Visual + Ex Range

Pressing : from Visual auto-fills the range.

Keys: :

When you press : while in visual mode, Vim drops you to the command line with :'<,'> already typed — the range covering the selection. Just type your command after.

Visual mode and Ex commands plug right into each other. Press : from any Visual selection and Vim pre-types the range.

From Visual to substitute

Key	Note
`{key:V}`	visual-line mode
`{key:5}{key:j}`	Extend down 5 lines
`{key::}`	Vim shows `:'<,'>`
``s/foo/bar/g``	Operate on those lines only

Tip. Visual-block mode + : also gets :'<,'> — but most Ex commands are line-oriented and don't honor the column boundaries.

Watch

#0443 — Block Insert
#0443 — Block Insert

See also: Ex Ranges, Substitute (:s), Special Marks