<C-r><C-o>a
When you paste multiline snippets from a register while in Insert mode, default insertion can trigger indentation and formatting side effects line by line.
registers #registers #insert-mode #formatting #indentation #editing
:'[,']normal! =
When you need to run a command on exactly the text you just changed, yanked, or pasted, Vim's automatic marks are faster and safer than reselecting manually.
command-line #command-line #marks #indentation #ex-commands #normal-mode
<C-r><C-r>"
In Insert mode, plain {register} inserts register content but may reindent or auto-format depending on context.
registers #registers #insert-mode #editing #indentation #text
gv=gv
When you are iterating on indentation, repeating selection steps is wasted motion.
visual-mode #visual-mode #indentation #editing #formatting #workflow
:set noexpandtab | retab!
When you inherit space-indented code and need to switch to tabs, :retab! (with the bang) converts groups of spaces into tabs throughout the file.
:set breakindentopt=shift:2
When breakindent is enabled, wrapped continuation lines are indented to match the start of their logical line.
# vim: set ts=4 sw=4 et:
Vim's modeline feature lets you embed editor settings directly into a file.
>%
Vim's > operator (indent) works with any motion or text object — including %, which jumps to the bracket, parenthesis, or brace matching the one under the cur
editing #editing #indentation #text-objects #normal-mode #motions
>G
The >G command applies a right-indent shift to every line from the cursor through the last line of the buffer.
:%retab!
The :retab command converts leading whitespace according to the current tabstop and expandtab settings, but it only touches indentation at the start of lines.
:set colorcolumn=80,120
colorcolumn highlights one or more screen columns to serve as a visual ruler.
:set list listchars=tab:>-,trail:~,eol:$
Enabling list mode makes Vim render normally invisible characters using configurable symbols defined in listchars.
=ip
The =ip command combines Vim's auto-indent operator (=) with the inner paragraph text object (ip) to re-indent every line in the current paragraph in a single k
:set shiftwidth=0
Setting shiftwidth=0 tells Vim to use the value of tabstop wherever shiftwidth would normally be consulted — for the > and and in insert mode, and auto-indent
<C-v><Tab>
When expandtab is set, pressing the Tab key inserts spaces instead of a real tab character.
:set equalprg={program}
The equalprg option replaces Vim's built-in = indentation operator with any external formatting program.
:set shiftround
shiftround causes indent commands (>, always adds exactly shiftwidth spaces to whatever indentation the line already has With shiftround: > rounds up to the nex
:set softtabstop=4
When expandtab is enabled, Vim inserts spaces instead of a real tab character, but without softtabstop, Backspace only deletes one space at a time — not a ful
:[range]right {width}
Vim has built-in Ex commands for text alignment — :right, :left, and :center — that work over any line range without plugins.
command-line #formatting #indentation #command-line #ex-commands
: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
