About

vim-libmodal:

• Author: Iron-E
  • GitHub
  • GitLab

Forked from vim-win:

• Author: Daniel Steinberg

libmodal is a Neo/vim library/plugin aimed at simplifying the creation of new "modes" (e.g. Insert, Normal). The entrance of modes is user-defined, and their exit defaults to <Esc>. The function and name of modes is also user-defined, and is outlined in libmodal-usage.

If you use Neovim, try nvim-libmodal instead!

Installation

Use the built-in package manager or one of the various package managers.

Requirements

• nvim-libmodal is not installed.

Usage

Commands

libmodal#Enter

libmodal#Enter takes three parameters. These parameters are not formally named by the editor (as libmodal#Enter is declared libmodal#Enter(...) ). However, the names of these parameters will be used throughout the document to describe the index of the parameter (see E740).

• Note that either modeCallback or modeCombos may be specified, not both.

libmodal#Prompt

libmodal#Prompt takes two parameters. These parameters are not formally named by the editor (as libmodal#Prompt is declared libmodal#Prompt(...) ). However, the names of these parameters will be used throughout the document to describe the index of the parameter (see E740).

• Note that either modeCallback or modeCommands may be specified, not both.
• Note that commandList is an optional parameter.
  • It is used as a completion source for when modeCallback is specified.
  • Additionally, commandList is ignored when modeCommands is specified since completions can be created from the dictionary keys.
  • If commandList is not specified when modeCallback is, no completions will be provided for the prompt.

Receiving Input

When a user of libmodal calls libmodal#Enter or libmodal#Prompt, the modeName parameter is used to generate a unique global variable for the specific purpose of receiving said input. The variable is generated as follows:

let g:{tolower(a:modeName)}ModeInput = …

For example, if modeName is 'FOO', then the variable that is created is g:fooModeInput.

Creating Modes

For an example of a plugin that uses vim-libmodal, see vim-tabmode.

To define a new mode, you must first create a function to pass into libmodal#Enter. Example:

function! s:FooMode()
	if g:fooModeInput ==# "a"
		execute 'tabnew'
	elseif g:fooModeInput ==# "d"
		execute 'tabclose'
	endif
endfunction

After defining said function, you can create a mapping to enter the mode. Example:

command! FooModeEnter call libmodal#Enter('FOO', funcref('s:FooMode'))
nnoremap <leader>n :FooModeEnter

• Note the funcref() call. It must be there or else libmodal#Enter won't execute properly.

Key Combinations

While normally libmodal dictates that a user should define their own function for controlling a mode, there is a way to specify key combinations. If the second argument is set to a modeCombos dictionary, libmodal#Enter will automatically detect the caller's intent and pass control over to an auxilliary function built to handle pre-defined combos.

When providing modeCombos, it is important to note that one no longer has to receive input for themselves. Despite this, the unique variable (see libmodal-receiving-input) is still updated, and you can create a listener for it just like for any other variable.

• Note that libmodal-exit-supression is still compatable with defining key combinations.

Here is an example that shows how to create a dictionary that defines the following actions:

let s:barModeCombos = {
\	'zfo': 'echom "It works!"',
\	'zfc': 'tabnew'
\}

• NOTE: When defining actions that involve a chorded keypress (e.g. CTRL-W_s), mode creators should use i_CTRL-V to insert the literal of that character.
  • For example, if a mode creator wants a mapping for <C-s>v, then it should be specified as v.

And then to enter that mode, you can call:

call libmodal#Enter('BAR', s:barModeCombos)

libmodal's internal processing of that dictionary becomes more useful the larger the dictionary is. Internally, s:barModeCombos is rendered into a dictionary that looks like this:

This allows libmodal to quickly determine which mappings are and are not part of the mode. Because of this method, modes with mappings that have similar beginnings are more efficient, and modes with more mappings get more benefit from the quick tree-like traversal.

• Note that libmodal#Enter will only parse a modeCombos dict once upon entrance.
  • Changes to the mapping dictionary that may occur while in a mode are not reflected until the mode is entered again and the dictionary is re-parsed.

Libmodal Timeouts

When key combinations are being used, mode creators may also enable the use of Vim's built-in timeout feature. Unlike other options which are specified by passing arguments to libmodal#Enter, this feature is enabled through a variable.

• Note that if two keybinds share a beginning, and one is shorter than the other, (e.g. zf and zfo), then the user must press <CR> to execute it.
  • This also means that commands ending in ^M are not permitted.
  • Unfortunately, because of the limitations of Vimscript (more specifically getchar()) it is not possible to execute a function on timeout using timers exposed by the API. getchar() blocks execution and there is no combination of sleep or wait() that will allow getchar() to be called asynchronously
  • If you are reading this and know how to do something like this without using a secondary language, please let me know or open a pull request.

The reasoning for this is that the use of timeouts is primarily chosen by the user of a mode, rather than the creator (whereas other features like exit supression are largely creator-oriented).

To enable timeouts, one may set the following variables:

" Set libmodal modes to turn timeouts on.
let g:libmodalTimeouts = 1
" Enable timeouts for specific mode.
let g:{modeName}ModeTimeout = 1

Similarly, to disable them, one may set them to 0.

• Note that If not specified by the user, g:libmodalTimeouts automatically references the timeout on/off value.
• Note that the g:limbodalTimeouts variable should NOT be defined by plugins.
  • Allow users to decide whether or not they want timeouts to be enabled globally by themselves.
• Note that mode-specific timeout variables will override g:libmodalTimeouts.
  • This is so a default may be set but overridden.

When enabled, libmodal will reference the mode user's timeoutlen as specified in their config. This way, modes will feel consistent to users by default.

However, mode creators may change timeoutlen upon entrance of a mode, and then reset it upon exit. Example:

function! s:BarMode() abort
	" Get the user's preferred timeout length.
	let l:timeoutlen = &timeoutlen
	" Set it to something else, like 1500ms
	let &timeoutlen = 1500
	" Enter a mode
	call libmodal#Enter(…)
	" Reset the timeout
	let &timeoutlen = l:timeoutlen
endfunction

Mode creators who use modeCallbacks may define timeouts manually using timers, which is how libmodal implements them internally.

Exit Supression

When the supressExit parameter is specified, libmodal#Enter will ignore <Esc> presses and instead listen for changes to a unique variable created for the specific purpose of exiting the mode. The variable is generated as follows:

let g:{tolower(a:modeName)}ModeExit = 0

When this variable becomes set to 1, the mode will exit the next time that the modeCallback function returns.

Creating Prompts

Besides accepting user input like keys in Normal-mode, libmodal is also capable of prompting the user for input like Cmdline-mode. To define a Cmdline-mode-like prompt, use libmodal#Prompt rather than libmodal#Enter.

When modeCommands is specified, completions are provided for every key in the dictionary. See an example of this below:

let s:barModeCommands = {
\	'new': 'tabnew',
\	'close': 'tabclose',
\	'last': 'tablast'
\}

When modeCallback is specified, completions must be provided separately. An equivalent to the above using a modeCallback would be:

" Define callback
function! s:BarMode() abort
	if g:barModeInput ==# 'new'
		execute 'tabnew'
	elseif g:barModeInput ==# 'close'
		execute 'tabclose'
	elseif g:barModeInput ==# 'last'
		execute 'tablast'
	endif
endfunction

" Define completion list
let s:barModeCommandList = ['new', 'close', 'last']

You can then enter the mode using one of the following commands (depending on whether or not you used a dictionary or a callback):

" Command dict
call libmodal#Prompt('BAR', s:barModeCommands)
" Callback + completion list
call libmodal#Prompt('BAR', funcref('s:BarMode'), s:barModeCommandList)

• Note that if you want to create commands with arguments, you will need to use a callback.

Submodes

libmodal has built-in support for entering additional modes while already in a libmodal mode. To enter another mode, one must only call libmodal#Enter from within a modeCallback. Additionally, when a user presses <Esc> they will automatically be taken back to the mode that they were previously inside of.

To display this feature, one view the submode example.

Configuration

The following highlight groups can be configured to change a mode's colors: