1 *quickfix.txt* For Vim version 7.1. Last change: 2007 May 10
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
7 This subject is introduced in section |30.1| of the user manual.
9 1. Using QuickFix commands |quickfix|
10 2. The error window |quickfix-window|
11 3. Using more than one list of errors |quickfix-error-lists|
12 4. Using :make |:make_makeprg|
14 6. Selecting a compiler |compiler-select|
15 7. The error format |error-file-format|
16 8. The directory stack |quickfix-directory-stack|
17 9. Specific error file formats |errorformats|
19 {Vi does not have any of these commands}
21 The quickfix commands are not available when the |+quickfix| feature was
22 disabled at compile time.
24 =============================================================================
25 1. Using QuickFix commands *quickfix* *Quickfix* *E42*
27 Vim has a special mode to speedup the edit-compile-edit cycle. This is
28 inspired by the quickfix option of the Manx's Aztec C compiler on the Amiga.
29 The idea is to save the error messages from the compiler in a file and use Vim
30 to jump to the errors one by one. You can examine each problem and fix it,
31 without having to remember all the error messages.
33 In Vim the quickfix commands are used more generally to find a list of
34 positions in files. For example, |:vimgrep| finds pattern matches. You can
35 use the positions in a script with the |getqflist()| function. Thus you can
36 do a lot more than the edit/compile/fix cycle!
38 If you are using Manx's Aztec C compiler on the Amiga look here for how to use
39 it with Vim: |quickfix-manx|. If you are using another compiler you should
40 save the error messages in a file and start Vim with "vim -q filename". An
41 easy way to do this is with the |:make| command (see below). The
42 'errorformat' option should be set to match the error messages from your
43 compiler (see |errorformat| below).
45 *location-list* *E776*
46 A location list is similar to a quickfix list and contains a list of positions
47 in files. A location list is associated with a window and each window can
48 have a separate location list. A location list can be associated with only
49 one window. The location list is independent of the quickfix list.
51 When a window with a location list is split, the new window gets a copy of the
52 location list. When there are no references to a location list, the location
55 The following quickfix commands can be used. The location list commands are
56 similar to the quickfix commands, replacing the 'c' prefix in the quickfix
60 :cc[!] [nr] Display error [nr]. If [nr] is omitted, the same
61 error is displayed again. Without [!] this doesn't
62 work when jumping to another buffer, the current buffer
63 has been changed, there is the only window for the
64 buffer and both 'hidden' and 'autowrite' are off.
65 When jumping to another buffer with [!] any changes to
66 the current buffer are lost, unless 'hidden' is set or
67 there is another window for this buffer.
68 The 'switchbuf' settings are respected when jumping
72 :ll[!] [nr] Same as ":cc", except the location list for the
73 current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
76 :[count]cn[ext][!] Display the [count] next error in the list that
77 includes a file name. If there are no file names at
78 all, go to the [count] next error. See |:cc| for
82 :[count]lne[xt][!] Same as ":cnext", except the location list for the
83 current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
85 :[count]cN[ext][!] *:cp* *:cprevious* *:cN* *:cNext*
86 :[count]cp[revious][!] Display the [count] previous error in the list that
87 includes a file name. If there are no file names at
88 all, go to the [count] previous error. See |:cc| for
92 :[count]lN[ext][!] *:lp* *:lprevious* *:lN* *:lNext*
93 :[count]lp[revious][!] Same as ":cNext" and ":cprevious", except the location
94 list for the current window is used instead of the
98 :[count]cnf[ile][!] Display the first error in the [count] next file in
99 the list that includes a file name. If there are no
100 file names at all or if there is no next file, go to
101 the [count] next error. See |:cc| for [!] and
105 :[count]lnf[ile][!] Same as ":cnfile", except the location list for the
106 current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
108 :[count]cNf[ile][!] *:cpf* *:cpfile* *:cNf* *:cNfile*
109 :[count]cpf[ile][!] Display the last error in the [count] previous file in
110 the list that includes a file name. If there are no
111 file names at all or if there is no next file, go to
112 the [count] previous error. See |:cc| for [!] and
116 :[count]lNf[ile][!] *:lpf* *:lpfile* *:lNf* *:lNfile*
117 :[count]lpf[ile][!] Same as ":cNfile" and ":cpfile", except the location
118 list for the current window is used instead of the
122 :cr[ewind][!] [nr] Display error [nr]. If [nr] is omitted, the FIRST
123 error is displayed. See |:cc|.
126 :lr[ewind][!] [nr] Same as ":crewind", except the location list for the
127 current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
130 :cfir[st][!] [nr] Same as ":crewind".
133 :lfir[st][!] [nr] Same as ":lrewind".
136 :cla[st][!] [nr] Display error [nr]. If [nr] is omitted, the LAST
137 error is displayed. See |:cc|.
140 :lla[st][!] [nr] Same as ":clast", except the location list for the
141 current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
144 :cq[uit] Quit Vim with an error code, so that the compiler
145 will not compile the same file again.
148 :cf[ile][!] [errorfile] Read the error file and jump to the first error.
149 This is done automatically when Vim is started with
150 the -q option. You can use this command when you
151 keep Vim running while compiling. If you give the
152 name of the errorfile, the 'errorfile' option will
153 be set to [errorfile]. See |:cc| for [!].
156 :lf[ile][!] [errorfile] Same as ":cfile", except the location list for the
157 current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
158 You can not use the -q command-line option to set
162 :cg[etfile][!] [errorfile] *:cg* *:cgetfile*
163 Read the error file. Just like ":cfile" but don't
164 jump to the first error.
167 :lg[etfile][!] [errorfile] *:lg* *:lgetfile*
168 Same as ":cgetfile", except the location list for the
169 current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
172 :caddf[ile] [errorfile] Read the error file and add the errors from the
173 errorfile to the current quickfix list. If a quickfix
174 list is not present, then a new list is created.
177 :laddf[ile] [errorfile] Same as ":caddfile", except the location list for the
178 current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
180 *:cb* *:cbuffer* *E681*
181 :cb[uffer][!] [bufnr] Read the error list from the current buffer.
182 When [bufnr] is given it must be the number of a
183 loaded buffer. That buffer will then be used instead
184 of the current buffer.
185 A range can be specified for the lines to be used.
186 Otherwise all lines in the buffer are used.
190 :lb[uffer][!] [bufnr] Same as ":cbuffer", except the location list for the
191 current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
193 *:cgetb* *:cgetbuffer*
194 :cgetb[uffer] [bufnr] Read the error list from the current buffer. Just
195 like ":cbuffer" but don't jump to the first error.
197 *:lgetb* *:lgetbuffer*
198 :lgetb[uffer] [bufnr] Same as ":cgetbuffer", except the location list for
199 the current window is used instead of the quickfix
202 *:caddb* *:caddbuffer*
203 :caddb[uffer] [bufnr] Read the error list from the current buffer and add
204 the errors to the current quickfix list. If a
205 quickfix list is not present, then a new list is
206 created. Otherwise, same as ":cbuffer".
208 *:laddb* *:laddbuffer*
209 :laddb[uffer] [bufnr] Same as ":caddbuffer", except the location list for
210 the current window is used instead of the quickfix
213 *:cex* *:cexpr* *E777*
214 :cex[pr][!] {expr} Create a quickfix list using the result of {expr} and
215 jump to the first error. If {expr} is a String, then
216 each new-line terminated line in the String is
217 processed using 'errorformat' and the result is added
218 to the quickfix list. If {expr} is a List, then each
219 String item in the list is processed and added to the
220 quickfix list. Non String items in the List are
224 :cexpr system('grep -n xyz *')
225 :cexpr getline(1, '$')
228 :lex[pr][!] {expr} Same as ":cexpr", except the location list for the
229 current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
232 :cgete[xpr][!] {expr} Create a quickfix list using the result of {expr}.
233 Just like ":cexpr", but don't jump to the first error.
236 :lgete[xpr][!] {expr} Same as ":cgetexpr", except the location list for the
237 current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
240 :cad[dexpr][!] {expr} Evaluate {expr} and add the resulting lines to the
241 current quickfix list. If a quickfix list is not
242 present, then a new list is created. The current
243 cursor position will not be changed. See |:cexpr| for
246 :g/mypattern/caddexpr expand("%") . ":" . line(".") . ":" . getline(".")
249 :lad[dexpr][!] {expr} Same as ":caddexpr", except the location list for the
250 current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
253 :cl[ist] [from] [, [to]]
254 List all errors that are valid |quickfix-valid|.
255 If numbers [from] and/or [to] are given, the respective
256 range of errors is listed. A negative number counts
257 from the last error backwards, -1 being the last error.
258 The 'switchbuf' settings are respected when jumping
261 :cl[ist]! [from] [, [to]]
265 :lli[st] [from] [, [to]]
266 Same as ":clist", except the location list for the
267 current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
269 :lli[st]! [from] [, [to]]
270 List all the entries in the location list for the
273 If you insert or delete lines, mostly the correct error location is still
274 found because hidden marks are used. Sometimes, when the mark has been
275 deleted for some reason, the message "line changed" is shown to warn you that
276 the error location may not be correct. If you quit Vim and start again the
277 marks are lost and the error locations may not be correct anymore.
279 If vim is built with |+autocmd| support, two autocommands are available for
280 running commands before and after a quickfix command (':make', ':grep' and so
281 on) is executed. See |QuickFixCmdPre| and |QuickFixCmdPost| for details.
283 =============================================================================
284 2. The error window *quickfix-window*
287 :cope[n] [height] Open a window to show the current list of errors.
288 When [height] is given, the window becomes that high
289 (if there is room). Otherwise the window is made ten
291 The window will contain a special buffer, with
292 'buftype' equal to "quickfix". Don't change this!
293 If there already is a quickfix window, it will be made
294 the current window. It is not possible to open a
295 second quickfix window.
298 :lop[en] [height] Open a window to show the location list for the
299 current window. Works only when the location list for
300 the current window is present. You can have more than
301 one location window opened at a time. Otherwise, it
302 acts the same as ":copen".
305 :ccl[ose] Close the quickfix window.
308 :lcl[ose] Close the window showing the location list for the
312 :cw[indow] [height] Open the quickfix window when there are recognized
313 errors. If the window is already open and there are
314 no recognized errors, close the window.
317 :lw[indow] [height] Same as ":cwindow", except use the window showing the
318 location list for the current window.
320 Normally the quickfix window is at the bottom of the screen. If there are
321 vertical splits, it's at the bottom of the rightmost column of windows. To
322 make it always occupy the full width: >
324 You can move the window around with |window-moving| commands.
325 For example, to move it to the top: CTRL-W K
326 The 'winfixheight' option will be set, which means that the window will mostly
327 keep its height, ignoring 'winheight' and 'equalalways'. You can change the
328 height manually (e.g., by dragging the status line above it with the mouse).
330 In the quickfix window, each line is one error. The line number is equal to
331 the error number. You can use ":.cc" to jump to the error under the cursor.
332 Hitting the <Enter> key or double-clicking the mouse on a line has the same
333 effect. The file containing the error is opened in the window above the
334 quickfix window. If there already is a window for that file, it is used
335 instead. If the buffer in the used window has changed, and the error is in
336 another file, jumping to the error will fail. You will first have to make
337 sure the window contains a buffer which can be abandoned.
338 *CTRL-W_<Enter>* *CTRL-W_<CR>*
339 You can use CTRL-W <Enter> to open a new window and jump to the error there.
341 When the quickfix window has been filled, two autocommand events are
342 triggered. First the 'filetype' option is set to "qf", which triggers the
343 FileType event. Then the BufReadPost event is triggered, using "quickfix" for
344 the buffer name. This can be used to perform some action on the listed
346 au BufReadPost quickfix setlocal modifiable
347 \ | silent exe 'g/^/s//\=line(".")." "/'
348 \ | setlocal nomodifiable
349 This prepends the line number to each line. Note the use of "\=" in the
350 substitute string of the ":s" command, which is used to evaluate an
352 The BufWinEnter event is also triggered, again using "quickfix" for the buffer
355 Note: Making changes in the quickfix window has no effect on the list of
356 errors. 'modifiable' is off to avoid making changes. If you delete or insert
357 lines anyway, the relation between the text and the error number is messed up.
358 If you really want to do this, you could write the contents of the quickfix
359 window to a file and use ":cfile" to have it parsed and used as the new error
362 *location-list-window*
363 The location list window displays the entries in a location list. When you
364 open a location list window, it is created below the current window and
365 displays the location list for the current window. The location list window
366 is similar to the quickfix window, except that you can have more than one
367 location list window open at a time. When you use a location list command in
368 this window, the displayed location list is used.
370 When you select a file from the location list window, the following steps are
371 used to find a window to edit the file:
373 1. If a window with the location list displayed in the location list window is
374 present, then the file is opened in that window.
375 2. If the above step fails and if the file is already opened in another
376 window, then that window is used.
377 3. If the above step fails then an existing window showing a buffer with
378 'buftype' not set is used.
379 4. If the above step fails, then the file is edited in a new window.
381 In all of the above cases, if the location list for the selected window is not
382 yet set, then it is set to the location list displayed in the location list
385 =============================================================================
386 3. Using more than one list of errors *quickfix-error-lists*
388 So far has been assumed that there is only one list of errors. Actually the
389 ten last used lists are remembered. When starting a new list, the previous
390 ones are automatically kept. Two commands can be used to access older error
391 lists. They set one of the existing error lists as the current one.
393 *:colder* *:col* *E380*
394 :col[der] [count] Go to older error list. When [count] is given, do
395 this [count] times. When already at the oldest error
396 list, an error message is given.
399 :lol[der] [count] Same as ":colder", except use the location list for
400 the current window instead of the quickfix list.
402 *:cnewer* *:cnew* *E381*
403 :cnew[er] [count] Go to newer error list. When [count] is given, do
404 this [count] times. When already at the newest error
405 list, an error message is given.
408 :lnew[er] [count] Same as ":cnewer", except use the location list for
409 the current window instead of the quickfix list.
411 When adding a new error list, it becomes the current list.
413 When ":colder" has been used and ":make" or ":grep" is used to add a new error
414 list, one newer list is overwritten. This is especially useful if you are
415 browsing with ":grep" |grep|. If you want to keep the more recent error
416 lists, use ":cnewer 99" first.
418 =============================================================================
419 4. Using :make *:make_makeprg*
422 :mak[e][!] [arguments] 1. If vim was built with |+autocmd|, all relevant
423 |QuickFixCmdPre| autocommands are executed.
424 2. If the 'autowrite' option is on, write any changed
426 3. An errorfile name is made from 'makeef'. If
427 'makeef' doesn't contain "##", and a file with this
428 name already exists, it is deleted.
429 4. The program given with the 'makeprg' option is
430 started (default "make") with the optional
431 [arguments] and the output is saved in the
432 errorfile (for Unix it is also echoed on the
434 5. The errorfile is read using 'errorformat'.
435 6. If vim was built with |+autocmd|, all relevant
436 |QuickFixCmdPost| autocommands are executed.
437 7. If [!] is not given the first error is jumped to.
438 8. The errorfile is deleted.
439 9. You can now move through the errors with commands
440 like |:cnext| and |:cprevious|, see above.
441 This command does not accept a comment, any "
442 characters are considered part of the arguments.
445 :lmak[e][!] [arguments]
446 Same as ":make", except the location list for the
447 current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
449 The ":make" command executes the command given with the 'makeprg' option.
450 This is done by passing the command to the shell given with the 'shell'
451 option. This works almost like typing
453 ":!{makeprg} [arguments] {shellpipe} {errorfile}".
455 {makeprg} is the string given with the 'makeprg' option. Any command can be
456 used, not just "make". Characters '%' and '#' are expanded as usual on a
457 command-line. You can use "%<" to insert the current file name without
458 extension, or "#<" to insert the alternate file name without extension, for
460 :set makeprg=make\ #<.o
462 [arguments] is anything that is typed after ":make".
463 {shellpipe} is the 'shellpipe' option.
464 {errorfile} is the 'makeef' option, with ## replaced to make it unique.
466 The placeholder "$*" can be used for the argument list in {makeprog} if the
467 command needs some additional characters after its arguments. The $* is
468 replaced then by all arguments. Example: >
469 :set makeprg=latex\ \\\\nonstopmode\ \\\\input\\{$*}
471 :let &mp = 'latex \\nonstopmode \\input\{$*}'
472 "$*" can be given multiple times, for example: >
473 :set makeprg=gcc\ -o\ $*\ $*
475 The 'shellpipe' option defaults to ">" for the Amiga, MS-DOS and Win32. This
476 means that the output of the compiler is saved in a file and not shown on the
477 screen directly. For Unix "| tee" is used. The compiler output is shown on
478 the screen and saved in a file the same time. Depending on the shell used
479 "|& tee" or "2>&1| tee" is the default, so stderr output will be included.
481 If 'shellpipe' is empty, the {errorfile} part will be omitted. This is useful
482 for compilers that write to an errorfile themselves (e.g., Manx's Amiga C).
484 ==============================================================================
485 5. Using :vimgrep and :grep *grep* *lid*
487 Vim has two ways to find matches for a pattern: Internal and external. The
488 advantage of the internal grep is that it works on all systems and uses the
489 powerful Vim search patterns. An external grep program can be used when the
490 Vim grep does not do what you want.
492 The internal method will be slower, because files are read into memory. The
494 - Line separators and encoding are automatically recognized, as if a file is
496 - Uses Vim search patterns. Multi-line patterns can be used.
497 - When plugins are enabled: compressed and remote files can be searched.
500 To be able to do this Vim loads each file as if it is being edited. When
501 there is no match in the file the associated buffer is wiped out again. The
502 'hidden' option is ignored here to avoid running out of memory or file
503 descriptors when searching many files. However, when the |:hide| command
504 modifier is used the buffers are kept loaded. This makes following searches
505 in the same files a lot faster.
508 5.1 using Vim's internal grep
510 *:vim* *:vimgrep* *E682* *E683*
511 :vim[grep][!] /{pattern}/[g][j] {file} ...
512 Search for {pattern} in the files {file} ... and set
513 the error list to the matches.
514 Without the 'g' flag each line is added only once.
515 With 'g' every match is added.
517 {pattern} is a Vim search pattern. Instead of
518 enclosing it in / any non-ID character (see
519 |'isident'|) can be used, so long as it does not
521 'ignorecase' applies. To overrule it put |/\c| in the
522 pattern to ignore case or |/\C| to match case.
523 'smartcase' is not used.
525 When a number is put before the command this is used
526 as the maximum number of matches to find. Use
527 ":1vimgrep pattern file" to find only the first.
528 Useful if you only want to check if there is a match
529 and quit quickly when it's found.
531 Without the 'j' flag Vim jumps to the first match.
532 With 'j' only the quickfix list is updated.
533 With the [!] any changes in the current buffer are
536 Every second or so the searched file name is displayed
537 to give you an idea of the progress made.
539 :vimgrep /an error/ *.c
540 :vimgrep /\<FileName\>/ *.h include/*
541 :vimgrep /myfunc/ **/*.c
542 < For the use of "**" see |starstar-wildcard|.
544 :vim[grep][!] {pattern} {file} ...
545 Like above, but instead of enclosing the pattern in a
546 non-ID character use a white-separated pattern. The
547 pattern must start with an ID character.
552 :lv[imgrep][!] /{pattern}/[g][j] {file} ...
553 :lv[imgrep][!] {pattern} {file} ...
554 Same as ":vimgrep", except the location list for the
555 current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
557 *:vimgrepa* *:vimgrepadd*
558 :vimgrepa[dd][!] /{pattern}/[g][j] {file} ...
559 :vimgrepa[dd][!] {pattern} {file} ...
560 Just like ":vimgrep", but instead of making a new list
561 of errors the matches are appended to the current
564 *:lvimgrepa* *:lvimgrepadd*
565 :lvimgrepa[dd][!] /{pattern}/[g][j] {file} ...
566 :lvimgrepa[dd][!] {pattern} {file} ...
567 Same as ":vimgrepadd", except the location list for
568 the current window is used instead of the quickfix
573 Vim can interface with "grep" and grep-like programs (such as the GNU
574 id-utils) in a similar way to its compiler integration (see |:make| above).
576 [Unix trivia: The name for the Unix "grep" command comes from ":g/re/p", where
577 "re" stands for Regular Expression.]
580 :gr[ep][!] [arguments] Just like ":make", but use 'grepprg' instead of
581 'makeprg' and 'grepformat' instead of 'errorformat'.
582 When 'grepprg' is "internal" this works like
583 |:vimgrep|. Note that the pattern needs to be
584 enclosed in separator characters then.
587 :lgr[ep][!] [arguments] Same as ":grep", except the location list for the
588 current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
591 :grepa[dd][!] [arguments]
592 Just like ":grep", but instead of making a new list of
593 errors the matches are appended to the current list.
596 :bufdo grepadd! something %
597 < The first command makes a new error list which is
598 empty. The second command executes "grepadd" for each
599 listed buffer. Note the use of ! to avoid that
600 ":grepadd" jumps to the first error, which is not
601 allowed with |:bufdo|.
603 *:lgrepa* *:lgrepadd*
604 :lgrepa[dd][!] [arguments]
605 Same as ":grepadd", except the location list for the
606 current window is used instead of the quickfix list.
608 5.3 Setting up external grep
610 If you have a standard "grep" program installed, the :grep command may work
611 well with the defaults. The syntax is very similar to the standard command: >
615 Will search all files with the .c extension for the substring "foo". The
616 arguments to :grep are passed straight to the "grep" program, so you can use
617 whatever options your "grep" supports.
619 By default, :grep invokes grep with the -n option (show file and line
620 numbers). You can change this with the 'grepprg' option. You will need to set
623 a) You are using a program that isn't called "grep"
624 b) You have to call grep with a full path
625 c) You want to pass other options automatically (e.g. case insensitive
628 Once "grep" has executed, Vim parses the results using the 'grepformat'
629 option. This option works in the same way as the 'errorformat' option - see
630 that for details. You may need to change 'grepformat' from the default if
631 your grep outputs in a non-standard format, or you are using some other
632 program with a special format.
634 Once the results are parsed, Vim loads the first file containing a match and
635 jumps to the appropriate line, in the same way that it jumps to a compiler
636 error in |quickfix| mode. You can then use the |:cnext|, |:clist|, etc.
637 commands to see the other matches.
640 5.4 Using :grep with id-utils
642 You can set up :grep to work with the GNU id-utils like this: >
644 :set grepprg=lid\ -Rgrep\ -s
645 :set grepformat=%f:%l:%m
650 works just as you'd expect.
651 (provided you remembered to mkid first :)
654 5.5 Browsing source code with :vimgrep or :grep
656 Using the stack of error lists that Vim keeps, you can browse your files to
657 look for functions and the functions they call. For example, suppose that you
658 have to add an argument to the read_file() function. You enter this command: >
660 :vimgrep /\<read_file\>/ *.c
662 You use ":cn" to go along the list of matches and add the argument. At one
663 place you have to get the new argument from a higher level function msg(), and
664 need to change that one too. Thus you use: >
666 :vimgrep /\<msg\>/ *.c
668 While changing the msg() functions, you find another function that needs to
669 get the argument from a higher level. You can again use ":vimgrep" to find
670 these functions. Once you are finished with one function, you can use >
674 to go back to the previous one.
676 This works like browsing a tree: ":vimgrep" goes one level deeper, creating a
677 list of branches. ":colder" goes back to the previous level. You can mix
678 this use of ":vimgrep" and "colder" to browse all the locations in a tree-like
679 way. If you do this consistently, you will find all locations without the
680 need to write down a "todo" list.
682 =============================================================================
683 6. Selecting a compiler *compiler-select*
685 *:comp* *:compiler* *E666*
686 :comp[iler][!] {name} Set options to work with compiler {name}.
687 Without the "!" options are set for the
688 current buffer. With "!" global options are
690 If you use ":compiler foo" in "file.foo" and
691 then ":compiler! bar" in another buffer, Vim
692 will keep on using "foo" in "file.foo".
693 {not available when compiled without the
697 The Vim plugins in the "compiler" directory will set options to use the
698 selected compiler. For ":compiler" local options are set, for ":compiler!"
701 To support older Vim versions, the plugins always use "current_compiler" and
702 not "b:current_compiler". What the command actually does is the following:
704 - Delete the "current_compiler" and "b:current_compiler" variables.
705 - Define the "CompilerSet" user command. With "!" it does ":set", without "!"
707 - Execute ":runtime! compiler/{name}.vim". The plugins are expected to set
708 options with "CompilerSet" and set the "current_compiler" variable to the
709 name of the compiler.
710 - Delete the "CompilerSet" user command.
711 - Set "b:current_compiler" to the value of "current_compiler".
712 - Without "!" the old value of "current_compiler" is restored.
715 For writing a compiler plugin, see |write-compiler-plugin|.
718 GCC *quickfix-gcc* *compiler-gcc*
720 There's one variable you can set for the GCC compiler:
722 g:compiler_gcc_ignore_unmatched_lines
723 Ignore lines that don't match any patterns
724 defined for GCC. Useful if output from
725 commands run from make are generating false
729 MANX AZTEC C *quickfix-manx* *compiler-manx*
731 To use Vim with Manx's Aztec C compiler on the Amiga you should do the
733 - Set the CCEDIT environment variable with the command: >
735 - Compile with the -qf option. If the compiler finds any errors, Vim is
736 started and the cursor is positioned on the first error. The error message
737 will be displayed on the last line. You can go to other errors with the
738 commands mentioned above. You can fix the errors and write the file(s).
739 - If you exit Vim normally the compiler will re-compile the same file. If you
740 exit with the :cq command, the compiler will terminate. Do this if you
741 cannot fix the error, or if another file needs to be compiled first.
743 There are some restrictions to the Quickfix mode on the Amiga. The
744 compiler only writes the first 25 errors to the errorfile (Manx's
745 documentation does not say how to get more). If you want to find the others,
746 you will have to fix a few errors and exit the editor. After recompiling,
747 up to 25 remaining errors will be found.
749 If Vim was started from the compiler, the :sh and some :! commands will not
750 work, because Vim is then running in the same process as the compiler and
751 stdin (standard input) will not be interactive.
754 PYUNIT COMPILER *compiler-pyunit*
756 This is not actually a compiler, but a unit testing framework for the
757 Python language. It is included into standard Python distribution
758 starting from version 2.0. For older versions, you can get it from
759 http://pyunit.sourceforge.net.
761 When you run your tests with the help of the framework, possible errors
762 are parsed by Vim and presented for you in quick-fix mode.
764 Unfortunately, there is no standard way to run the tests.
765 The alltests.py script seems to be used quite often, that's all.
766 Useful values for the 'makeprg' options therefore are:
767 setlocal makeprg=./alltests.py " Run a testsuite
768 setlocal makeprg=python % " Run a single testcase
770 Also see http://vim.sourceforge.net/tip_view.php?tip_id=280.
773 TEX COMPILER *compiler-tex*
775 Included in the distribution compiler for TeX ($VIMRUNTIME/compiler/tex.vim)
776 uses make command if possible. If the compiler finds a file named "Makefile"
777 or "makefile" in the current directory, it supposes that you want to process
778 your *TeX files with make, and the makefile does the right work. In this case
779 compiler sets 'errorformat' for *TeX output and leaves 'makeprg' untouched. If
780 neither "Makefile" nor "makefile" is found, the compiler will not use make.
781 You can force the compiler to ignore makefiles by defining
782 b:tex_ignore_makefile or g:tex_ignore_makefile variable (they are checked for
785 If the compiler chose not to use make, it need to choose a right program for
786 processing your input. If b:tex_flavor or g:tex_flavor (in this precedence)
787 variable exists, it defines TeX flavor for :make (actually, this is the name
788 of executed command), and if both variables do not exist, it defaults to
789 "latex". For example, while editing chapter2.tex \input-ed from mypaper.tex
790 written in AMS-TeX: >
792 :let b:tex_flavor = 'amstex'
797 Note that you must specify a name of the file to process as an argument (to
798 process the right file when editing \input-ed or \include-ed file; portable
799 solution for substituting % for no arguments is welcome). This is not in the
800 semantics of make, where you specify a target, not source, but you may specify
801 filename without extension ".tex" and mean this as "make filename.dvi or
802 filename.pdf or filename.some_result_extension according to compiler".
804 Note: tex command line syntax is set to usable both for MikTeX (suggestion
805 by Srinath Avadhanula) and teTeX (checked by Artem Chuprina). Suggestion
806 from |errorformat-LaTeX| is too complex to keep it working for different
807 shells and OSes and also does not allow to use other available TeX options,
808 if any. If your TeX doesn't support "-interaction=nonstopmode", please
809 report it with different means to express \nonstopmode from the command line.
811 =============================================================================
812 7. The error format *error-file-format*
814 *errorformat* *E372* *E373* *E374*
815 *E375* *E376* *E377* *E378*
816 The 'errorformat' option specifies a list of formats that are recognized. The
817 first format that matches with an error message is used. You can add several
818 formats for different messages your compiler produces, or even entries for
819 multiple compilers. See |efm-entries|.
821 Each entry in 'errorformat' is a scanf-like string that describes the format.
822 First, you need to know how scanf works. Look in the documentation of your
823 C compiler. Below you find the % items that Vim understands. Others are
826 Special characters in 'errorformat' are comma and backslash. See
827 |efm-entries| for how to deal with them. Note that a literal "%" is matched
828 by "%%", thus it is not escaped with a backslash.
830 Note: By default the difference between upper and lowercase is ignored. If
831 you want to match case, add "\C" to the pattern |/\C|.
836 %f file name (finds a string)
837 %l line number (finds a number)
838 %c column number (finds a number representing character
839 column of the error, (1 <tab> == 1 character column))
840 %v virtual column number (finds a number representing
841 screen column of the error (1 <tab> == 8 screen
843 %t error type (finds a single character)
844 %n error number (finds a number)
845 %m error message (finds a string)
846 %r matches the "rest" of a single-line file message %O/P/Q
847 %p pointer line (finds a sequence of '-', '.' or ' ' and
848 uses the length for the column number)
849 %*{conv} any scanf non-assignable conversion
850 %% the single '%' character
851 %s search text (finds a string)
853 The "%f" conversion may depend on the current 'isfname' setting. "~/" is
854 expanded to the home directory and environment variables are expanded.
856 The "%f" and "%m" conversions have to detect the end of the string. This
857 normally happens by matching following characters and items. When nothing is
858 following the rest of the line is matched. If "%f" is followed by a '%' or a
859 backslash, it will look for a sequence of 'isfname' characters.
861 On MS-DOS, MS-Windows and OS/2 a leading "C:" will be included in "%f", even
862 when using "%f:". This means that a file name which is a single alphabetical
863 letter will not be detected.
865 The "%p" conversion is normally followed by a "^". It's used for compilers
866 that output a line like: >
870 to indicate the column of the error. This is to be used in a multi-line error
871 message. See |errorformat-javac| for a useful example.
873 The "%s" conversion specifies the text to search for to locate the error line.
874 The text is used as a literal string. The anchors "^" and "$" are added to
875 the text to locate the error line exactly matching the search text and the
876 text is prefixed with the "\V" atom to make it "very nomagic". The "%s"
877 conversion can be used to locate lines without a line number in the error
878 output. Like the output of the "grep" shell command.
879 When the pattern is present the line number will not be used.
883 The following uppercase conversion characters specify the type of special
884 format strings. At most one of them may be given as a prefix at the begin
885 of a single comma-separated format pattern.
886 Some compilers produce messages that consist of directory names that have to
887 be prepended to each file name read by %f (example: GNU make). The following
888 codes can be used to scan these directory names; they will be stored in an
889 internal directory stack. *E379*
890 %D "enter directory" format string; expects a following
891 %f that finds the directory name
892 %X "leave directory" format string; expects following %f
894 When defining an "enter directory" or "leave directory" format, the "%D" or
895 "%X" has to be given at the start of that substring. Vim tracks the directory
896 changes and prepends the current directory to each erroneous file found with a
897 relative path. See |quickfix-directory-stack| for details, tips and
901 Multi-line messages *errorformat-multi-line*
903 It is possible to read the output of programs that produce multi-line
904 messages, i.e. error strings that consume more than one line. Possible
906 %E start of a multi-line error message
907 %W start of a multi-line warning message
908 %I start of a multi-line informational message
909 %A start of a multi-line message (unspecified type)
910 %> for next line start with current pattern again |efm-%>|
911 %C continuation of a multi-line message
912 %Z end of a multi-line message
913 These can be used with '+' and '-', see |efm-ignore| below.
915 Using "\n" in the pattern won't work to match multi-line messages.
917 Example: Your compiler happens to write out errors in the following format
918 (leading line numbers not being part of the actual output):
923 4 ' ' expected after '--' ~
925 The appropriate error format string has to look like this: >
926 :set efm=%EError\ %n,%Cline\ %l,%Ccolumn\ %c,%Z%m
928 And the |:clist| error message generated for this error is:
930 1:42 col 3 error 275: ' ' expected after '--'
932 Another example: Think of a Python interpreter that produces the following
933 error message (line numbers are not part of the actual output):
935 1 ==============================================================
936 2 FAIL: testGetTypeIdCachesResult (dbfacadeTest.DjsDBFacadeTest)
937 3 --------------------------------------------------------------
938 4 Traceback (most recent call last):
939 5 File "unittests/dbfacadeTest.py", line 89, in testFoo
940 6 self.assertEquals(34, dtid)
941 7 File "/usr/lib/python2.2/unittest.py", line 286, in
943 9 raise self.failureException, \
944 10 AssertionError: 34 != 33
946 12 --------------------------------------------------------------
947 13 Ran 27 tests in 0.063s
949 Say you want |:clist| write the relevant information of this message only,
951 5 unittests/dbfacadeTest.py:89: AssertionError: 34 != 33
953 Then the error format string could be defined as follows: >
954 :set efm=%C\ %.%#,%A\ \ File\ \"%f\"\\,\ line\ %l%.%#,%Z%[%^\ ]%\\@=%m
956 Note that the %C string is given before the %A here: since the expression
957 ' %.%#' (which stands for the regular expression ' .*') matches every line
958 starting with a space, followed by any characters to the end of the line,
959 it also hides line 7 which would trigger a separate error message otherwise.
960 Error format strings are always parsed pattern by pattern until the first
963 The %> item can be used to avoid trying patterns that appear earlier in
964 'errorformat'. This is useful for patterns that match just about anything.
965 For example, if the error looks like this:
967 Error in line 123 of foo.c: ~
968 unknown variable "i" ~
970 This can be found with: >
971 :set efm=xxx,%E%>Error in line %l of %f:,%Z%m
972 Where "xxx" has a pattern that would also match the second line.
974 Important: There is no memory of what part of the errorformat matched before;
975 every line in the error file gets a complete new run through the error format
976 lines. For example, if one has: >
977 setlocal efm=aa,bb,cc,dd,ee
978 Where aa, bb, etc. are error format strings. Each line of the error file will
979 be matched to the pattern aa, then bb, then cc, etc. Just because cc matched
980 the previous error line does _not_ mean that dd will be tried first on the
981 current line, even if cc and dd are multi-line errorformat strings.
985 Separate file name *errorformat-separate-filename*
987 These prefixes are useful if the file name is given once and multiple messages
988 follow that refer to this file name.
989 %O single-line file message: overread the matched part
990 %P single-line file message: push file %f onto the stack
991 %Q single-line file message: pop the last file from stack
993 Example: Given a compiler that produces the following error logfile (without
994 leading line numbers):
997 2 (1,17) error: ';' missing
998 3 (21,2) warning: variable 'z' not defined
999 4 (67,3) error: end of file found before string ended
1005 10 (2,2) warning: variable 'x' not defined
1006 11 (67,3) warning: 's' already defined
1008 This logfile lists several messages for each file enclosed in [...] which are
1009 properly parsed by an error format like this: >
1010 :set efm=%+P[%f],(%l\\,%c)%*[\ ]%t%*[^:]:\ %m,%-Q
1012 A call of |:clist| writes them accordingly with their correct filenames:
1014 2 a1.tt:1 col 17 error: ';' missing
1015 3 a1.tt:21 col 2 warning: variable 'z' not defined
1016 4 a1.tt:67 col 3 error: end of file found before string ended
1017 8 a3.tt:2 col 2 warning: variable 'x' not defined
1018 9 a3.tt:67 col 3 warning: 's' already defined
1020 Unlike the other prefixes that all match against whole lines, %P, %Q and %O
1021 can be used to match several patterns in the same line. Thus it is possible
1022 to parse even nested files like in the following line:
1023 {"file1" {"file2" error1} error2 {"file3" error3 {"file4" error4 error5}}}
1024 The %O then parses over strings that do not contain any push/pop file name
1025 information. See |errorformat-LaTeX| for an extended example.
1028 Ignoring and using whole messages *efm-ignore*
1030 The codes '+' or '-' can be combined with the uppercase codes above; in that
1031 case they have to precede the letter, e.g. '%+A' or '%-G':
1032 %- do not include the matching multi-line in any output
1033 %+ include the whole matching line in the %m error string
1035 One prefix is only useful in combination with '+' or '-', namely %G. It parses
1036 over lines containing general information like compiler version strings or
1037 other headers that can be skipped.
1038 %-G ignore this message
1044 The scanf()-like "%*[]" notation is supported for backward-compatibility
1045 with previous versions of Vim. However, it is also possible to specify
1046 (nearly) any Vim supported regular expression in format strings.
1047 Since meta characters of the regular expression language can be part of
1048 ordinary matching strings or file names (and therefore internally have to
1049 be escaped), meta symbols have to be written with leading '%':
1050 %\ The single '\' character. Note that this has to be
1051 escaped ("%\\") in ":set errorformat=" definitions.
1052 %. The single '.' character.
1053 %# The single '*'(!) character.
1054 %^ The single '^' character. Note that this is not
1055 useful, the pattern already matches start of line.
1056 %$ The single '$' character. Note that this is not
1057 useful, the pattern already matches end of line.
1058 %[ The single '[' character for a [] character range.
1059 %~ The single '~' character.
1060 When using character classes in expressions (see |/\i| for an overview),
1061 terms containing the "\+" quantifier can be written in the scanf() "%*"
1062 notation. Example: "%\\d%\\+" ("\d\+", "any number") is equivalent to "%*\\d".
1063 Important note: The \(...\) grouping of sub-matches can not be used in format
1064 specifications because it is reserved for internal conversions.
1067 Multiple entries in 'errorformat' *efm-entries*
1069 To be able to detect output from several compilers, several format patterns
1070 may be put in 'errorformat', separated by commas (note: blanks after the comma
1071 are ignored). The first pattern that has a complete match is used. If no
1072 match is found, matching parts from the last one will be used, although the
1073 file name is removed and the error message is set to the whole message. If
1074 there is a pattern that may match output from several compilers (but not in a
1075 right way), put it after one that is more restrictive.
1077 To include a comma in a pattern precede it with a backslash (you have to type
1078 two in a ":set" command). To include a backslash itself give two backslashes
1079 (you have to type four in a ":set" command). You also need to put a backslash
1080 before a space for ":set".
1083 Valid matches *quickfix-valid*
1085 If a line does not completely match one of the entries in 'errorformat', the
1086 whole line is put in the error message and the entry is marked "not valid"
1087 These lines are skipped with the ":cn" and ":cp" commands (unless there is
1088 no valid line at all). You can use ":cl!" to display all the error messages.
1090 If the error format does not contain a file name Vim cannot switch to the
1091 correct file. You will have to do this by hand.
1096 The format of the file from the Amiga Aztec compiler is:
1098 filename>linenumber:columnnumber:errortype:errornumber:errormessage
1100 filename name of the file in which the error was detected
1101 linenumber line number where the error was detected
1102 columnnumber column number where the error was detected
1103 errortype type of the error, normally a single 'E' or 'W'
1104 errornumber number of the error (for lookup in the manual)
1105 errormessage description of the error
1107 This can be matched with this 'errorformat' entry:
1110 Some examples for C compilers that produce single-line error outputs:
1111 %f:%l:\ %t%*[^0123456789]%n:\ %m for Manx/Aztec C error messages
1112 (scanf() doesn't understand [0-9])
1113 %f\ %l\ %t%*[^0-9]%n:\ %m for SAS C
1114 \"%f\"\\,%*[^0-9]%l:\ %m for generic C compilers
1116 %f:%l:\ %m,%Dgmake[%*\\d]:\ Entering\ directory\ `%f',
1117 %Dgmake[%*\\d]:\ Leaving\ directory\ `%f'
1118 for GCC with gmake (concat the lines!)
1119 %f(%l)\ :\ %*[^:]:\ %m old SCO C compiler (pre-OS5)
1120 %f(%l)\ :\ %t%*[^0-9]%n:\ %m idem, with error type and number
1121 %f:%l:\ %m,In\ file\ included\ from\ %f:%l:,\^I\^Ifrom\ %f:%l%m
1122 for GCC, with some extras
1124 Extended examples for the handling of multi-line messages are given below,
1125 see |errorformat-Jikes| and |errorformat-LaTeX|.
1127 Note the backslash in front of a space and double quote. It is required for
1128 the :set command. There are two backslashes in front of a comma, one for the
1129 :set command and one to avoid recognizing the comma as a separator of error
1135 If you have a compiler that produces error messages that do not fit in the
1136 format string, you could write a program that translates the error messages
1137 into this format. You can use this program with the ":make" command by
1138 changing the 'makeprg' option. For example: >
1139 :set mp=make\ \\\|&\ error_filter
1140 The backslashes before the pipe character are required to avoid it to be
1141 recognized as a command separator. The backslash before each space is
1142 required for the set command.
1144 =============================================================================
1145 8. The directory stack *quickfix-directory-stack*
1147 Quickfix maintains a stack for saving all used directories parsed from the
1148 make output. For GNU-make this is rather simple, as it always prints the
1149 absolute path of all directories it enters and leaves. Regardless if this is
1150 done via a 'cd' command in the makefile or with the parameter "-C dir" (change
1151 to directory before reading the makefile). It may be useful to use the switch
1152 "-w" to force GNU-make to print out the working directory before and after
1155 Maintaining the correct directory is more complicated if you don't use
1156 GNU-make. AIX-make for example doesn't print any information about its
1157 working directory. Then you need to enhance the makefile. In the makefile of
1158 LessTif there is a command which echoes "Making {target} in {dir}". The
1159 special problem here is that it doesn't print informations on leaving the
1160 directory and that it doesn't print the absolute path.
1162 To solve the problem with relative paths and missing "leave directory"
1163 messages Vim uses following algorithm:
1165 1) Check if the given directory is a subdirectory of the current directory.
1166 If this is true, store it as the current directory.
1167 2) If it is not a subdir of the current directory, try if this is a
1168 subdirectory of one of the upper directories.
1169 3) If the directory still isn't found, it is assumed to be a subdirectory
1170 of Vim's current directory.
1172 Additionally it is checked for every file, if it really exists in the
1173 identified directory. If not, it is searched in all other directories of the
1174 directory stack (NOT the directory subtree!). If it is still not found, it is
1175 assumed that it is in Vim's current directory.
1177 There are limitation in this algorithm. This examples assume that make just
1178 prints information about entering a directory in the form "Making all in dir".
1180 1) Assume you have following directories and files:
1185 If make processes the directory "./dir1" before the current directory and
1186 there is an error in the file "./file1.c", you will end up with the file
1187 "./dir1/file.c" loaded by Vim.
1189 This can only be solved with a "leave directory" message.
1191 2) Assume you have following directories and files:
1196 You get the following:
1198 Make output Directory interpreted by Vim
1199 ------------------------ ----------------------------
1200 Making all in dir1 ./dir1
1201 Making all in dir2 ./dir1/dir2
1202 Making all in dir2 ./dir1/dir2
1204 This can be solved by printing absolute directories in the "enter directory"
1205 message or by printing "leave directory" messages..
1207 To avoid this problems, ensure to print absolute directory names and "leave
1208 directory" messages.
1210 Examples for Makefiles:
1214 for dn in $(LIBDIRS); do \
1215 (cd $$dn; echo "Entering dir '$$(pwd)'"; make); \
1216 echo "Leaving dir"; \
1220 %DEntering\ dir\ '%f',%XLeaving\ dir
1221 to your 'errorformat' to handle the above output.
1223 Note that Vim doesn't check if the directory name in a "leave directory"
1224 messages is the current directory. This is why you could just use the message
1227 =============================================================================
1228 9. Specific error file formats *errorformats*
1231 Jikes(TM), a source-to-bytecode Java compiler published by IBM Research,
1232 produces simple multi-line error messages.
1234 An 'errorformat' string matching the produced messages is shown below.
1235 The following lines can be placed in the user's |vimrc| to overwrite Vim's
1236 recognized default formats, or see |:set+=| how to install this format
1237 additionally to the default. >
1239 :set efm=%A%f:%l:%c:%*\\d:%*\\d:,
1241 \%+C%*[^:]%trror:%m,
1242 \%C%*\\s%tarning:%m,
1245 Jikes(TM) produces a single-line error message when invoked with the option
1246 "+E", and can be matched with the following: >
1248 :setl efm=%f:%l:%v:%*\\d:%*\\d:%*\\s%m
1251 This 'errorformat' has been reported to work well for javac, which outputs a
1252 line with "^" to indicate the column of the error: >
1253 :setl efm=%A%f:%l:\ %m,%-Z%p^,%-C%.%#
1255 :setl efm=%A%f:%l:\ %m,%+Z%p^,%+C%.%#,%-G%.%#
1257 Here is an alternative from Michael F. Lamb for Unix that filters the errors
1259 :setl errorformat=%Z%f:%l:\ %m,%A%p^,%-G%*[^sl]%.%#
1260 :setl makeprg=javac\ %\ 2>&1\ \\\|\ vim-javac-filter
1262 You need to put the following in "vim-javac-filter" somewhere in your path
1263 (e.g., in ~/bin) and make it executable: >
1265 /\^$/s/\t/\ /g;/:[0-9]\+:/{h;d};/^[ \t]*\^/G;
1267 In English, that sed script:
1268 - Changes single tabs to single spaces and
1269 - Moves the line with the filename, line number, error message to just after
1270 the pointer line. That way, the unused error text between doesn't break
1271 vim's notion of a "multi-line message" and also doesn't force us to include
1272 it as a "continuation of a multi-line message."
1275 For ant (http://jakarta.apache.org/) the above errorformat has to be modified
1276 to honour the leading [javac] in front of each javac output line: >
1277 :set efm=%A\ %#[javac]\ %f:%l:\ %m,%-Z\ %#[javac]\ %p^,%-C%.%#
1279 The 'errorformat' can also be configured to handle ant together with either
1280 javac or jikes. If you're using jikes, you should tell ant to use jikes' +E
1281 command line switch which forces jikes to generate one-line error messages.
1282 This is what the second line (of a build.xml file) below does: >
1283 <property name = "build.compiler" value = "jikes"/>
1284 <property name = "build.compiler.emacs" value = "true"/>
1286 The 'errorformat' which handles ant with both javac and jikes is: >
1287 :set efm=\ %#[javac]\ %#%f:%l:%c:%*\\d:%*\\d:\ %t%[%^:]%#:%m,
1288 \%A\ %#[javac]\ %f:%l:\ %m,%-Z\ %#[javac]\ %p^,%-C%.%#
1291 parsing jade (see http://www.jclark.com/) errors is simple: >
1292 :set efm=jade:%f:%l:%c:%t:%m
1295 The following is an example how an 'errorformat' string can be specified
1296 for the (La)TeX typesetting system which displays error messages over
1297 multiple lines. The output of ":clist" and ":cc" etc. commands displays
1298 multi-lines in a single line, leading white space is removed.
1299 It should be easy to adopt the above LaTeX errorformat to any compiler output
1300 consisting of multi-line errors.
1302 The commands can be placed in a |vimrc| file or some other Vim script file,
1303 e.g. a script containing LaTeX related stuff which is loaded only when editing
1305 Make sure to copy all lines of the example (in the given order), afterwards
1306 remove the comment lines. For the '\' notation at the start of some lines see
1307 |line-continuation|.
1309 First prepare 'makeprg' such that LaTeX will report multiple
1310 errors; do not stop when the first error has occurred: >
1311 :set makeprg=latex\ \\\\nonstopmode\ \\\\input\\{$*}
1313 Start of multi-line error messages: >
1314 :set efm=%E!\ LaTeX\ %trror:\ %m,
1316 < Start of multi-line warning messages; the first two also
1317 include the line number. Meaning of some regular expressions:
1318 - "%.%#" (".*") matches a (possibly empty) string
1319 - "%*\\d" ("\d\+") matches a number >
1320 \%+WLaTeX\ %.%#Warning:\ %.%#line\ %l%.%#,
1321 \%+W%.%#\ at\ lines\ %l--%*\\d,
1322 \%WLaTeX\ %.%#Warning:\ %m,
1323 < Possible continuations of error/warning messages; the first
1324 one also includes the line number: >
1330 \%+C%.%#%[{}\\]%.%#,
1333 < Lines that match the following patterns do not contain any
1334 important information; do not include them in messages: >
1335 \%-GSee\ the\ LaTeX%m,
1336 \%-GType\ \ H\ <return>%m,
1338 \%-G%.%#\ (C)\ %.%#,
1339 \%-G(see\ the\ transcript%.%#),
1340 < Generally exclude any empty or whitespace-only line from
1343 < The LaTeX output log does not specify the names of erroneous
1344 source files per line; rather they are given globally,
1345 enclosed in parentheses.
1346 The following patterns try to match these names and store
1347 them in an internal stack. The patterns possibly scan over
1348 the same input line (one after another), the trailing "%r"
1349 conversion indicates the "rest" of the line that will be
1350 parsed in the next go until the end of line is reached.
1352 Overread a file name enclosed in '('...')'; do not push it
1353 on a stack since the file apparently does not contain any
1356 < Push a file name onto the stack. The name is given after '(': >
1360 \%+P[%\\d%[^()]%#(%f%r,
1361 < Pop the last stored file name when a ')' is scanned: >
1366 Note that in some cases file names in the LaTeX output log cannot be parsed
1367 properly. The parser might have been messed up by unbalanced parentheses
1368 then. The above example tries to catch the most relevant cases only.
1369 You can customize the given setting to suit your own purposes, for example,
1370 all the annoying "Overfull ..." warnings could be excluded from being
1371 recognized as an error.
1372 Alternatively to filtering the LaTeX compiler output, it is also possible
1373 to directly read the *.log file that is produced by the [La]TeX compiler.
1374 This contains even more useful information about possible error causes.
1375 However, to properly parse such a complex file, an external filter should
1376 be used. See the description further above how to make such a filter known
1380 In $VIMRUNTIME/tools you can find the efm_perl.pl script, which filters Perl
1381 error messages into a format that quickfix mode will understand. See the
1382 start of the file about how to use it.
1386 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: