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*syntax.txt*    For Vim version 7.2.  Last change: 2009 Feb 18


                  VIM REFERENCE MANUAL    by Bram Moolenaar


Syntax highlighting             *syntax* *syntax-highlighting* *coloring*

Syntax highlighting enables Vim to show parts of the text in another font or
color.  Those parts can be specific keywords or text matching a pattern.  Vim
doesn't parse the whole file (to keep it fast), so the highlighting has its
limitations.  Lexical highlighting might be a better name, but since everybody
calls it syntax highlighting we'll stick with that.

Vim supports syntax highlighting on all terminals.  But since most ordinary
terminals have very limited highlighting possibilities, it works best in the
GUI version, gvim.

In the User Manual:
|usr_06.txt| introduces syntax highlighting.
|usr_44.txt| introduces writing a syntax file.

1.  Quick start                 |:syn-qstart|
2.  Syntax files                |:syn-files|
3.  Syntax loading procedure    |syntax-loading|
4.  Syntax file remarks         |:syn-file-remarks|
5.  Defining a syntax           |:syn-define|
6.  :syntax arguments           |:syn-arguments|
7.  Syntax patterns             |:syn-pattern|
8.  Syntax clusters             |:syn-cluster|
9.  Including syntax files      |:syn-include|
10. Synchronizing               |:syn-sync|
11. Listing syntax items        |:syntax|
12. Highlight command           |:highlight|
13. Linking groups              |:highlight-link|
14. Cleaning up                 |:syn-clear|
15. Highlighting tags           |tag-highlight|
16. Color xterms                |xterm-color|

{Vi does not have any of these commands}

Syntax highlighting is not available when the |+syntax| feature has been
disabled at compile time.

==============================================================================
1. Quick start                                          *:syn-qstart*

                                                *:syn-enable* *:syntax-enable*
This command switches on syntax highlighting: >

        :syntax enable

What this command actually does is to execute the command >
        :source $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/syntax.vim

If the VIM environment variable is not set, Vim will try to find
the path in another way (see |$VIMRUNTIME|).  Usually this works just
fine.  If it doesn't, try setting the VIM environment variable to the
directory where the Vim stuff is located.  For example, if your syntax files
are in the "/usr/vim/vim50/syntax" directory, set $VIMRUNTIME to
"/usr/vim/vim50".  You must do this in the shell, before starting Vim.

                                                        *:syn-on* *:syntax-on*
The ":syntax enable" command will keep your current color settings.  This
allows using ":highlight" commands to set your preferred colors before or
after using this command.  If you want Vim to overrule your settings with the
defaults, use: >
        :syntax on
<
                                        *:hi-normal* *:highlight-normal*
If you are running in the GUI, you can get white text on a black background
with: >
        :highlight Normal guibg=Black guifg=White
For a color terminal see |:hi-normal-cterm|.
For setting up your own colors syntax highlighting see |syncolor|.

NOTE: The syntax files on MS-DOS and Windows have lines that end in <CR><NL>.
The files for Unix end in <NL>.  This means you should use the right type of
file for your system.  Although on MS-DOS and Windows the right format is
automatically selected if the 'fileformats' option is not empty.

NOTE: When using reverse video ("gvim -fg white -bg black"), the default value
of 'background' will not be set until the GUI window is opened, which is after
reading the |gvimrc|.  This will cause the wrong default highlighting to be
used.  To set the default value of 'background' before switching on
highlighting, include the ":gui" command in the |gvimrc|: >

   :gui         " open window and set default for 'background'
   :syntax on   " start highlighting, use 'background' to set colors

NOTE: Using ":gui" in the |gvimrc| means that "gvim -f" won't start in the
foreground!  Use ":gui -f" then.


You can toggle the syntax on/off with this command >
   :if exists("syntax_on") | syntax off | else | syntax enable | endif

To put this into a mapping, you can use: >
   :map <F7> :if exists("syntax_on") <Bar>
        \   syntax off <Bar>
        \ else <Bar>
        \   syntax enable <Bar>
        \ endif <CR>
[using the |<>| notation, type this literally]

Details:
The ":syntax" commands are implemented by sourcing a file.  To see exactly how
this works, look in the file:
    command             file ~
    :syntax enable      $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/syntax.vim
    :syntax on          $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/syntax.vim
    :syntax manual      $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/manual.vim
    :syntax off         $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/nosyntax.vim
Also see |syntax-loading|.

NOTE: If displaying long lines is slow and switching off syntax highlighting
makes it fast, consider setting the 'synmaxcol' option to a lower value.

==============================================================================
2. Syntax files                                         *:syn-files*

The syntax and highlighting commands for one language are normally stored in
a syntax file.  The name convention is: "{name}.vim".  Where {name} is the
name of the language, or an abbreviation (to fit the name in 8.3 characters,
a requirement in case the file is used on a DOS filesystem).
Examples:
        c.vim           perl.vim        java.vim        html.vim
        cpp.vim         sh.vim          csh.vim

The syntax file can contain any Ex commands, just like a vimrc file.  But
the idea is that only commands for a specific language are included.  When a
language is a superset of another language, it may include the other one,
for example, the cpp.vim file could include the c.vim file: >
   :so $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/c.vim

The .vim files are normally loaded with an autocommand.  For example: >
   :au Syntax c     runtime! syntax/c.vim
   :au Syntax cpp   runtime! syntax/cpp.vim
These commands are normally in the file $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/synload.vim.


MAKING YOUR OWN SYNTAX FILES                            *mysyntaxfile*

When you create your own syntax files, and you want to have Vim use these
automatically with ":syntax enable", do this:

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 directory in there called "syntax".  For Unix: >
        mkdir ~/.vim/syntax

3. Write the Vim syntax file.  Or download one from the internet.  Then write
   it in your syntax directory.  For example, for the "mine" syntax: >
        :w ~/.vim/syntax/mine.vim

Now you can start using your syntax file manually: >
        :set syntax=mine
You don't have to exit Vim to use this.

If you also want Vim to detect the type of file, see |new-filetype|.

If you are setting up a system with many users and you don't want each user
to add the same syntax file, you can use another directory from 'runtimepath'.


ADDING TO AN EXISTING SYNTAX FILE               *mysyntaxfile-add*

If you are mostly satisfied with an existing syntax file, but would like to
add a few items or change the highlighting, follow these steps:

1. Create your user directory from 'runtimepath', see above.

2. Create a directory in there called "after/syntax".  For Unix: >
        mkdir ~/.vim/after
        mkdir ~/.vim/after/syntax

3. Write a Vim script that contains the commands you want to use.  For
   example, to change the colors for the C syntax: >
        highlight cComment ctermfg=Green guifg=Green

4. Write that file in the "after/syntax" directory.  Use the name of the
   syntax, with ".vim" added.  For our C syntax: >
        :w ~/.vim/after/syntax/c.vim

That's it.  The next time you edit a C file the Comment color will be
different.  You don't even have to restart Vim.

If you have multiple files, you can use the filetype as the directory name.
All the "*.vim" files in this directory will be used, for example:
        ~/.vim/after/syntax/c/one.vim
        ~/.vim/after/syntax/c/two.vim


REPLACING AN EXISTING SYNTAX FILE                       *mysyntaxfile-replace*

If you don't like a distributed syntax file, or you have downloaded a new
version, follow the same steps as for |mysyntaxfile| above.  Just make sure
that you write the syntax file in a directory that is early in 'runtimepath'.
Vim will only load the first syntax file found.


NAMING CONVENTIONS
                                    *group-name* *{group-name}* *E669* *W18*
The name for a highlight or syntax group must consist of ASCII letters, digits
and the underscore.  As a regexp: "[a-zA-Z0-9_]*"

To be able to allow each user to pick his favorite set of colors, there must
be preferred names for highlight groups that are common for many languages.
These are the suggested group names (if syntax highlighting works properly
you can see the actual color, except for "Ignore"):

        *Comment        any comment

        *Constant       any constant
         String         a string constant: "this is a string"
         Character      a character constant: 'c', '\n'
         Number         a number constant: 234, 0xff
         Boolean        a boolean constant: TRUE, false
         Float          a floating point constant: 2.3e10

        *Identifier     any variable name
         Function       function name (also: methods for classes)

        *Statement      any statement
         Conditional    if, then, else, endif, switch, etc.
         Repeat         for, do, while, etc.
         Label          case, default, etc.
         Operator       "sizeof", "+", "*", etc.
         Keyword        any other keyword
         Exception      try, catch, throw

        *PreProc        generic Preprocessor
         Include        preprocessor #include
         Define         preprocessor #define
         Macro          same as Define
         PreCondit      preprocessor #if, #else, #endif, etc.

        *Type           int, long, char, etc.
         StorageClass   static, register, volatile, etc.
         Structure      struct, union, enum, etc.
         Typedef        A typedef

        *Special        any special symbol
         SpecialChar    special character in a constant
         Tag            you can use CTRL-] on this
         Delimiter      character that needs attention
         SpecialComment special things inside a comment
         Debug          debugging statements

        *Underlined     text that stands out, HTML links

        *Ignore         left blank, hidden

        *Error          any erroneous construct

        *Todo           anything that needs extra attention; mostly the
                        keywords TODO FIXME and XXX

The names marked with * are the preferred groups; the others are minor groups.
For the preferred groups, the "syntax.vim" file contains default highlighting.
The minor groups are linked to the preferred groups, so they get the same
highlighting.  You can override these defaults by using ":highlight" commands
after sourcing the "syntax.vim" file.

Note that highlight group names are not case sensitive.  "String" and "string"
can be used for the same group.

The following names are reserved and cannot be used as a group name:
        NONE   ALL   ALLBUT   contains   contained

==============================================================================
3. Syntax loading procedure                             *syntax-loading*

This explains the details that happen when the command ":syntax enable" is
issued.  When Vim initializes itself, it finds out where the runtime files are
located.  This is used here as the variable |$VIMRUNTIME|.

":syntax enable" and ":syntax on" do the following:

    Source $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/syntax.vim
    |
    +-  Clear out any old syntax by sourcing $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/nosyntax.vim
    |
    +-  Source first syntax/synload.vim in 'runtimepath'
    |   |
    |   +-  Setup the colors for syntax highlighting.  If a color scheme is
    |   |   defined it is loaded again with ":colors {name}".  Otherwise
    |   |   ":runtime! syntax/syncolor.vim" is used.  ":syntax on" overrules
    |   |   existing colors, ":syntax enable" only sets groups that weren't
    |   |   set yet.
    |   |
    |   +-  Set up syntax autocmds to load the appropriate syntax file when
    |   |   the 'syntax' option is set. *synload-1*
    |   |
    |   +-  Source the user's optional file, from the |mysyntaxfile| variable.
    |       This is for backwards compatibility with Vim 5.x only. *synload-2*
    |
    +-  Do ":filetype on", which does ":runtime! filetype.vim".  It loads any
    |   filetype.vim files found.  It should always Source
    |   $VIMRUNTIME/filetype.vim, which does the following.
    |   |
    |   +-  Install autocmds based on suffix to set the 'filetype' option
    |   |   This is where the connection between file name and file type is
    |   |   made for known file types. *synload-3*
    |   |
    |   +-  Source the user's optional file, from the *myfiletypefile*
    |   |   variable.  This is for backwards compatibility with Vim 5.x only.
    |   |   *synload-4*
    |   |
    |   +-  Install one autocommand which sources scripts.vim when no file
    |   |   type was detected yet. *synload-5*
    |   |
    |   +-  Source $VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim, to setup the Syntax menu. |menu.vim|
    |
    +-  Install a FileType autocommand to set the 'syntax' option when a file
    |   type has been detected. *synload-6*
    |
    +-  Execute syntax autocommands to start syntax highlighting for each
        already loaded buffer.


Upon loading a file, Vim finds the relevant syntax file as follows:

    Loading the file triggers the BufReadPost autocommands.
    |
    +-  If there is a match with one of the autocommands from |synload-3|
    |   (known file types) or |synload-4| (user's file types), the 'filetype'
    |   option is set to the file type.
    |
    +-  The autocommand at |synload-5| is triggered.  If the file type was not
    |   found yet, then scripts.vim is searched for in 'runtimepath'.  This
    |   should always load $VIMRUNTIME/scripts.vim, which does the following.
    |   |
    |   +-  Source the user's optional file, from the *myscriptsfile*
    |   |   variable.  This is for backwards compatibility with Vim 5.x only.
    |   |
    |   +-  If the file type is still unknown, check the contents of the file,
    |       again with checks like "getline(1) =~ pattern" as to whether the
    |       file type can be recognized, and set 'filetype'.
    |
    +-  When the file type was determined and 'filetype' was set, this
    |   triggers the FileType autocommand |synload-6| above.  It sets
    |   'syntax' to the determined file type.
    |
    +-  When the 'syntax' option was set above, this triggers an autocommand
    |   from |synload-1| (and |synload-2|).  This find the main syntax file in
    |   'runtimepath', with this command:
    |           runtime! syntax/<name>.vim
    |
    +-  Any other user installed FileType or Syntax autocommands are
        triggered.  This can be used to change the highlighting for a specific
        syntax.

==============================================================================
4. Syntax file remarks                                  *:syn-file-remarks*

                                                *b:current_syntax-variable*
Vim stores the name of the syntax that has been loaded in the
"b:current_syntax" variable.  You can use this if you want to load other
settings, depending on which syntax is active.  Example: >
   :au BufReadPost * if b:current_syntax == "csh"
   :au BufReadPost *   do-some-things
   :au BufReadPost * endif


2HTML                                           *2html.vim* *convert-to-HTML*

This is not a syntax file itself, but a script that converts the current
window into HTML.  Vim opens a new window in which it builds the HTML file.

You are not supposed to set the 'filetype' or 'syntax' option to "2html"!
Source the script to convert the current file: >

        :runtime! syntax/2html.vim
<
Warning: This is slow!
                                                        *:TOhtml*
Or use the ":TOhtml" user command.  It is defined in a standard plugin.
":TOhtml" also works with a range and in a Visual area: >

        :10,40TOhtml

After you save the resulting file, you can view it with any HTML viewer, such
as Netscape.  The colors should be exactly the same as you see them in Vim.

To restrict the conversion to a range of lines set "html_start_line" and
"html_end_line" to the first and last line to be converted.  Example, using
the last set Visual area: >

        :let html_start_line = line("'<")
        :let html_end_line = line("'>")

The lines are numbered according to 'number' option and the Number
highlighting.  You can force lines to be numbered in the HTML output by
setting "html_number_lines" to non-zero value: >
   :let html_number_lines = 1
Force to omit the line numbers by using a zero value: >
   :let html_number_lines = 0
Go back to the default to use 'number' by deleting the variable: >
   :unlet html_number_lines

Closed folds are put in the HTML as they are displayed.  If you don't want
this, use the |zR| command before invoking 2html, or use: >
   :let html_ignore_folding = 1

By default, HTML optimized for old browsers is generated.  If you prefer using
cascading style sheets (CSS1) for the attributes (resulting in considerably
shorter and valid HTML 4 file), use: >
   :let html_use_css = 1

By default "<pre>" and "</pre>" is used around the text.  This makes it show
up as you see it in Vim, but without wrapping.  If you prefer wrapping, at the
risk of making some things look a bit different, use: >
   :let html_no_pre = 1
This will use <br> at the end of each line and use "&nbsp;" for repeated
spaces.

The current value of 'encoding' is used to specify the charset of the HTML
file.  This only works for those values of 'encoding' that have an equivalent
HTML charset name.  To overrule this set g:html_use_encoding to the name of
the charset to be used: >
   :let html_use_encoding = "foobar"
To omit the line that specifies the charset, set g:html_use_encoding to an
empty string: >
   :let html_use_encoding = ""
To go back to the automatic mechanism, delete the g:html_use_encoding
variable: >
   :unlet html_use_encoding
<
For diff mode a sequence of more than 3 filler lines is displayed as three
lines with the middle line mentioning the total number of inserted lines.  If
you prefer to see all the inserted lines use: >
    :let html_whole_filler = 1
And to go back to displaying up to three lines again: >
    :unlet html_whole_filler
<
                                            *convert-to-XML* *convert-to-XHTML*
An alternative is to have the script generate XHTML (XML compliant HTML).  To
do this set the "use_xhtml" variable: >
    :let use_xhtml = 1
To disable it again delete the variable: >
    :unlet use_xhtml
The generated XHTML file can be used in DocBook XML documents.  See:
        http://people.mech.kuleuven.ac.be/~pissaris/howto/src2db.html

Remarks:
- This only works in a version with GUI support.  If the GUI is not actually
  running (possible for X11) it still works, but not very well (the colors
  may be wrong).
- Older browsers will not show the background colors.
- From most browsers you can also print the file (in color)!

Here is an example how to run the script over all .c and .h files from a
Unix shell: >
   for f in *.[ch]; do gvim -f +"syn on" +"run! syntax/2html.vim" +"wq" +"q" $f; done
<

ABEL                                            *abel.vim* *ft-abel-syntax*

ABEL highlighting provides some user-defined options.  To enable them, assign
any value to the respective variable.  Example: >
        :let abel_obsolete_ok=1
To disable them use ":unlet".  Example: >
        :unlet abel_obsolete_ok

Variable                        Highlight ~
abel_obsolete_ok                obsolete keywords are statements, not errors
abel_cpp_comments_illegal       do not interpret '//' as inline comment leader


ADA

See |ft-ada-syntax|


ANT                                             *ant.vim* *ft-ant-syntax*

The ant syntax file provides syntax highlighting for javascript and python
by default.  Syntax highlighting for other script languages can be installed
by the function AntSyntaxScript(), which takes the tag name as first argument
and the script syntax file name as second argument.  Example: >

        :call AntSyntaxScript('perl', 'perl.vim')

will install syntax perl highlighting for the following ant code >

        <script language = 'perl'><![CDATA[
            # everything inside is highlighted as perl
        ]]></script>

See |mysyntaxfile-add| for installing script languages permanently.


APACHE                                          *apache.vim* *ft-apache-syntax*

The apache syntax file provides syntax highlighting depending on Apache HTTP
server version, by default for 1.3.x.  Set "apache_version" to Apache version
(as a string) to get highlighting for another version.  Example: >

        :let apache_version = "2.0"
<

                *asm.vim* *asmh8300.vim* *nasm.vim* *masm.vim* *asm68k*
ASSEMBLY        *ft-asm-syntax* *ft-asmh8300-syntax* *ft-nasm-syntax*
                *ft-masm-syntax* *ft-asm68k-syntax* *fasm.vim*

Files matching "*.i" could be Progress or Assembly.  If the automatic detection
doesn't work for you, or you don't edit Progress at all, use this in your
startup vimrc: >
   :let filetype_i = "asm"
Replace "asm" with the type of assembly you use.

There are many types of assembly languages that all use the same file name
extensions.  Therefore you will have to select the type yourself, or add a
line in the assembly file that Vim will recognize.  Currently these syntax
files are included:
        asm             GNU assembly (the default)
        asm68k          Motorola 680x0 assembly
        asmh8300        Hitachi H-8300 version of GNU assembly
        ia64            Intel Itanium 64
        fasm            Flat assembly (http://flatassembler.net)
        masm            Microsoft assembly (probably works for any 80x86)
        nasm            Netwide assembly
        tasm            Turbo Assembly (with opcodes 80x86 up to Pentium, and
                        MMX)
        pic             PIC assembly (currently for PIC16F84)

The most flexible is to add a line in your assembly file containing: >
        asmsyntax=nasm
Replace "nasm" with the name of the real assembly syntax.  This line must be
one of the first five lines in the file.  No non-white text must be
immediately before or after this text.

The syntax type can always be overruled for a specific buffer by setting the
b:asmsyntax variable: >
        :let b:asmsyntax = "nasm"

If b:asmsyntax is not set, either automatically or by hand, then the value of
the global variable asmsyntax is used.  This can be seen as a default assembly
language: >
        :let asmsyntax = "nasm"

As a last resort, if nothing is defined, the "asm" syntax is used.


Netwide assembler (nasm.vim) optional highlighting ~

To enable a feature: >
        :let   {variable}=1|set syntax=nasm
To disable a feature: >
        :unlet {variable}  |set syntax=nasm

Variable                Highlight ~
nasm_loose_syntax       unofficial parser allowed syntax not as Error
                          (parser dependent; not recommended)
nasm_ctx_outside_macro  contexts outside macro not as Error
nasm_no_warn            potentially risky syntax not as ToDo


ASPPERL and ASPVBS                      *ft-aspperl-syntax* *ft-aspvbs-syntax*

*.asp and *.asa files could be either Perl or Visual Basic script.  Since it's
hard to detect this you can set two global variables to tell Vim what you are
using.  For Perl script use: >
        :let g:filetype_asa = "aspperl"
        :let g:filetype_asp = "aspperl"
For Visual Basic use: >
        :let g:filetype_asa = "aspvbs"
        :let g:filetype_asp = "aspvbs"


BAAN                                                *baan.vim* *baan-syntax*

The baan.vim gives syntax support for BaanC of release BaanIV upto SSA ERP LN
for both 3 GL and 4 GL programming. Large number of standard defines/constants
are supported.

Some special violation of coding standards will be signalled when one specify
in ones |.vimrc|: >
        let baan_code_stds=1

*baan-folding*

Syntax folding can be enabled at various levels through the variables
mentioned below (Set those in your |.vimrc|). The more complex folding on
source blocks and SQL can be CPU intensive.

To allow any folding and enable folding at function level use: >
        let baan_fold=1
Folding can be enabled at source block level as if, while, for ,... The
indentation preceding the begin/end keywords has to match (spaces are not
considered equal to a tab). >
        let baan_fold_block=1
Folding can be enabled for embedded SQL blocks as SELECT, SELECTDO,
SELECTEMPTY, ... The indentation preceding the begin/end keywords has to
match (spaces are not considered equal to a tab). >
        let baan_fold_sql=1
Note: Block folding can result in many small folds. It is suggested to |:set|
the options 'foldminlines' and 'foldnestmax' in |.vimrc| or use |:setlocal| in
.../after/syntax/baan.vim (see |after-directory|). Eg: >
        set foldminlines=5
        set foldnestmax=6


BASIC                   *basic.vim* *vb.vim* *ft-basic-syntax* *ft-vb-syntax*

Both Visual Basic and "normal" basic use the extension ".bas".  To detect
which one should be used, Vim checks for the string "VB_Name" in the first
five lines of the file.  If it is not found, filetype will be "basic",
otherwise "vb".  Files with the ".frm" extension will always be seen as Visual
Basic.


C                                                       *c.vim* *ft-c-syntax*

A few things in C highlighting are optional.  To enable them assign any value
to the respective variable.  Example: >
        :let c_comment_strings = 1
To disable them use ":unlet".  Example: >
        :unlet c_comment_strings

Variable                Highlight ~
c_gnu                   GNU gcc specific items
c_comment_strings       strings and numbers inside a comment
c_space_errors          trailing white space and spaces before a <Tab>
c_no_trail_space_error   ... but no trailing spaces
c_no_tab_space_error     ... but no spaces before a <Tab>
c_no_bracket_error      don't highlight {}; inside [] as errors
c_no_curly_error        don't highlight {}; inside [] and () as errors;
                                except { and } in first column
c_curly_error           highlight a missing }; this forces syncing from the
                        start of the file, can be slow
c_no_ansi               don't do standard ANSI types and constants
c_ansi_typedefs          ... but do standard ANSI types
c_ansi_constants         ... but do standard ANSI constants
c_no_utf                don't highlight \u and \U in strings
c_syntax_for_h          use C syntax for *.h files, instead of C++
c_no_if0                don't highlight "#if 0" blocks as comments
c_no_cformat            don't highlight %-formats in strings
c_no_c99                don't highlight C99 standard items

When 'foldmethod' is set to "syntax" then /* */ comments and { } blocks will
become a fold.  If you don't want comments to become a fold use: >
        :let c_no_comment_fold = 1
"#if 0" blocks are also folded, unless: >
        :let c_no_if0_fold = 1

If you notice highlighting errors while scrolling backwards, which are fixed
when redrawing with CTRL-L, try setting the "c_minlines" internal variable
to a larger number: >
        :let c_minlines = 100
This will make the syntax synchronization start 100 lines before the first
displayed line.  The default value is 50 (15 when c_no_if0 is set).  The
disadvantage of using a larger number is that redrawing can become slow.

When using the "#if 0" / "#endif" comment highlighting, notice that this only
works when the "#if 0" is within "c_minlines" from the top of the window.  If
you have a long "#if 0" construct it will not be highlighted correctly.

To match extra items in comments, use the cCommentGroup cluster.
Example: >
   :au Syntax c call MyCadd()
   :function MyCadd()
   :  syn keyword cMyItem contained Ni
   :  syn cluster cCommentGroup add=cMyItem
   :  hi link cMyItem Title
   :endfun

ANSI constants will be highlighted with the "cConstant" group.  This includes
"NULL", "SIG_IGN" and others.  But not "TRUE", for example, because this is
not in the ANSI standard.  If you find this confusing, remove the cConstant
highlighting: >
        :hi link cConstant NONE

If you see '{' and '}' highlighted as an error where they are OK, reset the
highlighting for cErrInParen and cErrInBracket.

If you want to use folding in your C files, you can add these lines in a file
an the "after" directory in 'runtimepath'.  For Unix this would be
~/.vim/after/syntax/c.vim. >
    syn sync fromstart
    set foldmethod=syntax

CH                                              *ch.vim* *ft-ch-syntax*

C/C++ interpreter.  Ch has similar syntax highlighting to C and builds upon
the C syntax file.  See |c.vim| for all the settings that are available for C.

By setting a variable you can tell Vim to use Ch syntax for *.h files, instead
of C or C++: >
        :let ch_syntax_for_h = 1


CHILL                                           *chill.vim* *ft-chill-syntax*

Chill syntax highlighting is similar to C.  See |c.vim| for all the settings
that are available.  Additionally there is:

chill_space_errors      like c_space_errors
chill_comment_string    like c_comment_strings
chill_minlines          like c_minlines


CHANGELOG                               *changelog.vim* *ft-changelog-syntax*

ChangeLog supports highlighting spaces at the start of a line.
If you do not like this, add following line to your .vimrc: >
        let g:changelog_spacing_errors = 0
This works the next time you edit a changelog file.  You can also use
"b:changelog_spacing_errors" to set this per buffer (before loading the syntax
file).

You can change the highlighting used, e.g., to flag the spaces as an error: >
        :hi link ChangelogError Error
Or to avoid the highlighting: >
        :hi link ChangelogError NONE
This works immediately.


COBOL                                           *cobol.vim* *ft-cobol-syntax*

COBOL highlighting has different needs for legacy code than it does for fresh
development.  This is due to differences in what is being done (maintenance
versus development) and other factors.  To enable legacy code highlighting,
add this line to your .vimrc: >
        :let cobol_legacy_code = 1
To disable it again, use this: >
        :unlet cobol_legacy_code


COLD FUSION                     *coldfusion.vim* *ft-coldfusion-syntax*

The ColdFusion has its own version of HTML comments.  To turn on ColdFusion
comment highlighting, add the following line to your startup file: >

        :let html_wrong_comments = 1

The ColdFusion syntax file is based on the HTML syntax file.


CSH                                             *csh.vim* *ft-csh-syntax*

This covers the shell named "csh".  Note that on some systems tcsh is actually
used.

Detecting whether a file is csh or tcsh is notoriously hard.  Some systems
symlink /bin/csh to /bin/tcsh, making it almost impossible to distinguish
between csh and tcsh.  In case VIM guesses wrong you can set the
"filetype_csh" variable.  For using csh: >

        :let filetype_csh = "csh"

For using tcsh: >

        :let filetype_csh = "tcsh"

Any script with a tcsh extension or a standard tcsh filename (.tcshrc,
tcsh.tcshrc, tcsh.login) will have filetype tcsh.  All other tcsh/csh scripts
will be classified as tcsh, UNLESS the "filetype_csh" variable exists.  If the
"filetype_csh" variable exists, the filetype will be set to the value of the
variable.


CYNLIB                                          *cynlib.vim* *ft-cynlib-syntax*

Cynlib files are C++ files that use the Cynlib class library to enable
hardware modelling and simulation using C++.  Typically Cynlib files have a .cc
or a .cpp extension, which makes it very difficult to distinguish them from a
normal C++ file.  Thus, to enable Cynlib highlighting for .cc files, add this
line to your .vimrc file: >

        :let cynlib_cyntax_for_cc=1

Similarly for cpp files (this extension is only usually used in Windows) >

        :let cynlib_cyntax_for_cpp=1

To disable these again, use this: >

        :unlet cynlib_cyntax_for_cc
        :unlet cynlib_cyntax_for_cpp
<

CWEB                                            *cweb.vim* *ft-cweb-syntax*

Files matching "*.w" could be Progress or cweb.  If the automatic detection
doesn't work for you, or you don't edit Progress at all, use this in your
startup vimrc: >
   :let filetype_w = "cweb"


DESKTOP                                    *desktop.vim* *ft-desktop-syntax*

Primary goal of this syntax file is to highlight .desktop and .directory files
according to freedesktop.org standard: http://pdx.freedesktop.org/Standards/
But actually almost none implements this standard fully.  Thus it will
highlight all Unix ini files.  But you can force strict highlighting according
to standard by placing this in your vimrc file: >
        :let enforce_freedesktop_standard = 1


DIRCOLORS                              *dircolors.vim* *ft-dircolors-syntax*

The dircolors utility highlighting definition has one option.  It exists to
provide compatibility with the Slackware GNU/Linux distributions version of
the command.  It adds a few keywords that are generally ignored by most
versions.  On Slackware systems, however, the utility accepts the keywords and
uses them for processing.  To enable the Slackware keywords add the following
line to your startup file: >
        let dircolors_is_slackware = 1


DOCBOOK                                 *docbk.vim* *ft-docbk-syntax* *docbook*
DOCBOOK XML                             *docbkxml.vim* *ft-docbkxml-syntax*
DOCBOOK SGML                            *docbksgml.vim* *ft-docbksgml-syntax*

There are two types of DocBook files: SGML and XML.  To specify what type you
are using the "b:docbk_type" variable should be set.  Vim does this for you
automatically if it can recognize the type.  When Vim can't guess it the type
defaults to XML.
You can set the type manually: >
        :let docbk_type = "sgml"
or: >
        :let docbk_type = "xml"
You need to do this before loading the syntax file, which is complicated.
Simpler is setting the filetype to "docbkxml" or "docbksgml": >
        :set filetype=docbksgml
or: >
        :set filetype=docbkxml


DOSBATCH                                *dosbatch.vim* *ft-dosbatch-syntax*

There is one option with highlighting DOS batch files.  This covers new
extensions to the Command Interpreter introduced with Windows 2000 and
is controlled by the variable dosbatch_cmdextversion.  For Windows NT
this should have the value 1, and for Windows 2000 it should be 2.
Select the version you want with the following line: >

   :let dosbatch_cmdextversion = 1

If this variable is not defined it defaults to a value of 2 to support
Windows 2000.

A second option covers whether *.btm files should be detected as type
"dosbatch" (MS-DOS batch files) or type "btm" (4DOS batch files).  The latter
is used by default.  You may select the former with the following line: >

   :let g:dosbatch_syntax_for_btm = 1

If this variable is undefined or zero, btm syntax is selected.


DOXYGEN                                         *doxygen.vim* *doxygen-syntax*

Doxygen generates code documentation using a special documentation format
(similar to Javadoc).  This syntax script adds doxygen highlighting to c, cpp,
idl and php files, and should also work with java.

There are a few of ways to turn on doxygen formatting. It can be done
explicitly or in a modeline by appending '.doxygen' to the syntax of the file.
Example: >
        :set syntax=c.doxygen
or >
        // vim:syntax=c.doxygen

It can also be done automatically for c, cpp and idl files by setting the
global or buffer-local variable load_doxygen_syntax.  This is done by adding
the following to your .vimrc. >
        :let g:load_doxygen_syntax=1

There are a couple of variables that have an affect on syntax highlighting, and
are to do with non-standard highlighting options.

Variable                        Default Effect ~
g:doxygen_enhanced_color
g:doxygen_enhanced_colour       0       Use non-standard highlighting for
                                        doxygen comments.

doxygen_my_rendering            0       Disable rendering of HTML bold, italic
                                        and html_my_rendering underline.

doxygen_javadoc_autobrief       1       Set to 0 to disable javadoc autobrief
                                        colour highlighting.

doxygen_end_punctuation         '[.]'   Set to regexp match for the ending
                                        punctuation of brief

There are also some hilight groups worth mentioning as they can be useful in
configuration.

Highlight                       Effect ~
doxygenErrorComment             The colour of an end-comment when missing
                                punctuation in a code, verbatim or dot section
doxygenLinkError                The colour of an end-comment when missing the
                                \endlink from a \link section.


DTD                                             *dtd.vim* *ft-dtd-syntax*

The DTD syntax highlighting is case sensitive by default.  To disable
case-sensitive highlighting, add the following line to your startup file: >

        :let dtd_ignore_case=1

The DTD syntax file will highlight unknown tags as errors.  If
this is annoying, it can be turned off by setting: >

        :let dtd_no_tag_errors=1

before sourcing the dtd.vim syntax file.
Parameter entity names are highlighted in the definition using the
'Type' highlighting group and 'Comment' for punctuation and '%'.
Parameter entity instances are highlighted using the 'Constant'
highlighting group and the 'Type' highlighting group for the
delimiters % and ;.  This can be turned off by setting: >

        :let dtd_no_param_entities=1

The DTD syntax file is also included by xml.vim to highlight included dtd's.


EIFFEL                                  *eiffel.vim* *ft-eiffel-syntax*

While Eiffel is not case-sensitive, its style guidelines are, and the
syntax highlighting file encourages their use.  This also allows to
highlight class names differently.  If you want to disable case-sensitive
highlighting, add the following line to your startup file: >

        :let eiffel_ignore_case=1

Case still matters for class names and TODO marks in comments.

Conversely, for even stricter checks, add one of the following lines: >

        :let eiffel_strict=1
        :let eiffel_pedantic=1

Setting eiffel_strict will only catch improper capitalization for the
five predefined words "Current", "Void", "Result", "Precursor", and
"NONE", to warn against their accidental use as feature or class names.

Setting eiffel_pedantic will enforce adherence to the Eiffel style
guidelines fairly rigorously (like arbitrary mixes of upper- and
lowercase letters as well as outdated ways to capitalize keywords).

If you want to use the lower-case version of "Current", "Void",
"Result", and "Precursor", you can use >

        :let eiffel_lower_case_predef=1

instead of completely turning case-sensitive highlighting off.

Support for ISE's proposed new creation syntax that is already
experimentally handled by some compilers can be enabled by: >

        :let eiffel_ise=1

Finally, some vendors support hexadecimal constants.  To handle them, add >

        :let eiffel_hex_constants=1

to your startup file.


ERLANG                                          *erlang.vim* *ft-erlang-syntax*

The erlang highlighting supports Erlang (ERicsson LANGuage).
Erlang is case sensitive and default extension is ".erl".

If you want to disable keywords highlighting, put in your .vimrc: >
        :let erlang_keywords = 1
If you want to disable built-in-functions highlighting, put in your
.vimrc file: >
        :let erlang_functions = 1
If you want to disable special characters highlighting, put in
your .vimrc: >
        :let erlang_characters = 1


FLEXWIKI                                *flexwiki.vim* *ft-flexwiki-syntax*

FlexWiki is an ASP.NET-based wiki package available at http://www.flexwiki.com

Syntax highlighting is available for the most common elements of FlexWiki
syntax. The associated ftplugin script sets some buffer-local options to make
editing FlexWiki pages more convenient. FlexWiki considers a newline as the
start of a new paragraph, so the ftplugin sets 'tw'=0 (unlimited line length),
'wrap' (wrap long lines instead of using horizontal scrolling), 'linebreak'
(to wrap at a character in 'breakat' instead of at the last char on screen),
and so on. It also includes some keymaps that are disabled by default.

If you want to enable the keymaps that make "j" and "k" and the cursor keys
move up and down by display lines, add this to your .vimrc: >
        :let flexwiki_maps = 1


FORM                                            *form.vim* *ft-form-syntax*

The coloring scheme for syntax elements in the FORM file uses the default
modes Conditional, Number, Statement, Comment, PreProc, Type, and String,
following the language specifications in 'Symbolic Manipulation with FORM' by
J.A.M. Vermaseren, CAN, Netherlands, 1991.

If you want include your own changes to the default colors, you have to
redefine the following syntax groups:

    - formConditional
    - formNumber
    - formStatement
    - formHeaderStatement
    - formComment
    - formPreProc
    - formDirective
    - formType
    - formString

Note that the form.vim syntax file implements FORM preprocessor commands and
directives per default in the same syntax group.

A predefined enhanced color mode for FORM is available to distinguish between
header statements and statements in the body of a FORM program.  To activate
this mode define the following variable in your vimrc file >

        :let form_enhanced_color=1

The enhanced mode also takes advantage of additional color features for a dark
gvim display.  Here, statements are colored LightYellow instead of Yellow, and
conditionals are LightBlue for better distinction.


FORTRAN                                 *fortran.vim* *ft-fortran-syntax*

Default highlighting and dialect ~
Highlighting appropriate for f95 (Fortran 95) is used by default.  This choice
should be appropriate for most users most of the time because Fortran 95 is a
superset of Fortran 90 and almost a superset of Fortran 77.

Fortran source code form ~
Fortran 9x code can be in either fixed or free source form.  Note that the
syntax highlighting will not be correct if the form is incorrectly set.

When you create a new fortran file, the syntax script assumes fixed source
form.  If you always use free source form, then >
    :let fortran_free_source=1
in your .vimrc prior to the :syntax on command.  If you always use fixed source
form, then >
    :let fortran_fixed_source=1
in your .vimrc prior to the :syntax on command.

If the form of the source code depends upon the file extension, then it is
most convenient to set fortran_free_source in a ftplugin file.  For more
information on ftplugin files, see |ftplugin|.  For example, if all your
fortran files with an .f90 extension are written in free source form and the
rest in fixed source form, add the following code to your ftplugin file >
    let s:extfname = expand("%:e")
    if s:extfname ==? "f90"
        let fortran_free_source=1
        unlet! fortran_fixed_source
    else
        let fortran_fixed_source=1
        unlet! fortran_free_source
    endif
Note that this will work only if the "filetype plugin indent on" command
precedes the "syntax on" command in your .vimrc file.

When you edit an existing fortran file, the syntax script will assume free
source form if the fortran_free_source variable has been set, and assumes
fixed source form if the fortran_fixed_source variable has been set.  If
neither of these variables have been set, the syntax script attempts to
determine which source form has been used by examining the first five columns
of the first 250 lines of your file.  If no signs of free source form are
detected, then the file is assumed to be in fixed source form.  The algorithm
should work in the vast majority of cases.  In some cases, such as a file that
begins with 250 or more full-line comments, the script may incorrectly decide
that the fortran code is in fixed form.  If that happens, just add a
non-comment statement beginning anywhere in the first five columns of the
first twenty five lines, save (:w) and then reload (:e!) the file.

Tabs in fortran files ~
Tabs are not recognized by the Fortran standards.  Tabs are not a good idea in
fixed format fortran source code which requires fixed column boundaries.
Therefore, tabs are marked as errors.  Nevertheless, some programmers like
using tabs.  If your fortran files contain tabs, then you should set the
variable fortran_have_tabs in your .vimrc with a command such as >
    :let fortran_have_tabs=1
placed prior to the :syntax on command.  Unfortunately, the use of tabs will
mean that the syntax file will not be able to detect incorrect margins.

Syntax folding of fortran files ~
If you wish to use foldmethod=syntax, then you must first set the variable
fortran_fold with a command such as >
    :let fortran_fold=1
to instruct the syntax script to define fold regions for program units, that
is main programs starting with a program statement, subroutines, function
subprograms, block data subprograms, interface blocks, and modules.  If you
also set the variable fortran_fold_conditionals with a command such as >
    :let fortran_fold_conditionals=1
then fold regions will also be defined for do loops, if blocks, and select
case constructs.  If you also set the variable
fortran_fold_multilinecomments with a command such as >
    :let fortran_fold_multilinecomments=1
then fold regions will also be defined for three or more consecutive comment
lines.  Note that defining fold regions can be slow for large files.

If fortran_fold, and possibly fortran_fold_conditionals and/or
fortran_fold_multilinecomments, have been set, then vim will fold your file if
you set foldmethod=syntax.  Comments or blank lines placed between two program
units are not folded because they are seen as not belonging to any program
unit.

More precise fortran syntax ~
If you set the variable fortran_more_precise with a command such as >
    :let fortran_more_precise=1
then the syntax coloring will be more precise but slower.  In particular,
statement labels used in do, goto and arithmetic if statements will be
recognized, as will construct names at the end of a do, if, select or forall
construct.

Non-default fortran dialects ~
The syntax script supports five Fortran dialects: f95, f90, f77, the Lahey
subset elf90, and the Imagine1 subset F.

If you use f77 with extensions, even common ones like do/enddo loops, do/while
loops and free source form that are supported by most f77 compilers including
g77 (GNU Fortran), then you will probably find the default highlighting
satisfactory.  However, if you use strict f77 with no extensions, not even free
source form or the MIL STD 1753 extensions, then the advantages of setting the
dialect to f77 are that names such as SUM are recognized as user variable
names and not highlighted as f9x intrinsic functions, that obsolete constructs
such as ASSIGN statements are not highlighted as todo items, and that fixed
source form will be assumed.

If you use elf90 or F, the advantage of setting the dialect appropriately is
that f90 features excluded from these dialects will be highlighted as todo
items and that free source form will be assumed as required for these
dialects.

The dialect can be selected by setting the variable fortran_dialect.  The
permissible values of fortran_dialect are case-sensitive and must be "f95",
"f90", "f77", "elf" or "F".  Invalid values of fortran_dialect are ignored.

If all your fortran files use the same dialect, set fortran_dialect in your
.vimrc prior to your syntax on statement.  If the dialect depends upon the file
extension, then it is most convenient to set it in a ftplugin file.  For more
information on ftplugin files, see |ftplugin|.  For example, if all your
fortran files with an .f90 extension are written in the elf subset, your
ftplugin file should contain the code >
    let s:extfname = expand("%:e")
    if s:extfname ==? "f90"
        let fortran_dialect="elf"
    else
        unlet! fortran_dialect
    endif
Note that this will work only if the "filetype plugin indent on" command
precedes the "syntax on" command in your .vimrc file.

Finer control is necessary if the file extension does not uniquely identify
the dialect.  You can override the default dialect, on a file-by-file basis, by
including a comment with the directive "fortran_dialect=xx" (where xx=f77 or
elf or F or f90 or f95) in one of the first three lines in your file.  For
example, your older .f files may be written in extended f77 but your newer
ones may be F codes, and you would identify the latter by including in the
first three lines of those files a Fortran comment of the form >
  ! fortran_dialect=F
F overrides elf if both directives are present.

Limitations ~
Parenthesis checking does not catch too few closing parentheses.  Hollerith
strings are not recognized.  Some keywords may be highlighted incorrectly
because Fortran90 has no reserved words.

For further information related to fortran, see |ft-fortran-indent| and
|ft-fortran-plugin|.


FVWM CONFIGURATION FILES                        *fvwm.vim* *ft-fvwm-syntax*

In order for Vim to recognize Fvwm configuration files that do not match
the patterns *fvwmrc* or *fvwm2rc* , you must put additional patterns
appropriate to your system in your myfiletypes.vim file.  For these
patterns, you must set the variable "b:fvwm_version" to the major version
number of Fvwm, and the 'filetype' option to fvwm.

For example, to make Vim identify all files in /etc/X11/fvwm2/
as Fvwm2 configuration files, add the following: >

  :au! BufNewFile,BufRead /etc/X11/fvwm2/*  let b:fvwm_version = 2 |
                                         \ set filetype=fvwm

If you'd like Vim to highlight all valid color names, tell it where to
find the color database (rgb.txt) on your system.  Do this by setting
"rgb_file" to its location.  Assuming your color database is located
in /usr/X11/lib/X11/, you should add the line >

        :let rgb_file = "/usr/X11/lib/X11/rgb.txt"

to your .vimrc file.


GSP                                             *gsp.vim* *ft-gsp-syntax*

The default coloring style for GSP pages is defined by |html.vim|, and
the coloring for java code (within java tags or inline between backticks)
is defined by |java.vim|.  The following HTML groups defined in |html.vim|
are redefined to incorporate and highlight inline java code:

    htmlString
    htmlValue
    htmlEndTag
    htmlTag
    htmlTagN

Highlighting should look fine most of the places where you'd see inline
java code, but in some special cases it may not.  To add another HTML
group where you will have inline java code where it does not highlight
correctly, just copy the line you want from |html.vim| and add gspJava
to the contains clause.

The backticks for inline java are highlighted according to the htmlError
group to make them easier to see.


GROFF                                           *groff.vim* *ft-groff-syntax*

The groff syntax file is a wrapper for |nroff.vim|, see the notes
under that heading for examples of use and configuration.  The purpose
of this wrapper is to set up groff syntax extensions by setting the
filetype from a |modeline| or in a personal filetype definitions file
(see |filetype.txt|).


HASKELL                      *haskell.vim* *lhaskell.vim* *ft-haskell-syntax*

The Haskell syntax files support plain Haskell code as well as literate
Haskell code, the latter in both Bird style and TeX style.  The Haskell
syntax highlighting will also highlight C preprocessor directives.

If you want to highlight delimiter characters (useful if you have a
light-coloured background), add to your .vimrc: >
        :let hs_highlight_delimiters = 1
To treat True and False as keywords as opposed to ordinary identifiers,
add: >
        :let hs_highlight_boolean = 1
To also treat the names of primitive types as keywords: >
        :let hs_highlight_types = 1
And to treat the names of even more relatively common types as keywords: >
        :let hs_highlight_more_types = 1
If you want to highlight the names of debugging functions, put in
your .vimrc: >
        :let hs_highlight_debug = 1

The Haskell syntax highlighting also highlights C preprocessor
directives, and flags lines that start with # but are not valid
directives as erroneous.  This interferes with Haskell's syntax for
operators, as they may start with #.  If you want to highlight those
as operators as opposed to errors, put in your .vimrc: >
        :let hs_allow_hash_operator = 1

The syntax highlighting for literate Haskell code will try to
automatically guess whether your literate Haskell code contains
TeX markup or not, and correspondingly highlight TeX constructs
or nothing at all.  You can override this globally by putting
in your .vimrc >
        :let lhs_markup = none
for no highlighting at all, or >
        :let lhs_markup = tex
to force the highlighting to always try to highlight TeX markup.
For more flexibility, you may also use buffer local versions of
this variable, so e.g. >
        :let b:lhs_markup = tex
will force TeX highlighting for a particular buffer.  It has to be
set before turning syntax highlighting on for the buffer or
loading a file.


HTML                                            *html.vim* *ft-html-syntax*

The coloring scheme for tags in the HTML file works as follows.

The  <> of opening tags are colored differently than the </> of a closing tag.
This is on purpose! For opening tags the 'Function' color is used, while for
closing tags the 'Type' color is used (See syntax.vim to check how those are
defined for you)

Known tag names are colored the same way as statements in C.  Unknown tag
names are colored with the same color as the <> or </> respectively which
makes it easy to spot errors

Note that the same is true for argument (or attribute) names.  Known attribute
names are colored differently than unknown ones.

Some HTML tags are used to change the rendering of text.  The following tags
are recognized by the html.vim syntax coloring file and change the way normal
text is shown: <B> <I> <U> <EM> <STRONG> (<EM> is used as an alias for <I>,
while <STRONG> as an alias for <B>), <H1> - <H6>, <HEAD>, <TITLE> and <A>, but
only if used as a link (that is, it must include a href as in
<A href="somefile.html">).

If you want to change how such text is rendered, you must redefine the
following syntax groups:

    - htmlBold
    - htmlBoldUnderline
    - htmlBoldUnderlineItalic
    - htmlUnderline
    - htmlUnderlineItalic
    - htmlItalic
    - htmlTitle for titles
    - htmlH1 - htmlH6 for headings

To make this redefinition work you must redefine them all with the exception
of the last two (htmlTitle and htmlH[1-6], which are optional) and define the
following variable in your vimrc (this is due to the order in which the files
are read during initialization) >
        :let html_my_rendering=1

If you'd like to see an example download mysyntax.vim at
http://www.fleiner.com/vim/download.html

You can also disable this rendering by adding the following line to your
vimrc file: >
        :let html_no_rendering=1

HTML comments are rather special (see an HTML reference document for the
details), and the syntax coloring scheme will highlight all errors.
However, if you prefer to use the wrong style (starts with <!-- and
ends with --!>) you can define >
        :let html_wrong_comments=1

JavaScript and Visual Basic embedded inside HTML documents are highlighted as
'Special' with statements, comments, strings and so on colored as in standard
programming languages.  Note that only JavaScript and Visual Basic are currently
supported, no other scripting language has been added yet.

Embedded and inlined cascading style sheets (CSS) are highlighted too.

There are several html preprocessor languages out there.  html.vim has been
written such that it should be trivial to include it.  To do so add the
following two lines to the syntax coloring file for that language
(the example comes from the asp.vim file):

    runtime! syntax/html.vim
    syn cluster htmlPreproc add=asp

Now you just need to make sure that you add all regions that contain
the preprocessor language to the cluster htmlPreproc.


HTML/OS (by Aestiva)                            *htmlos.vim* *ft-htmlos-syntax*

The coloring scheme for HTML/OS works as follows:

Functions and variable names are the same color by default, because VIM
doesn't specify different colors for Functions and Identifiers.  To change
this (which is recommended if you want function names to be recognizable in a
different color) you need to add the following line to either your ~/.vimrc: >
  :hi Function term=underline cterm=bold ctermfg=LightGray

Of course, the ctermfg can be a different color if you choose.

Another issues that HTML/OS runs into is that there is no special filetype to
signify that it is a file with HTML/OS coding.  You can change this by opening
a file and turning on HTML/OS syntax by doing the following: >
  :set syntax=htmlos

Lastly, it should be noted that the opening and closing characters to begin a
block of HTML/OS code can either be << or [[ and >> or ]], respectively.


IA64                            *ia64.vim* *intel-itanium* *ft-ia64-syntax*

Highlighting for the Intel Itanium 64 assembly language.  See |asm.vim| for
how to recognize this filetype.

To have *.inc files be recognized as IA64, add this to your .vimrc file: >
        :let g:filetype_inc = "ia64"


INFORM                                          *inform.vim* *ft-inform-syntax*

Inform highlighting includes symbols provided by the Inform Library, as
most programs make extensive use of it.  If do not wish Library symbols
to be highlighted add this to your vim startup: >
        :let inform_highlight_simple=1

By default it is assumed that Inform programs are Z-machine targeted,
and highlights Z-machine assembly language symbols appropriately.  If
you intend your program to be targeted to a Glulx/Glk environment you
need to add this to your startup sequence: >
        :let inform_highlight_glulx=1

This will highlight Glulx opcodes instead, and also adds glk() to the
set of highlighted system functions.

The Inform compiler will flag certain obsolete keywords as errors when
it encounters them.  These keywords are normally highlighted as errors
by Vim.  To prevent such error highlighting, you must add this to your
startup sequence: >
        :let inform_suppress_obsolete=1

By default, the language features highlighted conform to Compiler
version 6.30 and Library version 6.11.  If you are using an older
Inform development environment, you may with to add this to your
startup sequence: >
        :let inform_highlight_old=1

IDL                                                     *idl.vim* *idl-syntax*

IDL (Interface Definition Language) files are used to define RPC calls.  In
Microsoft land, this is also used for defining COM interfaces and calls.

IDL's structure is simple enough to permit a full grammar based approach to
rather than using a few heuristics.  The result is large and somewhat
repetitive but seems to work.

There are some Microsoft extensions to idl files that are here.  Some of them
are disabled by defining idl_no_ms_extensions.

The more complex of the extensions are disabled by defining idl_no_extensions.

Variable                        Effect ~

idl_no_ms_extensions            Disable some of the Microsoft specific
                                extensions
idl_no_extensions               Disable complex extensions
idlsyntax_showerror             Show IDL errors (can be rather intrusive, but
                                quite helpful)
idlsyntax_showerror_soft        Use softer colours by default for errors


JAVA                                            *java.vim* *ft-java-syntax*

The java.vim syntax highlighting file offers several options:

In Java 1.0.2 it was never possible to have braces inside parens, so this was
flagged as an error.  Since Java 1.1 this is possible (with anonymous
classes), and therefore is no longer marked as an error.  If you prefer the old
way, put the following line into your vim startup file: >
        :let java_mark_braces_in_parens_as_errors=1

All identifiers in java.lang.* are always visible in all classes.  To
highlight them use: >
        :let java_highlight_java_lang_ids=1

You can also highlight identifiers of most standard Java packages if you
download the javaid.vim script at http://www.fleiner.com/vim/download.html.
If you prefer to only highlight identifiers of a certain package, say java.io
use the following: >
        :let java_highlight_java_io=1
Check the javaid.vim file for a list of all the packages that are supported.

Function names are not highlighted, as the way to find functions depends on
how you write Java code.  The syntax file knows two possible ways to highlight
functions:

If you write function declarations that are always indented by either
a tab, 8 spaces or 2 spaces you may want to set >
        :let java_highlight_functions="indent"
However, if you follow the Java guidelines about how functions and classes are
supposed to be named (with respect to upper and lowercase), use >
        :let java_highlight_functions="style"
If both options do not work for you, but you would still want function
declarations to be highlighted create your own definitions by changing the
definitions in java.vim or by creating your own java.vim which includes the
original one and then adds the code to highlight functions.

In Java 1.1 the functions System.out.println() and System.err.println() should
only be used for debugging.  Therefore it is possible to highlight debugging
statements differently.  To do this you must add the following definition in
your startup file: >
        :let java_highlight_debug=1
The result will be that those statements are highlighted as 'Special'
characters.  If you prefer to have them highlighted differently you must define
new highlightings for the following groups.:
    Debug, DebugSpecial, DebugString, DebugBoolean, DebugType
which are used for the statement itself, special characters used in debug
strings, strings, boolean constants and types (this, super) respectively.  I
have opted to chose another background for those statements.

In order to help you write code that can be easily ported between Java and
C++, all C++ keywords can be marked as an error in a Java program.  To
have this add this line in your .vimrc file: >
        :let java_allow_cpp_keywords = 0

Javadoc is a program that takes special comments out of Java program files and
creates HTML pages.  The standard configuration will highlight this HTML code
similarly to HTML files (see |html.vim|).  You can even add Javascript
and CSS inside this code (see below).  There are four differences however:
  1. The title (all characters up to the first '.' which is followed by
     some white space or up to the first '@') is colored differently (to change
     the color change the group CommentTitle).
  2. The text is colored as 'Comment'.
  3. HTML comments are colored as 'Special'
  4. The special Javadoc tags (@see, @param, ...) are highlighted as specials
     and the argument (for @see, @param, @exception) as Function.
To turn this feature off add the following line to your startup file: >
        :let java_ignore_javadoc=1

If you use the special Javadoc comment highlighting described above you
can also turn on special highlighting for Javascript, visual basic
scripts and embedded CSS (stylesheets).  This makes only sense if you
actually have Javadoc comments that include either Javascript or embedded
CSS.  The options to use are >
        :let java_javascript=1
        :let java_css=1
        :let java_vb=1

In order to highlight nested parens with different colors define colors
for javaParen, javaParen1 and javaParen2, for example with >
        :hi link javaParen Comment
or >
        :hi javaParen ctermfg=blue guifg=#0000ff

If you notice highlighting errors while scrolling backwards, which are fixed
when redrawing with CTRL-L, try setting the "java_minlines" internal variable
to a larger number: >
        :let java_minlines = 50
This will make the syntax synchronization start 50 lines before the first
displayed line.  The default value is 10.  The disadvantage of using a larger
number is that redrawing can become slow.


LACE                                            *lace.vim* *ft-lace-syntax*

Lace (Language for Assembly of Classes in Eiffel) is case insensitive, but the
style guide lines are not.  If you prefer case insensitive highlighting, just
define the vim variable 'lace_case_insensitive' in your startup file: >
        :let lace_case_insensitive=1


LEX                                             *lex.vim* *ft-lex-syntax*

Lex uses brute-force synchronizing as the "^%%$" section delimiter
gives no clue as to what section follows.  Consequently, the value for >
        :syn sync minlines=300
may be changed by the user if s/he is experiencing synchronization
difficulties (such as may happen with large lex files).


LISP                                            *lisp.vim* *ft-lisp-syntax*

The lisp syntax highlighting provides two options: >

        g:lisp_instring : if it exists, then "(...)" strings are highlighted
                          as if the contents of the string were lisp.
                          Useful for AutoLisp.
        g:lisp_rainbow  : if it exists and is nonzero, then differing levels
                          of parenthesization will receive different
                          highlighting.
<
The g:lisp_rainbow option provides 10 levels of individual colorization for
the parentheses and backquoted parentheses.  Because of the quantity of
colorization levels, unlike non-rainbow highlighting, the rainbow mode
specifies its highlighting using ctermfg and guifg, thereby bypassing the
usual colorscheme control using standard highlighting groups.  The actual
highlighting used depends on the dark/bright setting  (see |'bg'|).


LITE                                            *lite.vim* *ft-lite-syntax*

There are two options for the lite syntax highlighting.

If you like SQL syntax highlighting inside Strings, use this: >

        :let lite_sql_query = 1

For syncing, minlines defaults to 100.  If you prefer another value, you can
set "lite_minlines" to the value you desire.  Example: >

        :let lite_minlines = 200


LPC                                             *lpc.vim* *ft-lpc-syntax*

LPC stands for a simple, memory-efficient language: Lars Pensj| C.  The
file name of LPC is usually *.c.  Recognizing these files as LPC would bother
users writing only C programs.  If you want to use LPC syntax in Vim, you
should set a variable in your .vimrc file: >

        :let lpc_syntax_for_c = 1

If it doesn't work properly for some particular C or LPC files, use a
modeline.  For a LPC file:

        // vim:set ft=lpc:

For a C file that is recognized as LPC:

        // vim:set ft=c:

If you don't want to set the variable, use the modeline in EVERY LPC file.

There are several implementations for LPC, we intend to support most widely
used ones.  Here the default LPC syntax is for MudOS series, for MudOS v22
and before, you should turn off the sensible modifiers, and this will also
asserts the new efuns after v22 to be invalid, don't set this variable when
you are using the latest version of MudOS: >

        :let lpc_pre_v22 = 1

For LpMud 3.2 series of LPC: >

        :let lpc_compat_32 = 1

For LPC4 series of LPC: >

        :let lpc_use_lpc4_syntax = 1

For uLPC series of LPC:
uLPC has been developed to Pike, so you should use Pike syntax
instead, and the name of your source file should be *.pike


LUA                                             *lua.vim* *ft-lua-syntax*

This syntax file may be used for Lua 4.0, Lua 5.0 or Lua 5.1 (the latter is
the default). You can select one of these versions using the global variables
lua_version and lua_subversion. For example, to activate Lua
4.0 syntax highlighting, use this command: >

        :let lua_version = 4

If you are using Lua 5.0, use these commands: >

        :let lua_version = 5
        :let lua_subversion = 0

To restore highlighting for Lua 5.1: >

        :let lua_version = 5
        :let lua_subversion = 1


MAIL                                            *mail.vim* *ft-mail.vim*

Vim highlights all the standard elements of an email (headers, signatures,
quoted text and URLs / email addresses).  In keeping with standard conventions,
signatures begin in a line containing only "--" followed optionally by
whitespaces and end with a newline.

Vim treats lines beginning with ']', '}', '|', '>' or a word followed by '>'
as quoted text.  However Vim highlights headers and signatures in quoted text
only if the text is quoted with '>' (optionally followed by one space).

By default mail.vim synchronises syntax to 100 lines before the first
displayed line.  If you have a slow machine, and generally deal with emails
with short headers, you can change this to a smaller value: >

    :let mail_minlines = 30


MAKE                                            *make.vim* *ft-make-syntax*

In makefiles, commands are usually highlighted to make it easy for you to spot
errors.  However, this may be too much coloring for you.  You can turn this
feature off by using: >

        :let make_no_commands = 1


MAPLE                                           *maple.vim* *ft-maple-syntax*

Maple V, by Waterloo Maple Inc, supports symbolic algebra.  The language
supports many packages of functions which are selectively loaded by the user.
The standard set of packages' functions as supplied in Maple V release 4 may be
highlighted at the user's discretion.  Users may place in their .vimrc file: >

        :let mvpkg_all= 1

to get all package functions highlighted, or users may select any subset by
choosing a variable/package from the table below and setting that variable to
1, also in their .vimrc file (prior to sourcing
$VIMRUNTIME/syntax/syntax.vim).

        Table of Maple V Package Function Selectors >
  mv_DEtools     mv_genfunc     mv_networks     mv_process
  mv_Galois      mv_geometry    mv_numapprox    mv_simplex
  mv_GaussInt    mv_grobner     mv_numtheory    mv_stats
  mv_LREtools    mv_group       mv_orthopoly    mv_student
  mv_combinat    mv_inttrans    mv_padic        mv_sumtools
  mv_combstruct mv_liesymm      mv_plots        mv_tensor
  mv_difforms    mv_linalg      mv_plottools    mv_totorder
  mv_finance     mv_logic       mv_powseries


MATHEMATICA             *mma.vim* *ft-mma-syntax* *ft-mathematica-syntax*

Empty *.m files will automatically be presumed to be Matlab files unless you
have the following in your .vimrc: >

        let filetype_m = "mma"


MOO                                             *moo.vim* *ft-moo-syntax*

If you use C-style comments inside expressions and find it mangles your
highlighting, you may want to use extended (slow!) matches for C-style
comments: >

        :let moo_extended_cstyle_comments = 1

To disable highlighting of pronoun substitution patterns inside strings: >

        :let moo_no_pronoun_sub = 1

To disable highlighting of the regular expression operator '%|', and matching
'%(' and '%)' inside strings: >

        :let moo_no_regexp = 1

Unmatched double quotes can be recognized and highlighted as errors: >

        :let moo_unmatched_quotes = 1

To highlight builtin properties (.name, .location, .programmer etc.): >

        :let moo_builtin_properties = 1

Unknown builtin functions can be recognized and highlighted as errors.  If you
use this option, add your own extensions to the mooKnownBuiltinFunction group.
To enable this option: >

        :let moo_unknown_builtin_functions = 1

An example of adding sprintf() to the list of known builtin functions: >

        :syn keyword mooKnownBuiltinFunction sprintf contained


MSQL                                            *msql.vim* *ft-msql-syntax*

There are two options for the msql syntax highlighting.

If you like SQL syntax highlighting inside Strings, use this: >

        :let msql_sql_query = 1

For syncing, minlines defaults to 100.  If you prefer another value, you can
set "msql_minlines" to the value you desire.  Example: >

        :let msql_minlines = 200


NCF                                             *ncf.vim* *ft-ncf-syntax*

There is one option for NCF syntax highlighting.

If you want to have unrecognized (by ncf.vim) statements highlighted as
errors, use this: >

        :let ncf_highlight_unknowns = 1

If you don't want to highlight these errors, leave it unset.


NROFF                                           *nroff.vim* *ft-nroff-syntax*

The nroff syntax file works with AT&T n/troff out of the box.  You need to
activate the GNU groff extra features included in the syntax file before you
can use them.

For example, Linux and BSD distributions use groff as their default text
processing package.  In order to activate the extra syntax highlighting
features for groff, add the following option to your start-up files: >

  :let b:nroff_is_groff = 1

Groff is different from the old AT&T n/troff that you may still find in
Solaris.  Groff macro and request names can be longer than 2 characters and
there are extensions to the language primitives.  For example, in AT&T troff
you access the year as a 2-digit number with the request \(yr.  In groff you
can use the same request, recognized for compatibility, or you can use groff's
native syntax, \[yr].  Furthermore, you can use a 4-digit year directly:
\[year].  Macro requests can be longer than 2 characters, for example, GNU mm
accepts the requests ".VERBON" and ".VERBOFF" for creating verbatim
environments.

In order to obtain the best formatted output g/troff can give you, you should
follow a few simple rules about spacing and punctuation.

1. Do not leave empty spaces at the end of lines.

2. Leave one space and one space only after an end-of-sentence period,
   exclamation mark, etc.

3. For reasons stated below, it is best to follow all period marks with a
   carriage return.

The reason behind these unusual tips is that g/n/troff have a line breaking
algorithm that can be easily upset if you don't follow the rules given above.

Unlike TeX, troff fills text line-by-line, not paragraph-by-paragraph and,
furthermore, it does not have a concept of glue or stretch, all horizontal and
vertical space input will be output as is.

Therefore, you should be careful about not using more space between sentences
than you intend to have in your final document.  For this reason, the common
practice is to insert a carriage return immediately after all punctuation
marks.  If you want to have "even" text in your final processed output, you
need to maintaining regular spacing in the input text.  To mark both trailing
spaces and two or more spaces after a punctuation as an error, use: >

  :let nroff_space_errors = 1

Another technique to detect extra spacing and other errors that will interfere
with the correct typesetting of your file, is to define an eye-catching
highlighting definition for the syntax groups "nroffDefinition" and
"nroffDefSpecial" in your configuration files.  For example: >

  hi def nroffDefinition term=italic cterm=italic gui=reverse
  hi def nroffDefSpecial term=italic,bold cterm=italic,bold
                         \ gui=reverse,bold

If you want to navigate preprocessor entries in your source file as easily as
with section markers, you can activate the following option in your .vimrc
file: >

        let b:preprocs_as_sections = 1

As well, the syntax file adds an extra paragraph marker for the extended
paragraph macro (.XP) in the ms package.

Finally, there is a |groff.vim| syntax file that can be used for enabling
groff syntax highlighting either on a file basis or globally by default.


OCAML                                           *ocaml.vim* *ft-ocaml-syntax*

The OCaml syntax file handles files having the following prefixes: .ml,
.mli, .mll and .mly.  By setting the following variable >

        :let ocaml_revised = 1

you can switch from standard OCaml-syntax to revised syntax as supported
by the camlp4 preprocessor.  Setting the variable >

        :let ocaml_noend_error = 1

prevents highlighting of "end" as error, which is useful when sources
contain very long structures that Vim does not synchronize anymore.


PAPP                                            *papp.vim* *ft-papp-syntax*

The PApp syntax file handles .papp files and, to a lesser extend, .pxml
and .pxsl files which are all a mixture of perl/xml/html/other using xml
as the top-level file format.  By default everything inside phtml or pxml
sections is treated as a string with embedded preprocessor commands.  If
you set the variable: >

        :let papp_include_html=1

in your startup file it will try to syntax-hilight html code inside phtml
sections, but this is relatively slow and much too colourful to be able to
edit sensibly. ;)

The newest version of the papp.vim syntax file can usually be found at
http://papp.plan9.de.


PASCAL                                          *pascal.vim* *ft-pascal-syntax*

Files matching "*.p" could be Progress or Pascal.  If the automatic detection
doesn't work for you, or you don't edit Progress at all, use this in your
startup vimrc: >

   :let filetype_p = "pascal"

The Pascal syntax file has been extended to take into account some extensions
provided by Turbo Pascal, Free Pascal Compiler and GNU Pascal Compiler.
Delphi keywords are also supported.  By default, Turbo Pascal 7.0 features are
enabled.  If you prefer to stick with the standard Pascal keywords, add the
following line to your startup file: >

   :let pascal_traditional=1

To switch on Delphi specific constructions (such as one-line comments,
keywords, etc): >

   :let pascal_delphi=1


The option pascal_symbol_operator controls whether symbol operators such as +,
*, .., etc. are displayed using the Operator color or not.  To colorize symbol
operators, add the following line to your startup file: >

   :let pascal_symbol_operator=1

Some functions are highlighted by default.  To switch it off: >

   :let pascal_no_functions=1

Furthermore, there are specific variable for some compiler.  Besides
pascal_delphi, there are pascal_gpc and pascal_fpc.  Default extensions try to
match Turbo Pascal. >

   :let pascal_gpc=1

or >

   :let pascal_fpc=1

To ensure that strings are defined on a single line, you can define the
pascal_one_line_string variable. >

   :let pascal_one_line_string=1

If you dislike <Tab> chars, you can set the pascal_no_tabs variable.  Tabs
will be highlighted as Error. >

   :let pascal_no_tabs=1



PERL                                            *perl.vim* *ft-perl-syntax*

There are a number of possible options to the perl syntax highlighting.

If you use POD files or POD segments, you might: >

        :let perl_include_pod = 1

The reduce the complexity of parsing (and increase performance) you can switch
off two elements in the parsing of variable names and contents. >

To handle package references in variable and function names not differently
from the rest of the name (like 'PkgName::' in '$PkgName::VarName'): >

        :let perl_no_scope_in_variables = 1

(In Vim 6.x it was the other way around: "perl_want_scope_in_variables"
enabled it.)

If you do not want complex things like '@{${"foo"}}' to be parsed: >

        :let perl_no_extended_vars = 1

(In Vim 6.x it was the other way around: "perl_extended_vars" enabled it.)

The coloring strings can be changed.  By default strings and qq friends will be
highlighted like the first line.  If you set the variable
perl_string_as_statement, it will be highlighted as in the second line.

   "hello world!"; qq|hello world|;
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^NN^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^N       (unlet perl_string_as_statement)
   S^^^^^^^^^^^^SNNSSS^^^^^^^^^^^SN       (let perl_string_as_statement)

(^ = perlString, S = perlStatement, N = None at all)

The syncing has 3 options.  The first two switch off some triggering of
synchronization and should only be needed in case it fails to work properly.
If while scrolling all of a sudden the whole screen changes color completely
then you should try and switch off one of those.  Let me know if you can figure
out the line that causes the mistake.

One triggers on "^\s*sub\s*" and the other on "^[$@%]" more or less. >

        :let perl_no_sync_on_sub
        :let perl_no_sync_on_global_var

Below you can set the maximum distance VIM should look for starting points for
its attempts in syntax highlighting. >

        :let perl_sync_dist = 100

If you want to use folding with perl, set perl_fold: >

        :let perl_fold = 1

If you want to fold blocks in if statements, etc. as well set the following: >

        :let perl_fold_blocks = 1

To avoid folding packages or subs when perl_fold is let, let the appropriate
variable(s): >

        :unlet perl_nofold_packages
        :unlet perl_nofold_subs



PHP3 and PHP4           *php.vim* *php3.vim* *ft-php-syntax* *ft-php3-syntax*

[note: previously this was called "php3", but since it now also supports php4
it has been renamed to "php"]

There are the following options for the php syntax highlighting.

If you like SQL syntax highlighting inside Strings: >

  let php_sql_query = 1

For highlighting the Baselib methods: >

  let php_baselib = 1

Enable HTML syntax highlighting inside strings: >

  let php_htmlInStrings = 1

Using the old colorstyle: >

  let php_oldStyle = 1

Enable highlighting ASP-style short tags: >

  let php_asp_tags = 1

Disable short tags: >

  let php_noShortTags = 1

For highlighting parent error ] or ): >

  let php_parent_error_close = 1

For skipping an php end tag, if there exists an open ( or [ without a closing
one: >

  let php_parent_error_open = 1

Enable folding for classes and functions: >

  let php_folding = 1

Selecting syncing method: >

  let php_sync_method = x

x = -1 to sync by search (default),
x > 0 to sync at least x lines backwards,
x = 0 to sync from start.


PLAINTEX                                *plaintex.vim* *ft-plaintex-syntax*

TeX is a typesetting language, and plaintex is the file type for the "plain"
variant of TeX.  If you never want your *.tex files recognized as plain TeX,
see |ft-tex-plugin|.

This syntax file has the option >

        let g:plaintex_delimiters = 1

if you want to highlight brackets "[]" and braces "{}".


PPWIZARD                                        *ppwiz.vim* *ft-ppwiz-syntax*

PPWizard is a preprocessor for HTML and OS/2 INF files

This syntax file has the options:

- ppwiz_highlight_defs : determines highlighting mode for PPWizard's
  definitions.  Possible values are

  ppwiz_highlight_defs = 1 : PPWizard #define statements retain the
    colors of their contents (e.g. PPWizard macros and variables)

  ppwiz_highlight_defs = 2 : preprocessor #define and #evaluate
    statements are shown in a single color with the exception of line
    continuation symbols

  The default setting for ppwiz_highlight_defs is 1.

- ppwiz_with_html : If the value is 1 (the default), highlight literal
  HTML code; if 0, treat HTML code like ordinary text.


PHTML                                           *phtml.vim* *ft-phtml-syntax*

There are two options for the phtml syntax highlighting.

If you like SQL syntax highlighting inside Strings, use this: >

        :let phtml_sql_query = 1

For syncing, minlines defaults to 100.  If you prefer another value, you can
set "phtml_minlines" to the value you desire.  Example: >

        :let phtml_minlines = 200


POSTSCRIPT                              *postscr.vim* *ft-postscr-syntax*

There are several options when it comes to highlighting PostScript.

First which version of the PostScript language to highlight.  There are
currently three defined language versions, or levels.  Level 1 is the original
and base version, and includes all extensions prior to the release of level 2.
Level 2 is the most common version around, and includes its own set of
extensions prior to the release of level 3.  Level 3 is currently the highest
level supported.  You select which level of the PostScript language you want
highlighted by defining the postscr_level variable as follows: >

        :let postscr_level=2

If this variable is not defined it defaults to 2 (level 2) since this is
the most prevalent version currently.

Note, not all PS interpreters will support all language features for a
particular language level.  In particular the %!PS-Adobe-3.0 at the start of
PS files does NOT mean the PostScript present is level 3 PostScript!

If you are working with Display PostScript, you can include highlighting of
Display PS language features by defining the postscr_display variable as
follows: >

        :let postscr_display=1

If you are working with Ghostscript, you can include highlighting of
Ghostscript specific language features by defining the variable
postscr_ghostscript as follows: >

        :let postscr_ghostscript=1

PostScript is a large language, with many predefined elements.  While it
useful to have all these elements highlighted, on slower machines this can
cause Vim to slow down.  In an attempt to be machine friendly font names and
character encodings are not highlighted by default.  Unless you are working
explicitly with either of these this should be ok.  If you want them to be
highlighted you should set one or both of the following variables: >

        :let postscr_fonts=1
        :let postscr_encodings=1

There is a stylistic option to the highlighting of and, or, and not.  In
PostScript the function of these operators depends on the types of their
operands - if the operands are booleans then they are the logical operators,
if they are integers then they are binary operators.  As binary and logical
operators can be highlighted differently they have to be highlighted one way
or the other.  By default they are treated as logical operators.  They can be
highlighted as binary operators by defining the variable
postscr_andornot_binary as follows: >

        :let postscr_andornot_binary=1
<

                        *ptcap.vim* *ft-printcap-syntax*
PRINTCAP + TERMCAP      *ft-ptcap-syntax* *ft-termcap-syntax*

This syntax file applies to the printcap and termcap databases.

In order for Vim to recognize printcap/termcap files that do not match
the patterns *printcap*, or *termcap*, you must put additional patterns
appropriate to your system in your |myfiletypefile| file.  For these
patterns, you must set the variable "b:ptcap_type" to either "print" or
"term", and then the 'filetype' option to ptcap.

For example, to make Vim identify all files in /etc/termcaps/ as termcap
files, add the following: >

   :au BufNewFile,BufRead /etc/termcaps/* let b:ptcap_type = "term" |
                                       \ set filetype=ptcap

If you notice highlighting errors while scrolling backwards, which
are fixed when redrawing with CTRL-L, try setting the "ptcap_minlines"
internal variable to a larger number: >

   :let ptcap_minlines = 50

(The default is 20 lines.)


PROGRESS                                *progress.vim* *ft-progress-syntax*

Files matching "*.w" could be Progress or cweb.  If the automatic detection
doesn't work for you, or you don't edit cweb at all, use this in your
startup vimrc: >
   :let filetype_w = "progress"
The same happens for "*.i", which could be assembly, and "*.p", which could be
Pascal.  Use this if you don't use assembly and Pascal: >
   :let filetype_i = "progress"
   :let filetype_p = "progress"


PYTHON                                          *python.vim* *ft-python-syntax*

There are four options to control Python syntax highlighting.

For highlighted numbers: >
        :let python_highlight_numbers = 1

For highlighted builtin functions: >
        :let python_highlight_builtins = 1

For highlighted standard exceptions: >
        :let python_highlight_exceptions = 1

For highlighted trailing whitespace and mix of spaces and tabs:
        :let python_highlight_space_errors = 1

If you want all possible Python highlighting (the same as setting the
preceding three options): >
        :let python_highlight_all = 1


QUAKE                                           *quake.vim* *ft-quake-syntax*

The Quake syntax definition should work for most any FPS (First Person
Shooter) based on one of the Quake engines.  However, the command names vary
a bit between the three games (Quake, Quake 2, and Quake 3 Arena) so the
syntax definition checks for the existence of three global variables to allow
users to specify what commands are legal in their files.  The three variables
can be set for the following effects:

set to highlight commands only available in Quake: >
        :let quake_is_quake1 = 1

set to highlight commands only available in Quake 2: >
        :let quake_is_quake2 = 1

set to highlight commands only available in Quake 3 Arena: >
        :let quake_is_quake3 = 1

Any combination of these three variables is legal, but might highlight more
commands than are actually available to you by the game.


READLINE                                *readline.vim* *ft-readline-syntax*

The readline library is primarily used by the BASH shell, which adds quite a
few commands and options to the ones already available.  To highlight these
items as well you can add the following to your |vimrc| or just type it in the
command line before loading a file with the readline syntax: >
        let readline_has_bash = 1

This will add highlighting for the commands that BASH (version 2.05a and
later, and part earlier) adds.


REXX                                            *rexx.vim* *ft-rexx-syntax*

If you notice highlighting errors while scrolling backwards, which are fixed
when redrawing with CTRL-L, try setting the "rexx_minlines" internal variable
to a larger number: >
        :let rexx_minlines = 50
This will make the syntax synchronization start 50 lines before the first
displayed line.  The default value is 10.  The disadvantage of using a larger
number is that redrawing can become slow.


RUBY                                            *ruby.vim* *ft-ruby-syntax*

There are a number of options to the Ruby syntax highlighting.

By default, the "end" keyword is colorized according to the opening statement
of the block it closes.  While useful, this feature can be expensive; if you
experience slow redrawing (or you are on a terminal with poor color support)
you may want to turn it off by defining the "ruby_no_expensive" variable: >

        :let ruby_no_expensive = 1
<
In this case the same color will be used for all control keywords.

If you do want this feature enabled, but notice highlighting errors while
scrolling backwards, which are fixed when redrawing with CTRL-L, try setting
the "ruby_minlines" variable to a value larger than 50: >

        :let ruby_minlines = 100
<
Ideally, this value should be a number of lines large enough to embrace your
largest class or module.

Highlighting of special identifiers can be disabled by removing the
rubyIdentifier highlighting: >

        :hi link rubyIdentifier NONE
<
This will prevent highlighting of special identifiers like "ConstantName",
"$global_var", "@@class_var", "@instance_var", "| block_param |", and
":symbol".

Significant methods of Kernel, Module and Object are highlighted by default.
This can be disabled by defining "ruby_no_special_methods": >

        :let ruby_no_special_methods = 1
<
This will prevent highlighting of important methods such as "require", "attr",
"private", "raise" and "proc".

Ruby operators can be highlighted. This is enabled by defining
"ruby_operators": >

        :let ruby_operators = 1
<
Whitespace errors can be highlighted by defining "ruby_space_errors": >

        :let ruby_space_errors = 1
<
This will highlight trailing whitespace and tabs preceded by a space character
as errors.  This can be refined by defining "ruby_no_trail_space_error" and
"ruby_no_tab_space_error" which will ignore trailing whitespace and tabs after
spaces respectively.

Folding can be enabled by defining "ruby_fold": >

        :let ruby_fold = 1
<
This will set the 'foldmethod' option to "syntax" and allow folding of
classes, modules, methods, code blocks, heredocs and comments.

Folding of multiline comments can be disabled by defining
"ruby_no_comment_fold": >

        :let ruby_no_comment_fold = 1
<

SCHEME                                          *scheme.vim* *ft-scheme-syntax*

By default only R5RS keywords are highlighted and properly indented.

MzScheme-specific stuff will be used if b:is_mzscheme or g:is_mzscheme
variables are defined.

Also scheme.vim supports keywords of the Chicken Scheme->C compiler.  Define
b:is_chicken or g:is_chicken, if you need them.


SDL                                             *sdl.vim* *ft-sdl-syntax*

The SDL highlighting probably misses a few keywords, but SDL has so many
of them it's almost impossibly to cope.

The new standard, SDL-2000, specifies that all identifiers are
case-sensitive (which was not so before), and that all keywords can be
used either completely lowercase or completely uppercase.  To have the
highlighting reflect this, you can set the following variable: >
        :let sdl_2000=1

This also sets many new keywords.  If you want to disable the old
keywords, which is probably a good idea, use: >
        :let SDL_no_96=1


The indentation is probably also incomplete, but right now I am very
satisfied with it for my own projects.


SED                                             *sed.vim* *ft-sed-syntax*

To make tabs stand out from regular blanks (accomplished by using Todo
highlighting on the tabs), define "highlight_sedtabs" by putting >

        :let highlight_sedtabs = 1

in the vimrc file.  (This special highlighting only applies for tabs
inside search patterns, replacement texts, addresses or text included
by an Append/Change/Insert command.)  If you enable this option, it is
also a good idea to set the tab width to one character; by doing that,
you can easily count the number of tabs in a string.

Bugs:

  The transform command (y) is treated exactly like the substitute
  command.  This means that, as far as this syntax file is concerned,
  transform accepts the same flags as substitute, which is wrong.
  (Transform accepts no flags.)  I tolerate this bug because the
  involved commands need very complex treatment (95 patterns, one for
  each plausible pattern delimiter).


SGML                                            *sgml.vim* *ft-sgml-syntax*

The coloring scheme for tags in the SGML file works as follows.

The <> of opening tags are colored differently than the </> of a closing tag.
This is on purpose! For opening tags the 'Function' color is used, while for
closing tags the 'Type' color is used (See syntax.vim to check how those are
defined for you)

Known tag names are colored the same way as statements in C.  Unknown tag
names are not colored which makes it easy to spot errors.

Note that the same is true for argument (or attribute) names.  Known attribute
names are colored differently than unknown ones.

Some SGML tags are used to change the rendering of text.  The following tags
are recognized by the sgml.vim syntax coloring file and change the way normal
text is shown: <varname> <emphasis> <command> <function> <literal>
<replaceable> <ulink> and <link>.

If you want to change how such text is rendered, you must redefine the
following syntax groups:

    - sgmlBold
    - sgmlBoldItalic
    - sgmlUnderline
    - sgmlItalic
    - sgmlLink for links

To make this redefinition work you must redefine them all and define the
following variable in your vimrc (this is due to the order in which the files
are read during initialization) >
   let sgml_my_rendering=1

You can also disable this rendering by adding the following line to your
vimrc file: >
   let sgml_no_rendering=1

(Adapted from the html.vim help text by Claudio Fleiner <claudio@fleiner.com>)


SH              *sh.vim* *ft-sh-syntax* *ft-bash-syntax* *ft-ksh-syntax*

This covers the "normal" Unix (Bourne) sh, bash and the Korn shell.

Vim attempts to determine which shell type is in use by specifying that
various filenames are of specific types: >

    ksh : .kshrc* *.ksh
    bash: .bashrc* bashrc bash.bashrc .bash_profile* *.bash
<
If none of these cases pertain, then the first line of the file is examined
(ex. /bin/sh  /bin/ksh  /bin/bash).  If the first line specifies a shelltype,
then that shelltype is used.  However some files (ex. .profile) are known to
be shell files but the type is not apparent.  Furthermore, on many systems
sh is symbolically linked to "bash" (Linux, Windows+cygwin) or "ksh" (Posix).

One may specify a global default by instantiating one of the following three
variables in your <.vimrc>:

    ksh: >
        let g:is_kornshell = 1
<   posix: (using this is the same as setting is_kornshell to 1) >
        let g:is_posix     = 1
<   bash: >
        let g:is_bash      = 1
<   sh: (default) Bourne shell >
        let g:is_sh        = 1

If there's no "#! ..." line, and the user hasn't availed himself/herself of a
default sh.vim syntax setting as just shown, then syntax/sh.vim will assume
the Bourne shell syntax.  No need to quote RFCs or market penetration
statistics in error reports, please -- just select the default version of the
sh your system uses in your <.vimrc>.

The syntax/sh.vim file provides several levels of syntax-based folding: >

        let g:sh_fold_enabled= 0     (default, no syntax folding)
        let g:sh_fold_enabled= 1     (enable function folding)
        let g:sh_fold_enabled= 2     (enable heredoc folding)
        let g:sh_fold_enabled= 4     (enable if/do/for folding)
>
then various syntax items (HereDocuments and function bodies) become
syntax-foldable (see |:syn-fold|).  You also may add these together
to get multiple types of folding: >

        let g:sh_fold_enabled= 3     (enables function and heredoc folding)

If you notice highlighting errors while scrolling backwards which are fixed
when one redraws with CTRL-L, try setting the "sh_minlines" internal variable
to a larger number.  Example: >

        let sh_minlines = 500

This will make syntax synchronization start 500 lines before the first
displayed line.  The default value is 200.  The disadvantage of using a larger
number is that redrawing can become slow.

If you don't have much to synchronize on, displaying can be very slow.  To
reduce this, the "sh_maxlines" internal variable can be set.  Example: >

        let sh_maxlines = 100
<
The default is to use the twice sh_minlines.  Set it to a smaller number to
speed up displaying.  The disadvantage is that highlight errors may appear.


SPEEDUP (AspenTech plant simulator)             *spup.vim* *ft-spup-syntax*

The Speedup syntax file has some options:

- strict_subsections : If this variable is defined, only keywords for
  sections and subsections will be highlighted as statements but not
  other keywords (like WITHIN in the OPERATION section).

- highlight_types : Definition of this variable causes stream types
  like temperature or pressure to be highlighted as Type, not as a
  plain Identifier.  Included are the types that are usually found in
  the DECLARE section; if you defined own types, you have to include
  them in the syntax file.

- oneline_comments : this value ranges from 1 to 3 and determines the
  highlighting of # style comments.

  oneline_comments = 1 : allow normal Speedup code after an even
  number of #s.

  oneline_comments = 2 : show code starting with the second # as
  error.  This is the default setting.

  oneline_comments = 3 : show the whole line as error if it contains
  more than one #.

Since especially OPERATION sections tend to become very large due to
PRESETting variables, syncing may be critical.  If your computer is
fast enough, you can increase minlines and/or maxlines near the end of
the syntax file.


SQL                                             *sql.vim* *ft-sql-syntax*
                                *sqlinformix.vim* *ft-sqlinformix-syntax*
                                *sqlanywhere.vim* *ft-sqlanywhere-syntax*

While there is an ANSI standard for SQL, most database engines add their own
custom extensions.  Vim currently supports the Oracle and Informix dialects of
SQL.  Vim assumes "*.sql" files are Oracle SQL by default.

Vim currently has SQL support for a variety of different vendors via syntax
scripts.  You can change Vim's default from Oracle to any of the current SQL
supported types.  You can also easily alter the SQL dialect being used on a
buffer by buffer basis.

For more detailed instructions see |ft_sql.txt|.


TCSH                                            *tcsh.vim* *ft-tcsh-syntax*

This covers the shell named "tcsh".  It is a superset of csh.  See |csh.vim|
for how the filetype is detected.

Tcsh does not allow \" in strings unless the "backslash_quote" shell variable
is set.  If you want VIM to assume that no backslash quote constructs exist add
this line to your .vimrc: >

        :let tcsh_backslash_quote = 0

If you notice highlighting errors while scrolling backwards, which are fixed
when redrawing with CTRL-L, try setting the "tcsh_minlines" internal variable
to a larger number: >

        :let tcsh_minlines = 100

This will make the syntax synchronization start 100 lines before the first
displayed line.  The default value is 15.  The disadvantage of using a larger
number is that redrawing can become slow.


TEX                                             *tex.vim* *ft-tex-syntax*

                                                                *tex-folding*
Want Syntax Folding? ~

As of version 28 of <syntax/tex.vim>, syntax-based folding of parts, chapters,
sections, subsections, etc are supported.  Put >
        let g:tex_fold_enabled=1
in your <.vimrc>, and :set fdm=syntax.  I suggest doing the latter via a
modeline at the end of your LaTeX file: >
        % vim: fdm=syntax
<
                                                                *tex-nospell*
Don't Want Spell Checking In Comments? ~

Some folks like to include things like source code in comments and so would
prefer that spell checking be disabled in comments in LaTeX files.  To do
this, put the following in your <.vimrc>: >
      let g:tex_comment_nospell= 1
<
                                                                *tex-runon*
Run-on Comments/Math? ~

The <syntax/tex.vim> highlighting supports TeX, LaTeX, and some AmsTeX.  The
highlighting supports three primary zones/regions: normal, texZone, and
texMathZone.  Although considerable effort has been made to have these zones
terminate properly, zones delineated by $..$ and $$..$$ cannot be synchronized
as there's no difference between start and end patterns.  Consequently, a
special "TeX comment" has been provided >
        %stopzone
which will forcibly terminate the highlighting of either a texZone or a
texMathZone.

                                                                *tex-slow*
Slow Syntax Highlighting? ~

If you have a slow computer, you may wish to reduce the values for >
        :syn sync maxlines=200
        :syn sync minlines=50
(especially the latter).  If your computer is fast, you may wish to
increase them.  This primarily affects synchronizing (i.e. just what group,
if any, is the text at the top of the screen supposed to be in?).

                                            *tex-morecommands* *tex-package*
Want To Highlight More Commands? ~

LaTeX is a programmable language, and so there are thousands of packages full
of specialized LaTeX commands, syntax, and fonts.  If you're using such a
package you'll often wish that the distributed syntax/tex.vim would support
it.  However, clearly this is impractical.  So please consider using the
techniques in |mysyntaxfile-add| to extend or modify the highlighting provided
by syntax/tex.vim.

                                                                *tex-error*
Excessive Error Highlighting? ~

The <tex.vim> supports lexical error checking of various sorts.  Thus,
although the error checking is ofttimes very useful, it can indicate
errors where none actually are.  If this proves to be a problem for you,
you may put in your <.vimrc> the following statement: >
        let tex_no_error=1
and all error checking by <syntax/tex.vim> will be suppressed.

                                                                *tex-math*
Need a new Math Group? ~

If you want to include a new math group in your LaTeX, the following
code shows you an example as to how you might do so: >
        call TexNewMathZone(sfx,mathzone,starform)
You'll want to provide the new math group with a unique suffix
(currently, A-L and V-Z are taken by <syntax/tex.vim> itself).
As an example, consider how eqnarray is set up by <syntax/tex.vim>: >
        call TexNewMathZone("D","eqnarray",1)
You'll need to change "mathzone" to the name of your new math group,
and then to the call to it in .vim/after/syntax/tex.vim.
The "starform" variable, if true, implies that your new math group
has a starred form (ie. eqnarray*).

                                                                *tex-style*
Starting a New Style? ~

One may use "\makeatletter" in *.tex files, thereby making the use of "@" in
commands available.  However, since the *.tex file doesn't have one of the
following suffices: sty cls clo dtx ltx, the syntax highlighting will flag
such use of @ as an error.  To solve this: >

        :let b:tex_stylish = 1
        :set ft=tex

Putting "let g:tex_stylish=1" into your <.vimrc> will make <syntax/tex.vim>
always accept such use of @.


TF                                              *tf.vim* *ft-tf-syntax*

There is one option for the tf syntax highlighting.

For syncing, minlines defaults to 100.  If you prefer another value, you can
set "tf_minlines" to the value you desire.  Example: >

        :let tf_minlines = your choice


VIM                     *vim.vim*               *ft-vim-syntax*
                        *g:vimsyn_minlines*     *g:vimsyn_maxlines*
There is a tradeoff between more accurate syntax highlighting versus screen
updating speed.  To improve accuracy, you may wish to increase the
g:vimsyn_minlines variable.  The g:vimsyn_maxlines variable may be used to
improve screen updating rates (see |:syn-sync| for more on this). >

        g:vimsyn_minlines : used to set synchronization minlines
        g:vimsyn_maxlines : used to set synchronization maxlines
<
        (g:vim_minlines and g:vim_maxlines are deprecated variants of
        these two options)

                                                *g:vimsyn_embed*
The g:vimsyn_embed option allows users to select what, if any, types of
embedded script highlighting they wish to have. >

   g:vimsyn_embed == 0   : don't embed any scripts
   g:vimsyn_embed =~ 'm' : embed mzscheme (but only if vim supports it)
   g:vimsyn_embed =~ 'p' : embed perl     (but only if vim supports it)
   g:vimsyn_embed =~ 'P' : embed python   (but only if vim supports it)
   g:vimsyn_embed =~ 'r' : embed ruby     (but only if vim supports it)
   g:vimsyn_embed =~ 't' : embed tcl      (but only if vim supports it)
<
By default, g:vimsyn_embed is "mpPr"; ie. syntax/vim.vim will support
highlighting mzscheme, perl, python, and ruby by default.  Vim's has("tcl")
test appears to hang vim when tcl is not truly available.  Thus, by default,
tcl is not supported for embedding (but those of you who like tcl embedded in
their vim syntax highlighting can simply include it in the g:vimembedscript
option).
                                                *g:vimsyn_folding*

Some folding is now supported with syntax/vim.vim: >

   g:vimsyn_folding == 0 or doesn't exist: no syntax-based folding
   g:vimsyn_folding =~ 'a' : augroups
   g:vimsyn_folding =~ 'f' : fold functions
   g:vimsyn_folding =~ 'm' : fold mzscheme script
   g:vimsyn_folding =~ 'p' : fold perl     script
   g:vimsyn_folding =~ 'P' : fold python   script
   g:vimsyn_folding =~ 'r' : fold ruby     script
   g:vimsyn_folding =~ 't' : fold tcl      script

                                                        *g:vimsyn_noerror*
Not all error highlighting that syntax/vim.vim does may be correct; VimL is a
difficult language to highlight correctly.  A way to suppress error
highlighting is to put the following line in your |vimrc|: >

        let g:vimsyn_noerror = 1
<


XF86CONFIG                              *xf86conf.vim* *ft-xf86conf-syntax*

The syntax of XF86Config file differs in XFree86 v3.x and v4.x.  Both
variants are supported.  Automatic detection is used, but is far from perfect.
You may need to specify the version manually.  Set the variable
xf86conf_xfree86_version to 3 or 4 according to your XFree86 version in
your .vimrc.  Example: >
        :let xf86conf_xfree86_version=3
When using a mix of versions, set the b:xf86conf_xfree86_version variable.

Note that spaces and underscores in option names are not supported.  Use
"SyncOnGreen" instead of "__s yn con gr_e_e_n" if you want the option name
highlighted.


XML                                             *xml.vim* *ft-xml-syntax*

Xml namespaces are highlighted by default.  This can be inhibited by
setting a global variable: >

        :let g:xml_namespace_transparent=1
<
                                                        *xml-folding*
The xml syntax file provides syntax |folding| (see |:syn-fold|) between
start and end tags.  This can be turned on by >

        :let g:xml_syntax_folding = 1
        :set foldmethod=syntax

Note: syntax folding might slow down syntax highlighting significantly,
especially for large files.


X Pixmaps (XPM)                                 *xpm.vim* *ft-xpm-syntax*

xpm.vim creates its syntax items dynamically based upon the contents of the
XPM file.  Thus if you make changes e.g. in the color specification strings,
you have to source it again e.g. with ":set syn=xpm".

To copy a pixel with one of the colors, yank a "pixel" with "yl" and insert it
somewhere else with "P".

Do you want to draw with the mouse?  Try the following: >
   :function! GetPixel()
   :   let c = getline(".")[col(".") - 1]
   :   echo c
   :   exe "noremap <LeftMouse> <LeftMouse>r".c
   :   exe "noremap <LeftDrag>  <LeftMouse>r".c
   :endfunction
   :noremap <RightMouse> <LeftMouse>:call GetPixel()<CR>
   :set guicursor=n:hor20          " to see the color beneath the cursor
This turns the right button into a pipette and the left button into a pen.
It will work with XPM files that have one character per pixel only and you
must not click outside of the pixel strings, but feel free to improve it.

It will look much better with a font in a quadratic cell size, e.g. for X: >
        :set guifont=-*-clean-medium-r-*-*-8-*-*-*-*-80-*

==============================================================================
5. Defining a syntax                                    *:syn-define* *E410*

Vim understands three types of syntax items:

1. Keyword
   It can only contain keyword characters, according to the 'iskeyword'
   option.  It cannot contain other syntax items.  It will only match with a
   complete word (there are no keyword characters before or after the match).
   The keyword "if" would match in "if(a=b)", but not in "ifdef x", because
   "(" is not a keyword character and "d" is.

2. Match
   This is a match with a single regexp pattern.

3. Region
   This starts at a match of the "start" regexp pattern and ends with a match
   with the "end" regexp pattern.  Any other text can appear in between.  A
   "skip" regexp pattern can be used to avoid matching the "end" pattern.

Several syntax ITEMs can be put into one syntax GROUP.  For a syntax group
you can give highlighting attributes.  For example, you could have an item
to define a "/* .. */" comment and another one that defines a "// .." comment,
and put them both in the "Comment" group.  You can then specify that a
"Comment" will be in bold font and have a blue color.  You are free to make
one highlight group for one syntax item, or put all items into one group.
This depends on how you want to specify your highlighting attributes.  Putting
each item in its own group results in having to specify the highlighting
for a lot of groups.

Note that a syntax group and a highlight group are similar.  For a highlight
group you will have given highlight attributes.  These attributes will be used
for the syntax group with the same name.

In case more than one item matches at the same position, the one that was
defined LAST wins.  Thus you can override previously defined syntax items by
using an item that matches the same text.  But a keyword always goes before a
match or region.  And a keyword with matching case always goes before a
keyword with ignoring case.


PRIORITY                                                *:syn-priority*

When several syntax items may match, these rules are used:

1. When multiple Match or Region items start in the same position, the item
   defined last has priority.
2. A Keyword has priority over Match and Region items.
3. An item that starts in an earlier position has priority over items that
   start in later positions.


DEFINING CASE                                           *:syn-case* *E390*

:sy[ntax] case [match | ignore]
        This defines if the following ":syntax" commands will work with
        matching case, when using "match", or with ignoring case, when using
        "ignore".  Note that any items before this are not affected, and all
        items until the next ":syntax case" command are affected.


SPELL CHECKING                                          *:syn-spell*

:sy[ntax] spell [toplevel | notoplevel | default]
        This defines where spell checking is to be done for text that is not
        in a syntax item:

        toplevel:       Text is spell checked.
        notoplevel:     Text is not spell checked.
        default:        When there is a @Spell cluster no spell checking.

        For text in syntax items use the @Spell and @NoSpell clusters
        |spell-syntax|.  When there is no @Spell and no @NoSpell cluster then
        spell checking is done for "default" and "toplevel".

        To activate spell checking the 'spell' option must be set.


DEFINING KEYWORDS                                       *:syn-keyword*

:sy[ntax] keyword {group-name} [{options}] {keyword} .. [{options}]

        This defines a number of keywords.

        {group-name}    Is a syntax group name such as "Comment".
        [{options}]     See |:syn-arguments| below.
        {keyword} ..    Is a list of keywords which are part of this group.

        Example: >
  :syntax keyword   Type   int long char
<
        The {options} can be given anywhere in the line.  They will apply to
        all keywords given, also for options that come after a keyword.
        These examples do exactly the same: >
  :syntax keyword   Type   contained int long char
  :syntax keyword   Type   int long contained char
  :syntax keyword   Type   int long char contained
<                                                               *E789*
        When you have a keyword with an optional tail, like Ex commands in
        Vim, you can put the optional characters inside [], to define all the
        variations at once: >
  :syntax keyword   vimCommand   ab[breviate] n[ext]
<
        Don't forget that a keyword can only be recognized if all the
        characters are included in the 'iskeyword' option.  If one character
        isn't, the keyword will never be recognized.
        Multi-byte characters can also be used.  These do not have to be in
        'iskeyword'.

        A keyword always has higher priority than a match or region, the
        keyword is used if more than one item matches.  Keywords do not nest
        and a keyword can't contain anything else.

        Note that when you have a keyword that is the same as an option (even
        one that isn't allowed here), you can not use it.  Use a match
        instead.

        The maximum length of a keyword is 80 characters.

        The same keyword can be defined multiple times, when its containment
        differs.  For example, you can define the keyword once not contained
        and use one highlight group, and once contained, and use a different
        highlight group.  Example: >
  :syn keyword vimCommand tag
  :syn keyword vimSetting contained tag
<       When finding "tag" outside of any syntax item, the "vimCommand"
        highlight group is used.  When finding "tag" in a syntax item that
        contains "vimSetting", the "vimSetting" group is used.


DEFINING MATCHES                                        *:syn-match*

:sy[ntax] match {group-name} [{options}] [excludenl] {pattern} [{options}]

        This defines one match.

        {group-name}            A syntax group name such as "Comment".
        [{options}]             See |:syn-arguments| below.
        [excludenl]             Don't make a pattern with the end-of-line "$"
                                extend a containing match or region.  Must be
                                given before the pattern. |:syn-excludenl|
        {pattern}               The search pattern that defines the match.
                                See |:syn-pattern| below.
                                Note that the pattern may match more than one
                                line, which makes the match depend on where
                                Vim starts searching for the pattern.  You
                                need to make sure syncing takes care of this.

        Example (match a character constant): >
  :syntax match Character /'.'/hs=s+1,he=e-1
<

DEFINING REGIONS        *:syn-region* *:syn-start* *:syn-skip* *:syn-end*
                                                        *E398* *E399*
:sy[ntax] region {group-name} [{options}]
                [matchgroup={group-name}]
                [keepend]
                [extend]
                [excludenl]
                start={start_pattern} ..
                [skip={skip_pattern}]
                end={end_pattern} ..
                [{options}]

        This defines one region.  It may span several lines.

        {group-name}            A syntax group name such as "Comment".
        [{options}]             See |:syn-arguments| below.
        [matchgroup={group-name}]  The syntax group to use for the following
                                start or end pattern matches only.  Not used
                                for the text in between the matched start and
                                end patterns.  Use NONE to reset to not using
                                a different group for the start or end match.
                                See |:syn-matchgroup|.
        keepend                 Don't allow contained matches to go past a
                                match with the end pattern.  See
                                |:syn-keepend|.
        extend                  Override a "keepend" for an item this region
                                is contained in.  See |:syn-extend|.
        excludenl               Don't make a pattern with the end-of-line "$"
                                extend a containing match or item.  Only
                                useful for end patterns.  Must be given before
                                the patterns it applies to. |:syn-excludenl|
        start={start_pattern}   The search pattern that defines the start of
                                the region.  See |:syn-pattern| below.
        skip={skip_pattern}     The search pattern that defines text inside
                                the region where not to look for the end
                                pattern.  See |:syn-pattern| below.
        end={end_pattern}       The search pattern that defines the end of
                                the region.  See |:syn-pattern| below.

        Example: >
  :syntax region String   start=+"+  skip=+\\"+  end=+"+
<
        The start/skip/end patterns and the options can be given in any order.
        There can be zero or one skip pattern.  There must be one or more
        start and end patterns.  This means that you can omit the skip
        pattern, but you must give at least one start and one end pattern.  It
        is allowed to have white space before and after the equal sign
        (although it mostly looks better without white space).

        When more than one start pattern is given, a match with one of these
        is sufficient.  This means there is an OR relation between the start
        patterns.  The last one that matches is used.  The same is true for
        the end patterns.

        The search for the end pattern starts right after the start pattern.
        Offsets are not used for this.  This implies that the match for the
        end pattern will never overlap with the start pattern.

        The skip and end pattern can match across line breaks, but since the
        search for the pattern can start in any line it often does not do what
        you want.  The skip pattern doesn't avoid a match of an end pattern in
        the next line.  Use single-line patterns to avoid trouble.

        Note: The decision to start a region is only based on a matching start
        pattern.  There is no check for a matching end pattern.  This does NOT
        work: >
                :syn region First  start="("  end=":"
                :syn region Second start="("  end=";"
<       The Second always matches before the First (last defined pattern has
        higher priority).  The Second region then continues until the next
        ';', no matter if there is a ':' before it.  Using a match does work: >
                :syn match First  "(\_.\{-}:"
                :syn match Second "(\_.\{-};"
<       This pattern matches any character or line break with "\_." and
        repeats that with "\{-}" (repeat as few as possible).

                                                        *:syn-keepend*
        By default, a contained match can obscure a match for the end pattern.
        This is useful for nesting.  For example, a region that starts with
        "{" and ends with "}", can contain another region.  An encountered "}"
        will then end the contained region, but not the outer region:
            {           starts outer "{}" region
                {       starts contained "{}" region
                }       ends contained "{}" region
            }           ends outer "{} region
        If you don't want this, the "keepend" argument will make the matching
        of an end pattern of the outer region also end any contained item.
        This makes it impossible to nest the same region, but allows for
        contained items to highlight parts of the end pattern, without causing
        that to skip the match with the end pattern.  Example: >
  :syn match  vimComment +"[^"]\+$+
  :syn region vimCommand start="set" end="$" contains=vimComment keepend
<       The "keepend" makes the vimCommand always end at the end of the line,
        even though the contained vimComment includes a match with the <EOL>.

        When "keepend" is not used, a match with an end pattern is retried
        after each contained match.  When "keepend" is included, the first
        encountered match with an end pattern is used, truncating any
        contained matches.
                                                        *:syn-extend*
        The "keepend" behavior can be changed by using the "extend" argument.
        When an item with "extend" is contained in an item that uses
        "keepend", the "keepend" is ignored and the containing region will be
        extended.
        This can be used to have some contained items extend a region while
        others don't.  Example: >

   :syn region htmlRef start=+<a>+ end=+</a>+ keepend contains=htmlItem,htmlScript
   :syn match htmlItem +<[^>]*>+ contained
   :syn region htmlScript start=+<script+ end=+</script[^>]*>+ contained extend

<       Here the htmlItem item does not make the htmlRef item continue
        further, it is only used to highlight the <> items.  The htmlScript
        item does extend the htmlRef item.

        Another example: >
   :syn region xmlFold start="<a>" end="</a>" fold transparent keepend extend
<       This defines a region with "keepend", so that its end cannot be
        changed by contained items, like when the "</a>" is matched to
        highlight it differently.  But when the xmlFold region is nested (it
        includes itself), the "extend" applies, so that the "</a>" of a nested
        region only ends that region, and not the one it is contained in.

                                                        *:syn-excludenl*
        When a pattern for a match or end pattern of a region includes a '$'
        to match the end-of-line, it will make a region item that it is
        contained in continue on the next line.  For example, a match with
        "\\$" (backslash at the end of the line) can make a region continue
        that would normally stop at the end of the line.  This is the default
        behavior.  If this is not wanted, there are two ways to avoid it:
        1. Use "keepend" for the containing item.  This will keep all
           contained matches from extending the match or region.  It can be
           used when all contained items must not extend the containing item.
        2. Use "excludenl" in the contained item.  This will keep that match
           from extending the containing match or region.  It can be used if
           only some contained items must not extend the containing item.
           "excludenl" must be given before the pattern it applies to.

                                                        *:syn-matchgroup*
        "matchgroup" can be used to highlight the start and/or end pattern
        differently than the body of the region.  Example: >
  :syntax region String matchgroup=Quote start=+"+  skip=+\\"+  end=+"+
<       This will highlight the quotes with the "Quote" group, and the text in
        between with the "String" group.
        The "matchgroup" is used for all start and end patterns that follow,
        until the next "matchgroup".  Use "matchgroup=NONE" to go back to not
        using a matchgroup.

        In a start or end pattern that is highlighted with "matchgroup" the
        contained items of the region are not used.  This can be used to avoid
        that a contained item matches in the start or end pattern match.  When
        using "transparent", this does not apply to a start or end pattern
        match that is highlighted with "matchgroup".

        Here is an example, which highlights three levels of parentheses in
        different colors: >
   :sy region par1 matchgroup=par1 start=/(/ end=/)/ contains=par2
   :sy region par2 matchgroup=par2 start=/(/ end=/)/ contains=par3 contained
   :sy region par3 matchgroup=par3 start=/(/ end=/)/ contains=par1 contained
   :hi par1 ctermfg=red guifg=red
   :hi par2 ctermfg=blue guifg=blue
   :hi par3 ctermfg=darkgreen guifg=darkgreen

==============================================================================
6. :syntax arguments                                    *:syn-arguments*

The :syntax commands that define syntax items take a number of arguments.
The common ones are explained here.  The arguments may be given in any order
and may be mixed with patterns.

Not all commands accept all arguments.  This table shows which arguments
can not be used for all commands:
                                                        *E395* *E396*
                    contains  oneline   fold  display  extend ~
:syntax keyword          -       -       -       -       -
:syntax match           yes      -      yes     yes     yes
:syntax region          yes     yes     yes     yes     yes

These arguments can be used for all three commands:
        contained
        containedin
        nextgroup
        transparent
        skipwhite
        skipnl
        skipempty


contained                                               *:syn-contained*

When the "contained" argument is given, this item will not be recognized at
the top level, but only when it is mentioned in the "contains" field of
another match.  Example: >
   :syntax keyword Todo    TODO    contained
   :syntax match   Comment "//.*"  contains=Todo


display                                                 *:syn-display*

If the "display" argument is given, this item will be skipped when the
detected highlighting will not be displayed.  This will speed up highlighting,
by skipping this item when only finding the syntax state for the text that is
to be displayed.

Generally, you can use "display" for match and region items that meet these
conditions:
- The item does not continue past the end of a line.  Example for C: A region
  for a "/*" comment can't contain "display", because it continues on the next
  line.
- The item does not contain items that continue past the end of the line or
  make it continue on the next line.
- The item does not change the size of any item it is contained in.  Example
  for C: A match with "\\$" in a preprocessor match can't have "display",
  because it may make that preprocessor match shorter.
- The item does not allow other items to match that didn't match otherwise,
  and that item may extend the match too far.  Example for C: A match for a
  "//" comment can't use "display", because a "/*" inside that comment would
  match then and start a comment which extends past the end of the line.

Examples, for the C language, where "display" can be used:
- match with a number
- match with a label


transparent                                             *:syn-transparent*

If the "transparent" argument is given, this item will not be highlighted
itself, but will take the highlighting of the item it is contained in.  This
is useful for syntax items that don't need any highlighting but are used
only to skip over a part of the text.

The "contains=" argument is also inherited from the item it is contained in,
unless a "contains" argument is given for the transparent item itself.  To
avoid that unwanted items are contained, use "contains=NONE".  Example, which
highlights words in strings, but makes an exception for "vim": >
        :syn match myString /'[^']*'/ contains=myWord,myVim
        :syn match myWord   /\<[a-z]*\>/ contained
        :syn match myVim    /\<vim\>/ transparent contained contains=NONE
        :hi link myString String
        :hi link myWord   Comment
Since the "myVim" match comes after "myWord" it is the preferred match (last
match in the same position overrules an earlier one).  The "transparent"
argument makes the "myVim" match use the same highlighting as "myString".  But
it does not contain anything.  If the "contains=NONE" argument would be left
out, then "myVim" would use the contains argument from myString and allow
"myWord" to be contained, which will be highlighted as a Constant.  This
happens because a contained match doesn't match inside itself in the same
position, thus the "myVim" match doesn't overrule the "myWord" match here.

When you look at the colored text, it is like looking at layers of contained
items.  The contained item is on top of the item it is contained in, thus you
see the contained item.  When a contained item is transparent, you can look
through, thus you see the item it is contained in.  In a picture:

                look from here

            |   |   |   |   |   |
            V   V   V   V   V   V

               xxxx       yyy           more contained items
            ....................        contained item (transparent)
        =============================   first item

The 'x', 'y' and '=' represent a highlighted syntax item.  The '.' represent a
transparent group.

What you see is:

        =======xxxx=======yyy========

Thus you look through the transparent "....".


oneline                                                 *:syn-oneline*

The "oneline" argument indicates that the region does not cross a line
boundary.  It must match completely in the current line.  However, when the
region has a contained item that does cross a line boundary, it continues on
the next line anyway.  A contained item can be used to recognize a line
continuation pattern.  But the "end" pattern must still match in the first
line, otherwise the region doesn't even start.

When the start pattern includes a "\n" to match an end-of-line, the end
pattern must be found in the same line as where the start pattern ends.  The
end pattern may also include an end-of-line.  Thus the "oneline" argument
means that the end of the start pattern and the start of the end pattern must
be within one line.  This can't be changed by a skip pattern that matches a
line break.


fold                                                    *:syn-fold*

The "fold" argument makes the fold level increase by one for this item.
Example: >
   :syn region myFold start="{" end="}" transparent fold
   :syn sync fromstart
   :set foldmethod=syntax
This will make each {} block form one fold.

The fold will start on the line where the item starts, and end where the item
ends.  If the start and end are within the same line, there is no fold.
The 'foldnestmax' option limits the nesting of syntax folds.
{not available when Vim was compiled without |+folding| feature}


                        *:syn-contains* *E405* *E406* *E407* *E408* *E409*
contains={groupname},..

The "contains" argument is followed by a list of syntax group names.  These
groups will be allowed to begin inside the item (they may extend past the
containing group's end).  This allows for recursive nesting of matches and
regions.  If there is no "contains" argument, no groups will be contained in
this item.  The group names do not need to be defined before they can be used
here.

contains=ALL
                If the only item in the contains list is "ALL", then all
                groups will be accepted inside the item.

contains=ALLBUT,{group-name},..
                If the first item in the contains list is "ALLBUT", then all
                groups will be accepted inside the item, except the ones that
                are listed.  Example: >
  :syntax region Block start="{" end="}" ... contains=ALLBUT,Function

contains=TOP
                If the first item in the contains list is "TOP", then all
                groups will be accepted that don't have the "contained"
                argument.
contains=TOP,{group-name},..
                Like "TOP", but excluding the groups that are listed.

contains=CONTAINED
                If the first item in the contains list is "CONTAINED", then
                all groups will be accepted that have the "contained"
                argument.
contains=CONTAINED,{group-name},..
                Like "CONTAINED", but excluding the groups that are
                listed.


The {group-name} in the "contains" list can be a pattern.  All group names
that match the pattern will be included (or excluded, if "ALLBUT" is used).
The pattern cannot contain white space or a ','.  Example: >
   ... contains=Comment.*,Keyw[0-3]
The matching will be done at moment the syntax command is executed.  Groups
that are defined later will not be matched.  Also, if the current syntax
command defines a new group, it is not matched.  Be careful: When putting
syntax commands in a file you can't rely on groups NOT being defined, because
the file may have been sourced before, and ":syn clear" doesn't remove the
group names.

The contained groups will also match in the start and end patterns of a
region.  If this is not wanted, the "matchgroup" argument can be used
|:syn-matchgroup|.  The "ms=" and "me=" offsets can be used to change the
region where contained items do match.  Note that this may also limit the
area that is highlighted


containedin={groupname}...                              *:syn-containedin*

The "containedin" argument is followed by a list of syntax group names.  The
item will be allowed to begin inside these groups.  This works as if the
containing item has a "contains=" argument that includes this item.

The {groupname}... can be used just like for "contains", as explained above.

This is useful when adding a syntax item afterwards.  An item can be told to
be included inside an already existing item, without changing the definition
of that item.  For example, to highlight a word in a C comment after loading
the C syntax: >
        :syn keyword myword HELP containedin=cComment contained
Note that "contained" is also used, to avoid that the item matches at the top
level.

Matches for "containedin" are added to the other places where the item can
appear.  A "contains" argument may also be added as usual.  Don't forget that
keywords never contain another item, thus adding them to "containedin" won't
work.


nextgroup={groupname},..                                *:syn-nextgroup*

The "nextgroup" argument is followed by a list of syntax group names,
separated by commas (just like with "contains", so you can also use patterns).

If the "nextgroup" argument is given, the mentioned syntax groups will be
tried for a match, after the match or region ends.  If none of the groups have
a match, highlighting continues normally.  If there is a match, this group
will be used, even when it is not mentioned in the "contains" field of the
current group.  This is like giving the mentioned group priority over all
other groups.  Example: >
   :syntax match  ccFoobar  "Foo.\{-}Bar"  contains=ccFoo
   :syntax match  ccFoo     "Foo"           contained nextgroup=ccFiller
   :syntax region ccFiller  start="."  matchgroup=ccBar  end="Bar"  contained

This will highlight "Foo" and "Bar" differently, and only when there is a
"Bar" after "Foo".  In the text line below, "f" shows where ccFoo is used for
highlighting, and "bbb" where ccBar is used. >

   Foo asdfasd Bar asdf Foo asdf Bar asdf
   fff         bbb      fff      bbb

Note the use of ".\{-}" to skip as little as possible until the next Bar.
when ".*" would be used, the "asdf" in between "Bar" and "Foo" would be
highlighted according to the "ccFoobar" group, because the ccFooBar match
would include the first "Foo" and the last "Bar" in the line (see |pattern|).


skipwhite                                               *:syn-skipwhite*
skipnl                                                  *:syn-skipnl*
skipempty                                               *:syn-skipempty*

These arguments are only used in combination with "nextgroup".  They can be
used to allow the next group to match after skipping some text:
        skipwhite       skip over space and tab characters
        skipnl          skip over the end of a line
        skipempty       skip over empty lines (implies a "skipnl")

When "skipwhite" is present, the white space is only skipped if there is no
next group that matches the white space.

When "skipnl" is present, the match with nextgroup may be found in the next
line.  This only happens when the current item ends at the end of the current
line!  When "skipnl" is not present, the nextgroup will only be found after
the current item in the same line.

When skipping text while looking for a next group, the matches for other
groups are ignored.  Only when no next group matches, other items are tried
for a match again.  This means that matching a next group and skipping white
space and <EOL>s has a higher priority than other items.

Example: >
  :syn match ifstart "\<if.*"     nextgroup=ifline skipwhite skipempty
  :syn match ifline  "[^ \t].*" nextgroup=ifline skipwhite skipempty contained
  :syn match ifline  "endif"    contained
Note that the "[^ \t].*" match matches all non-white text.  Thus it would also
match "endif".  Therefore the "endif" match is put last, so that it takes
precedence.
Note that this example doesn't work for nested "if"s.  You need to add
"contains" arguments to make that work (omitted for simplicity of the
example).

==============================================================================
7. Syntax patterns                              *:syn-pattern* *E401* *E402*

In the syntax commands, a pattern must be surrounded by two identical
characters.  This is like it works for the ":s" command.  The most common to
use is the double quote.  But if the pattern contains a double quote, you can
use another character that is not used in the pattern.  Examples: >
  :syntax region Comment  start="/\*"  end="\*/"
  :syntax region String   start=+"+    end=+"+   skip=+\\"+

See |pattern| for the explanation of what a pattern is.  Syntax patterns are
always interpreted like the 'magic' option is set, no matter what the actual
value of 'magic' is.  And the patterns are interpreted like the 'l' flag is
not included in 'cpoptions'.  This was done to make syntax files portable and
independent of 'compatible' and 'magic' settings.

Try to avoid patterns that can match an empty string, such as "[a-z]*".
This slows down the highlighting a lot, because it matches everywhere.

                                                *:syn-pattern-offset*
The pattern can be followed by a character offset.  This can be used to
change the highlighted part, and to change the text area included in the
match or region (which only matters when trying to match other items).  Both
are relative to the matched pattern.  The character offset for a skip
pattern can be used to tell where to continue looking for an end pattern.

The offset takes the form of "{what}={offset}"
The {what} can be one of seven strings:

ms      Match Start     offset for the start of the matched text
me      Match End       offset for the end of the matched text
hs      Highlight Start offset for where the highlighting starts
he      Highlight End   offset for where the highlighting ends
rs      Region Start    offset for where the body of a region starts
re      Region End      offset for where the body of a region ends
lc      Leading Context offset past "leading context" of pattern

The {offset} can be:

s       start of the matched pattern
s+{nr}  start of the matched pattern plus {nr} chars to the right
s-{nr}  start of the matched pattern plus {nr} chars to the left
e       end of the matched pattern
e+{nr}  end of the matched pattern plus {nr} chars to the right
e-{nr}  end of the matched pattern plus {nr} chars to the left
{nr}    (for "lc" only): start matching {nr} chars to the left

Examples: "ms=s+1", "hs=e-2", "lc=3".

Although all offsets are accepted after any pattern, they are not always
meaningful.  This table shows which offsets are actually used:

                    ms   me   hs   he   rs   re   lc ~
match item          yes  yes  yes  yes  -    -    yes
region item start   yes  -    yes  -    yes  -    yes
region item skip    -    yes  -    -    -    -    yes
region item end     -    yes  -    yes  -    yes  yes

Offsets can be concatenated, with a ',' in between.  Example: >
  :syn match String  /"[^"]*"/hs=s+1,he=e-1
<
    some "string" text
          ^^^^^^                highlighted

Notes:
- There must be no white space between the pattern and the character
  offset(s).
- The highlighted area will never be outside of the matched text.
- A negative offset for an end pattern may not always work, because the end
  pattern may be detected when the highlighting should already have stopped.
- Before Vim 7.2 the offsets were counted in bytes instead of characters.
  This didn't work well for multi-byte characters, so it was changed with the
  Vim 7.2 release.
- The start of a match cannot be in a line other than where the pattern
  matched.  This doesn't work: "a\nb"ms=e.  You can make the highlighting
  start in another line, this does work: "a\nb"hs=e.

Example (match a comment but don't highlight the /* and */): >
  :syntax region Comment start="/\*"hs=e+1 end="\*/"he=s-1
<
        /* this is a comment */
          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^     highlighted

A more complicated Example: >
  :syn region Exa matchgroup=Foo start="foo"hs=s+2,rs=e+2 matchgroup=Bar end="bar"me=e-1,he=e-1,re=s-1
<
         abcfoostringbarabc
            mmmmmmmmmmm     match
              sssrrreee     highlight start/region/end ("Foo", "Exa" and "Bar")

Leading context                 *:syn-lc* *:syn-leading* *:syn-context*

Note: This is an obsolete feature, only included for backwards compatibility
with previous Vim versions.  It's now recommended to use the |/\@<=| construct
in the pattern.

The "lc" offset specifies leading context -- a part of the pattern that must
be present, but is not considered part of the match.  An offset of "lc=n" will
cause Vim to step back n columns before attempting the pattern match, allowing
characters which have already been matched in previous patterns to also be
used as leading context for this match.  This can be used, for instance, to
specify that an "escaping" character must not precede the match: >

  :syn match ZNoBackslash "[^\\]z"ms=s+1
  :syn match WNoBackslash "[^\\]w"lc=1
  :syn match Underline "_\+"
<
          ___zzzz ___wwww
          ^^^     ^^^     matches Underline
              ^ ^         matches ZNoBackslash
                     ^^^^ matches WNoBackslash

The "ms" offset is automatically set to the same value as the "lc" offset,
unless you set "ms" explicitly.


Multi-line patterns                                     *:syn-multi-line*

The patterns can include "\n" to match an end-of-line.  Mostly this works as
expected, but there are a few exceptions.

When using a start pattern with an offset, the start of the match is not
allowed to start in a following line.  The highlighting can start in a
following line though.  Using the "\zs" item also requires that the start of
the match doesn't move to another line.

The skip pattern can include the "\n", but the search for an end pattern will
continue in the first character of the next line, also when that character is
matched by the skip pattern.  This is because redrawing may start in any line
halfway a region and there is no check if the skip pattern started in a
previous line.  For example, if the skip pattern is "a\nb" and an end pattern
is "b", the end pattern does match in the second line of this: >
         x x a
         b x x
Generally this means that the skip pattern should not match any characters
after the "\n".


External matches                                        *:syn-ext-match*

These extra regular expression items are available in region patterns:

                                                */\z(* */\z(\)* *E50* *E52*
    \z(\)       Marks the sub-expression as "external", meaning that it is can
                be accessed from another pattern match.  Currently only usable
                in defining a syntax region start pattern.

                                        */\z1* */\z2* */\z3* */\z4* */\z5*
    \z1  ...  \z9                       */\z6* */\z7* */\z8* */\z9* *E66* *E67*
                Matches the same string that was matched by the corresponding
                sub-expression in a previous start pattern match.

Sometimes the start and end patterns of a region need to share a common
sub-expression.  A common example is the "here" document in Perl and many Unix
shells.  This effect can be achieved with the "\z" special regular expression
items, which marks a sub-expression as "external", in the sense that it can be
referenced from outside the pattern in which it is defined.  The here-document
example, for instance, can be done like this: >
  :syn region hereDoc start="<<\z(\I\i*\)" end="^\z1$"

As can be seen here, the \z actually does double duty.  In the start pattern,
it marks the "\(\I\i*\)" sub-expression as external; in the end pattern, it
changes the \1 back-reference into an external reference referring to the
first external sub-expression in the start pattern.  External references can
also be used in skip patterns: >
  :syn region foo start="start \(\I\i*\)" skip="not end \z1" end="end \z1"

Note that normal and external sub-expressions are completely orthogonal and
indexed separately; for instance, if the pattern "\z(..\)\(..\)" is applied
to the string "aabb", then \1 will refer to "bb" and \z1 will refer to "aa".
Note also that external sub-expressions cannot be accessed as back-references
within the same pattern like normal sub-expressions.  If you want to use one
sub-expression as both a normal and an external sub-expression, you can nest
the two, as in "\(\z(...\)\)".

Note that only matches within a single line can be used.  Multi-line matches
cannot be referred to.

==============================================================================
8. Syntax clusters                                      *:syn-cluster* *E400*

:sy[ntax] cluster {cluster-name} [contains={group-name}..]
                                 [add={group-name}..]
                                 [remove={group-name}..]

This command allows you to cluster a list of syntax groups together under a
single name.

        contains={group-name}..
                The cluster is set to the specified list of groups.
        add={group-name}..
                The specified groups are added to the cluster.
        remove={group-name}..
                The specified groups are removed from the cluster.

A cluster so defined may be referred to in a contains=.., containedin=..,
nextgroup=.., add=..  or remove=.. list with a "@" prefix.  You can also use
this notation to implicitly declare a cluster before specifying its contents.

Example: >
   :syntax match Thing "# [^#]\+ #" contains=@ThingMembers
   :syntax cluster ThingMembers contains=ThingMember1,ThingMember2

As the previous example suggests, modifications to a cluster are effectively
retroactive; the membership of the cluster is checked at the last minute, so
to speak: >
   :syntax keyword A aaa
   :syntax keyword B bbb
   :syntax cluster AandB contains=A
   :syntax match Stuff "( aaa bbb )" contains=@AandB
   :syntax cluster AandB add=B    " now both keywords are matched in Stuff

This also has implications for nested clusters: >
   :syntax keyword A aaa
   :syntax keyword B bbb
   :syntax cluster SmallGroup contains=B
   :syntax cluster BigGroup contains=A,@SmallGroup
   :syntax match Stuff "( aaa bbb )" contains=@BigGroup
   :syntax cluster BigGroup remove=B    " no effect, since B isn't in BigGroup
   :syntax cluster SmallGroup remove=B  " now bbb isn't matched within Stuff

==============================================================================
9. Including syntax files                               *:syn-include* *E397*

It is often useful for one language's syntax file to include a syntax file for
a related language.  Depending on the exact relationship, this can be done in
two different ways:

        - If top-level syntax items in the included syntax file are to be
          allowed at the top level in the including syntax, you can simply use
          the |:runtime| command: >

  " In cpp.vim:
  :runtime! syntax/c.vim
  :unlet b:current_syntax

<       - If top-level syntax items in the included syntax file are to be
          contained within a region in the including syntax, you can use the
          ":syntax include" command:

:sy[ntax] include [@{grouplist-name}] {file-name}

          All syntax items declared in the included file will have the
          "contained" flag added.  In addition, if a group list is specified,
          all top-level syntax items in the included file will be added to
          that list. >

   " In perl.vim:
   :syntax include @Pod <sfile>:p:h/pod.vim
   :syntax region perlPOD start="^=head" end="^=cut" contains=@Pod
<
          When {file-name} is an absolute path (starts with "/", "c:", "$VAR"
          or "<sfile>") that file is sourced.  When it is a relative path
          (e.g., "syntax/pod.vim") the file is searched for in 'runtimepath'.
          All matching files are loaded.  Using a relative path is
          recommended, because it allows a user to replace the included file
          with his own version, without replacing the file that does the ":syn
          include".

==============================================================================
10. Synchronizing                               *:syn-sync* *E403* *E404*

Vim wants to be able to start redrawing in any position in the document.  To
make this possible it needs to know the syntax state at the position where
redrawing starts.

:sy[ntax] sync [ccomment [group-name] | minlines={N} | ...]

There are four ways to synchronize:
1. Always parse from the start of the file.
   |:syn-sync-first|
2. Based on C-style comments.  Vim understands how C-comments work and can
   figure out if the current line starts inside or outside a comment.
   |:syn-sync-second|
3. Jumping back a certain number of lines and start parsing there.
   |:syn-sync-third|
4. Searching backwards in the text for a pattern to sync on.
   |:syn-sync-fourth|

                                *:syn-sync-maxlines* *:syn-sync-minlines*
For the last three methods, the line range where the parsing can start is
limited by "minlines" and "maxlines".

If the "minlines={N}" argument is given, the parsing always starts at least
that many lines backwards.  This can be used if the parsing may take a few
lines before it's correct, or when it's not possible to use syncing.

If the "maxlines={N}" argument is given, the number of lines that are searched
for a comment or syncing pattern is restricted to N lines backwards (after
adding "minlines").  This is useful if you have few things to sync on and a
slow machine.  Example: >
   :syntax sync ccomment maxlines=500
<
                                                *:syn-sync-linebreaks*
When using a pattern that matches multiple lines, a change in one line may
cause a pattern to no longer match in a previous line.  This means has to
start above where the change was made.  How many lines can be specified with
the "linebreaks" argument.  For example, when a pattern may include one line
break use this: >
   :syntax sync linebreaks=1
The result is that redrawing always starts at least one line before where a
change was made.  The default value for "linebreaks" is zero.  Usually the
value for "minlines" is bigger than "linebreaks".


First syncing method:                   *:syn-sync-first*
>
   :syntax sync fromstart

The file will be parsed from the start.  This makes syntax highlighting
accurate, but can be slow for long files.  Vim caches previously parsed text,
so that it's only slow when parsing the text for the first time.  However,
when making changes some part of the next needs to be parsed again (worst
case: to the end of the file).

Using "fromstart" is equivalent to using "minlines" with a very large number.


Second syncing method:                  *:syn-sync-second* *:syn-sync-ccomment*

For the second method, only the "ccomment" argument needs to be given.
Example: >
   :syntax sync ccomment

When Vim finds that the line where displaying starts is inside a C-style
comment, the last region syntax item with the group-name "Comment" will be
used.  This requires that there is a region with the group-name "Comment"!
An alternate group name can be specified, for example: >
   :syntax sync ccomment javaComment
This means that the last item specified with "syn region javaComment" will be
used for the detected C comment region.  This only works properly if that
region does have a start pattern "\/*" and an end pattern "*\/".

The "maxlines" argument can be used to restrict the search to a number of
lines.  The "minlines" argument can be used to at least start a number of
lines back (e.g., for when there is some construct that only takes a few
lines, but it hard to sync on).

Note: Syncing on a C comment doesn't work properly when strings are used
that cross a line and contain a "*/".  Since letting strings cross a line
is a bad programming habit (many compilers give a warning message), and the
chance of a "*/" appearing inside a comment is very small, this restriction
is hardly ever noticed.


Third syncing method:                           *:syn-sync-third*

For the third method, only the "minlines={N}" argument needs to be given.
Vim will subtract {N} from the line number and start parsing there.  This
means {N} extra lines need to be parsed, which makes this method a bit slower.
Example: >
   :syntax sync minlines=50

"lines" is equivalent to "minlines" (used by older versions).


Fourth syncing method:                          *:syn-sync-fourth*

The idea is to synchronize on the end of a few specific regions, called a
sync pattern.  Only regions can cross lines, so when we find the end of some
region, we might be able to know in which syntax item we are.  The search
starts in the line just above the one where redrawing starts.  From there
the search continues backwards in the file.

This works just like the non-syncing syntax items.  You can use contained
matches, nextgroup, etc.  But there are a few differences:
- Keywords cannot be used.
- The syntax items with the "sync" keyword form a completely separated group
  of syntax items.  You can't mix syncing groups and non-syncing groups.
- The matching works backwards in the buffer (line by line), instead of
  forwards.
- A line continuation pattern can be given.  It is used to decide which group
  of lines need to be searched like they were one line.  This means that the
  search for a match with the specified items starts in the first of the
  consecutive that contain the continuation pattern.
- When using "nextgroup" or "contains", this only works within one line (or
  group of continued lines).
- When using a region, it must start and end in the same line (or group of
  continued lines).  Otherwise the end is assumed to be at the end of the
  line (or group of continued lines).
- When a match with a sync pattern is found, the rest of the line (or group of
  continued lines) is searched for another match.  The last match is used.
  This is used when a line can contain both the start end the end of a region
  (e.g., in a C-comment like /* this */, the last "*/" is used).

There are two ways how a match with a sync pattern can be used:
1. Parsing for highlighting starts where redrawing starts (and where the
   search for the sync pattern started).  The syntax group that is expected
   to be valid there must be specified.  This works well when the regions
   that cross lines cannot contain other regions.
2. Parsing for highlighting continues just after the match.  The syntax group
   that is expected to be present just after the match must be specified.
   This can be used when the previous method doesn't work well.  It's much
   slower, because more text needs to be parsed.
Both types of sync patterns can be used at the same time.

Besides the sync patterns, other matches and regions can be specified, to
avoid finding unwanted matches.

[The reason that the sync patterns are given separately, is that mostly the
search for the sync point can be much simpler than figuring out the
highlighting.  The reduced number of patterns means it will go (much)
faster.]

                                            *syn-sync-grouphere* *E393* *E394*
    :syntax sync match {sync-group-name} grouphere {group-name} "pattern" ..

        Define a match that is used for syncing.  {group-name} is the
        name of a syntax group that follows just after the match.  Parsing
        of the text for highlighting starts just after the match.  A region
        must exist for this {group-name}.  The first one defined will be used.
        "NONE" can be used for when there is no syntax group after the match.

                                                *syn-sync-groupthere*
    :syntax sync match {sync-group-name} groupthere {group-name} "pattern" ..

        Like "grouphere", but {group-name} is the name of a syntax group that
        is to be used at the start of the line where searching for the sync
        point started.  The text between the match and the start of the sync
        pattern searching is assumed not to change the syntax highlighting.
        For example, in C you could search backwards for "/*" and "*/".  If
        "/*" is found first, you know that you are inside a comment, so the
        "groupthere" is "cComment".  If "*/" is found first, you know that you
        are not in a comment, so the "groupthere" is "NONE".  (in practice
        it's a bit more complicated, because the "/*" and "*/" could appear
        inside a string.  That's left as an exercise to the reader...).

    :syntax sync match ..
    :syntax sync region ..

        Without a "groupthere" argument.  Define a region or match that is
        skipped while searching for a sync point.

                                                *syn-sync-linecont*
    :syntax sync linecont {pattern}

        When {pattern} matches in a line, it is considered to continue in
        the next line.  This means that the search for a sync point will
        consider the lines to be concatenated.

If the "maxlines={N}" argument is given too, the number of lines that are
searched for a match is restricted to N.  This is useful if you have very
few things to sync on and a slow machine.  Example: >
   :syntax sync maxlines=100

You can clear all sync settings with: >
   :syntax sync clear

You can clear specific sync patterns with: >
   :syntax sync clear {sync-group-name} ..

==============================================================================
11. Listing syntax items                *:syntax* *:sy* *:syn* *:syn-list*

This command lists all the syntax items: >

    :sy[ntax] [list]

To show the syntax items for one syntax group: >

    :sy[ntax] list {group-name}

To list the syntax groups in one cluster:                       *E392*  >

    :sy[ntax] list @{cluster-name}

See above for other arguments for the ":syntax" command.

Note that the ":syntax" command can be abbreviated to ":sy", although ":syn"
is mostly used, because it looks better.

==============================================================================
12. Highlight command                   *:highlight* *:hi* *E28* *E411* *E415*

There are three types of highlight groups:
- The ones used for specific languages.  For these the name starts with the
  name of the language.  Many of these don't have any attributes, but are
  linked to a group of the second type.
- The ones used for all syntax languages.
- The ones used for the 'highlight' option.
                                                        *hitest.vim*
You can see all the groups currently active with this command: >
    :so $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/hitest.vim
This will open a new window containing all highlight group names, displayed
in their own color.

                                                *:colo* *:colorscheme* *E185*
:colo[rscheme] {name}   Load color scheme {name}.  This searches 'runtimepath'
                        for the file "colors/{name}.vim.  The first one that
                        is found is loaded.
                        To see the name of the currently active color scheme
                        (if there is one): >
                                :echo g:colors_name
<                       Doesn't work recursively, thus you can't use
                        ":colorscheme" in a color scheme script.
                        After the color scheme has been loaded the
                        |ColorScheme| autocommand event is triggered.
                        For info about writing a colorscheme file: >
                                :edit $VIMRUNTIME/colors/README.txt

:hi[ghlight]            List all the current highlight groups that have
                        attributes set.

:hi[ghlight] {group-name}
                        List one highlight group.

:hi[ghlight] clear      Reset all highlighting to the defaults.  Removes all
                        highlighting for groups added by the user!
                        Uses the current value of 'background' to decide which
                        default colors to use.

:hi[ghlight] clear {group-name}
:hi[ghlight] {group-name} NONE
                        Disable the highlighting for one highlight group.  It
                        is _not_ set back to the default colors.

:hi[ghlight] [default] {group-name} {key}={arg} ..
                        Add a highlight group, or change the highlighting for
                        an existing group.
                        See |highlight-args| for the {key}={arg} arguments.
                        See |:highlight-default| for the optional [default]
                        argument.

Normally a highlight group is added once when starting up.  This sets the
default values for the highlighting.  After that, you can use additional
highlight commands to change the arguments that you want to set to non-default
values.  The value "NONE" can be used to switch the value off or go back to
the default value.

A simple way to change colors is with the |:colorscheme| command.  This loads
a file with ":highlight" commands such as this: >

   :hi Comment  gui=bold

Note that all settings that are not included remain the same, only the
specified field is used, and settings are merged with previous ones.  So, the
result is like this single command has been used: >
   :hi Comment  term=bold ctermfg=Cyan guifg=#80a0ff gui=bold
<
                                                        *:highlight-verbose*
When listing a highlight group and 'verbose' is non-zero, the listing will
also tell where it was last set.  Example: >
        :verbose hi Comment
<       Comment        xxx term=bold ctermfg=4 guifg=Blue ~
           Last set from /home/mool/vim/vim7/runtime/syntax/syncolor.vim ~

When ":hi clear" is used then the script where this command is used will be
mentioned for the default values. See |:verbose-cmd| for more information.

                                        *highlight-args* *E416* *E417* *E423*
There are three types of terminals for highlighting:
term    a normal terminal (vt100, xterm)
cterm   a color terminal (MS-DOS console, color-xterm, these have the "Co"
        termcap entry)
gui     the GUI

For each type the highlighting can be given.  This makes it possible to use
the same syntax file on all terminals, and use the optimal highlighting.

1. highlight arguments for normal terminals

                                        *bold* *underline* *undercurl*
                                        *inverse* *italic* *standout*
term={attr-list}                        *attr-list* *highlight-term* *E418*
        attr-list is a comma separated list (without spaces) of the
        following items (in any order):
                bold
                underline
                undercurl       not always available
                reverse
                inverse         same as reverse
                italic
                standout
                NONE            no attributes used (used to reset it)

        Note that "bold" can be used here and by using a bold font.  They
        have the same effect.
        "undercurl" is a curly underline.  When "undercurl" is not possible
        then "underline" is used.  In general "undercurl" is only available in
        the GUI.  The color is set with |highlight-guisp|.

start={term-list}                               *highlight-start* *E422*
stop={term-list}                                *term-list* *highlight-stop*
        These lists of terminal codes can be used to get
        non-standard attributes on a terminal.

        The escape sequence specified with the "start" argument
        is written before the characters in the highlighted
        area.  It can be anything that you want to send to the
        terminal to highlight this area.  The escape sequence
        specified with the "stop" argument is written after the
        highlighted area.  This should undo the "start" argument.
        Otherwise the screen will look messed up.

        The {term-list} can have two forms:

        1. A string with escape sequences.
           This is any string of characters, except that it can't start with
           "t_" and blanks are not allowed.  The <> notation is recognized
           here, so you can use things like "<Esc>" and "<Space>".  Example:
                start=<Esc>[27h;<Esc>[<Space>r;

        2. A list of terminal codes.
           Each terminal code has the form "t_xx", where "xx" is the name of
           the termcap entry.  The codes have to be separated with commas.
           White space is not allowed.  Example:
                start=t_C1,t_BL
           The terminal codes must exist for this to work.


2. highlight arguments for color terminals

cterm={attr-list}                                       *highlight-cterm*
        See above for the description of {attr-list} |attr-list|.
        The "cterm" argument is likely to be different from "term", when
        colors are used.  For example, in a normal terminal comments could
        be underlined, in a color terminal they can be made Blue.
        Note: Many terminals (e.g., DOS console) can't mix these attributes
        with coloring.  Use only one of "cterm=" OR "ctermfg=" OR "ctermbg=".

ctermfg={color-nr}                              *highlight-ctermfg* *E421*
ctermbg={color-nr}                              *highlight-ctermbg*
        The {color-nr} argument is a color number.  Its range is zero to
        (not including) the number given by the termcap entry "Co".
        The actual color with this number depends on the type of terminal
        and its settings.  Sometimes the color also depends on the settings of
        "cterm".  For example, on some systems "cterm=bold ctermfg=3" gives
        another color, on others you just get color 3.

        For an xterm this depends on your resources, and is a bit
        unpredictable.  See your xterm documentation for the defaults.  The
        colors for a color-xterm can be changed from the .Xdefaults file.
        Unfortunately this means that it's not possible to get the same colors
        for each user.  See |xterm-color| for info about color xterms.

        The MSDOS standard colors are fixed (in a console window), so these
        have been used for the names.  But the meaning of color names in X11
        are fixed, so these color settings have been used, to make the
        highlighting settings portable (complicated, isn't it?).  The
        following names are recognized, with the color number used:

                                                        *cterm-colors*
            NR-16   NR-8    COLOR NAME ~
            0       0       Black
            1       4       DarkBlue
            2       2       DarkGreen
            3       6       DarkCyan
            4       1       DarkRed
            5       5       DarkMagenta
            6       3       Brown, DarkYellow
            7       7       LightGray, LightGrey, Gray, Grey
            8       0*      DarkGray, DarkGrey
            9       4*      Blue, LightBlue
            10      2*      Green, LightGreen
            11      6*      Cyan, LightCyan
            12      1*      Red, LightRed
            13      5*      Magenta, LightMagenta
            14      3*      Yellow, LightYellow
            15      7*      White

        The number under "NR-16" is used for 16-color terminals ('t_Co'
        greater than or equal to 16).  The number under "NR-8" is used for
        8-color terminals ('t_Co' less than 16).  The '*' indicates that the
        bold attribute is set for ctermfg.  In many 8-color terminals (e.g.,
        "linux"), this causes the bright colors to appear.  This doesn't work
        for background colors!  Without the '*' the bold attribute is removed.
        If you want to set the bold attribute in a different way, put a
        "cterm=" argument AFTER the "ctermfg=" or "ctermbg=" argument.  Or use
        a number instead of a color name.

        The case of the color names is ignored.
        Note that for 16 color ansi style terminals (including xterms), the
        numbers in the NR-8 column is used.  Here '*' means 'add 8' so that Blue
        is 12, DarkGray is 8 etc.

        Note that for some color terminals these names may result in the wrong
        colors!

                                                        *:hi-normal-cterm*
        When setting the "ctermfg" or "ctermbg" colors for the Normal group,
        these will become the colors used for the non-highlighted text.
        Example: >
                :highlight Normal ctermfg=grey ctermbg=darkblue
<       When setting the "ctermbg" color for the Normal group, the
        'background' option will be adjusted automatically.  This causes the
        highlight groups that depend on 'background' to change!  This means
        you should set the colors for Normal first, before setting other
        colors.
        When a colorscheme is being used, changing 'background' causes it to
        be reloaded, which may reset all colors (including Normal).  First
        delete the "colors_name" variable when you don't want this.

        When you have set "ctermfg" or "ctermbg" for the Normal group, Vim
        needs to reset the color when exiting.  This is done with the "op"
        termcap entry |t_op|.  If this doesn't work correctly, try setting the
        't_op' option in your .vimrc.
                                                        *E419* *E420*
        When Vim knows the normal foreground and background colors, "fg" and
        "bg" can be used as color names.  This only works after setting the
        colors for the Normal group and for the MS-DOS console.  Example, for
        reverse video: >
            :highlight Visual ctermfg=bg ctermbg=fg
<       Note that the colors are used that are valid at the moment this
        command are given.  If the Normal group colors are changed later, the
        "fg" and "bg" colors will not be adjusted.


3. highlight arguments for the GUI

gui={attr-list}                                         *highlight-gui*
        These give the attributes to use in the GUI mode.
        See |attr-list| for a description.
        Note that "bold" can be used here and by using a bold font.  They
        have the same effect.
        Note that the attributes are ignored for the "Normal" group.

font={font-name}                                        *highlight-font*
        font-name is the name of a font, as it is used on the system Vim
        runs on.  For X11 this is a complicated name, for example: >
   font=-misc-fixed-bold-r-normal--14-130-75-75-c-70-iso8859-1
<
        The font-name "NONE" can be used to revert to the default font.
        When setting the font for the "Normal" group, this becomes the default
        font (until the 'guifont' option is changed; the last one set is
        used).
        The following only works with Motif and Athena, not with other GUIs:
        When setting the font for the "Menu" group, the menus will be changed.
        When setting the font for the "Tooltip" group, the tooltips will be
        changed.
        All fonts used, except for Menu and Tooltip, should be of the same
        character size as the default font!  Otherwise redrawing problems will
        occur.

guifg={color-name}                                      *highlight-guifg*
guibg={color-name}                                      *highlight-guibg*
guisp={color-name}                                      *highlight-guisp*
        These give the foreground (guifg), background (guibg) and special
        (guisp) color to use in the GUI.  "guisp" is used for undercurl.
        There are a few special names:
                NONE            no color (transparent)
                bg              use normal background color
                background      use normal background color
                fg              use normal foreground color
                foreground      use normal foreground color
        To use a color name with an embedded space or other special character,
        put it in single quotes.  The single quote cannot be used then.
        Example: >
            :hi comment guifg='salmon pink'
<
                                                        *gui-colors*
        Suggested color names (these are available on most systems):
            Red         LightRed        DarkRed
            Green       LightGreen      DarkGreen       SeaGreen
            Blue        LightBlue       DarkBlue        SlateBlue
            Cyan        LightCyan       DarkCyan
            Magenta     LightMagenta    DarkMagenta
            Yellow      LightYellow     Brown           DarkYellow
            Gray        LightGray       DarkGray
            Black       White
            Orange      Purple          Violet

        In the Win32 GUI version, additional system colors are available.  See
        |win32-colors|.

        You can also specify a color by its Red, Green and Blue values.
        The format is "#rrggbb", where
                "rr"    is the Red value
                "gg"    is the Green value
                "bb"    is the Blue value
        All values are hexadecimal, range from "00" to "ff".  Examples: >
  :highlight Comment guifg=#11f0c3 guibg=#ff00ff
<
                                        *highlight-groups* *highlight-default*
These are the default highlighting groups.  These groups are used by the
'highlight' option default.  Note that the highlighting depends on the value
of 'background'.  You can see the current settings with the ":highlight"
command.
                                                        *hl-Cursor*
Cursor          the character under the cursor
                                                        *hl-CursorIM*
CursorIM        like Cursor, but used when in IME mode |CursorIM|
                                                        *hl-CursorColumn*
CursorColumn    the screen column that the cursor is in when 'cursorcolumn' is
                set
                                                        *hl-CursorLine*
CursorLine      the screen line that the cursor is in when 'cursorline' is
                set
                                                        *hl-Directory*
Directory       directory names (and other special names in listings)
                                                        *hl-DiffAdd*
DiffAdd         diff mode: Added line |diff.txt|
                                                        *hl-DiffChange*
DiffChange      diff mode: Changed line |diff.txt|
                                                        *hl-DiffDelete*
DiffDelete      diff mode: Deleted line |diff.txt|
                                                        *hl-DiffText*
DiffText        diff mode: Changed text within a changed line |diff.txt|
                                                        *hl-ErrorMsg*
ErrorMsg        error messages on the command line
                                                        *hl-VertSplit*
VertSplit       the column separating vertically split windows
                                                        *hl-Folded*
Folded          line used for closed folds
                                                        *hl-FoldColumn*
FoldColumn      'foldcolumn'
                                                        *hl-SignColumn*
SignColumn      column where |signs| are displayed
                                                        *hl-IncSearch*
IncSearch       'incsearch' highlighting; also used for the text replaced with
                ":s///c"
                                                        *hl-LineNr*
LineNr          Line number for ":number" and ":#" commands, and when 'number'
                option is set.
                                                        *hl-MatchParen*
MatchParen      The character under the cursor or just before it, if it
                is a paired bracket, and its match. |pi_paren.txt|

                                                        *hl-ModeMsg*
ModeMsg         'showmode' message (e.g., "-- INSERT --")
                                                        *hl-MoreMsg*
MoreMsg         |more-prompt|
                                                        *hl-NonText*
NonText         '~' and '@' at the end of the window, characters from
                'showbreak' and other characters that do not really exist in
                the text (e.g., ">" displayed when a double-wide character
                doesn't fit at the end of the line).
                                                        *hl-Normal*
Normal          normal text
                                                        *hl-Pmenu*
Pmenu           Popup menu: normal item.
                                                        *hl-PmenuSel*
PmenuSel        Popup menu: selected item.
                                                        *hl-PmenuSbar*
PmenuSbar       Popup menu: scrollbar.
                                                        *hl-PmenuThumb*
PmenuThumb      Popup menu: Thumb of the scrollbar.
                                                        *hl-Question*
Question        |hit-enter| prompt and yes/no questions
                                                        *hl-Search*
Search          Last search pattern highlighting (see 'hlsearch').
                Also used for highlighting the current line in the quickfix
                window and similar items that need to stand out.
                                                        *hl-SpecialKey*
SpecialKey      Meta and special keys listed with ":map", also for text used
                to show unprintable characters in the text, 'listchars'.
                Generally: text that is displayed differently from what it
                really is.
                                                        *hl-SpellBad*
SpellBad        Word that is not recognized by the spellchecker. |spell|
                This will be combined with the highlighting used otherwise.
                                                        *hl-SpellCap*
SpellCap        Word that should start with a capital. |spell|
                This will be combined with the highlighting used otherwise.
                                                        *hl-SpellLocal*
SpellLocal      Word that is recognized by the spellchecker as one that is
                used in another region. |spell|
                This will be combined with the highlighting used otherwise.
                                                        *hl-SpellRare*
SpellRare       Word that is recognized by the spellchecker as one that is
                hardly ever used. |spell|
                This will be combined with the highlighting used otherwise.
                                                        *hl-StatusLine*
StatusLine      status line of current window
                                                        *hl-StatusLineNC*
StatusLineNC    status lines of not-current windows
                Note: if this is equal to "StatusLine" Vim will use "^^^" in
                the status line of the current window.
                                                        *hl-TabLine*
TabLine         tab pages line, not active tab page label
                                                        *hl-TabLineFill*
TabLineFill     tab pages line, where there are no labels
                                                        *hl-TabLineSel*
TabLineSel      tab pages line, active tab page label
                                                        *hl-Title*
Title           titles for output from ":set all", ":autocmd" etc.
                                                        *hl-Visual*
Visual          Visual mode selection
                                                        *hl-VisualNOS*
VisualNOS       Visual mode selection when vim is "Not Owning the Selection".
                Only X11 Gui's |gui-x11| and |xterm-clipboard| supports this.
                                                        *hl-WarningMsg*
WarningMsg      warning messages
                                                        *hl-WildMenu*
WildMenu        current match in 'wildmenu' completion

                                        *hl-User1* *hl-User1..9* *hl-User9*
The 'statusline' syntax allows the use of 9 different highlights in the
statusline and ruler (via 'rulerformat').  The names are User1 to User9.

For the GUI you can use the following groups to set the colors for the menu,
scrollbars and tooltips.  They don't have defaults.  This doesn't work for the
Win32 GUI.  Only three highlight arguments have any effect here: font, guibg,
and guifg.

                                                        *hl-Menu*
Menu            Current font, background and foreground colors of the menus.
                Also used for the toolbar.
                Applicable highlight arguments: font, guibg, guifg.

                NOTE: For Motif and Athena the font argument actually
                specifies a fontset at all times, no matter if 'guifontset' is
                empty, and as such it is tied to the current |:language| when
                set.

                                                        *hl-Scrollbar*
Scrollbar       Current background and foreground of the main window's
                scrollbars.
                Applicable highlight arguments: guibg, guifg.

                                                        *hl-Tooltip*
Tooltip         Current font, background and foreground of the tooltips.
                Applicable highlight arguments: font, guibg, guifg.

                NOTE: For Motif and Athena the font argument actually
                specifies a fontset at all times, no matter if 'guifontset' is
                empty, and as such it is tied to the current |:language| when
                set.

==============================================================================
13. Linking groups              *:hi-link* *:highlight-link* *E412* *E413*

When you want to use the same highlighting for several syntax groups, you
can do this more easily by linking the groups into one common highlight
group, and give the color attributes only for that group.

To set a link:

    :hi[ghlight][!] [default] link {from-group} {to-group}

To remove a link:

    :hi[ghlight][!] [default] link {from-group} NONE

Notes:                                                  *E414*
- If the {from-group} and/or {to-group} doesn't exist, it is created.  You
  don't get an error message for a non-existing group.
- As soon as you use a ":highlight" command for a linked group, the link is
  removed.
- If there are already highlight settings for the {from-group}, the link is
  not made, unless the '!' is given.  For a ":highlight link" command in a
  sourced file, you don't get an error message.  This can be used to skip
  links for groups that already have settings.

                                        *:hi-default* *:highlight-default*
The [default] argument is used for setting the default highlighting for a
group.  If highlighting has already been specified for the group the command
will be ignored.  Also when there is an existing link.

Using [default] is especially useful to overrule the highlighting of a
specific syntax file.  For example, the C syntax file contains: >
        :highlight default link cComment Comment
If you like Question highlighting for C comments, put this in your vimrc file: >
        :highlight link cComment Question
Without the "default" in the C syntax file, the highlighting would be
overruled when the syntax file is loaded.

==============================================================================
14. Cleaning up                                         *:syn-clear* *E391*

If you want to clear the syntax stuff for the current buffer, you can use this
command: >
  :syntax clear

This command should be used when you want to switch off syntax highlighting,
or when you want to switch to using another syntax.  It's normally not needed
in a syntax file itself, because syntax is cleared by the autocommands that
load the syntax file.
The command also deletes the "b:current_syntax" variable, since no syntax is
loaded after this command.

If you want to disable syntax highlighting for all buffers, you need to remove
the autocommands that load the syntax files: >
  :syntax off

What this command actually does, is executing the command >
  :source $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/nosyntax.vim
See the "nosyntax.vim" file for details.  Note that for this to work
$VIMRUNTIME must be valid.  See |$VIMRUNTIME|.

To clean up specific syntax groups for the current buffer: >
  :syntax clear {group-name} ..
This removes all patterns and keywords for {group-name}.

To clean up specific syntax group lists for the current buffer: >
  :syntax clear @{grouplist-name} ..
This sets {grouplist-name}'s contents to an empty list.

                                                *:syntax-reset* *:syn-reset*
If you have changed the colors and messed them up, use this command to get the
defaults back: >

  :syntax reset

This doesn't change the colors for the 'highlight' option.

Note that the syntax colors that you set in your vimrc file will also be reset
back to their Vim default.
Note that if you are using a color scheme, the colors defined by the color
scheme for syntax highlighting will be lost.

What this actually does is: >

        let g:syntax_cmd = "reset"
        runtime! syntax/syncolor.vim

Note that this uses the 'runtimepath' option.

                                                        *syncolor*
If you want to use different colors for syntax highlighting, you can add a Vim
script file to set these colors.  Put this file in a directory in
'runtimepath' which comes after $VIMRUNTIME, so that your settings overrule
the default colors.  This way these colors will be used after the ":syntax
reset" command.

For Unix you can use the file ~/.vim/after/syntax/syncolor.vim.  Example: >

        if &background == "light"
          highlight comment ctermfg=darkgreen guifg=darkgreen
        else
          highlight comment ctermfg=green guifg=green
        endif

                                                                *E679*
Do make sure this syncolor.vim script does not use a "syntax on", set the
'background' option or uses a "colorscheme" command, because it results in an
endless loop.

Note that when a color scheme is used, there might be some confusion whether
your defined colors are to be used or the colors from the scheme.  This
depends on the color scheme file.  See |:colorscheme|.

                                                        *syntax_cmd*
The "syntax_cmd" variable is set to one of these values when the
syntax/syncolor.vim files are loaded:
   "on"         ":syntax on" command.  Highlight colors are overruled but
                links are kept
   "enable"     ":syntax enable" command.  Only define colors for groups that
                don't have highlighting yet.  Use ":syntax default".
   "reset"      ":syntax reset" command or loading a color scheme.  Define all
                the colors.
   "skip"       Don't define colors.  Used to skip the default settings when a
                syncolor.vim file earlier in 'runtimepath' has already set
                them.

==============================================================================
15. Highlighting tags                                   *tag-highlight*

If you want to highlight all the tags in your file, you can use the following
mappings.

        <F11>   -- Generate tags.vim file, and highlight tags.
        <F12>   -- Just highlight tags based on existing tags.vim file.
>
  :map <F11>  :sp tags<CR>:%s/^\([^     :]*:\)\=\([^    ]*\).*/syntax keyword Tag \2/<CR>:wq! tags.vim<CR>/^<CR><F12>
  :map <F12>  :so tags.vim<CR>

WARNING: The longer the tags file, the slower this will be, and the more
memory Vim will consume.

Only highlighting typedefs, unions and structs can be done too.  For this you
must use Exuberant ctags (found at http://ctags.sf.net).

Put these lines in your Makefile:

# Make a highlight file for types.  Requires Exuberant ctags and awk
types: types.vim
types.vim: *.[ch]
        ctags --c-kinds=gstu -o- *.[ch] |\
                awk 'BEGIN{printf("syntax keyword Type\t")}\
                        {printf("%s ", $$1)}END{print ""}' > $@

And put these lines in your .vimrc: >

   " load the types.vim highlighting file, if it exists
   autocmd BufRead,BufNewFile *.[ch] let fname = expand('<afile>:p:h') . '/types.vim'
   autocmd BufRead,BufNewFile *.[ch] if filereadable(fname)
   autocmd BufRead,BufNewFile *.[ch]   exe 'so ' . fname
   autocmd BufRead,BufNewFile *.[ch] endif

==============================================================================
16. Color xterms                                *xterm-color* *color-xterm*

Most color xterms have only eight colors.  If you don't get colors with the
default setup, it should work with these lines in your .vimrc: >
   :if &term =~ "xterm"
   :  if has("terminfo")
   :    set t_Co=8
   :    set t_Sf=<Esc>[3%p1%dm
   :    set t_Sb=<Esc>[4%p1%dm
   :  else
   :    set t_Co=8
   :    set t_Sf=<Esc>[3%dm
   :    set t_Sb=<Esc>[4%dm
   :  endif
   :endif
<       [<Esc> is a real escape, type CTRL-V <Esc>]

You might want to change the first "if" to match the name of your terminal,
e.g. "dtterm" instead of "xterm".

Note: Do these settings BEFORE doing ":syntax on".  Otherwise the colors may
be wrong.
                                                        *xiterm* *rxvt*
The above settings have been mentioned to work for xiterm and rxvt too.
But for using 16 colors in an rxvt these should work with terminfo: >
        :set t_AB=<Esc>[%?%p1%{8}%<%t25;%p1%{40}%+%e5;%p1%{32}%+%;%dm
        :set t_AF=<Esc>[%?%p1%{8}%<%t22;%p1%{30}%+%e1;%p1%{22}%+%;%dm
<
                                                        *colortest.vim*
To test your color setup, a file has been included in the Vim distribution.
To use it, execute this command: >
   :runtime syntax/colortest.vim

Some versions of xterm (and other terminals, like the Linux console) can
output lighter foreground colors, even though the number of colors is defined
at 8.  Therefore Vim sets the "cterm=bold" attribute for light foreground
colors, when 't_Co' is 8.

                                                        *xfree-xterm*
To get 16 colors or more, get the newest xterm version (which should be
included with XFree86 3.3 and later).  You can also find the latest version
at: >
        http://invisible-island.net/xterm/xterm.html
Here is a good way to configure it.  This uses 88 colors and enables the
termcap-query feature, which allows Vim to ask the xterm how many colors it
supports. >
        ./configure --disable-bold-color --enable-88-color --enable-tcap-query
If you only get 8 colors, check the xterm compilation settings.
(Also see |UTF8-xterm| for using this xterm with UTF-8 character encoding).

This xterm should work with these lines in your .vimrc (for 16 colors): >
   :if has("terminfo")
   :  set t_Co=16
   :  set t_AB=<Esc>[%?%p1%{8}%<%t%p1%{40}%+%e%p1%{92}%+%;%dm
   :  set t_AF=<Esc>[%?%p1%{8}%<%t%p1%{30}%+%e%p1%{82}%+%;%dm
   :else
   :  set t_Co=16
   :  set t_Sf=<Esc>[3%dm
   :  set t_Sb=<Esc>[4%dm
   :endif
<       [<Esc> is a real escape, type CTRL-V <Esc>]

Without |+terminfo|, Vim will recognize these settings, and automatically
translate cterm colors of 8 and above to "<Esc>[9%dm" and "<Esc>[10%dm".
Colors above 16 are also translated automatically.

For 256 colors this has been reported to work: >

   :set t_AB=<Esc>[48;5;%dm
   :set t_AF=<Esc>[38;5;%dm

Or just set the TERM environment variable to "xterm-color" or "xterm-16color"
and try if that works.

You probably want to use these X resources (in your ~/.Xdefaults file):
        XTerm*color0:                   #000000
        XTerm*color1:                   #c00000
        XTerm*color2:                   #008000
        XTerm*color3:                   #808000
        XTerm*color4:                   #0000c0
        XTerm*color5:                   #c000c0
        XTerm*color6:                   #008080
        XTerm*color7:                   #c0c0c0
        XTerm*color8:                   #808080
        XTerm*color9:                   #ff6060
        XTerm*color10:                  #00ff00
        XTerm*color11:                  #ffff00
        XTerm*color12:                  #8080ff
        XTerm*color13:                  #ff40ff
        XTerm*color14:                  #00ffff
        XTerm*color15:                  #ffffff
        Xterm*cursorColor:              Black

[Note: The cursorColor is required to work around a bug, which changes the
cursor color to the color of the last drawn text.  This has been fixed by a
newer version of xterm, but not everybody is using it yet.]

To get these right away, reload the .Xdefaults file to the X Option database
Manager (you only need to do this when you just changed the .Xdefaults file): >
  xrdb -merge ~/.Xdefaults
<
                                        *xterm-blink* *xterm-blinking-cursor*
To make the cursor blink in an xterm, see tools/blink.c.  Or use Thomas
Dickey's xterm above patchlevel 107 (see above for where to get it), with
these resources:
        XTerm*cursorBlink:      on
        XTerm*cursorOnTime:     400
        XTerm*cursorOffTime:    250
        XTerm*cursorColor:      White

                                                        *hpterm-color*
These settings work (more or less) for an hpterm, which only supports 8
foreground colors: >
   :if has("terminfo")
   :  set t_Co=8
   :  set t_Sf=<Esc>[&v%p1%dS
   :  set t_Sb=<Esc>[&v7S
   :else
   :  set t_Co=8
   :  set t_Sf=<Esc>[&v%dS
   :  set t_Sb=<Esc>[&v7S
   :endif
<       [<Esc> is a real escape, type CTRL-V <Esc>]

                                                *Eterm* *enlightened-terminal*
These settings have been reported to work for the Enlightened terminal
emulator, or Eterm.  They might work for all xterm-like terminals that use the
bold attribute to get bright colors.  Add an ":if" like above when needed. >
       :set t_Co=16
       :set t_AF=^[[%?%p1%{8}%<%t3%p1%d%e%p1%{22}%+%d;1%;m
       :set t_AB=^[[%?%p1%{8}%<%t4%p1%d%e%p1%{32}%+%d;1%;m
<
                                                *TTpro-telnet*
These settings should work for TTpro telnet.  Tera Term Pro is a freeware /
open-source program for MS-Windows. >
        set t_Co=16
        set t_AB=^[[%?%p1%{8}%<%t%p1%{40}%+%e%p1%{32}%+5;%;%dm
        set t_AF=^[[%?%p1%{8}%<%t%p1%{30}%+%e%p1%{22}%+1;%;%dm
Also make sure TTpro's Setup / Window / Full Color is enabled, and make sure
that Setup / Font / Enable Bold is NOT enabled.
(info provided by John Love-Jensen <eljay@Adobe.COM>)

 vim:tw=78:sw=4:ts=8:ft=help:norl: