vim-focus-events

Provided focus events for vim in termnals: urxvt, XTerm, Konsole and iTerm2.

Neovim >v0.1.1 provides focus events by itself for XTerm/Konsole.

Features

• Introduces events FocusGained and FocusLost for terminal vim.
• Offers helpful widgets, binded to events FocusGained, FocusLost:
  • clipboard -- copies content between regs @" and @+ ;
  • buffers -- re-reads changed buffers or saves them;
• Different cursor shape for NORMAL/INSERT modes (why here? -- because it's terminal dependent staff).
• Different cursor color for primary/secondary language in terminal (you need vim-xkbswitch installed).
• List of options for customization you can see in plugin/focau.vim. You have several ways to change default options:

" #1 -- set all options of interest at once
let g:focau = {'key': 'value'}
" #2 -- allows adding comments after options
let g:focau = {}
let g:focau.key = 'value'

Alternatives

• vitality -- works only for iTerm2. Seized.
• tmux-plugins -- no urxvt support. Was refined and completely melded with this plugin.

Background

In my general workflow I use clipboard too often -- having many instances of vim, terminals, browsers, etc at once. No matter how little keystrokes you need for any simple mappings to copy to and from '+' register, it will always be too much. I tried really hard to accustom myself with no success. Solution is pretty simple and cute -- make vim copy registers for you.

There is default vim setting to autosync regs @" and @+:

set clipboard^=unnamedplus

but such workflow has flaws, as you will lost value in @+ as soon as you use @", which is desired to be preserved for repeated use.

Installation

You know how to use your's plugin manager, so convert it yourself:

NeoBundle 'amerlyq/vim-focus-autocmd'

In XTerm, Konsole and iTerm2 plugin works as is. To receive focus events in urxvt, you must install: urxvt-ext-evolved. Don't forget to restart urxvt after update.

To work in tmux, check ~/.tmux.conf had enabled focus events:

set -g focus-events on

FAQ

• Q: When switching between two vims in different terminals, FocusGained is triggered, but widget clipboard don't work.
• A: It greatly depends on terminal and environment timings, because FocusGained in current terminal can be triggered before FocusLost in previous. And copying actually happens, but copies the same previous text. Another problem -- if you use xsel in background -- then again copying can have reverse order by two xsel processes races.
• Q: I don't receive FocusLost/FocusGained when cursor in cmdline
• A: You simply don't see its consequences -- because screen wasn't redrawed. Moreover, cmline executes mappings in sandbox (see :h sandbox), so some stuff inside autocmd linked to Focus* can't be executed at all.
• Q: When in operator-peding mode and focus lost, mode is dropped to normal.
• A: It's consequences of operator-peding mode itself. Currently I have no reliable way to execute function being in OP and restore OP command after that.
• Q: In SELECT mode sometimes selected text became deleted when switching.
• A: snoremap are unreliable. Don't use this mode as much as you can?:)
• Q: Don't work with neovim in urxvt.
• A: Wait for neovim v0.2 where t_ti/te must be repaired. Currently neovim is detached from terminal and there no way to send sequences directly. Those sequences are necessary, as urxvt has non-standart focus activation.

P.S. If someone knows way to cure one of problems described in this FAQ, feel free to create issue with mitigation and I'll gladly improve this plugin