Change / Add syntax highlighting for a language in Sublime 2/3 - syntax-highlighting

Question

I want to change / add syntax highlighting for a language in Sublime 2/3.
For example I want the keyword this colored in JavaScript.
How can I do that?
I know that there is a preference JavaScript File in C:\Program Files\Sublime Text 3\Packages, but I don't know what to change or if I have to create a new JavaScript Preference File somewhere in this folder %APPDATA%\Sublime Text 3.

Answer 1

Syntax highlighting is controlled by the theme you use, accessible through Preferences -> Color Scheme. Themes highlight different keywords, functions, variables, etc. through the use of scopes, which are defined by a series of regular expressions contained in a .tmLanguage file in a language's directory/package. For example, the JavaScript.tmLanguage file assigns the scopes source.js and variable.language.js to the this keyword. Since Sublime Text 3 is using the .sublime-package zip file format to store all the default settings it's not very straightforward to edit the individual files.
Unfortunately, not all themes contain all scopes, so you'll need to play around with different ones to find one that looks good, and gives you the highlighting you're looking for. There are a number of themes that are included with Sublime Text, and many more are available through Package Control, which I highly recommend installing if you haven't already. Make sure you follow the ST3 directions.
As it so happens, I've developed the Neon Color Scheme, available through Package Control, that you might want to take a look at. My main goal, besides trying to make a broad range of languages look as good as possible, was to identify as many different scopes as I could - many more than are included in the standard themes. While the JavaScript language definition isn't as thorough as Python's, for example, Neon still has a lot more diversity than some of the defaults like Monokai or Solarized.
I should note that I used #int3h's Better JavaScript language definition for this image instead of the one that ships with Sublime. It can be installed via Package Control.
UPDATE
Of late I've discovered another JavaScript replacement language definition - JavaScriptNext - ES6 Syntax. It has more scopes than the base JavaScript or even Better JavaScript. It looks like this on the same code:
Also, since I originally wrote this answer, #skuroda has released PackageResourceViewer via Package Control. It allows you to seamlessly view, edit and/or extract parts of or entire .sublime-package packages. So, if you choose, you can directly edit the color schemes included with Sublime.
ANOTHER UPDATE
With the release of nearly all of the default packages on Github, changes have been coming fast and furiously. The old JS syntax has been completely rewritten to include the best parts of JavaScript Next ES6 Syntax, and now is as fully ES6-compatible as can be. A ton of other changes have been made to cover corner and edge cases, improve consistency, and just overall make it better. The new syntax has been included in the (at this time) latest dev build 3111.
If you'd like to use any of the new syntaxes with the current beta build 3103, simply clone the Github repo someplace and link the JavaScript (or whatever language(s) you want) into your Packages directory - find it on your system by selecting Preferences -> Browse Packages.... Then, simply do a git pull in the original repo directory from time to time to refresh any changes, and you can enjoy the latest and greatest! I should note that the repo uses the new .sublime-syntax format instead of the old .tmLanguage one, so they will not work with ST3 builds prior to 3084, or with ST2 (in both cases, you should have upgraded to the latest beta or dev build anyway).
I'm currently tweaking my Neon Color Scheme to handle all of the new scopes in the new JS syntax, but most should be covered already.

Answer 2

I finally found a way to customize the given Themes.
Go to C:\Program Files\Sublime Text 3\Packages and copy + rename Color Scheme - Default.sublime-package to Color Scheme - Default.zip. Afterwards unzip it and copy the Theme, you want to change to %APPDATA%\Sublime Text 3\Packages\User. (In my case, All Hallow's Eve.tmTheme).
Then you can open it with any Text Editor and change / add something, for example for changing this in JavaScript:
<dict>
<key>name</key>
<string>Lang Variable</string>
<key>scope</key>
<string>variable.language</string>
<key>settings</key>
<dict>
<key>foreground</key>
<string>#FF0000</string>
</dict>
</dict>
This will mark this in JavaScript Files red. You can select your Theme under Preferences -> Color Scheme -> User -> <Your Name>.

Answer 3

Use the PackageResourceViewer plugin installed via Package Control (as mentioned by MattDMo). This allows you to override the compressed resources by simply opening it in Sublime Text and saving the file. It automatically saves only the edited resources to %APPDATA%/Roaming/Sublime Text 3/Packages/ or ~/.config/sublime-text-3/Packages/.
Specific to the op, once the plugin is installed, execute the PackageResourceViewer: Open Resource command. Then select JavaScript followed by JavaScript.tmLanguage. This will open an xml file in the editor. You can edit any of the language definitions and save the file. This will write an override copy of the JavaScript.tmLanguage file in the user directory.
The same method can be used to edit the language definition of any language in the system.

Answer 4

The "this" is already coloured in Javascript.
View->Syntax-> and choose your language to highlight.

Answer 5

This is my recipe
Note: This isn't exactly what OP is asking. These instructions will help you change the colors of items (comments, keywords, etc) that are defined syntax matching rules. For example, use these instructions to change so that all code comments are colored blue instead of green.
I believe the OP is asking how to define this as an item to be colored when found in a JavaScript source file.
Install Package: PackageResourceViewer
Ctrl+Shift+P > [PackageResourceViewer: Open Resource] > [Color Scheme - Default] > [Marina.sublime-color-scheme] (or whichever color scheme you use)
The above command will open a new tab to the file "Marina.sublime-color-scheme".
For me, this file was located in my roaming profile %appdata% (C:\Users\walter\AppData\Roaming\Sublime Text 3\Packages\Color Scheme - Default\) .
However, if I browse to that path in Windows Explorer, [Color Scheme - Default] is not of a child-dir of [Packages] dir. I suspect that PackageResourceViewer is doing some virtualization.
optional step: On the new color-scheme tab: Ctrl+Shift+P > [Set Syntax: JSON]
Search for the rule you want to change. I wanted to make comments be move visible, so I searched for "Comment"
I found it in the "rules" section
"rules":
[
{
"name": "Comment",
"scope": "comment, punctuation.definition.comment",
"foreground": "var(blue6)"
},
Search for the string "blue6": to find the color variable definitions section. I found it in the "variables" section.
Pick a new color using a tool like http://hslpicker.com/ .
Either define a new color variable, or overwrite the color setting for blue6.
Warning: overwriting blue6 will affect all other text-elements in that color scheme which also use blue6 ("Punctuation" "Accessor").
Save your file, the changes will be applied instantly to any open files/tabs.
NOTES
Sublime will handle any of these color styles. Possibly more.
hsla = hue, saturation, lightness, alpha
rgba = red, green, blue, alpha
hsla(151, 100%, 41%, 1)
- last param is the alpha level (transparency) 1 = opaque, 0.5 = half-transparent, 0 = full-transparent
hsl(151, 100%, 41%) - no alpha channel
rgba(0, 209, 108, 1) - rgb with an alpha channel
rgb(0, 209, 108) - no alpha channel