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VIM - Abbreviations

VIM allows abbreviations to be set.

This can support:

The Basics

Abbreviations can be assigned with the command :ab[breviate].

To have abbreviations only work whilst in insert mode use :iabbrev:

:iabbrev [<expr>] [<buffer>] {abbreviation} {expansion}

NOTE:

Anything inside a [] is optional.
<expr> means that you could use a vimscript expression to create the expansion.
<buffer> means that it only applies to the current buffer.
abbreviation is the thing you type and that will be replaced by the expansion.

:ab Lunix Linux
:ab hapy happy
:ab hte the
:ab BTC The Big Cat
:ab myemail someemail@somewhere.com
 
:iabbrev Lunix Linux

NOTE: The words will be automatically corrected just after you typed them.

WARNING: Be careful with the abbreviations that are set, as they may prevent using a term for another purpose.

For example, an entry for BTC might want to be entered without expanding into the separate words.

To avoid expansion in insert mode, type CTRL-V after the last character of the abbreviation (on Windows, type CTRL-Q instead of CTRL-V).

Abbreviations can use special sequences like <CR> (the enter key), <Up>, <Tab> and many more.

This gives us the power to move around the cursor and create more elaborate snippets.

:iabbrev <buffer> con console.log();<Left><Left>

…converts to

console.log( );

NOTE: The <buffer> is used to prevent this being available in every buffer, just the ones where I can use valid javascript syntax.

There is a space between the parenthesis in the log function, because we chose to “expand it” with the space key.
- Vim will replace the abbreviation after we press a “non-keyword character” and that character will be inserted after the expansion is done.
- Basically all the letters and a few special characters are considered “keyword characters” and anything that is not in that set will begin the expansion.
- Might want to check :help 'iskeyword' for more details.
- If that extra space is not wanted then you can begin the expansion with the sequence <C-]>, that is CTRL + closing bracket.

Abbreviations can also be set in autocommands to make file specific abbreviations automatically.

If you put something like this in your .vimrc.

:autocmd FileType html,javascript,typescript,vue
  \ :iabbrev <buffer> some-abbreviation some-expansion

NOTE: It would make some-abbreviation available to you in html, javascript, typescript and vue files.

:abclear