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Colin Bartlett
Colin Bartlett

Posted on • Originally published at vimtricks.substack.com

VimTrick: Relative line numbering

Many operations in Vim can be executed over a given number of lines. For example, d3j will delete the current line, plus the 3 below it. Having line numbers displayed will make it easier to know how many lines you want to edit. You can enable and disable line numbering easily in Vim:

  • :set number - Shows line numbers
  • :set nonumber - Hides line numbers

You may find yourself often reading the line numbers and then subtracting two numbers in your head to decide over how many lines to execute a command. But there is a better way!

Vim allows showing relative line numbers instead of absolute line numbers:

  • :set relativenumber - Shows relative line numbers
  • :set norelativenumber - Hides relative line numbers

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We have more screenshots and details over on our VimTricks post.

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