Disable :set hlsearch when I enter INSERT mode

Question

I've set hlsearch on my .vimrc.

The problem is: when I find what I need in my document, I want it to automatically disable hlsearch when I enter insert mode for that searched string.

So, if I try to search for another string, it starts over again. This behavior is well known among other editors.

How do I do it?

Answer 1

disable highlighting when entering insertmode via i:

noremap i :set nohlsearch<CR>i

to reenable it by leaving insert mode (via ESC):

inoremap <ESC> <ESC>:set hlsearch<CR>

you could apply these idea to all kind of keys like a, o etc.

OR

autocmd InsertEnter * :set nohlsearch
autocmd InsertLeave * :set hlsearch

(kudos for the 'InsertEnter' event idea)

Answer 2

I found a completely different approach, but that's is EXACTLY what I was looking for.

:set hlsearch
autocmd InsertEnter * :let @/=""
autocmd InsertLeave * :let @/=""

This sets the "latest search" register to the empty string, so that nothing will be highlighted. Earlier searches can still be remembered by using the key after hitting / or ? and optionally the "start" of the string to be searched.

Source

Thanks for your answer akira, but this solution is really elegant in my opinion. And it works, I tested it!