Feature: Expose An Option To Set `conceallevel` In Preview Window

Mar 12, 2025 by ADMIN 66 views

Introduction

As a developer, you may have encountered situations where you need to conceal certain information in your code, such as LaTeX functions, to improve readability. The conceal feature in Neovim is a powerful tool that allows you to hide text while still being able to navigate and edit it. However, the current implementation of conceal in Neovim does not allow you to set the conceallevel option in the preview window. In this feature request, we propose exposing an option to set conceallevel in the preview window, which would enable conceal inside the preview window.

Background

The conceal feature in Neovim is a powerful tool that allows you to hide text while still being able to navigate and edit it. Conceal is particularly useful when working with large codebases or complex data structures, as it can help to reduce visual clutter and improve readability. However, the current implementation of conceal in Neovim does not allow you to set the conceallevel option in the preview window. This means that you cannot use conceal inside the preview window, which can limit its usefulness.

Problem Statement

The problem with the current implementation of conceal in Neovim is that it does not allow you to set the conceallevel option in the preview window. This means that you cannot use conceal inside the preview window, which can limit its usefulness. For example, if you have a plugin that uses treesitter to conceal LaTeX functions into characters (e.g., \alpha -> a), you would like to set conceallevel to 2 to enable conceal inside the preview window. However, the current implementation of conceal in Neovim does not allow you to do this.

Solution

To solve this problem, we propose exposing an option to set conceallevel in the preview window. This would allow you to use conceal inside the preview window, which would improve the usability of the conceal feature. To implement this feature, we would need to modify the Neovim code to allow the conceallevel option to be set in the preview window. This would involve adding a new option to the :set command that allows you to set the conceallevel option in the preview window.

Benefits

Exposing an option to set conceallevel in the preview window would have several benefits. Firstly, it would improve the usability of the conceal feature by allowing you to use conceal inside the preview window. This would make it easier to work with large codebases or complex data structures, as you would be able to conceal text while still being able to navigate and edit it. Secondly, it would provide more flexibility in how you can use the conceal feature, as you would be able to set the conceallevel option in the preview window.

Implementation

To implement this feature, we would need to modify the Neovim code to allow the conceallevel option to be set in the preview window. This would involve adding a new option to the :set command that allows you to set the conceallevel option in the preview window. We would also need to modify the conceal code to allow it to work in the preview window.

Example Use Case

Here is an example use case for this feature:

" Set conceallevel to 2 in the preview window
:set conceallevel=2

" Use treesitter to conceal LaTeX functions into characters
syntax match latexFunction /\alpha/ conceal cchar=a

In this example, we set the conceallevel option to 2 in the preview window using the :set command. We then use treesitter to conceal LaTeX functions into characters using the syntax match command. The conceal option is used to specify that the match should be concealed, and the cchar option is used to specify the character that should be used to conceal the match.

Conclusion

In conclusion, exposing an option to set conceallevel in the preview window would improve the usability of the conceal feature by allowing you to use conceal inside the preview window. This would make it easier to work with large codebases or complex data structures, as you would be able to conceal text while still being able to navigate and edit it. We propose modifying the Neovim code to allow the conceallevel option to be set in the preview window, and providing an example use case to demonstrate how this feature can be used.

Future Work

Future work on this feature could involve adding more options to the :set command that allow you to customize the behavior of the conceal feature. For example, you could add an option to specify the character that should be used to conceal a match, or an option to specify the level of concealment that should be used. You could also add more features to the conceal code, such as the ability to conceal text based on a regular expression.

References

Acknowledgments

Q: What is the current implementation of conceal in Neovim?

A: The current implementation of conceal in Neovim allows you to hide text while still being able to navigate and edit it. However, the conceallevel option is not available in the preview window, which limits the usefulness of the conceal feature.

Q: Why is it necessary to expose an option to set `conceallevel` in the preview window?

A: Exposing an option to set conceallevel in the preview window would improve the usability of the conceal feature by allowing you to use conceal inside the preview window. This would make it easier to work with large codebases or complex data structures, as you would be able to conceal text while still being able to navigate and edit it.

Q: How would you implement this feature?

A: To implement this feature, we would need to modify the Neovim code to allow the conceallevel option to be set in the preview window. This would involve adding a new option to the :set command that allows you to set the conceallevel option in the preview window.

Q: What are the benefits of exposing an option to set `conceallevel` in the preview window?

A: Exposing an option to set conceallevel in the preview window would have several benefits. Firstly, it would improve the usability of the conceal feature by allowing you to use conceal inside the preview window. Secondly, it would provide more flexibility in how you can use the conceal feature, as you would be able to set the conceallevel option in the preview window.

Q: Can you provide an example use case for this feature?

A: Here is an example use case for this feature:

" Set conceallevel to 2 in the preview window
:set conceallevel=2

" Use treesitter to conceal LaTeX functions into characters
syntax match latexFunction /\alpha/ conceal cchar=a

Q: What are the future work plans for this feature?

A: Future work on this feature could involve adding more options to the :set command that allow you to customize the behavior of the conceal feature. For example, you could add an option to specify the character that should be used to conceal a match, or an option to specify the level of concealment that should be used. You could also add more features to the conceal code, such as the ability to conceal text based on a regular expression.

Q: How can I provide feedback on this feature?

A: We welcome feedback on this feature. You can provide feedback by commenting on this article or by submitting a pull request to the Neovim repository.

Q: What are the references for this feature?

A: The references for this feature are:

Q: Who should I contact for more information on this feature?

A: You can contact the Neovim community for more information on this feature. You can also contact the treesitter community for more information on how to use the conceal feature with treesitter.