If you want to select some lines of text and search for a word to replace in Vim, many users will do it like this:

1. Use v to do the selection.
2. Press : to start inputting an editor command.
3. Use s/<pat>/<text>/g to search and replace text.

Observation: :'<,'>s “applies to whole lines”.¹

How about an arbitrary visual selection?

According to a Vim tips found in the footnote, the answer is quite simple—insert the \%V atom at the beginning of the search pattern.

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