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− | Vim can search for text that spans multiple lines. For example, the search < |
+ | Vim can search for text that spans multiple lines. For example, the search <code>/hello\_sworld</code> finds "hello world" in a single line, and also finds "hello" ending one line, with "world" starting the next line. In a search, <code>\s</code> finds space or tab, while <code>\_s</code> finds newline or space or tab: an underscore adds a newline to any character class. |
− | This tip shows how to search over multiple lines, and presents a useful command so entering < |
+ | This tip shows how to search over multiple lines, and presents a useful command so entering <code>:S hello world</code> finds "hello" followed by "world" separated by spaces or tabs or newlines, and <code>:S! hello world</code> allows any non-word characters, including newlines, between the words. |
==Patterns including end-of-line== |
==Patterns including end-of-line== |
||
− | The search < |
+ | The search <code>/^abc</code> finds <code>abc</code> at the beginning of a line, and <code>/abc$</code> finds <code>abc</code> at the end of a line. However, in <code>/abc^def</code> and <code>/abc$def</code> the <code>^</code> and <code>$</code> are just ordinary characters with no special meaning. By contrast, each of the following has a special meaning anywhere in a search pattern. |
{| class="cleartable" |
{| class="cleartable" |
||
− | | < |
+ | | <code>\n</code> || a newline character (line ending) |
|- |
|- |
||
− | | < |
+ | | <code>\_s</code> || a whitespace (space or tab) or newline character |
|- |
|- |
||
− | | < |
+ | | <code>\_^</code> || the beginning of a line (zero width) |
|- |
|- |
||
− | | < |
+ | | <code>\_$</code> || the end of a line (zero width) |
|- |
|- |
||
− | | < |
+ | | <code>\_.</code> || any character including a newline |
|} |
|} |
||
Example searches: |
Example searches: |
||
− | ;< |
+ | ;<code>/abc\n*def</code> |
− | :Finds < |
+ | :Finds <code>abc</code> followed by zero or more newlines then <code>def</code>. |
− | :Finds < |
+ | :Finds <code>abcdef</code> or <code>abc</code> followed by blank lines and <code>def</code>. |
:The blank lines have to be empty (no space or tab characters). |
:The blank lines have to be empty (no space or tab characters). |
||
− | ;< |
+ | ;<code>/abc\_s*def</code> |
− | :Finds < |
+ | :Finds <code>abc</code> followed by any whitespace or newlines then <code>def</code>. |
− | :Finds < |
+ | :Finds <code>abcdef</code> or <code>abc</code> followed by blank lines and <code>def</code>. |
:The blank lines can contain any number of space or tab characters. |
:The blank lines can contain any number of space or tab characters. |
||
− | :There may be whitespace after < |
+ | :There may be whitespace after <code>abc</code> or before <code>def</code>. |
− | ;< |
+ | ;<code>/abc\_$\_s*def</code> |
− | :Finds < |
+ | :Finds <code>abc</code> at end-of-line followed by any whitespace or newlines then <code>def</code>. |
− | :There must be no characters (other than a newline) following < |
+ | :There must be no characters (other than a newline) following <code>abc</code>. |
− | :There can be any number of space, tab or newline characters before < |
+ | :There can be any number of space, tab or newline characters before <code>def</code>. |
− | ;< |
+ | ;<code>/abc\_s*\_^def</code> |
− | :Finds < |
+ | :Finds <code>abc</code> followed by any whitespace or newlines then <code>def</code> where <code>def</code> begins a line. |
− | :There must be no characters (other than a newline) before < |
+ | :There must be no characters (other than a newline) before <code>def</code>. |
− | :There can be any number of space, tab or newline characters after < |
+ | :There can be any number of space, tab or newline characters after <code>abc</code>. |
− | ;< |
+ | ;<code>/abc\_$def</code> |
− | :Finds nothing because < |
+ | :Finds nothing because <code>\_$</code> is "zero width" so the search is looking for <code>abcdef</code> where <code>abc</code> is also at end-of-line (which cannot occur). |
− | ;< |
+ | ;<code>/abc\_^def</code> |
− | :Finds nothing because < |
+ | :Finds nothing because <code>\_^</code> is "zero width" so the search is looking for <code>abcdef</code> where <code>def</code> is also at beginning-of-line (which cannot occur). |
− | ;< |
+ | ;<code>/abc\_.\{-}def</code> |
− | :Finds < |
+ | :Finds <code>abc</code> followed by any characters or newlines (as few as possible) then <code>def</code>. |
− | :Finds < |
+ | :Finds <code>abcdef</code> or <code>abc</code> followed by any characters then <code>def</code>. |
==Searching for multiline HTML comments== |
==Searching for multiline HTML comments== |
||
Line 74: | Line 74: | ||
</pre> |
</pre> |
||
− | The atom < |
+ | The atom <code>\_.</code> finds any character including end-of-line. The multi <code>\{-}</code> matches as few as possible (stopping at the first "<code>--></code>"; the multi <code>*</code> is too greedy and would stop at the last occurrence). |
Syntax highlighting may be not be accurate, particularly with long comments. The following command will improve the accuracy when jumping in the file, but may be slower ({{help|:syn-sync}}): |
Syntax highlighting may be not be accurate, particularly with long comments. The following command will improve the accuracy when jumping in the file, but may be slower ({{help|:syn-sync}}): |
||
Line 82: | Line 82: | ||
==Searching over multiple lines== |
==Searching over multiple lines== |
||
− | A pattern can find any specified characters, for example, < |
+ | A pattern can find any specified characters, for example, <code>[aeiou]</code> matches 'a' or 'e' or 'i' or 'o' or 'u'. In addition, Vim defines several character classes. For example, <code>\a</code> is <code>[A-Za-z]</code> (matches any alphabetic character), and <code>\A</code> is <code>[^A-Za-z]</code> (opposite of <code>\a</code>; matches any non-alphabetic character). {{help|/\a}} |
− | An underscore can be used to extend a character class to include a newline (end of line). For example, searching for < |
+ | An underscore can be used to extend a character class to include a newline (end of line). For example, searching for <code>\_[aeiou]</code> finds a newline or a vowel, so <code>\_[aeiou]\+</code> matches any sequence of vowels, even a sequence spanning multiple lines. Similarly, <code>\_a\+</code> matches any sequence of alphabetic characters, even when spanning multiple lines. |
The following search pattern finds "hello world" where any non-alphabetic characters separate the words: |
The following search pattern finds "hello world" where any non-alphabetic characters separate the words: |
||
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</pre> |
</pre> |
||
− | The above pattern (which is equivalent to < |
+ | The above pattern (which is equivalent to <code>hello\_A*world</code>) matches "helloworld", and "hello? ... world", and similar strings, even if "hello" is on one line and "world" is on a following line. |
==Searching over multiple lines with a user command== |
==Searching over multiple lines with a user command== |
||
− | The script below defines the command < |
+ | The script below defines the command <code>:S</code> that will search for a phrase, even when the words are on different lines. Examples: |
− | ;< |
+ | ;<code>:S hello world</code> |
:Searches for "hello" followed by "world", separated by whitespace including newlines. |
:Searches for "hello" followed by "world", separated by whitespace including newlines. |
||
− | ;< |
+ | ;<code>:S! hello world</code> |
:Searches for "hello" followed by "world", separated by any non-word characters (whitespace, newlines, punctuation). |
:Searches for "hello" followed by "world", separated by any non-word characters (whitespace, newlines, punctuation). |
||
:Finds, for example, "hello, world" and "hello+world" and "hello ... world". The words can be on different lines. |
:Finds, for example, "hello, world" and "hello+world" and "hello ... world". The words can be on different lines. |
||
− | After entering the command, press < |
+ | After entering the command, press <code>n</code> or <code>N</code> to search for the next or previous occurrence. |
− | Put the following in your [[vimrc]] (or in file < |
+ | Put the following in your [[vimrc]] (or in file <code>searchmultiline.vim</code> in your plugin directory): |
<source lang="vim"> |
<source lang="vim"> |
||
" Search for the ... arguments separated with whitespace (if no '!'), |
" Search for the ... arguments separated with whitespace (if no '!'), |
Revision as of 07:49, 11 July 2012
Vim can search for text that spans multiple lines. For example, the search /hello\_sworld
finds "hello world" in a single line, and also finds "hello" ending one line, with "world" starting the next line. In a search, \s
finds space or tab, while \_s
finds newline or space or tab: an underscore adds a newline to any character class.
This tip shows how to search over multiple lines, and presents a useful command so entering :S hello world
finds "hello" followed by "world" separated by spaces or tabs or newlines, and :S! hello world
allows any non-word characters, including newlines, between the words.
Patterns including end-of-line
The search /^abc
finds abc
at the beginning of a line, and /abc$
finds abc
at the end of a line. However, in /abc^def
and /abc$def
the ^
and $
are just ordinary characters with no special meaning. By contrast, each of the following has a special meaning anywhere in a search pattern.
\n |
a newline character (line ending) |
\_s |
a whitespace (space or tab) or newline character |
\_^ |
the beginning of a line (zero width) |
\_$ |
the end of a line (zero width) |
\_. |
any character including a newline |
Example searches:
/abc\n*def
- Finds
abc
followed by zero or more newlines thendef
. - Finds
abcdef
orabc
followed by blank lines anddef
. - The blank lines have to be empty (no space or tab characters).
/abc\_s*def
- Finds
abc
followed by any whitespace or newlines thendef
. - Finds
abcdef
orabc
followed by blank lines anddef
. - The blank lines can contain any number of space or tab characters.
- There may be whitespace after
abc
or beforedef
.
/abc\_$\_s*def
- Finds
abc
at end-of-line followed by any whitespace or newlines thendef
. - There must be no characters (other than a newline) following
abc
. - There can be any number of space, tab or newline characters before
def
.
/abc\_s*\_^def
- Finds
abc
followed by any whitespace or newlines thendef
wheredef
begins a line. - There must be no characters (other than a newline) before
def
. - There can be any number of space, tab or newline characters after
abc
.
/abc\_$def
- Finds nothing because
\_$
is "zero width" so the search is looking forabcdef
whereabc
is also at end-of-line (which cannot occur).
/abc\_^def
- Finds nothing because
\_^
is "zero width" so the search is looking forabcdef
wheredef
is also at beginning-of-line (which cannot occur).
/abc\_.\{-}def
- Finds
abc
followed by any characters or newlines (as few as possible) thendef
. - Finds
abcdef
orabc
followed by any characters thendef
.
Searching for multiline HTML comments
It is common for comments in HTML documents to span several lines:
<!-- This comment covers two lines. -->
The following search finds any HTML comment:
/<!--\_.\{-}-->
The atom \_.
finds any character including end-of-line. The multi \{-}
matches as few as possible (stopping at the first "-->
"; the multi *
is too greedy and would stop at the last occurrence).
Syntax highlighting may be not be accurate, particularly with long comments. The following command will improve the accuracy when jumping in the file, but may be slower (:help :syn-sync):
:syntax sync fromstart
Searching over multiple lines
A pattern can find any specified characters, for example, [aeiou]
matches 'a' or 'e' or 'i' or 'o' or 'u'. In addition, Vim defines several character classes. For example, \a
is [A-Za-z]
(matches any alphabetic character), and \A
is [^A-Za-z]
(opposite of \a
; matches any non-alphabetic character). :help /\a
An underscore can be used to extend a character class to include a newline (end of line). For example, searching for \_[aeiou]
finds a newline or a vowel, so \_[aeiou]\+
matches any sequence of vowels, even a sequence spanning multiple lines. Similarly, \_a\+
matches any sequence of alphabetic characters, even when spanning multiple lines.
The following search pattern finds "hello world" where any non-alphabetic characters separate the words:
hello\_[^a-zA-Z]*world
The above pattern (which is equivalent to hello\_A*world
) matches "helloworld", and "hello? ... world", and similar strings, even if "hello" is on one line and "world" is on a following line.
Searching over multiple lines with a user command
The script below defines the command :S
that will search for a phrase, even when the words are on different lines. Examples:
:S hello world
- Searches for "hello" followed by "world", separated by whitespace including newlines.
:S! hello world
- Searches for "hello" followed by "world", separated by any non-word characters (whitespace, newlines, punctuation).
- Finds, for example, "hello, world" and "hello+world" and "hello ... world". The words can be on different lines.
After entering the command, press n
or N
to search for the next or previous occurrence.
Put the following in your vimrc (or in file searchmultiline.vim
in your plugin directory):
" Search for the ... arguments separated with whitespace (if no '!'),
" or with non-word characters (if '!' added to command).
function! SearchMultiLine(bang, ...)
if a:0 > 0
let sep = (a:bang) ? '\_W\+' : '\_s\+'
let @/ = join(a:000, sep)
endif
endfunction
command! -bang -nargs=* -complete=tag S call SearchMultiLine(<bang>0, <f-args>)|normal! /<C-R>/<CR>
See also
- Searching how to search
- Search patterns regex information and examples
- Search for visually selected text search for selected text; finds targets on multiple lines