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In visual mode, the message display seems fixed:

  • VISUAL: it contains either the number of characters selected or the number of lines;
  • VISUAL LINE: contains the number of lines;
  • VISUAL BLOCK: contains the dimensions of the selected area (rows × columns).

Can this be customized and how?

My goal is to run analysis functions on the selected text targeting mainly VISUAL mode: counting characters, line widths etc. Of course, one could filter the selection by running a function on it but I’d like the information to be updated live and conveniently located in the message line.

EDIT: The code that handles the behavior in question doesn’t appear to be configurable.

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  • no it can't. If you want this, then you can try to do this using the statusline option
    – Christian Brabandt
    Commented Oct 17, 2016 at 13:25

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Yes this is possible. The starting point is :h 'statusline'. However, I must point you towards vim-airline and powerline plugins. They already do many related things. If not what you're looking for, their (complicated) code should give you hints regarding what you what to achieve.

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  • The statusline help doesn’t mention visual modes nor does status-line. I already have a highly customized statusline which nevertheless is only visible in normal and insert mode.
    – phg
    Commented Oct 17, 2016 at 9:17
  • No, but it should point you to % syntax. From here, call a function. In that function, test the current mode and if you're in visual mode, then you can start counting what you find in getline("'[", "']").
    – Luc Hermitte
    Commented Oct 17, 2016 at 9:26
  • Sorry I just realized I was actually referring to the message line which doesn’t even have help item.
    – phg
    Commented Oct 17, 2016 at 9:29

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