Comment multiple lines in VI

Instead of counting lines ( using: .,+N ) one could also use a search ( .,/WORDONTHELASTLINE/ ),

so:

this is line 1
this is line 2
this is line three
this is line 4

could be commented by putting the cursor on line 1 and using

:.,/three/ s/^/#/g

Vi: Search and Replace

Change to normal mode with <ESC>.

Search (Wraped around at end of file):

Search STRING forward :

/ STRING

Search STRING backward:

? STRING

Repeat search:

n

Repeat search in opposite direction:

N (SHIFT-n)

Replace: Same as with sed, Replace OLD with NEW:

First occurrence on current line:

:s/OLD/NEW

Globally (all) on current line:

:s/OLD/NEW/g

Between two lines #,#:

:#,#s/OLD/NEW/g

Every occurrence in file (global):

:%s/OLD/NEW/g