When I was beginning I needed to watch a demo.
/
You may be looking for the n key.
If you press Ctrl + Enter after you press something like "/wordforsearch", then you can find the word "wordforsearch" in the current line. Then press n for the next match; press N for previous match.
The most useful shortcut in Vim, IMHO, is the * key.
Put the cursor on a word and hit the * key and you will jump to the next instance of that word.
The # key does the same, but it jumps to the previous instance of the word.
It is truly a time saver.
Typing n will go to the next match.
As discussed, there are several ways to search:
/pattern
?pattern
* (and g*, which I sometimes use in macros)
# (and g#)
plus, navigating prev/next with N and n.
You can also edit/recall your search history by pulling up the search prompt with /
and then cycle with C-p
/C-n
. Even more useful is q/
, which takes you to a window where you can navigate the search history.
Also for consideration is the all-important 'hlsearch'
(type :hls
to enable). This makes it much easier to find multiple instances of your pattern. You might even want make your matches extra bright with something like:
hi Search ctermfg=yellow ctermbg=red guifg=...
But then you might go crazy with constant yellow matches all over your screen. So you’ll often find yourself using :noh
. This is so common that a mapping is in order:
nmap <leader>z :noh<CR>
I easily remember this one as z
since I used to constantly type /zz<CR>
(which is a fast-to-type uncommon occurrence) to clear my highlighting. But the :noh
mapping is way better.
Source: Stackoverflow.com