How do I write an Ex range where the second address is evaluated relative to the first match instead of the cursor?

Explanation

In Vim's range notation, a semicolon (;) between two addresses makes the second address relative to the line the first address matched, not to the current cursor position. This lets you anchor both endpoints of a range to a search result regardless of where the cursor is.

How it works

Compare the two range forms:

With ;, the matched line becomes a temporary "current position" for evaluating the next address. So /pattern/;+3 means: find the next line matching pattern, then take 3 lines after that line — always a predictable 4-line block anchored to the match.

The same logic applies when the second address is another search pattern:

:/def /;/^}/ delete

This deletes from the next line containing def through the next } on its own line — searched forward from the def line, not from the cursor.

Example

Suppose your cursor is on line 5 and the pattern matches line 20:

:/error/;+2 yank a

Yanks the error line plus the two lines after it into register a, regardless of cursor position. With a comma, +2 would be relative to line 5, not line 20.

Tips

• The ; form works in macros and scripts where cursor position is unpredictable.
• Chain multiple semicolons: :/start/;/middle/;/end/ d — each search anchors to the previous result.
• Use .;/pattern/ to operate from the current line to the next pattern match: .;/^}/ = auto-indents from cursor to the next closing brace.