# vim-colors-pencil

> A light (and dark) color scheme for Vim inspired by iA Writer

![markdown-example](http://i.imgur.com/BYLMdx5.jpg)

## Features

The _pencil_ color scheme takes its inspiration from iA Writer, an elegant
word processor available on the iOS and OSX platforms.

This Vim color scheme features:

* Subtle indicators of changes in the gutter for [Signify][sig], [gitgutter][gg], etc.
* Use for both code and prose, though it’s definitely geared towards the latter
* Light and dark background variants
* iTerm color scheme [available][it] for using this color scheme with terminal-based Vim
* Support for [tpope/vim-markdown][tm], [preservim/vim-markdown][pm] (aka
  plasticboy/vim-markdown), and [gabrielelana/vim-markdown][gm]
* Support for the [bling/vim-airline][ba] status bar plugin
* Support for Vim’s Conceal feature to hide `_` and `*` markup for
  \_*italic*\_, \*\*__bold__\*\* and \*\*\*___bold italic___\*\*\* styled text in Markdown

[tm]: https://github.com/tpope/vim-markdown
[pm]: https://github.com/preservim/vim-markdown
[ba]: https://github.com/bling/vim-airline
[gm]: https://github.com/gabrielelana/vim-markdown

## Requirements

Currently requires vim >= 7.0

## Installation

For a basic install simply copy the color scheme file to your
`~/.vim/colors` directory.

For full support in which the airline theme is available, install using
Pathogen, Vundle, Neobundle, or your favorite Vim package manager. For
more recent versions of vim and neovim, use your pack directory. (See
[:help packages][packages] for more information.)

[packages]: https://vimhelp.org/repeat.txt.html#packages

## Configuration

### Contrast

If you’re looking for greater contrast, set the following global in your
`.vimrc`:

```vim
let g:pencil_higher_contrast_ui = 0   " 0=low (def), 1=high
```

It currently only affects the blacks and grays.

### Headings color

When using a filetype of markdown, the ‘#’ heading text is shaded dark
blue by default. This compensates for the lack of a visual cue found in iA
Writer where the heading indicators are inside the left margin.

If you’re looking for neutral heading colors:

```vim
let g:pencil_neutral_headings = 1   " 0=blue (def), 1=normal
```

### Code background color

Similar to the rendered markdown found on GitHub, `inline` and `fenced`
code blocks will have a subtle gray background.

If you’re looking for neutral code background:

```vim
let g:pencil_neutral_code_bg = 1   " 0=gray (def), 1=normal
```

See `g:pencil_higher_contrast_ui` above for adjusting the code background
contrast.

### Gutter Color

For users of [Signify][sig] or [gitgutter][gg], indicators will be subtle
monochrome by default. If you prefer colored indicators, set the following
global:

```vim
let g:pencil_gutter_color = 1      " 0=mono (def), 1=color
```

[sig]: https://github.com/mhinz/vim-signify
[gg]: https://github.com/airblade/vim-gitgutter

### Curled Underline for Spelling Highlights

You can choose between `undercurl` and `underline` in highlighting
misspelled words.

```vim
let g:pencil_spell_undercurl = 1       " 0=underline, 1=undercurl (def)
```

Non-spell underlines remain non-curled.

### Terminal Italics

If you're using Vim in the terminal and your terminal supports italics, you
can opt-in to italic support for some syntax highlighting, such as
comments, by setting the following global:

```vim
let g:pencil_terminal_italics = 1
```

### Airline Theme

![airline-example](http://i.imgur.com/V39pwZq.png)

A matching theme for the [Airline][al] status bar plugin is available.
Enable by adding to your `.vimrc`:

```vim
let g:airline_theme = 'pencil'
```

[al]: https://github.com/bling/vim-airline

### Concealing \_\_styling markup\_\_ in Markdown

The _pencil_ color scheme supports the highlighting groups in the
[tpope/vim-markdown][tm] syntax plugin, to take advantage of Vim’s Conceal
feature to hide `_` and `*` markup for \_*italic*\_, \*\*__bold__\*\* and
\*\*\*___bold italic___\*\*\* styled text in Markdown

See the [vim-pencil][pn] plugin for details on automatically enabling this
feature.

For more details on Vim’s Conceal feature, see:

```vim
:help conceallevel
:help concealcursor
```

[tm]: https://github.com/tpope/vim-markdown

## Usage

Just like any other color scheme:

```vim
:colorscheme pencil
```

You can toggle between the light and dark variants:

```vim
:set background=dark
:set background=light
```

Like any other color scheme, you can add these commands to your `.vimrc`.

## Font choices

iA Writer uses a typeface called ‘Nitti Light’ by Blue Monday. ($)

Free alternatives with **bold** and _italic_ support include:

* [Anonymous Pro](https://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Anonymous+Pro) (serif)
* [Courier Prime](http://quoteunquoteapps.com/courierprime/) (serif)
* [Cousine](http://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Cousine)
* [DejaVu Sans Mono](http://dejavu-fonts.org/wiki/Download)
* [Fantasque Sans Mono](http://openfontlibrary.org/en/font/fantasque-sans-mono)
* [Liberation](https://fedorahosted.org/liberation-fonts/)
* [Luxi Mono Regular](http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/Luxi-Mono) (serif)
* [Ubuntu Mono](https://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Ubuntu+Mono)

Cousine is a good match for Nitti Light.

## See also

* [mattly/iterm-colors-pencil][it] - terminal support for mutt, tmux and iTerm
* [gummesson/term-colors-pencil][tcp] - terminal support for urxvt and termite
* [mattly/atom-colors-pencil-light][ap] - Atom version of the pencil color scheme
* [nickburlett/vim-colors-stylus][vcs] - a fork, with a variation on pencil's colors

[it]: https://github.com/mattly/iterm-colors-pencil
[tcp]: https://github.com/gummesson/term-colors-pencil
[ap]: https://github.com/mattly/atom-colors-pencil-light
[vcs]: https://github.com/nickburlett/vim-colors-stylus

If you find this colorscheme useful, you may want to check out these
plugins originally by [@reedes][re]:

* [vim-lexical][lx] - building on Vim’s spell-check and thesaurus/dictionary completion
* [vim-litecorrect][lc] - lightweight auto-correction for Vim
* [vim-pencil][pn] - rethinking Vim as a tool for writers
* [vim-textobj-quote][qu] - extends Vim to support typographic (‘curly’) quotes
* [vim-textobj-sentence][ts] - improving on Vim's native sentence motion command
* [vim-thematic][th] - modify Vim’s appearance to suit your task and environment
* [vim-wheel][wh] - screen-anchored cursor movement for Vim
* [vim-wordy][wo] - uncovering usage problems in writing
* [vim-wordchipper][wc] - power tool for shredding text in Insert mode

[re]: https://github.com/reedes
[lx]: https://github.com/preservim/vim-lexical
[lc]: https://github.com/preservim/vim-litecorrect
[pn]: https://github.com/preservim/vim-pencil
[ts]: https://github.com/preservim/vim-textobj-sentence
[qu]: https://github.com/preservim/vim-textobj-quote
[th]: https://github.com/preservim/vim-thematic
[wh]: https://github.com/preservim/vim-wheel
[wo]: https://github.com/preservim/vim-wordy
[wc]: https://github.com/preservim/vim-wordchipper

The [README](https://github.com/preservim/vim-thematic) in
_thematic_ has more details on setting up emulation of iA Writer.

## Contributors

Thanks to those who have helped improve the _pencil_ color scheme:

* [@mattly](https://github.com/mattly)
* [@tamagokun](https://github.com/tamagokun)
* [@gorodinskiy](https://github.com/gorodinskiy)

## Future development

If you’ve spotted a problem or have an idea on improving this color
scheme, please post it to the [GitHub project issue page][issues].

[issues]: https://github.com/preservim/vim-colors-pencil/issues

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