~ / ex / normal-on-a-rangelesson 3/7

Normal mode on many lines: :normal

Type the same Normal-mode keys on every line of a range.

?how it works

:{range}normal {keys} types {keys} in Normal mode on every line of the range, starting each time at the beginning of the line. :%normal A; adds a semicolon to every line in the file; :'<,'>normal I- puts a bullet in front of each selected line.

If {keys} ends in Insert mode, :normal finishes it for you, as if you pressed Escape.
If the keys fail on a line (an f that finds nothing, say), that line is skipped and the rest still run.
:'<,'>normal . repeats your last change on every selected line.

Escape can't be typed straight into the command line (Neovim needs <C-v><Esc> for that), so :normal is best for one insert per line. For longer edits, record a macro and run :normal @a.

⌨keys

`:%normal {keys}`	run Normal-mode keys on every line
`:'<,'>normal {keys}`	run them on each selected line
`:{range}normal .`	repeat the last change on each line

3 drills

Every line at once: Make the same change on every line with one :%normal command (:%norm for short).
Only the selected lines: Change only the paragraph the cursor is in: select it with vip, press : (the '<,'> range appears) and finish with normal and the keys.
Motions and operators too: Any Normal-mode command works, not just inserts. Apply the change to every line with :%norm and an operator plus a motion or text object.

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