How do I run an Ex command on exactly the current visual selection without typing the range manually?
:
In Visual mode, typing : does more than open the command line: Vim automatically inserts the exact selection range as '.
Tag: ex-commands
How do I sort selected lines numerically in visual mode using the first number on each line?
:'<,'>sort n /\d\+/
Plain :sort n is useful, but it only works when the numeric key starts at the beginning of each line.
visual-mode #visual-mode #sorting #ex-commands #text-processing
How do I run a quickfix-wide replace without changing jumps or search history?
:cdo keepjumps keeppatterns %s/\<OldSymbol\>/NewSymbol/ge | update
When you run :cdo over a large quickfix list, Vim can leave your jump list noisy and your last search pattern overwritten.
command-line #quickfix #ex-commands #search #editing #refactoring
How do I configure quickfix parsing for grep output with file, line, and column?
:set grepformat=%f:%l:%c:%m
When :grep output does not land cleanly in quickfix, the parser format is usually the missing piece.
How do I collapse every tab page to a single window without closing tabs?
:tabdo only
When you are deep in a refactor, each tab can accumulate helper splits, previews, and temporary views.
buffers-windows #buffers #windows #tabs #ex-commands #workflow
How do I put all visible windows into diff mode and balance their sizes in Vim?
:windo diffthis | wincmd =<CR>
When you already have multiple related buffers open, you can enter diff mode across all visible windows in one shot and then normalize layout width/height immed
How do I run a Normal-mode command through :execute in Vim?
:execute "normal! gg=G"<CR>
:execute lets you build and run Ex commands dynamically, which is critical when a command depends on variables, conditionals, or string composition.
command-line #command-line #ex-commands #normal-mode #automation
How do I prepend // to every line using one Vim command?
:g/^/normal I// <CR>
When you need to comment a whole block quickly, :global combined with :normal is faster than recording a macro or entering Visual Block mode.
How do I convert all hexadecimal numbers to decimal in Vim?
:%s/0x\x\+/\=str2nr(submatch(0), 16)/g
When cleaning logs, protocol dumps, or generated code, you may need to normalize 0x.
How do I force magic regex mode for one substitute command in Vim?
:smagic/\vfoo.+/bar/
If you prefer very-magic regex syntax but don't want to change global settings, :smagic is a targeted solution.
How do I run a window-local setting command in every open window?
:windo setlocal colorcolumn=+1
When a setting is window-local, changing it once does not affect your other splits.
How do I make Vim match only part of a larger regex using \zs and \ze?
/\vfoo\zsbar\zebaz
When you need to target only a slice of a larger pattern, \zs and \ze are usually cleaner than building lookarounds.
How do I append the same suffix to every selected line in Visual mode?
:'<,'>normal! A;
Visual selections are not just for direct operators; they also define an Ex range.
visual-mode #visual-mode #normal-mode #editing #ex-commands #automation
How do I zero-pad issue numbers without changing the # prefix?
:%s/#\zs\d\+/\=printf('%04d', submatch(0))/g
For log files, changelogs, or issue references, you sometimes need fixed-width numeric IDs without touching surrounding syntax.
editing #editing #ex-commands #substitute #regex #text-processing
How do I run a command between two patterns but exclude the end marker line?
:/BEGIN/,/END/-1s/\s\+$//
When you need to clean or refactor block-like regions, Ex ranges can target lines between two search patterns without selecting text manually.
command-line #command-line #ex-commands #ranges #search #editing
How do I target a substitution at the cursor position using \%#?
:s/\%#\k\+/REPL/
Most substitutions operate on broad ranges, but sometimes you want a precise edit anchored to where your cursor is right now.
How do I trim trailing whitespace across all files in the arglist?
:argdo %s/\s\+$//e | update
When you need to clean up many files at once, :argdo lets you run the same command on every buffer in your argument list.
How do I append text with :normal without creating an extra undo step?
:undojoin | normal! A;<CR>
When you automate edits from Ex commands, Vim usually creates a separate undo entry for each change.
How do I open the current Ex command in the command-line window for full-screen editing?
:<C-f>
Long Ex commands are easy to mistype when you edit inline on a single command line.
How do I search only files in the argument list and inspect results in a location list?
:lvimgrep /{pattern}/j ## | lopen
When you need to run focused searches across a curated set of files, the argument list is a strong scope boundary.