(root)/c_CTRL-O.vim/WRITEUP.md
c_CTRL‑O.vim One-shot normal mode for command-line mode `2025-11-04` Project Readme • Project Files • GitHub Repo In Vim I use command-line `CTRL‑G` and `CTRL‑T` extensively: they let you peek at occurrences of a pattern without clobbering the last search or cluttering up the jumplist. This plugin’s main feature is a command-line `CTRL‑O` binding that functions like insert-mode `CTRL‑O` and complements this workflow well. See the readme for more information. The plugin also defines a command-line `CTRL‑R CTRL‑O {motion}` that inserts `{motion}` text from the buffer into the command-line. For example, `CTRL‑R CTRL‑O a"` inserts the string literal under the cursor. This binding was included because, with command-line `CTRL‑O` working, its implementation is trivial: feed `CTRL‑O y`, wait for user input, then feed `CTRL‑R "`. In writing this plugin I ended up reading through parts of Vim’s source code to help answer questions the documentation couldn’t (see the comments in c_CTRL-O.vim) and that was a great learning experience.
© 2025 Emilien Breton

c_CTRL‑O.vim

One-shot normal mode for command-line mode 2025-11-04

Project Readme • Project Files • GitHub Repo

In Vim I use command-line CTRL‑G and CTRL‑T extensively: they let you peek at occurrences of a pattern without clobbering the last search or cluttering up the jumplist. This plugin’s main feature is a command-line CTRL‑O binding that functions like insert-mode CTRL‑O and complements this workflow well. See the readme for more information.

The plugin also defines a command-line CTRL‑R CTRL‑O {motion} that inserts {motion} text from the buffer into the command-line. For example, CTRL‑R CTRL‑O a" inserts the string literal under the cursor. This binding was included because, with command-line CTRL‑O working, its implementation is trivial: feed CTRL‑O y, wait for user input, then feed CTRL‑R ".

In writing this plugin I ended up reading through parts of Vim’s source code to help answer questions the documentation couldn’t (see the comments in c_CTRL-O.vim) and that was a great learning experience.