What causes substitution in Vim to only match one element per line?

Question

I've been making a lot of changes to my .vimrc lately, and somewhere along the line I've introduced an undesirable feature. When performing a substitution command where the search token appears more than once per line, only the first token is changed (although the remaining tokens are highlighted as a result of the substitution). I have seen a few posts here about how to enable this behavior on a case-by-case basis, but I have yet to see something about what would cause this to be the default behavior or how to disable it. If anyone has any ideas, they would be appreciated.

For reference, my .vimrc (https://github.com/chpatton013/dotfiles/blob/master/vim/.vimrc):

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
" Autocommands
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

" Reread configuration of Vim if .vimrc is saved
augroup VimConfig
  au!
  au BufWritePost ~/.vimrc       so ~/.vimrc
  au BufWritePost _vimrc         so ~/_vimrc
  au BufWritePost vimrc          so ~/.vimrc
augroup END

" Set colorcolumn to 80 chars, or (if not supported) highlight lines > 80 chars
augroup ColorColumnConfig
   au!
   if exists('+colorcolumn')
      au BufWinEnter * set colorcolumn=80
      au BufWinEnter * hi ColorColumn ctermbg=lightgrey guibg=lightgrey
   else
      au BufWinEnter * let w:m2=matchadd('ErrorMsg', '\%>80v.\+', -1)
   endif
augroup END

" Highlight over-length characters and trailing whitespace
augroup ExtraCharacters
   au!
   au ColorScheme * highlight ExtraWhitespace ctermbg=Red guibg=Red
   au ColorScheme * highlight OverLength ctermbg=red ctermfg=white guibg=red guifg=white
   au BufWinEnter * let w:whitespace_match_number =
   \ matchadd('ExtraWhitespace', '\s\+$')
   au BufWinEnter * call matchadd('OverLength',
   \ '\(^\(\s\)\{-}\(*\|//\|/\*\)\{1}\(.\)*\(\%81v\)\)\@<=\(.\)\{1,}$')
   au InsertEnter * call s:ToggleWhitespaceMatch('i')
   au InsertLeave * call s:ToggleWhitespaceMatch('n')
augroup END

" Resize splits on window resize
au VimResized * exe "normal! \<c-w>="

" Restore the cursor when we can.
au BufWinEnter * call RestoreCursor()

" Change the statusline color based on current mode
augroup StatuslineColor
   au!
   au InsertEnter * call InsertStatuslineColor(v:insertmode)
   au InsertLeave * hi statusline ctermfg=cyan ctermbg=black guifg=cyan guibg=black
augroup END

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""


"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
" Plugins
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

" Pathogen - https://github.com/tpope/vim-pathogen

runtime bundle/vim-pathogen/autoload/pathogen.vim
call pathogen#infect()
call pathogen#helptags()


" Easymotion - https://github.com/Lokaltog/vim-easymotion/

" This is so much more convenient
let g:EasyMotion_leader_key=',m'


" Neocomplcache - https://github.com/Shougo/neocomplcache

" Enable at startup.
let g:neocomplcache_enable_at_startup=1
" Only display 'n' items in the list.
let g:neocomplcache_max_list=5
" Do not auto-select the first candidate.
let g:neocomplcache_enable_auto_select=1
" Do not try to match until 'n' characters have been typed
let g:neocomplcache_auto_completion_start_length=3
" Do not try to match to anything less than 'n' characters
let g:neocomplcache_min_keyword_length=6
let g:neocomplcache_min_syntax_length=6
" Only consider case if an uppercase character has been typed
let g:neocomplcache_enable_smart_case=1


" Syntastic - https://github.com/scrooloose/syntastic/
"  Commands:
"     :Errors              // pop up location list and display errors
"     :SyntasticToggleMode // toggles between active and passive mode
"     :SyntasticCheck      // forces a syntax check in passive mode

" check for syntax errors on file open
let g:syntastic_check_on_open=1
" echo errors to the command window
let g:syntastic_echo_current_error=1
" mark lines with errors and warnings
let g:syntastic_enable_signs=1
" set sign symbols
let g:syntastic_error_symbol='E>'
let g:syntastic_warning_symbol='W>'
let g:syntastic_style_error_symbol='S>'
let g:syntastic_style_warning_symbol='s>'
" open error balloons when moused over erroneous lines
let g:syntastic_enable_balloons=1
" customize Syntastic statusline
let g:syntastic_stl_format = '[%E{E: %fe #%e}%B{, }%W{W: %fw #%w}]'

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""


"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
" Functions
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

" Strip trailing whitespace
function! <SID>StripTrailingWhitespaces()
   let _s=@/
   let l = line(".")
   let c = col(".")
   %s/\s\+$//e
   let @/=_s
   call cursor(l, c)
endfunction

" Toggle match of trailing whitespace
function! s:ToggleWhitespaceMatch(mode)
   let pattern = (a:mode == 'i') ? '\s\+\%#\@<!$' : '\s\+$'
   if exists('w:whitespace_match_number')
     call matchdelete(w:whitespace_match_number)
     call matchadd('ExtraWhitespace', pattern, 10, w:whitespace_match_number)
   else
     " Something went wrong, try to be graceful.
     let w:whitespace_match_number =  matchadd('ExtraWhitespace', pattern)
   endif
endfunction

" Restore the cursor when we can
function! RestoreCursor()
    if line("'\"") <= line("$")
        normal! g`"
        normal! zz
    endif
endfunction

" Change the statusline color based on current mode
function! InsertStatuslineColor(mode)
   if a:mode == 'i'
      hi statusline ctermfg=darkmagenta ctermbg=black guifg=darkmagenta guibg=black
   elseif a:mode == 'r'
      hi statusline ctermfg=darkgreen ctermbg=black guifg=darkgreen guibg=black
   else
      hi statusline ctermfg=darkred ctermbg=black guifg=darkred guibg=black
   endif
endfunction

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""


"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
" Configuration customization
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

" gui configuration (do not move from top of configurations)
set guioptions=am
set guifont=Consolas:h9
set encoding=utf-8
set fileencoding=utf-8

set nocompatible     " No compatibility with vi.
filetype on          " Recognize syntax by file extension.
filetype indent on   " Check for indent file.
filetype plugin on   " Allow plugins to be loaded by file type.

behave xterm   " Maintain keybindings across enviornments

set autowrite                    " Write before executing the 'make' command.
set background=dark              " Background light, so foreground not bold.
set backspace=indent,eol,start   " Allow <BS> to go over indents, eol, and start of insert
set expandtab                    " Expand tabs with spaces.
set nofoldenable                 " Disable folds; toggle with zi.
set gdefault                     " Assume :s uses /g.
set hidden                       " Use hidden buffers so unsaved buffers can go to the     background
set history=500                  " Set number of lines for vim to remember
set hlsearch                     " Highlight all search matches
set ignorecase                   " Ignore case in regular expressions
set incsearch                    " Immediately highlight search matches.
set laststatus=2                 " Show status line even where there is only one window
set lazyredraw                   " Redraw faster
set linespace=-1                 " Bring lines closer together vertically
set modeline                     " Check for a modeline.
set noerrorbells                 " No beeps on errors.
set nohls                        " Don't highlight all regex matches.
set nowrap                       " Don't soft wrap.
set number                       " Display line numbers.
set path=~/Code/**               " Set default path
set scrolloff=5                  " Keep min of 'n' lines above/below cursor.
set shellslash                   " Use forward slashes regardless of OS
set shiftwidth=3                 " >> and << shift 3 spaces.
set showcmd                      " Show partial commands in the status line.
set showmatch                    " Show matching () {} etc..
set showmode                     " Show current mode.
set sidescrolloff=10             " Keep min of 'n' columns right/left cursor.
set smartcase                    " Searches are case-sensitive if caps used.
set smarttab                     " Tabs and backspaces at the start of a line indent the line     one level
set smartindent                  " Maintains most indentation and adds extra level when     nesting
set softtabstop=3                " See spaces as tabs.
set splitright splitbelow        " Open splits below and to the right
set synmaxcol=160                " Only matches syntax on first 'n' columns of each line (    faster)
set tabstop=3                    " <Tab> move three characters
set textwidth=79                 " Hard wrap at 79 characters
set title                        " Set the console title
set viminfo='20,\"500,%          " Adjust viminfo contents
set virtualedit=block            " Allow the cursor to go where it should not
set wildmenu                     " Tab completion opens a Tab- and arrow-navigable menu
set wildmode=longest,full        " Tab completion works like bash.
set wrapscan                     " Searching wraps to start of file when end is reached

" Define statusline
set statusline=%f                                     " Relative file path
set statusline+=%(\ [%M%R%H%W]%)                      " File flags (mod, RO, help, preview)
set statusline+=%(\ %<%)                              " Start truncation
set statusline+=%(\ %{fugitive#statusline()}%)        " Git branch name (if applicable)
set statusline+=%=                                    " Begin right justification
set statusline+=%#warningmsg#                         " Start warning highlighting
set statusline+=%(\ %{SyntasticStatuslineFlag()}%)    " Show Syntastic errors and warnings
set statusline+=%*                                    " End warning highlighting
set statusline+=\ [line\ %l\/%L,\ col\ %c%V,\ %p%%]   " Line and column numbers and     percentage through file

" Text formatting settings
" t: Auto-wrap text using textwidth. (default)
" c: Auto-wrap comments; insert comment leader. (default)
" q: Allow formatting of comments with "gq". (default)
" r: Insert comment leader after hitting <Enter>.
" o: Insert comment leader after hitting 'o' or 'O' in command mode.
" n: Auto-format lists, wrapping to text *after* the list bullet char.
" l: Don't auto-wrap if a line is already longer than textwidth.
set formatoptions+=ronl

" Enable mouse scrolling in selected modes
" a: All
" c: Command
" i: Insert
" n: Normal
" v: Visual
set mouse=a
" Set scrolling to be single-line
"map <MouseDown> <C-Y>
"map <S-MouseDown> <C-U>
"map <MouseUp> <C-E>
"map <S-MouseUp> <C-D>

" Highlighting
syntax enable
set t_Co=16
colorscheme solarized

" Configuration variables
let loaded_matchparen=0   " do automatic bracket highlighting.
let mapleader=","         " Use , instead of \ for the map leader.

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""


"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
" Command mode customization
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

" Make y behave like all other capitals
map Y y$

" Make Q reformat text.
noremap Q gq

" Toggle paste mode.
noremap <Leader>p :set paste!<CR>

" Open the file under the cursor in a new tab.
noremap <Leader>ot <C-W>gf

" Toggle highlighting of the last search.
noremap <Leader>h :set hlsearch! hlsearch?<CR>

" Open a scratch buffer.
noremap <Leader>s :Scratch<CR>

" Improve movement on wrapped lines
nnoremap j gj
nnoremap k gk

" Keep search pattern at the center of the screen
nnoremap <silent> n nzz
nnoremap <silent> N Nzz
nnoremap <silent> * *zz
nnoremap <silent> # #zz
nnoremap <silent> g* g*zz
nnoremap <silent> g# g#zz

" Use C-hjkl in to change windows
nnoremap <C-h> <C-w><Left>
nnoremap <C-j> <C-w><Down>
nnoremap <C-k> <C-w><Up>
nnoremap <C-l> <C-w><Right>

" Strip trailing whitespace
nnoremap <silent> <leader>W :call <SID>StripTrailingWhitespaces()<CR>

" Allow easy toggling of spaces / tabs mode
nnoremap <C-t><C-t> :set invexpandtab<CR>

" Create simple toggles for line numbers, paste mode, and word wrap.
nnoremap <C-N><C-N> :set invnumber<CR>
nnoremap <C-p><C-p> :set invpaste<CR>
nnoremap <C-w><C-w> :set invwrap<CR>

" Folding stuff
nnoremap <C-o> zo
nnoremap <C-c> zc
nnoremap <C-O> zO
nnoremap <C-O><C-O> zR
set foldmethod=indent

" Open file for class name under cursor
nnoremap <C-i> yiw:find <C-R>".php<CR>

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""


"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
" Insert mode customization
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

" Set up dictionary completion.
set dictionary+=~/.vim/dictionary/english-freq
set complete+=k

" Smash Esc
inoremap jk <Esc>
inoremap kj <Esc>

" Use hjkl in insert mode
imap <C-h> <Left>
imap <C-j> <Down>
imap <C-k> <Up>
imap <C-l> <Right>

" Make C-s write the buffer and return to insert mode when applicable
inoremap <C-s> <C-O>:w<CR>
nnoremap <C-s> :w<CR>

" auto-insert second braces and parynthesis
inoremap {<CR> {<CR>}<Esc>O
inoremap ({<CR> ({<CR>});<Esc>O
inoremap <<<<CR> <<<EOT<CR>EOT;<Esc>O<C-TAB><C-TAB><C-TAB>
set cpoptions+=$ "show dollar sign at end of text to be changed

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""


"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
" Visual mode customization
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

" reselect visual block after indent/outdent
xnoremap < <gv
xnoremap > >gvo

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

And the following plugins make up the contents of my bundle directory (https://github.com/chpatton013/dotfiles/tree/master/vim/.vim/bundle):

neocomplcache/
syntastic/
vim-abolish/
vim-colors-solarized/
vim-commentary/
vim-easymotion/
vim-fugitive/
vim-pathogen/
vim-repeat/
vim-surround/

Finally, I have disabled all plugins, but the issue was not resolved. I removed my .vimrc and the issue was resolved (so it is not some global setting outside of my control). I disabled several individual settings in my .vimrc, but I could not seem to eliminate the problem. Eventually, I got tired of playing whack-a-mole and decided to turn to the community. Any ideas?

EDIT: As an example,

I use the command :%s/foo/foobar/g

The text foo bar foo is converted to foobar bar foo

EDIT: Resolved by pb2q. set gdefault inverts the behavior of /g.

Answer 1

The substitute command accepts the switch g, for global, which causes the substitution to be made on all matches on the line:

:s/regex/replacement/g

The default is that only the first occurrence of the match is substituted, but there's a setting to switch the default to global: gdefault. So set gdefault in your vimrc if you want this as the default behavior. Try it out first in the current vim session with :set gdefault.

Note that when you set gdefault, this not only makes g the default behavior, but it changes the usage of the g flag so that using /g at the end of a substitute will cause the substitution to be made only once.

See: :help gdefault.