How do I enter N carriage returns during a substitution?

Question

When using :s, how do I multiply the string being written by an integer, to write N copies of it?

For example, :s/pattern/10*\r/ would write 10 carriage returns in each match.

Maxim Kim · Accepted Answer · 2021-09-12 19:07:13Z

5

You can use repeat function with replace expression:

%s/\n\_s*$/\=repeat("\r", 10)

Check :h sub-replace-expression and :h repeat() for details.

answered Sep 12, 2021 at 19:07

Maxim Kim

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Thanks. Is the final enclosing slash omitted because it's always optional in the :s command or because it's not used for the repeat function?
– John Smith
Sep 12, 2021 at 19:21
2

The former—its optional in vim (maybe ex/vi, even ed?? It’s not optional in sed) when you provide no flags for :substitute
– D. Ben Knoble ♦
Sep 12, 2021 at 22:38
1

For sure, will do that going forward
– John Smith
Sep 13, 2021 at 15:18

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