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1 *snipMate.txt* Plugin for using TextMate-style snippets in Vim.
2
3 snipMate *snippet* *snippets* *snipMate*
4 Last Change: December 27, 2009
5
6 |snipMate-description| Description
7 |snipMate-syntax| Snippet syntax
8 |snipMate-usage| Usage
9 |snipMate-settings| Settings
10 |snipMate-features| Features
11 |snipMate-disadvantages| Disadvantages to TextMate
12 |snipMate-contact| Contact
13 |snipMate-license| License
14
15 For Vim version 7.0 or later.
16 This plugin only works if 'compatible' is not set.
17 {Vi does not have any of these features.}
18
19 ==============================================================================
20 DESCRIPTION *snipMate-description*
21
22 snipMate.vim implements some of TextMate's snippets features in Vim. A
23 snippet is a piece of often-typed text that you can insert into your
24 document using a trigger word followed by a <tab>.
25
26 For instance, in a C file using the default installation of snipMate.vim, if
27 you type "for<tab>" in insert mode, it will expand a typical for loop in C: >
28
29 for (i = 0; i < count; i++) {
30
31 }
32
33
34 To go to the next item in the loop, simply <tab> over to it; if there is
35 repeated code, such as the "i" variable in this example, you can simply
36 start typing once it's highlighted and all the matches specified in the
37 snippet will be updated. To go in reverse, use <shift-tab>.
38
39 ==============================================================================
40 SYNTAX *snippet-syntax*
41
42 Snippets can be defined in two ways. They can be in their own file, named
43 after their trigger in 'snippets/<filetype>/<trigger>.snippet', or they can be
44 defined together in a 'snippets/<filetype>.snippets' file. Note that dotted
45 'filetype' syntax is supported -- e.g., you can use >
46
47 :set ft=html.eruby
48
49 to activate snippets for both HTML and eRuby for the current file.
50
51 The syntax for snippets in *.snippets files is the following: >
52
53 snippet trigger
54 expanded text
55 more expanded text
56
57 Note that the first hard tab after the snippet trigger is required, and not
58 expanded in the actual snippet. The syntax for *.snippet files is the same,
59 only without the trigger declaration and starting indentation.
60
61 Also note that snippets must be defined using hard tabs. They can be expanded
62 to spaces later if desired (see |snipMate-indenting|).
63
64 "#" is used as a line-comment character in *.snippets files; however, they can
65 only be used outside of a snippet declaration. E.g.: >
66
67 # this is a correct comment
68 snippet trigger
69 expanded text
70 snippet another_trigger
71 # this isn't a comment!
72 expanded text
73 <
74 This should hopefully be obvious with the included syntax highlighting.
75
76 *snipMate-${#}*
77 Tab stops ~
78
79 By default, the cursor is placed at the end of a snippet. To specify where the
80 cursor is to be placed next, use "${#}", where the # is the number of the tab
81 stop. E.g., to place the cursor first on the id of a <div> tag, and then allow
82 the user to press <tab> to go to the middle of it:
83 >
84 snippet div
85 <div id="${1}">
86 ${2}
87 </div>
88 <
89 *snipMate-placeholders* *snipMate-${#:}* *snipMate-$#*
90 Placeholders ~
91
92 Placeholder text can be supplied using "${#:text}", where # is the number of
93 the tab stop. This text then can be copied throughout the snippet using "$#",
94 given # is the same number as used before. So, to make a C for loop: >
95
96 snippet for
97 for (${2:i}; $2 < ${1:count}; $1++) {
98 ${4}
99 }
100
101 This will cause "count" to first be selected and change if the user starts
102 typing. When <tab> is pressed, the "i" in ${2}'s position will be selected;
103 all $2 variables will default to "i" and automatically be updated if the user
104 starts typing.
105 NOTE: "$#" syntax is used only for variables, not for tab stops as in TextMate.
106
107 Variables within variables are also possible. For instance: >
108
109 snippet opt
110 <option value="${1:option}">${2:$1}</option>
111
112 Will, as usual, cause "option" to first be selected and update all the $1
113 variables if the user starts typing. Since one of these variables is inside of
114 ${2}, this text will then be used as a placeholder for the next tab stop,
115 allowing the user to change it if he wishes.
116
117 To copy a value throughout a snippet without supplying default text, simply
118 use the "${#:}" construct without the text; e.g.: >
119
120 snippet foo
121 ${1:}bar$1
122 < *snipMate-commands*
123 Interpolated Vim Script ~
124
125 Snippets can also contain Vim script commands that are executed (via |eval()|)
126 when the snippet is inserted. Commands are given inside backticks (`...`); for
127 TextMates's functionality, use the |system()| function. E.g.: >
128
129 snippet date
130 `system("date +%Y-%m-%d")`
131
132 will insert the current date, assuming you are on a Unix system. Note that you
133 can also (and should) use |strftime()| for this example.
134
135 Filename([{expr}] [, {defaultText}]) *snipMate-filename* *Filename()*
136
137 Since the current filename is used often in snippets, a default function
138 has been defined for it in snipMate.vim, appropriately called Filename().
139
140 With no arguments, the default filename without an extension is returned;
141 the first argument specifies what to place before or after the filename,
142 and the second argument supplies the default text to be used if the file
143 has not been named. "$1" in the first argument is replaced with the filename;
144 if you only want the filename to be returned, the first argument can be left
145 blank. Examples: >
146
147 snippet filename
148 `Filename()`
149 snippet filename_with_default
150 `Filename('', 'name')`
151 snippet filename_foo
152 `filename('$1_foo')`
153
154 The first example returns the filename if it the file has been named, and an
155 empty string if it hasn't. The second returns the filename if it's been named,
156 and "name" if it hasn't. The third returns the filename followed by "_foo" if
157 it has been named, and an empty string if it hasn't.
158
159 *multi_snip*
160 To specify that a snippet can have multiple matches in a *.snippets file, use
161 this syntax: >
162
163 snippet trigger A description of snippet #1
164 expand this text
165 snippet trigger A description of snippet #2
166 expand THIS text!
167
168 In this example, when "trigger<tab>" is typed, a numbered menu containing all
169 of the descriptions of the "trigger" will be shown; when the user presses the
170 corresponding number, that snippet will then be expanded.
171
172 To create a snippet with multiple matches using *.snippet files,
173 simply place all the snippets in a subdirectory with the trigger name:
174 'snippets/<filetype>/<trigger>/<name>.snippet'.
175
176 ==============================================================================
177 USAGE *snipMate-usage*
178
179 *'snippets'* *g:snippets_dir*
180 Snippets are by default looked for any 'snippets' directory in your
181 'runtimepath'. Typically, it is located at '~/.vim/snippets/' on *nix or
182 '$HOME\vimfiles\snippets\' on Windows. To change that location or add another
183 one, change the g:snippets_dir variable in your |.vimrc| to your preferred
184 directory, or use the |ExtractSnips()|function. This will be used by the
185 |globpath()| function, and so accepts the same syntax as it (e.g.,
186 comma-separated paths).
187
188 ExtractSnipsFile({directory}, {filetype}) *ExtractSnipsFile()* *.snippets*
189
190 ExtractSnipsFile() extracts the specified *.snippets file for the given
191 filetype. A .snippets file contains multiple snippet declarations for the
192 filetype. It is further explained above, in |snippet-syntax|.
193
194 ExtractSnips({directory}, {filetype}) *ExtractSnips()* *.snippet*
195
196 ExtractSnips() extracts *.snippet files from the specified directory and
197 defines them as snippets for the given filetype. The directory tree should
198 look like this: 'snippets/<filetype>/<trigger>.snippet'. If the snippet has
199 multiple matches, it should look like this:
200 'snippets/<filetype>/<trigger>/<name>.snippet' (see |multi_snip|).
201
202 ResetAllSnippets() *ResetAllSnippets()*
203 ResetAllSnippets() removes all snippets from memory. This is useful to put at
204 the top of a snippet setup file for if you would like to |:source| it multiple
205 times.
206
207 ResetSnippets({filetype}) *ResetSnippets()*
208 ResetSnippets() removes all snippets from memory for the given filetype.
209
210 ReloadAllSnippets() *ReloadAllSnippets()*
211 ReloadAllSnippets() reloads all snippets for all filetypes. This is useful for
212 testing and debugging.
213
214 ReloadSnippets({filetype}) *ReloadSnippets()*
215 ReloadSnippets() reloads all snippets for the given filetype.
216
217 *list-snippets* *i_CTRL-R_<Tab>*
218 If you would like to see what snippets are available, simply type <c-r><tab>
219 in the current buffer to show a list via |popupmenu-completion|.
220
221 ==============================================================================
222 SETTINGS *snipMate-settings* *g:snips_author*
223
224 The g:snips_author string (similar to $TM_FULLNAME in TextMate) should be set
225 to your name; it can then be used in snippets to automatically add it. E.g.: >
226
227 let g:snips_author = 'Hubert Farnsworth'
228 snippet name
229 `g:snips_author`
230 <
231 *snipMate-expandtab* *snipMate-indenting*
232 If you would like your snippets to be expanded using spaces instead of tabs,
233 just enable 'expandtab' and set 'softtabstop' to your preferred amount of
234 spaces. If 'softtabstop' is not set, 'shiftwidth' is used instead.
235
236 *snipMate-remap*
237 snipMate does not come with a setting to customize the trigger key, but you
238 can remap it easily in the two lines it's defined in the 'after' directory
239 under 'plugin/snipMate.vim'. For instance, to change the trigger key
240 to CTRL-J, just change this: >
241
242 ino <tab> <c-r>=TriggerSnippet()<cr>
243 snor <tab> <esc>i<right><c-r>=TriggerSnippet()<cr>
244
245 to this: >
246 ino <c-j> <c-r>=TriggerSnippet()<cr>
247 snor <c-j> <esc>i<right><c-r>=TriggerSnippet()<cr>
248
249 ==============================================================================
250 FEATURES *snipMate-features*
251
252 snipMate.vim has the following features among others:
253 - The syntax of snippets is very similar to TextMate's, allowing
254 easy conversion.
255 - The position of the snippet is kept transparently (i.e. it does not use
256 markers/placeholders written to the buffer), which allows you to escape
257 out of an incomplete snippet, something particularly useful in Vim.
258 - Variables in snippets are updated as-you-type.
259 - Snippets can have multiple matches.
260 - Snippets can be out of order. For instance, in a do...while loop, the
261 condition can be added before the code.
262 - [New] File-based snippets are supported.
263 - [New] Triggers after non-word delimiters are expanded, e.g. "foo"
264 in "bar.foo".
265 - [New] <shift-tab> can now be used to jump tab stops in reverse order.
266
267 ==============================================================================
268 DISADVANTAGES *snipMate-disadvantages*
269
270 snipMate.vim currently has the following disadvantages to TextMate's snippets:
271 - There is no $0; the order of tab stops must be explicitly stated.
272 - Placeholders within placeholders are not possible. E.g.: >
273
274 '<div${1: id="${2:some_id}}">${3}</div>'
275 <
276 In TextMate this would first highlight ' id="some_id"', and if
277 you hit delete it would automatically skip ${2} and go to ${3}
278 on the next <tab>, but if you didn't delete it it would highlight
279 "some_id" first. You cannot do this in snipMate.vim.
280 - Regex cannot be performed on variables, such as "${1/.*/\U&}"
281 - Placeholders cannot span multiple lines.
282 - Activating snippets in different scopes of the same file is
283 not possible.
284
285 Perhaps some of these features will be added in a later release.
286
287 ==============================================================================
288 CONTACT *snipMate-contact* *snipMate-author*
289
290 To contact the author (Michael Sanders), please email:
291 msanders42+snipmate <at> gmail <dot> com
292
293 I greatly appreciate any suggestions or improvements offered for the script.
294
295 ==============================================================================
296 LICENSE *snipMate-license*
297
298 snipMate is released under the MIT license:
299
300 Copyright 2009-2010 Michael Sanders. All rights reserved.
301
302 Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
303 of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
304 in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
305 to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
306 copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
307 furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
308
309 The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
310 copies or substantial portions of the Software.
311
312 The software is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind, express or
313 implied, including but not limited to the warranties of merchantability,
314 fitness for a particular purpose and noninfringement. In no event shall the
315 authors or copyright holders be liable for any claim, damages or other
316 liability, whether in an action of contract, tort or otherwise, arising from,
317 out of or in connection with the software or the use or other dealings in the
318 software.
319
320 ==============================================================================
321
322 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: