*repeat.txt* For Vim version 5.6. Last change: 1999 Oct 02 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar Repeating commands *repeating* 1. Single repeats |single-repeat| 2. Multiple repeats |multi-repeat| 3. Complex repeats |complex-repeat| ============================================================================== 1. Single repeats *single-repeat* *.* . Repeat last change, with count replaced with [count]. Also repeat a yank command, when the 'y' flag is included in 'cpoptions'. Simple changes can be repeated with the "." command. Without a count, the count of the last change is used. If you enter a count, it will replace the last one. If the last change included a specification of a numbered register, the register number will be incremented. See |undo-redo| for an example how to use this. Note that when repeating a command that used a Visual selection, the same SIZE of area is used, see |visual-repeat|. *@:* @: Repeat last command-line [count] times. ============================================================================== 2. Multiple repeats *multi-repeat* *:g* *:global* :[range]g[lobal]/{pattern}/[cmd] Execute the Ex command [cmd] (default ":p") on the lines within [range] where {pattern} matches. :[range]g[lobal]!/{pattern}/[cmd] Execute the Ex command [cmd] (default ":p") on the lines within [range] where {pattern} does NOT match. *:v* *:vglobal* :[range]v[global]/{pattern}/[cmd] Same as :g!. The global commands work by first scanning through the [range] lines and marking each line where a match occurs. In a second scan the [cmd] is executed for each marked line with its line number prepended. If a line is changed or deleted its mark disappears. The default for [range] is the whole buffer (1,$). Use "CTRL-C" to interrupt the command. If an error message is given for a line, the command for that line is aborted and the global command continues with the next matching line. To repeat a non-Ex command, you can use the ":normal" command: :g/pat/normal {commands} Make sure that {commands} ends with a whole command, otherwise Vim will wait for you to type the rest of the command for each match. The screen will not have been updated, so you don't know what you are doing. See |:normal|. The undo/redo command will undo/redo the whole global command at once. The previous context mark will only be set once (with "''" you go back to where the cursor was before the global command). The global command sets both the last used search pattern and the last used substitute pattern (this is vi compatible). This makes it easy to globally replace a string: :g/pat/s//PAT/g This replaces all occurrences of "pat" with "PAT". The same can be done with: :%s/pat/PAT/g Which is two characters shorter! ============================================================================== 3. Complex repeats *complex-repeat* *q* *recording* q{0-9a-zA-Z"} Record typed characters into register {0-9a-zA-Z"} (uppercase to append). The 'q' command is disabled while executing a register, and it doesn't work inside a mapping. {Vi: no recording} q Stops recording. (Implementation note: The 'q' that stops recording is not stored in the register, unless it was the result of a mapping) {Vi: no recording} *@* @{0-9a-z".=*} Execute the contents of register {0-9a-z".=*} [count] times. Note that register '%' (name of the current file) and '#' (name of the alternate file) cannot be used. For "@=" you are prompted to enter an expression. The result of the expression is then executed. See also |@:|. {Vi: only named registers} *@@* @@ Repeat the previous @{0-9a-z":*} [count] times. :[addr]*{0-9a-z".=} *:@* *:star* :[addr]@{0-9a-z".=*} Execute the contents of register {0-9a-z".=*} as an Ex command. First set cursor at line [addr] (default is current line). When the last line in the register does not have a it will be added automatically when the 'e' flag is present in 'cpoptions'. Note that the ":*" command is only recognized when the '*' flag is present in 'cpoptions'. This is NOT the default when 'nocompatible' is used. For ":@=" the last used expression is used. The result of evaluating the expression is executed as an Ex command. Mappings are not recognized in these commands. {Vi: only in some versions} Future: Will execute the register for each line in the address range. *:@:* :[addr]@: Repeat last command-line. First set cursor at line [addr] (default is current line). {not in Vi} *:@@* :[addr]@@ Repeat the previous :@{0-9a-z"}. First set cursor at line [addr] (default is current line). {Vi: only in some versions} *:so* *:source* :so[urce] {file} Read Ex commands from {file}. :so[urce]! {file} Read Vim commands from {file}. {not in Vi} All commands and command sequences can be repeated by putting them in a named register and then executing it. There are two ways to get the commands in the register: - Use the record command "q". You type the commands once, and while they are being executed they are stored in a register. Easy, because you can see what you are doing. If you make a mistake, "p"ut the register into the file, edit the command sequence, and then delete it into the register again. You can continue recording by appending to the register (use an uppercase letter). - Delete or yank the command sequence into the register. Often used command sequences can be put under a function key with the ':map' command. An alternative is to put the commands in a file, and execute them with the ':source!' command. Useful for long command sequences. Can be combined with the ':map' command to put complicated commands under a function key. The ':source' command reads Ex commands from a file line by line. You will have to type any needed keyboard input. The ':source!' command reads from a script file character by character, interpreting each character as if you typed it. Example: When you give the ":!ls" command you get the |hit-return| prompt. If you ':source' a file with the line "!ls" in it, you will have to type the return yourself. But if you ':source!' a file with the line ":!ls" in it, the next characters from that file are read until a is found. You will not have to type yourself, unless ":!ls" was the last line in the file. It is possible to put ':source[!]' commands in the script file, so you can make a top-down hierarchy of script files. The ':source' command can be nested as deep as the number of files that can be opened at one time (about 15). The ':source!' command can be nested up to 15 levels deep. You can use the "" string (literally, this is not a special key) inside of the sourced file, in places where a file name is expected. It will be replaced by the file name of the sourced file. For example, if you have a "other.vimrc" file in the same directory as your ".vimrc" file, you can source it from your ".vimrc" file with this command: > :source :h/other.vimrc In script files terminal-dependent key codes are represented by terminal-independent two character codes. This means that they can be used in the same way on different kinds of terminals. The first character of a key code is 0x80 or 128, shown on the screen as "~@". The second one can be found in the list |key-notation|. Any of these codes can also be entered with CTRL-V followed by the three digit decimal code. This does NOT work for the termcap codes, these can only be used in mappings. *:source_crnl* MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2: Files that are read with ":source" normally have s. These always work. If you are using a file with s (for example, a file made on Unix), this will be recognized if 'fileformats' is not empty and the first line does not end in a . This fails if the first line has something like ":map :help^M", where "^M" is a . If the first line ends in a , but following ones don't, you will get an error message, because the from the first lines will be lost. On other systems, Vim expects ":source"ed files to end in a . These always work. If you are using a file with s (for example, a file made on MS-DOS), all lines will have a trailing . This may cause problems for some commands (e.g., mappings). There is no automatic detection, because it's common to start with a line that defines a mapping that ends in a , which will confuse the automaton. *line-continuation* Long lines in a ":source"d Ex command script file can be split by inserting a line continuation symbol "\" (backslash) at the start of the next line. There can be white space before the backslash, which is ignored. Example: the lines > set comments=sr:/*,mb:*,el:*/, > \://, > \b:#, > \:%, > \n:>, > \fb:- are interpreted as if they were given in one line: > set comments=sr:/*,mb:*,el:*/,://,b:#,:%,n:>,fb:- All leading whitespace characters in the line before a backslash are ignored. Note however that trailing whitespace in the line before it cannot be inserted freely; it depends on the position where a command is split up whether additional whitespace is allowed or not. There is a problem with the ":append" and ":insert" commands: > 1append > \asdf > . The backslash is seen as a line-continuation symbol, thus this results in the command: > 1appendasdf > . To avoid this, add the 'C' flag to the 'cpoptions' option: > set cpo+=C > 1append > \asdf > . > set cpo-=C Rationale: Most programs work with a trailing backslash to indicate line continuation. Using this in Vim would cause incompatibility with Vi. For example for this Vi mapping: > map xx asdf\ Therefore the unusual leading backslash is used. vim:tw=78:ts=8:sw=8: