Practical Vim, 2nd Edition

Tip 98

Meet the Global Command

The :global command allows us to run an Ex command on each line that matches a particular pattern. Let’s start by studying its syntax.

The :global command takes the following form (see :gⓘ):

:[range] global[!] /{pattern}/ [cmd]

The default range for the :global command is the entire file (%). That sets it apart from most other Ex commands, including :delete, :substitute, and :normal, whose range is the current line (.) by default.

The {pattern} field integrates with search history. That means we can leave it blank and Vim will automatically use the current search pattern.

The [cmd] could be any Ex command except for another :global command. In practice, Ex commands that interact with the text in the document ...