Why `highlight X ...` from `.vimrc` does not work in gVim (but works in VIM) and I have to type it again during session?

Question

For following snippet of code, to see what was highlighted I need to run :highlight LineHighlight ctermbg=darkgray guibg=drakgray after running vim session, and then rest of snippet works (i.e. loads which lines to highlight etc) , for some reason this one line is not picked up from .vimrc - any hint how to fix it highlight definition so I don't need to type it all over again in gVim ? (it works in Vim)

" define line highlight color
highlight LineHighlight ctermbg=darkgray guibg=darkgray

nnoremap <Leader>l :call matchadd('LineHighlight', '\%'.line('.').'l')<CR>

• In Vim it just works! ([]+[l] highlights line)
• In GVim I have to run :highlight LineHighlight ctermbg=darkgray guibg=darkgray to make highlights visible

Answer 1

you could try to add the following line

syntax on

before the line highlight LineHighlight ctermbg=darkgray guibg=darkgray.

to the .vimrc file.

This worked for me.

Answer 2

You probably need to add the highlight command to your gvimrc, since some things get reset when processing GUI startup.