Include a directory recursively for vim autocompletion

Question

I use vim from the base directory of my source code. I would like to have autocomplete consider every word of every file in this directory (and subdirectories) when editing a single file.

Answer 1

Completion is controlled by the 'complete' option. With the k flag, you can have Vim scan files. The ** wildcard stands for a recursive descent into subdirectories. Voila:

:set complete=k**/*

When you want to keep the other default locations (other buffers, included files, etc.), use :set complete+= to add to it.

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Alternatively, as this can be too slow for a default, you can use the 'dictionary' option and use Ctrl-X Ctrl-K completion:

:set dictionary=**/*