Vim Plugins You Should Know About, Part I: surround.vim

[pkrumins]

http://www.catonmat.net/blog/vim-plugins-surround-vim/

[thomasmallen]

  <!-- Ugh. Surround is OK, but sucks for wrapping in HTML tags. If I select the line: -->

  Hello!

  <!-- And use stp (surround selection with <p/>) I get: -->

  <p>
      Hello!
  </p>

  <!-- Instead of -->
  
  <p>Hello!</p>

  <!-- The workaround? ^v$ which is tedious. I recommend mapping this for those times when you want to wrap the current line quickly in XML tags. 

  function! TagWrapper()
      let a:tag = input("Tag: ")
      normal `>
      exe "normal a</" . a:tag . ">"
      normal `<
      exe "normal i<" . a:tag . ">"
  endfunction
  -->

[pkrumins → thomasmallen]

This plugin does not define 'stp'. You must be using some other plugin that has this mapping.

The plugin I wrote about wraps HTML around perfectly. Try:

    ysiWt<p>

Or if you knew the tag you were going to wrap your "Hello!" in, then in insert mode you could have pressed:

    <CTRL+s>t<p>.

[thomasmallen → pkrumins]

No, the plugin does define stp.

  :help Surround

The pattern you have there ("ysiWtp", < is unnecessary, as is >) is actually not thoroughly tested (as mentioned in the docs) and is used when not in a visual selection. In a visual selection, you use "s" followed by what you want to surround with, e.g. s"

[pkrumins → thomasmallen]

You must have a different surround.vim script. Perhaps someone else wrote a script and called "surround.vim" as well.

The one I am talking about does not define stp and requires < > between tags.

What does your 'stp' do?

Edit: I see what you did there. You were in visual mode!

[thomasmallen → pkrumins]

Of course. surround.vim couldn't get away with clobbering "s" in normal mode.

[pkrumins → thomasmallen]

this works for me:

  viwstp>

turns

  foo

into

  <p>foo</p>

Edit: (30 mins later) Now I understood fully what was happening. ;)

[pmarin]

My favorite vim plugin is to not use any plugin: use the filter command "!", the unix way.

[newsycaccount → pmarin]

more on "!":

Run the given cmd/pipeline, and put it's output at the current cursor location:

    :r ! <cmd>

Filter the whole buffer through the given cmd/pipeline:

    :%! <cmd>

Filter a visual selection through the given cmd/pipeline: make selection (with mouse if you have :set mouse=a or gvim, or with any of the variations on 'v'), then hit '!'

you will pop into a command line like this:

    :'<,'>! <cmd>

'< is the beginning of the visual selection, and '> is the end.

[orib → pmarin]

Sure, but some things (eg, surround.vim) can't be emulated with that.

[pmarin → orib]

give me an example of something that i can't filter in a sed/grep/ed/awk/perl script.

[kilowatt]

I just made a plugin recently for on the fly Python checking with squiggly underlines, like a "real" IDE: pyflakes.vim http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=2441

(Make sure you grab a Python 2.5/gvim--required ATM--build from the link on that page as well.)

[thamer]

I tried this plugin a few days ago, but it seemed to break the s (substitute) command, so I removed it. Does someone know how to make it work?

The problem is the following: Write a line of text, select part of it using v, then press s to remove the selection and enter insert mode to start replacing it. This doesn't work anymore when surround.vim is loaded. Too bad, it sure looks great…

[pkrumins → thamer]

Try 'R' instead of 's' that you were used to.

  OR

Edit surround.vim and comment out the 's' mappings in visual mode. Like this:

    "    if !hasmapto("<Plug>Vsurround","v")
    "        if exists(":xmap")
    "            xmap  s    <Plug>Vsurround
    "        else
    "            vmap  s    <Plug>Vsurround
    "        endif
    "    endif
    "    if !hasmapto("<Plug>VSurround","v")
    "        if exists(":xmap")
    "            xmap  S    <Plug>VSurround
    "        else
    "            vmap  S    <Plug>VSurround
    "        endif
    "    endif

[thamer → pkrumins]

'R' replaces the whole line, so that won't do. I commented the script as you suggested and it works. Thank you!

[sofal → thamer]

If I'm not mistaken, I believe that pressing c instead of s in that situation will do the exact same thing.

[tumult]

oh my god, thank you. i love you.

[tdavis]

I've been looking for a plugin that does precisely this. Thank you Peteris, you've got another subscriber ;)

[pkrumins → tdavis]

Thank you! :)