How do I remove the last recorded keystroke from a register or macro in Vim?
:let @a = @a[:-2]
Macros and named registers are just strings, so you can surgically edit them instead of re-recording from scratch.
Tag: editing
How do I apply my last normal-mode change to every line in a visual selection?
:'<,'>normal! .
When you already made one correct edit, replaying it is usually safer than retyping it by hand.
How do I remove trailing spaces only within the currently selected visual block?
:'<,'>s/\%V\s\+$//
Sometimes you need to clean alignment artifacts in a rectangular region without touching the rest of each line.
visual-mode #visual-mode #substitution #regex #formatting #editing
How do I swap the first two whitespace-separated columns on every line?
:%s/\v(\S+)\s+(\S+)/\2 \1/<CR>
When you need to flip two fields across a whole file, a single substitution is faster and safer than recording a macro.
editing #editing #substitution #regex #ex-commands #formatting
How do I open another file without saving the current modified buffer first?
:hide edit {file}<CR>
Normally, trying to :edit another file from a modified buffer triggers a warning and blocks the switch unless you save or force the command.
buffers-windows #buffers #windows #workflow #command-line #editing
How do I stop <C-a> from treating leading-zero numbers as octal?
:set nrformats-=octal<CR>
By default, Vim may treat numbers with leading zeros as octal when you use and for increment/decrement.
How do I reindent the whole file without adding extra jump-list entries?
:keepjumps normal! gg=G
Bulk formatting commands are common in cleanup sessions, but they often leave side effects in your navigation history.
How do I replace only part of a match in :substitute without capture groups?
:%s/\vfoo\zsbar/baz/g
When your match has a stable prefix but you only want to replace the trailing segment, \zs is often cleaner than introducing extra capture groups.
How do I move the cursor just after each search match instead of at match start?
/pattern/e+1<CR>
Most Vim searches place the cursor at the start of the match.
How do I merge consecutive edits so they undo in a single step?
:undojoin<CR>
By default, separate edits often become separate undo entries, which makes replaying or backing out a multi-part change noisy.
How do I force a register to be linewise before I put it in Vim?
:call setreg('a', @a, 'V')
When you paste from a register, Vim uses that register's stored type: characterwise, linewise, or blockwise.
How do I append the current filename to a named register from Ex command-line?
:let @a .= expand('%:t') . "\n"
Named registers are not just for yanks and deletes.
How do I remove trailing whitespace across all open buffers and save only changed files?
:bufdo keeppatterns %s/\s\+$//e | update
If you keep many files open during a refactor, cleaning trailing whitespace one buffer at a time is slow and error-prone.
How do I create a Visual selection for the previous search match instead of the next one?
gN
Most users know gn for selecting the next search match, but its counterpart gN is the real power move when you need to work backward through matches.
visual-mode #visual-mode #search #motions #editing #normal-mode
How do I remove trailing whitespace without clobbering @/ or showing no-match errors?
:silent keeppatterns %s/\s\+$//e
Trailing whitespace cleanup is a common housekeeping step, but a plain substitution can leave side effects: it can overwrite your last search pattern (@/) and t
command-line #command-line #ex-commands #editing #search #formatting
How do I uppercase only the text inside braces using a visual text object?
f{vi{U
When editing structured text, you often need to transform content inside delimiters without touching the delimiters themselves.
How do I uppercase only the current search match using gn as a motion?
*NgUgn
gn is often treated as a visual selection command, but it is more powerful when used as a motion target for operators.
How do I record a macro that uppercases a word and advances so I can replay it across words?
qagUiwWq2@a
Macros are most powerful when they encode both the edit and the movement to the next target.
How do I uppercase a word and then jump back to my exact original cursor position?
mzgUiw`z
When you run an operator like gUiw, Vim can leave your cursor in a slightly different place than where you started.
How do I run one substitution in nomagic mode so most regex characters are literal?
:snomagic /foo.\+/bar/<CR>
When a pattern is mostly literal text with just a little regex, default magic mode can force extra escaping and make substitutions harder to read.