Recover whole search pattern for substitute command

Question

Sometimes I type a long substitute command

/%s/foo/bar.../

and while I am typing it or only after hiting enter I notice that I have mistakenly used a the search key (/) instead of the ex-command key (:).

To fix it,

1. If I have already pressed enter, I bring back the search string with /<C-P>.

2. Use the mouse to copy from %s to the end of the search string to the primary selection.

3. <ESC>:<C-R>* and the search string is now a proper substitute command.

Or I simply type it all again if it is short enough.

Is there some simpler way to do it? I know about the / register, but <C-R>/ only recovers %s.

Answer 1

I wasn't going to post this beyond my comment but then I see it turned into a competition. ;)

If you mistakenly enter /%s/foo/bar/ when you actually want to run :%s/foo/bar/ then you just need these eleven keystrokes:

q/kY:q<CR>:@0<CR>

Mapped:

nnoremap <F10> q/kY:q<CR>:@0<CR>

I guess I should explain. In the search history window (q/) we move to (k) and yank the line containing the last search with Y (short for yy). A yank without a register associated with it always goes to register 0. Leaving the search history window (:q<CR>) for the the regular command line (:) we use the "execute register contents" command (@) with said register like so: @0. Execute it (<CR>) and you're done.

A bit of background on why the (relatively) obvious solution won't work...

Those who are aware that the most recently entered search pattern gets saved in register / may wonder, "Why can't you just transfer what was entered at the / prompt to the normal command line by dumping the / register there (i.e. :<C-R>/<CR>)?"

The problem is the slash between %s and foo/bar/. This fools Vim into thinking you are entering the command that has form /{pattern}/{offset}<CR> (see :h search-commands). As a result it interprets the text after that slash, i.e. foo/bar/, as an invalid entry for the {offset} part. Valid or invalid {offset} is never saved in the / register. Only {pattern} is. (Side note: :h {offset} shows valid values for that parameter.)

Any workarounds?

Well, if OP Quasimodo was in the habit of entering substitution commands with a valid separator other than / (e.g. # or @) then they never would have gotten themselves in this mess because their original thought to use <C-R>/ would likely work then. ;)

Answer 2

As B Layer said, Vim interprets the rest of the pattern (namely, foo/bar.../) as an invalid offset, so it throws that bit away.

I have found, however, an alternative:

• q/ opens the complete search history in a new buffer, just as q: opens the command history.
• There I can yank the full last search term with ky$.
• :q closes the buffer window.
• :<C-R>" pastes the yanked pattern into the command line.

And here comes the obligatory mapping (here to F10) to make it easier.

nnoremap <F10> q/k"xy$:q<CR>:<C-R>x<CR>

It uses the register x so as not to mess with the default register.

Answer 3

This is probably even shorter:

cnoremap <C-X> <C-\>ehistget('/')<CR>