Learning the vi Editor

• To get vim to start with your favorite colorscheme (darkblue), add the following line to the .vimrc file
  colorscheme darkblue
• You can precede commands with numerical arguments for repetitive tasks. For example, "6j" will take the cursor down six lines, just like pressing "j" six times.
• The command ":set wm=10" will set the editor to automatically convert a wrapped line to a line break at 10 characters from the right margin. This is handy for avoiding long wrapped lines.
• The ":set nu" command turns on line numbers along the left column. To turn off, use ":set nonu".
• Following keys are movement keys:
  
  • j Down
  • k Up
  • h Left
  • l Right
  • 0 Beginning of line
  • $ End of the line
  • w Forward one word, punctuation as separate words
  • W Forward one word, ignore punctuation
  • b Back one word, punctuation as separate words
  • B Back one word, ignore punctuation
  • e to the end of the word, punctuation as separate words
  • E end of the word, ignore punctuation
• In general, vim commands take the form (command)(number)(text object) or (number)(command)(text object). For example, y4w will yank four words or 2dd will delete two lines.
• Insert Keys:
  
  • i Insert before the cursor
  • I Insert text at beginning of line
  • a Insert after the cursor
  • A Insert text at end of line
  • o Open a blank line below the cursor
  • O Open a blank line above the curor
  • You can prefix the append command with a number to do a repeated insert. For example, 10a* [Esc] will insert ten asterisks.
• Editing Keys:
  
  • c Change. Erases identified section and enters insert mode. Requires a text object to tell what to change. For example:
    cw -- change word, or latter portion of word if cursor in mid-word.
    cc -- change whole line
    C or c$ -- change from current cursor to end of line.
    c2w -- change two words.
    
  • r Replace a single character
  • R Replace mode (like "typeover")
  • s Substitute a character.
  • S Substitute a whole line. Erases entire line.
  • ~ Change case of character. Can be preceded by number for multiple changes.
  • d Delete. Requires a text object to tell what to change. For example:
    dw -- delete word
    dd -- delete entire line
    D or d$ -- delete line from current cursor position
    d4w -- delete four words
  • x Delete character under the cursor
  • X Delete character before the cursor
  • p Puts the text in the buffer after the cursor
  • P Puts the text in the buffer before the cursor
  • xp Can use this to tanspose two letters, if you use "x" over the first letter.
  • y Copy text into the buffer. Requires a text object to tell it what to yank. For example: yw -- yank the word
    yy or Y -- Yank whole line
    y$ -- yank to the end of the line
  • . Repeat the last command
  • u Undo the last command
  • U Undo all edits on current line. Only works if you stay on that line.
  • [Ctrl] r Redo something you just undid
  • J Join two lines. Can be typed from anywhere on the line
• Saving Files:
  
  • ZZ Save and exit the file
  • :e! Return to last saved version of the file (undo all edits since last save)
• Moving Around:
  
  • ^F Forward one whole screen
  • ^B Backward one whole screen
  • ^D Down one half screen
  • ^U Up one half screen
  • z [Return] Move to top of screen, keep cursor on this line.
  • z. Move to center of screen, keep cursor on this line.
  • z- Move to bottom of screen, keep curson on this line.
  • H Home. Move to top line on the screen.
  • M Middle. Move to middle line on the screen.
  • L Last. Move to last line on the screen.
  • [return] Move to first character of next line
  • ( Move to beginning of current sentence.
  • ) Move to beginning of next sentence.
  • { Move to beginning of current paragraph
  • } Move to beginning of next paragraph.
  • [[ Move to beginning of current section.
  • ]] Move to beginning of next section
• Basic Searches:
  
  • /pattern Search forward in file for the given pattern
  • ?pattern Search backward in file for the given pattern
  • /[Return] or ?[Return] Repeat search
  • n Repeat search in same direction
  • N Repeat search in opposite direction
  • Search expressions can be combined with other commands. For example, d?word will delete everything that comes before the designated word.
  • Use :set wrapscan to have vim continue searches when it reaches end of the document (if searching from middle to end, continue search at beginning, for example).
  • fc Move to the next instance of character c on the line
  • Fc Move to previous instance of characeter c on the line
  • ; Repeat previous f command in same direction
  • , Repeat previus f command in opposite direction
  • numG Go to line number num.
  • `` Return to previous position. (Those are backquotes, not apostrophes)
  • nohlsearch turns off the highlighting from a search.
• Markers and Named Buffers:
  
  • Named buffers are created using double-quotes " followed by a single lower-case letter used the buffer name. These are then followed by the desired commands on what to cut or copy into the buffer.
  • "lyy Copy line into named buffer l
  • "lp Paste contents of named buffer.
  • You can append to an existing named buffer by referring to it using a capital letter. For example:
    "ayy -- copies the current line into the buffer named "a"
    "Ayy -- appends the current line to the named buffer "a"
  • ml Mark the current position with the bookmark named l
  • 'l Move to the beginning of the line where mark l is.
  • `l Move to the character where the named mark l is.
  • `` Return to exact position of the previous mark
  • '' Return to the beginning of the line where the previous mark was.