Question

Ok so basically the way Vim highlights searches displeases me. Basically you do a search, then you have to type /asdf or have a shortcut like this in your vimrc:

nn <silent> <leader><space> :noh<CR>

Which is what I have. But it’s still too much mental work. Basically, when I do a search, I want highlighting to enable (like it does now) but if I do anything other than cycle through the searches (with n/N) then I want highlighting to turn off. That’s basically my workflow, so I’m wondering if I can automate it. Also if I search, do something other than n/N (which should turn highlighting off) and then press n/N again, it should re-enable.

Any ideas?

Answer 1

That’s difficult. One idea is

:autocmd CursorHold * call feedkeys(":noh\<CR>")

(One needs to use feedkeys() because :nohlsearch is ineffective in functions and autocmds.) This clears the highlighting whenever you pause the cursor for some seconds. You can add other triggers like InsertEnter or CursorHoldI.

What does not work is CursorMoved, because the searches and n / N jump as well. You would need to overload those commands, store the cursor position after the jump, and modify the autocmd to only clear the highlighting when the position is different.

What I do: I have Enter mapped to :nohlsearch; it’s quick and easy to reach.