Searching for expressions which include slashes
From Vim Tips Wiki
created March 29, 2011 · complexity basic · author Giotti · version 7.0
This tip explains how to search for a path of the form /abc/def/ghi/ without needing to manually escape each slash (using the normal / command would require the example path to be entered as \/abc\/def\/ghi\/). In addition, a command is shown to allow searching for text while treating all special search characters as just text (so you can easily search for text like a*b or ^ab without needing to enter a\*b or \^ab).
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[edit] Searching for slash as normal text
The following alternative commands allow searching for text which includes a slash, with no need to escape each slash in the command. Other special characters have their usual meaning (for example, the pattern ^abc finds abc, but only at the start of a line).
Place the following in your vimrc:
command! -nargs=1 Ss let @/ = <q-args>
to define a new command Ss which allows easy searching for text which includes slashes. For example:
:Ss /abc/def/ghi/ | Set search register (@/) to '/abc/def/ghi/'.
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n | Search for next occurrence of text in search register. |
This alternative sets the search register and enables search highlighting so hits are immediately visible:
command! -nargs=1 Ss let @/ = <q-args>|set hlsearch
This alternative sets the search register and searches for that text:
command! -nargs=1 Ss let @/ = escape(<q-args>, '/')|normal! /<C-R>/<CR>
In the last example, <C-R>/ represents Ctrl-R then / which enters the value of the search register into the search command (the first /). The escape() function is required to prefix any slashes with a backslash because the text is used in a / command (where a search pattern is terminated by an unescaped slash). Since the command performs an actual search, the pattern is placed in the search history.
[edit] Searching for all characters as normal text
Place the following in your vimrc:
command! -nargs=1 SS let @/ = '\V'.escape(<q-args>, '\')
to define a new command SS which allows easy searching for text which includes characters that normally have a special meaning in a search pattern. For example:
:SS ^abc/def\[ghi\]x*y | Set search register to '\V^abc/def\\[ghi\\]x*y'.
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n | Search for next occurrence (will find the exact text entered). |
This alternative sets the search register and enables search highlighting so hits are immediately visible:
command! -nargs=1 SS let @/ = '\V'.escape(<q-args>, '\')|set hlsearch
This alternative sets the search register and searches for that text:
command! -nargs=1 SS let @/ = '\V'.escape(<q-args>, '/\')|normal! /<C-R>/<CR>
For example, with the last alternative, the command :SS ^abc/def\[ghi\] would find text ^abc/def\[ghi\] (the same text that was entered).
[edit] Manually assigning the search
If you have copied a path like /abc/def/ghi/ into the clipboard, you can search for that text with these commands:
:let @/=@+ | Set search register to value from clipboard (@+).
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n | Search for next occurrence. |
If the path has been copied into the default yank register, use this:
:let @/=@@ | Set search register to value from yank register (@@).
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n | Search for next occurrence. |
Or, just set the text directly:
:let @/='/abc/def/ghi/' | Set search register to specified text. |
n | Search for next occurrence. |
[edit] Reverse searching
An alternative when searching for text that includes slashes is to search backwards with "?". A reverse search treats slashes in the pattern as normal characters. After searching backwards, you can press n to continue searching in the same direction (backwards), or N to search in the reverse direction (forwards). Or, you can search forwards with / and no pattern, which will use the previous pattern:
?/abc/def/ghi/ /
Now, pressing n will search forwards for the next occurrence, and N will search backwards.
[edit] 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
