Proposed tip Please edit this page to improve it, or add your comments below (do not use the discussion page).
While choosing colors in gvim is very easy, done by a single :colorscheme some-name command, in contrast it's much harder for Vim users to do the same. Here is a small script which may help choosing a background color for Vim users.
script: vim_bg_color_test.vim[]
" script name : vim_bg_color_test.vim
"
" dedicated to choose a background color in Vim (not gvim), for ":hi Normal".
" Needed here is an integer ranging from 0 to 255. (vs rgb values for gvim)
" (Does color value effect depends on operating used ?)
" (Here foreground color is set to black but script may help on choosing
" foreground color too.)
"
" Execute this script from within Vim by ":source %" if you edit it currently.
" Beginning and ending values are asked for in order to do a loop on colors.
" The status line at the bottom of screen shows script effect.
" Type a carriage-return after seeing color showed (and associated number).
"
" In principle the lot of highlight (:hi) options are well chosen by Vim
" when ":hi Normal" options are set, while possibly adding in .vimrc (linux) :
" :set background=dark or light
" :set t_Co=256
" 08/08/2012 - alain_b
"----------------------------------------------
let n=input("First number (0 to 255)")
let n2=input("Last number (0 to 255)")
while n <= n2
execute "hi Normal ctermfg=black ctermbg=".n
execute input("Value ".n )
let n=n+1
endwhile
" Initial display restored
source ~/.vimrc
Your vimrc should contain something like this:
if has("gui_running")
colorscheme peachpuff
else
set t_Co=256
"set background=dark " dark/light if useful
" The ctermbg option has been chosen using vim_bg_color_test.vim script
highlight Normal ctermfg=black ctermbg=222
endif
Vim documentation gives only one example, for Vim users:
:highlight Normal ctermfg=grey ctermbg=darkblue
and Vim gives access to "colortest.vim" script which seems to me too difficult to tweak.
Comments[]
I don't understand what problem you're solving here. What's wrong with colorschemes in a color terminal? --Fritzophrenic (talk) 17:45, August 8, 2012 (UTC)
- The problem is not with gvim (colorscheme is easy to use), as said, but with Vim.
- Coming back to the script. It is working well inside Vim 7.3 on ubuntu. I am not sure it's ok everywhere, since selected background color may sometimes not be visible, on the bottom line of the screen. I don't know why. --Alain b, 17:46, October 9, 2012
- Please spell out what the problem is (readers should not need to wonder about the purpose of a tip). Identify a system where there is a problem, then state what the problem is. Then mention how the tip overcomes the problem. Perhaps this is intended for some cut-down version of console Vim where color schemes don't work? I normally use gvim, but I'm pretty sure I have used color schemes on Windows and Linux in terminals (although I built them myself, so perhaps I had some feature enabled?). To sign a comment, add four tildes (
~~~~) at the end of the last line. JohnBeckett (talk) 10:54, October 14, 2012 (UTC)
- Please spell out what the problem is (readers should not need to wonder about the purpose of a tip). Identify a system where there is a problem, then state what the problem is. Then mention how the tip overcomes the problem. Perhaps this is intended for some cut-down version of console Vim where color schemes don't work? I normally use gvim, but I'm pretty sure I have used color schemes on Windows and Linux in terminals (although I built them myself, so perhaps I had some feature enabled?). To sign a comment, add four tildes (
You may throw away this tip. I didn't interpreted well how vim was working and thought colorscheme command was only for GUI usage. I use myself gvim and tried to help people choose quickly vim colors in a terminal. Sorry. Alain b (talk) 16:59, January 13, 2013 (UTC)
- Thanks for the followup. No need to be sorry! JohnBeckett (talk) 11:04, January 15, 2013 (UTC)