For example, to visually select a quoted string (with the quotes), type va". To change the entire contents of a () group (without changing the parentheses themselves), type ci(. See [help text-objects] for more details. Occasionally, however, you will come across a situation where what you want to act on is a well-defined object, but is not a Vim-defined text object. Examples of this include all text of the same indent level, or all text within a fold. Vim's excellent mapping tools allow you to simulate the behavior of text objects for behavior you define. vnoremap af :silent! normal! [zV]z