How to execute a macro in command mode?

Question

The contents of register w are xx. When I try to run the following command:

:for i in range(1,10) | if i > 5 | @w | endif | endfor

It throws an error saying that E492: Not an editor command xx.
How do I execute the macro?

grodzik · Accepted Answer · 2017-02-15 06:13:47Z

7

Use :h execute combined with :h normal, like so:

:for i in range(1,10) | if i > 5 | exe "normal @w" | endif | endfor

Short explanation: execute/exe runs it's argument as an Ex command and normal behaves as you would press given symbols/keys yourself.

answered Feb 15, 2017 at 6:13

grodzik

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1

Or in this case, just normal @w. Or normal! @w, in case you have @ mapped.
– tbodt
Feb 15, 2017 at 17:25
For some reason normal @w didn't worked for me, but I didn't want to focus on that if using exe did the trick
– grodzik
Feb 16, 2017 at 7:52

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