Ecosyste.ms: Awesome

An open API service indexing awesome lists of open source software.

Awesome Lists | Featured Topics | Projects

https://github.com/preservim/vim-textobj-sentence

Improving on Vim's native sentence text object and motion
https://github.com/preservim/vim-textobj-sentence

prose vim vim-plugin vim-textobj-user writing

Last synced: 30 days ago
JSON representation

Improving on Vim's native sentence text object and motion

Awesome Lists containing this project

README 

        
# vim-textobj-sentence



> Improving on Vim's native sentence text object and motion



Detecting sentences can be tricky, esp. when the words and punctuation of

a sentence are interspersed with abbreviations, “quotations,”

(parentheses), [brackets], the \_\_markup\_\_ from \*\*lightweight\*\*

markup languages, and hard
line
breaks.



While Vim’s native sentence text object is quite capable, its behavior

remains hard-coded and cannot be extended. Thus arises the need for

a specialized text object offered by this plugin.



Features of this plugin:



* Sophisticated sentence text object, supporting selection, motion, and jump

* Implemented with regular expressions via the [vim-textobj-user][vt] plugin

* Supports sentences containing common abbreviations (configurable)

* Support for sentences containing typographical characters, incl. quotes,

  em dash, etc.

* Support for lightweight markup languages (markdown, e.g.)

* Buffer scoped configuration



## Installation



You can install using your favorite Vim package manager. (E.g.,

[Pathogen][pathogen], [Vundle][vundle], or [Plug][plug].) If you are using

a recent version of vim or neovim, you can also use native package

support. (See [:help packages][packages].)



[pathogen]: https://github.com/tpope/vim-pathogen

[vundle]: https://github.com/VundleVim/Vundle.vim

[plug]: https://github.com/junegunn/vim-plug

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



This plugin has an essential dependency that you will need to install:



* [kana/vim-textobj-user][vt] - a Vim plugin to create your own text

  objects without pain



[vt]: https://github.com/kana/vim-textobj-user



## Configuration



Because prose benefits more than code from a sentence text object, the

behavior of this plugin can be configured per file type. For example, to

enable sentence  in `markdown` and `textile` files, place in your

`.vimrc`:



```vim

set nocompatible            " this may already be in your .vimrc

filetype plugin indent on   " ...and this too



augroup textobj_sentence

  autocmd!

  autocmd FileType markdown call textobj#sentence#init()

  autocmd FileType textile call textobj#sentence#init()

augroup END

```



### Decimal numbers and abbreviations



Though the period `.` glyph/character will normally terminate a sentence,

it also has other uses. For example, the same glyph is used in

abbreviations like  ‘M.D.’ for Medical Doctor. These abbreviations, however,

should be tolerated when detecting the boundaries of a sentence. The

following should be considered one text object, rather than four:



```

Magnum, P.I. lives at Robin’s Nest, located at 11435 18th Ave., Oahu, HI.

```



This plugin detects decimal numbers and common abbreviations. By default,

the following abbreviations will be recognized:



```

  let g:textobj#sentence#abbreviations = [

    \ '[ABCDIMPSUabcdegimpsv]',

    \ 'l[ab]', '[eRr]d', 'Ph', '[Ccp]l', '[Lli]n', '[cn]o',

    \ '[Oe]p', '[DJMSh]r', '[MVv]s', '[CFMPScfpw]t',

    \ 'alt', '[Ee]tc', 'div', 'es[pt]', '[Ll]td', 'min',

    \ '[MD]rs', '[Aa]pt', '[Aa]ve?', '[Ss]tr?',

    \ '[Aa]ssn', '[Bb]lvd', '[Dd]ept', 'incl', 'Inst', 'Prof', 'Univ',

    \ ]

```



Note that you can override/modify the above defaults in your `.vimrc`, but

be sure to include the declaration before your call to

`textobj#sentence#init()`.



### Motion commands



Motion commands on text objects are a powerful feature of Vim.



This plugin overrides Vim’s native commands for sentence selection:



* `as` - select ‘_around_’ sentence with trailing whitespace

* `is` - select ‘_inside_’ sentence without trailing whitespace



* `(` - move to start of previous sentence

* `)` - move to start of next sentence



This plugin adds:



* `g)` - jump to end of current sentence

* `g(` - jump to end of previous sentence



You can manipulate text just as with Vim’s original `as` and `is`

commands, such as `cis` for change, `vas` for visual selection, `das` for

deletion, `yas` for yanking to clipboard, etc.. Note that count isn’t

supported at present (due to limitations of the underlying

vim-textobj-user) but repeat with `.` does work.



If you prefer to retain the native commands, you can assign other

key mappings via your `.vimrc`:



  ```vim

  let g:textobj#sentence#select = 's'

  let g:textobj#sentence#move_p = '('

  let g:textobj#sentence#move_n = ')'

  ```



## See also



If you find this plugin useful, check out these others originally 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-pencil][pn] - rethinking Vim as a tool for writers

* [vim-textobj-quote][qu] - extends Vim to support typographic (‘curly’) quotes

* [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

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

[lx]: https://github.com/preservim/vim-lexical

[lc]: https://github.com/preservim/vim-litecorrect

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

[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



## 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][issues].



[issues]: https://github.com/preservim/vim-textobj-sentence/issues