How do I apply commands to specific line ranges?

Explanation

Ex commands accept range specifiers that control which lines are affected. Ranges can use line numbers, marks, patterns, and special symbols.

How it works

• :5,10d deletes lines 5 through 10
• :.,$d deletes from current line to end of file
• :%s/old/new/g works on all lines (% = 1,$)
• :.,+5s/old/new/g works on current line plus 5 more

Example

:1,10s/foo/bar/g       " Replace in lines 1-10
:'<,'>sort              " Sort visual selection
:.,/pattern/d           " Delete from here to next match
:g/TODO/.+1,.+3d       " Delete 3 lines after each TODO

Tips

• . means current line
• $ means last line
• % means all lines (same as 1,$)
• '<,'> is the visual selection range
• +N and -N add offsets to positions