Tip 78: Escape Problem Characters

Escape / Characters When Searching Forward

Example:

yank the URL into register u with the command "uyi[
/\V<C-r>u<CR> to populate the search field with the contents of that same register.
```
/\Vhttp://vimdoc.net/search?q=/\\
```

Vim interpreted the first / character as a search field terminator.

Example:

?http://vimdoc.net/search?q=/\\

Example:

/\Vhttp:\/\/vimdoc.net\/search?q=\/\\\\

escape({string}, {chars})

# If you open the file in vim,
# then you can \"ayy@a the next line to execute the vim command: 
:h escape()

Example:

Store the URL in the u register:
Enter the \V literal switch and then type <C-r>=.
```
=escape(@u, getcmdtype().'\')
```

# If you open the file in vim,
# then you can \"ayy@a the next line to execute the vim command: 
:h getcmdtype()

:promptfind command: entering a pattern without having to worry about search field terminators (works only in GVim)

# If you open the file in vim,
# then you can \"ayy@a the next line to execute the vim command: 
:h :promptfind