to 72. This is often recommended for e-mail.
'formatoptions' is set to break text lines and to repeat the comment leader
in new lines, so that a leading ">" for quotes is repeated.
You can also format quoted text with |gq|.
Local mappings:
<LocalLeader>q or \\MailQuote
Quotes the text selected in Visual mode, or from the cursor position
to the end of the file in Normal mode. This means "> " is inserted in
each line.
MAN *ft-man-plugin* *:Man*
Displays a manual page in a nice way. Also see the user manual
|find-manpage|.
To start using the ":Man" command before any manual page was loaded, source
this script from your startup vimrc file:
runtime ftplugin/man.vim
Options:
'iskeyword' the '.' character is added to be able to use CTRL-] on the
manual page name.
Commands:
Man {name} Display the manual page for {name} in a window.
Man {number} {name}
Display the manual page for {name} in a section {number}.
Global mapping:
<Leader>K Displays the manual page for the word under the cursor.
Local mappings:
CTRL-] Jump to the manual page for the word under the cursor.
CTRL-T Jump back to the previous manual page.
RPM SPEC *ft-spec-plugin*
Since the text for this plugin is rather long it has been put in a separate
file: |pi_spec.txt|.
SQL *ft-sql*
Since the text for this plugin is rather long it has been put in a separate
file: |sql.txt|.
TEX *ft-tex-plugin*
If the first line of a *.tex file has the form
%&<format>
then this determined the file type: plaintex (for plain TeX), context (for
ConTeXt), or tex (for LaTeX). Otherwise, the file is searched for keywords to
choose context or tex. If no keywords are found, it defaults to plaintex.
You can change the default by defining the variable g:tex_flavor to the format
(not the file type) you use most. Use one of these:
let g:tex_flavor = "plain"
let g:tex_flavor = "context"
let g:tex_flavor = "latex"
Currently no other formats are recognized.
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