Working with Marked Files in Netrw: Unmarking, Highlighting, and Commands

marked files |netrw-mg| Apply vimgrep to marked files |netrw-mm| Move marked files to target |netrw-ms| Netrw will source marked files |netrw-mt| Set target for |netrw-mm| and |netrw-mc| |netrw-mT| Generate tags using marked files |netrw-mv| Apply vim command to marked files |netrw-mx| Apply shell command to marked files |netrw-mX| Apply shell command to marked files, en bloc |netrw-mz| Compress/Decompress marked files |netrw-O| Obtain marked files |netrw-R| Rename marked files One may unmark files one at a time the same way one marks them; ie. place the cursor atop a marked file and press "mf". This process also works with <s-leftmouse> using gvim. One may unmark all files by pressing "mu" (see |netrw-mu|). Marked files are highlighted using the "netrwMarkFile" highlighting group, which by default is linked to "Identifier" (see Identifier under |group-name|). You may change the highlighting group by putting something like > highlight clear netrwMarkFile hi link netrwMarkFile ..whatever.. < into $HOME/.vim/after/syntax/netrw.vim . If the mouse is enabled and works with your vim, you may use <s-leftmouse> to mark one or more files. You may mark multiple files by dragging the shifted leftmouse. (see |netrw-mouse|) *markfilelist* *global_markfilelist* *local_markfilelist* All marked files are entered onto the global marked file list; there is only one such list. In addition, every netrw buffer also has its own buffer-local marked file list; since netrw buffers are associated with specific directories, this means that each directory has its own local marked file list. The various commands which operate on marked files use one or the other of the marked file lists. Known Problem: if one is using tree mode (|g:netrw_liststyle|) and several directories have files with the same name, then marking such a file will result in all such files being highlighted as if they were all marked. The |markfilelist|, however, will only have the selected file in it. This problem is unlikely to be fixed. UNMARKING FILES *netrw-mF* {{{2 (also see |netrw-mf|, |netrw-mu|) The "mF" command will unmark all files in the current buffer. One may also use mf (|netrw-mf|) on a specific, already marked, file to unmark just that file. MARKING FILES BY LOCATION LIST *netrw-qL* {{{2 (also see |netrw-mf|) One may convert |location-list|s into a marked file list using "qL". You may then proceed with commands such as me (|netrw-me|) to edit them. MARKING FILES BY QUICKFIX LIST *netrw-qF* {{{2 (also see |netrw-mf|) One may convert |quickfix-error-lists| into a marked file list using "qF". You may then proceed with commands such as me (|netrw-me|) to edit them. Quickfix error lists are generated, for example, by calls to |:vimgrep|. MARKING FILES BY REGULAR EXPRESSION *netrw-mr* {{{2 (also see |netrw-mf|) One may also mark files by pressing "mr"; netrw will then issue a prompt, "Enter regexp: ". You may then enter a shell-style regular expression such as *.c$ (see |glob()|). For remote systems, glob() doesn't work -- so netrw converts "*" into ".*" (see |regexp|) and marks files based on that. In the future I may make it possible to use |regexp|s instead of glob()-style expressions (yet-another-option). See |cmdline-window| for directions on more on how to edit the regular expression. MARKED FILES, ARBITRARY VIM COMMAND *netrw-mv* {{{2 (See |netrw-mf| and |netrw-mr| for how to mark files) (uses the local marked-file list) The "mv" map causes netrw to execute an arbitrary vim command on each file on the local marked file list, individually: * 1split * sil! keepalt e file * run vim command * sil! keepalt wq! A prompt, "Enter vim command: ", will be issued to elicit the vim command you wish used. See |cmdline-window| for directions for more on how to edit the command. MARKED FILES, ARBITRARY SHELL COMMAND *netrw-mx* {{{2 (See |netrw-mf|

This section elaborates on working with marked files in Netrw, including using the 'mf' command or <s-leftmouse> to unmark individual files, and 'mu' to unmark all. It explains how to customize the highlighting of marked files and describes the global and local marked file lists. It also details using 'mF' to unmark files in the current buffer, and marking files based on location lists ('qL'), quickfix lists ('qF'), or regular expressions ('mr'). Furthermore, it covers applying arbitrary Vim ('mv') or shell ('mx', 'mX') commands to marked files.