Vim: Search in Files Short-cut Key

Question

I use vimgrep (or grep) to search in files inside vim, but I see it's quite inconvenient to have to write that every time I want to make search in vim. Any idea on how to make a suitable short-cut key to search in files?

Regards,
Rafid

Answer 1

The following will take you to the command-line, pre-populated with vimgrep if you press F3 in normal mode:

:nmap <F3> :vimgrep<space>

If you always wish to search the current directory, try:

:nmap <F3> :vimgrep // *<left><left><left>

If you want to save even more keypresses, try this to search the current directory for the word under the cursor:

:nmap <F3> :vimgrep /<C-R><C-W>/ *<CR>

Of course, these can be put into your .vimrc file.

Vim's inbuilt help system provides lots of useful information on this subject. See the following sections to explain what I have done:

• :help :nmap
• :help c_CTRL-R_CTRL-W