tablemode

tablemode.nvim

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A Markdown / GFM table mode inspired by vim-table-mode: live align, cell motions, block select & TSV yank. While mode is on, tables render as mdview-style Unicode boxes; leaving mode or saving restores standard | --- | ASCII.

Module name is tablemode so it never shadows Lua’s built-in table library.

Requirements

Component	Notes
Neovim 0.9+	Pure Lua; no Python or external tools

Install

Plug '/path/to/nvimplugins/tablemode'
" or whole-repo nvimplugins (includes tablemode by default)

-- lazy.nvim whole repo
{ "cfwang123/nvimplugins", lazy = false }

Quick start

1. Write a GFM table (or start with |), then <leader>tm / :TableModeToggle.
2. With mode on, the table becomes an editable mdview-style box:

┌──────────────────┬──────────────────────────┬────────────┐
│ name             │ address                  │ phone      │
├──────────────────┼──────────────────────────┼────────────┤
│ John Adams       │ 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue │ 0123456789 │
│ Sherlock Holmes  │ 221B Baker Street        │ 0987654321 │
└──────────────────┴──────────────────────────┴────────────┘

3. Typing in a cell live-realigns the table (debounced, default ~60ms); one more pass on InsertLeave.
4. Toggle <leader>tm again to leave: restore GFM ASCII and clear highlights.

| name             | address                  | phone      |
| ---------------- | ------------------------ | ---------- |
| John Adams       | 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue | 0123456789 |
| Sherlock Holmes  | 221B Baker Street        | 0987654321 |

5. Manual realign: <leader>tr / :TableModeRealign.

Draw a table from scratch (insert)

| name | address | phone |
||

|| on the second line expands to a header separator; further | keystrokes realign. With preview_style = "unicode", | inserts │.

Unicode preview ↔ GFM restore

When	Behavior
Enable tablemode	Buffer tables → Unicode boxes (┌─┬─┐ / │ / ├─┼─┤ / └─┴─┘)
Edit / realign	Always reformat in the current style (boxes by default)
Disable tablemode	Boxes → standard GFM | --- |
:w save	Convert to GFM for disk; if mode stays on, restore box preview after write

• On disk you always get standard Markdown tables (alignment :--- / :---: / ---: is preserved).
• Alignment is stored in the mid-border cells and written back on restore.
• Set preview_style = "gfm" to keep ASCII while mode is on.
• Default disable_conceal = true: while on, conceallevel=0 so hidden **bold** markers do not shift pipes; restored on exit.

Commands

Command	Description
:TableModeToggle	Toggle table mode for the current buffer
:TableModeEnable / :TableModeDisable	Enable / disable
:TableModeRealign	Realign the table under the cursor
:Tableize	Convert current line or visual range into a table (default ,)
:Tableize/; or :Tableize ;	Use a custom delimiter

Default keys

Key	Action
<leader>tm	Toggle table mode
<leader>tr	Realign

Tableize / delete-insert row-col keys are off by default; set keys_* in setup if you want them.

While mode is on (buffer-local)

Key	Action
**`	`** (insert)
Tab / Shift-Tab	Next / previous cell (skip frames & seps; Tab on last cell appends a row)
← → ↑ ↓ / hjkl (normal)	One cell at a time; at edge, further press exits the table
Ctrl-v (or Ctrl-q)	Cell block select: at least the current cell
hjkl / arrows in block select	Expand by one column / row of cells
gy (visual)	Yank Excel-style TSV (tabs, strips bars); plain y is unchanged
**`]	/[
**`}	/{
**`i	/a

Block yank example

Ctrl-v a cell rectangle, then gy:

│ name            │ address                  │ phone      │
│ John Adams      │ 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue │ 0123456789 │
│ Sherlock Holmes │ 221B Baker Street        │ 0987654321 │

Clipboard (tabs — paste into Excel):

John Adams	1600 Pennsylvania Avenue	0123456789
Sherlock Holmes	221B Baker Street	0987654321

Alignment

: in the GFM separator (kept after exit):

| left | center | right |
|:-----|:------:|------:|
| a    | b      |     c |

Unicode mid-borders carry the same alignment markers while mode is on.

Statusline

When enabled:

• vim.b.tablemode == true
• vim.g.tablemode_status == "TABLE"

set statusline+=%{get(g:,'tablemode_status','')}

Config

require("tablemode").setup({
  corner = "|",
  corner_corner = "|",     -- use "+" for |---+---|
  fillchar = "-",
  header_fillchar = "-",
  align_char = ":",
  delimiter = ",",
  tableize_header_sep = true,
  auto_align = true,              -- master switch for | and live align
  auto_align_live = true,         -- realign while editing cell text
  auto_align_ms = 60,             -- debounce ms; 0 = immediate; raise for IME
  auto_align_on_insert_leave = true,
  smart_syntax = true,            -- markdown / rst corner presets
  ui_lang = "auto",
  keys_toggle = "<leader>tm",
  keys_realign = "<leader>tr",
  keys_tableize = false,           -- e.g. "<leader>tt"
  keys_tableize_op = false,        -- e.g. "<leader>T"
  keys_delete_row = false,         -- e.g. "<leader>tdd"
  keys_delete_col = false,         -- e.g. "<leader>tdc"
  keys_insert_col_after = false,   -- e.g. "<leader>tic"
  keys_insert_col_before = false,  -- e.g. "<leader>tiC"
  map_motions = true,
  map_text_objects = true,
  map_tab = true,          -- Tab / Shift-Tab between cells
  tab_normal = false,      -- also map Tab in normal (steals <C-i> jumplist)
  tab_insert_row = true,   -- Tab on last cell appends empty row
  map_arrows = true,       -- arrows by cell; edge exits table
  map_hjkl = true,         -- same for hjkl
  map_vblock = true,       -- Ctrl-v cell block; visual hjkl expand; gy → TSV
  highlight = true,        -- header bg + border colors while mode is on
  hl_header = "TableModeHeader",
  hl_border = "TableModeBorder",
  highlight_ms = 80,
  preview_style = "unicode", -- mdview boxes while on; "gfm" keeps | --- |
  disable_conceal = true,  -- conceallevel=0 while on (avoid ** misalignment)
})

Set any keys_* to false to disable it.

Highlight groups

Group	Role	Default
TableModeHeader	Header cell text background only (not padding / bars)	very light blue bg #e3f0fb
TableModeBorder	Bars: | - : = + and Unicode ─ │ ┌┐└┘├┤┬┴┼	blue fg + bold

Override with hi TableModeHeader ... / hi TableModeBorder ....

ReST style

require("tablemode").setup({
  corner = "|",
  corner_corner = "+",
  header_fillchar = "=",
  smart_syntax = true, -- also auto for filetype=rst
  preview_style = "gfm", -- usually no unicode boxes for ReST
})

Disable box preview

require("tablemode").setup({
  preview_style = "gfm", -- keep | --- | while mode is on
})

vs vim-table-mode

Topic	This plugin
Implementation	Pure Lua
Look while on	Unicode boxes by default (optional); restore GFM on exit
Spreadsheet formulas	Not implemented
yes/no cell highlights	Not implemented
Default corners	GFM | (not +)
TSV yank	Visual gy (plain y unchanged)
Module name	tablemode

Notes

• A table is a run of consecutive lines containing | or Unicode box characters.
• Column width uses strdisplaywidth (CJK-friendly).
• Works well with mdview: edit in the source buffer, preview rendered GFM.
• On save, the buffer briefly becomes GFM for the write, then restores boxes if mode is still on (modified cleared after restore).