Inverse search rejects valid SyncTeX results for files not in parsed sources list

[bramhaag]

Description

Inverse search validates that the target file is in b:vimtex.get_sources() before opening it. If vimtex's parser can't detect an included file (e.g., custom macros), inverse search silently fails even though SyncTeX correctly identifies the source.

Steps to reproduce

1. Custom macro

% main.tex
\documentclass{report}
\begin{document}
Hello from main!

\newcommand{\mycommand}[2]{\section{#1}\input{#2.tex}}
\mycommand{Chapter A's title}{chapters/a}
\end{document}

% chapters/a.tex
Hello from a!

2. Compile
3. Verify SyncTeX knows about the file:

synctex edit -o "1:159:189:main.pdf"
# returns Input:chapters/a.tex

4. Verify vimtex doesn't:

:echo b:vimtex.get_sources()
" ['main.tex']

5. Try inverse search from PDF viewer on content from chapters/a.tex

Expected behavior

Trust SyncTeX data and navigate to the chapters/a.tex file

Actual behavior

Rejects valid inverse search if file isn't in vimtex's parsed list. Commenting out this line seems to resolve the issue.

Do you use a latexmkrc file?

No

VimtexInfo

System info:
  OS: Arch Linux
  LaTeX version: pdfTeX 3.141592653-2.6-1.40.28 (TeX Live 2025)
  Vim version: NVIM v0.11.5
  Has clientserver: true
  Servername: /run/user/1000/nvim.400295.0
  $PATH:
    - /home/xxx/.local/bin
    - /usr/bin
    - /usr/bin/core_perl
    - /usr/bin/site_perl
    - /usr/bin/vendor_perl
    - /usr/local/bin
    - /usr/local/sbin
    - /usr/local/texlive/2025/bin/x86_64-linux

VimTeX project: main
  base: main.tex
  root: /home/xxx/test
  tex: /home/xxx/main.tex
  main parser: current file verified
  document class: report
  document class options: 
  compiler: latexmk
    engine: -pdf
    options:
      -verbose
      -file-line-error
      -synctex=1
      -interaction=nonstopmode
    out_dir: build
    callback: 1
    continuous: 1
    executable: latexmk
  viewer: sioyek
  qf method: LaTeX logfile

[lervag]

Inverse search validates that the target file is in b:vimtex.get_sources() before opening it. If vimtex's parser can't detect an included file (e.g., custom macros), inverse search silently fails even though SyncTeX correctly identifies the source.

The problem here is that VimTeX parses your project to understand the structure. However, you are making your own custom command that implicitly includes other files, and VimTeX is not able to parse this.

So, to have this work, you need to help VimTeX understand the structure. I have two suggestions:

1. Use \input directly, don't wrap it in your custom commands. Then VimTeX will understand it automatically. I strongly recommend this, to be honest. I propose you move the \section{...} inside your included file and then just use \input{chapters/a.tex}.

2. If you reorder the arguments for your custom command so that the argument passed for \input comes first, then you could use g:vimtex_include_indicators for your custom command. I.e., add let g:vimtex_include_indicators = ['input', 'include', 'mycommand']. Then you would write \mycommand{chapters/a}{Title...}, and VimTeX should be able to parse that.

3. Use the tex root directive inside a.tex to guide VimTeX. This will at least help VimTeX understand that a.tex is part of main.tex.

   %! Tex root = main.tex
   Hello from a!

   However, this only partly works. VimTeX will still have a problem with finding all the sources, because parsing from the main file relies on finding the \input lines and similar, but they are not found.

[bramhaag]

Thanks for the suggestions! I understand the workarounds, but coming from Overleaf, where inverse search "just works" regardless of how files are included, this is a bit annoying. I assume that is because Overleaf trusts SyncTeX directly for inverse search.

The source file is correctly identified in my case:

synctex edit -o "1:159:189:main.pdf"
# returns Input:chapters/a.tex

But because of the get_sources() restriction, VimTeX fails to navigate there. Would it be possible to trust SyncTeX in this case? Commenting out the get_sources() check resolves my issue, but I'm sure it's there for a reason.

[lervag]

VimTeX does not really use SyncTeX directly at all. Inverse search is issued by the PDF viewer, and most PDF viewers integrate with editors by allowing a custom command with parameters for the file name and line number. This is how VimTeX integrates as well.

VimTeX has a utility function to handle this that is usually quite good, but it assumes 1) that you already have an editor open with a file in the respective project, and 2) that VimTeX has properly parsed that project. Notice that your issue is exactly that: VimTeX is not able to parse the project structure.

Notice also that the issue with parsing the project structure here is much more severe than just inverse search not working. For instance, if you open chapters/a.tex, you won't be able to compile the correct file. There are also other features that rely on proper parsing.

So, I maintain that I think you should go for one of my suggestions. I don't know how to "solve" your issue in a more general way. I'm sorry if you find this inconvenient.

As a final remark: I have no idea what Overleaf does in this particular case. Overleaf is as far as I know a web application that bundles its own PDF viewer. Perhaps they are doing things very differently, I don't know. Perhaps they are simply doing the parsing in a much better and more robust manner. But notice that Overleaf is a product created and maintained by a large group of developers. VimTeX is created and maintained by me. There's a relatively large difference in available resources...