vimtricks.wiki Concise Vim tricks, one at a time.

How do I jump to the next lowercase mark in Vim's mark order?

Answer

]`

Explanation

Most users jump to marks directly ('a, `a), but when a file has many lowercase marks, stepping through them in order is faster than remembering each name. `]`` jumps to the next lowercase mark and lands on its exact column, which is valuable in dense edits where line-only jumps lose context.

How it works

]`
  • ] means move forward through an ordered navigation list
  • ` uses exact-position mark jumps (line + column)

This differs from ]', which jumps mark-to-mark linewise. If your workflow depends on precise cursor placement (for micro-edits or macro replay), `]`` is usually the better traversal command.

Example

Suppose you set marks at exact columns for three TODO hotspots in a file. Starting before the first mark, pressing `]`` repeatedly walks those marks in forward order and places the cursor exactly where each mark was set.

mark a -> line 14, col 22
mark b -> line 41, col 7
mark c -> line 57, col 31

Using `]`` lets you review or patch each location quickly without re-searching.

Tips

  • Use `[`` to traverse backward through lowercase marks.
  • Pair with m{letter} during code review to build a temporary jump route through files.

Next

How do I remove duplicate entries from the Vim arglist after adding files multiple times?