path: root/doc/rails.txt

*rails.txt*	Plugin for working with Ruby on Rails applications

Author: Tim Pope <vimNOSPAM@tpope.info>		|rails-plugin-author|

|rails-introduction|		Introduction and Feature Summary
|rails-installation|		Installation and Usage
|rails-install-vim|		    Installing and Configuring Vim
|rails-install-plugin|		    Installing and Using the Plugin
|rails-commands|		General Commands
|rails-navigation|		Navigation
|rails-gf|			    File Under Cursor - gf
|rails-alternate-related|	    Alternate and Related Files
|rails-model-navigation|	    Model Navigation Commands
|rails-controller-navigation|	    Controller Navigation Commands
|rails-misc-navigation|		    Miscellaneous Navigation Commands
|rails-custom-navigation|	    Custom Navigation Commands
|rails-scripts|			Script Wrappers
|rails-refactoring|		Refactoring Helpers
|rails-partials|		    Partial Extraction
|rails-migrations|		    Migration Inversion
|rails-integration|		Integration
|rails-vim-integration|		    Integration with the Vim Universe
|rails-rails-integration|	    Integration with the Rails Universe
|rails-abbreviations|		Abbreviations
|rails-syntax|			Syntax Highlighting
|rails-options|			Managed Vim Options
|rails-configuration|		Configuration
|rails-global-settings| 	Global Settings
|rails-about|			About rails.vim
|rails-license|			    License

This plugin is only available if 'compatible' is not set.

{Vi does not have any of this}

==============================================================================
INTRODUCTION					*rails-introduction* *rails*

TextMate may be the latest craze for developing Ruby on Rails applications,
but Vim is forever.  This plugin offers the following features for Ruby on
Rails application development.

1. Automatically detects buffers containing files from Rails applications,
   and applies settings to those buffers (and only those buffers).  You can
   use an autocommand to apply your own custom settings as well.
   |rails-configuration|

2. Unintrusive.  Only files in a Rails application should be affected; regular
   Ruby scripts are left untouched.  Even when enabled, the plugin should keep
   out of your way if you're not using its features.  (If you find a situation
   where this is not a case, contact the |rails-plugin-author|.)

3. Provides reasonable settings for working with Rails applications.  Rake is
   the 'makeprg' (and it always knows where your Rakefile is), 'shiftwidth'
   is 2, and 'path' includes an appropriate collection of directories from
   your application. |rails-options|

4. Easy navigation of the Rails directory structure.  |gf| considers context
   and knows about partials, fixtures, and much more.  There are two commands,
   :A (alternate) and :R (related) for easy jumping between files, including
   favorites like model to migration, template to helper, and controller to
   functional test.  For more advanced usage, :Rmodel, :Rview, :Rcontroller,
   and several other commands are provided.  |rails-navigation|

5. Enhanced syntax highlighting.  From has_and_belongs_to_many to
   distance_of_time_in_words, it's here.  For Vim 7 users, 'completefunc' is
   set to enable syntax based completion on |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-U|, making it easy
   to complete such long method names. |rails-syntax|

6. Interface to script/*.  Generally, use ":Rscript about" to call
   "script/about".  Most commands have wrappers with additional features:
   ":Rgenerate controller Blog" generates a blog controller and edits
   app/controllers/blog_controller.rb.  |rails-scripts|

7. Partial extraction and migration inversion.  |:Rextract| {file} replaces
   the desired range (ideally selected in visual line mode) with "render
   :partial => '{file}'", which is automatically created with your content.
   The @{file} instance variable is replaced with the {file} local variable.
   |:Rinvert| takes a self.up migration and writes a self.down.
   |rails-refactoring|

8. Integration with other plugins.  |:Rproject| creates a new project.vim
   project.  |:Rdbext| loads database settings from database.yml for dbext.vim
   (and this happens by default under most circumstances).  Cream users get
   some additional mappings, and all GUI users get a menu. |rails-integration|

==============================================================================
INSTALLATION AND USAGE				*rails-installation*

If you are familiar Vim and have the latest version installed, you may skip
directly to |rails-install-plugin| below.

Installing and Configuring Vim ~
						*rails-install-vim*
Because it is common for users to utilize an older version of Vim that came
installed on a system, rails.vim has a design goal of remaining compatible
with versions of Vim 6.2 and newer.  However, if you have a choice in the
matter, you are strongly encouraged to install the latest version available.
Older versions of Vim should work, but increasingly, new plugin features will
require Vim 7 or newer.  If possible, install a version of Vim with the |Ruby|
interface compiled in, as a few features will make use of it when available.

If you are new to Vim, you need to create a vimrc.  For Windows, this file
goes in ~\_vimrc (try :e ~\_vimrc if you don't know where this is).  On other
platforms, use ~/.vimrc.  A very minimal example file is shown below.
>
  set nocompatible
  syntax on
  filetype plugin indent on
>
Installing and Using the Plugin ~
						*rails-install-plugin*
If you have the zip file, extract it to vimfiles (Windows) or ~/.vim
(everything else).  You should have the following files: >
	plugin/rails.vim
	doc/rails.txt
See |add-local-help| for instructions on enabling the documentation.  In a
nutshell: >
	:helptags ~/.vim/doc

Whenever you edit a file in a Rails application, this plugin will be
automatically activated.  This sets various options and defines a few
buffer-specific commands.

If you are in a hurry to get started, with a minimal amount of reading, you
are encouraged to at least skim through the headings and command names in this
file, to get a better idea of what is offered.  If you only read one thing,
make sure it is the navigation section: |rails-navigation|.

==============================================================================
GENERAL COMMANDS				*rails-commands*

All commands are buffer local, unless otherwise stated.  This means you must
actually edit a file from a Rails application.

						*rails-:Rails*
:Rails {directory}	The only global command.  Creates a new Rails
			application in {directory}, and loads the README.

						*rails-:Rake*
:Rake {targets}		Like calling |:make| {targets} (with 'makeprg' being
			rake).  However, in some contexts, if {targets} are
			omitted, :Rake defaults to something sensible (like
			db:migrate in a migration, or your current test).

						*rails-:Rake!*
:Rake! {targets}	Called with a bang, :Rake will use an alternate
			'errorformat' which attempts to parse the full stack
			backtrace.

						*rails-:Rcd*
:Rcd [{directory}]	|:cd| to /path/to/railsapp/{directory}.

						*rails-:Rlcd*
:Rlcd [{directory}]	|:lcd| to /path/to/railsapp/{directory}.

						*rails-:Rdoc*
:Rdoc			Browse to the Rails API, either in doc/api in the
			current Rails application, gem_server if it is
			running, or http://api.rubyonrails.org/ .  Requires
			:OpenURL to be defined (see |rails-:OpenURL|).

						*rails-:Rdoc!*
:Rdoc!			Make the appropriate |:helptags| call and invoke
			|:help| rails.

						*rails-:Redit*
:Redit {file}		Edit {file}, relative to the application root.

						*rails-:Rlog*
:Rlog [{logfile}]	Split window and open {logfile} ($RAILS_ENV or
			development by default).  The control characters used
			for highlighting are removed.  If you have a :Tail
			command (provided by |tailminusf|.vim), that is used;
			otherwise, the file does NOT reload upon change.
			Use |:checktime| to tell Vim to check for changes.
			|G| has been mapped to do just that prior to jumping
			to the end of the file, and q is mapped to close the
			window.  If the delay in loading is too long, you
			might like :Rake log:clear.

						*rails-:Rpreview*
:Rpreview [{path}]	Creates a URL from http://localhost:3000/ and the
			{path} given.  If {path} is omitted, a sensible
			default is used (considers the current
			controller/template, but does not take routing into
			account).  The not too useful default is to then edit
			this URL using Vim itself, allowing |netrw| to
			download it.  More useful is to define a :OpenURL
			command, which will be used instead (see
			|rails-:OpenURL|).
			
						*rails-:Rpreview!*
:Rpreview! [{path}]	As with :Rpreview, except :OpenURL is never used.

						*rails-:Rtags*
:Rtags			Calls ctags -R on the current application root.
			Exuberant ctags must be installed.

						*rails-:Rrefresh*
:Rrefresh		Refreshes certain cached settings.  Most noticeably,
			this clears the cached list of classes that are syntax
			highlighted as railsUserClass.

						*rails-:Rrefresh!*
:Rrefresh!		As above, and also reloads rails.vim.

						*rails-:OpenURL*
:OpenURL {url}		This is not a command provided by the plugin, but
			rather provided by user and utilized by other plugin
			features.  This command should be defined to open the
			provided {url} in a web browser.  An example command
			on a Mac might be: >
		:command -bar -nargs=1 OpenURL :!open <args>
<			The following appears to work on Windows: >
		:command -bar -nargs=1 OpenURL :!start cmd /cstart /b <args>
<			On Debian compatible distributions, the following is
			the preferred method: >
		:command -bar -nargs=1 OpenURL :!sensible-browser <args>
<			If has("mac_gui"), has("win32_gui"), or
			executable("sensible-browser") is true, the
			corresponding command above will be automatically
			defined.  Otherwise, you must provide your own (which
			is recommended, regardless).

==============================================================================
NAVIGATION					*rails-navigation*

Navigation is where the real power of this plugin lies.  Efficient use of the
following features will greatly ease navigating the Rails file structure.

The 'path' has been modified to include all the best places to be.
>
	:find blog_controller
	:find book_test
<
						*rails-:Rfind*
:Rfind [{file}]		Find {file}.  Very similar to :find, but things like
			BlogController are properly handled, and if
			genutils.vim is installed (1.x not 2.x), tab complete
			works.  The default filename is taken from under the
			cursor in a manner quite similar to gf, described
			below.

File Under Cursor - gf ~
						*rails-gf*
The |gf| command, which normally edits the current file under the cursor, has
been remapped to take context into account. |CTRL-W_f|(open in new window) and
|CTRL-W_gf| (open in new tab) are also remapped.

Example uses of |gf|, and where they might lead.
(* indicates cursor position)
>
	Pos*t.find(:first)
<	app/models/post.rb ~
>
	has_many :c*omments
<	app/models/comment.rb ~
>
	link_to "Home", :controller => :bl*og
<	app/controllers/blog_controller.rb ~
>
	<%= render :partial => 'sh*ared/sidebar' %>
<	app/views/shared/_sidebar.rhtml ~
>
	<%= stylesheet_link_tag :scaf*fold %>
<	public/stylesheets/scaffold.css ~
>
	class BlogController < Applica*tionController
<	app/controllers/application.rb ~
>
	class ApplicationController < ActionCont*roller::Base
<	.../action_controller/base.rb ~
>
	fixtures :pos*ts
<	test/fixtures/posts.yml ~
>
	layout :pri*nt
<	app/views/layouts/print.rhtml ~
>
	<%= link_to "New", new_comme*nt_path %>
<	app/controllers/comments_controller.rb (jumps to def new) ~

In the last example, the controller and action for the named route are
determined by evaluating routes.rb as Ruby and doing some introspection.  This
means code from the application is executed.  Keep this in mind when
navigating unfamiliar applications.

Alternate and Related Files ~
						*rails-alternate-related*
Two commands, :A and :R, are used quickly jump to an "alternate" and a
"related" file, defined below.

		*rails-:A* *rails-:AE* *rails-:AS* *rails-:AV* *rails-:AT*
:A			These commands were picked to mimic Michael Sharpe's
:AE			a.vim.  Briefly, they edit the "alternate" file, in
:AS			either the same window (:A and :AE), a new split
:AV			window (:AS), a new vertically split window (:AV), or
:AT			a new tab (:AT).  A mapping for :A is [f .

		*rails-:R* *rails-:RE* *rails-:RS* *rails-:RV* *rails-:RT*
:R			These are similar |rails-:A| and friends above, only
:RE			they jump to the "related" file rather than the
:RS			"alternate."  A mapping for :R is ]f .
:RV			
:RT

					*rails-alternate* *rails-related*
The alternate file is most frequently the test file, though there are
exceptions.  The related file varies, and is sometimes dependent on current
current location in the file.  For example, when editing a controller, the
related file is template for the method currently being edited.

The easiest way to learn these commands is to experiment.  A few examples of
alternate and related files follow:

Current file		Alternate file		Related file ~
model			unit test		related migration
controller (in method)	functional test		template (view)
template (view)		helper			controller (jump to method)
migration		previous migration	next migration
config/routes.rb	config/database.yml	config/environment.rb

Suggestions for further contexts to consider for the alternate file, related
file, and file under the cursor are welcome.  They are subtly tweaked from
release to release.

For the less common cases, a more deliberate set of commands are provided.
Each of the following takes an optional argument (with tab completion) but
defaults to a reasonable guess that follows Rails conventions.  For example,
when editing app/models/employee.rb, :Rcontroller will default to
app/controllers/employees_controller.rb.  The controller and model options,
ideally set from  |rails-modelines|,  can override the mapping from model
related files to controller related files (Rset controller=hiring) and vice
versa (Rset model=employee).  See |rails-:Rset|.

Each of the following commands has variants for splitting, vertical splitting
and opening in a new tab.  For :Rmodel, those variants would be :RSmodel,
:RVmodel, and :RTmodel.  There is also :REmodel which is a synonym for :Rmodel
(future versions might allow customization of the behavior of :Rmodel).


Model Navigation Commands ~
						*rails-model-navigation*
The default for model navigation commands is the current model, if it can be
determined.  For example, test/unit/post_test.rb would have a current model
of post.  Otherwise, if a controller name can be determined, said controller
name will be singularized and used.  To override this, use a command or
modeline like: >
	Rset model=comment

:Rmodel						|rails-:Rmodel|
:Rmigration					|rails-:Rmigration|
:Robserver					|rails-:Robserver|
:Rfixtures					|rails-:Rfixtures|
:Runittest					|rails-:Runittest|

						*rails-:Rmodel*
:Rmodel [{name}]	Edit the specified model.

						*rails-:Rmigration*
:Rmigration [{pattern}]	If {pattern} is a number, find the migration for that
			particular set of digits, zero-padding if necessary.
			Otherwise, find the newest migration containing the
			given pattern.  The pattern defaults to the current
			model name, pluralized.  So when editing the Post
			model, :Rmigration with no arguments might find
			create_posts.rb, or add_date_to_posts.rb.

						*rails-:Robserver*
:Robserver [{name}]	Find the observer with a name like
			{model}_observer.rb.  When in an observer, most
			commands (like :Rmodel) will seek based on the
			observed model ({model}) and not the actual observer
			({model}_observer).  However, for the command
			:Runittest, a file of the form
			{model}_observer_test.rb will be found.

						*rails-:Rfixtures*
:Rfixtures [{name}]	Edit the fixtures for the given model.  If an argument
			is given, it must be pluralized, like the final
			filename (this may change in the future).  If omitted,
			the current model is pluralized automatically.  An
			optional extension can be given, to distinguish
			between YAML and CSV fixtures.

						*rails-:Runittest*
:Runittest [{name}]	Edit the unit test for the specified model.

Controller Navigation Commands  ~
						*rails-controller-navigation*
The default for controller navigation commands is the current controller, if
it can be determined.  For example, test/functional/blog_test.rb would have a
current controller of blog.  Otherwise, if a model name can be determined,
said model name will be pluralized and used.  To override this, use a command
or modeline like: >
	Rset controller=blog

:Rcontroller					|rails-:Rcontroller|
:Rhelper					|rails-:Rhelper|
:Rview						|rails-:Rview|
:Rlayout					|rails-:Rlayout|
:Rapi						|rails-:Rapi|
:Rfunctionaltest				|rails-:Rfunctionaltest|

						*rails-:Rcontroller*
:Rcontroller [{name}]	Edit the specified controller.

						*rails-:Rhelper*
:Rhelper [{name}]	Edit the helper for the specified controller.

						*rails-:Rview*
:Rview [[{controller}/]{view}]
			Edit the specified view.  The controller will default
			sensibly, and the view name can be omitted when
			editing a method of a controller.  If a view name is
			given with an extension, a new file will be created.
			This is a quick way to create a new view.

						*rails-:Rlayout*
:Rlayout [{name}]	Edit the specified layout.  Defaults to the layout for
			the current controller, or the application layout if
			that cannot be found.  A new layout will be created if
			an extension is given.

						*rails-:Rapi*
:Rapi [{name}]		Edit the API for the specified controller.

						*rails-:Rfunctionaltest*
:Rfunctionaltest [{name}]
			Edit the functional test for the specified controller.

Miscellaneous Navigation Commands  ~
						*rails-misc-navigation*

The following commands are not clearly associated with models or controllers.

:Rstylesheet					|rails-:Rstylesheet|
:Rjavascript					|rails-:Rjavascript|
:Rplugin					|rails-:Rplugin|
:Rlib						|rails-:Rlib|
:Rtask						|rails-:Rtask|
:Rintegrationtest				|rails-:Rintegrationtest|

						*rails-:Rstylesheet*
:Rstylesheet [{name}]	Edit the stylesheet for the specified name, defaulting
			to the current controller's name.

						*rails-:Rjavascript*
:Rjavascript [{name}]	Edit the javascript for the specified name, defaulting
			to the current controller's name.

						*rails-:Rplugin*
:Rplugin {plugin}[/{path}]
			Edits a file within a plugin.  If the path to the file
			is omitted, it defaults to init.rb.

						*rails-:Rlib*
:Rlib {name}		Edit the library from the lib directory for the
			specified name.  If the current file is part of a
			plugin, the libraries from that plugin can be
			specified as well.

						*rails-:Rtask*
:Rtask [{name}]		Edit the .rake file from lib/tasks for the specified
			name.  If the current file is part of a plugin, the
			tasks for that plugin can be specified as well.  If no
			argument is given, either the current plugin's
			Rakefile or the application Rakefile will be edited.

						*rails-:Rintegrationtest*
:Rintegrationtest [{name}]
			Edit the integration test specified.  The default
			is based on the current controller or model, with no
			singularization or pluralization done.

Custom Navigation Commands  ~
						*rails-custom-navigation*

It is also possible to create custom navigation commands.  This is best done
in an initialization routine of some sort (e.g., an autocommand); see
|rails-configuration| for details.

						*rails-:Rcommand*
:Rcommand [options] {name} [{path} ...]
			Create a navigation command with the supplied
			name, looking in the supplied paths, using the
			supplied options.  The -suffix option specifies what
			suffix to filter on, and strip from the filename, and
			defaults to -suffix=.rb .  The -glob option specifies
			a file glob to use to find files, _excluding_ the
			suffix.  Useful values include -glob=* and -glob=**/*.
			The -default option specifies a default argument (not
			a full path).  If it is specified as -default=model(),
			-default=controller(), or -default=both(), the current
			model, controller, or both (as with :Rintegrationtest)
			is used as a default.

:Rcommand is still under development and far from fully documented, but the
following examples should illustrate the basics:
>
	Rcommand api         app/apis -glob=**/* -suffix=_api.rb
	Rcommand config      config   -glob=*.*  -suffix= -default=routes.rb
	Rcommand environment config/environments -default=../environment
	Rcommand concern     app/concerns -glob=**/*

Finally, one Vim feature that proves helpful in conjunction with all of the
above is |CTRL-^|.  This keystroke edits the previous file, and is helpful to
back out of any of the above commands.

==============================================================================
SCRIPT WRAPPERS					*rails-scripts*

The following commands are wrappers around the scripts in the script directory
of the Rails application.  Most have extra features beyond calling the script.
A limited amount of completion with <Tab> is supported.

						*rails-:Rscript*
:Rscript {script} {options}
			Call ruby script/{script} {options}.

						*rails-:Rconsole*
:Rconsole {options}	Start script/console.  On Windows it will be launched
			in the background with |!start|.  In the terminal
			version GNU Screen is used if it is running and
			|g:rails_gnu_screen| is set.

						*rails-:Rrunner*
:[range]Rrunner {code}	Executes {code} with script/runner.  Differs from
			:Rscript runner {code} in that the code is passed as
			one argument.  Also, |system()| is used instead of
			|:!|.  This is to help eliminate annoying "Press
			ENTER" prompts.  If a line number is given in the
			range slot, the output is pasted into the buffer after
			that line.

						*rails-:Rp*
:[range]Rp {code}	Like :Rrunner, but call the Ruby p method on the
			result. Literally "p begin {code} end".

						*rails-:Rpp* *rails-:Ry*
:[range]Rpp {code}	Like :Rp, but with pp (pretty print) or y (YAML
:[range]Ry  {code}	output).

						*rails-:Rgenerate*
:Rgenerate {options}	Calls script/generate {options}, and then edits the
			first file generated.  Respects |g:rails_subversion|.

						*rails-:Rdestroy*
:Rdestroy {options}	Calls script/destroy {options}.  Respects
			|g:rails_subversion|.

						*rails-:Rserver*
:Rserver {options}	Launches script/server {options} in the background.
			On win32, this means |!start|.  On other systems, this
			uses the --daemon option.

						*rails-:Rserver!*
:Rserver! {options}	Same as |:Rserver|, only first attempts to kill any
			other server using the same port.  On non-Windows
			systems, lsof must be installed for this to work.

==============================================================================
REFACTORING HELPERS				*rails-refactoring*

A few features are dedicated to helping you refactor your code.

Partial Extraction ~
						*rails-partials*

The :Rextract command can be used to extract a partial to a new file.

						*rails-:Rextract*
:[range]Rextract [{controller}/]{name}	
			Create a {name} partial from [range] lines (default:
			current line).

						*rails-:Rpartial*
:[range]Rpartial [{controller}/]{name}	
			Deprecated alias for :Rextract.

If this is your file, in app/views/blog/show.rhtml: >

  1	<div>
  2	  <h2><%= @post.title %></h2>
  3	  <p><%= @post.body %></p>
  4	</div>

And you issue this command: >

	:2,3Rextract post

Your file will change to this: >

  1	<div>
  2	  <%= render :partial => 'post' %>
  3	</div>

And app/views/blog/_post.rhtml will now contain: >

  1	<h2><%= post.title %></h2>
  2	<p><%= post.body %></p>

As a special case, if the file had looked like this: >

  1     <% for object in @posts -%>
  2	  <h2><%= object.title %></h2>
  3	  <p><%= object.body %></p>
  4	<% end -%>
<
The end result would have been this: >

  1     <%= render :partial => 'post', :collection => @posts %>
<
The easiest way to choose what to extract is to use |linewise-visual| mode.
Then, a simple >
	:'<,'>Rextract blog/post
will suffice. (Note the use of a controller name in this example.)

Migration Inversion ~
					*rails-migrations* *rails-:Rinvert*
:Rinvert		In a migration, rewrite the self.up method into a
			self.down method.  If self.up is empty, the process is
			reversed.  This chokes on more complicated
			instructions, but works reasonably well for simple
			calls to create_table, add_column, and the like.

==============================================================================
INTEGRATION					*rails-integration*

Having one foot in Rails and one in Vim, rails.vim has two worlds with which
to interact.

Integration with the Vim Universe ~
						*rails-vim-integration*

A handful of Vim plugins are enhanced by rails.vim.  All plugins mentioned can
be found at http://www.vim.org/.  Cream and GUI menus (for lack of a better
place) are also covered in this section.

					*rails-:Rproject* *rails-project*
:Rproject [{file}]	This command is only provided when the |project|
			plugin is installed.  Invoke :Project (typically
			without an argument), and search for the root of the
			current Rails application.  If it is not found, create
			a new project, with appropriate directories (app,
			etc., but not vendor).

						*rails-:Rproject!*
:Rproject! [{file}]	Same as :Rproject, only delete existing project if it
			exists and recreate it.  The logic to delete the old
			project is convoluted and possibly erroneous; report
			any problems to the |rails-plugin-author|.  A handy
			mapping might look something like: >
		autocmd User Rails map <buffer> <F6> :Rproject!|silent w<CR>
<			As a bonus, this command organizes views into separate
			directories for easier navigation.  The downside of
			this is that you will have to regenerate your project
			each time you add another view directory (which is why
			this command recreates your project each time!).

						*rails-:Rdbext* *rails-dbext*
:Rdbext [{environment}] This command is only provided when the |dbext| plugin
			is installed.  Loads the {environment} configuration
			(defaults to $RAILS_ENV or development) from
			config/database.yml and uses it to configure dbext.
			The configuration is cached until a different Rails
			application is edited.  This command is called for you
			automatically when |g:rails_dbext| is set (default on
			non-Windows systems).

						*rails-:Rdbext!*
:Rdbext! [{environment}]
			Load the database configuration as above, and then
			attempt a CREATE DATABASE for it.  This is primarily
			useful for demonstrations.

						*rails-surround*
The |surround| plugin available from vim.org enables adding and removing
"surroundings" like parentheses, quotes, and HTML tags.  Even by itself, it is
quite useful for Rails development, particularly eRuby editing.  When coupled
with this plugin, a few additional replacement surroundings are available in
eRuby files.  See the |surround| documentation for details on how to use them.
The table below uses ^ to represent the position of the surrounded text.

Key	Surrounding ~
=	<%= ^ %>
-	<% ^ -%>
#	<%# ^ %>
<C-E>	<% ^ -%>\n<% end -%>

The last surrounding is particularly useful in insert mode with the following
map in one's vimrc.  Use Alt+o to open a new line below the current one.  This
works nicely even in a terminal (where most alt/meta maps will fail) because
most terminals send <M-o> as <Esc>o anyways.
>
	imap <M-o> <Esc>o
<
One can also use the <C-E> surrounding in a plain Ruby file to append a bare
"end" on the following line.

						*rails-cream*
This plugin provides a few additional key bindings if it is running under
Cream, the user friendly editor which uses Vim as a back-end.  Ctrl+Enter
finds the file under the cursor (as in |rails-gf|), and Alt+[ and Alt+] find
the alternate (|rails-alternate|) and related (|rails-related|) files.

						*rails-menu*
If the GUI is running, a menu for several commonly used features is provided.
Also on this menu is a list of recently accessed projects.  This list of
projects can persist across restarts if a 'viminfo' flag is set to enable
retaining certain global variables.  If this interests you, add something like
the following to your vimrc: >
	set viminfo^=!
<
Integration with the Rails Universe ~
						*rails-rails-integration*
The general policy of rails.vim is to focus exclusively on the Ruby on Rails
core.  Supporting plugins and other add-ons to Rails has the potential to
rapidly get out of hand.  However, a few pragmatic exceptions have been made.

						*rails-template-types*
Commands like :Rview use a hardwired list of extensions (rhtml, rjs, etc.)
when searching for files.  In order to facilitate working with non-standard
template types, several popular extensions are featured in this list,
including haml, liquid, and mab (markaby).  These extensions will disappear
once a related configuration option is added to rails.vim.

						*rails-rspec*
Support for RSpec is currently experimental and incomplete, with only a
handful of features being implemented.  :A knows about specs and will jump to
them, but only if no test file is found.  The associated controller or model
of a spec is detected, so all navigation commands should work as expected
inside a spec file.  :Rfixtures will find spec fixtures, but the extension is
mandatory and tab completion will not work.  :Rake will run the currently
edited spec.

While there are currently no built-in dedicated RSpec navigation commands, you
can approximate your own with |:Rcommand|.
>
	Rcommand specmodel      spec/models      -glob=**/*
		\ -suffix=_spec.rb               -default=model()
	Rcommand spechelper     spec/helpers     -glob=**/* 
		\ -suffix=_helper_spec.rb        -default=controller()
	Rcommand speccontroller spec/controllers -glob=**/* 
		\ -suffix=_controller_spec.rb    -default=controller()
	Rcommand specview spec/views -glob=**/* -suffix=_view_spec.rb
<
==============================================================================
ABBREVIATIONS				*rails-abbreviations* *rails-snippets*

Abbreviations are still experimental.  They may later be extracted into a
separate plugin, or removed entirely.

						*rails-:Rabbrev*
:Rabbrev		List all Rails abbreviations.

:Rabbrev {abbr} {expn} [{extra}]
			Define a new Rails abbreviation. {extra} is permitted
			if and only if {expn} ends with "(".

						*rails-:Rabbrev!*
:Rabbrev! {abbr}	Remove an abbreviation.

Rails abbreviations differ from regular abbreviations in that they only expand
after a <C-]> (see |i_CTRL-]|) or a <Tab> (if <Tab> does not work, it is
likely mapped by another plugin).  If the abbreviation ends in certain
punctuation marks, additional expansions are possible.  A few examples will
hopefully clear this up (all of the following are enabled by default in
appropriate file types).

Command				Sequence typed		Resulting text ~
Rabbrev rp( render :partial\ =>	rp(			render(:partial =>
Rabbrev rp( render :partial\ =>	rp<Tab>			render :partial =>
Rabbrev vs( validates_size_of	vs(			validates_size_of(
Rabbrev pa[ params		pa[:id]			params[:id]
Rabbrev pa[ params		pa<C-]>			params
Rabbrev pa[ params		pa.inspect		params.inspect
Rabbrev AR:: ActionRecord	AR::Base		ActiveRecord::Base
Rabbrev :a :action\ =>\		render :a<Tab>		render :action => 

In short, :: expands on :, ( expands on (, and [ expands on both . and [.
These trailing punctuation marks are NOT part of the final abbreviation, and
you cannot have two mappings that differ only by punctuation.

You must escape spaces in your expansion, either as "\ " or as "<Space>".  For
an abbreviation ending with "(", you may define where to insert the
parenthesis by splitting the expansion into two parts (divided by an unescaped
space).

Many abbreviations abbreviations are provided by default: use :Rabbrev to list
them.  They vary depending on the type of file (models have different
abbreviations than controllers).  There is one "smart" abbreviation, :c, which
expands to ":controller => ", ":collection => ", or ":conditions => "
depending on context.

==============================================================================
SYNTAX HIGHLIGHTING				*rails-syntax*

Syntax highlighting is by and large a transparent process.  For the full
effect, however, you need a colorscheme which accentuates rails.vim
extensions.  One such colorscheme is vividchalk, available from vim.org.

The following is a summary of the changes made by rails.vim to the standard
syntax highlighting.

						*rails-syntax-keywords*
Rails specific keywords are highlighted in a filetype specific manner.  For
example, in a model, has_many is highlighted, whereas in a controller,
before_filter is highlighted.  A wide variety of syntax groups are used but
they all link by default to railsMethod.

If you feel a method has been wrongfully omitted, submit it to the
|rails-plugin-author|.

					*rails-@params* *rails-syntax-deprecated*
Certain deprecated syntax (like @params and render_text) is highlighted as an
error.  If you trigger this highlighting, generally it means you need to
update your code.

						*rails-syntax-classes*
Models, helpers, and controllers are given special highlighting.  Depending on
the version of Vim installed, you may need a rails.vim aware colorscheme in
order to see this.  Said colorscheme needs to provide highlighting for the
railsUserClass syntax group.

The class names are determined by camelizing filenames from certain
directories of your application.  If app/models/line_item.rb exists, the class
"LineItem" will be highlighted.

The list of classes is refreshed automatically after certain commands like
|:Rgenerate|.  Use |:Rrefresh| to trigger the process manually.

						*rails-syntax-assertions*
If you define custom assertions in test_helper.rb, these will be highlighted
in your tests.  These are found by scanning test_helper.rb for lines of the
form "  def assert_..." and extracting the method name.  The railsUserMethod
syntax group is used.  The list of assertions can be refreshed with
|:Rrefresh|.

						*rails-syntax-strings*
In the following line of code, the "?" in the conditions clause and the "ASC"
in the order clause will be highlighted: >
  Post.find(:all, :conditions => ["body like ?","%e%"] :order => "title ASC")
<
A string literal using %Q<> delimiters will have its contents highlighted as
HTML.  This is sometimes useful when writing helpers. >
  link = %Q<<a href="http://www.vim.org">Vim</a>>
<
						*rails-syntax-yaml*
YAML syntax highlighting has been extended to highlight eRuby, which can be
used in most Rails YAML files (including database.yml and fixtures).

==============================================================================
MANAGED VIM OPTIONS			*rails-options*

The following options are set local to buffers where the plugin is active.

					*rails-'shiftwidth'*	*rails-'sw'*
					*rails-'softtabstop'*	*rails-'sts'*
					*rails-'expandtab'*	*rails-'et'*
A value of 2 is used for 'shiftwidth' (and 'softtabstop'), and 'expandtab' is
enabled.  This is a strong convention in Rails, so the conventional wisdom
that this is a user preference has been ignored.

					*rails-'path'*		*rails-'pa'*
All the relevant directories from your application are added to your 'path'.
This makes it easy to access a buried file: >
	:find blog_controller.rb
<
					*rails-'suffixesadd'*	*rails-'sua'*
This is filetype dependent, but typically includes .rb, .rhtml, and several
others.  This allows shortening the above example: >
	:find blog_controller
<
					*rails-'includeexpr'*	*rails-'inex'*
The 'includeexpr' option is set to enable the magic described in |rails-gf|.

					*rails-'statusline'*	*rails-'stl'*
Useful information is added to the 'statusline', when |g:rails_statusline| is
enabled.

					*rails-'makeprg'*	*rails-'mp'*
					*rails-'errorformat'*	*rails-'efm'*
Rake is used as the 'makeprg', so |:make| will work as expected.  Also, 
'errorformat' is set appropriately to handle your tests.

					*rails-'filetype'*	*rails-'ft'*
The 'filetype' is sometimes adjusted for Rails files.  Most notably, *.rxml
and *.rjs are treated as Ruby files, and files that have been falsely
identified as Mason sources are changed back to eRuby files (but only when
they are part of a Rails application).

					*rails-'completefunc'*	*rails-'cfu'*
A 'completefunc' is provided (if not already set).  It is very simple, as it
uses syntax highlighting to make its guess.  See |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-U|.

==============================================================================
CONFIGURATION					*rails-configuration*

Very little configuration is actually required; this plugin automatically
detects your Rails application and adjusts Vim sensibly.

					*rails-:autocmd* *rails-autocommands*
If you would like to set your own custom Vim settings whenever a Rails file is
loaded, you can use an autocommand like the following in your vimrc: >
	autocmd User Rails		silent! Rlcd
	autocmd User Rails		map <buffer> <F9> :Rake<CR>
You can also have autocommands that only apply to certain types of files.
These are based off the information shown in the 'statusline' (see
|rails-'statusline'|), with hyphens changed to periods. A few examples: >
	autocmd User Rails.controller*	iabbr <buffer> wsn wsdl_service_name
	autocmd User Rails.model.arb*	iabbr <buffer> vfo validates_format_of
	autocmd User Rails.view.rhtml*  imap  <buffer> <C-Z> <%=  %><C-O>3h
End all such Rails autocommands with asterisks, even if you have an exact
specification.  There is also a filename matching syntax: >
	autocmd User Rails/db/schema.rb  Rset task=db:schema:dump
	autocmd User Rails/**/foo_bar.rb Rabbrev FB:: FooBar
Use the filetype based syntax whenever possible, reserving the filename based
syntax for more advanced cases.

						*macros/rails.vim*
If you have several commands to run on initialization for all file types, they
can be placed in a "macros/rails.vim" file in the 'runtimepath' (for example,
"~/.vim/macros/rails.vim").  This file is sourced by rails.vim each time a
Rails file is loaded.

						*config/rails.vim*
If you have settings particular to a specific project, they can be put in a
config/rails.vim file in the root directory of the application.  The file is
sourced in the |sandbox| for security reasons.  This only works in Vim 7 or
newer.

						*rails-:Rset*
:Rset {option}[={value}]
			Query or set a local option.  This command may be
			called directly, from an autocommand, or from
			config/rails.vim.

Options may be set set in one of four scopes, which my be indicated by an
optional prefix.  These scopes determine how broadly an option will apply.
Generally, the default scope is sufficient

Scope	Description ~
a:	All files in one Rails application
b:	Buffer (file) specific
g:	Global to all applications
l:	Local to method (same as b: in non-Ruby files)

Options are shown below with their default scope, which should be omitted.
While you may override the scope with a prefix, this is rarely necessary and
oftentimes useless.  (For example, setting g:task is useless because the
default rake task will apply before considering this option.)

Option		 Meaning ~
b:alternate	 Custom alternate file for :A, relative to the Rails root
b:controller	 Default controller for certain commands (e.g., :Rhelper)
b:model		 Default model for certain commands (e.g., :Rfixtures)
l:preview	 URL stub for :Rpreview (e.g., blog/show/1)
b:task		 Default task used with :Rake
l:related	 Custom related file for :R, relative to the Rails root
a:root_url	 Root URL for commands like :Rpreview
a:ruby_fork_port Experimental: use ruby_fork on given port to speed things up

Examples: >
	:Rset root_url=http://localhost:12345
	:Rset related=app/views/blog/edit.rhtml preview=blog/edit/1
	:Rset alternate=app/models/
	:Rset l:task=preview        " Special pseudo-task for :Rake

Note the use of a scope prefix in the last example.

						*rails-modelines*
If |g:rails_modelines| is enabled, these options can also be set from
modelines near the beginning or end of the file.  These modelines will always
set buffer-local options; scope should never be specified.  Examples: >
	# Rset task=db:schema:load
	<%# Rset alternate=app/views/layouts/application.rhtml %>
Modelines can also be local to a method.  Example: >
	def test_comment
	  # rset alternate=app/models/comment.rb
These two forms differ only in case.

==============================================================================
GLOBAL SETTINGS					*rails-global-settings*

A few global variables control the behavior of this plugin.  In general, they
can be enabled by setting them to 1 in your vimrc, and disabled by setting
them to 0. >
	let g:rails_some_option=1
	let g:rails_some_option=0
Most of these should never need to be used.  The few that might be interesting
are |g:rails_expensive|, |g:rails_subversion|, and |g:rails_default_database|.

						*g:loaded_rails*  >
	let g:loaded_rails=1
Do not load the plugin.  For emergency use only.

						*g:rails_abbreviations*
Enable Rails abbreviations.  See |rails-abbreviations|.  Enabled by default.

						*g:rails_dbext*  >
	let g:rails_dbext=1
Enable integration with the dbext plugin, if it is installed.  Defaults to the
value of |g:rails_expensive|.  When this option is set, dbext settings are
automagically extracted from config/database.yml.  Then, you can use features
like table name completion and commands like >
	:Create database brablog_development
	:Select * from posts where title like '%Denmark%'
Note that dbext is a complicated plugin, and may require additional
configuration.  See |dbext| (if installed) and |sql-completion-dynamic| (in
Vim 7).

						*g:rails_default_file*  >
	let g:rails_default_file='config/database.yml'
File to load when a new Rails application is created, or when loading an
existing project from the menu.  Defaults to the README.

						*g:rails_default_database*  >
	let g:rails_default_database='sqlite3'
Database to use for new applications.  Defaults to letting Rails decide.
 
					*rails-slow* *g:rails_expensive*  >
	let g:rails_expensive=1
Enables or disables expensive (slow) features (typically involving calls to
the Ruby interpreter).  Recommended for moderately fast computers.  This
option used to be disabled by default on Windows, but now it is enabled by
default everywhere.  If the Vim Ruby interface is available, this option is
mostly ignored, as spawning a new process is generally the bottleneck for most
expensive operations.  Set this option to 0 if you experience painful delays
when first editing a file from a Rails application.

					*rails-screen* *g:rails_gnu_screen*  >
	let g:rails_gnu_screen=1
Use GNU Screen (if it is running) to launch |:Rconsole| and |:Rserver| in the
background.  Enabled by default.

						*g:rails_history_size*  >
	let g:rails_history_size=5
Number of projects to remember.  Set to 0 to disable.  See |rails-menu| for
information on retaining these projects across a restart.

						*g:rails_mappings*  >
	let g:rails_mappings=1
Enables a few mappings (mostly for |rails-navigation|). Enabled by default.

						*g:rails_modelines*  >
	let g:rails_modelines=1
Enable modelines like the following: >
	# Rset task=db:schema:load
Modelines set buffer-local options using the :Rset command.
Also enables method specific modelines (note the case difference): >
	  def show
	    # rset preview=blog/show/1
Modelines are extremely useful but may cause security concerns when editing
projects from an untrusted source. Enabled by default.

						*g:rails_menu*  >
	let g:rails_menu=1
When 2, a Rails menu is created.  When 1, this menu is a submenu under the
Plugin menu.  The default is 1.

						*g:rails_url*  >
	let g:rails_url='http://localhost:3000/'
Used for the |:Rpreview| command.  Default is as shown above.  Overridden by
b:rails_url.

						*g:rails_statusline*  >
	let g:rails_statusline=1
Give a clue in the statusline when this plugin is enabled.  Enabled by
default.

						*g:rails_subversion*  >
	let g:rails_subversion=1
Automatically add/remove files to the subversion repository for commands like
|:Rgenerate| and |:Rdestroy| (but not |:Rscript|).  Ignored when the
application is not part of a subversion repository.  Disabled by default.

						*g:rails_syntax*  >
	let g:rails_syntax=1
When enabled, this tweaks the syntax highlighting to be more Rails friendly.
Enabled by default.  See |rails-syntax|.

					*rails-tabs* *g:rails_tabstop*  >
	let g:rails_tabstop=4
This option is for people who dislike the default 'shiftwidth' of 2.  When
non-zero, all files will have a |:retab|! done with 'tabstop' set to 2 on
load, to convert the initial indent from spaces to tabs.  Then, 'tabstop' and
'shiftwidth' will be set to the option's value.  The process is reversed on
write.  Thus, one can use a custom indent when editing files, yet conform to
Rails conventions when saving them.  There is also a local buffer version
of this option, to allow for things like: >
	autocmd User Rails if &ft == 'ruby' | let b:rails_tabstop = 4 | endif
This option defaults to 0, which is the recommended value.

If instead of all this magic, you would prefer to just override this plugin's
settings and use your own custom 'shiftwidth', adjust things manually in an
autocommand: >
	autocmd User Rails set sw=4 sts=4 noet
This is highly discouraged: don't fight Rails.

==============================================================================
ABOUT					*rails-about* *rails-plugin-author*

This plugin was written by Tim Pope.  Email him at <vimNOSPAM@tpope.info>.  He
can also be found on Freenode's IRC network, hanging out in #rubyonrails and
#vim as tpope.

The official homepage is
    http://rails.vim.tpope.net
The latest stable version can be found at
    http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=1567
In Vim 7, you can keep up to date with |GetLatestVimScripts|.

Development versions can be found at the following URLs:
    http://tpope.us/rails.vba
    http://tpope.us/rails.zip
    http://svn.tpope.net/rails/vim/railsvim
The first is a |vimball| for Vim 7.  The third is a subversion repository
and contains the very latest features and bugs.

Feedback is highly desired on this plugin.  Please send all comments,
complaints, and compliments to the author.  No bug is too small to report.

						*rails-license*
This plugin is distributable under the same terms as Vim itself.  See
|license|.  No warranties, expressed or implied.

==============================================================================
vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: