How do I indent a single line multiple times in vi or vim?

Question

I've found several answers on how to indent multiple lines in vim, I want to know how to take a single line and indent it more than once. In effect, I want a shorter version of the following command: ">>>>>>>>>>" (That is 10 right bracket "greater-than" signs.)

well, you could use `.` to repeat the last command, shortening it to `>>....` — user229044, Sep 13 '10 at 16:52
To be clear, `5>>` will indent five lines, not the current line five times. Strange design choice, as `>4>` does the same thing, and `3>4>` would be a handy way to indent five lines three times. — BallpointBen, May 24 '18 at 16:01

ldog · Accepted Answer · 2017-07-31T19:43:48.517

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Select what you want (typically with v or Shift+v) then type 5>.

If you need to fix or repeat the same selection, use gv.

edited Jul 31 '17 at 19:43

answered Sep 13 '10 at 16:52

ldog

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Thanks ! didn't know about the `gv` shortcut to re-select – Eyal Solomon Aug 17 '22 at 11:45

score 15 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:34

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One of the answers to "How do I indent multiple lines quickly in vi" showed me a neat trick to remap > in visual mode to reselect visual mode. In your .vimrc...

vnoremap < <gv
vnoremap > >gv

Then I just select the line (or lines) you want to indent and press the appropriate direction as many times as you want.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:34

Community

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answered Sep 13 '10 at 17:16

dash-tom-bang

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It's a nice trick if you do it all in visual mode, and I like to see the selection afterwards, but I like to use . after the initial modification, which is only in normal mode. I'm adding this to my .vimrc but mapping them to and instead. – Pif Jan 17 '12 at 12:41

score 14 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 13 '10 at 16:55

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You can select the current line by pressing v, and then type 5> to indent the current line 5 times, the equivalent of pressing > 10 times.

answered Sep 13 '10 at 16:55

user229044

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Daenyth is right, but it is moot. You only have to be in visual mode; whether line-select or not is irrelevant in this case. – Jay Sep 13 '10 at 17:14

score 13 · Answer 4 · answered Sep 13 '10 at 17:03

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Indent once the use . to redo the previous command or u to undo it.

answered Sep 13 '10 at 17:03

Tudor

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score 5 · Answer 5 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

From vim help: :help >

To move a line several 'shiftwidth's, use Visual mode or the : commands.

For example:

    Vjj4>           move three lines 4 indents to the right
    :<<<            move current line 3 indents to the left
    :>> 5           move 5 lines 2 indents to the right
    :5>>            move line 5 2 indents to the right

Or simply, >> and repeat the command with . in normal mode.

How do I indent a single line multiple times in vi or vim?

5 Answers5

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