This GitHub repository is a fork of http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=1384.
This script cycles through certain Unicode characters while typing. It only works if set encoding=utf-8.
When on, the hyphen (-), period (.), apostrophe ('), and quote (") characters are mapped to the appropriate functions within this file.
When you enter two hyphen characters in a row, the first hyphen character will cycle to an EN DASH character. A third hyphen will turn the EN DASH into an EM DASH. A fourth hyphen will turn your EM DASH back into a HYPHEN-MINUS.
Entering three periods in a row will replace all three periods with a HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS character.
Entering an apostrophe will try to determine if the apostrophe should be a LEFT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK or RIGHT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK. It does this by looking at the character to the left of the new character. You can cycle between LEFT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK, APOSTROPHE, and RIGHT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK by repeatedly hitting your apostrophe key.
Quote characters are treated in the same manner as apostrophe characters. You get either a LEFT DOUBLE QUOTATION MARK, normal QUOTATION MARK, or RIGHT DOUBLE QUOTATION MARK based on the previous character and how many times you hit your quote key in a row.
Either drop into your ~/.vim/plugins/ folder, or install using your favorite plugin manager (I recommend Pathogen).
Execute the :UniCycleOn command to activate UniCycle in the current
buffer. To automatically activate UniCycle for a specific file type, use
an autocommand, as in:
autocmd FileType rst UniCycleOn
You can toggle UniCycle on and off using the :UniCycleToggle command.
This is useful in maps; for instance if you put:
nnoremap <C-u><C-u> :UniCycleToggle<cr>
In your .vimrc you can turn UniCycle on and off by pressing Ctrl+U
twice.
UniCycle is buffer-local, so turning it on in one buffer will not affect any other buffers.
This plugin was originally written by Jason Diamond. I (Joseph Irwin) have made some improvements (making functions script-local, and the mappings buffer-local) and included some modifications from Micah Elliott.
Jason Diamond placed this plugin into the public domain; I have added the CC0 copyright waiver here to make this clearer and more effective.
To the extent possible under law, the authors have waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to UniCycle.