Vim Automatic List Continuation

_vim_auto_list.markdown

Vim Auto List Completion

This snippet makes Vim automatically continue/end lists in insert mode, similar to the way word processors do:

• It automatically adds the bullet/number for the next list item when you press Return at the end of an existing item,
• When you press Return on an empty list item, it removes the bullet/number, ending the list.

It supports ordered lists with markers like 1. and unordered lists with - markers (because those are the markers I use.)

(It's particularly useful when using an iOS keyboard where punctuation and numerals are slow to access.)

Installation

If you're not sure how to install, just drop the markdown.vim file itself in ~/vim/after/, or if that file already exists, copy the code into it.

N.B.

1. I just use this for Markdown, but the code itself doesn't care about the filetype. It should be fairly easy to adjust it for different list styles. Making it a robust, multi-format extension would be a bit more work.
2. It supports lists with markers like - and 1., because those are the list markers I use, but it would be easy to make it support more types of bullet/numbering.
3. I've just got it enabled for when I hit Return, but it'd be fairly easy to also enable it for normal mode o and O.

Let me know if you want to tweak it but don't know how to.

markdown.vim

" Auto lists: Automatically continue/end lists by adding markers if the
" previous line is a list item, or removing them when they are empty
function! s:auto_list()
  let l:preceding_line = getline(line(".") - 1)
  if l:preceding_line =~ '\v^\d+\.\s.'
    " The previous line matches any number of digits followed by a full-stop
    " followed by one character of whitespace followed by one more character
    " i.e. it is an ordered list item

    " Continue the list
    let l:list_index = matchstr(l:preceding_line, '\v^\d*')
    call setline(".", l:list_index + 1. ". ")
  elseif l:preceding_line =~ '\v^\d+\.\s$'
    " The previous line matches any number of digits followed by a full-stop
    " followed by one character of whitespace followed by nothing
    " i.e. it is an empty ordered list item

    " End the list and clear the empty item
    call setline(line(".") - 1, "")
  elseif l:preceding_line[0] == "-" && l:preceding_line[1] == " "
    " The previous line is an unordered list item
    if strlen(l:preceding_line) == 2
      " ...which is empty: end the list and clear the empty item
      call setline(line(".") - 1, "")
    else
      " ...which is not empty: continue the list
      call setline(".", "- ")
    endif
  endif
endfunction

" N.B. Currently only enabled for return key in insert mode, not for normal
" mode 'o' or 'O'
inoremap <buffer> <CR> <CR><Esc>:call <SID>auto_list()<CR>A

I've published my changes in a new gist.