:let @y='yy@"' : pre-loading registers (put in .vimrc)
qqq : empty register "q"
----------------------------------------
" Useful tricks
"ayy@a : execute "Vim command" in a text file
yy@" : same thing using unnamed register
u@. : execute command JUST typed in
----------------------------------------
" Get output from other commands (requires external programs)
:r!ls.exe : reads in output of ls
!!date : same thing (but replaces/filters current line)
" Sorting with external sort
:%!sort -u : use an external program to filter content
:'a,'b!sort -u : use an external program to filter content
!1} sort -u : sorts paragraph (note normal mode!!)
----------------------------------------
" Multiple Files Management (Essential)
:bn : goto next buffer
:bp : goto previous buffer
:wn : save file and move to next (super)
:wp : save file and move to previous
:bd : remove file from buffer list (super)
:bun : Buffer unload (remove window but not from list)
:badd file.c : file from buffer list
:b 3 : go to buffer 3
:b main : go to buffer with main in name eg main.c (ultra)
:sav php.html : Save current file as php.html and "move" to php.html
:sav! %<.bak : Save Current file to alternative extension (old way)
:sav! %:r.cfm : Save Current file to alternative extension
:sav %:s/fred/joe/ : do a substitute on file name
:sav %:s/fred/joe/:r.bak2 : do a substitute on file name & ext.
:!mv % %:r.bak : rename current file (DOS use Rename or DEL)
:e! : return to unmodified file
:w c:/aaa/% : save file elsewhere
:e # : edit alternative file (also cntrl-^)
:rew : return to beginning of edited files list (:args)
:brew : buffer rewind
:sp fred.txt : open fred.txt into a split
:sball,:sb : Split all buffers (super)
:scrollbind : in each split window
:map <F5> :ls<CR>:e # : Pressing F5 lists all buffer, just type number
:set hidden : Allows to change buffer w/o saving current buffer
----------------------------------------
" Quick jumping between splits
map <C-J> <C-W>j<C-W>_
map <C-K> <C-W>k<C-W>_
----------------------------------------
" Recording (BEST TIP of ALL)
qq # record to q
your complex series of commands
q # end recording
@q to execute
@@ to Repeat
5@@ to Repeat 5 times
" editing a register/recording
"qp :display contents of register q (normal mode)
<ctrl-R>q :display contents of register q (insert mode)
" you can now see recording contents, edit as required
"qdd :put changed contacts back into q
@q :execute recording/register q
" Operating a Recording on a Visual BLOCK
1) define recording/register
qq:s/ to/ from/g^Mq
2) Define Visual BLOCK
V}
3) hit : and the following appears
:'<,'>
4)Complete as follows
:'<,'>norm @q
----------------------------------------
"combining a recording with a map (to end up in command mode)
nnoremap ] @q:w!<bar>bd
----------------------------------------
" Visual is the newest and usually the most intuitive editing mode
" Visual basics
v : enter visual mode
V : visual mode whole line
<C-V> : enter VISUAL BLOCK mode
gv : reselect last visual area (ultra)
o : navigate visual area
"*y : yank visual area into paste buffer
V% : visualise what you match
V}J : Join Visual block (great)
V}gJ : Join Visual block w/o adding spaces
----------------------------------------
" Delete first 2 characters of 10 successive lines
0<c-v>10j2ld
----------------------------------------
" how to copy a set of columns using VISUAL BLOCK
" visual block (AKA columnwise selection) (NOT BY ordinary v command)
<C-V> then select "column(s)" with motion commands (win32 <C-Q>)
then c,d,y,r etc
----------------------------------------
" how to overwrite a visual-block of text with another such block
Pick the first block: ctrl-v move "ay
Pick the second block: ctrl-v move c ctrl-o "aP <esc>
----------------------------------------
" _vimrc essentials
:set incsearch : jumps to search word as you type (annoying but excellent)
:set wildignore=*.o,*.obj,*.bak,*.exe : tab complete now ignores these
:set shiftwidth=3 : for shift/tabbing
:set vb t_vb=". : set silent (no beep)
:set browsedir=buffer : Maki GUI File Open use current directory
----------------------------------------
" launching Win IE
:nmap ,f :update<CR>:silent !start c:/progra~1/intern~1/iexplore.exe file://%:p<CR>
:nmap ,i :update<CR>: !start c:/progra~1/intern~1/iexplore.exe <cWORD><CR>
----------------------------------------
" FTPing from VIM
cmap ,r :Nread ftp://209.51.134.122/public_html/index.html
cmap ,w :Nwrite ftp://209.51.134.122/public_html/index.html
gvim ftp://www.somedomain.com/index.html # uses netrw.vim
----------------------------------------
" appending to registers (use CAPITAL)
" yank 5 lines into "a" then add a further 5
"a5yy
10j
"A5yy
----------------------------------------
[I : show lines matching word under cursor <cword> (super)
----------------------------------------
" Conventional Shifting/Indenting
:'a,'b>>
" visual shifting (builtin-repeat)
:vnoremap < <gv
:vnoremap > >gv
" Block shifting (magic)
>i{
>a{
" also
>% and <%
----------------------------------------
" Redirection & Paste register *
:redir @* : redirect commands to paste buffer
:redir END : end redirect
:redir >> out.txt : redirect to a file
" Working with Paste buffer
"*yy : yank to paste
"*p : insert from paste buffer
" yank to paste buffer (ex mode)
:'a,'by* : Yank range into paste
:%y* : Yank whole buffer into paste
:.y* : Yank Current line to paster
" filter non-printable characters from the paste buffer
" useful when pasting from some gui application
:nmap <leader>p :let @* = substitute(@*,'[^[:print:]]','','g')<cr>"*p
----------------------------------------
" Re-Formatting text
gq} : Format a paragraph
gqap : Format a paragraph
ggVGgq : Reformat entire file
Vgq : current line
" break lines at 70 chars, if possible after a ;
:s/./{,69/};/s*/|./{,69/}/s/+/&/r/g
----------------------------------------
" Operate command over multiple files
:argdo %s/foo/bar/e : operate on all files in :args
:bufdo %s/foo/bar/e
:windo %s/foo/bar/e
:argdo exe '%!sort'|w! : include an external command
----------------------------------------
" Command line tricks
gvim -h : help
ls | gvim - : edit a stream!!
cat xx | gvim - -c "v/^/d/d/|^[3-9]/d " : filter a stream
gvim -o file1 file2 : open into a split
" execute one command after opening file
gvim.exe -c "/main" joe.c : Open joe.c & jump to "main"
" execute multiple command on a single file
vim -c "%s/ABC/DEF/ge | update" file1.c
" execute multiple command on a group of files
vim -c "argdo %s/ABC/DEF/ge | update" *.c
" remove blocks of text from a series of files
vim -c "argdo /begin/+1,/end/-1g/^/d | update" *.c
" Automate editing of a file (Ex commands in convert.vim)
vim -s "convert.vim" file.c
#load VIM without .vimrc and plugins (clean VIM)
gvim -u NONE -U NONE -N
" Access paste buffer contents (put in a script/batch file)
gvim -c 'normal ggdG"*p' c:/aaa/xp
" print paste contents to default printer
gvim -c 's/^//=@*/|hardcopy!|q!'
" gvim's use of external grep (win32 or *nix)
:grep somestring *.php : creates a list of all matching files
" use :cn(ext) :cp(rev) to navigate list
:h grep
----------------------------------------
" GVIM Difference Function (Brilliant)
gvim -d file1 file2 : vimdiff (compare differences)
dp : "put" difference under cursor to other file
do : "get" difference under cursor from other file
----------------------------------------
" Vim traps
In regular expressions you must backslash + (match 1 or more)
In regular expressions you must backslash | (or)
In regular expressions you must backslash ( (group)
In regular expressions you must backslash { (count)
/fred/+/ : matches fred/freddy but not free
//(fred/)/{2,3}/ : note what you have to break
----------------------------------------
" /v or very magic (usually) reduces backslashing
/codes/(/n/|/s/)*where : normal regexp
//vcodes(/n|/s)*where : very magic
----------------------------------------
" pulling objects onto command/search line (SUPER)
<C-R><C-W> : pull word under the cursor into a command line or search
<C-R><C-A> : pull WORD under the cursor into a command line or search
<C-R>- : pull small register (also insert mode)
<C-R>[0-9a-z] : pull named registers (also insert mode)
<C-R>% : pull file name (also #) (also insert mode)
<C-R>=somevar : pull contents of a variable (eg :let sray="ray[0-9]")
----------------------------------------
" manipulating registers
:let @a=@_ : clear register a
:let @a="" : clear register a
:let @*=@a : copy register a to paste buffer
map <f11> "qyy:let @q=@q."zzz"
----------------------------------------
" help for help (USE TAB)
:h quickref : VIM Quick Reference Sheet (ultra)
:h tips : Vim's own Tips Help
:h visual<C-D><tab> : obtain list of all visual help topics
: Then use tab to step thru them
:h ctrl<C-D> : list help of all control keys
:helpg uganda : grep HELP Files use :cn, :cp to find next
:h :r : help for :ex command
:h CTRL-R : normal mode
:h //r : what's /r in a regexp (matches a <CR>)
:h //zs : double up backslash to find /zs in help
:h i_CTRL-R : help for say <C-R> in insert mode
:h c_CTRL-R : help for say <C-R> in command mode
:h v_CTRL-V : visual mode
:h tutor : VIM Tutor
<C-[>, <C-T> : Move back & Forth in HELP History
gvim -h : VIM Command Line Help
----------------------------------------
" where was an option set
:scriptnames : list all plugins, _vimrcs loaded (super)
:verbose set history? : reveals value of history and where set
:function : list functions
:func SearchCompl : List particular function
----------------------------------------
" making your own VIM help
:helptags /vim/vim64/doc : rebuild all *.txt help files in /doc
:help add-local-help
----------------------------------------
" running file thru an external program (eg php)
map <f9> :w<CR>:!c:/php/php.exe %<CR>
map <f2> :w<CR>:!perl -c %<CR>
----------------------------------------
" capturing output of current script in a separate buffer
:new | r!perl # : opens new buffer,read other buffer
:new! x.out | r!perl # : same with named file
:new+read!ls
----------------------------------------
" create a new buffer, paste a register "q" into it, then sort new buffer
:new +put q|%!sort
----------------------------------------
" Inserting DOS Carriage Returns
:%s/$//<C-V><C-M>&/g : that's what you type
:%s/$//<C-Q><C-M>&/g : for Win32
:%s/$//^M&/g : what you'll see where ^M is ONE character
----------------------------------------
" automatically delete trailing Dos-returns,whitespace
autocmd BufRead * silent! %s/[/r /t]/+$//
autocmd BufEnter *.php :%s/[ /t/r]/+$//e
----------------------------------------
" perform an action on a particular file or file type
autocmd VimEnter c:/intranet/note011.txt normal! ggVGg?
autocmd FileType *.pl exec('set fileformats=unix')
----------------------------------------
" Retrieving last command line command for copy & pasting into text
i<c-r>:
" Retrieving last Search Command for copy & pasting into text
i<c-r>/
----------------------------------------
" more completions
<C-X><C-F> :insert name of a file in current directory
----------------------------------------
" Substituting a Visual area
" select visual area as usual (:h visual) then type :s/Emacs/Vim/ etc
:'<,'>s/Emacs/Vim/g : REMEMBER you dont type the '<.'>
gv : Re-select the previous visual area (ULTRA)
----------------------------------------
" inserting line number into file
:g/^/exec "s/^/".strpart(line(".")." ", 0, 4)
:%s/^//=strpart(line(".")." ", 0, 5)
:%s/^//=line('.'). ' '
----------------------------------------
#numbering lines VIM way
:set number : show line numbers
:map <F12> :set number!<CR> : Show linenumbers flip-flop
:%s/^//=strpart(line('.')." ",0,&ts)
#numbering lines (need Perl on PC) starting from arbitrary number
:'a,'b!perl -pne 'BEGIN{$a=223} substr($_,2,0)=$a++'
#Produce a list of numbers
#Type in number on line say 223 in an empty file
qqmnYP`n^Aq : in recording q repeat with @q
" increment existing numbers to end of file (type <c-a> as 5 characters)
:.,$g/^/d/exe "normal! /<c-a>"
" advanced incrementing
http://vim.sourceforge.net/tip_view.php?tip_id=150
----------------------------------------
" advanced incrementing (really useful)
" put following in _vimrc
let g:I=0
function! INC(increment)
let g:I =g:I + a:increment
return g:I
endfunction
" eg create list starting from 223 incrementing by 5 between markers a,b
:let I=223
:'a,'bs/^//=INC(5)/
" create a map for INC
cab viminc :let I=223 /| 'a,'bs/$//=INC(5)/
----------------------------------------
" generate a list of numbers 23-64
o23<ESC>qqYp<C-A>q40@q
----------------------------------------
" editing/moving within current insert (Really useful)
<C-U> : delete all entered
<C-W> : delete last word
<HOME><END> : beginning/end of line
<C-LEFTARROW><C-RIGHTARROW> : jump one word backwards/forwards
<C-X><C-E>,<C-X><C-Y> : scroll while staying put in insert
----------------------------------------
#encryption (use with care: DON'T FORGET your KEY)
:X : you will be prompted for a key
:h :X
----------------------------------------
" modeline (make a file readonly etc) must be in first/last 5 lines
// vim:noai:ts=2:sw=4:readonly:
" vim:ft=html: : says use HTML Syntax highlighting
:h modeline
----------------------------------------
" Creating your own GUI Toolbar entry
amenu Modeline.Insert/ a/ VIM/ modeline <Esc><Esc>ggOvim:ff=unix ts=4 ss=4<CR>vim60:fdm=marker<esc>gg
----------------------------------------
" A function to save word under cursor to a file
function! SaveWord()
normal yiw
exe ':!echo '.@0.' >> word.txt'
endfunction
map ,p :call SaveWord()
----------------------------------------
" function to delete duplicate lines
function! Del()
if getline(".") == getline(line(".") - 1)
norm dd
endif
endfunction
:g/^/ call Del()
----------------------------------------
" Digraphs (non alpha-numerics)
:digraphs : display table
:h dig : help
i<C-K>e' : enters ?i<C-V>233 : enters ?(Unix)
i<C-Q>233 : enters ?(Win32)
ga : View hex value of any character
#Deleting non-ascii characters (some invisible)
:%s/[<C-V>128-<C-V>255]//gi : where you have to type the Control-V
:%s/[€-�]//gi : Should see a black square & a dotted y
:%s/[<C-V>128-<C-V>255<C-V>01-<C-V>31]//gi : All pesky non-asciis
:exec "norm /[/x00-/x1f/x80-/xff]/" : same thing
#Pull a non-ascii character onto search bar
yl/<C-R>" :
----------------------------------------
" All file completions grouped (for example main_c.c)
:e main_<tab> : tab completes
gf : open file under cursor (normal)
main_<C-X><C-F> : include NAME of file in text (insert mode)
----------------------------------------
" Complex Vim
" swap two words
:%s//</(on/|off/)/>//=strpart("offon", 3 * ("off" == submatch(0)), 3)/g
" swap two words
:vnoremap <C-X> <Esc>`.``gvP``P
----------------------------------------
" Convert Text File to HTML
:runtime! syntax/2html.vim : convert txt to html
:h 2html
----------------------------------------
" VIM has internal grep
:grep some_keyword *.c : get list of all c-files containing keyword
:cn : go to next occurrence
----------------------------------------
" Force Syntax coloring for a file that has no extension .pl
:set syntax=perl
" Remove syntax coloring (useful for all sorts of reasons)
:set syntax off
" change coloring scheme (any file in ~vim/vim??/colors)
:colorscheme blue
" Force HTML Syntax highlighting by using a modeline
" vim:ft=html:
----------------------------------------
:set noma (non modifiable) : Prevents modifications
:set ro (Read Only) : Protect a file from unintentional writes
----------------------------------------
" Sessions (Open a set of files)
gvim file1.c file2.c lib/lib.h lib/lib2.h : load files for "session"
:mksession : Make a Session file (default Session.vim)
:q
gvim -S Session.vim : Reload all files
----------------------------------------
#tags (jumping to subroutines/functions)
taglist.vim : popular plugin
:Tlist : display Tags (list of functions)
<C-]> : jump to function under cursor
----------------------------------------
" columnise a csv file for display only as may crop wide columns
:let width = 20
:let fill=' ' | while strlen(fill) < width | let fill=fill.fill | endwhile
:%s//([^;]*/);/=//=strpart(submatch(1).fill, 0, width)/ge
:%s//s/+$//ge
" Highlight a particular csv column (put in .vimrc)
function! CSVH(x)
execute 'match Keyword /^/([^,]*,/)/{'.a:x.'}/zs[^,]*/'
execute 'normal ^'.a:x.'f,'
endfunction
command! -nargs=1 Csv :call CSVH(<args>)
" call with
:Csv 5 : highlight fifth column
----------------------------------------
" folding : hide sections to allow easier comparisons
zf} : fold paragraph using motion
v}zf : fold paragraph using visual
zf'a : fold to mark
zo : open fold
zc : re-close fold
----------------------------------------
" displaying "invisible characters"
:set list
:h listchars
----------------------------------------
" How to paste "normal commands" w/o entering insert mode
:norm qqy$jq
----------------------------------------
" manipulating file names
:h filename-modifiers : help
:w % : write to current file name
:w %:r.cfm : change file extention to .cfm
:!echo %:p : full path & file name
:!echo %:p:h : full path only
:!echo %:t : filename only
:reg % : display filename
<C-R>% : insert filename (insert mode)
"%p : insert filename (normal mode)
/<C-R>% : Search for file name in text
----------------------------------------
" delete without destroying default buffer contents
"_d : what you've ALWAYS wanted
"_dw : eg delete word (use blackhole)
----------------------------------------
" pull full path name into paste buffer for attachment to email etc
nnoremap <F2> :let @*=expand("%:p")<cr> :unix
nnoremap <F2> :let @*=substitute(expand("%:p"), "/", "//", "g")<cr> :win32
----------------------------------------
" Simple Shell script to rename files w/o leaving vim
$ vim
:r! ls *.c
:%s//(.*/).c/mv & /1.bla
:w !sh
:q!
----------------------------------------
" count words in a text file
g<C-G>
----------------------------------------
" example of setting your own highlighting
:syn match DoubleSpace " "
:hi def DoubleSpace guibg=#e0e0e0
----------------------------------------
" reproduce previous line word by word
imap ] @@@<ESC>hhkyWjl?@@@<CR>P/@@@<CR>3s
nmap ] i@@@<ESC>hhkyWjl?@@@<CR>P/@@@<CR>3s
" Programming keys depending on file type
:autocmd bufenter *.tex map <F1> :!latex %<CR>
:autocmd bufenter *.tex map <F2> :!xdvi -hush %<.dvi&<CR>
----------------------------------------
" reading Ms-Word documents, requires antiword
:autocmd BufReadPre *.doc set ro
:autocmd BufReadPre *.doc set hlsearch!
:autocmd BufReadPost *.doc %!antiword "%"
----------------------------------------
" a folding method
vim: filetype=help foldmethod=marker foldmarker=<<<,>>>
A really big section closed with a tag <<<
--- remember folds can be nested ---
Closing tag >>>
----------------------------------------
" Just Another Vim Hacker JAVH
vim -c ":%s%s*%Cyrnfr)fcbafbe[Oenz(Zbbyranne%|:%s)[[()])-)Ig|norm Vg?"
----------------------------------------
__END__
----------------------------------------
If you liked these please return to www.vim.org
and vote for this tip (It does encourage me!!)
Tip 305
----------------------------------------
Please email any errors, tips etc to
david@rayninfo.co.uk
----------------------------------------
updated version at http://www.rayninfo.co.uk/vimtips.html
----------------------------------------
" Information Sources
----------------------------------------
www.vim.org
comp.editors "VIM" newsgroup
groups.yahoo.com/group/vim "VIM" specific newsgroup
VIM Webring
Vim Book
Searchable VIM Doc
VIM FAQ
VimTips PDF Version
----------------------------------------
" : commands to neutralise < for HTML display and publish
" use yy@" to execute following commands
:w!|sav! vimtips.html|:/^__BEGIN__/,/^__END__/s#<#/<#g|:w!|/vimtips[f]tp/|:!vimtipsftp
----------------------------------------
created: March 23, 2002 3:15 complexity: intermediate
author: Arun Easi as of Vim: 5.7
:g is something very old and which is very powerful. I just wanted to illustrate the use of it
with some examples. Hope, it will be useful for someone.
Brief explanation for ":g"
-------------------------
Syntax is:
:[range]:g/<pattern>/[cmd]
You can think the working as, for the range (default whole file), execute
the colon command(ex) "cmd" for the lines matching <pattern>. Also, for all
lines that matched the pattern, "." is set to that particular line (for
certain commands if line is not specified "." (current line) is assumed).
Some examples
-------------
Display context (5 lines) for all occurences of a pattern
:g/<pattern>/z#.5
:g/<pattern>/z#.5|echo "=========="
<< same as first, but with some beautification >>
Delete all lines matching a pattern
:g/<pattern>/d
Delete all blank lines (just an example for above)
:g/^/s*$/d
Double space the file
:g/^/pu =/"/n/"
:g/^/pu _
<< the above one also works >>
Copy all lines matching a pattern to end of file
:g/<pattern>/t$
Yank all lines matching a pattern to register 'a'
0"ay0:g/<pattern>/y A
Increment the number items from current line to end-of-document by one
:.,$g/^/d/exe "normal! /<c-a>"
Comment (C) lines containing "DEBUG" statements
g/^/s*DEBUG/exe "norm! I/* /<Esc>A *//<Esc>"
A Reverse lookup for records
(eg: An address book, with Name on start-of-line and fields after a space)
:g/<patern>?^/w?p "if only name is interested
:g/<patern>/ka|?^/w?p|'ap "if name and the lookup-line is interested
:g/<patern>/?^/w?|+,/^[^ ]/-1p "if entire record is interested
Reverse a file (just to show the power of 'g')
:g/^/m0
Foot note 1: use :v to negate the search pattern
Foot note 2: Some explanation of commonly used commands with :g
:2,8co15 => Copy lines 2 through 8 after line 15
:4,15t$ => Copy linesa 4 through 15 towards end of document (t == co)
:-t$ => Copy previous line to end of document
:m0 => Move current line to the top of the document
:.,+3m$-1 => Move current line through cur-line+3 to the last but one line
of the document
Foot note 3: Commands used with :g are ex commands, so a help search should
be,
:help :<help-topic>
eg. :help :k
rate this tip Life Changing Helpful Unfulfilling
<<Edit file under cursor after a horizontal split | Deleting nested reply threads in emails >>
Additional Notes
david@tvis.co.uk, March 28, 2002 7:10
Thanx Karma for extending my g// knowledge
Here's a very useful g// for day to day use
:'a,'bg/pattern/s/pattern2/string3/gi
zzapper
Hal Atherton, April 23, 2002 10:12
g WITH CONFIRM c