patch 9.1.1526: completion: search completion match may differ in case

Problem:  completion: search completion match may differ in case
          (techntools)
Solution: add "exacttext" to 'wildoptions' value (Girish Palya)

This flag does the following:

exacttext
      When this flag is present, search pattern completion
      (e.g., in |/|, |?|, |:s|, |:g|, |:v|, and |:vim|)
      shows exact buffer text as menu items, without
      preserving regex artifacts like position
      anchors (e.g., |/\<|). This provides more intuitive
      menu items that match the actual buffer text. However,
      searches may be less accurate since the pattern is not
      preserved exactly.
      By default, Vim preserves the typed pattern (with
      anchors) and appends the matched word. This preserves
      search correctness, especially when using regular
      expressions or with 'smartcase' enabled. However, the
      case of the appended matched word may not exactly
      match the case of the word in the buffer.

fixes: #17654
closes: #17667

Signed-off-by: Girish Palya <girishji@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Christian Brabandt <cb@256bit.org>

runtime/doc/options.txt

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-*options.txt*	For Vim version 9.1.  Last change: 2025 Jul 05
+*options.txt*	For Vim version 9.1.  Last change: 2025 Jul 08
 
 
 		  VIM REFERENCE MANUAL	  by Bram Moolenaar
@@ -9759,6 +9759,7 @@ A jump table for the options with a short description can be found at |Q_op|.
 <	'wildchar' also enables completion in search pattern contexts such as
 	|/|, |?|, |:s|, |:g|, |:v|, and |:vim|.  To insert a literal <Tab>
 	instead of triggering completion, type <C-V><Tab> or "\t".
+	See also |'wildoptions'|.
 	NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
 	set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
 
@@ -9926,6 +9927,20 @@ A jump table for the options with a short description can be found at |Q_op|.
 	A list of words that change how |cmdline-completion| is done.
 
 	The following values are supported:
+	  exacttext	When this flag is present, search pattern completion
+			(e.g., in |/|, |?|, |:s|, |:g|, |:v|, and |:vim|)
+			shows exact buffer text as menu items, without
+			preserving regex artifacts like position
+			anchors (e.g., |/\<|).  This provides more intuitive
+			menu items that match the actual buffer text.
+			However, searches may be less accurate since the
+			pattern is not preserved exactly.
+			By default, Vim preserves the typed pattern (with
+			anchors) and appends the matched word.  This preserves
+			search correctness, especially when using regular
+			expressions or with 'smartcase' enabled.  However, the
+			case of the appended matched word may not exactly
+			match the case of the word in the buffer.
 	  fuzzy		Use |fuzzy-matching| to find completion matches. When
 			this value is specified, wildcard expansion will not
 			be used for completion.  The matches will be sorted by

runtime/doc/version9.txt

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-*version9.txt*  For Vim version 9.1.  Last change: 2025 Jul 05
+*version9.txt*  For Vim version 9.1.  Last change: 2025 Jul 08
 
 
 		  VIM REFERENCE MANUAL    by Bram Moolenaar
@@ -41623,6 +41623,8 @@ Completion: ~
 - improved commandline completion for the |:hi| command
 - New option value for 'wildmode':
 	"noselect"	- do not auto select an entry in the wildmenu
+	"exacttext"	- show exact matches in wildmenu with search
+			  completion
 - New flags for 'complete':
 	"F{func}"	- complete using given function
 	"F"		- complete using 'completefunc'

src/cmdexpand.c

@@ -4631,6 +4631,7 @@ copy_substring_from_pos(pos_T *start, pos_T *end, char_u **match,
     int		segment_len;
     linenr_T	lnum;
     garray_T	ga;
+    int		exacttext = vim_strchr(p_wop, WOP_EXACTTEXT) != NULL;
 
     if (start->lnum > end->lnum
 	    || (start->lnum == end->lnum && start->col >= end->col))
@@ -4646,12 +4647,17 @@ copy_substring_from_pos(pos_T *start, pos_T *end, char_u **match,
 
     segment_len = is_single_line ? (end->col - start->col)
 				: (int)STRLEN(start_ptr);
-    if (ga_grow(&ga, segment_len + 1) != OK)
+    if (ga_grow(&ga, segment_len + 2) != OK)
 	return FAIL;
 
     ga_concat_len(&ga, start_ptr, segment_len);
     if (!is_single_line)
-	ga_append(&ga, '\n');
+    {
+	if (exacttext)
+	    ga_concat_len(&ga, (char_u *)"\\n", 2);
+	else
+	    ga_append(&ga, '\n');
+    }
 
     // Append full lines between start and end
     if (!is_single_line)
@@ -4659,10 +4665,13 @@ copy_substring_from_pos(pos_T *start, pos_T *end, char_u **match,
 	for (lnum = start->lnum + 1; lnum < end->lnum; lnum++)
 	{
 	    line = ml_get(lnum);
-	    if (ga_grow(&ga, ml_get_len(lnum) + 1) != OK)
+	    if (ga_grow(&ga, ml_get_len(lnum) + 2) != OK)
 		return FAIL;
 	    ga_concat(&ga, line);
-	    ga_append(&ga, '\n');
+	    if (exacttext)
+		ga_concat_len(&ga, (char_u *)"\\n", 2);
+	    else
+		ga_append(&ga, '\n');
 	}
     }
 
@@ -4783,6 +4792,7 @@ expand_pattern_in_buf(
     int		compl_started = FALSE;
     int		search_flags;
     char_u	*match, *full_match;
+    int		exacttext = vim_strchr(p_wop, WOP_EXACTTEXT) != NULL;
 
 #ifdef FEAT_SEARCH_EXTRA
     has_range = search_first_line != 0;
@@ -4871,26 +4881,31 @@ expand_pattern_in_buf(
 		    &word_end_pos))
 	    break;
 
-	// Construct a new match from completed word appended to pattern itself
+	if (exacttext)
-	match = concat_pattern_with_buffer_match(pat, pat_len, &end_match_pos,
+	    match = full_match;
-		FALSE);
+	else
-
-	// The regex pattern may include '\C' or '\c'. First, try matching the
-	// buffer word as-is. If it doesn't match, try again with the lowercase
-	// version of the word to handle smartcase behavior.
-	if (match == NULL || !is_regex_match(match, full_match))
 	{
-	    vim_free(match);
+	    // Construct a new match from completed word appended to pattern itself
-	    match = concat_pattern_with_buffer_match(pat, pat_len,
+	    match = concat_pattern_with_buffer_match(pat, pat_len, &end_match_pos,
-		    &end_match_pos, TRUE);
+		    FALSE);
+
+	    // The regex pattern may include '\C' or '\c'. First, try matching the
+	    // buffer word as-is. If it doesn't match, try again with the lowercase
+	    // version of the word to handle smartcase behavior.
 	    if (match == NULL || !is_regex_match(match, full_match))
 	    {
 		vim_free(match);
-		vim_free(full_match);
+		match = concat_pattern_with_buffer_match(pat, pat_len,
-		continue;
+			&end_match_pos, TRUE);
+		if (match == NULL || !is_regex_match(match, full_match))
+		{
+		    vim_free(match);
+		    vim_free(full_match);
+		    continue;
+		}
 	    }
+	    vim_free(full_match);
 	}
-	vim_free(full_match);
 
 	// Include this match if it is not a duplicate
 	for (int i = 0; i < ga.ga_len; ++i)

src/option.h

@@ -375,8 +375,9 @@ typedef enum {
 // flags for the 'wildoptions' option
 // each defined char should be unique over all values.
 #define WOP_FUZZY	'z'
-#define WOP_TAGFILE	't'
+#define WOP_TAGFILE	'g'
 #define WOP_PUM		'p'
+#define WOP_EXACTTEXT	'x'
 
 // arguments for can_bs()
 // each defined char should be unique over all values

src/optionstr.c

@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ static char *(p_ttym_values[]) = {"xterm", "xterm2", "dec", "netterm", "jsbterm"
 static char *(p_ve_values[]) = {"block", "insert", "all", "onemore", "none", "NONE", NULL};
 // Note: Keep this in sync with check_opt_wim()
 static char *(p_wim_values[]) = {"full", "longest", "list", "lastused", "noselect", NULL};
-static char *(p_wop_values[]) = {"fuzzy", "tagfile", "pum", NULL};
+static char *(p_wop_values[]) = {"fuzzy", "tagfile", "pum", "exacttext", NULL};
 #ifdef FEAT_WAK
 static char *(p_wak_values[]) = {"yes", "menu", "no", NULL};
 #endif

src/testdir/test_cmdline.vim

@@ -4472,6 +4472,7 @@ func Test_search_complete()
   " Match case correctly
   %d
   call setline(1, ["foobar", "Foobar", "fooBAr", "FooBARR"])
+
   call feedkeys("gg/f\<tab>\<f9>", 'tx')
   call assert_equal(['fooBAr', 'foobar'], g:compl_info.matches)
   call feedkeys("gg/Fo\<tab>\<f9>", 'tx')
@@ -4480,6 +4481,7 @@ func Test_search_complete()
   call assert_equal({},  g:compl_info)
   call feedkeys("gg/\\cFo\<tab>\<f9>", 'tx')
   call assert_equal(['\cFoobar', '\cFooBAr', '\cFooBARR'], g:compl_info.matches)
+
   set ignorecase
   call feedkeys("gg/f\<tab>\<f9>", 'tx')
   call assert_equal(['foobar', 'fooBAr', 'fooBARR'], g:compl_info.matches)
@@ -4489,6 +4491,7 @@ func Test_search_complete()
   call assert_equal(['FOobar', 'FOoBAr', 'FOoBARR'], g:compl_info.matches)
   call feedkeys("gg/\\Cfo\<tab>\<f9>", 'tx')
   call assert_equal(['\CfooBAr', '\Cfoobar'], g:compl_info.matches)
+
   set smartcase
   call feedkeys("gg/f\<tab>\<f9>", 'tx')
   call assert_equal(['foobar', 'fooBAr', 'foobarr'], g:compl_info.matches)
@@ -4496,16 +4499,42 @@ func Test_search_complete()
   call assert_equal(['Foobar', 'FooBARR'], g:compl_info.matches)
   call feedkeys("gg/FO\<tab>\<f9>", 'tx')
   call assert_equal({},  g:compl_info)
+  call feedkeys("gg/foob\<tab>\<f9>", 'tx')
+  call assert_equal(['foobar', 'foobarr'], g:compl_info.matches)
   call feedkeys("gg/\\Cfo\<tab>\<f9>", 'tx')
   call assert_equal(['\CfooBAr', '\Cfoobar'], g:compl_info.matches)
   call feedkeys("gg/\\cFo\<tab>\<f9>", 'tx')
   call assert_equal(['\cFoobar', '\cFooBAr', '\cFooBARR'], g:compl_info.matches)
 
+  set wildoptions+=exacttext ignorecase& smartcase&
+  call feedkeys("gg/F\<tab>\<f9>", 'tx')
+  call assert_equal(['Foobar', 'FooBARR'], g:compl_info.matches)
+  call feedkeys("gg/foob\<tab>\<f9>", 'tx')
+  call assert_equal([], g:compl_info.matches)
+  call feedkeys("gg/r\\n.\<tab>\<f9>", 'tx')
+  call assert_equal(['r\nFoobar', 'r\nfooBAr', 'r\nFooBARR'], g:compl_info.matches)
+
+  set ignorecase
+  call feedkeys("gg/F\<tab>\<f9>", 'tx')
+  call assert_equal(['Foobar', 'fooBAr', 'FooBARR', 'foobar'], g:compl_info.matches)
+  call feedkeys("gg/R\\n.\<tab>\<f9>", 'tx')
+  call assert_equal(['r\nFoobar', 'r\nfooBAr', 'r\nFooBARR'], g:compl_info.matches)
+
+  set smartcase
+  call feedkeys("gg/f\<tab>\<f9>", 'tx')
+  call assert_equal(['Foobar', 'fooBAr', 'FooBARR', 'foobar'], g:compl_info.matches)
+  call feedkeys("gg/foob\<tab>\<f9>", 'tx')
+  call assert_equal(['Foobar', 'fooBAr', 'FooBARR', 'foobar'], g:compl_info.matches)
+  call feedkeys("gg/R\\n.\<tab>\<f9>", 'tx')
+  call assert_equal({}, g:compl_info)
+  call feedkeys("gg/r\\n.*\\n\<tab>\<f9>", 'tx')
+  call assert_equal(['r\nFoobar\nfooBAr', 'r\nfooBAr\nFooBARR'], g:compl_info.matches)
+
   bw!
   call test_override("char_avail", 0)
   delfunc GetComplInfo
   unlet! g:compl_info
-  set wildcharm=0 incsearch& ignorecase& smartcase&
+  set wildcharm=0 incsearch& ignorecase& smartcase& wildoptions&
 endfunc
 
 func Test_search_wildmenu_screendump()

src/version.c

@@ -719,6 +719,8 @@ static char *(features[]) =
 
 static int included_patches[] =
 {   /* Add new patch number below this line */
+/**/
+    1526,
 /**/
     1525,
 /**/