created 2001 · complexity basic · author Yegappan · version 6.0
Vim remembers the locations you have recently visited (where you jumped from). Each position (file name, column number, line number) is recorded in a jump list, and each window has a separate jump list that records the last 100 positions where a jump occurred.
The commands that are regarded as "jumps" include searching, substitute and marks. Scrolling through a file is not regarded as jumping.
The jump list is saved between edits (provided the 'viminfo' option has the ' parameter), so you can see where jumps occurred from previous editing sessions. :help 'viminfo'
Using a jump list
Like a web browser, you can go back, then forward:
- Press Ctrl-O to jump back to the previous (older) location.
- Press Ctrl-I (same as Tab) to jump forward to the next (newer) location.
Display the jump list for the current window with:
:jumps
Your current location in the jump list is indicated with '>', and the first number in each row is a count that can be used to jump to that position. For example, after pressing Ctrl-O three times, the :jumps command may show something like this:
jump line col file/text 4 102 0 somefile.txt 3 93 0 -invalid- 2 23 0 the current line 23 is shown here 1 89 34 the current line 89 is shown here > 0 22 40 Display the jump list for the current window with: 1 39 0 the current line 39 is shown here 2 995 0 anotherfile.txt 3 53 102 the current line 53 is shown here
Given the above, you could press:
- Ctrl-I to jump to line 39 in the current buffer.
- Ctrl-O to jump to line 89 in the current buffer.
4then Ctrl-O to jump to line 102 in filesomefile.txt.3then Ctrl-I to jump to line 53 in the current buffer.
In the example above:
- The last line was added to the jump list when the first Ctrl-O was pressed (so you can return to the initial position: line 53, column 102).
- Line 93 in the current buffer no longer exists (the jump location is invalid).
Using a script to select a jump in the list
Using this vimrc function, you can enter the number of a jump to go to the desired jump:
function! GotoJump()
jumps
let j = input("Please select your jump: ")
if j != ''
let pattern = '\v\c^\+'
if j =~ pattern
let j = substitute(j, pattern, '', 'g')
execute "normal " . j . "\<c-i>"
else
execute "normal " . j . "\<c-o>"
endif
endif
endfunction
You can invoke the function in command mode:
:call GotoJump()
After this, you will see the list of jumps and be asked to select a jump. If you type 4 and press Enter, it will take you back to the 4th jump. If you type +4 and press Enter, it will take you forward to the 4th jump in the list. If you press Escape, nothing happens.
You can also have a mapping for it, for example:
nmap <Leader>j :call GotoJump()<CR>
See also
- Using marks to manually record marks that you can return to
- List changes to the current file the change list records where changes occurred
References
Comments
You can also use g; and g, to move backward and forward in your edit locations.
One thing that may not be immediately evident is that this works only line-wise. You can't have more than one jump per-line. If you use any of the jump generator commands inside the line, only one jump is saved.