# 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
* When using hard line breaks, enables autoformat while inserting text
* Buffer-scoped configuration (leaves your global settings alone)
* Pure Vimscript with no dependencies
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 apps available, including those that
specifically cater to writers, why use a programmer’s editor like Vim for
writing?
There are good reasons NOT to use Vim for writing:
* Primitive in certain respects (no WYSIWYG or proportionally spaced
characters, e.g.)
* A modal editor with a steep learning curve
* Time and effort to configure to your needs
But Vim offers a unique editing environment not matched by other writing
tools:
* Hands 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
## Installation
Install using Pathogen, Vundle, Neobundle, or your favorite Vim package
manager.
_For those new to Vim: before installing this plugin, you should first
work through one of the many tutorials available to get comfortable with
the basics of Vim._
## 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
" standard vim command to enable loading the plugin files
" (and their indent support) for specific file types.
" It may already be in your .vimrc!
filetype plugin indent on
let g:pencil#wrapModeDefault = 'hard' " or 'soft'
augroup pencil
autocmd!
autocmd FileType markdown 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
* `DropPencil` - removes navigation mappings and restores buffer to global settings
* `TogglePencil` - if on, turns off; if off, enables with detection
Optionally, you can map to keys in your `.vimrc`:
```vim
nnoremap ps :SoftPencil
nnoremap ph :HardPencil
nnoremap pd :DropPencil
nnoremap pt :TogglePencil
```
### Automatic formatting
_This ‘autoformat’ feature affects *HardPencil* mode only._
When in *HardPencil* mode, Vim’s autoformat feature will be enabled by
default in Insert mode and can offer many of the same benefits as soft
line wrap. But autoformat will cause havoc when editing anything but
paragraphs of words, such as a code block or table. In these cases you
will need to disable it, at least temporarily, via a command:
* `AutoPencil` - enables autoformat
* `ManualPencil` - disables autoformat
* `ShiftPencil` - toggle to enable if disabled, etc.
Or optionally map to keys in your `.vimrc`:
```vim
nnoremap pa :AutoPencil
nnoremap pm :ManualPencil
nnoremap pp :ShiftPencil
```
To set the default behavior, add to your `.vimrc`:
```vim
let g:pencil#autoformat = 1 " 0=manual, 1=auto
```
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.
### 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 sequences to underutilized keys in your
`.vimrc`:
```vim
nnoremap Q gwip
nnoremap K vipJ
nnoremap Q ggVGgq
nnoremap K :%norm 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, 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
```
## 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](http://ianhocking.com/2013/11/17/to-vim/) - Writer and psychologist Ian Hocking on using Vim for writing
* [Vim Training Class - Basic motions and commands](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nim4_f5QUxA) - video tutorial by Shawn Biddle
* [Vim for Writers](http://therandymon.com/woodnotes/vim-for-writers/vimforwriters.html) - guide to the basics geared to writers
* [Vim-related books](http://iccf-holland.org/click5.html) - collection of books on learning Vim
* [pencil at vim.org](http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=4824)
If you find this plugin useful, you may want to 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-quotable][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-wordy][wo] - uncovering usage problems in writing
[re]: http://github.com/reedes
[cp]: http://github.com/reedes/vim-colors-pencil
[lx]: http://github.com/reedes/vim-lexical
[lc]: http://github.com/reedes/vim-litecorrect
[qu]: http://github.com/reedes/vim-quotable
[ts]: http://github.com/reedes/vim-textobj-sentence
[th]: http://github.com/reedes/vim-thematic
[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.
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```