7.1 KiB
| category | tool | contributors | filename | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tool | vim |
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LearnVim.txt |
Vim (Vi IMproved) is a clone of the popular vi editor for Unix. It is a a text editor designed for speed and increased productivity, and is ubiquitous in most unix-based systems. It has numerous keybindings for speedy navigation to specific points in the file, and for fast editing.
Basics of navigating Vim
vim <filename> # Open <filename> in vim
:q # Quit vim
:w # Save current file
:wq # Save file and quit vim
:q! # Quit vim without saving file
# ! *forces* :q to execute, hence quiting vim without saving
:x # Save file and quit vim, shorter version of :wq
u # Undo
CTRL+R # Redo
h # Move left one character
j # Move down one line
k # Move up one line
l # Move right one character
# Moving within the line
0 # Move to beginning of line
$ # Move to end of line
^ # Move to first non-blank character in line
# Searching in the text
/word # Highlights all occurences of word after cursor
?word # Highlights all occurences of word before cursor
n # Moves cursor to next occurence of word after search
N # Moves cursor to previous occerence of word
:%s/foo/bar/g # Change 'foo' to 'bar' on every line in the file
:s/foo/bar/g # Change 'foo' to 'bar' on the current line
# Jumping to characters
f<character> # Jump forward and land on <character>
t<character> # Jump forward and land right before <character>
# For example,
f< # Jump forward and land on <
t< # Jump forward and land right before <
# Moving by word
w # Move forward by one word
b # Move back by one word
e # Move to end of current word
# Other characters for moving around
gg # Go to the top of the file
G # Go to the bottom of the file
:NUM # Go to line number NUM (NUM is any number)
H # Move to the top of the screen
M # Move to the middle of the screen
L # Move to the bottom of the screen
Modes:
Vim is based on the concept on modes.
Command Mode - vim starts up in this mode, used to navigate and write commands
Insert Mode - used to make changes in your file
Visual Mode - used to highlight text and do operations to them
Ex Mode - used to drop down to the bottom with the ':' prompt to enter commands
i # Puts vim into insert mode, before the cursor position
a # Puts vim into insert mode, after the cursor position
v # Puts vim into visual mode
: # Puts vim into ex mode
<esc> # 'Escapes' from whichever mode you're in, into Command mode
# Copying and pasting text
y # Yank whatever is selected
yy # Yank the current line
d # Delete whatever is selected
dd # Delete the current line
p # Paste the copied text after the current cursor position
P # Paste the copied text before the current cursor position
x # Deleting character under current cursor position
The 'Grammar' of vim
Vim can be thought of as a set of commands in a 'Verb-Modifier-Noun' format, where:
Verb - your action
Modifier - how you're doing your action
Noun - the object on which your action acts on
A few important examples of 'Verbs, 'Modifiers', and 'Nouns':
# 'Verbs'
d # Delete
c # Change
y # Yank (copy)
v # Visually select
# 'Modifiers'
i # Inside
a # Around
NUM # Number (NUM is any number)
f # Searches for something and lands on it
t # Searches for something and stops before it
/ # Finds a string from cursor onwards
? # Finds a string before cursor
# 'Nouns'
w # Word
s # Sentence
p # Paragraph
b # Block
# Sample 'sentences' or commands
d2w # Delete 2 words
cis # Change inside sentence
yip # Yank inside paragraph (copy the para you're in)
ct< # Change to open bracket
# Change the text from where you are to the next open bracket
d$ # Delete till end of line
Some shortcuts and tricks
<!--TODO: Add more!-->
> # Indent selection by one block
< # Dedent selection by one block
:earlier 15m # Reverts the document back to how it was 15 minutes ago
:later 15m # Reverse above command
ddp # Swap position of consecutive lines, dd then p
. # Repeat previous action
Macros
Macros are basically recordable actions. When you start recording a macro, it records every action and command you use, until you stop recording. On invoking a macro, it applies the exact same sequence of actions and commands again on the text selection.
qa # Start recording a macro named 'a'
q # Stop recording
@a # Play back the macro
Configuring ~/.vimrc
The .vimrc file can be used to configure Vim on startup.
Here's a sample ~/.vimrc file:
" Example ~/.vimrc
" 2015.10
" Required for vim to be iMproved
set nocompatible
" Determines filetype from name to allow intelligent auto-indenting, etc.
filetype indent plugin on
" Enable syntax highlighting
syntax on
" Better command-line completion
set wildmenu
" Use case insensitive search except when using capital letters
set ignorecase
set smartcase
" When opening a new line and no file-specific indenting is enabled,
" keep same indent as the line you're currently on
set autoindent
" Display line numbers on the left
set number
" Indentation options, change according to personal preference
" Number of visual spaces per TAB
set tabstop=4
" Number of spaces in TAB when editing
set softtabstop=4
" Number of spaces indented when reindent operations (>> and <<) are used
set shiftwidth=4
" Convert TABs to spaces
set expandtab
" Enable intelligent tabbing and spacing for indentation and alignment
set smarttab
References
$ vimtutor
What are the dark corners of Vim your mom never told you about? (Stack Overflow thread)