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I'm using a syntax highlight plugin for Nginx files. Its ftdetect looks like this:

au BufRead,BufNewFile *.nginx set ft=nginx
au BufRead,BufNewFile nginx*.conf set ft=nginx
au BufRead,BufNewFile *nginx.conf set ft=nginx
au BufRead,BufNewFile */etc/nginx/* set ft=nginx
au BufRead,BufNewFile */usr/local/nginx/conf/* set ft=nginx
au BufRead,BufNewFile */nginx/*.conf set ft=nginx

It works well with local configuration files, but when I open a file which is outside the list of predefined directories, there is no syntax highlighting, even when the file ends by the following line:

# vim: syntax=nginx ts=4 sw=4 sts=4

If, inside vim, I run :setf nginx, then the syntax is back.

How do I change ftdetect to be able to benefit from syntax highlighting automatically based on the presence of # vim: syntax=nginx?

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The correct modeline syntax sets options, so

# vim: filetype=nginx ts=4 sw=4 sts=4

Or the short version ft

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  • Unfortunately, the problem persists with filetype, as well as with ft (i.e. the syntax highlighting is off, and I have to type :setf nginx to get it. – Arseni Mourzenko Dec 18 '18 at 22:31
  • Are the tabstop settings being applied? It’s bizarre to me that setf works, since it shouldn’t change anything if a filetype has already been set. This would imply those files have no filetype. – D. Ben Knoble Dec 18 '18 at 22:31
  • @ArseniMourzenko sorry meant to ping you there^ – D. Ben Knoble Dec 19 '18 at 4:45
  • Indeed, tabstop settings are ignored as well, the default settings being used. I tried to copy apache2.conf file to a different location and using a different name: same problem here, despite "# vim:..." at the end, it's not detected as Apache configuration file. Any idea what could cause this behavior? Or do you want me to accept your answer and open a separate question? – Arseni Mourzenko Dec 19 '18 at 20:22
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    Found it. You pointed me to the right direction by giving the official name of that thing at the last line. I searched for modeline; it appears that it wasn't enabled (and now that I enabled it in .vimrc, it works. Not sure if it was disabled by one of the plugins or not enabled by default, but at least it works now. Thank you. – Arseni Mourzenko Dec 19 '18 at 20:37

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