Adding Vim Plugins: Global and Filetype-Specific

unzip /tmp/fancy.zip < If the archive layout is different make sure that you end up with a path like this: ~/.local/share/nvim/site/pack/fancy/start/fancytext/plugin/fancy.vim ~ Here "fancytext" is the name of the package, it can be anything else. Adding nohlsearch package *nohlsearch-install* *package-nohlsearch* Load the plugin with this command: > packadd nohlsearch < Automatically execute |:nohlsearch| after 'updatetime' or getting into |Insert| mode. Thus assuming default updatetime, hlsearch would be suspended/turned off after 4 seconds of idle time. To disable the effect of the plugin after it has been loaded: > au! nohlsearch < More information about packages can be found here: |packages|. ============================================================================== *05.5* Adding a plugin *add-plugin* *plugin* Vim's functionality can be extended by adding plugins. A plugin is nothing more than a Vim script file that is loaded automatically when Vim starts. You can add a plugin very easily by dropping it in your plugin directory. There are two types of plugins: global plugin: Used for all kinds of files filetype plugin: Only used for a specific type of file The global plugins will be discussed first, then the filetype ones |add-filetype-plugin|. GLOBAL PLUGINS *standard-plugin* When you start Vim, it will automatically load a number of global plugins. You don't have to do anything for this. They add functionality that most people will want to use, but which was implemented as a Vim script instead of being compiled into Vim. You can find them listed in the help index |standard-plugin-list|. Also see |load-plugins|. *add-global-plugin* You can add a global plugin to add functionality that will always be present when you use Vim. There are only two steps for adding a global plugin: 1. Get a copy of the plugin. 2. Drop it in the right directory. GETTING A GLOBAL PLUGIN Where can you find plugins? - Some are always loaded, you can see them in the directory $VIMRUNTIME/plugin. - Some come with Vim. You can find them in the directory $VIMRUNTIME/macros and its sub-directories and under $VIM/vimfiles/pack/dist/opt/. - Download from the net. There is a large collection on https://www.vim.org. - They are sometimes posted in a Vim maillist. - You could write one yourself, see |write-plugin|. USING A GLOBAL PLUGIN First read the text in the plugin itself to check for any special conditions. Then copy the file to your plugin directory: system plugin directory ~ Unix ~/.local/share/nvim/site/plugin Example for Unix (assuming you didn't have a plugin directory yet): > mkdir -p ~/.local/share/nvim/site/plugin cp /tmp/yourplugin.vim ~/.local/share/nvim/site/plugin That's all! Now you can use the commands defined in this plugin. Instead of putting plugins directly into the plugin/ directory, you may better organize them by putting them into subdirectories under plugin/. As an example, consider using "~/.local/share/nvim/site/plugin/perl/*.vim" for all your Perl plugins. FILETYPE PLUGINS *add-filetype-plugin* *ftplugins* The Vim distribution comes with a set of plugins for different filetypes that you can start using with this command: > :filetype plugin on That's all! See |vimrc-filetype|. If you are missing a plugin for a filetype you are using, or you found a better one, you can add it. There are two steps for adding a filetype plugin: 1. Get a copy of the plugin. 2. Drop it in the right directory. GETTING A FILETYPE PLUGIN You can find them in the same places as the global plugins. Watch out if the type of file is mentioned, then you know if the plugin is a global or a filetype one. The scripts in $VIMRUNTIME/macros are global ones, the filetype plugins are in $VIMRUNTIME/ftplugin. USING A FILETYPE PLUGIN *ftplugin-name* You can add a filetype plugin by dropping it in the right directory. The name of this directory is in the same

This section explains how to add plugins to Vim, distinguishing between global plugins, which function across all file types, and filetype plugins, which are specific to certain file types. It outlines the steps for acquiring plugins from various sources and placing them in the appropriate directories to enable their functionality. It covers adding global plugins to the plugin directory and filetype plugins to the ftplugin directory, and it emphasizes the importance of enabling filetype plugins with the command `:filetype plugin on`.