Search for selection in Vim
VimViemuString SearchVim Problem Overview
I use Vim and Vim plugins for Visual Studio when writing C++. Often, I find myself wanting to search for a string within a function, for example every call to object->public_member.memberfunc().
I know Vim offers a convenient way to search for a single word, by pressing * and #, and it can also search for typed strings using the ubiquitous slash / command. When trying to search for all the instances of a longer string like the one above, it takes a while to re-type after /.
Is there a way to search for the selection? For example, highlight with v, then copy with y, is there a way to paste after /? Is there an easier shortcut?
Vim Solutions
Solution 1 - Vim
Check this Vim tip: Search for visually selected text
Or you can simply yank the selected text with y and go to search mode /, then you can paste the last yanked text with Ctrl+R 0
Solution 2 - Vim
Answer
- Yank the text you want to search for
- q/p
- Enter
Explanation
q/ works similarly to vanilla search / except you're in command mode so p actually does "paste" instead of typing the character p. So the above will copy the text you're searching for and paste it into a search.
For more details type :help q/
Solution 3 - Vim
Use q / instead of just /. (Same with q :). Now you can VIM-edit through your command and search history! (Try Ctrl-N and Ctrl-P sometime).
Solution 4 - Vim
I just learned (through the excellent book Practical Vim) that there is a plugin for that. You can find the plugin on GitHub.
The plugin lets you search for a visual selection with * and #.
Solution 5 - Vim
You can actually select text visually and press * and # to search for the next occurrence... It will work the same, the only caveat is that:
>Whitespace in the selection matches any whitespace, when searching (searching for "hello world" will also find "hello" at the end of a line, with "world" at the start of the next line).