How do I join a specific range of lines into one line using an Ex command?
:[range]join
The :[range]join Ex command lets you join lines by specifying an explicit line range — without having to navigate there or use visual selection.
Tag: formatting
How do I center or right-align a range of lines in Vim?
:[range]center / :[range]right / :[range]left
Vim has built-in Ex commands for text alignment: :center, :right, and :left.
How do I control when Vim automatically wraps text or continues comment markers with formatoptions?
:set formatoptions
The formatoptions setting is a string of single-character flags that governs Vim's automatic text formatting: when lines wrap, whether comment syntax continues
How do I center-align or right-align lines of text in Vim without an external tool?
:[range]center [width]
Vim's built-in :left, :center, and :right Ex commands align text without plugins or external tools.
How do I make the = operator format code with an external tool like gofmt or black?
:set equalprg=gofmt
By default, Vim's = operator re-indents text using its internal rules.
config #config #editing #ex-commands #formatting #indentation
How do I run a shell command on a range of lines in normal mode and replace them with the output?
!{motion}{cmd}<CR>
In normal mode, !{motion} sends the lines covered by the motion to a shell command's stdin and replaces them with stdout.
How do I sort lines by their numeric value instead of alphabetically?
:sort n
:sort n sorts lines by the first number found on each line, comparing values numerically rather than as strings.
How do I center, right-align, or left-align lines of text using Vim's built-in Ex commands?
:center, :right, :left
Vim includes three built-in Ex commands for text alignment that most users never discover: :center, :right, and :left.
How do I center-align a block of selected lines at a specific column width in Vim?
:'<,'>center
After making a visual selection, typing : automatically inserts ' to scope the command to the selection.
visual-mode #visual-mode #formatting #ex-commands #indentation
How do I overtype text in Vim without breaking column alignment when tabs are involved?
gR
gR enters Virtual Replace mode, a smarter variant of Replace mode (R) that replaces characters based on screen columns rather than raw bytes.
How do I reformat text to fit the line width without moving the cursor?
gwip
The gw operator reformats text just like gq, but leaves the cursor in its original position after reformatting.
How do I reflow and hard-wrap a paragraph or selected lines to a fixed width in Vim?
gq (visual mode)
Pressing gq on a visual selection reformats the selected lines to hard-wrap at textwidth columns.
How do I reindent a block of code using a visual selection?
= (in visual mode)
After making a visual selection, pressing = applies Vim's auto-indent to every selected line at once.
How do I uppercase or lowercase matched text directly in a substitute command?
:%s/pattern/\U&/g
Vim's substitute replacement string supports special case-transform atoms that change the case of matched text without requiring a second pass or an external to
How do I pipe a range of lines through an external command and replace them with the output?
!{motion}{command}
The ! operator filters the text covered by a motion through an external shell command, replacing the original lines with the command's stdout.
How do I sort lines and remove duplicates in one command?
:sort u
The :sort u command sorts all lines in the buffer (or a selected range) alphabetically and removes duplicate lines in a single pass.
How do I sort lines based on a specific column or pattern match rather than the whole line?
:%sort /[^,]*,/ n
Vim's :sort command accepts a pattern that controls which part of each line is used as the sort key.
How do I filter text through an external program using a motion in normal mode?
!{motion}{program}
The ! operator in normal mode lets you pipe a range of text through any external program and replace it with the output.
How do I add line numbers to the beginning of every line using a substitute expression?
:%s/^/\=line('.').' '/
Vim's substitute command supports expressions in the replacement string using \=.
How do I change the case of a specific column of text using visual block mode?
<C-v>jjlU
Visual block mode lets you select rectangular regions of text, which means you can target a specific column and apply case changes only to that area.