# vim-pencil
> Rethinking Vim as a tool for writers
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# Features
The _pencil_ plugin aspires to make Vim as powerful a tool for writers as
it is for coders by focusing narrowly on the handful of tweaks needed to
smooth the path to writing prose.
* For editing files in _text_, _markdown_, _textile_, and other
prose-oriented file types
* Agnostic on soft line wrap _versus_ hard line breaks, supporting both
* Auto-detects wrap mode via modeline and sampling
* Adjusts navigation key mappings to suit the wrap mode
* Creates undo points on common punctuation during insert, including
deletion via line `` and word ``
* When using hard line breaks, enables autoformat while inserting text
* Buffer-scoped configuration (with a few minor exceptions, _pencil_
preserves your global settings)
* Pure Vimscript with no dependencies
* Support for Vim’s Conceal feature to hide `_` and `*` markup for
\_*italic*\_, \*\*__bold__\*\* and \*\*\*___bold italic___\*\*\* styled text in Markdown
Need spell-check and other features? Vim is about customization. To
complete your editing environment, learn to configure Vim and draw upon
its rich ecosystem of plugins.
## Why use Vim for writing?
With plenty of word processing applications available, including those
that specifically cater to writers, why use a modal editor like Vim?
Several reasons have been offered:
* Your hands can rest in a neutral ‘home’ position, only rarely straying
to reach for mouse, track pad, or arrow keys
* Minimal chording, with many mnemonic-friendly commands
* Sophisticated capabilities for navigating and manipulating text
* Highly configurable to suit your needs, with many great plugins available
* No proprietary format lock-in
But while such reasons might be sound, they remain scant justification to
switch away from the familiar word processor. Instead, you need
a compelling reason—one that can appeal to a writer’s love for language
and the tools of writing.
You can find that reason in Vim's mysterious command sequences. Take `cas`
for instance. You might see it as a mnemonic for _Change Around Sentence_
to replace an existing sentence. But dig a bit deeper to discover that
such commands have a grammar of their own, comprised of nouns, verbs, and
modifiers. Think of them as the composable building blocks of a _domain specific
language_ for manipulating text, one that can become a powerful tool in
expressing yourself. For more details on vi-style editing, see...
* [Learn to speak vim – verbs, nouns, and modifiers!][ls] (December 2011)
* [Your problem with Vim is that you don't grok vi][gv] (December 2011)
* [Intro to Vim's Grammar][ig] (January 2013)
* [Why Atom Can’t Replace Vim, Learning the lesson of vi][wa] (March 2014)
[ls]: http://yanpritzker.com/2011/12/16/learn-to-speak-vim-verbs-nouns-and-modifiers/
[gv]: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1218390/what-is-your-most-productive-shortcut-with-vim/1220118#1220118
[ig]: http://takac.github.io/2013/01/30/vim-grammar/
[wa]: https://medium.com/p/433852f4b4d1
## Installation
Install using Pathogen, Vundle, Neobundle, or your favorite Vim package
manager.
_For those new to Vim: before installing this plugin, consider getting
comfortable with the basics of Vim by working through one of the many
tutorials available._
## Configuration
### Hard line breaks or soft line wrap?
Coders will have the most experience with the former, and writers the
latter. But whatever your background, chances are that you must contend
with both conventions. This plugin doesn't force you to choose a side—you
can configure each buffer independently.
In most cases you can set a default to suit your preference and let
auto-detection figure out what to do. Add to your `.vimrc`:
```vim
set nocompatible
filetype plugin on " may already be in your .vimrc
let g:pencil#wrapModeDefault = 'hard' " or 'soft'
augroup pencil
autocmd!
autocmd FileType markdown,mkd call pencil#init()
autocmd FileType textile call pencil#init()
autocmd FileType text call pencil#init({'wrap': 'hard'})
augroup END
```
In the example above, for files of type `markdown` and `textile`, this
plugin will auto-detect the line wrap approach, with `hard` as the
default. But for files of type `text`, it will *always* initialize with
hard line break mode.
### Commands
Because auto-detect might not work as intended, you can invoke a command
to set the behavior for the current buffer:
* `SoftPencil` - enable soft line wrap mode
* `HardPencil` - enable hard line break mode
* `NoPencil` - removes navigation mappings and restores buffer to global settings
* `TogglePencil` - if on, turns off; if off, enables with detection
### Automatic formatting
_This ‘autoformat’ feature affects *HardPencil* mode only._
When you are inserting text in *HardPencil* mode, Vim’s autoformat feature
will be enabled by default and can offer many of the same benefits as soft
line wrap.
_Pencil_ will disable autoformat if inside a code block. If it doesn’t, or
in other cases where you need to disable autoformat, you can do so with
a command:
* `AutoPencil` - enables autoformat
* `ManualPencil` - disables autoformat
* `ShiftPencil` - toggle to enable if disabled, etc.
Or optionally map the toggle command to a key of your choice in your
`.vimrc`:
```vim
nnoremap p :ShiftPencil
```
To set the default behavior, add to your `.vimrc`:
```vim
let g:pencil#autoformat = 1 " 0=manual, 1=auto (def)
```
You can override this default during initialization, as in:
```vim
augroup pencil
autocmd!
autocmd FileType text call pencil#init({'wrap': 'hard', 'autoformat': 0})
...
augroup END
```
...where by default, files of type `text` will use hard line endings, but
with autoformat disabled.
Advanced users will want to check out `g:pencil#autoformat_exclude` to set
highlight groups for which autoformat will not be enabled.
### Manual formatting
Note that you need not rely on autoformat exclusively and can manually
reformat paragraphs with standard Vim commands:
* `gqip` or `gwip` - format current paragraph
* `vipJ` - unformat current paragraph
* `ggVGgq` or `:g/^/norm gqq` - format all paragraphs in buffer
* `:%norm vipJ` - unformat all paragraphs in buffer
Optionally, you can map these operations to underutilized keys in your
`.vimrc`:
```vim
nnoremap Q gwip
nnoremap K vipJ
```
### Default textwidth
You can configure the textwidth to be used in **HardPencil** mode when no
textwidth is set globally, locally, or available via modeline. It defaults
to `74`, but you can change that value in your `.vimrc`:
```vim
let g:pencil#textwidth = 74
```
### Sentence spacing
By default, when formatting only one space will be inserted after
a period(`.`), exclamation point(`!`), or question mark(`?`). You can
change this default:
```vim
let g:pencil#joinspaces = 0 " 0=one_space (def), 1=two_spaces
```
### Cursor wrap
By default, `h`/`l` and the left/right cursor keys will move to the
previous/next line after reaching first/last character in a line with
a hard break. If you wish to retain the default Vim behavior, set the
`cursorwrap` value to `0` in your `.vimrc`:
```vim
let g:pencil#cursorwrap = 1 " 0=disable, 1=enable (def)
```
### Concealing \_\_styling markup\_\_ in Markdown
Syntax plugins such as [tpope/vim-markdown][tm] support Vim’s Conceal
feature, where the `_` and `*` characters can be hidden automatically when
displaying \_*italic*\_, \*\*__bold__\*\* and \*\*\*___bold
italic___\*\*\* styled text.
To use Vim’s Conceal feature with Markdown, you will need to install:
1. [tpope/vim-markdown][tm] as it’s currently the only Markdown syntax
plugin that supports conceal.
2. a monospaced font (such as [Cousine][co]) featuring the _italic_,
**bold**, and ***bold italic*** style variant for styled text.
3. a colorscheme (such as [reedes/vim-colors-pencil][cp]) which supports
the Markdown-specific highlight groups for styled text.
You should then only see the `_` and `*` markup for the cursor line and in
visual selections.
You can change _pencil’s_ default settings for conceal in your `.vimrc`:
```vim
let g:pencil#conceallevel = 3 " 0=disable, 1=onechar, 2=hidechar, 3=hideall
let g:pencil#concealcursor = 'c' " n=normal, v=visual, i=insert, c=command
```
Terminal users: consult your terminal’s documentation to configure your
terminal to support **bold** and _italic_ styles.
For more details on Vim’s Conceal feature, see:
```vim
:help conceallevel
:help concealcursor
```
[co]: http://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Cousine
[tm]: http://github.com/tpope/vim-markdown
## Auto-detecting wrap mode
If you didn't explicitly specify a wrap mode during initialization,
_pencil_ will attempt to detect it.
It will first look for a `textwidth` (or `tw`) specified in a modeline.
Failing that, _pencil_ will then sample lines from the start of the file.
### Detect via modeline
Will the wrap mode be detected accurately? Maybe. But you can improve its
chances by giving _pencil_ an explicit hint.
At the bottom of this document is a odd-looking code:
```
```
This is an **optional** ‘modeline’ that tells Vim to run the following
command upon loading the file into a buffer:
```vim
:set textwidth=74
```
It tells _pencil_ to assume hard line breaks, regardless of whether or
not soft line wrap is the default editing mode for files of type ‘markdown’.
You explicitly specify soft wrap mode by specifying a textwidth of `0`:
```
```
Note that if the modelines feature is disabled (such as for security
reasons) the textwidth will still be set by this plugin.
### Detect via sampling
If no modeline with a textwidth is found, _pencil_ will sample the initial
lines from the file, looking for those excessively-long.
There are two settings you can add to your `.vimrc` to tweak this behavior.
The maximum number of lines to sample from the start of the file:
```vim
let g:pencil#softDetectSample = 20
```
Set that value to `0` to disable detection via line sampling.
When the number of bytes on a sampled line per exceeds this next value,
then _pencil_ assumes soft line wrap.
```vim
let g:pencil#softDetectThreshold = 130
```
If no such lines found, _pencil_ falls back to the default mentioned earlier:
```vim
let g:pencil#wrapModeDefault = 'hard' " or 'soft'
```
## See also
* [To Vim][tv] - Writer and psychologist Ian Hocking on using Vim for writing
* [Vim Training Class - Basic motions and commands][tc] - video tutorial by Shawn Biddle
* [Vim for Writers][vw] - guide to the basics geared to writers
Other plugins of specific interest to writers:
* [tpope/vim-abolish][ab] - easily search for, substitute, and abbreviate multiple variants of a word
* [tommcdo/vim-exchange][ex] - easy text exchange operator for Vim
* [junegunn/limelight.vim][jl] - focus mode that brightens current paragraph
If you find the _pencil_ plugin useful, check out these others by [@reedes][re]:
* [vim-colors-pencil][cp] - color scheme for Vim inspired by IA Writer
* [vim-lexical][lx] - building on Vim’s spell-check and thesaurus/dictionary completion
* [vim-litecorrect][lc] - lightweight auto-correction for Vim
* [vim-one][vo] - make use of Vim’s _+clientserver_ capabilities
* [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
[ab]: http://github.com/tpope/vim-abolish
[cp]: http://github.com/reedes/vim-colors-pencil
[ex]: http://github.com/tommcdo/vim-exchange
[jl]: http://github.com/junegunn/limelight.vim
[lc]: http://github.com/reedes/vim-litecorrect
[lx]: http://github.com/reedes/vim-lexical
[qu]: http://github.com/reedes/vim-textobj-quote
[re]: http://github.com/reedes
[tc]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nim4_f5QUxA
[th]: http://github.com/reedes/vim-thematic
[ts]: http://github.com/reedes/vim-textobj-sentence
[tv]: http://ianhocking.com/2013/11/17/to-vim/
[vo]: http://github.com/reedes/vim-one
[vw]: http://therandymon.com/woodnotes/vim-for-writers/vimforwriters.html
[wh]: http://github.com/reedes/vim-wheel
[wo]: http://github.com/reedes/vim-wordy
## Future development
If you’ve spotted a problem or have an idea on improving this plugin,
please post it to the github project issue page.
```
```