# Vim documentation: textprop

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    *textprop.txt*  For Vim version 9.1.  Last change: 2023 Apr 23

    		  VIM REFERENCE MANUAL    by Bram Moolenaar

    Displaying text with properties attached.	*textprop* *text-properties*

    1. Introduction			|text-prop-intro|
    2. Functions			|text-prop-functions|
    3. When text changes		|text-prop-changes|

    {not able to use text properties when the |+textprop| feature was
    disabled at compile time}

    ==============================================================================

    1. Introduction						*text-prop-intro*

    Text properties can be attached to text in a buffer.  They will move with the
    text: If lines are deleted or inserted the properties move with the text they
    are attached to.  Also when inserting/deleting text in the line before the
    text property.  And when inserting/deleting text inside the text property, it
    will increase/decrease in size.

    The main use for text properties is to highlight text.  This can be seen as a
    replacement for syntax highlighting.  Instead of defining patterns to match
    the text, the highlighting is set by a script, possibly using the output of an
    external parser.  This only needs to be done once, not every time when
    redrawing the screen, thus can be much faster, after the initial cost of
    attaching the text properties.

    Text properties can also be used for other purposes to identify text.  For
    example, add a text property on a function name, so that a search can be
    defined to jump to the next/previous function.

    A text property is attached at a specific line and column, and has a specified
    length.  The property can span multiple lines.

    A text property has these fields:
    	"id"		a number to be used as desired
    	"type"		the name of a property type

    Property Types

    							*E971*
    A text property normally has the name of a property type, which defines
    how to highlight the text.  The property type can have these entries:
    	"highlight"	name of the highlight group to use
    	"combine"	when omitted or TRUE the text property highlighting is
    			combined with any syntax highlighting; when FALSE the
    			text property highlighting replaces the syntax
    			highlighting
    	"priority"	when properties overlap, the one with the highest
    			priority will be used.
    	"start_incl"	when TRUE inserts at the start position will be
    			included in the text property
    	"end_incl"	when TRUE inserts at the end position will be
    			included in the text property

    Example

    Suppose line 11 in a buffer has this text (excluding the indent):

    	The number 123 is smaller than 4567.

    To highlight the numbers in this text:
    	call prop_type_add('number', {'highlight': 'Constant'})
    	call prop_add(11, 12, {'length': 3, 'type': 'number'})
    	call prop_add(11, 32, {'length': 4, 'type': 'number'})

    Try inserting or deleting lines above the text, you will see that the text
    properties stick to the text, thus the line number is adjusted as needed.

    Setting "start_incl" and "end_incl" is useful when white space surrounds the
    text, e.g. for a function name.  Using false is useful when the text starts
    and/or ends with a specific character, such as the quote surrounding a string.

    	func FuncName(arg)
    	     ^^^^^^^^        property with start_incl and end_incl set

    	var = "text";
    	      ^^^^^^	     property with start_incl and end_incl not set

    Nevertheless, when text is inserted or deleted the text may need to be parsed
    and the text properties updated.  But this can be done asynchronously.

    Internal error *E967*

    If you see E967, please report the bug.  You can do this at Github:
    https://github.com/vim/vim/issues/new

    ==============================================================================

    2. Functions						*text-prop-functions*

    Manipulating text property types:

    prop_type_add({name}, {props})		define a new property type
    prop_type_change({name}, {props})	change an existing property type
    prop_type_delete({name} [, {props}])	delete a property type
    prop_type_get({name} [, {props}])	get property type values
    prop_type_list([{props}])		get list of property types

    Manipulating text properties:

    prop_add({lnum}, {col}, {props})	add a text property
    prop_add_list({props}, [{item}, ...])
    					add a text property at multiple
    					positions.
    prop_clear({lnum} [, {lnum-end} [, {bufnr}]])
    					remove all text properties
    prop_find({props} [, {direction}])	search for a text property
    prop_list({lnum} [, {props}])		text properties in {lnum}
    prop_remove({props} [, {lnum} [, {lnum-end}]])
    					remove a text property

    						*prop_add()* *E965*
    prop_add({lnum}, {col}, {props})
    		Attach a text property at position {lnum}, {col}.  {col} is
    		counted in bytes, use one for the first column.

    		If {lnum} is invalid an error is given. *E966*

    		If {col} is invalid an error is given. *E964*

    		{props} is a dictionary with these fields:
    		   type		name of the text property type
    		   length	length of text in bytes, can only be used
    				for a property that does not continue in
    				another line; can be zero
    		   end_lnum	line number for the end of text (inclusive)
    		   end_col	column just after the text; not used when
    				"length" is present; when {col} and "end_col"
    				are equal, and "end_lnum" is omitted or equal
    				to {lnum}, this is a zero-width text property
    		   bufnr	buffer to add the property to; when omitted
    				the current buffer is used
    		   id		user defined ID for the property; must be a
    				number, should be positive; when using "text"
    				then "id" must not be present and will be set
    				automatically to a negative number; otherwise
    				zero is used

    							*E1305*
    		   text		text to be displayed before {col}, or
    				above/below the line if {col} is zero; prepend
    				and/or append spaces for padding with
    				highlighting; cannot be used with "length",
    				"end_lnum" and "end_col"
    				See |virtual-text| for more information.

    							*E1294*
    		   text_align	when "text" is present and {col} is zero;
    				specifies where to display the text:
    				   after   after the end of the line
    				   right   right aligned in the window (unless
    					   the text wraps to the next screen
    					   line)
    				   below   in the next screen line
    				   above   just above the line
    				When omitted "after" is used.  Only one
    				"right" property can fit in each line, if
    				there are two or more these will go in a
    				separate line (still right aligned).

    		   text_padding_left				*E1296*
    				used when "text" is present and {col} is zero;
    				padding between the end of the text line
    				(leftmost column for "above" and "below") and
    				the virtual text, not highlighted
    		   text_wrap	when "text" is present and {col} is zero,
    				specifies what happens if the text doesn't
    				fit:
    				   wrap      wrap the text to the next line
    				   truncate  truncate the text to make it fit
    				When omitted "truncate" is used.
    				Note that this applies to the individual text
    				property, the 'wrap' option sets the overall
    				behavior
    		All fields except "type" are optional.

    		It is an error when both "length" and "end_lnum" or "end_col"
    		are given.  Either use "length" or "end_col" for a property
    		within one line, or use "end_lnum" and "end_col" for a
    		property that spans more than one line.
    		When neither "length" nor "end_col" are given the property
    		will be zero-width.  That means it will move with the text, as
    		a kind of mark.  One character will be highlighted, if the
    		type specifies highlighting.
    		The property can end exactly at the last character of the
    		text, or just after it.  In the last case, if text is appended
    		to the line, the text property size will increase, also when
    		the property type does not have "end_incl" set.

    		"type" will first be looked up in the buffer the property is
    		added to. When not found, the global property types are used.
    		If not found an error is given.

    							*virtual-text*
    		When "text" is used and the column is non-zero then this text
    		will be displayed at the specified start location of the text
    		property.  The text of the buffer line will be shifted to make
    		room.  This is called "virtual text".
    		When the column is zero the virtual text will appear above,
    		after or below the buffer text.  The "text_align" and
    		"text_wrap" arguments determine how it is displayed.
    		To separate the virtual text from the buffer text prepend
    		and/or append spaces to the "text" field or use the
    		"text_padding_left" value.

    		Make sure to use a highlight that makes clear to the user that
    		this is virtual text, otherwise it will be very confusing that
    		the text cannot be edited.  When using "above" you need to
    		make clear this text belongs to the text line below it, when
    		using "below" you need to make sure it belongs to the text
    		line above it.

    		The text will be displayed but it is not part of the actual
    		buffer line, the cursor cannot be placed on it.  A mouse click
    		in the text will move the cursor to the first character after
    		the text, or the last character of the line.
    		Any Tab and other control character in the text will be
    		changed to a space (Rationale: otherwise the size of the text
    		is difficult to compute).
    		A negative "id" will be chosen and is returned.

    		Before text properties with text were supported it was
    		possible to use a negative "id", even though this was very
    		rare.  Now that negative "id"s are reserved for text
    		properties with text an error is given when using a negative
    		"id".  When a text property with text already exists using a

    		negative "id" results in *E1293* .  If a negative "id" was
    		used and later a text property with text is added results in

    		*E1339* .

    		Can also be used as a YXXYmethod|:
    			GetLnum()->prop_add(col, props)

    						*prop_add_list()*
    prop_add_list({props}, [{item}, ...])
    		Similar to prop_add(), but attaches a text property at
    		multiple positions in a buffer.

    		{props} is a dictionary with these fields:
    		   bufnr	buffer to add the property to; when omitted
    				the current buffer is used
    		   id		user defined ID for the property; must be a
    				number; when omitted zero is used
    		   type		name of the text property type
    		All fields except "type" are optional.

    		The second argument is a List of items, where each {item} is a
    		list that specifies the starting and ending position of the
    		text: [{lnum}, {col}, {end-lnum}, {end-col}]
    		or:   [{lnum}, {col}, {end-lnum}, {end-col}, {id}]

    		The first two items {lnum} and {col} specify the starting
    		position of the text where the property will be attached.
    		The next two items {end-lnum} and {end-col} specify the
    		position just after the text.
    		An optional fifth item {id} can be used to give a different ID
    		to a property.  When omitted the ID from {props} is used,
    		falling back to zero if none are present.

    		It is not possible to add a text property with a "text" field
    		here.

    		Example:
    			call prop_add_list(#{type: 'MyProp', id: 2},
    					\ [[1, 4, 1, 7],
    					\  [1, 15, 1, 20],
    					\  [2, 30, 3, 30]]

    		Can also be used as a YXXYmethod|:
    			GetProp()->prop_add_list([[1, 1, 1, 2], [1, 4, 1, 8]])

    prop_clear({lnum} [, {lnum-end} [, {props}]])		*prop_clear()*
    		Remove all text properties from line {lnum}.
    		When {lnum-end} is given, remove all text properties from line
    		{lnum} to {lnum-end} (inclusive).

    		When {props} contains a "bufnr" item use this buffer,
    		otherwise use the current buffer.

    		Can also be used as a YXXYmethod|:
    			GetLnum()->prop_clear()

    							*prop_find()*
    prop_find({props} [, {direction}])
    		Search for a text property as specified with {props}:
    		   id		property with this ID
    		   type		property with this type name
    		   both		"id" and "type" must both match
    		   bufnr	buffer to search in; when present a
    				start position with "lnum" and "col"
    				must be given; when omitted the
    				current buffer is used
    		   lnum		start in this line (when omitted start
    				at the cursor)
    		   col		start at this column (when omitted
    				and "lnum" is given: use column 1,
    				otherwise start at the cursor)
    		   skipstart	do not look for a match at the start
    				position

    		A property matches when either "id" or "type" matches.
    		{direction} can be "f" for forward and "b" for backward.  When
    		omitted forward search is performed.

    		If a match is found then a Dict is returned with the entries
    		as with prop_list(), and additionally an "lnum" entry.
    		If no match is found then an empty Dict is returned.

    prop_list({lnum} [, {props}])				*prop_list()*
    		Returns a List with all the text properties in line {lnum}.

    		The following optional items are supported in {props}:
    		   bufnr	use this buffer instead of the current buffer
    		   end_lnum	return text properties in all the lines
    				between {lnum} and {end_lnum} (inclusive).
    				A negative value is used as an offset from the
    				last buffer line; -1 refers to the last buffer
    				line.
    		   types	List of property type names. Return only text
    				properties that match one of the type names.
    		   ids		List of property identifiers. Return only text
    				properties with one of these identifiers.

    		The properties are ordered by starting column and priority.
    		Each property is a Dict with these entries:
    		   lnum		starting line number. Present only when
    				returning text properties between {lnum} and
    				{end_lnum}.
    		   col		starting column
    		   length	length in bytes, one more if line break is
    				included
    		   id		property ID
    		   text		text to be displayed before {col}.  Only
    				present for |virtual-text| properties.
    		   text_align	alignment property of |virtual-text|.
    		   text_padding_left
    				left padding used for virtual text.
    		   text_wrap	specifies whether |virtual-text| is wrapped.
    		   type		name of the property type, omitted if
    				the type was deleted
    		   type_bufnr	buffer number for which this type was defined;
    				0 if the type is global
    		   start	when TRUE property starts in this line
    		   end		when TRUE property ends in this line

    		When "start" is zero the property started in a previous line,
    		the current one is a continuation.
    		When "end" is zero the property continues in the next line.
    		The line break after this line is included.

    		Returns an empty list on error.

    		Examples:
    		   " get text properties placed in line 5
    		   echo prop_list(5)
    		   " get text properties placed in line 20 in buffer 4
    		   echo prop_list(20, {'bufnr': 4})
    		   " get all the text properties between line 1 and 20
    		   echo prop_list(1, {'end_lnum': 20})
    		   " get all the text properties of type 'myprop'
    		   echo prop_list(1, {'types': ['myprop'],
    						\ 'end_lnum': -1})
    		   " get all the text properties of type 'prop1' or 'prop2'
    		   echo prop_list(1, {'types': ['prop1', 'prop2'],
    						\ 'end_lnum': -1})
    		   " get all the text properties with ID 8
    		   echo prop_list(1, {'ids': [8], 'end_lnum': line('$')})
    		   " get all the text properties with ID 10 and 20
    		   echo prop_list(1, {'ids': [10, 20], 'end_lnum': -1})
    		   " get text properties with type 'myprop' and ID 100
    		   " in buffer 4.
    		   echo prop_list(1, {'bufnr': 4, 'types': ['myprop'],
    					\ 'ids': [100], 'end_lnum': -1})

    		Can also be used as a YXXYmethod|:
    			GetLnum()->prop_list()

    						*prop_remove()* *E968* *E860*
    prop_remove({props} [, {lnum} [, {lnum-end}]])
    		Remove a matching text property from line {lnum}.  When
    		{lnum-end} is given, remove matching text properties from line
    		{lnum} to {lnum-end} (inclusive).
    		When {lnum} is omitted remove matching text properties from
    		all lines (this requires going over all lines, thus will be a
    		bit slow for a buffer with many lines).

    		{props} is a dictionary with these fields:
    		   id		remove text properties with this ID
    		   type		remove text properties with this type name
    		   types	remove text properties with type names in this
    				List
    		   both		"id" and "type"/"types" must both match
    		   bufnr	use this buffer instead of the current one
    		   all		when TRUE remove all matching text properties,
    				not just the first one

    		Only one of "type" and "types" may be supplied. *E1295*

    		A property matches when either "id" or one of the supplied
    		types matches.
    		If buffer "bufnr" does not exist you get an error message.
    		If buffer "bufnr" is not loaded then nothing happens.

    		Returns the number of properties that were removed.

    		Can also be used as a YXXYmethod|:
    			GetProps()->prop_remove()

    prop_type_add({name}, {props})		*prop_type_add()* *E969* *E970*
    		Add a text property type {name}.  If a property type with this
    		name already exists an error is given.  Nothing is returned.
    		{props} is a dictionary with these optional fields:
    		   bufnr	define the property only for this buffer; this
    				avoids name collisions and automatically
    				clears the property types when the buffer is
    				deleted.
    		   highlight	name of highlight group to use
    		   priority	when a character has multiple text
    				properties the one with the highest priority
    				will be used; negative values can be used, the
    				default priority is zero
    		   combine	when omitted or TRUE combine the highlight
    				with any syntax highlight; when FALSE syntax
    				highlight will not be used
    		   override	when TRUE the highlight overrides any other,
    				including 'cursorline' and Visual
    		   start_incl	when TRUE inserts at the start position will
    				be included in the text property
    		   end_incl	when TRUE inserts at the end position will be
    				included in the text property

    		Can also be used as a YXXYmethod|:
    			GetPropName()->prop_type_add(props)

    prop_type_change({name}, {props})			*prop_type_change()*
    		Change properties of an existing text property type.  If a
    		property with this name does not exist an error is given.
    		The {props} argument is just like |prop_type_add()|.

    		Can also be used as a YXXYmethod|:
    			GetPropName()->prop_type_change(props)

    prop_type_delete({name} [, {props}])			*prop_type_delete()*
    		Remove the text property type {name}.  When text properties
    		using the type {name} are still in place, they will not have
    		an effect and can no longer be removed by name.

    		{props} can contain a "bufnr" item.  When it is given, delete
    		a property type from this buffer instead of from the global
    		property types.

    		When text property type {name} is not found there is no error.

    		Can also be used as a YXXYmethod|:
    			GetPropName()->prop_type_delete()

    prop_type_get({name} [, {props}])			*prop_type_get()*
    		Returns the properties of property type {name}.  This is a
    		dictionary with the same fields as was given to
    		prop_type_add().
    		When the property type {name} does not exist, an empty
    		dictionary is returned.

    		{props} can contain a "bufnr" item.  When it is given, use
    		this buffer instead of the global property types.

    		Can also be used as a YXXYmethod|:
    			GetPropName()->prop_type_get()

    prop_type_list([{props}])				*prop_type_list()*
    		Returns a list with all property type names.

    		{props} can contain a "bufnr" item.  When it is given, use
    		this buffer instead of the global property types.

    ==============================================================================

    3. When text changes				*text-prop-changes*

    Vim will do its best to keep the text properties on the text where it was
    attached.  When inserting or deleting text the properties after the change
    will move accordingly.

    When text is deleted and a text property no longer includes any text, it is
    deleted.  However, a text property that was defined as zero-width will remain,
    unless the whole line is deleted.

    								*E275*
    When a buffer is unloaded, all the text properties are gone.  There is no way
    to store the properties in a file.  You can only re-create them.  When a
    buffer is hidden the text is preserved and so are the text properties.  It is
    not possible to add text properties to an unloaded buffer.

    When using replace mode, the text properties stay on the same character
    positions, even though the characters themselves change.

    To update text properties after the text was changed, install a callback with
    `listener_add()`.  E.g, if your plugin does spell checking, you can have the
    callback update spelling mistakes in the changed text.  Vim will move the
    properties below the changed text, so that they still highlight the same text,
    thus you don't need to update these.

    Text property columns are not updated or copied:

    - When setting the line with |setline()| or through an interface, such as Lua,
      Tcl or Python.  Vim does not know what text got inserted or deleted.
    - With a command like `:move`, which takes a line of text out of context.

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