How can I match the shortest string including new lines?

Question

In search expressions I know I can find the shortest match on line with the following expression:

begin.\{-}end

So for example, if the text is like this:

begin end1 end2 end3

Then it will match up to the "1". However, what if the text is spread over multiple lines like this:

begin blah blah blah
blah blah blah end1 end2 end3

How do I do the same match across the end of line?

Answer 1

try /begin\_.\{-}end

\_. Matches any single character or end-of-line.