Needs vi editor tips

[+++¦-°]

Hi,
I'm suffering from vi command.
I know the '.' character redo the previous command in editing mode.
How can I apply this redo command for several lines in one command?
for example, I modify number 3 line and I want apply this from 20 to 50 line.
How can I do this?
Hope to get your help.

[Stefan Farrelly]

Goto line 20 by doing :20
Then to repeat your command for the next 30 lines (from 20-50) you can supply a count to . eg. 30.
This should repeat your command for the next 30 lines. Tested it, works fine. you may need to go to line 20 first, do your command for the first line, then do 29.

[Rick Garland]

Another option;

In the vi command mode, do the following:

:20,50 s/oldpattern/newpattern/

The above is saying on lines 20 - 50, do a substitute command from the oldpattern to the newpattern.

As always, if you are testing some new editor functions, make a backup copy of the file before you do the experiments.

[Mike Stroyan]

You can use all of the range editing commands that are documented in "man ex". Those are useful for repeating a substitution over a range of lines.
You can also use the :map feature of ex to make a single key map to a long sequence of keys. For example,
:map #1 cwnew^V^[/old^V^M
would make the F1 key change a world to "new", then search for an occurance of "old". The escape and carriage return characters are quoted with a control-V character. You can map normal characters, function keys, or characters typed with control or alt combinations. Almost all of the normal characters are already used by some vi binding.

[CHRIS_ANORUO]

Setup $HOME/.exrc and include
set nu
set showmode
Log out and login, then try the steps contributed by your peers.

[RikTytgat]

Hi,

The command to redo the last 'ex' command is '&'.

For example, you type
:s/oldpat/newpat/

and want to re-apply the same change to line 20-50, type
:20,50&

This should do the trick.

Bye,
Rik.

[Rick Beldin]

If you really some more powerful editing features, but still like vi, trying getting a copy of vim. Has the ability to learn sequences of commands and then execute them on a keystroke. Available at the porting center.

[Carlos Fernandez Riera]

vi is capable to execute macros too.

See man vi and search for @buffer.

[CHRIS_ANORUO]

Award your points!