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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-23T17:59:52+00:00

I make extensive use of multiline docstrings in my python source code to include

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I make extensive use of multiline docstrings in my python source code to include doctests. Unfortunately, vim/gvim seems to have a hard time with syntax highlighting, occasionally losing it’s place and forgetting that it’s in the middle of a string literal, and the highlighting “flips” from string to source and source to string.

I can scroll up to the top and back down again, and vim usually fixes the problem, but sometimes it takes a few tries.

Aside from making my docstrings shorter, Is there a way to help vim keep the highlighting on these long literals in order?

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    :syntax syn controls how Vim synchronizes the syntax state that should apply at a particular point in the text (:help syn-sync). For the most accurate sync (but this will slow vim down), try:

    autocmd BufEnter * :syntax sync fromstart

    Or if you want to sync manually whenever you notice it’s wrong, try this command (you could map it to a keyboard shortcut):

    :syntax sync fromstart

    You might also find minlines useful. From :help syn-sync

    If the “minlines={N}” argument is given, the parsing always starts at least
    that many lines backwards. This can be used if the parsing may take a few
    lines before it’s correct, or when it’s not possible to use syncing.

    So putting this in your .vimrc might help you:

    syntax sync minlines=500

    Edit: found this page which has everything you need:
    http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Fix_syntax_highlighting

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