# Vim documentation: filetype

main help file

    *filetype.txt*  For Vim version 7.0f.  Last change: 2006 Mar 24

    		  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:  plain or context or latex.  (Currently no
    other formats are recognized.)

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