# &ls; Reference

## Installation and recommended Settings

If you are reading this, it most probably means that you have already installed &ls; and the help files. If this is not the case, follow the detailed instructions on &ls;'s download page.

Make sure that you create a few necessary settings in your `~/.vimrc.`

    " REQUIRED. This makes vim invoke &ls; when you open a tex file.
    filetype plugin on

    " IMPORTANT: win32 users will need to have 'shellslash' set so that latex
    " can be called correctly.
    set shellslash

    " OPTIONAL: This enables automatic indentation as you type.
    filetype indent on

    " OPTIONAL: Starting with Vim 7, the filetype of empty .tex files defaults to
    " 'plaintex' instead of 'tex', which results in vim-latex not being loaded.
    " The following changes the default filetype back to 'tex':
    let g:tex_flavor='latex'

In addition, the following settings could go in your ~/.vim/ftplugin/tex.vim file:

    " this is mostly a matter of taste. but LaTeX looks good with just a bit
    " of indentation.
    set sw=2
    " TIP: if you write your \label's as \label{fig:something}, then if you
    " type in \ref{fig: and press <C-n> you will automatically cycle through
    " all the figure labels. Very useful!
    set iskeyword+=:

In the unlikely case that &ls; is installed, but you do not want to use it (e.g., if it is installed system-wide and you use some other package to deal with tex files), you can suppress the loading of &ls; by setting

    let b:suppress_latex_suite = 1

in your ~/.vim/ftplugin/tex.vim.

## Inserting Templates

This functionality is available via the `TeX-Suite > Templates` menu. This module provides a way to insert custom templates at the beginning of the current file.

When &ls; first starts up, it scans the template directory and creates menu items based on the files found there. When you select a template from this menu, the file will be read in above the first line of the current file.

A template file can utilize placeholders for initializing the cursor position when the template is read in and subsequent movement. In addition, template files can contain dynamic elements such as the time of creation of a file etc, by using vim expressions.

You can place your own templates in the template directory in order for them to be available via the menu.

Templates are also accessible for non-gui users with the command |`:TTemplate`|. The argument should be name of the corresponding template file. If the command is called without arguments (preferred usage), then a list of available templates is displayed and the user is asked to choose one of them.

## &ls; Macros

&ls; ships with a very comprehensive set of insert mode and |visual-mode| mappings and menu items to typeset most of the LaTeX elements.

These mappings are are not standard mappings in the sense that only the last character is mapped. See plugin/imaps.vim for further documentation. For example, in the case of the mapping `EFI` provided by &ls; you can press the characters '`E`', '`F`' and '`I`' as slowly as you wish (unlike the normal `imap` command where `timeout` issues are involved). The characters are visible as you type them (unlike normal `imap`s) and you can use the movement or backspace key to correct yourself unlike normal mappings.

### Place Holders

Almost all macros provided in &ls; implement Stephen Riem's bracketing system and Gergely Kontra's `JumpFunc()` for handling place-holders. This consists of using "place-holders" to mark off locations where the next relevant editing has to be done. As an example, when you type `EFI` in |insert-mode|, you will get the following:

    \begin{figure}[<+htpb+>]
        \centering
        \includegraphics{<+file+>}
        \caption{<+caption text+>}
        \label{fig:<+label+>}
    \end{figure}<++>

The text `<+htpb+>` will be selected and you will be left in |select-mode| so that you can continue typing straight away. After having typed in the placement specifier, you can press `<Ctrl-J>` (while still in insert-mode). This will take you directly to the next "place-holder". i.e, `<+file+>` will be visually selected with Vim in select mode again for typing in the file name. This saves on a lot of key presses.

### Over-riding &ls; Macros

If you wish to change these macros from their default values, for example, if you wish to change ``w` to expand to `\omega` instead of its default expansion to `\wedge`, you should use the `IMAP` function as described in the Using IMAP() section.

An important thing to note is that if you wish to over-ride macros created by &ls; rather than merely create new macros, you should place the `IMAP()` calls in a script which gets sourced after the files in &ls;. A good place typically is as a file-type plugin file in the `~/.vim/after/ftplugin/` directory. (Use `~/vimfiles` if you are using `WINDOWS`). For example to over-ride ``w` to `\omega` instead of `\wedge`, place the following line in (say) `~/.vim/after/ftplugin/tex_macros.vim`:

    call IMAP('`w', '\omega', 'tex')

To delete a mapping, you can use

    call IUNMAP('FEM', 'tex')

in `~/.vim/after/ftplugin/tex_macros.vim`.

It is important to use a file-name which will get sourced on a `FileType` event. Therefore you must use a file-name which conforms to the standards as described in `|ftplugin-name|`.

### Pausing Macro expansion

If you wish to temporarily suspend the imaps functionality, then you can set the `Imap_FreezeImap` to 1. If you set `g:Imap_FreezeImap` to 1, then it will be a system-wide setting. Setting `b:Imap_FreezeImap` will affect only the current buffer.

The following sections describe the various editing macros provided by &ls;.

### Environment Mappings

&ls; provides a rich set of mappings to insert, enclose and modify &latex; environments, i.e, `\begin{...} ... \end{...}` pairs. There are several possibilities for the customization of the inserted environments, see the section about customizations.

#### Inserting Environments

&ls; provides the following ways to insert environments

##### Method 1: Pressing `<F5>`

If you press `<F5>` in the insert or normal mode while on an empty line, &ls; prompts you with a list of environments you might want to insert. You can either choose one from the list or type in a new environment name. If you press `<F5>` on a line which already has a word, then that word is used instead of prompting.

See Tex_Env_name for a description of how &ls; uses the word to form the expansion and how to modify &ls;'s behavior.

The list of environments which &ls; prompts you with (when `<F5>` is pressed on an empty line) is formed from the Tex_PromptedEnvironments setting.

In addition to this setting, &ls; also lists environments found in custom packages as described in the section Package actions.

##### Method 2: Using `<S-F1>`-`<S-F4>`

The shifted function keys, `<S-F1>` to `<S-F4>` can be mapped to insert very commonly used environments. The environments mapped to each key can be customized via the g:Tex_HotKeyMappings setting.

##### Method 3: Using three letter sequences

Environments can also be inserted by pressing a 3 capital letter sequence starting with an `E`. The sequence of 3 letters generally tries to follow the following rules:

1. All environment mappings begin with `E`
2. If the environment can be broken up into 2 distinct words, such as flushright (flush + right), then the next 2 letters are the first letters of the 2 words. Example:

       flushleft  (_f_lush + _l_eft)  ---> EFL
       flushright (_f_lush + _r_ight) ---> EFR
       minipage   (_m_ini  + _p_age)  ---> EMP

   If on the other hand, the environment name cannot be broken up into 2 distinct words, then the next 2 letters are the first 2 letters of the name of the environment. Example:

       equation (_eq_uation)          ---> EEQ

Unfortunately there are some environments that cannot be split in two words and first two letters in name are identical. In this case shortcut is created from E, first and last letter. Example:

    quote     (_q_uot_e_)          ---> EQE
    quotation (_q_uotatio_n_)      ---> EQN

Of course, not every last one of the environments can follow this rule because of ambiguities. In case of doubt, pull down the Tex-Environments menu. The menu item should give the hint for the map.

#### Enclosing in Environments

&ls; provides visual-mode mappings which enclose visually selected portions of text in environments. There are two ways provided to do this.

##### Method 1: Pressing `<F5>`

You can also select a portion of text visually and press `<F5>` while still in visual mode. This will prompt you with a list of environments. (This list can be customized via the g:Tex_PromptedEnvironments setting). You can either choose from this list or type in a new environment name. Once the selection is done, &ls; encloses the visually selected portion in the chosen environment.

##### Method 2: Using three letter mappings

You can also select text visually and press a sequence of three characters beginning with `,` (the single comma character) and the selected text will be enclosed in the chosen environment. The three letter sequence follows directly from the three letter sequence used to insert environments as described here. The following example describes the rule used:

If `ECE` inserts a `\begin{center}...\end{center}` environment, then to enclose a block of selected text in `\begin{center}...\end{center}`, simply select the text and press `,ce`. The rule simply says that the leading `E` is converted to `,` and the next 2 letters are small case.

Some of the visual mode mappings are sensitive to whether you choose line-wise or character-wise. For example, if you choose a word and press `,ce`, then you get `{\centering word}`, whereas if you press `,ce` on a line-wise selection, you get:

    \begin{center}
        line
    \end{center}

#### Changing Environments

Pressing `<S-F5>` in normal mode detects which environment the cursor is presently located in and prompts you to replace it with a new one. The innermost environment is detected. For example, in the following source:

    \begin{equation}
      \begin{array}{ccc}
        2 & 3 & 4
      \end{array}
    \end{equation}

if you are located in the middle "2 & 3 & 4" line, then pressing `<S-F5>` will prompt you to change the array environment, not the equation environment. In addition, &ls; will also try to change lines within the environment to be consistent with the new environment. For example, if the original environment was an `equation` environment with a `\label` command, then changing it to an `equation*` environment will delete the `\label`.

Pressing `<F5>` in normal mode has the same effect as pressing `<F5>` in insert-mode, namely you will be prompted to choose an environment to insert.

### Command Mappings

&ls; provides a rich set of mappings to insert, enclose and modify &latex; commands.

#### Inserting &latex; commands

Pressing `<F7>` in insert or normal mode while the cursor is touching a word will insert a command formed from the word touching the cursor.

For certain common commands, &ls; will expand them to include additional arguments as needed. For example, `frac` becomes `\frac{&ph;}{&ph;}&ph;`. Otherwise, it will simply change the word under the cursor as follows

    word --> \word{&ph;}&ph;

You can define custom expansions of commands using the `Tex_Com_{name}` setting as described in here.

If `<F7>` is pressed when the cursor is on white-space, then &ls; will prompt you to choose a command and insert that instead.The list of commands is constructed from the `g:Tex_PromptedCommands` setting and also from commands which &ls; finds while scanning custom packages which &ls; finds. See the Package actions section for details on which files are scanned etc.

#### Enclosing in a command

You can select a portion of text visually and press `<F7>` while still in visual mode. This will prompt you with a list of commands. (This list can be customized via the g:Tex_PromptedCommands setting). You can either choose from this list or type in a new command name. Once the selection is done, &ls; encloses the visually selected portion in the chosen command.

#### Changing commands

In both insert and normal mode `<S-F7>` will find out if you are presently within an environment and then prompt you with a list of commands to change it to.

### Font Mappings

These mappings insert font descriptions such as: `\textsf{&ph;}&ph;` with the cursor left in place of the first placeholder (the &ph; characters).

Mnemonic:

1. first letter is always F (F for font)
2. next 2 letters are the 2 letters describing the font.

Example: Typing `FEM` in insert-mode expands to `\emph{&ph;}&ph;`.

Just like environment mappings, you can visually select an area and press ``sf` to have it enclosed in: `\textsf{word}` or

    {\sffamily
    line
    }

depending on character-wise or line-wise selection.

### Section Mappings

These maps insert &latex; sections such as:

    \section{&ph;}&ph;

etc. Just as in the case of environments and fonts, can be enclosed with a visual selection. The enclosing is not sensitive to character or line-wise selection.

Mnemonic: (make your own!)

    SPA for part
    SCH for chapter
    SSE for section
    SSS for subsection
    SS2 for subsubsection
    SPG for paragraph
    SSP for subparagraph

Example: SSE in insert mode inserts

    \section{<++>}<++>

If you select a word or line and press `,se`, then you get

    \section{section name}

The menu item in Tex-Environments.Sections have a sub-menu called 'Advanced'. Choosing an item from this sub-menu asks a couple of questions (whether you want to include the section in the table of contents, whether there is a shorter name for the table of contents) and then creates a more intelligent template.

### Greek Letter Mappings

Lower case

``a` through ``z` expand to `\alpha` through `\zeta`.

Upper case:

    `D = \Delta
    `F = \Phi
    `G = \Gamma
    `Q = \Theta
    `L = \Lambda
    `X = \Xi
    `Y = \Psi
    `S = \Sigma
    `U = \Upsilon
    `W = \Omega

LaTeX does not support upper case for all greek alphabets.

Just like other &ls; mappings, these mappings are not created using the standard `imap` command. Thus you can type slowly, correct using `<BS>` etc.

### Auc-Tex Key Bindings

These are simple 2 key expansions for some very commonly used LaTeX elements:

    `^   Expands To   \Hat{&ph;}&ph;
    `_   expands to   \bar{&ph;}&ph;
    `6   expands to   \partial
    `8   expands to   \infty
    `/   expands to   \frac{&ph;}{&ph;}&ph;
    `%   expands to   \frac{&ph;}{&ph;}&ph;
    `@   expands to   \circ
    `0   expands to   ^\circ
    `=   expands to   \equiv
    `\   expands to   \setminus
    `.   expands to   \cdot
    `*   expands to   \times
    `&   expands to   \wedge
    `-   expands to   \bigcap
    `+   expands to   \bigcup
    `(   expands to   \subset
    `)   expands to   \supset
    `<   expands to   \le
    `>   expands to   \ge
    `,   expands to   \nonumber
    `~   expands to   \tilde{&ph;}&ph;
    `;   expands to   \dot{&ph;}&ph;
    `:   expands to   \ddot{&ph;}&ph;
    `2   expands to   \sqrt{&ph;}&ph;
    `|   expands to   \Big|
    `I   expands to   \int_{&ph;}^{&ph;}&ph;

(again, notice the convenient place-holders)

In addition the visual mode macros are provided:

    `(  encloses selection in \left( and \right)
    `[  encloses selection in \left[ and \right]
    `{  encloses selection in \left\{ and \right\}
    `$  encloses selection in $$ or \[ \] depending on characterwise or
                                          linewise selection

### Diacritics

These mappings speed up typing European languages which contain diacritic characters such as a-umlaut etc.

    +<l>     expands to \v{<l>}
    =<l>     expands to \'{<l>}

where `<l>` is an alphabet.

    +}       expands to \"{a}
    +:       expands to \^{o}

&ls; also ships with smart backspacing functionality which provides another convenience while editing languages with diacritics.

Diacritics are disabled by default in &ls; because they can sometimes be a little too intrusive. Moreover, most European users can nowadays use font encodings which display diacritic characters directly instead of having to rely on &ls;'s method of displaying diacritics.

Set the g:Tex_Diacritics variable to enable diacritics.

### BibTeX Shortcuts

&ls; provides an easy way of entering bibliographic entries. Four insert-mode mappings: `BBB`, `BBL`, `BBH` and `BBX` are provided, all of which essentially act in the same manner. When you type any of these in insert-mode, you will get a prompt asking you to choose a entry type for the bibliographic entry.

When you choose an entry type, a bibliographic entry template will be inserted. For example, if you choose the option `'book'` via the map `BBB`, then the following template will be inserted:

    @BOOK{<+key+>,
        author = {&ph;},
        editor = {&ph;},
        title = {&ph;},
        publisher = {&ph;},
        year = {&ph;},
        otherinfo = {&ph;}
    }&ph;

`<+key+>` will be highlighted in select-mode and you can type in the bib-key. After that you can use `<Ctrl-J>` to navigate to successive locations in the template and enter new values.

`BBB` inserts a template with only the fields mandatorily required for a given entry type. `BBL` inserts a template with commonly used extra options. `BBH` inserts a template with more options which are not as commonly used. `BBX` inserts a template with all the fields which the entry type supports.

#### Mnemonic

`B` for Bibliographic entry, `L` for Large entry, `H` for Huge entry, and `X` stands for all eXtras.

#### Customizing Bib-TeX fields

If you wish the `BBB` command to insert a few additional fields in addition to the fields it creates, then you will need to define global variables of the form

    g:Bib_{type}_options

in you `$VIM/ftplugin/bib.vim` file, where `{type}` is a string like `'article'`, `'book'` etc. This variable should contain one of the letters defined in the following table

Character | Field Type
w | address
a | author
b | booktitle
c | chapter
d | edition
e | editor
h | howpublished
i | institution
k | isbn
j | journal
m | month
z | note
n | number
o | organization
p | pages
q | publisher
r | school
s | series
t | title
u | type
v | volume
y | year

For example, by default, choosing `'article'` via `BBB` inserts the following template by default

    @ARTICLE{<+key+>,
        author = {&ph;},
        title = {&ph;},
        journal = {&ph;},
        year = {&ph;},
        otherinfo = {&ph;}
    }&ph;

However, if `g:Bib_article_options` is defined as `'mnp'`, then `'article'` will insert the following template

    @ARTICLE{<+key+>,
        author = {&ph;},
        title = {&ph;},
        journal = {&ph;},
        year = {&ph;},
        month = {&ph;},
        number = {&ph;},
        pages = {&ph;},
        otherinfo = {&ph;}
    }&ph;

If you have some other fields you wish to associate with an article which are not listed above, then you will have to use the `Bib_{type}_extrafields` option. This is a newline separated string of complete field names which will be included in the template. For example, if you define

    let g:Bib_article_extrafields = "crossref\nabstract"

then the article template will include the lines

    crossref = {&ph;},
    abstract = {&ph;},

You will need to define `Bib_*` settings in your `$VIMRUNTIME/ftplugin/bib.vim` file.

### Smart Key Mappings

&ls; ships with the following smart keys:

### Smart Backspace

Pressing `<BS>` in insert mode checks to see whether we are just after something like `\'{a}` and if so, deletes all of it. i.e, diacritics are treated as single characters for backspacing. You might want to disable this feature, if you are editing Chinese, Japanese or Korean text.

### Smart Quotes

Pressing `"` (English double quote) will insert ```` or `''` by making an intelligent guess about whether we intended to open or close a quote.

### Smart Space

&ls; maps the `<space>` key in such a way that $ characters are not broken across lines. It does this by first setting `tw=0` so that Vim will not automatically break lines and then maps the `<space>` key to insert newlines keeping `$$`'s on the same line.

### Smart Dots

Pressing `...` (3 dots) results in `\ldots` outside math mode and `\cdots` in math mode.

### Alt Key Macros

&ls; utilizes a set of macros originally created by Carl Mueller in auctex.vim to make inserting all the `\left ... \right` stuff very easy and to also make some use of the heavily under-utilized `<Alt>` key.

By default, the mappings involving the `<Alt>` key are turned off for compatibility with inserting non-ASCII characters. It can be enabled by setting

    let g:Tex_AdvancedMath = 1

in your `$VIM/ftplugin/tex.vim`.

By default, typing `Alt-<key>` in &vim; takes focus to the menu bar if a menu with the hotkey `<key>` exists. If in your case, there are conflicts due to this behavior, you will need to set

    set winaltkeys=no

in your `$VIM/ftplugin/tex.vim` in order to use these maps.

#### Customizing the maps

If for some reason, you wish to not map the `<Alt>` keys, (some European users need to use the `<Alt>` key to enter diacritics), you can change these maps to other keys as described in the section Customizing Alt-key maps.

#### `<Alt-L>`

This is a polymorphic insert-mode mapping which expands to one of the following depending on the character just before the cursor location.

Character before cursor | Expansion
( | `\left( &ph; \right)`
[ | `\left[ &ph; \right]`
| | `\left| &ph; \right|`
{ | `\left\{ &ph; \right\}`
< | `\langle &ph; \rangle`
q | `\lefteqn{&ph;}&ph;`

If the character before the cursor is none of the above, then it will simply insert a `\label{&ph;}&ph;`.

#### `<Alt-B>`

This insert-mode mapping encloses the previous character in `\mathbf{}`.

#### `<Alt-C>`

In insert mode, this key is polymorphic as follows:

1. If the previous character is a letter or number, then capitalize it and enclose it in `\mathcal{}`.
2. otherwise insert `\cite{}`.

In visual mode, it will simply enclose the selection in `\mathcal{}`

#### `<Alt-I>`

This mapping inserts an `\item` command at the current cursor location depending on which environment the cursor is enclosed in. The style of the `\item` command is dependent on the enclosing environment. By default, `<Alt-I>` has styles defined forthe following environments:

Environment | Style
itemize | \item
enumerate | \item
theindex | \item
thebibliography | \item[<+biblabel+>]{<+bibkey+>} <++>
description | \item[<+label+>] <++>

`<Alt-I>` is intelligent enough to account for nested environments. For example,

    \begin{itemize}
        \item first item
        \item second item
              \begin{description}
                  \item[label1] first desc
                  \item[label2] second
                  % <Alt-I> will insert "\item[<+label+>] <++>" if
                  % used here
              \end{description}
        \item third item
        % <Alt-I> will insert "\item " when if used here.
    \end{itemize}
    % <Alt-I> will insert nothing ("") if used here

The style used by `<Alt-I>` can be customized using the `g:Tex_ItemStyle_environment` variable.

### Custom Macros

This functionality available via the TeX-Suite.Macros menu, provides a way of inserting customized macros into the current file via the menu.

When &ls; starts up, it scans the `$VIM/ftplugin/latex-suite/macros/` directory and creates a menu from the files found there. Each file is considered as a single macro. You can place your own macros in this directory, using placeholders if wanted.

When you choose a macro from the menu, the corresponding file is read into the current buffer after the current cursor position. In non-gui mode, you can use the |TMacro| command instead of choosing from the menu. This command takes the macro file name as an argument. When called without arguments (preferred usage), then a list of available macro files is displayed and the user is prompted to choose one of them).

There are some other tools provided in this menu, namely:

{New} | Creates a new (unnamed) buffer in the latex-suite/macros/ directory. Use the command :TexMacroNew in non-gui mode.
{Edit} | Opens up the corresponding macro file for editing. Use |:TexMacroEdit| in non-gui mode. When you try to edit {macro} not from local directory &ls; will copy it to your local directory with suffix "-local". If local copy already exists &ls; prompt for overwriting it.
{Delete} | Deletes the corresponding macro. Use the prefixed numbers for fast navigation of menus. Use |:TexMacroDelete| in non-gui mode. When you choose to delete {macro} which is not in your local directory &ls; will refuse to delete it.
{Redraw} | Rescans the macros/ directories and refreshes the macros list.

### Making your own Macros via `IMAP()`

If you find the need to create your own macros, then you can use the `IMAP()` function provided with &ls;. See for a short explanation of why you might prefer `IMAP()` over &vim;'s standard `:imap` command. An example best explains the usage:

    :call IMAP('NOM', '\nomenclature{&ph;}&ph;', 'tex')

This will create a &ls;-style mapping, where if you type `NOM` in insert mode, you will get `\nomenclature{&ph;}&ph;` with the cursor left in place of the first `&ph;` characters. See for a detailed explanation of the `IMAP()` command.

For maps which are triggered for a given filetype, the `IMAP()` command above should be put in the filetype plugin script for that file. For example, for tex-specific mappings, the `IMAP()` calls should go in `$VIM/ftplugin/tex.vim`. For globally visible maps, you will need to use the following in either your `~/.vimrc` or a file in your `$VIM/plugin` directory.

    augroup MyIMAPs
        au!
        au VimEnter * call IMAP('Foo', 'foo', '')
    augroup END

`IMAP` mappings can be removed by `IUNMAP`, e.g.,

    call IUNMAP('FEM','tex')

#### Why use `IMAP()`

Using `IMAP` instead of &vim;'s built-in `:imap` command has a couple of advantages:

1. The 'ttimeout' option will generally limit how easily you can type the left hand side for a normal `:imap`. if you type the left hand side too slowly, then the mapping will not be activated.
2. If you mistype one of the letters of the lhs, then the mapping is deactivated as soon as you backspace to correct the mistake.
3. The characters in lhs are shown on top of each other. This is fairly distracting. This becomes a real annoyance when a lot of characters initiate mappings.

#### IMAP() syntax

Formally, the syntax which is used for the `IMAP` function is:

    call IMAP (lhs, rhs, ft [, phs, phe])

Argument | Explanation
lhs | This is the "left-hand-side" of the mapping. When you use `IMAP`, only the last character of this word is actually mapped, although the effect is that the whole word is mapped. If you have two mappings which end in a common `lhs`, then the mapping with the longer `lhs` is used. For example, if you do
    call IMAP('BarFoo', 'something', 'tex')
    call IMAP('Foo', 'something else', 'tex')
Then typing `BarFoo` inserts `"something"`, whereas `Foo` by itself inserts `"something else"`. Also, the nature of `IMAP()` makes creating certain combination of mappings impossible. For example if you have
    call IMAP('foo', 'something', 'tex')
    call IMAP('foobar', 'something else', 'tex')
Then you will never be able to trigger `"foobar"` because typing `"foo"` will immediately insert `"something"`. This is the "cost" which you incur over the normal `:imap` command for the convenience of no 'timeout' problems, the ability to correct `lhs` etc.
rhs | The "right-hand-side" of the mapping. This is the expansion you will get when you type `lhs`. This string can also contain special characters such as `<enter>` etc. To do this, you will need to specify the second argument in double-quotes as follows:
    :call IMAP('EFE', "\\begin{figure}\<CR>&ph;\\end{figure}&ph;", 'tex')
With this, typing `EFE` is equivalent to typing in the right-hand side with all the special characters in insert-mode. This has the advantage that if you have filetype indentation set up, then the right hand side will also be indented just as if you had typed it in normally. You can also set up a &ls; style mapping which calls a custom function as follows:
    :call IMAP('FOO', "\<C-r>=MyFoonction()\<CR>", 'tex')
where `MyFoonction` is a custom function you have written. If `MyFoonction` also has to return a string containing `&ph;` characters, then you will need to use the function `IMAP_PutTextWithMovement()`. An example best explains the usage:
    call IMAP('FOO', "\<C-r>=AskVimFunc()\<CR>", 'vim')
    " Askvimfunc: Asks For Function Name And Sets Up Template
    " Description:
    function! AskVimFunc()
        let name = input('Name of the function : ')
        if name == ''
            let name = "<+Function Name+>"
        end
        let islocal = input('Is this function scriptlocal ? [y]/n : ', 'y')
        if islocal == 'y'
            let sidstr = '<SID>'
        else
            let sidstr = ''
        endif
        return IMAP_PutTextWithMovement(
            \ "\" ".name.": <+short description+> \<cr>" .
            \ "Description: <+long description+>\<cr>" .
            \ "\<C-u>function! ".name."(<+arguments+>)&ph;\<cr>" .
            \       "<+function body+>\<cr>" .
            \ "endfunction \" "
            \ )
    endfunction
ft | The file type for which this mapping is active. When this string is left empty, the mapping applies for all file-types. A filetype specific mapping will always take precedence.
phs, phe | If you prefer to write the `rhs` with characters other than `<+` and `+>` to denote place-holders, you can use the last 2 arguments to specify which characters in the `rhs` specify place-holders. By default, these are `<+` and `+>` respectively. Note that the `phs` and `phe` arguments do not control what characters will be displayed for the placeholders when the mapping is actually triggered. What characters are used to display place-holders when you trigger an `IMAP` are controlled by the `Imap_PlaceHolderStart` and `Imap_PlaceHolderEnd` settings.

## Package Handling

&ls; has a lot of functionality written to ease working with packages. Packages here refers to files which you include into the &latex; document using the `\usepackage` command.

### Inserting package commands

When you first invoke &ls;, it scans the `$VIM/ftplugin/latex-suite/packages` directory for package script files and creates a menu from all the files found there. This menu is created under `TeX-Suite > Packages > Supported`. This menu contains a list of packages "supported" by &ls;. When you choose one of the packages from this menu (for example the `amsmath` package), then a line of the form

    \usepackage[&ph;]{amsmath}&ph;

will be inserted into the current file.

The `\usepackage` line can also be inserted in an easy manner in the current file by pressing `<F5>` while in the preamble of the current document. This will set up a prompt from the supported packages and ask you to choose from one of them. If you do not find the package you want to insert in the list, you can type in a package-name and it will use that. Pressing `<F5>` in the preamble on a line containing a single word will construct a `\usepackage` line from that word.

You can also use the `TPackage` to insert the `\usepackage` line.

Once you have inserted a `\usepackage` line, for supported packages, you can use the Options and Commands menus described in the next section.

### Actions taken for supported packages

&ls; takes the following actions for packages detected when a file is loaded, or a new `\usepackage` line is inserted using one of the methods described in the previous section.

If you are using the GUI and you have g:Tex_Menus set to 1, &ls; will create the following sub-menus

- `TeX-Suite > Packages > <package> Options`
- `TeX-Suite > Packages > <package> Commands`

where `<package>` is the package you just inserted (or was detected). You can use these menus to insert commands, environments and options which &ls; recognizes as belonging to this package.

While inserting an option, you need to position yourself in the appropriate place in the document, most commonly inside the square braces in the `\usepackage[]{packname}` command. &ls; will not navigate to that location.

In addition to creating these sub-menus, &ls; will also scan the `$VIM/ftplugin/latex-suite/dictionaries` directory and if a dictionary file corresponding to the package file is found, then it will add the file to the `'dict'` setting in &vim; so you can use the `<C-X><C-K>` command to complete words from that file.

For example, the `SIUnits` package has a custom dictionary.

If a package detected at startup is found by &ls; in the current directory or in a location specified by the g:Tex_TEXINPUTS variable, &ls; will scan the package for `\newenvironment` and `newcommand` lines and also append any commands and environments found to the list of commands and environments which you are prompted with when you press `<F5>` or `<F7>` in insert mode.

In addition, the `TeX-Suite > Packages` menu also contains the following submenus

## Update

This command is to be invoked with the cursor placed on the package name. If the corresponding package is found, then a sub-menu with the supported commands and options is created.

## Update All

This function reads the preamble of the document for `\usepackage` lines and if &ls; supports the detected packages, then sub-menus containing the package options and commands are created.

### Automatic Package detection

Whenever &ls; begins editing a new &latex; file, it scans it for `\usepackage{name}` lines, and if a supported package is found, then it will create sub-menus and add to the `'dict'` setting as described above.

If a master-file has been specified, then it will scan that file instead of the current file. See the section Custom Packages to see which files &ls; will scan in more detail.

For all the packages detected in this manner, &ls; will take certain actions as described in the section package support..

#### Custom Packages

Often times, the preamble can become too long, and some people prefer to put most of their personalization in a custom package and include that using a `\usepackage` line. &ls; tries to search such customs package for other `\usepackage` lines, so that supported packages included in this indirect manner can also be used to create sub-menus, extend the `'dict'` setting etc. The most obvious place to place such custom packages is in the same directory as the edited file. In addition, &latex; also supports placing custom packages in places pointed to by the `$TEXINPUTS` environment variable.

If you use the `$TEXINPUTS` variable in &latex;, and you wish &ls; to search these custom packages for `\usepackage` lines, then you need to initialize the `g:Tex_TEXINPUTS` variable.

The `g:Tex_TEXINPUTS` variable needs to be set in the same format which &vim; uses for the `'path'` setting. This format is explained in detail if you do

    :help file-searching

from within &vim;.

Therefore the value of `g:Tex_TEXINPUTS` will most probably be different from `$TEXINPUTS` which your native &latex; distribution uses.

Example:

    let g:Tex_TEXINPUTS = '~/texmf/mypackages/**,./**'

The `**` indicates that all directories below the directory `~/texmf/mypackages` and `./` are to be scanned for custom packages.

The present directory `'.'` is always searched. You need not include that in `g:Tex_TEXINPUTS`.

### Writing supporting for a package

Supporting a package is easy and consists of writing a vim script with the same name as the package and placing it in the `$VIM/ftplugin/latex-suite/packages` directory. A package script should define two variables as described in the next two sections. In addition to these two variables, you can also define any functions, environment definitions etc. in this file.

#### `g:Tex_package_option_<package>`

This setting is a string containing a comma separated list of options supported by this package.

Example:

    g:Tex_package_option_mypack = 'opt1,opt2=,sbr:group1,opt3,opt4'

The `=` suffix means that the option takes a value. Use `sbr:group name` to separate options into sub-menus. All successive options will be clubbed into the `group1` sub-menu till the next `sbr:` option is encountered.

#### `g:Tex_package_<package>`

        g:TeX_package_<package> = "pre:Command,pre:Command1"
    More detailed example is in latex-suite/packages/exmpl file (slightly
    outdated).
    Here is short summary of prefixes which can be used in package files:
    (x - place with cursor, &ph; - |placeholder|)

    {env:command}  Environment: creates simple environment template
                \begin{command}
                    x
                \end{command}&ph;
    {eno:command}  Environment with option:
                \begin[x]{command}
                    &ph;
                \end{command}&ph;
    {ens:command[<<option>>]...}  Environment special:
                \begin[<<option>>]...{command}
                    &ph;
                \end{command}&ph;
    {bra:command} Brackets:
                \command{x}&ph;
    {brd:command} Brackets double:
                \command{x}{&ph;}&ph;
    {brs:command[<<option>>]...} Brackets special (as environment special:
                \command[<+x+>]{&ph;}{&ph;}&ph;
    {nor:command} Normal:
                \command<Space
    {noo:command} Normal with option:
                \command[x]&ph;
    {nob:command} Normal with option and brackets:
                \command[x]{&ph;}&ph;
    {pla:command} Plain:
                command<Space
    {spe:command} Special:
                command   <-literal insertion of command
    {sep:command} creates separator. Good for aesthetics and usability :)
    {sbr:command} Breaks menu into submenus. <command> will be title of submenu.
                Can be used also in package variable.

    Command can be also given without prefix:. The result is
               \command

## Latex Completion

&ls; provides an easy way to insert references to labels and bibliographic entries and also provide filename arguments to commands such as `\includegraphics`. Although the completion capabilities are very diverse, &ls; only uses a single key (`<F9>` by default) to do all of it. Pressing the `<F9>` key does different things based on where you are located. &ls; tries to guess what you might be trying to complete at the location where you pressed `<F9>`. For example, pressing `<F9>` when you are within a `\ref` command will try to list the `\label`'s in the present directory. Pressing it when you are in a `\cite` command will list bibliography keys. &ls; also recognizes commands which need a file name argument and will put up an explorer window for you to choose a filename.

### Before you start with &ls;'s completion function...

Most of &ls;'s completion capabilities depend on the python interface of vim. Both python2 and python3 are supported. Hence,

    python print "Hello."

or

    python3 print("Hello.")

should work.

### &ls; `\ref` completion

Pressing `<F9>` when you are within a partially completed `\ref` command will split open a window (named `__OUTLINE__`) which contains a nicely formatted list of all the `\label`s found in the present project. The `\label`s are heirarchically arranged according to which `\section`, `\subsection` etc of the overall document structure they are present in. For example, when you first press `<F9>` after typing `\ref{`, you should see something like:

    +-- 54 lines: 2. Kinematics--------------------------------
    +-- 98 lines: 3. Aerodynamics of the MFI thorax------------
    +-- 40 lines: 4. Jump Resonance in Fourbar Mechanisms------
    +-- 28 lines: 5. Design and Fabrication Issues-------------

Each chapter is |fold|ed away so that you can quickly jump to the correct section/subsection in which the relevant equation is defined. This makes inserting references significantly faster for large projects with hundreds of equations. You can then open some of the folds to see for example:

    +-- 54 lines: 2. Kinematics--------------------------------
    3. Aerodynamics of the MFI thorax
        3.1. Aerodynamic modeling of the MFI wing forces
            3.1.1. Geometric Specification
                   eqn:wingnormal-pos
                     \nhat =  T_z(\theta_2) T_y(\theta_y)T_x(\theta_x)\nhat_0,
                   eqn:T-1
                     T_1(\theta_2) &= T_z(\theta_2)

The `<Tab>` key is mapped in this window to toggle folds so that you can quickly open/close folds in order to navigate the heirarchy faster. Once you are positioned on a label, press `<Enter>`. This closes the `__OUTLINE__` window, returns to the window in which you pressed `<F9>` and inserts the reference at the current cursor position.

#### Filtering labels by prefix

You can press `<F9>` after typing part of the `\label`. In this case, &ls; only presents `\label`s which begin with the already filled characters. You can use this to choose between equations, figures, tables etc. if you consistently label equations to begin with `eqn:`, figures to begin with `fig:` etc. For example, with this scheme, pressing `<F9>` after typing `\ref{eqn:` will only list equations.

&ls; works the same way if you press `<F9>` after any command which contains the letters `ref`. Thus you can complete `\eqref` in exactly the same manner.

#### Requirements

This method of preseting the `\label`s depends on Vim being compiled with python[3] support. To check if you have this, see the output of the `:ver` command. If you see something like `+python` or `+python3`, you are all set. Failing this, you will need to have `python` somewhere in your `$PATH`.

### &ls; `\cite` completion

&ls; provides an easy way to insert references to bibliographic entries. Pressing `<F9>` when the cursor is placed inside a partially completed `\cite` command will split open a new window (named `__OUTLINE__`) which contains a formatted and syntax highlighted list of all bibtex entries found. For example, pressing `<F9>` after typing `\ref{` should present you with a window which looks something like this:

    Article [dickinson:science:99]
       "Wing rotation and aerodynamic basis of insect flight"
       M. H. Dickinson and F-O. Lehman and S. P. Sane
       In Science, 1999

    Article [ellington:84:part1]
       "The Aerodynamics of Hovering Insect Flight. I. The Quasi-Steady Analysis"
       Ellington, C P
       In Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 1984

    Article [ellington:84:part2]
       "The Aerodynamics of Hovering Insect Flight. II. Morphological Parameters"
       Ellington, C P
       In Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 1984

You can easily jump from one entry to another using the `'n'` and `'p'` keys (to go to the next / previous entry respectively).

You can also filter out a subset of the bibtex entries by pressing `'f'` while in this window. Doing this presents the following prompt:

    Field acronyms: (`:let g:Tex_EchoBibFields = 0` to avoid this message)
     [t] title         [a] author        [b] booktitle
     [j] journal       [y] year          [p] bibtype
     (you can also enter the complete field name)
    Enter filter criterion [field<space>value]:

At the prompt, type

    a ellington

Notice that the letter a is an acronym for `author` according to the prompt above. Therefore this filter only shows those bibtex entries whose author field contains the text `ellington`. You can keep narrowing your selection by repeatedly filtering the results. If you would like to remove all the filters and see all entries again, press 'a', which removes all the filters.

You can also sort the bibtex entries based on a field. To do this, press 's'. This will present you with a prompt like in the case of the filter and you are asked to choose a field. In this case, you would type in a single character. This sorts the entries according to that field.

`<F9>` will also work in a similar way after any command which contains the word `cite` in it. For example, pressing `<F9>` will also work with `\citenum` etc.

The following logic is applied to find out which bibliographic entries are included in the completion.

1. Firstly, if the present file has a master-file defined for it, then &ls; will perform the following steps on that file instead of on the current file.

2. First, the file is scanned for a `\bibliography` command or a `\addbibresource` command. To explain better, assume that a command

       \bibliography{file1,file2}

   is found in the present file. For each bibliography file, say `file1`, &ls; first tries to see if a `.bib` file, `file1.bib` can be found. If so, it will scan it for bib-keys of the form `@BOOK{` etc., and add these searches to the completion list. If a `.bib` file cannot be found, then it will try to see if `file1.bbl` can be found. If so, &ls; will search it for bib-keys of the form `\bibitem` and add these to the completion list.

   You can set the location where &ls; will search for `.bib` and `.bbl` files using the `|Tex_BIBINPUTS|` variable.

3. If a `\bibliography` command is not found, then &ls; tries to scan the present file for a `\begin{thebibliography}` environment. If found, &ls; searches the present file for bib-keys of the form `\bibitem`.

### &ls; filename completion

When you press `<F9>` at a location where &ls; guesses a filename needs to be typed, then a new explorer window will open up with the list of files. You can use this window to change directories etc. Pressing `<enter>` on a filename in the explorer window will automatically close the explorer window, return to the location where you pressed `<F9>` from and insert the filename into that position.

&ls; also tries to guess what kinds of files you might not want to insert and hides those accordingly. For example, if you press `<F9>` when you are located at `\includegraphics{`, then &ls; knows that you will not want to insert `.tex` files. Therefore, the explorer window will automatically hide these files.

As of now, &ls; recognizes the following commands for filename completion. Along with the commands, this table also lists the files which &ls; will not show for completing each command.

command | hide pattern
`\bibliography` | `'^\.,\.[^b]..$'`
`\include` `\includeonly` | `'^\.,\.[^t]..$'`
`\includegraphics` | `'^\.,\.tex$,\.bib$,\.bbl$,\.zip$,\.gz$'`
`\input` | `''`

### Custom command completion

&ls; also recognizes certain commonly used &latex; commands for the `<F9>` key. At the moment, the `\bibliographystyle`, `\addtocontents` and the `\addcontentsline` commands are recognized, although more will be added in the future. When you press the `<F9>` after such a command, &ls; will prompt you with a list of arguments which make sense for the command.

This functionality is available for commands for which a global variable of the form `g:Tex_completion_{<command>}` is defined where `<command>` is the command name. This variable is a comma separated list of values which this command takes. For example, the argument to the `\bibliographystyle` command is commonly one of `abbr,alpha,plain,unsrt`. Therefore, &ls; defines

    let g:Tex_completion_bibliographystyle = 'abbr,alpha,plain,unsrt'

You can define your own completion variables in a similar manner for commands which you might use.

## &latex; Compiling

This functionality, available via the TeX-Suite menu, provides various tools to compile and debug &latex; files from within &vim;.

If you are using commonly used LaTeX tools, then you should be all set as soon as you download and install &ls;. In order to compile a LaTeX file, simply press `\ll` while editing the file. This runs latex on the current file and displays the errors in a |quickfix-window| below the file being edited. You can then scroll through the errors and press `<enter>` to be taken to the location of the corresponding error. Along with the errors being listed in the quickfix window, the corresponding log file is also opened in |preview| mode beneath the quickfix window. It is scrolled automatically to keep in sync with the error being viewed in the quickfix window. You will be automatically taken to the location of the first error/warning unless you set the g:Tex_GotoError variable to 0.

&ls; also supports compiling &latex; into formats other than DVI. By default, &ls; supports PDF and PS formats. In order to choose a format other than DVI, use the `TTarget` command or the `TeX-Suite > Target Format` menu item. This will ask you to type in the name of the target format you want to compile to. If a rule has been defined for the format (as described in the next section), then &ls; will switch to that format.

Trying to choose a format for which no rule has been defined will result in &ls; displaying a warning message without taking any action.

If you are using a multiple file project and need to compile a master file while editing other files, then &ls; provides a way to specify the file to be compiled as described in latex-master-file.

### Setting Compilation rules

In order to compile &latex; files into various formats, &ls; needs to know which external programs to call and in which way they need to be called. This information is provided to &ls; via a number of "rules". For each format you want to compile to, you need to specify a rule. A rule is specified by defining a variable of the form:

    g:Tex_CompileRule_<format>

where `<format>` is a string like `"pdf"`, `"dvi"` etc.

Example: By default, &ls; uses the following rule for compiling &latex; documents into DVI.

    g:Tex_CompileRule_dvi = 'latex --interaction=nonstopmode $*'

Default values are also provided for ps and pdf formats. You might want to change these rules in texrc according to your local tex environment.

For win32 users user MikTeX, sometimes the latex compiler's output has a bug where a single number is split across different lines. In this case, put the included `vim-latex` file distributed with &ls;.

### Handling dependencies in compilation

&ls; also handles compiling dependencies automatically via certain rules which specify the "dependency chain" for each target format. For example, if in your case, you use

    .tex -> .dvi -> .ps -> .pdf

to generate `pdf` files from `dvi` files, then you will need to specify the following setting in your &ls; configuration (see customizing &ls; for where these settings should go):

    let g:Tex_FormatDependency_pdf = 'dvi,ps,pdf'

This is a comma separated string of formats specifying the order in which the formats to be compiled into should be chosen. With this setting, if you set the target format to `pdf`, then the next time you compile via the `\ll` shortcut, &ls; will first generate a `dvi` file, then use that to generate the `ps` file and finally create the `pdf` file from that.

If any of the intermediate formats is listed in the `g:Tex_MultipleCompileFormats` setting as described in the section Compiling multiple times, then &ls; might make multiple calls to the compiler to generate the output file of that format.

Along with the `g:Tex_FormatDependency_{format}` setting, you should ofcourse specify the rule for compiling to each of the formats as described in the previous section. For example, with the setting above, you could use:

    let g:Tex_CompileRule_dvi = 'latex --interaction=nonstopmode $*'
    let g:Tex_CompileRule_ps = 'dvips -Ppdf -o $*.ps $*.dvi'
    let g:Tex_CompileRule_pdf = 'ps2pdf $*.ps'

By default, &ls; does not specify any compiler dependencies. Each target format for which a rule has been derived will be compiled independently.

### Compiling multiple times

Most &latex; compilers need to be re-run several times in several commonly occurring situations in order to get a final camera ready copy. For example, when `\label`'s change, when new `\cite` commands are added etc. If the target format you are compiling to requires multiple compilations, then you will need to include the format in the `g:Tex_MultipleCompileFormats` setting. This is a comma separated string of formats which need multiple compilations to be generated correctly.

By default, this setting contains just the `dvi` format. If you use the `pdflatex` compiler to generate `pdf` files, then you might want to also include `pdf` into the above setting.

For every format included in the `g:Tex_MultipleCompileFormats` setting described above, &ls; will use the following logic to generate the file. Note that although the following description uses `latex` to refer to the compiler, it could be some other compiler such as `pdflatex` for generating `pdf` output.

1. If there was a `.idx` file, then remember its contents.
2. Run `latex`.
3. If the `.idx` file changed due to the latex compiler, then run `makeindex` to redo the `.ind` file and then remember to rerun latex.

4. If the `.aux` file generated by the latex compiler contains a `\bibdata` line, then it means that we are using a `.bib` file. Therefore, run `bibtex`.

   This means that we will always run `bibtex` whenever we use the `\bibliography` command whether or not we actually need to. At this time, &ls; does not parse the `.aux` file before and after the latex compiler to see if we are required to rerun `bibtex`.

5. If the `.bbl` file changes because of this, then remember to rerun latex again.
6. Also, we check to see if the &latex; compiler gives certain standard warnings which notify that we need to compile once again. In this case also, remember to rerun &latex;.
7. If we found we had to rerun latex, then we repeat the steps above but not running `makeindex` or `bibtex` again.

The &latex; file is compiled atmost 5 times using this logic. These steps will ensure that on most platforms/environments, you will get a clean output with all the cross-references, citations etc correctly labelled and ordered.

### Customizing the compiler output

Most &latex; compilers produce a very large amount of output during compilation, most of which is not relevant to debugging type-setting errors. The compiler plugin provided with &ls; (which is an enhanced version of the standard compiler plugin maintained by Artem Chuprina), provides a way to filter the compiler output so that the actual errors/warnings can be presented much more concisely.

The compiler plugin is set up by default to function in a "non-verbose", "ignore-common-warnings" mode, which means that irrelevant lines from the compiler output will be ignored and some very common warnings are also ignored. &ls; does this via the global variable `g:Tex_IgnoredWarnings`. This is a list of patterns, which can be used to filter out (or ignore) some or the warnings and errors reported by the compiler. See the link above for its default value.

&ls; uses the `g:Tex_IgnoreLevel` setting to set a default ignore level. For example, for the default value of 4, &ls; ignores warnings and errors matching the first 4 patterns in `g:Tex_IgnoredWarnings`.

In addition to setting a default value of the ignore level, &ls; provides the ability to set the level dynamically, using the `TCLevel` command. For example, if you issue the command:

    TCLevel 3

from within &vim;, then the next time you compile the document, &ls; will ignore warnings and errors which match the first three patterns in `g:Tex_IgnoredWarnings`.

When TCLevel is called with the unquoted string strict as follows:

    TClevel strict

then &ls; switches to a "verbose", "no-lines-ignored" mode which is useful when you want to make final checks of your document and want to be careful not to let things slip by.

See the explanation of the settings g:Tex_IgnoredWarnings and g:Tex_IgnoreLevel to find out how to customize the filtering done by &ls;

### Compiling parts of a file

&ls; also provides a way to compile a fragment of a document. This can be very useful while debugging a complex equation or one chapter in a book, etc.

To do this, visually select a portion of the text and press `\ll` while in visual mode. The visually selected portion will be saved to a temporary file with the preamble from the current document prepended. &ls; will then switch focus to this temporary file and compile it. Continue to debug this file as required and then replace the portion of the original file with this one.

Pressing `\lv` while viewing the temporary file will view the output file generated from the temporary file, not the original file

Two commands |TPartComp| and |TPartView| are provided to be able to get this functionality via the command line.

From release 1.6 onwards of &ls;, the temporary file created for part compilation will reside in the same directory as the file from which the fragment is being created. This ensures that any relative path-names defined in the fragment will still work. &ls; will attempt to clean the temporary file(s) created when Vim exits.

### Load log file after external compilation

If you do not use &ls;, but an external program or script to compile your tex documents, you can use

    :cg | copen

to load (and parse) the `.log` file.

If you use vim to compile your documents, you might want to use

    :let $max_print_line=1024

such that latex will not wrap the filenames. Otherwise, you could use it as an environment variable or simply use

    max_print_line=1024 pdflatex ...

in your terminal. If you are using latexmk, you should set

    $ENV{'max_print_line'} = '1024';
            $log_wrap = $ENV{'max_print_line'};

in your `~/.latexmkrc`.

## Latex Viewing and Searching

### Setting Viewing rules

In order to view the output files created by compiling the source files, you need to specify which external program &ls; should call. You can specify the external program using one of two settings Tex_ViewRule_format or Tex_ViewRuleComplete_format. By default, &ls; has default settings for viewing various common output formats via the `Tex_ViewRule_format` settings, so that if you are using commonly used programs, you should be all set to view compiled files from within &vim; by simply pressing `\lv`.

The viewing function also takes the `*.latexmain` file into account to decide which file to show.

If pressing `\lv` does not work, then it most probably has to do with incorrect settings of the `g:Tex_ViewRule_<format>` where `<format>` is the format you are attempting to view. See the link above for how to set this according to your system.

On Windows and OS/X, you can leave the view rule empty to open the document with the default viewer on your system. On Linux/UNIX systems, you can use the `xdg-open` command to open the document with the default viewer.

In addition to viewing the files, &ls; also supports forward and inverse searching for certain common tools for viewing documents. See the next few sections for details on forward and inverse searching, including an overview of viewers.

### Forward Searching documents

Forward searching refers to making a viewer display a given document at a given location from within &vim;. At present, these viewers are known to support forward searching, but viewers that are not listed here may work, too:

Viewer | OS | Supported documents | Comment
Skim | Apple / OS X Tiger | PDF | Supports also inverse searching
PDFView | Apple / OS X | PDF | No longer in development, supports also inverse searching
TeXniscope | Apple | PDF, DVI |
YAP | Windows | DVI, PS | ships with MikTex
Sumatra PDF | Windows | PDF |
kdvi | Linux/UNIX | DVI |
okular | Linux/UNIX | DVI, PDF, PS and many more | Included in KDE 4
xdvi | Linux/UNIX | DVI |
xdvik | Linux/UNIX | DVI |

Pressing `\ls` from within &vim; should make the viewer display the portion of the document where your cursor is placed.

OS/X users need to set the `g:Tex_TreatMacViewerAsUNIX` flag to `1` and provide a UNIX-like viewrule, that expects as arguments the document, the linenumber and the sourcefile in this order.

#### Enabling Forward and Inverse Searching

Most DVI viewers need "source-special" information in order to do forward (and inverse) searching. This information is embedded in the `dvi` file if the &latex; source is compiled with the `--src-specials` option. By default, &ls; does not supply this argument to the compiler. See the section on `g:Tex_CompileRule_dvi` to find out how this option can be set.

Pdf viewers usually use a synctex(.gz) file. This can be enabled with the compiler flag

    -synctex=1

for pdflatex. Within this suite it is however enabled by default, unless you change `g:Tex_CompileRule_pdf`.

### Inverse Searching

Inverse searching refers to a viewer (either `pdf` or `dvi`) telling &vim; to display the &latex; source file at a given location. Usually this happens with double-clicking or clicking while pressing the shift/control button in the viewer window. The actual method depends on the viewer application.

You will need to enable searching in order to use this functionality.

You will also need to specify certain settings to the viewer conveying the syntax which it needs to use to tell &vim; how to display the source file.

In windows you need to supply the following command in the apporpriate setting of your viewer:

    "C:\Program Files\vim\vim74\gvim" -c ":RemoteOpen +%l %f"

Or if you have (g)&vim; added to your `$PATH` simply:

    gvim -c ":RemoteOpen +%l %f"

The command `:RemoteOpen` is supplied when you install &ls;. In `YAP`, you can set this option under `View > Options > Inverse Search` in the Command Line field. And in `SumatraPdf` you can set this option under `Settings > Options > Set inverse search command-line`.

On *nix machines, &ls; attempts to call the DVI viewer in such a way that it already knows how to communicate with &vim;. If this does not seem to be working, you can use the `RemoteOpen` command described above.

## Latex Folding

&ls; ships with the plugin SyntaxFolds.vim which is a plugin for creating "fake" syntax folds on the fly. The fold method is actually manual but the folding is based on &latex; syntax. This offers a speed increase over regular syntax folding. Ofcourse it has the disadvantage that the folds are not dynamic, i.e newly created syntax items are not automatically folded up. (This is a compromise between speed and convenience).

When you open up a LaTeX file, all the portions will be automatically folded up. However, no new folds will be created until you press `\rf`. (rf stands for "refresh folds").

The fold-text is set to the first line of the folded text unless the fold is a table, figure etc. (an environment). In this case, if a \caption and/or a label is found in the folded region, then those are used to make a more meaningful fold-text, otherwise the second line of the environment is displayed along with the name of the environment. In other words, the following

    \begin{figure}[h]
         \centering
         \includegraphics[height=6cm]{slidercrank.pdf}
        \caption{The Slider Crank Mechanism.}
        \label{fig:slidercrank}
    \end{figure}
    % a LaTeX comment.
    \begin{equation}
        \sin(\pi) = 0
    \end{equation}

will be shown as:

    +---  5 lines: figure (fig:slidercrank) : The Slider Crank Mechanism. -----
    % a LaTeX comment.
    +---  3 lines: equation () : \sin(\pi) = 0 --------------------------------

### Default Folding Scheme in &ls;

By default, &ls; creates folds in the following manner:

    \part
    %%fakepart
        \chapter
        %%fakechapter
            \section
            %%fakesection
                \subsection
                %%fakesubsection
                    \subsubsection
                    %%fakesubsubsection
                        \paragraph
                        %%fakeparagraph
                            \item
                                \equation
                                \align
                                \figure
                                \table
                                \footnote

The indentation shows the "nestedness" of the folding scheme. See the next section to see how you can change this scheme.

### Customizing what to fold

From version 1.6 onwards, the folding in &ls; can be controlled to a large extent via a number of global variables.

#### Tex_FoldedSections

This entry defines which sections will be folded. This setting is a comma separated list of section names. The default value is:

    part,chapter,section,subsection,subsubsection,paragraph

Each of the entries in the list will fold up a section of the corresponding name and the corresponding `%%fakesection`. The `%%fakesection` section is provided as a means for the user to group lines into "fake" sections. In particular, it is useful to fold the introduction of a `section` that is not part of a `subsection`:

    \section{Latex-Suite}
    %%fakesubsection Introduction
    A short introduction of the features of Latex-Suite.
    \subsection{Installation}
    Installation instructions.

Without the `%%fakesubsection` the introduction would not be folded separately from the section.

It is also possible, to add section names at the same level of hierarchy. These have to be separated by "|". This is, e.g., useful for the KOMA classes, which add "\addcap":

    " let g:Tex_FoldedSections = 'part|addpart,chapter|addchap,section|addsec,subsection,subsubsection,paragraph,subparagraph'

See also advanced fold settings.

#### Tex_FoldedEnvironments

This entry defines which environments will be folded. It is a comma separated string of words each of which defines a single environment. The default setting is

    verbatim,comment,eq,gather,
    align,figure,table,thebibliography,
    keywords,abstract,titlepage

The words need not be standard Latex environments. You can add any word you like. Also, each word will fold up all environments whose name begins with that word. For example, in the setting above, the word `"align"` folds up the `\begin{align}`, `\begin{align*}`, `\begin{aligned}` environments. To avoid this, you can replace the word `"align"` with `"align}"`.

See also advanced fold settings.

#### Tex_FoldedCommands

This entry defines which commands will be folded. It is a comma separated string of words each of which defines a single command. The default setting is empty, i.e no commands are folded. The words need not be standard Latex commands. You can use whatever words you like. Each word will fold all commands whose name begins with that word as in the case of the Tex_FoldedEnvironments variable.

It is very difficult to fold commands reliably because it is very difficult to create a regexp which will match a line containing unmatched parentheses (or curly brackets), but will not match a line containing matched parentheses.

Just to make things safer, only lines which start a command but do not contain additional curly braces after the command has started are folded. In other words, if you wanted to fold the the command `"mycommand"`, then the lines

    \mycommand{This is a line
    and some more text on the next line
    }

will be folded, but the lines

    \mycommand{This is a \textbf{line}
    and some more text
    }

will not be folded. This is a bug which is very difficult to fix.

See also advanced fold settings.

#### Tex_FoldedMisc

This entry defines fold syntax for certain items which do not naturally fit into the section, environment of command lists. It is a comma separated list of words. The default value is:

    item,preamble,<<<

Unlike the other Tex_FoldedXXXX variables, the words in this setting are limited to take values from the following list:

Value | Meaning
comments | Folds up contiguous blocks of comments
item | Folds up the `\item`s within list environments
preamble | Folds up the preamble of a document. (The part between the `\documentclass` command and the `\begin{document}` environment)
`<<<` | Folds defined manually by the user using the `<<<` and `>>>` strings as fold-markers.

Any other words in the `Tex_FoldedMisc` setting are silently ignored.

See also advanced fold settings.

#### Advanced Fold setting details

The order of the words in the `Tex_FoldedXXXX` variables is important. The order defines the order in which the folds are nested. For example, the value `"subsection,section"` for the `Tex_FoldedSections` variable will not fold any subsections at all. This is because the folds are created in the reverse order in which they occur in the `Tex_FoldedSections` setting and also, once a fold is created, the interior of the fold is not examined for creating additional folds. In the above case, this means that a `\section` is folded first and then its interior is not examined further. The correct value should have been `"section,subsection"`

Each of the fold setting variables `Tex_FoldedSections`, `Tex_FoldedEnvironments` etc., as explained previously is a comma separated string of variables. However, to make it easier to add to the default settings without having to repeat the whole default setting again, &ls; uses the following logic in forming the complete setting string from the `Tex_FoldedXXXX` variables. If the variable starts with a comma, then `Tex_FoldedXXXX` is added to the end of the default string rather than replacing it. Similarly, if it ends with a comma, then it will be prepended to the beginning of the default setting rather than replacing it.

For example, if `Tex_FoldedEnvironments` is set to the string `"myenv"`, then only an environment of the form `\begin{myenv}` will be folded. However, if the `Tex_FoldedEnvironments` setting is `",myenv"`, then the `\begin{myenv}` environment will be folded after all other environments in the default setting have been folded. On the other hand if `Tex_FoldedEnvironments` is of the form `"myenv,"`, the `\begin{myenv}` environment will be folded before the rest of the environments in the default setting.

## Multiple file &latex; projects

Many &latex; projects contain multiple source files which are `\include`d from a master file. A typical example of this situation is a directory layout such as the following

    thesis/
        main.tex
        abstract.tex
        intro/
            intro.tex
            figures/
                fig1.eps
                fig2.eps
        chapter1/
            chap1.tex
            figures/
                fig1.eps
        conclusion/
            conclusion.tex
            figures/

In the above case, `main.tex` will typically look like

    % file: main.tex
    \documentclass{report}
    \begin{document}

    \input{abstract.tex}
    \input{intro/intro.tex}
    \input{chapter1/chap1.tex}
    \input{conclusion/conclusion.tex}

    \end{document}

In such situations, you will need to convey to &ls; that `main.tex` is the main file which `\input`s the other files. This is done by creating an empty file called `main.tex.latexmain` in the same directory in which `main.tex` resides. This file is called the master file in this manual. See Tex_MainFileExpression for an alternative way of specifying the master file.

Here `main.tex.latexmain` is (obviously) a different file from `main.tex` itself. `main.tex` need not be renamed. This ofcourse restricts each directory to have a single master file.

Each time &ls; opens a new &latex; file, it will try to see if it is part of a multiple file project by searching upwards (to the root of the file-system) from the current file's directory to see if it finds a file of the form `*.latexmain`. If such a file is found, then it is considered that the current file is part of a larger project. The name of the &latex; master file is inferred directly from the first part of the `*.latexmain` file as described in the example above.

### &ls; project settings

If a master file is found, then &ls; `:source`s the file. Thus this file needs to contain valid &vim; commands. This file is typically used to store project specific settings.

Some typical per-project settings which are best put in the master file are

- Tex_ProjectSourceFiles

### Specifying which file to compile

In the example described previously, if you are editing `intro/intro.tex` and press `\ll`, then you still want &ls; to compile `main.tex`, because `intro/intro.tex` is merely a fragment which is `\input`'ed into `main.tex`. If the master file is already specified using the `*.latexmain` convention described previously, then &ls; will automatically compile the master file when you are editing any of its `\input`'ed fragments. Thus pressing `\ll` while editing `intro/intro.tex` will compile `main.tex`.

If you wish to use some different logic to specify the main file name, you can specify a custom expression via the `Tex_MainFileExpression` variable. This is a string containing a valid vim expression. In addition, you can use a variable `modifier` which is in the format used for `|filename-modifiers|`, for example, `':p:h'`. You should utilize this variable to modify the filename of the main file.

    let g:Tex_MainFileExpression = 'MainFile(modifier)'
    function! MainFile(fmod)
        if glob('*.latexmain') != ''
            return fnamemodify(glob('*.latexmain'), a:fmod)
        else
            return ''
        endif
    endif

## &ls; Commands and Maps

This section describes the maps and commands used in &ls;. It also describes a way to change the map sequences according to your preference.

### &ls; Maps

Most of the mappings used in &ls; can be mapped to a different key combination to suit your particular needs. An example best explains the procedure for doing this. Suppose you want to remap the `<C-j>` key which &ls; (actually imaps.vim) uses to jump to the next placeholder. To do this, you first need to find out which `<Plug>` mapping `<C-j>` is derived from. You will need to look at the relevant section of this manual to do this. For example, the section IMAP mappings has the information that the `<C-j>` key is derived from `<Plug>IMAP_JumpForward`. Therefore to remap the `<C-j>` key to say `<C-space>`, you will need to put a statement like the following in your `~/.vimrc`.

    imap <C-space> <Plug>IMAP_JumpForward

To change the `IMAP` mappings which affect jumping between placeholders, the `map` statement above has to be placed in your `~/.vimrc`. For other mappings you can place the `map` statement in your `$VIM/ftplugin/tex.vim` file. The reason for this is that the `<C-j>` maps are created in `plugin/imaps.vim`, which is sourced as soon as &vim; starts before sourcing any ftplugin files.

#### IMAP mappings

These mappings are utilized for jumping between placeholders as described here. See the parent section to find out how to use this information to change the default maps.

Plug map | Default Key
`<Plug>IMAP_JumpForward` | `<C-j>`
`<Plug>IMAP_JumpBack` | (none)
`<Plug>IMAP_DeleteAndJumpForward` | (none)
`<Plug>IMAP_DeleteAndJumpBack` | (none)

`<Plug>IMAP_JumpForward` takes you to the location of the next place-holder.

`<Plug>IMAP_JumpBack` takes you to the previous place-holder.

`<Plug>IMAP_DeleteAndJumpForward` deletes the presently selected place-holder and jumps to the next place-holder irrespective of whether the present placeholder is empty or not and ignoring the value of place-holder settings like `g:Imap_DeleteEmptyPlaceHolders` and `g:Imap_StickyPlaceHolders`

`<Plug>IMAP_DeleteAndJumpBack` deletes the presently selected place-holder and jumps to the previous place-holder irrespective of whether the present placeholder is empty or not and ignoring the value of place-holder settings like `g:Imap_DeleteEmptyPlaceHolders` and `g:Imap_StickyPlaceHolders`

#### Alt-Key mappings

These mappings are are described in the section Alt key macros. See the parent section to see how to use the following information to remap keys.

Plug Mapping | Default Key
`<Plug>Tex_MathBF` | `<Alt-B>`
`<Plug>Tex_MathCal` | `<Alt-C>`
`<Plug>Tex_LeftRight` | `<Alt-L>`
`<Plug>Tex_InsertItemOnThisLine` | `<Alt-I>`

### Latex Suite Commands

#### :TMacro [{macro}]

When used without any arguments lists all available macros defined in runtime ftplugin/latex-suite/macros/ directories and prompts you to choose one of them. With one argument |:read| this macro under cursor position. With more than one argument it will not work :) In Vim >= 6.2 works completion of names of macros (see 'wildmenu', 'wildmode' for more about command-line completion).

#### :TMacroEdit [{macro}]

Splits window for editing {macro}. When used without any arguments lists all available macros defined in runtime ftplugin/latex-suite/macros/ directories and prompt you to choose one of them. When you try to edit {macro} not from local directory &ls; will copy it to your local directory with suffix "-local". If local copy already exists &ls; prompt for overwriting it. In Vim >= 6.2 works completion of names of macros (see 'wildmenu', 'wildmode' for more about command-line completion).

#### :TMacroNew

Splits window to write new macro. Directory in new buffer is locally changed to &ls;/macros/.

#### :TMacroDelete [{macro}]

Delets {macro} from your local ftplugin/latex-suite/macros/ directory. When used without any arguments lists all available macros defined in &ls;/macros/ directory and prompt you to choose one of them. When you choose to delete {macro} which is not in your local directory &ls; will refuse to delete it. In Vim >= 6.2 works completion of names of macros (see 'wildmenu', 'wildmode' for more about command-line completion)

#### :TPackage [{package, ...}]

When used without any arguments lists name of the packages for which support is available. If you are using &vim; GUI and have `Tex_Menus` set to 1, then it will list all files found in the `$VIM/ftplugin/latex-suite/packages` directory. Otherwise, &ls; will list files found in the `$VIM/ftplugin/latex-suite/dictionaries` directory. Choosing a file from the list will insert a

    \usepackage[&ph;]{<packname>}

line into the buffer at the current cursor location. For &vim; 6.2 and above, you can use command-line completion to choose a package file. You can also call `TPackage` with one or more package names separated with spaces in which case, &ls; will insert `\usepackage` lines for each of them in turn.

After inserting the `\usepackage` line(s), &ls; will support it (them) in various ways as described in the section Actions taken for supported packages.

#### :TPackageUpdate

This command `reads' name of package under cursor and turns on possible support.

#### :TPackageUpdateAll

After issuing this command latexSuite scans the file in looking for not declared packages, removing not needed entries from Packages menu and turning off not necessary packages' dictionaries.

#### :TTemplate [{template}]

When used without any arguments lists all available templates from latex-suite/templates/ directory and prompts to choose one of them. With one argument :0|read| {template} file. With more than one argument it will not work :) In Vim >= 6.2 works completion of names of macros (see 'wildmenu', 'wildmode' for more about command-line completion)

#### :TSection [{argument}]

Used without any arguments inserts last section type (|latex-sectioning|). Accepts arguments: n> inserts section name in <n> logical level. Levels are:

0 | part
1 | chapter
2 | section
3 | subsection
4 | subsubsection
5 | paragraph
6 | subparagraph

+<n> | inserts section name <n> logical levels above the last used comand
-<n> | inserts section name <n> logical levels below the last used comand
+ | inserts section name one logical level below the last used command (equal to +1).
++ | inserts section name two logical levels below the last used command (equal to +2).
- | inserts section name one logical level over the last used command (equal to -1).
-- | inserts section name two logical levels over the last used command (equal to -2).

Command accepts also latexSuite mappings (|latex-macros|) without preceding S and in lowercase:

    :TSection pa

will result in `\part{}`. It is possible to use full names of sections: `:TSection part`

#### :TSectionAdvanced

Accepts the same arguments as |TSection| but leads to a couple of questions (whether you want to include the section in the table of contents, whether there is a shorter name for the table of contents) and then creates a more intelligent template.

#### :TLook

Accepts one argument. Will look through .tex files in directory of edited file for argument. It can be regexp. You don't have to enclose argument in "". <cr> takes you to location. Other keys work as described in |latex-viewer|. Note: TLook uses :grep command and is using 'grepprg'. Its regular expressions can be different from those of Vim.

#### :TLookBib

Accepts one argument. Will look through .bib files in directory of edited file for argument. It can be regexp. You don't have to enclose argument in "". <cr> takes you to location. Other keys work as described in |latex-viewer|.

TLookBib uses :grep command and is using 'grepprg'. Its regular expressions can be different from those of Vim.

#### :TLookAll

Accepts one argument. Will look through all files in directory of edited file for argument. It can be regexp. You don't have to enclose argument in "". <cr> takes you to location. Other keys work as described in |latex-viewer|. Note: TLook uses :grep command and is using 'grepprg'. Its regular expressions can be different from those of Vim.

#### :TPartComp

No argument allowed but accepts range in all formats. Define fragment of interest with :'a,'b, :/a/,/b/, :'<,'> or :20,30. All other rules of compilation apply.

#### :TPartView

Show last compiled fragment. All rules of viewing apply but |latex-searching|.

#### :Tshortcuts [{arg}]

Show shortcuts in terminal (not using menu). Without {arg} you will see simple menu prompting for one of them. Possible arguments:

g | General shortcuts
e | Environment shortcuts
f | Font shortcuts
s | Section shortcuts
m | Math shortcuts
a | All shortcuts

## Customizing &ls;

Customizing &ls; is done by defining certain global variables in `$VIM/ftplugin/tex.vim`, where `$VIM` corresponds to `~/.vim` for *nix machines and `~/vimfiles` for windows machines. This file is not part of the &ls; distribution. You will need to create this file yourself (or modify it if it exists) if you need to change any default settings. Since this file is not included as part of the &ls; distribution, it will not be over-written in subsequent updates.

The default settings in &ls; are defined in `$VIM/ftplugin/latex-suite/texrc`. Please take a look at this file if you find this documentation incomplete or confusing. That file is also well documented.

This chapter describes the various settings which effect &ls; and their default values. The settings are broken up into sections according to the behavior which they influence.

### General Settings

#### Tex_Debug

Type | boolean
Default Value | `0`

If set to 1, then &ls; will create certain global debug statements which can be printed by doing

    :call Tex_PrintDebug()

#### Tex_UsePython

Type | boolean
Default Value | `1`

If &ls; detects that your vim is python enabled (using `has('python')` and `has('python3')`), then it tries to use python in certain places to speed things up. If this misbehaves, you can set this to zero, in which case, &ls; will use vimscript to accomplish the same.

### Place-Holder Customization

&ls; uses place-holders to minimize using the movement keys while typing. The following settings affect how place-holders are used.

These setting need to be set in your `~/.vimrc`, not `$VIM/ftplugin/tex.vim` because these settings affect the behavior of `imaps.vim`, which is a global plugin, not a file-type plugin.

#### g:Imap_UsePlaceHolders

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `1`

Setting this to zero completely disables using place-holders.

#### g:Imap_PlaceHolderStart & g:Imap_PlaceHolderEnd

Setting | Type | Value
`Imap_PlaceHolderStart` | String | `'<+'`
`Imap_PlaceHolderEnd` | String | `'+>'`

These settings affect the strings displayed at the beginning and end of the place-holder string. Set these strings to a value different than a commonly occurring sequence of characters.

##### TIP

If you use the `latin1` encoding and do not type in french, then you can set these strings to the `\xab` and `\xbb` characters (the french quotation marks).

#### g:Imap_DeleteEmptyPlaceHolders

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `1`

When set to one, non-descriptive or empty place-holders are deleted on pressing `<Ctrl-J>`.

#### g:Imap_StickyPlaceHolders

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `1`

When set to 1, in visual mode, `<Ctrl-J>` takes you to the next placeholder without deleting the current placeholder.

#### g:Imap_GoToSelectMode

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `1`

When set to 1, `<Ctrl-J>` will switch to select mode after selecting the placeholder. Otherwise, it will switch to visual mode.

### Macro Customization

#### Customizing the macros concerning environments

##### Tex_Env_name

If you wish to wish to expand certain environments differently from the way &ls; does it, you can define custom expansions using global variables of the form `Tex_Env_{name}` where `name` corresponds to the environment.

For example, if you press `<F5>` after typing `theorem`, &ls; will by default expand it to

    \begin{theorem}
          \label{&ph;}&ph;
    \end{theorem}&ph;

However, if you wish change this to

    \begin{theorem}
          &ph;
    \end{theorem}&ph;

then define the following variable

    let g:Tex_Env_theorem = "\\begin{theorem}\<CR>&ph;\<CR>\\end{theorem}"

If the expansion uses special keys such as carriage return etc, then use double-quotes and use the `"\<key>"` notation for special keys. Backslashes have to be doubled.

You could even use strings returned by functions as the expansion by using the IMAP_PutTextWithMovement() function.

If the name of the environment contains special characters (for example, the `align*` environment), then use the following form:

    let g:Tex_Env_{'align*'} =
             \ "\\begin{align*}\<CR>&ph; &= &ph;\<CR>\\end{align*}&ph;"

This will make pressing `<F5>` after `align*` expand to

    \begin{align*}
         &ph; &= &ph;
     \end{align*}&ph;

##### Tex_EnvLabelprefix_name

By default, &ls; inserts labels without prefixes. The setting `Tex_EnvLabelprefix_{name}`, where `name` corresponds to the environment, is used to create labels with prefixes automatically. For instance, if you use

    let g:Tex_EnvLabelprefix_equation = "eq:"

the prefix `eq:` is inserted in all labels in generated equations:

    \begin{equation}
          &ph;
          \label{eq:&ph;}
    \end{equation}&ph;

This setting works for the environments `figure`, `table`, `theorem`, `definition`, `lemma`, `proposition`, `corollary`, `assumption`, `remark`, `equation`, `align` and `multline`.

##### Tex_EnvEndWithCR

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `0`

If `Tex_EnvEndWithCR` is set to `1`, a carriage return (i.e., line break) is inserted between `\end{environment}` and the last placeholder:

    \begin{equation}
          &ph;
          \label{&ph;}
    \end{equation}
    &ph;

##### Tex_ItemsWithCR

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `0`

If `Tex_ItemsWithCR` is set to `1`, a carriage return (i.e., line break) is inserted after `\item` and the placeholder, e.g., `itemize<F5>` is expanded to

    \begin{itemize}
          \item
                &ph;
    \end{itemize}

##### Tex_LabelAfterContent

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `1`

If `Tex_LabelAfterContent` is set to `0`, the label is placed before the content of the environment:

    \begin{equation}
          \label{&ph;}
          &ph;
    \end{equation}&ph;

##### g:Tex_UseMenuWizard

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `0`

If this variable is set to 1, then when an environment is chosen from the menu then for selected environments, &ls; asks a series of questions on the command line and inserts a template with the corresponding fields already filled in. Setting this to zero will insert a template with place-holders marking off the places where fields need to be filled.

##### g:Tex_PromptedEnvironments

Type | String
Default Value | `'equation,equation*,align,align*,enumerate,itemize,figure,table'`

This string represents a comma separated list of fields corresponding to environments. Pressing `<F5>` in insert-mode in the body of the document asks you to choose from one of these environments to insert.

Leaving this string empty will leave the `<F5>` key unmapped

##### g:Tex_HotKeyMappings

Type | String
Default Value | `'equation*,equation,bmatrix'`

This string represents a comma separated list of environments which are mapped to `<Shift-F-1>` through `<Shift-F-4>`. For example, pressing `<Shift-F-2>` with this setting inserts the `equation` environment.

Leaving this string empty will leave `<Shift-F-1>` through `<Shift-F-4>` unmapped.

Only the first four fields of this list are used. The rest are silently ignored.

#### Customizing the macros concerning commands

##### Tex_Com_name

If you wish to define new expansions for fast command insertion as described here, or redefine expansions from the default values in &ls;, you will need to define variables of the form `g:Tex_Com_{name}` where `name` is a command name. For example, with the setting

    let g:Tex_Com_frac = "\\frac{&ph;}{&ph;}&ph;"

pressing `<F7>` after typing `frac` will change it to `\frac{&ph;}{&ph;}&ph;`

See Tex_Env_name for additional details on how to create this setting in various special circumstances.

##### g:Tex_PromptedCommands

Type | String
Default Value | `'footnote,cite,pageref,label'`

This string represents a comma separated list of &latex; commands which &ls; uses for the `<F7>` and `<S-F7>` maps as described here.

Leaving this string empty will leave the `<F7>` key unmapped.

##### Tex_ItemStyle_environment

This setting affects the style which &ls; uses to insert an `\item` when `<Alt-I>` is pressed as described here. By default &ls; defines styles for the following environments:

Environment | Style
itemize | \item
enumerate | \item
theindex | \item
thebibliography | \item[<+biblabel+>]{<+bibkey+>} <++>
description | \item[<+label+>] <++>

Each style is defined by a variable of the form `g:Tex_ItemStyle_{envname}` where `envname` is the name of the environment for which the style is defined. For example, by default

    g:Tex_ItemStyle_description = '\item[<+label+>] <++>'

Redefining the style for a particular environment or defining a style for an entirely new environment is simply a matter of setting the value of a variable of the corresponding name.

#### Enabling / disabling macros

The following variables disable various parts of the macro functionality of &ls;. See the links to the relevant sections to see what functionality setting each of the variables to zero will take away.

Setting | Link to relevant section | Default Value
`g:Tex_EnvironmentMaps` | Environment Mappings | 1
`g:Tex_EnvironmentMenus` |  | 1
`g:Tex_FontMaps` | Font Mappings | 1
`g:Tex_FontMenus` |  | 1
`g:Tex_SectionMaps` | Section Mappings | 1
`g:Tex_SectionMenus` |  | 1

#### g:Imap_FreezeImap

Type | boolean
Default Value | `0`

This option when set to 1, temporarily freezes &ls;'s macro expansion. It might be useful when you are using some other keymap which is causing excessive macro expansion. Use a buffer-local variable of the same name if you wish to affect just the present buffer.

#### g:Tex_CatchVisMapErrors

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `1`

With so many visual maps, its helpful to have a way of catching typing errors made in visual mode. What this does is to prompt you to correct your visual mode mapping if you start out with `g:Tex_Leader` and then type some illegal keys. It basically maps just the `g:Tex_Leader` character to a function.

#### g:Tex_Diacritics

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `0`

Whether or not you want to use diacritics.

#### g:Tex_Leader

Type | String
Default Value | `'`'`

The mappings in &ls; are by default prefixed with the back-tick character. For example, ``/` inserts `\frac{&ph;}{&ph;}&ph;` etc. You can change the prefix with the following setting. `','`, `'/'`, `'`'` are preferred values. `''` or `'\'` will lead to a lot of trouble.

g:Tex_Leader is also used for visual mode mappings for fonts.

#### g:Tex_Leader2

Type | String
Default Value | `','`

In order to avoid clashes between the large number of visual mode macros provided, the visual mode macros for environments and sections start with a character different from `g:Tex_Leader`.

### Smart Key Customization

These settings affect the smart key functionality as described here.

#### g:Tex_SmartKeyBS

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `1`

Whether or not `<Backspace>` deletes diacritics.

#### g:Tex_SmartKeyQuote

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `1`

Whether or not the smart quotes functionality is available.

If enabled, the quote characters can be customized by setting the following variables:

Setting | Value
`g:Tex_SmartQuoteOpen` | `"``"`
`g:Tex_SmartQuoteClose` | `"''"`

Non-English users will want to change these settings to their locale. These global variables will be ignored if there are buffer-local variables (with the same name), which may be set in the language specific package files, such as `$VIM/ftplugin/latex-suite/packages/german`.

### Latex Completion Customization

The following settings affect the completion functionality in &ls;.

#### Window size settings

These three settings affect the aesthetics of the completion functionality.

Setting | Explanation | Default Value
`g:Tex_ViewerCwindowHeight` | The height of the `cwindow` which displays the list of `\label`s etc. | 5
`g:Tex_ViewerPreviewHeight` | The height of the preview window which shows the context of a `\label` etc. | 10
`g:Tex_ExplorerHeight` | The height of the explorer window which lists the files from which to choose an image file. | 10
`g:Tex_ImageDir` | The directory to scan for images | ''

#### g:Tex_BIBINPUTS

Type | string
Default Value | `''`

This string describes the directories which are scanned while trying to search for `.bib` and `.bbl` files. See the cite completion section for more details.

This string should be set in the syntax accepted by &vim;'s native `'path'` setting. Do not include the present directory `'.'`. While searching for `bibliography` files, the present directory will be prepended to this variable.

#### Tex_UseOutlineCompletion

When set to 1 (default), &ls; searches for `\label`s in all `.tex` files of your project, starting with the main file when <F9> is pressed. See \ref completion for details.

#### Tex_UseSimpleLabelSearch

When set to 1 and if `Tex_UseOutlineCompletion` is 0, &ls; searches for `\label`s in all `.tex` files in the directory containing the file being edited when <F9> is pressed. See \ref completion for details.

#### g:Tex_ProjectSourceFiles

Type | String
Default Value | `''`

This setting is meant to be initialized on a per-project basis using the &ls; master file as described in &ls; Project section. It is a list of source files which are used in the project. If defined, then instead of using the logic described in Tex_UseSimpleLabelSearch to search for files in which to search for `\label`s, we simply search for `\label`s in this list. This significantly reduces the time it takes to generate the list of possible completions for large projects.

The list is specified as a whitespace separated list of filenames relative to the location of the main file.

#### Tex_UseCiteCompletionVer2

When set to 1 (default), &ls; uses python to parse your bib-file. See \cite completion for details.

#### g:Tex_RememberCiteSearch

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `0`

When this variable is non-zero, then &ls; will try to remember results from the `\cite` completion. This is only used if `Tex_UseCiteCompletionVer2` is set to 0.

### Compiler Customization

The following settings affect &ls;'s compilation functionality

#### g:Tex_DefaultTargetFormat

Type | String
Default Value | `dvi` for windows/*nix and `pdf` for mac

Use this setting to choose the default target format. For example, setting this to `pdf` makes &ls; compile a pdf file when you press `\ll` and fire up the `pdf` viewer on pressing `\lv`. Make sure that a rules for compiling and viewing have been defined for this target format as described here and here.

#### g:Tex_CompileRule_<format>

Here `<format>` refers to the target format for which this rule is defined. &ls; supports compiling into `dvi`, `ps` and `pdf` by default. All these rules are strings defined by default as follows:

`g:Tex_CompileRule_dvi` | `'latex -interaction=nonstopmode $*'`
`g:Tex_CompileRule_ps` | `'ps2pdf $*'`
`g:Tex_CompileRule_pdf` | `'pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode $*'`

If you desire forward and inverse searching via &ls;, you will need to change `g:Tex_CompileRule_dvi` to include `-src-specials`. However, this has been known to cause problems with the output file. Therefore, use this with care.

#### g:Tex_FormatDependency_<format>

Type | string
Default Value | `''`

By default, there are no format dependencies defined. Each definition is of the form above where `<format>` is a string such as `'dvi'` etc.

The value of each string is a comma separated string such as 'dvi,ps'. See the Compiler dependency section to see how to use/specify this setting

#### g:Tex_MultipleCompileFormats

Type | string
Default Value | `'dvi'`

This is a comma separated string of formats for which the compiler needs to be called multiple times in order to get cross-references, citations etc right. See the Compiling multiple times section for details.

#### g:Tex_IgnoredWarnings

Type | String
Default Value | `a new-line separated list of patterns as described below`

The default value of this setting is

    \"Underfull\n".
    \"Overfull\n".
    \"specifier changed to\n".
    \"You have requested\n".
    \"Missing number, treated as zero.\n".
    \"There were undefined references\n"
    \"Citation %.%# undefined"

This setting defines a set of patterns which will be filtered out when displaying the output from the latex compiler. This is to aid in filtering out very common warnings/errors.

Remember to check the value of `g:Tex_IgnoreLevel` when you change this setting. For example, if you append a new pattern which you would like to ignore by default, increase the value of `g:Tex_IgnoreLevel`.

#### g:Tex_IgnoreLevel

Type | Integer
Default Value | `7`

This setting defines a "filter level" or an "ignore level". A value of 7 for instance means that any warning/error matching with any of the first 7 fields of `g:Tex_IgnoredWarnings` will be ignored. Setting this value to zero will mean that no error/warning is ignored. However, even with a value of zero, &ls; will filter out most of the text which a &latex; compiler typically produces. Use

    TCLevel strict

from within &vim; in order to see all the lines from the compiler's output.

#### g:Tex_UseMakefile

Type | boolean
Default Value | `1`

When set to 1, then if a `makefile` or `Makefile` is present in the current directory, then &ls; sets the `makeprg` option to just `"make <target>"`, where `<target>` is the target format chosen using the `TCTarget` or `TTarget` commands.

When set to 0, then &ls; will set the `makeprg` setting to whatever is defined by the g:Tex_CompileRule_target setting.

#### g:Tex_GotoError

Type | boolean
Default Value | `1`

If set to 1, then pressing `\ll` will take you to the location of the first warning/error, otherwise you will remain in the original location but the errors/warnings will be listed in the preview window.

### Viewer Customization

The following settings affect how &ls; will display compiled files.

#### g:Tex_ViewRule_<format>

Here `<format>` refers to a format such as `dvi`, `ps`, etc. This variable defines the program which will be called to display a file of that format.

By default, &ls; defines viewer programs for viewing DVI, PS and PDF formats as follows:

| Windows | Unix
`g:Tex_ViewRule_dvi` | `'yap -1'` | `'xdvi'`
`g:Tex_ViewRule_ps` | `'gsview32'` | `'ghostview'`
`g:Tex_ViewRule_pdf` | `'AcroRd32'` | `'xpdf'`

For Macintosh systems, these strings are left empty by default. This lets the system pick the program for each format. If you define these variables for Mac, the system choice will be over-ridden.

&ls; appends `file.format` to the above settings while calling the external programs. For example, with

    let g:Tex_ViewRule_dvi = 'yap -1'

`yap` is called as

    !start yap -1 file.dvi

from within &vim;. (The initial `start` is used on `Windows` platforms is to make `yap` start as a separate process.) If you find the way &ls; constructs the command line too restrictive, you can use the `Tex_ViewRuleComplete_format` setting for more complete control on how the command line is constructed while calling the external program for viewing.

For windows, you will need to set the `$PATH` variable to include the paths to `yap`, `AcroRd32`, `gsview32` and any other programs. See your system documentation for how to do this.

##### Default Viewing Format

To change the default format for viewing files, set the g:Tex_DefaultTargetFormat variable.

#### Tex_ViewRuleComplete_<format>

Here `<format>` refers to the extension of a output format such as `dvi`, `html` etc.

`Tex_ViewRuleComplete_format` takes precedence over `Tex_ViewRule_format` if both are specified. By default, &ls; does not define values for `Tex_ViewRuleComplete_format` for any `format`. Unlike in the case of `Tex_ViewRule_format`, &ls; does not modify `Tex_ViewRuleComplete_format` at all in constructing the command line. The only modification is to substitute `'$*'` everywhere in the string with the name of the file being viewed (without the extension).

##### IMPORTANT

Make sure you make the process go into the background otherwise vim will wait for the viewer to terminate before letting you edit the file again.

To make a process go into the background on a `*nix` platform, use a trailing `&` in the setting. On `Windows`, use `start` at the beginning of the setting. Example: Suppose you have a latex->html converter which converts a file say foo.tex to a file foo/index.html. Then you would use:

    " On *nix platform
    let g:Tex_ViewRuleComplete_html = 'MozillaFirebird $*/index.html &'
    " On windows platform
    let g:Tex_ViewRuleComplete_html = 'start MozillaFirebird $*/index.html'

### Menu Customization

In addition to using the variables defined in this section to affect the menu-layout permanently (i.e, the layout &ls; will start with), you can also use the `TeX-Suite > Configure Menu` menu to dynamically configure the menu layout after &ls; has started.

#### g:Tex_Menus

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `1`

If set to 0, &ls; will suppress showing all menus. Useful if you mostly work in terminals.

#### `g:Tex_MainMenuLocation`

Type | number
Default Value | `80`

This setting decides the location of the first top-level &ls; menu. You can for example shift all the menus created by &ls; to the very end by setting this value to a large number like 990.

#### g:Tex_MathMenus

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `1`

The `Tex-Math` menu consists of hundreds of mathematical symbols used in &latex;. This menu comprises about 75% of the menus.

#### g:Tex_NestElementMenus

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `1`

This setting controls the "compactness" of the menus. If set to 1, then the Font, Counter and Dimensioning menus are collected together in a single menu called `Tex-Elements`, otherwise, they will each get a separate menu.

#### g:Tex_PackagesMenu

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `1`

Setting this to zero will stop &ls; from automatically creating the `TeX-Suite > Packages > Supported` menu at startup. You can still create the menu after startup by going to `TeX-Suite > Configure Menu`.

#### g:Tex_NestPackagesMenu

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `1`

If this option is set, &ls; creates the packages option within the TeX-Suite menu. Otherwise, it is a top-level menu entry.

#### g:Tex_MenuPrefix

Type | String
Default Value | `'TeX-'`

This string is the prefix added to all the menus created by &ls;. If you define this variable with a dot (`'.'`) as the last character, then all the menus created by &ls; will be nested under a single master menu. For example, set this to `'&LaTeX-Suite.'` to nest all menus under a menu called `&LaTeX-Suite`.

#### g:Tex_UseUtfMenus

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `0`

This setting controls whether &ls; uses utf-8 symbols to display some of the mathematical symbols in the `TeX-Math` menu. It is necessary for your system/GUI to support utf-8. Setting this to 1 has the side-effect of setting the `'encoding'` option of &vim; to 'utf-8'.

### Folding Customization

The following settings control the folding functionality of &ls;, see also Customizing what to fold.

#### g:Tex_Folding

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `1`

Setting this to zero completely disables &ls;'s folding functionality. However, the `TexFoldTextFunction()` is still available in case you want to use another folding scheme but still want to continue using the fold text function.

#### g:Tex_AutoFolding

Type | Boolean
Default Value | `1`

This setting controls whether &ls; automatically creates manual folds for a file when it is opened. You can still use the `\rf` mapping to refresh/create folds even when this variable is set to zero.

### Package Handling Customization

These settings affect the custom packages functionality in &ls;

#### g:Tex_TEXINPUTS

Type | string
Default Value | `''`

This setting describes the directories scanned by &ls; while searching for custom user packages as described in the custom packages section. Do not include the present directory in this setting. The present directory is always scanned for custom packages.

This string should be set in the syntax accepted by &vim;'s native `'path'` setting.

### Template Directory Customization

This setting describes the directories scanned by &ls; to search for templates.

#### g:Tex_CustomTemplateDirectory

Type | string
Default Value | `''`

A comma separated list of directories. If left empty, &ls; searches in `$VIM/ftplugin/latex-suite/templates/`.

## Credits

And finally, the credits:

Artur R. Czechowski | maintains the BSD package of &ls;. Lots of valuable feedback.
Lubomir Host | provided the diacritics and also helped in development.
Alexander Wagner | valuable suggestions during development.
Luc Hermitte | his variation of Stephen Riehm's bracketing system is used in &ls;.
Gergely Kontra | the clever little JumpFunc() in imaps.vim is due to him. The implementation of the templates also borrows from mu-template.vim by him.
Dimitri Antoniou | author of ltags and also provided the nice tip about forward / reverse search on DVI documents.
Stephen Riehm | the extremely helpful bracketing system is from him.
Alan Schmitt | provided macros/folding elements. Continued feedback, bug-reports/fixes.
Hari Krishna Dara | for ExecMap(), the clever little function which makes typing visual mode mappings so much easier and error-free.
Alan G Isac | for the comprehensive BibT() function for entering bibtex entries.
Gontran Baerts | for libList.vim
Peter Heslin | useful discussion and also a lot of bug fixes. the %%fakesection in folding.vim.
Zhang Lin-bo | lots of very useful additions to folding. The code for customizing the folding scheme is due to him.

A large number of functions in &ls; come from various other people. Some of those people might have been missed here. Each function should however have the author's name/e-mail above it. Thats the more authoritative place to check out who has done what.

The current maintainer(s) of &ls; is(are)

- Srinath Avadhanula <srinath@fastmail.fm>
- Mikolaj Machowski <mikmach@wp.pl>
- Benji Fisher <benji@member.AMS.org>