= Scopes == Description Scopes are groups in which a particular Kakoune object can have different values depending on the group the value was declared in. These scoped objects are: - aliases (See <>) - faces (See <>) - highlighters (See <>) - hooks (See <>) - keymaps (See <>) - options (See <>) == Names and hierarchy Scopes are named as follows: *window*:: context linked to the window displaying a buffer. In Kakoune, the concept of a *window* must not be confused with the concept of a window at the OS level. In other terms, a window is *not* a client (like a terminal or GUI) but one of many 'views' into a buffer. There is a N:1 relationship between windows and buffers; once a window is linked to a buffer, the window's buffer never changes. Windows store a set of selections and the scroll position. *buffer*:: context linked directly to the buffer *global*:: global context linked to the instance of Kakoune *local*:: A local scope is inserted by each *evaluate-commands* invocations for its duration. Nested *evaluate-commands* each inject a new local scope whose parent is the previous local scope. User declared commands defined with *define-command* also introduce a local scope while executing. A local scope is intended for temporarily overwriting some scoped value, such as an option or an alias. The following order of priority applies to the above scopes: ----------------------------------- local ]> window ]> buffer ]> global ----------------------------------- The above priority line implies that objects can have individual values that will be resolved first in the *local* scope (if it exists), then the *window* scope, then in the *buffer* scope, and finally in the *global* scope. Normally, the *buffer* scope keyword means the scope associated with the currently active buffer, but it's possible to specify any existing buffer by adding an `=` and the value of `%val{buffile}` for that buffer (See <>). For example, to set the `indentwidth` option for the `/etc/fstab` buffer:: ---- set-option buffer=/etc/fstab indentwidth 8 ---- The `set-option` and `unset-option` commands also accept *current* as a valid scope name. It refers to the narrowest scope the option is set in. == 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-option'. (See <>) *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-option'. (See <>) == 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').