[SOLVED] VIM: different syntax highlighting for new vs existing file

Question

I've had this minor nagging issue for a while that I've been trying to figure out, but I just don't know where to look.
It is most obvious with LaTeX files (*.tex).  When I create a new file with "vim file.tex" it is recognized as a latex file and I get syntax highlighting, but it seems odd, or off.  When I close then reopen the same file, it gets "propper" syntax highlighting.
I gather that this must be because of the two different mechanisms for matching the syntax type: filename versus content.  When the file is new, vim only uses the extension.  Once there is a latex comand (e.g., "\documentclass{article}") it recognizes it as something else and the highlighting style is different.
It turns out just by actually elaborating exactly what the problem was, I was able to find the solution.  I looked for how vim recognizes the files, and found two relevant lines in /usr/share/vim/vim73/filetype.vim on lines 2093 and 2094.  Apparently the .tex filetype is not the same as .latex and others.  I changed it so it was, and I got the desired behavior.
I thought about just not posting this - but it may be useful for others.

Answer 1

You're right about it being overridden.  This change should be able to be placed in ~/.vimrc though.
Well  that was foolish - I should have read the comments right below in that file.  It says exactly how to set it in vimrc.  I've now added the following to my ~/.vimrc and this is completely solved without modifying the /usr/... file.
let g:tex_flavor = "tex"
Last edited by Trilby (2013-03-29 16:11:26)