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KAK_SCOPES(1) scopes KAK_SCOPES(1)

NAME

scopes - a

DESCRIPTION

Scopes are groups in which a particular Kakoune object (a variable, hook, alias etc) can have different values, depending on the group the value was declared in.

NAMES AND HIERARCHY

Scopes are named as follows:

window

context linked to the window displaying a buffer

buffer

context linked directly to the buffer

global

global context linked to the instance of Kakoune

The following order of priority applies to the above scopes:

window ]> buffer ]> global

The above priority line implies that objects can have individual values that will be resolved first in the window scope (highest priority), then in the buffer scope, and finally in the global scope (lowest priority).

USES

The scope paradigm is very useful as it allows the user to customize the behavior of the editor without modifying the configuration globally, as is the case with other editors who only have a single global scope by default.

Examples:

filetype

A single buffer opened in two separate windows can have different filetypes declared in the window scope with set (c.f. the options documentation page)

status line

All the buffers of the current session can have the same information displayed in the status line, except for a specific buffer (the modelinefmt option can be declared in the global scope, and customized in the buffer scope with set, c.f. the options documentation page)

EXECUTION CONTEXT

Some commands work in a specific context that might exclude one or several scopes altogether, consequently ignoring some values of a given object.

Example: the window scope is never considered when resolving the values of options when writing a buffer (e.g. BOM, eolformat).