VIM Table Mode v4.6.7

An awesome automatic table creator & formatter allowing one to create neat tables as you type.

Getting Started

Installation

There are several ways to do this

I recommend installing NeoBundle and then just add NeoBundle 'dhruvasagar/vim-table-mode' to your ~/.vimrc
If you are using pathogen.vim, then add a git submodule for your plugin:

$ cd ~/.vim
$ git submodule add git@github.com:dhruvasagar/vim-table-mode.git bundle/table-mode

Copy all files under autoload/, plugin/, doc/ to respective ~/.vim/autoload/, ~/.vim/plugin and ~/.vim/doc under UNIX or vimfiles/autoload/, vimfiles/plugin/ and vimfiles/doc under WINDOWS and restart VIM

To start using the plugin in the on-the-fly mode use :TableModeToggle mapped to <Leader>tm by default (which means \ t m if you didn't override the by :let mapleader = ',' to have , t m).

Tip : You can use the following to quickly enable / disable table mode in insert mode by using || or __ :

function! s:isAtStartOfLine(mapping)
  let text_before_cursor = getline('.')[0 : col('.')-1]
  let mapping_pattern = '\V' . escape(a:mapping, '\')
  let comment_pattern = '\V' . escape(substitute(&l:commentstring, '%s.*$', '', ''), '\')
  return (text_before_cursor =~? '^' . ('\v(' . comment_pattern . '\v)?') . '\s*\v' . mapping_pattern . '\v$')
endfunction

inoreabbrev <expr> <bar><bar>
          \ <SID>isAtStartOfLine('\|\|') ?
          \ '<c-o>:TableModeEnable<cr><bar><space><bar><left><left>' : '<bar><bar>'
inoreabbrev <expr> __
          \ <SID>isAtStartOfLine('__') ?
          \ '<c-o>:silent! TableModeDisable<cr>' : '__'

Enter the first line, delimiting columns by the | symbol. The plugin reacts by inserting spaces between the text and the separator if you omit them:

| name | address | phone |

In the second line (without leaving Insert mode), enter | twice. The plugin will write a properly formatted horizontal line:

| name | address | phone |
|------+---------+-------|

When you enter the subsequent lines, the plugin will automatically adjust the formatting to match the text you’re entering every time you press |:

| name       | address | phone |
|------------+---------+-------|
| John Adams |

Go on until the table is ready:

| name            | address                  | phone      |
|-----------------+--------------------------+------------|
| John Adams      | 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue | 0123456789 |
|-----------------+--------------------------+------------|
| Sherlock Holmes | 221B Baker Street        | 0987654321 |
|-----------------+--------------------------+------------|

Then you can return to the first line and above it enter ||:

|-----------------+--------------------------+------------|
| name            | address                  | phone      |
|-----------------+--------------------------+------------|
| John Adams      | 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue | 0123456789 |
|-----------------+--------------------------+------------|
| Sherlock Holmes | 221B Baker Street        | 0987654321 |
|-----------------+--------------------------+------------|

Corner separators are adjustable:

For Markdown-compatible tables use

let g:table_mode_corner='|'


|-----------------|--------------------------|------------|
| name            | address                  | phone      |
|-----------------|--------------------------|------------|
| John Adams      | 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue | 0123456789 |
|-----------------|--------------------------|------------|
| Sherlock Holmes | 221B Baker Street        | 0987654321 |
|-----------------|--------------------------|------------|

To get ReST-compatible tables use

let g:table_mode_corner_corner='+'
let g:table_mode_header_fillchar='='


+-----------------+--------------------------+------------+
| name            | address                  | phone      |
+=================+==========================+============+
| John Adams      | 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue | 0123456789 |
+-----------------+--------------------------+------------+
| Sherlock Holmes | 221B Baker Street        | 0987654321 |
+-----------------+--------------------------+------------+

You can also define in a table header border how it's content should be aligned, whether center, right or left by using a : character defined by g:table_mode_align_char option.

Formatting existing content into a table

Table Mode wouldn't justify it's name if it didn't allow formatting existing content into a table. And it does as promised. Like table creation on the fly as you type, formatting existing content into a table is equally simple. You can visually select multiple lines and call :Tableize on it, or alternatively use the mapping <Leader>tt defined by the g:table_mode_tableize_map option which would convert CSV (Comma Separated Value) data into a table and use , defined by g:table_mode_delimiter option as the delimiter.

If however you wish to use a different delimiter, you can use the command :Tableize/{pattern} in a similar fashion as you use tabular (eg. :Tableize/; uses ';' as the delimiter) or use the mapping <Leader>T defined by g:table_mode_tableize_op_map option which takes input in the cmd-line and uses the {pattern} input as the delimiter.

:Tableize also accepts a range and so you can also call it by giving lines manually like :line1,line2Tableize, but this is not very intuitive. You can use the mapping <Leader>T with a [count] to apply it to the next [count] lines in standard vim style.

Moving around

Now you can move between cells using table mode motions [|, ]|, {| & }| to move left | right | up | down cells respectively. The left | right motions wrap around the table and move to the next | previous row after the last | first cell in the current row if one exists.

Manipulating Table

Cell Text Object :

Tableize provides a text object for manipulating table cells. Following the vim philosophy the you have i| & a| for the inner and around (including the immidiate right table separator) the table cell.
Delete Row :

You can use the <Leader>tdd mapping defined by the option g:table_mode_delete_row_map to delete the current table row (provided you are within a table row), this can be preceeded with a [count] to delete multiple rows just like you would with 'dd'.
Delete Column :

You can use the <Leader>tdc mapping defined by the option g:table_mode_delete_column_map to delete the entire current column (provided you are within a table row), this can also be preceeded with a [count] to delete multiple columns.

Advanced Usage: Spreadsheet Capabilities

Table Formulas

Table Mode now has support for formulas like a spreadsheet. There are 2 ways of defining formulas :

You can add formulas using :TableAddFormula or the mapping <Leader>tfa defined by the option g:table_mode_add_formula_map from within a table cell, which will ask for input on the cmd-line with a f= prompt. The input formula will be appended to the formula line if one exists or a new one will be created with the input formula taking the current cell as the target cell. The formula line is evaluated immidiately to reflect the results.
You can directly add / manipulate formula expressions in the formula line. The formula line is a commented line right after the table, beginning with 'tmf:' (table mode formula). eg) # tmf: $3=$2*$1. You can add multiple formulas on the line separated with a ';' eg) # tmf: $3=$2*$1;$4=$3/3.14

You can evaluate the formula line using :TableEvalFormulaLine or the mapping <Leader>tfe defined by the option g:table_mode_eval_expr_map from anywhere inside the table or while on the formula line.

NOTE: You can now use the mapping <Leader>t?

Formula Expressions

Expressions are of the format $target = formula.

The target can be of 2 forms :
- $n: This matches the table column number n. So the formula would be evaluated for each cell in that column and the result would be placed in it. You can use negative indice to represent column relative to the last, -1 being the last.
- $n,m: This matches the table cell n,m (row, column). So in this case the formula would be evaluated and the result will be placed in this cell. You can also use negative values to refer to cells relative to the size, -1 being the last (row or column).
The formula can be a simple mathematical expression involving cells which are also defined by the same format as that of the target cell. You can use all native vim functions within the formula. Apart from that table mode also provides 2 special functions Sum and Average. Both these functions take a range as input. A range can be of two forms :
- r1:r2: This represents cells in the current column from row r1 through r2. If r2 is negative it represents r2 rows above the current row (of the target cell).
- r1,c1:r2,c2: This represents cells in the table from cell r1,c1 through cell r2,c2 (row, column).
Examples :
- $2 = $1 * $1
- $2 = pow($1, 5) NOTE: Remember to put space between the $1, and 5 here otherwise it will be treated like a table cell.
- $2 = $1 / $1,3
- $1,2 = $1,1 * $1,1
- $5,1 = Sum(1:-1)
- $5,1 = float2nr(Sum(1:-1))
- $5,3 = Sum(1,2:5,2)
- $5,3 = Sum(1,2:5,2)/$5,1
- $5,3 = Average(1,2:5,2)/$5,1