V]}
Pressing V]} in normal mode enters visual line mode and immediately extends the selection to the next unmatched closing brace }.
visual-mode #visual-mode #navigation #text-objects #editing #motions
:'<,'>center
After making a visual selection, typing : automatically inserts ' to scope the command to the selection.
visual-mode #visual-mode #formatting #ex-commands #indentation
vip=
Pressing = in visual mode re-indents all selected lines according to the current filetype's indent rules — the same engine used by == for a single line, but a
visual-mode #visual-mode #indentation #editing #text-objects
o and O
In visual-block mode (), pressing o moves the cursor to the diagonally opposite corner of the selection, and O moves it to the other end of the same row (flippi
g~~
Vim has three case-change operators that work like any other operator — you can combine them with motions, text objects, or double them to act on the whole li
visual-mode #editing #visual-mode #normal-mode #text-objects
<C-v>jjI
Visual block mode () lets you select a rectangular region across lines.
<C-v> (in visual mode)
Once you are in any visual mode, pressing v, V, or switches to charwise, linewise, or blockwise visual mode respectively — without cancelling the current sele
:'<,'>!{cmd}
After making a visual selection and entering the command line with :, Vim automatically inserts the range ' for the selection.
<C-v>I
Visual block mode's I command lets you type once and have the text inserted at the cursor column across all selected lines simultaneously.
gq (visual mode)
Pressing gq on a visual selection reformats the selected lines to hard-wrap at textwidth columns.
O (visual block mode)
In visual block mode (), pressing O (uppercase) moves your cursor to the other end of the current line — letting you expand or contract the block's horizontal
= (in visual mode)
After making a visual selection, pressing = applies Vim's auto-indent to every selected line at once.
:'<,'>norm I//
After making a visual selection, :norm {commands} executes normal-mode keystrokes on every line in the range.
p (in visual mode)
In visual mode, pressing p replaces the selected text with the contents of the default register.
P (in visual mode)
When you paste over a visual selection using p (lowercase), Vim replaces the selection with your register contents — but the replaced text overwrites your unn
o (visual mode)
In visual mode, pressing o swaps the cursor between the two ends of the selection (the anchor and the free end).
v{motion}<C-g>
Vim has a lesser-known select mode that behaves like selection in typical GUI editors: any typed character replaces the selection.
<C-v>jjlU
Visual block mode lets you select rectangular regions of text, which means you can target a specific column and apply case changes only to that area.
:s/^/\=line('.') - line("'<") + 1 . '. '/
When you need to quickly number a set of lines — such as TODO items, steps, or bullet points — you can use a visual selection combined with a substitution e
visual-mode #visual-mode #editing #ex-commands #formatting #substitute
v_o
When you start a visual selection, the cursor is at one end and the anchor is at the other.
