Operation Modes
Vim is an model editor. It has various modes that are used for various types of usage.
The commonly used mode is the normal and insert mode
- Normal Mode (Esc/ Ctrl +
[) - Used for moving around files - Insert Mode (I) - Used for inserting text
- Replace Mode (R) - Used for replacing text
- Visual Mode (V) - For selecting blocks of text
- Visual Line
<S - V> - Visual Block
<C - V> - Command Line Mode (:) - Used for running a command
Shortcut Notation
All the below notations represent: Ctrl + V
^V
Ctrl - V
<C - V>
Buffers, Windows, Tabs
- Vim can have multiple tabs
- Each tabs can have windows which correspond to an buffer (file)
- Vim does not have 1 to 1 correspondence between buffer and windows
- An buffer can be opened in 0 or more windows at a time (Other editors only 1 is allowed)
Command Mode
:q - Exit Vim/ Close current window
:qa - Close at open windows
:q! - Force Exit
:w - Write changes to file
:help :w - Help on :w command
:sp - Split Pane
:vsp - Vertical Split Pane
NOTE
<C - W>,<C - W>or<C - W>direction is used for moving between panes
Normal Mode
The commands below can be classified into movements, edit, counts and modifier
Movement
j (Move Down)
k (Move Up)
l (Move Left)
h (Move Right)
Undo, Redo
u (Undo)
Ctrl + R (Redo)
Move by Word
w (Move ahead by a word)
e (Move ahead at the end of word)
b (Move back by a word)
Move in Line
^ (Move to 1st non empty character at Start of Line)
0 (Move to Start of Line)
$ (Move to End of Line)
Move by Page
Ctrl + d (Move down a page)
Ctrl + u (Move up a page)
Move in File
G (Move end of file)
gg (Move to the start of file)
Move on Page
L (Lowest line on page)
M (Middle line on page)
H (Highest/ First line on page)
Find Character
f{char} (Find char forward)
F{char} (Find char backwards)
t{char} (To character before char)
T{char} (To character after char)
Search in File
/ (Forward Search)
? (Backward Search)
n (Next Match)
N (Previous Match)
Insert new line
o (Enter insert mode and add new line below)
O (Enter insert mode and add new line above)
Inserting Text
Shift + I (Insert text at Beginning of Line)
Shift + A (Append at the End of Line)
i (Insert Text)
a (Append Text)
Delete Operation
dw (Delete Word)
de (Delete till end of word)
dd (Delete a line)
dG (Delete everything in a file)
Change Buffer
Puts you in Insert Mode
cw (Change entire word)
ce (Change till end of word)
cc (Change entire line)
Character Operations
x (Delete Character)
r (Replace a character)
Ctrl + R (Replace a Characters in Replace Mode)
Cut, Copy, Paste
yw (Yank Word)
ye (Yank till end of word)
yy (Yank/ Copy a Line)
yG (Yank entire File)
p (Paste)
d (Cut)
. (Repeat the last operation)
NOTE
Some of the commands like u, dw, e can be used along with a number as well.
So for deleting 5 words we can use 5dw. For undoing 3 operations we can use 3u
Modifier
ci[ (Change inside [)
di[ (Delete content inside [)
da[ (Delete everything inside including [)
% (Jump between parenthesis)
Visual Mode
We can use the Normal Mode movement commands to move around but here text will get selected. This applies to all the three visual editing mode
y (Copy and Change to Normal Mode)
p (Paste)
~ (Changes Case)