:s/pattern/\=expr/
Prefixing the replacement field of :s with \= makes Vim evaluate the rest as a Vimscript expression and use the result as the replacement string.
Record worker macro in @b, call it from @a with @b
Complex macros are hard to debug and maintain when crammed into a single register.
<C-r><C-r>{register}
In insert mode, {register} pastes the register's contents but runs it through Vim's insert-mode processing — including autoindent, textwidth wrapping, and for
:g/pattern/normal {cmd}
Combining :global with :normal lets you run any normal-mode keystrokes on every line that matches a pattern.
\@=
Vim's regex engine supports zero-width lookahead and lookbehind assertions using the \@ family of atoms.
:s/\d\+/\=submatch(0)+1/g
The \= prefix in a :substitute replacement field tells Vim to evaluate the following as a Vimscript expression rather than treating it as a literal string.
:'<,'>s/\%Vpattern/replacement/g
When you press : after making a visual selection, Vim inserts ' to restrict the substitution to the selected lines.
visual-mode #visual-mode #search #editing #ex-commands #normal-mode
gq (visual mode)
Pressing gq on a visual selection reformats the selected lines to hard-wrap at textwidth columns.
"%p
Vim has several read-only registers that hold special values.
<C-r><C-a>
When you are in command-line mode, inserts the word under the cursor (alphanumeric and _ only).
:set nrformats+=alpha
By default, and only increment and decrement numbers (decimal, hex, and octal depending on format).
:s/pattern/\=expression/g
Prefixing the replacement string with \= in a :substitute command tells Vim to evaluate the rest as a VimScript expression rather than literal text.
:let @a = @a . @b
You can manipulate register contents directly using the :let command with the @{reg} syntax.
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.
:e #
:e # opens the alternate file — the file you were editing just before the current one.
:s/,/,\r/g
In Vim's :substitute command, \r in the replacement string inserts a literal newline — it splits the line at that point.
<C-v>u{hex}
In insert mode, pressing followed by u and a 4-digit hexadecimal codepoint inserts the corresponding Unicode character directly into the buffer.
:cdo
:cdo {cmd} executes {cmd} on each entry in the quickfix list — one by one, jumping to each location in turn.
command-line #ex-commands #quickfix #search #editing #buffers
:s/,/\r/g
In Vim's substitute command, use \r (not \n) in the replacement to insert a real newline.
