syntax: match all lines with a given pattern that follow a line with a different pattern

Question

I'm writing a Syntax file for Robot Framework. I want to create a color scheme for the [Documentation] tag, such that the text following the tag, and all subsequent lines beginning with ... until the next line that does not begin with ... are matched. So for example:

1    Test Case 1
2        [Documentation]  This
3        ...    Is
4        ...    Documentation
5        [Setup]    Run Keywords    Keyword1
6        ...    AND        Keyword2

I want to match lines 2-4, but not 1, 5, or 6. I'm not sure if this is possible, and if so, I have no idea where to start.

Answer 1

This should be possible with a syntax region. If you put the following in your syntax file, it should work:

syntax region Documentation
  \ start=/^\s*\[Documentation\]/
  \ end=/^\s*\[\|^\s*$/me=s-1
highlight link Documentation Comment

The highlight is only for testing to show that it works, and you probably both can and should use a different highlight. At least I think this will provide an example that you can build further upon.

For relevant help, see

• :h :syn-region
• :h :syn-pattern (for the me=s-1 part)