Visual

Visual mode Visual-mode visual-mode

Visual mode is a flexible and easy way to select a piece of text for an operator. It is the only way to select a block of text.

This is introduced in section 04.4 of the user manual.

Using Visual mode consists of three parts: 1. Mark the start of the text with "v", "V" or CTRL-V. The character under the cursor will be used as the start. 2. Move to the end of the text. The text from the start of the Visual mode up to and including the character under the cursor is highlighted. 3. Type an operator command. The highlighted characters will be operated upon.

The hl-Visual group determines the highlighting of the visual selection. The 'virtualedit' option can be used to allow positioning the cursor to positions where there is no actual character.

The highlighted text normally includes the character under the cursor. However, when the 'selection' option is set to "exclusive" and the cursor is after the Visual area, the character under the cursor is not included.

With "v" the text before the start position and after the end position will not be highlighted. However, all uppercase and non-alpha operators, except "~" and "U", will work on whole lines anyway. See the list of operators below.

visual-block
With CTRL-V (blockwise Visual mode) the highlighted text will be a rectangle between start position and the cursor. However, some operators work on whole lines anyway (see the list below). The change and substitute operators will delete the highlighted text and then start insertion at the top left position.

v charwise-visual [count]v Start Visual mode per character. With [count] select the same number of characters or lines as used for the last Visual operation, but at the current cursor position, multiplied by [count]. When the previous Visual operation was on a block both the width and height of the block are multiplied by [count]. When there was no previous Visual operation [count] characters are selected. This is like moving the cursor right N * [count] characters. One less when 'selection' is not "exclusive".

V linewise-visual [count]V Start Visual mode linewise. With [count] select the same number of lines as used for the last Visual operation, but at the current cursor position, multiplied by [count]. When there was no previous Visual operation [count] lines are selected.

CTRL-V blockwise-visual [count]CTRL-V Start Visual mode blockwise.

If you use <Esc>, click the left mouse button or use any command that does a jump to another buffer while in Visual mode, the highlighting stops and no text is affected. Also when you hit "v" in charwise Visual mode, "CTRL-V" in blockwise Visual mode or "V" in linewise Visual mode. If you hit CTRL-Z the highlighting stops and the editor is suspended or a new shell is started CTRL-Z.

new mode after typing: v_v v_CTRL-V v_V

Normal Visual blockwise Visual linewise Visual Visual Normal blockwise Visual linewise Visual blockwise Visual Visual Normal linewise Visual linewise Visual Visual blockwise Visual Normal

gv v_gv reselect-Visual gv Start Visual mode with the same area as the previous area and the same mode. In Visual mode the current and the previous Visual area are exchanged. After using "p" or "P" in Visual mode the text that was put will be selected.

gn v_gn gn Search forward for the last used search pattern, like with n, and start Visual mode to select the match. If the cursor is on the match, visually selects it. If an operator is pending, operates on the match. E.g., "dgn" deletes the text of the next match. If Visual mode is active, extends the selection until the end of the next match. 'wrapscan' applies. Note: Unlike n the search direction does not depend on the previous search command.

gN v_gN gN Like gn but searches backward, like with N.

<LeftMouse>
<LeftMouse> Set the current cursor position. If Visual mode is active it is stopped. Only when 'mouse' option contains 'n' or 'a'. If the position is within 'so' lines from the last line on the screen the text is scrolled up. If the position is within 'so' lines from the first line on the screen the text is scrolled down.

<RightMouse>
<RightMouse> Start Visual mode if it is not active. The text from the cursor position to the position of the click is highlighted. If Visual mode was already active move the start or end of the highlighted text, whichever is closest, to the position of the click. Only when 'mouse' option contains 'n' or 'a'.

Note: when 'mousemodel' is set to "popup", <S-LeftMouse> has to be used instead of <RightMouse>.

<LeftRelease>
<LeftRelease> This works like a <LeftMouse>, if it is not at the same position as <LeftMouse>. In an older version of xterm you won't see the selected area until the button is released, unless there is access to the display where the xterm is running (via the DISPLAY environment variable or the -display argument). Only when 'mouse' option contains 'n' or 'a'.

If Visual mode is not active and the "v", "V" or CTRL-V is preceded with a count, the size of the previously highlighted area is used for a start. You can then move the end of the highlighted area and give an operator. The type of the old area is used (character, line or blockwise).

If you want to highlight exactly the same area as the last time, you can use "gv" gv v_gv.

v_<Esc>
<Esc> In Visual mode: Stop Visual mode. v_META v_ALT ALT (META) may act like <Esc> if the chord is not mapped. For example <A-x> acts like <Esc>x if <A-x> does not have a visual-mode mapping.

v_CTRL-C
CTRL-C In Visual mode: Stop Visual mode. When insert mode is pending (the mode message shows "-- (insert) VISUAL --"), it is also stopped. On MS-Windows, you may need to press CTRL-Break.

v_o
o Go to Other end of highlighted text: The current cursor position becomes the start of the highlighted text and the cursor is moved to the other end of the highlighted text. The highlighted area remains the same.

v_O
O Go to Other end of highlighted text. This is like "o", but in Visual block mode the cursor moves to the other corner in the same line. When the corner is at a character that occupies more than one position on the screen (e.g., a <Tab>), the highlighted text may change.

v_$
When the "$" command is used with blockwise Visual mode, the right end of the highlighted text will be determined by the longest highlighted line. This stops when a motion command is used that does not move straight up or down.

For moving the end of the block many commands can be used, but you cannot use Ex commands, commands that make changes or abandon the file. Commands (starting with) ".", "&", CTRL-^, "Z", CTRL-], CTRL-T, CTRL-R, CTRL-I and CTRL-O cause a beep and Visual mode continues.

When switching to another window on the same buffer, the cursor position in that window is adjusted, so that the same Visual area is still selected. This is especially useful to view the start of the Visual area in one window, and the end in another. You can then use <RightMouse> (or <S-LeftMouse> when 'mousemodel' is "popup") to drag either end of the Visual area.

The operators that can be used are: ~ switch case v_~ d delete v_d c change (4) v_c y yank v_y > shift right (4) v_> < shift left (4) v_< ! filter through external command (1) v_! = filter through 'equalprg' option command (1) v_= gq format lines to 'textwidth' length (1) v_gq

The objects that can be used are: aw a word (with white space) v_aw iw inner word v_iw aW a WORD (with white space) v_aW iW inner WORD v_iW as a sentence (with white space) v_as is inner sentence v_is ap a paragraph (with white space) v_ap ip inner paragraph v_ip ab a () block (with parentheses) v_ab ib inner () block v_ib aB a {} block (with braces) v_aB iB inner {} block v_iB at a <tag> </tag> block (with tags) v_at it inner <tag> </tag> block v_it a< a <> block (with <>) v_a< i< inner <> block v_i< a[ a [] block (with []) v_a[ i[ inner [] block v_i[ a" a double quoted string (with quotes) v_aquote i" inner double quoted string v_iquote a' a single quoted string (with quotes) v_a' i' inner simple quoted string v_i' a` a string in backticks (with backticks) v_a` i` inner string in backticks v_i`

Additionally the following commands can be used: : start Ex command for highlighted lines (1) v_: r change (4) v_r s change v_s C change (2)(4) v_C S change (2) v_S R change (2) v_R x delete v_x D delete (3) v_D X delete (2) v_X Y yank (2) v_Y p put v_p P put without overwriting registers v_P J join (1) v_J U make uppercase v_U u make lowercase v_u ^] find tag v_CTRL-] I block insert v_b_I A block append v_b_A

(1): Always whole lines, see :visual_example. (2): Whole lines when not using CTRL-V. (3): Whole lines when not using CTRL-V, delete until the end of the line when using CTRL-V. (4): When using CTRL-V operates on the block only.

Note that the ":vmap" command can be used to specifically map keys in Visual mode. For example, if you would like the "/" command not to extend the Visual area, but instead take the highlighted text and search for that:

:vmap / y/<C-R>"<CR>

(In the <> notation <>, when typing it you should type it literally; you need to remove the 'B' flag from 'cpoptions'.)

If you want to give a register name using the """ command, do this just before typing the operator character: "v{move-around}"xd".

If you want to give a count to the command, do this just before typing the operator character: "v{move-around}3>" (move lines 3 indents to the right).

{move-around}
The {move-around} is any sequence of movement commands. Note the difference with {motion}, which is only ONE movement command.

Another way to operate on the Visual area is using the /\%V item in a pattern. For example, to replace all '(' in the Visual area with '#':

:'<,'>s/\%V(/#/g

Note that the "'<,'>" will appear automatically when you press ":" in Visual mode.

Reminder: Use 'virtualedit' to be able to select blocks that start or end after the end of a line or halfway through a tab.

Visual-block Insert v_b_I
With a blockwise selection, I{string}<ESC> will insert {string} at the start of block on every line of the block, provided that the line extends into the block. Thus lines that are short will remain unmodified. TABs are split to retain visual columns. Works only for adding text to a line, not for deletions. See v_b_I_example.

Visual-block Append v_b_A
With a blockwise selection, A{string}<ESC> will append {string} to the end of block on every line of the block. There is some differing behavior where the block RHS is not straight, due to different line lengths:

1. Block was created with <C-v>$ In this case the string is appended to the end of each line. 2. Block was created with <C-v>{move-around} In this case the string is appended to the end of the block on each line, and whitespace is inserted to pad to the end-of-block column. See v_b_A_example. Note: "I" and "A" behave differently for lines that don't extend into the selected block. This was done intentionally, so that you can do it the way you want. Works only for adding text to a line, not for deletions.

Visual-block change v_b_c
All selected text in the block will be replaced by the same text string. When using "c" the selected text is deleted and Insert mode started. You can then enter text (without a line break). When you hit <Esc>, the same string is inserted in all previously selected lines.

Visual-block Change v_b_C
Like using "c", but the selection is extended until the end of the line for all lines.

v_b_<
Visual-block Shift v_b_>
The block is shifted by 'shiftwidth'. The RHS of the block is irrelevant. The LHS of the block determines the point from which to apply a right shift, and padding includes TABs optimally according to 'ts' and 'et'. The LHS of the block determines the point up to which to shift left. See v_b_>_example. See v_b_<_example.

Visual-block Replace v_b_r
Every screen char in the highlighted region is replaced with the same char, ie TABs are split and the virtual whitespace is replaced, maintaining screen layout. See v_b_r_example.

When repeating a Visual mode operator, the operator will be applied to the same amount of text as the last time:

Visual mode default-mappings "@" and "Q" repeat a register for all selected lines if the selection is linewise. See v_@-default and v_Q-default for details. For example, given the text:

123(hello)321 456(world)654 456(NOT THIS)654

With register "x" containing the commands yi(VP, visually selecting the first two lines and typing @x produces:

hello world 456(NOT THIS)654

:visual_example
Currently the ":" command works on whole lines only. When you select part of a line, doing something like ":!date" will replace the whole line. If you want only part of the line to be replaced you will have to make a mapping for it. In a future release ":" may work on partial lines.

Here is an example, to replace the selected text with the output of "date":

:vmap _a <Esc>`>a<CR><Esc>`<i<CR><Esc>!!date<CR>kJJ

(In the <> notation <>, when typing it you should type it literally; you need to remove the 'B' flag from 'cpoptions')

What this does is: <Esc> stop Visual mode > go to the end of the Visual area a<CR><Esc> break the line after the Visual area < jump to the start of the Visual area i<CR><Esc> break the line before the Visual area !!date<CR> filter the Visual text through date kJJ Join the lines back together

visual-search
Here is an idea for a mapping that makes it possible to do a search for the selected text:

:vmap X y/<C-R>"<CR>

(In the <> notation <>, when typing it you should type it literally; you need to remove the 'B' flag from 'cpoptions')

Note that special characters (like '.' and "*") will cause problems.

Visual-block Examples blockwise-examples
With the following text, I will indicate the commands to produce the block and the results below. In all cases, the cursor begins on the 'a' in the first line of the test text. The following modeline settings are assumed ":ts=8:sw=4:".

It will be helpful to :set hls /<TAB> where <TAB> is a real TAB. This helps visualise the operations.

The test text is:

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz abc defghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdef ghi jklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

1. fo<C-v>3jISTRING<ESC> v_b_I_example

abcdefghijklmnSTRINGopqrstuvwxyz abc STRING defghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdef ghi STRING jklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklmnSTRINGopqrstuvwxyz

2. fo<C-v>3j$ASTRING<ESC> v_b_A_example

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzSTRING abc defghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzSTRING abcdef ghi jklmnopqrstuvwxyzSTRING abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzSTRING

3. fo<C-v>3j3l<.. v_b_<_example

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz abc defghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdef ghi jklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

4. fo<C-v>3j>.. v_b_>_example

abcdefghijklmn opqrstuvwxyz abc defghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdef ghi jklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklmn opqrstuvwxyz

5. fo<C-v>5l3jrX v_b_r_example

abcdefghijklmnXXXXXXuvwxyz abc XXXXXXhijklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdef ghi XXXXXX jklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklmnXXXXXXuvwxyz

Select mode looks like Visual mode, but the commands accepted are quite different. This resembles the selection mode in Microsoft Windows. When the 'showmode' option is set, "-- SELECT --" is shown in the last line.

Entering Select mode:

Commands in Select mode:

Otherwise, typed characters are handled as in Visual mode.

When using an operator in Select mode, and the selection is linewise, the selected lines are operated upon, but like in charwise selection. For example, when a whole line is deleted, it can later be pasted in the middle of a line.

Mappings and menus in Select mode. Select-mode-mapping

When mappings and menus are defined with the :vmap or :vmenu command they work both in Visual mode and in Select mode. When these are used in Select mode Vim automatically switches to Visual mode, so that the same behavior as in Visual mode is effective. If you don't want this use :xmap or :smap.

One particular edge case:

:vnoremap <C-K> <Esc>

This ends Visual mode when in Visual mode, but in Select mode it does not work, because Select mode is restored after executing the mapped keys. You need to use:

:snoremap <C-K> <Esc>

Users will expect printable characters to replace the selected area. Therefore avoid mapping printable characters in Select mode. Or use :sunmap after :map and :vmap to remove it for Select mode.

After the mapping or menu finishes, the selection is enabled again and Select mode entered, unless the selected area was deleted, another buffer became the current one or the window layout was changed.

When a character was typed that causes the selection to be deleted and Insert mode started, Insert mode mappings are applied to this character. This may cause some confusion, because it means Insert mode mappings apply to a character typed in Select mode. Language mappings apply as well.

gV v_gV gV Avoid the automatic reselection of the Visual area after a Select mode mapping or menu has finished. Put this just before the end of the mapping or menu. At least it should be after any operations on the selection.

gh
gh Start Select mode, charwise. This is like "v", but starts Select mode instead of Visual mode. Mnemonic: "get highlighted".

gH
gH Start Select mode, linewise. This is like "V", but starts Select mode instead of Visual mode. Mnemonic: "get Highlighted".

g_CTRL-H
g CTRL-H Start Select mode, blockwise. This is like CTRL-V, but starts Select mode instead of Visual mode. Mnemonic: "get Highlighted".