The `:normal` command in Vim

You can use :normal (or the abbreviated form, :norm) in Vim to execute a normal command on a range of lines.

Example:

:%norm I1. <cr>

Here, <cr> means ‘press enter key’. Also, notice the space after the dot.

That command will act on all line (%) and insert at the beginning of the line (I) the number 1 followed by a dot, followed by a space.

After pressing enter, the command is executed and Vim returns to normal mode.

You can type control characters by using ctrl-v, as explained in the next tip. For example, if you want to surround lines 2 to 7 with quotes:

:2,7norm I"^[A"<cr>

Here, ^[ does not mean “caret + open square braces”, it’s ctrl-v followed by esc.

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