*pattern.txt*   For Vim version 7.0aa.  Last change: 2005 May 22


		  VIM REFERENCE MANUAL    by Bram Moolenaar


Patterns and search commands				*pattern-searches*

The very basics can be found in section |03.9| of the user manual.  A few more
explanations are in chapter 27 |usr_27.txt|.

1. Search commands		|search-commands|
2. The definition of a pattern	|search-pattern|
3. Magic			|/magic|
4. Overview of pattern items	|pattern-overview|
5. Multi items			|pattern-multi-items|
6. Ordinary atoms		|pattern-atoms|
7. Ignoring case in a pattern	|/ignorecase|
8. Compare with Perl patterns	|perl-patterns|
9. Highlighting matches		|match-highlight|

==============================================================================
1. Search commands				*search-commands* *E486*

							*/*
/{pattern}[/]<CR>	Search forward for the [count]'th occurrence of
			{pattern} |exclusive|.

/{pattern}/{offset}<CR>	Search forward for the [count]'th occurrence of
			{pattern} and go |{offset}| lines up or down.
			|linewise|.

							*/<CR>*
/<CR>			Search forward for the [count]'th latest used
			pattern |last-pattern| with latest used |{offset}|.

//{offset}<CR>		Search forward for the [count]'th latest used
			pattern |last-pattern| with new |{offset}|.  If
			{offset} is empty no offset is used.

							*?*
?{pattern}[?]<CR>	Search backward for the [count]'th previous
			occurrence of {pattern} |exclusive|.

?{pattern}?{offset}<CR>	Search backward for the [count]'th previous
			occurrence of {pattern} and go |{offset}| lines up or
			down |linewise|.

							*?<CR>*
?<CR>			Search backward for the [count]'th latest used
			pattern |last-pattern| with latest used |{offset}|.

??{offset}<CR>		Search backward for the [count]'th latest used
			pattern |last-pattern| with new |{offset}|.  If
			{offset} is empty no offset is used.

							*n*
n			Repeat the latest "/" or "?" [count] times.
			|last-pattern| {Vi: no count}

							*N*
N			Repeat the latest "/" or "?" [count] times in
			opposite direction. |last-pattern| {Vi: no count}

							*star* *E348* *E349*
*			Search forward for the [count]'th occurrence of the
			word nearest to the cursor.  The word used for the
			search is the first of:
				1. the keyword under the cursor |'iskeyword'|
				2. the first keyword after the cursor, in the
				   current line
				3. the non-blank word under the cursor
				4. the first non-blank word after the cursor,
				   in the current line
			Only whole keywords are searched for, like with the
			command "/\<keyword\>".  |exclusive|  {not in Vi}
			'ignorecase' is used, 'smartcase' is not.

							*#*
#			Same as "*", but search backward.  The pound sign
			(character 163) also works.  If the "#" key works as
			backspace, try using "stty erase <BS>" before starting
			Vim (<BS> is CTRL-H or a real backspace).  {not in Vi}

							*gstar*
g*			Like "*", but don't put "\<" and "\>" around the word.
			This makes the search also find matches that are not a
			whole word.  {not in Vi}

							*g#*
g#			Like "#", but don't put "\<" and "\>" around the word.
			This makes the search also find matches that are not a
			whole word.  {not in Vi}

							*gd*
gd			Goto local Declaration.  When the cursor is on a local
			variable, this command will jump to its declaration.
			First Vim searches for the start of the current
			function, just like "[[".  If it is not found the
			search stops in line 1.  If it is found, Vim goes back
			until a blank line is found.  From this position Vim
			searches for the keyword under the cursor, like with
			"*", but lines that look like a comment are ignored
			(see 'comments' option).
			Note that this is not guaranteed to work, Vim does not
			really check the syntax, it only searches for a match
			with the keyword.  If included files also need to be
			searched use the commands listed in |include-search|.
			After this command |n| searches forward for the next
			match (not backward).
			{not in Vi}

							*gD*
gD			Goto global Declaration.  When the cursor is on a
			global variable that is defined in the file, this
			command will jump to its declaration.  This works just
			like "gd", except that the search for the keyword
			always starts in line 1.  {not in Vi}

							*CTRL-C*
CTRL-C			Interrupt current (search) command.  Use CTRL-Break on
			MS-DOS |dos-CTRL-Break|.
			In Normal mode, any pending command is aborted.

							*:noh* *:nohlsearch*
:noh[lsearch]		Stop the highlighting for the 'hlsearch' option.  It
			is automatically turned back on when using a search
			command, or setting the 'hlsearch' option.
			This command doesn't work in an autocommand, because
			the highlighting state is saved and restored when
			executing autocommands |autocmd-searchpat|.

While typing the search pattern the current match will be shown if the
'incsearch' option is on.  Remember that you still have to finish the search
command with <CR> to actually position the cursor at the displayed match.  Or
use <Esc> to abandon the search.

All matches for the last used search pattern will be highlighted if you set
the 'hlsearch' option.  This can be suspended with the |:nohlsearch| command.

					*search-offset* *{offset}*
These commands search for the specified pattern.  With "/" and "?" an
additional offset may be given.  There are two types of offsets: line offsets
and character offsets.  {the character offsets are not in Vi}

The offset gives the cursor position relative to the found match:
    [num]	[num] lines downwards, in column 1
    +[num]	[num] lines downwards, in column 1
    -[num]	[num] lines upwards, in column 1
    e[+num]	[num] characters to the right of the end of the match
    e[-num]	[num] characters to the left of the end of the match
    s[+num]	[num] characters to the right of the start of the match
    s[-num]	[num] characters to the left of the start of the match
    b[+num]	[num] identical to s[+num] above (mnemonic: begin)
    b[-num]	[num] identical to s[-num] above (mnemonic: begin)
    ;{pattern}  perform another searcn, see |//;|

If a '-' or '+' is given but [num] is omitted, a count of one will be used.
When including an offset with 'e', the search becomes inclusive (the
character the cursor lands on is included in operations).

Examples:

pattern			cursor position	~
/test/+1		one line below "test", in column 1
/test/e			on the last t of "test"
/test/s+2		on the 's' of "test"
/test/b-3		three characters before "test"

If one of these commands is used after an operator, the characters between
the cursor position before and after the search is affected.  However, if a
line offset is given, the whole lines between the two cursor positions are
affected.

An example of how to search for matches with a pattern and change the match
with another word: >
	/foo<CR>	find "foo"
	c//e		change until end of match
	bar<Esc>	type replacement
	//<CR>		go to start of next match
	c//e		change until end of match
	beep<Esc>	type another replacement
			etc.
<
							*//;* *E386*
A very special offset is ';' followed by another search command.  For example: >

   /test 1/;/test
   /test.*/+1;?ing?

The first one first finds the next occurrence of "test 1", and then the first
occurrence of "test" after that.

This is like executing two search commands after each other, except that:
- It can be used as a single motion command after an operator.
- The direction for a following "n" or "N" command comes from the first
  search command.
- When an error occurs the cursor is not moved at all.

							*last-pattern*
The last used pattern and offset are remembered.  They can be used to repeat
the search, possibly in another direction or with another count.  Note that
two patterns are remembered: One for 'normal' search commands and one for the
substitute command ":s".  Each time an empty pattern is given, the previously
used pattern is used.

The 'magic' option sticks with the last used pattern.  If you change 'magic',
this will not change how the last used pattern will be interpreted.
The 'ignorecase' option does not do this.  When 'ignorecase' is changed, it
will result in the pattern to match other text.

All matches for the last used search pattern will be highlighted if you set
the 'hlsearch' option.

To clear the last used search pattern: >
	:let @/ = ""
This will not set the pattern to an empty string, because that would match
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        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