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1 *usr_10.txt* For Vim version 8.1. Last change: 2006 Nov 05
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2
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3 VIM USER MANUAL - by Bram Moolenaar
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4
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5 Making big changes
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6
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7
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8 In chapter 4 several ways to make small changes were explained. This chapter
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9 goes into making changes that are repeated or can affect a large amount of
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10 text. The Visual mode allows doing various things with blocks of text. Use
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11 an external program to do really complicated things.
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12
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13 |10.1| Record and playback commands
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14 |10.2| Substitution
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15 |10.3| Command ranges
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16 |10.4| The global command
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17 |10.5| Visual block mode
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18 |10.6| Reading and writing part of a file
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19 |10.7| Formatting text
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20 |10.8| Changing case
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21 |10.9| Using an external program
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22
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23 Next chapter: |usr_11.txt| Recovering from a crash
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24 Previous chapter: |usr_09.txt| Using the GUI
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25 Table of contents: |usr_toc.txt|
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26
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27 ==============================================================================
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28 *10.1* Record and playback commands
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29
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30 The "." command repeats the preceding change. But what if you want to do
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31 something more complex than a single change? That's where command recording
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32 comes in. There are three steps:
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33
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34 1. The "q{register}" command starts recording keystrokes into the register
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35 named {register}. The register name must be between a and z.
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36 2. Type your commands.
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37 3. To finish recording, press q (without any extra character).
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38
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39 You can now execute the macro by typing the command "@{register}".
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40
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41 Take a look at how to use these commands in practice. You have a list of
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42 filenames that look like this:
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43
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44 stdio.h ~
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45 fcntl.h ~
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46 unistd.h ~
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47 stdlib.h ~
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48
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49 And what you want is the following:
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50
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51 #include "stdio.h" ~
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52 #include "fcntl.h" ~
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53 #include "unistd.h" ~
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54 #include "stdlib.h" ~
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55
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56 You start by moving to the first character of the first line. Next you
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57 execute the following commands:
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58
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59 qa Start recording a macro in register a.
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60 ^ Move to the beginning of the line.
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61 i#include "<Esc> Insert the string #include " at the beginning
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62 of the line.
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63 $ Move to the end of the line.
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64 a"<Esc> Append the character double quotation mark (")
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65 to the end of the line.
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66 j Go to the next line.
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67 q Stop recording the macro.
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68
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69 Now that you have done the work once, you can repeat the change by typing the
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70 command "@a" three times.
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71 The "@a" command can be preceded by a count, which will cause the macro to
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72 be executed that number of times. In this case you would type: >
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73
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74 3@a
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75
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76
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77 MOVE AND EXECUTE
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78
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79 You might have the lines you want to change in various places. Just move the
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80 cursor to each location and use the "@a" command. If you have done that once,
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81 you can do it again with "@@". That's a bit easier to type. If you now
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82 execute register b with "@b", the next "@@" will use register b.
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83 If you compare the playback method with using ".", there are several
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84 differences. First of all, "." can only repeat one change. As seen in the
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85 example above, "@a" can do several changes, and move around as well.
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86 Secondly, "." can only remember the last change. Executing a register allows
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87 you to make any changes and then still use "@a" to replay the recorded
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88 commands. Finally, you can use 26 different registers. Thus you can remember
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89 26 different command sequences to execute.
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90
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91
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92 USING REGISTERS
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93
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94 The registers used for recording are the same ones you used for yank and
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95 delete commands. This allows you to mix recording with other commands to
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96 manipulate the registers.
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97 Suppose you have recorded a few commands in register n. When you execute
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98 this with "@n" you notice you did something wrong. You could try recording
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99 again, but perhaps you will make another mistake. Instead, use this trick:
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100
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101 G Go to the end of the file.
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102 o<Esc> Create an empty line.
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103 "np Put the text from the n register. You now see
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104 the commands you typed as text in the file.
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105 {edits} Change the commands that were wrong. This is
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106 just like editing text.
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107 0 Go to the start of the line.
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108 "ny$ Yank the corrected commands into the n
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109 register.
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110 dd Delete the scratch line.
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111
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112 Now you can execute the corrected commands with "@n". (If your recorded
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113 commands include line breaks, adjust the last two items in the example to
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114 include all the lines.)
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115
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116
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117 APPENDING TO A REGISTER
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118
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119 So far we have used a lowercase letter for the register name. To append to a
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120 register, use an uppercase letter.
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121 Suppose you have recorded a command to change a word to register c. It
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122 works properly, but you would like to add a search for the next word to
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123 change. This can be done with: >
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124
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125 qC/word<Enter>q
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126
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127 You start with "qC", which records to the c register and appends. Thus
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128 writing to an uppercase register name means to append to the register with
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129 the same letter, but lowercase.
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130
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131 This works both with recording and with yank and delete commands. For
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132 example, you want to collect a sequence of lines into the a register. Yank
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133 the first line with: >
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134
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135 "aY
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136
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137 Now move to the second line, and type: >
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138
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139 "AY
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140
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141 Repeat this command for all lines. The a register now contains all those
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142 lines, in the order you yanked them.
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143
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144 ==============================================================================
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145 *10.2* Substitution *find-replace*
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146
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147 The ":substitute" command enables you to perform string replacements on a
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148 whole range of lines. The general form of this command is as follows: >
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149
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150 :[range]substitute/from/to/[flags]
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151
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152 This command changes the "from" string to the "to" string in the lines
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153 specified with [range]. For example, you can change "Professor" to "Teacher"
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154 in all lines with the following command: >
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155
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156 :%substitute/Professor/Teacher/
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157 <
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158 Note:
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159 The ":substitute" command is almost never spelled out completely.
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160 Most of the time, people use the abbreviated version ":s". From here
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161 on the abbreviation will be used.
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162
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163 The "%" before the command specifies the command works on all lines. Without
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164 a range, ":s" only works on the current line. More about ranges in the next
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165 section |10.3|.
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166
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167 By default, the ":substitute" command changes only the first occurrence on
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168 each line. For example, the preceding command changes the line:
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169
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170 Professor Smith criticized Professor Johnson today. ~
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171
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172 to:
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173
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174 Teacher Smith criticized Professor Johnson today. ~
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175
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176 To change every occurrence on the line, you need to add the g (global) flag.
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177 The command: >
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178
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179 :%s/Professor/Teacher/g
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180
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181 results in (starting with the original line):
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182
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183 Teacher Smith criticized Teacher Johnson today. ~
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184
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185 Other flags include p (print), which causes the ":substitute" command to print
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186 out the last line it changes. The c (confirm) flag tells ":substitute" to ask
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187 you for confirmation before it performs each substitution. Enter the
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188 following: >
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7
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189
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190 :%s/Professor/Teacher/c
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191
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192 Vim finds the first occurrence of "Professor" and displays the text it is
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193 about to change. You get the following prompt: >
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194
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195 replace with Teacher (y/n/a/q/l/^E/^Y)?
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196
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197 At this point, you must enter one of the following answers:
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198
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199 y Yes; make this change.
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200 n No; skip this match.
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201 a All; make this change and all remaining ones without
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202 further confirmation.
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203 q Quit; don't make any more changes.
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204 l Last; make this change and then quit.
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205 CTRL-E Scroll the text one line up.
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206 CTRL-Y Scroll the text one line down.
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207
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208
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209 The "from" part of the substitute command is actually a pattern. The same
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210 kind as used for the search command. For example, this command only
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211 substitutes "the" when it appears at the start of a line: >
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212
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213 :s/^the/these/
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214
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215 If you are substituting with a "from" or "to" part that includes a slash, you
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216 need to put a backslash before it. A simpler way is to use another character
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217 instead of the slash. A plus, for example: >
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218
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219 :s+one/two+one or two+
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220
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221 ==============================================================================
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222 *10.3* Command ranges
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223
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224 The ":substitute" command, and many other : commands, can be applied to a
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225 selection of lines. This is called a range.
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226 The simple form of a range is {number},{number}. For example: >
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227
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228 :1,5s/this/that/g
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229
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230 Executes the substitute command on the lines 1 to 5. Line 5 is included.
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231 The range is always placed before the command.
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232
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233 A single number can be used to address one specific line: >
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234
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235 :54s/President/Fool/
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236
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237 Some commands work on the whole file when you do not specify a range. To make
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238 them work on the current line the "." address is used. The ":write" command
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239 works like that. Without a range, it writes the whole file. To make it write
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240 only the current line into a file: >
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241
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242 :.write otherfile
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243
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244 The first line always has number one. How about the last line? The "$"
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245 character is used for this. For example, to substitute in the lines from the
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246 cursor to the end: >
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247
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248 :.,$s/yes/no/
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249
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250 The "%" range that we used before, is actually a short way to say "1,$", from
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251 the first to the last line.
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252
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253
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254 USING A PATTERN IN A RANGE
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255
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256 Suppose you are editing a chapter in a book, and want to replace all
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257 occurrences of "grey" with "gray". But only in this chapter, not in the next
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258 one. You know that only chapter boundaries have the word "Chapter" in the
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259 first column. This command will work then: >
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260
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261 :?^Chapter?,/^Chapter/s=grey=gray=g
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262
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263 You can see a search pattern is used twice. The first "?^Chapter?" finds the
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264 line above the current position that matches this pattern. Thus the ?pattern?
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265 range is used to search backwards. Similarly, "/^Chapter/" is used to search
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266 forward for the start of the next chapter.
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267 To avoid confusion with the slashes, the "=" character was used in the
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268 substitute command here. A slash or another character would have worked as
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269 well.
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270
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271
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272 ADD AND SUBTRACT
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273
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274 There is a slight error in the above command: If the title of the next chapter
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275 had included "grey" it would be replaced as well. Maybe that's what you
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276 wanted, but what if you didn't? Then you can specify an offset.
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277 To search for a pattern and then use the line above it: >
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278
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279 /Chapter/-1
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280
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281 You can use any number instead of the 1. To address the second line below the
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282 match: >
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283
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284 /Chapter/+2
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285
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286 The offsets can also be used with the other items in a range. Look at this
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287 one: >
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288
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289 :.+3,$-5
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290
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291 This specifies the range that starts three lines below the cursor and ends
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292 five lines before the last line in the file.
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293
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294
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295 USING MARKS
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296
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297 Instead of figuring out the line numbers of certain positions, remembering them
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298 and typing them in a range, you can use marks.
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299 Place the marks as mentioned in chapter 3. For example, use "mt" to mark
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300 the top of an area and "mb" to mark the bottom. Then you can use this range
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301 to specify the lines between the marks (including the lines with the marks): >
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302
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303 :'t,'b
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304
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305
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306 VISUAL MODE AND RANGES
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307
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308 You can select text with Visual mode. If you then press ":" to start a colon
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309 command, you will see this: >
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310
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311 :'<,'>
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312
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313 Now you can type the command and it will be applied to the range of lines that
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314 was visually selected.
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315
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316 Note:
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317 When using Visual mode to select part of a line, or using CTRL-V to
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318 select a block of text, the colon commands will still apply to whole
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319 lines. This might change in a future version of Vim.
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320
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321 The '< and '> are actually marks, placed at the start and end of the Visual
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322 selection. The marks remain at their position until another Visual selection
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323 is made. Thus you can use the "'<" command to jump to position where the
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324 Visual area started. And you can mix the marks with other items: >
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325
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326 :'>,$
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327
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328 This addresses the lines from the end of the Visual area to the end of the
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329 file.
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330
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331
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332 A NUMBER OF LINES
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333
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334 When you know how many lines you want to change, you can type the number and
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335 then ":". For example, when you type "5:", you will get: >
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336
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337 :.,.+4
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338
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339 Now you can type the command you want to use. It will use the range "."
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340 (current line) until ".+4" (four lines down). Thus it spans five lines.
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341
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342 ==============================================================================
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343 *10.4* The global command
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344
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345 The ":global" command is one of the more powerful features of Vim. It allows
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346 you to find a match for a pattern and execute a command there. The general
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347 form is: >
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348
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349 :[range]global/{pattern}/{command}
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350
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351 This is similar to the ":substitute" command. But, instead of replacing the
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352 matched text with other text, the command {command} is executed.
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353
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354 Note:
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355 The command executed for ":global" must be one that starts with a
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356 colon. Normal mode commands can not be used directly. The |:normal|
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357 command can do this for you.
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358
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359 Suppose you want to change "foobar" to "barfoo", but only in C++ style
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360 comments. These comments start with "//". Use this command: >
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361
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362 :g+//+s/foobar/barfoo/g
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363
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364 This starts with ":g". That is short for ":global", just like ":s" is short
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365 for ":substitute". Then the pattern, enclosed in plus characters. Since the
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366 pattern we are looking for contains a slash, this uses the plus character to
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367 separate the pattern. Next comes the substitute command that changes "foobar"
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368 into "barfoo".
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369 The default range for the global command is the whole file. Thus no range
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370 was specified in this example. This is different from ":substitute", which
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371 works on one line without a range.
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372 The command isn't perfect, since it also matches lines where "//" appears
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373 halfway a line, and the substitution will also take place before the "//".
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374
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375 Just like with ":substitute", any pattern can be used. When you learn more
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376 complicated patterns later, you can use them here.
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377
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378 ==============================================================================
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379 *10.5* Visual block mode
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380
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381 With CTRL-V you can start selection of a rectangular area of text. There are
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382 a few commands that do something special with the text block.
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383
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384 There is something special about using the "$" command in Visual block mode.
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385 When the last motion command used was "$", all lines in the Visual selection
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386 will extend until the end of the line, also when the line with the cursor is
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387 shorter. This remains effective until you use a motion command that moves the
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388 cursor horizontally. Thus using "j" keeps it, "h" stops it.
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389
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390
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391 INSERTING TEXT
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392
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393 The command "I{string}<Esc>" inserts the text {string} in each line, just
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394 left of the visual block. You start by pressing CTRL-V to enter visual block
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395 mode. Now you move the cursor to define your block. Next you type I to enter
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396 Insert mode, followed by the text to insert. As you type, the text appears on
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397 the first line only.
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398 After you press <Esc> to end the insert, the text will magically be
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399 inserted in the rest of the lines contained in the visual selection. Example:
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400
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401 include one ~
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402 include two ~
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403 include three ~
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404 include four ~
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405
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406 Move the cursor to the "o" of "one" and press CTRL-V. Move it down with "3j"
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407 to "four". You now have a block selection that spans four lines. Now type: >
|
|
|
408
|
|
|
409 Imain.<Esc>
|
|
|
410
|
|
|
411 The result:
|
|
|
412
|
|
|
413 include main.one ~
|
|
|
414 include main.two ~
|
|
|
415 include main.three ~
|
|
|
416 include main.four ~
|
|
|
417
|
|
|
418 If the block spans short lines that do not extend into the block, the text is
|
|
|
419 not inserted in that line. For example, make a Visual block selection that
|
|
|
420 includes the word "long" in the first and last line of this text, and thus has
|
|
|
421 no text selected in the second line:
|
|
|
422
|
|
|
423 This is a long line ~
|
|
|
424 short ~
|
|
|
425 Any other long line ~
|
|
|
426
|
|
|
427 ^^^^ selected block
|
|
|
428
|
|
|
429 Now use the command "Ivery <Esc>". The result is:
|
|
|
430
|
|
|
431 This is a very long line ~
|
|
|
432 short ~
|
|
|
433 Any other very long line ~
|
|
|
434
|
|
|
435 In the short line no text was inserted.
|
|
|
436
|
|
|
437 If the string you insert contains a newline, the "I" acts just like a Normal
|
|
|
438 insert command and affects only the first line of the block.
|
|
|
439
|
|
|
440 The "A" command works the same way, except that it appends after the right
|
|
205
|
441 side of the block. And it does insert text in a short line. Thus you can
|
|
|
442 make a choice whether you do or don't want to append text to a short line.
|
|
7
|
443 There is one special case for "A": Select a Visual block and then use "$"
|
|
|
444 to make the block extend to the end of each line. Using "A" now will append
|
|
|
445 the text to the end of each line.
|
|
|
446 Using the same example from above, and then typing "$A XXX<Esc>, you get
|
|
|
447 this result:
|
|
|
448
|
|
|
449 This is a long line XXX ~
|
|
|
450 short XXX ~
|
|
|
451 Any other long line XXX ~
|
|
|
452
|
|
|
453 This really requires using the "$" command. Vim remembers that it was used.
|
|
|
454 Making the same selection by moving the cursor to the end of the longest line
|
|
|
455 with other movement commands will not have the same result.
|
|
|
456
|
|
|
457
|
|
|
458 CHANGING TEXT
|
|
|
459
|
|
|
460 The Visual block "c" command deletes the block and then throws you into Insert
|
|
|
461 mode to enable you to type in a string. The string will be inserted in each
|
|
|
462 line in the block.
|
|
|
463 Starting with the same selection of the "long" words as above, then typing
|
|
|
464 "c_LONG_<Esc>", you get this:
|
|
|
465
|
|
|
466 This is a _LONG_ line ~
|
|
|
467 short ~
|
|
|
468 Any other _LONG_ line ~
|
|
|
469
|
|
|
470 Just like with "I" the short line is not changed. Also, you can't enter a
|
|
|
471 newline in the new text.
|
|
|
472
|
|
|
473 The "C" command deletes text from the left edge of the block to the end of
|
|
|
474 line. It then puts you in Insert mode so that you can type in a string,
|
|
|
475 which is added to the end of each line.
|
|
|
476 Starting with the same text again, and typing "Cnew text<Esc>" you get:
|
|
|
477
|
|
|
478 This is a new text ~
|
|
|
479 short ~
|
|
|
480 Any other new text ~
|
|
|
481
|
|
|
482 Notice that, even though only the "long" word was selected, the text after it
|
|
|
483 is deleted as well. Thus only the location of the left edge of the visual
|
|
|
484 block really matters.
|
|
|
485 Again, short lines that do not reach into the block are excluded.
|
|
|
486
|
|
|
487 Other commands that change the characters in the block:
|
|
|
488
|
|
|
489 ~ swap case (a -> A and A -> a)
|
|
|
490 U make uppercase (a -> A and A -> A)
|
|
|
491 u make lowercase (a -> a and A -> a)
|
|
|
492
|
|
|
493
|
|
|
494 FILLING WITH A CHARACTER
|
|
|
495
|
|
|
496 To fill the whole block with one character, use the "r" command. Again,
|
|
|
497 starting with the same example text from above, and then typing "rx":
|
|
|
498
|
|
|
499 This is a xxxx line ~
|
|
|
500 short ~
|
|
|
501 Any other xxxx line ~
|
|
|
502
|
|
|
503
|
|
|
504 Note:
|
|
|
505 If you want to include characters beyond the end of the line in the
|
|
|
506 block, check out the 'virtualedit' feature in chapter 25.
|
|
|
507
|
|
|
508
|
|
|
509 SHIFTING
|
|
|
510
|
|
|
511 The command ">" shifts the selected text to the right one shift amount,
|
|
|
512 inserting whitespace. The starting point for this shift is the left edge of
|
|
|
513 the visual block.
|
|
|
514 With the same example again, ">" gives this result:
|
|
|
515
|
|
|
516 This is a long line ~
|
|
|
517 short ~
|
|
|
518 Any other long line ~
|
|
|
519
|
|
|
520 The shift amount is specified with the 'shiftwidth' option. To change it to
|
|
|
521 use 4 spaces: >
|
|
|
522
|
|
|
523 :set shiftwidth=4
|
|
|
524
|
|
|
525 The "<" command removes one shift amount of whitespace at the left
|
|
|
526 edge of the block. This command is limited by the amount of text that is
|
|
|
527 there; so if there is less than a shift amount of whitespace available, it
|
|
|
528 removes what it can.
|
|
|
529
|
|
|
530
|
|
|
531 JOINING LINES
|
|
|
532
|
|
|
533 The "J" command joins all selected lines together into one line. Thus it
|
|
|
534 removes the line breaks. Actually, the line break, leading white space and
|
|
|
535 trailing white space is replaced by one space. Two spaces are used after a
|
|
|
536 line ending (that can be changed with the 'joinspaces' option).
|
|
|
537 Let's use the example that we got so familiar with now. The result of
|
|
|
538 using the "J" command:
|
|
|
539
|
|
|
540 This is a long line short Any other long line ~
|
|
|
541
|
|
|
542 The "J" command doesn't require a blockwise selection. It works with "v" and
|
|
|
543 "V" selection in exactly the same way.
|
|
|
544
|
|
|
545 If you don't want the white space to be changed, use the "gJ" command.
|
|
|
546
|
|
|
547 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
548 *10.6* Reading and writing part of a file
|
|
|
549
|
|
|
550 When you are writing an e-mail message, you may want to include another file.
|
|
|
551 This can be done with the ":read {filename}" command. The text of the file is
|
|
|
552 put below the cursor line.
|
|
|
553 Starting with this text:
|
|
|
554
|
|
|
555 Hi John, ~
|
|
|
556 Here is the diff that fixes the bug: ~
|
|
|
557 Bye, Pierre. ~
|
|
|
558
|
|
|
559 Move the cursor to the second line and type: >
|
|
|
560
|
|
|
561 :read patch
|
|
|
562
|
|
|
563 The file named "patch" will be inserted, with this result:
|
|
|
564
|
|
|
565 Hi John, ~
|
|
|
566 Here is the diff that fixes the bug: ~
|
|
|
567 2c2 ~
|
|
|
568 < for (i = 0; i <= length; ++i) ~
|
|
|
569 --- ~
|
|
|
570 > for (i = 0; i < length; ++i) ~
|
|
|
571 Bye, Pierre. ~
|
|
|
572
|
|
|
573 The ":read" command accepts a range. The file will be put below the last line
|
|
|
574 number of this range. Thus ":$r patch" appends the file "patch" at the end of
|
|
|
575 the file.
|
|
|
576 What if you want to read the file above the first line? This can be done
|
|
|
577 with the line number zero. This line doesn't really exist, you will get an
|
|
|
578 error message when using it with most commands. But this command is allowed:
|
|
|
579 >
|
|
|
580 :0read patch
|
|
|
581
|
|
|
582 The file "patch" will be put above the first line of the file.
|
|
|
583
|
|
|
584
|
|
|
585 WRITING A RANGE OF LINES
|
|
|
586
|
|
|
587 To write a range of lines to a file, the ":write" command can be used.
|
|
|
588 Without a range it writes the whole file. With a range only the specified
|
|
|
589 lines are written: >
|
|
|
590
|
|
|
591 :.,$write tempo
|
|
|
592
|
|
|
593 This writes the lines from the cursor until the end of the file into the file
|
|
|
594 "tempo". If this file already exists you will get an error message. Vim
|
|
|
595 protects you from accidentally overwriting an existing file. If you know what
|
|
|
596 you are doing and want to overwrite the file, append !: >
|
|
|
597
|
|
|
598 :.,$write! tempo
|
|
|
599
|
|
|
600 CAREFUL: The ! must follow the ":write" command immediately, without white
|
|
|
601 space. Otherwise it becomes a filter command, which is explained later in
|
|
|
602 this chapter.
|
|
|
603
|
|
|
604
|
|
|
605 APPENDING TO A FILE
|
|
|
606
|
|
|
607 In the first section of this chapter was explained how to collect a number of
|
|
|
608 lines into a register. The same can be done to collect lines in a file.
|
|
|
609 Write the first line with this command: >
|
|
|
610
|
|
|
611 :.write collection
|
|
|
612
|
|
|
613 Now move the cursor to the second line you want to collect, and type this: >
|
|
|
614
|
|
|
615 :.write >>collection
|
|
|
616
|
|
|
617 The ">>" tells Vim the "collection" file is not to be written as a new file,
|
|
|
618 but the line must be appended at the end. You can repeat this as many times
|
|
|
619 as you like.
|
|
|
620
|
|
|
621 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
622 *10.7* Formatting text
|
|
|
623
|
|
|
624 When you are typing plain text, it's nice if the length of each line is
|
|
|
625 automatically trimmed to fit in the window. To make this happen while
|
|
|
626 inserting text, set the 'textwidth' option: >
|
|
|
627
|
|
|
628 :set textwidth=72
|
|
|
629
|
|
|
630 You might remember that in the example vimrc file this command was used for
|
|
|
631 every text file. Thus if you are using that vimrc file, you were already
|
|
|
632 using it. To check the current value of 'textwidth': >
|
|
|
633
|
|
|
634 :set textwidth
|
|
|
635
|
|
|
636 Now lines will be broken to take only up to 72 characters. But when you
|
|
|
637 insert text halfway a line, or when you delete a few words, the lines will get
|
|
|
638 too long or too short. Vim doesn't automatically reformat the text.
|
|
|
639 To tell Vim to format the current paragraph: >
|
|
|
640
|
|
|
641 gqap
|
|
|
642
|
|
|
643 This starts with the "gq" command, which is an operator. Following is "ap",
|
|
|
644 the text object that stands for "a paragraph". A paragraph is separated from
|
|
|
645 the next paragraph by an empty line.
|
|
|
646
|
|
|
647 Note:
|
|
|
648 A blank line, which contains white space, does NOT separate
|
|
|
649 paragraphs. This is hard to notice!
|
|
|
650
|
|
|
651 Instead of "ap" you could use any motion or text object. If your paragraphs
|
|
|
652 are properly separated, you can use this command to format the whole file: >
|
|
|
653
|
|
|
654 gggqG
|
|
|
655
|
|
|
656 "gg" takes you to the first line, "gq" is the format operator and "G" the
|
|
|
657 motion that jumps to the last line.
|
|
|
658
|
|
|
659 In case your paragraphs aren't clearly defined, you can format just the lines
|
|
|
660 you manually select. Move the cursor to the first line you want to format.
|
|
|
661 Start with the command "gqj". This formats the current line and the one below
|
|
|
662 it. If the first line was short, words from the next line will be appended.
|
|
|
663 If it was too long, words will be moved to the next line. The cursor moves to
|
|
|
664 the second line. Now you can use "." to repeat the command. Keep doing this
|
|
|
665 until you are at the end of the text you want to format.
|
|
|
666
|
|
|
667 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
668 *10.8* Changing case
|
|
|
669
|
|
|
670 You have text with section headers in lowercase. You want to make the word
|
|
|
671 "section" all uppercase. Do this with the "gU" operator. Start with the
|
|
|
672 cursor in the first column: >
|
|
|
673
|
|
|
674 gUw
|
|
|
675 < section header ----> SECTION header
|
|
|
676
|
|
|
677 The "gu" operator does exactly the opposite: >
|
|
|
678
|
|
|
679 guw
|
|
|
680 < SECTION header ----> section header
|
|
|
681
|
|
|
682 You can also use "g~" to swap case. All these are operators, thus they work
|
|
|
683 with any motion command, with text objects and in Visual mode.
|
|
|
684 To make an operator work on lines you double it. The delete operator is
|
|
|
685 "d", thus to delete a line you use "dd". Similarly, "gugu" makes a whole line
|
|
|
686 lowercase. This can be shortened to "guu". "gUgU" is shortened to "gUU" and
|
|
|
687 "g~g~" to "g~~". Example: >
|
|
|
688
|
|
|
689 g~~
|
|
|
690 < Some GIRLS have Fun ----> sOME girls HAVE fUN ~
|
|
|
691
|
|
|
692 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
693 *10.9* Using an external program
|
|
|
694
|
|
|
695 Vim has a very powerful set of commands, it can do anything. But there may
|
|
|
696 still be something that an external command can do better or faster.
|
|
|
697 The command "!{motion}{program}" takes a block of text and filters it
|
|
|
698 through an external program. In other words, it runs the system command
|
|
|
699 represented by {program}, giving it the block of text represented by {motion}
|
|
|
700 as input. The output of this command then replaces the selected block.
|
|
|
701 Because this summarizes badly if you are unfamiliar with UNIX filters, take
|
|
|
702 a look at an example. The sort command sorts a file. If you execute the
|
|
|
703 following command, the unsorted file input.txt will be sorted and written to
|
|
236
|
704 output.txt. (This works on both UNIX and Microsoft Windows.) >
|
|
7
|
705
|
|
|
706 sort <input.txt >output.txt
|
|
|
707
|
|
|
708 Now do the same thing in Vim. You want to sort lines 1 through 5 of a file.
|
|
|
709 You start by putting the cursor on line 1. Next you execute the following
|
|
|
710 command: >
|
|
|
711
|
|
|
712 !5G
|
|
|
713
|
|
|
714 The "!" tells Vim that you are performing a filter operation. The Vim editor
|
|
|
715 expects a motion command to follow, indicating which part of the file to
|
|
|
716 filter. The "5G" command tells Vim to go to line 5, so it now knows that it
|
|
|
717 is to filter lines 1 (the current line) through 5.
|
|
|
718 In anticipation of the filtering, the cursor drops to the bottom of the
|
|
|
719 screen and a ! prompt displays. You can now type in the name of the filter
|
|
|
720 program, in this case "sort". Therefore, your full command is as follows: >
|
|
|
721
|
|
|
722 !5Gsort<Enter>
|
|
|
723
|
|
|
724 The result is that the sort program is run on the first 5 lines. The output
|
|
|
725 of the program replaces these lines.
|
|
|
726
|
|
|
727 line 55 line 11
|
|
|
728 line 33 line 22
|
|
|
729 line 11 --> line 33
|
|
|
730 line 22 line 44
|
|
|
731 line 44 line 55
|
|
|
732 last line last line
|
|
|
733
|
|
|
734 The "!!" command filters the current line through a filter. In Unix the "date"
|
|
|
735 command prints the current time and date. "!!date<Enter>" replaces the current
|
|
|
736 line with the output of "date". This is useful to add a timestamp to a file.
|
|
|
737
|
|
|
738
|
|
|
739 WHEN IT DOESN'T WORK
|
|
|
740
|
|
|
741 Starting a shell, sending it text and capturing the output requires that Vim
|
|
|
742 knows how the shell works exactly. When you have problems with filtering,
|
|
|
743 check the values of these options:
|
|
|
744
|
|
|
745 'shell' specifies the program that Vim uses to execute
|
|
|
746 external programs.
|
|
|
747 'shellcmdflag' argument to pass a command to the shell
|
|
|
748 'shellquote' quote to be used around the command
|
|
|
749 'shellxquote' quote to be used around the command and redirection
|
|
|
750 'shelltype' kind of shell (only for the Amiga)
|
|
|
751 'shellslash' use forward slashes in the command (only for
|
|
|
752 MS-Windows and alikes)
|
|
|
753 'shellredir' string used to write the command output into a file
|
|
|
754
|
|
|
755 On Unix this is hardly ever a problem, because there are two kinds of shells:
|
|
|
756 "sh" like and "csh" like. Vim checks the 'shell' option and sets related
|
|
|
757 options automatically, depending on whether it sees "csh" somewhere in
|
|
|
758 'shell'.
|
|
|
759 On MS-Windows, however, there are many different shells and you might have
|
|
|
760 to tune the options to make filtering work. Check the help for the options
|
|
|
761 for more information.
|
|
|
762
|
|
|
763
|
|
|
764 READING COMMAND OUTPUT
|
|
|
765
|
|
|
766 To read the contents of the current directory into the file, use this:
|
|
|
767
|
|
|
768 on Unix: >
|
|
|
769 :read !ls
|
|
|
770 on MS-Windows: >
|
|
|
771 :read !dir
|
|
|
772
|
|
|
773 The output of the "ls" or "dir" command is captured and inserted in the text,
|
|
|
774 below the cursor. This is similar to reading a file, except that the "!" is
|
|
|
775 used to tell Vim that a command follows.
|
|
|
776 The command may have arguments. And a range can be used to tell where Vim
|
|
|
777 should put the lines: >
|
|
|
778
|
|
|
779 :0read !date -u
|
|
|
780
|
|
|
781 This inserts the current time and date in UTC format at the top of the file.
|
|
|
782 (Well, if you have a date command that accepts the "-u" argument.) Note the
|
|
|
783 difference with using "!!date": that replaced a line, while ":read !date" will
|
|
|
784 insert a line.
|
|
|
785
|
|
|
786
|
|
|
787 WRITING TEXT TO A COMMAND
|
|
|
788
|
|
|
789 The Unix command "wc" counts words. To count the words in the current file: >
|
|
|
790
|
|
|
791 :write !wc
|
|
|
792
|
|
|
793 This is the same write command as before, but instead of a file name the "!"
|
|
|
794 character is used and the name of an external command. The written text will
|
|
|
795 be passed to the specified command as its standard input. The output could
|
|
|
796 look like this:
|
|
|
797
|
|
|
798 4 47 249 ~
|
|
|
799
|
|
|
800 The "wc" command isn't verbose. This means you have 4 lines, 47 words and 249
|
|
|
801 characters.
|
|
|
802
|
|
|
803 Watch out for this mistake: >
|
|
|
804
|
|
|
805 :write! wc
|
|
|
806
|
|
|
807 This will write the file "wc" in the current directory, with force. White
|
|
|
808 space is important here!
|
|
|
809
|
|
|
810
|
|
|
811 REDRAWING THE SCREEN
|
|
|
812
|
|
|
813 If the external command produced an error message, the display may have been
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814 messed up. Vim is very efficient and only redraws those parts of the screen
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815 that it knows need redrawing. But it can't know about what another program
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816 has written. To tell Vim to redraw the screen: >
|
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817
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818 CTRL-L
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819
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820 ==============================================================================
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821
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822 Next chapter: |usr_11.txt| Recovering from a crash
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823
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824 Copyright: see |manual-copyright| vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl:
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