In vim, how do I go back to where I was before a search?
VimViVim Problem Overview
Programming in vim I often go search for something, yank it, then go back to where I was, insert it, modify it.
The problem is that after I search and find, I need to MANUALLY find my way back to where I was.
Is there an automatic way to go back to where I was when I initiated my last search?
Vim Solutions
Solution 1 - Vim
Ctrl+O takes me to the previous location. Don't know about location before the search.
Edit: Also, `. will take you to the last change you made.
Solution 2 - Vim
Use ``
to jump back to the exact position you were in before you searched/jumped, or ''
to jump back to the start of the line you were on before you searched/jumped.
Solution 3 - Vim
I've always done by it setting a mark.
-
In command-mode, press m[letter]. For example, ma sets a mark at the current line using a as the mark identifier.
-
To get back to the mark press ' [letter]. For example, 'a takes you back to the line mark set in step 1. To get back to the column position of the row where you marked the line, use `a (back-tick [letter]).
To see all of the marks that currently set, type :marks
.
On a slightly unrelated note, I just discovered another nifty thing about marks.
Let's say you jump to mark b by doing mb. Vim automatically sets the mark ' (that's a single-quote) to be whichever line you were on before jumping to mark b.
That means you can do 'b to jump to that mark, then do '' (2 single-quotes) to jump back to wherever you were before.
I discovered this accidentally using the :marks
command, which shows a list of all marks.
Solution 4 - Vim
You really should read :help jumplist
it explains all of this very well.
Solution 5 - Vim
CTRL+O and CTRL+I, for jumping back and forward.
Solution 6 - Vim
I use this one:
nnoremap / ms/
nnoremap ? ms?
Then if I search something by using /
or ?
, I can go back quickly by ``s. You could replace the letter
s` to any letter you like.
Solution 7 - Vim
The simplest way is to set a mark, with m[letter]
, then go back to it with '[letter]