In the command-line window the command line can be edited just like editing text in any window. It is a special kind of window, because you cannot leave it in a normal way.

There are two ways to open the command-line window:

1. From Command-line mode, use the key specified with the 'cedit' option (default CTRL-F).

2. From Normal mode, use the "q:", "q/" or "q?" command.

• This starts editing an Ex command-line ("q:") or search string ("q/" or "q?"). Note that this is not possible while recording is in progress (the "q" stops recording then).

When the window opens it is filled with the command-line history. The last line contains the command as typed so far. The left column will show a character that indicates the type of command-line being edited