Macros and undo

Repeat an edit

Press . to repeat the last insertion or prompted replacement on your current selections. For example, change a word with c, type its replacement, press Esc, then select another word and press ..

Use a macro when you want to repeat several commands together. Use multiple selections when the same edit should apply to every match in a region. If each match needs a decision, search with / or *, use n to review matches, and repeat the edit with . only where you want it. See the worked examples.

Record and replay a macro

1. Press Q in normal mode to start recording.
2. Perform the commands you want to repeat.
3. Press Q again to stop recording.
4. Press q to replay the recording, or 3q to replay it three times.

For example, start at the beginning of a line, press Q, then I, type TODO: , press Esc, move to the next line with j, and press Q again. Each replay inserts the prefix and moves to the following line.

Record into a named register to keep more than one macro: "aQ starts recording into register a; Q stops it; "aq replays it. Without an explicit register, recording and replay use @.

Macros are stored as text containing key sequences. They share registers with yanked text, so yanking into a macro’s register replaces that recording. To keep a sequence in your configuration, use a macro keybinding, such as "@miw".

Undo and redo

Press u to undo and U to redo. Text entered during an insert-mode session normally forms one undo step when you return to normal mode. Press Ctrl-s while inserting to start a new undo step without leaving insert mode.

Mitos also keeps earlier edit branches after an undo followed by a new edit. Use g- and g+ to move backward and forward through edit history. The commands :earlier 5 and :later 5 move by a number of steps; :earlier 1m moves back by a time span.

Alt-u and Alt-Shift-u undo and redo selection changes. They do not undo text edits.