Move to the next row which has non-white space character in the same column in VIM?

Question

As source code is usually indented, it will help navigate source code quickly if I can move to the next/previous row which has non-empty white character in the same column. Using below code snippet as example and the cursor in on the last }, is there a way to navigate the cursor to i which starts if?

if (condition) {
    //  some code
}

Answer 1

I've now implemented this motion in my JumpToVerticalOccurrence plugin; by default mapped to ]| / [|. There are other, related mappings like a ]V{char} mapping that works just like f, but vertically.

So if you don't mind installing a plugin (plus dependencies), this is more robust and functional (it supports [count] as well).

Answer 2

Not exactly what you're asking for, but if you start at } and hit %, the cursor moves to the matching {.

Answer 3

If your code has a defined indentation system, jeetsukumaran/vim-indentwise works well for relative, absolute, or block-scope movements across indented blocks.