This library provides minor mode volatile-highlights-mode, which brings visual feedback to some operations by highlighting portions relating to the operations.

All of highlights made by this library will be removed when any new operation is executed.

To install this library, save the file “volatile-highlights.el” to a directory in your load-path (you can view the current load-path using C-h v load-path <RET> within Emacs), then add following lines to your .emacs start up file:

(require 'volatile-highlights)
(volatile-highlights-mode t)

To toggle volatile highlighting, type:

M-x volatile-highlights-mode <RET>

While this minor mode is on, a string `VHL’ will be displayed on the modeline.

Currently, operations listed below will be highlighted While the minor mode `volatile-highlights-mode’ is on:

undo

Volatile highlights will be put on the text inserted by undo.

yank and yank-pop

Volatile highlights will be put on the text inserted by yank’ or yank-pop.

kill-region, kill-line, any other killing function

Volatile highlights will be put at the positions where the killed text used to be.

delete-region

Same as kill-region, but not as reliable since delete-region is an inline function.

find-tag

Volatile highlights will be put on the tag name which was found by find-tag.

occur-mode-goto-occurrence and occur-mode-display-occurrence

Volatile highlights will be put on the occurrence which is selected by occur-mode-goto-occurrence or occur-mode-display-occurrence.

Non incremental search operations

Volatile highlights will be put on the the text found by commands listed below:

nonincremental-search-forward
nonincremental-search-backward
nonincremental-re-search-forward
nonincremental-re-search-backward
nonincremental-repeat-search-forward
nonincremental-repeat-search-backward
    

Highlighting support for each operations can be turned on/off individually via customization. Also check out the customization group by:

M-x customize-group RET volatile-highlights RET

;;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
;; Supporting vip-mode.
;;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(vhl/define-extension 'vip 'vip-yank)
(vhl/install-extension 'vip)

;;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
;; Supporting evil-mode.
;;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(vhl/define-extension 'evil 'evil-paste-after 'evil-paste-before
                      'evil-paste-pop 'evil-move)
(vhl/install-extension 'evil)

;;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
;; Supporting undo-tree.
;;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(vhl/define-extension 'undo-tree 'undo-tree-yank 'undo-tree-move)
(vhl/install-extension 'undo-tree)