Is there any way to highlight multiple searches in (g)Vim?

Question

I want to search for multiple strings in Vim/gVim and have them highlighted in different colours. Is there a way of doing this with out-the-box Vim or with a plug-in?

Oxy

Answer 1

There are two simple ways to highlight multiple words in vim editor.

1. Go to search mode i.e. type '/' and then type \v followed by the words you want to search separated by '|' (pipe).
   E.g.: /\vword1|word2|word3

2. Go to search mode and type the words you want to search separated by '\|'.
   E.g.: /word1\|word2\|word3

Basically the first way puts you in the regular expression mode so that you do not need to put any extra back slashes before every pipe or other delimiters used for searching.

Carlos

This is especially useful since you can still use 'n' (or 'N') to go to the next (or previous) result. – Barber

@DaveDopson "downside" Do you know of a way to get multiple colors? – Terminus

Answer 2

This can be done manually, without any script, for two search patterns.

:match Search /pattern/
:match Search /<CTRL-R>/   # highlight the current search pattern

Search is the name of the highlight group, use the completion to select another group to highlight with a different color.

 :match <TAB>
 :match <TAB>    # completion will list all highlight group

This an be handy when you cannot use your own vim configuration.

:match none      # clear the match pattern to stop highlighting

Debouch

Did not work for me. For anyone wondering try this: #4163164 – Schwinn

Answer 3

For searching multiple strings in vim you can do like:

/search1\|search2

This works, and will highlight both search1 and search2, but with same color. You have to do this in vim editor.

Judicial

what if you want to look for search1 but not matching search2, how can I modify that command line in vim? – Live

Answer 4

Try "Highlight multiple words", which uses matchadd().

Graupel

This one is the coolest, just hit \+m (or double click) on each word you want to (un)highlight. And you get a different color each time. – Woden

Answer 5

Yes, out-of-the-box you can use matchadd().

To add a highlight, eg. for trailing whitespace:

:highlight ExtraWhitespace ctermbg=grey guibg=grey
:call matchadd('ExtraWhitespace', '\s\+$', 11)

To view all matches:

:echo getmatches()

To remove matches use matchdelete(). Eg.:

:call matchdelete(7)

Fiorin

Answer 6

MultipleSearch : Highlight multiple searches at the same time, each with a different color.

http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=479

:Search <pattern1> //will highlight all occurences of <pattern1> in the current buffer.
A subsequent :Search <pattern2> will highlight all occurences of <pattern2> in the current buffer.

Perdition

Answer 7

:%s /red\|green\|blue/

I am not sure about how to keep different colors for different keyword though. Thanks.

Insoluble

Answer 8

My Mark plugin can highlight several words in different colors simultaneously, like the built-in search. It comes with many mappings and commands, allows to persist the patterns, and supports multiple color palettes.

Leakey

Does it have github page with guideline description? It is not easy to read on vim.org. Also not easy to report issues. – Footsore

How can I install this plugin by Vundle? Becasue the code in github vim-scripts is too old. – Footsore

@LiMingHung That version from vim-scripts will work, but yes, it is outdated. You could ask the guys from vim-scripts to update it; they have some annoying issues with their scraper. – Leakey

Is it possible put your plugin on github? It can install by Vundle directly. Doesn't have to rely on vim-scripts. – Footsore

@ErtuğrulAltınboğa: Mark.vim is now on GitHub! – Leakey

It works very well but I don't like the need to install another plugin as an 'external library'. – Apollinaire

@Mauro: What's the difference between installing one or two plugins?! The ingo-library stuff is all loaded on demand only; you'll appreciate the effort I've put into separating generic functionality once you use several of my plugins... – Leakey

Answer 9

MultipleSearch2 is another script which is integrated with vim's search: http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=1183

Nemertean

Answer 10

I prefer highlight plugin, simple and enough, can highlight different words with differently colors automatically.

http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=1599

Conjunctive