Yes, there's one character missing after M-z. I used M-z > to zap to the first > (and not to " like you did). I was not trying to do the same thing vim was doin

Yes, there's one character missing after M-z. I used M-z > to zap to the first > (and not to " like you did). I was not trying to do the same thing vim was doing; I was aiming to get the same result. I didn't save the macro because I never save a macro if I'm only going to use it once, and it can be saved long after you finished it, provided you don't define another macro. Also, the number of keys in not the only factor but the distance as well. For instance, Home and Down are located very far from the home row in my keyboard, so I always use C-a and C-e (and C-n and C-p). And they are surprisingly comfortable with the Dvorak layout I use ;-)