Neovim

:normal command

April 01, 2025

The :normal (short: :norm) command can be used to execute normal commands on a given range of lines.

For instance this command :%norm I// can be used to comment out every single line in the given file.

Control characters like "esc" or "enter" can be used by pressing Ctrl-V (on windows ctrl-q) followed by the key (esc, enter, ...).

Here is a more advanced example to transform code, that you can find in a typical angular constructor, into the structure required for unit testing. 

'<,'>norm df: aprovideAutoSpy(^[ea)
'<,'>Shows that we are working on a subset of lines norm df:Switch to normal mode and delete everything until ":" aprovideAutoSpy(Go into insert mode and write "provideAutoSpy(" ^[This will be displayed for ctrl-v followed by esc ea)Go to the end of the word, switch to insert mode and add ")" 
describe('AppComponent', () => {
  let component: AppComponent;

  beforeEach(() => {
    TestBed.configureTestingModule({
      providers: [
        private _artifactService: ArtifactService,
        private _environmentService: EnvironmentService,
        private _i18nextPipe: I18NextPipe,
        private _loadingService: LoadingService,
        private _messageService: MessageService,
        private _router: Router,
        private _tabBarService: TabBarService,
        private _templateService: TemplateService
      ],
    });

    component = TestBed.inject(AppComponent);
  });

  it('should be created', () => {
    expect(component).toBeTruthy();
  });
});

describe('AppComponent', () => {
  let component: AppComponent;

  beforeEach(() => {
    TestBed.configureTestingModule({
      providers: [
        provideAutoSpy(ArtifactService),
        provideAutoSpy(EnvironmentService),
        provideAutoSpy(I18NextPipe),
        provideAutoSpy(LoadingService),
        provideAutoSpy(MessageService),
        provideAutoSpy(Router),
        provideAutoSpy(TabBarService),
        provideAutoSpy(TemplateService)
      ],
    });

    component = TestBed.inject(AppComponent);
  });

  it('should be created', () => {
    expect(component).toBeTruthy();
  });
});