How can I switch from forward to backward search in Vim?

Question

In Vim, I know that / will search forward from the cursor, with n and N repeating the search forward and backward, respectively.

I also know that ? will search backward from the cursor, with n and N repeating the search backward and forward, respectively.

My question is, if I've done a ? search, and I want to re-run that as a / search (so I don't have to keep holding shift to move forward), is there a way to switch the previous search's direction without retyping the search term?

Answer 1

Simply typing a '?' without any text following it will re-run the search backwards. IE, typing '/' [RETURN] or '?' [RETURN]' will always rerun the last search, but in the direction you want.