• Vim Enter Edit Mode
• Edit Mode Vim

Since the 1970’s, Vi and its successor Vim have been included by default on many operating systems, including almost all GNU/Linux distributions.

Vim is free and open-source and is one of the most popular code editors. It can be downloaded on Vim official site.

Vim is a modal text editor, which means that it has a mode for writing text, a mode for running commands, etc.

Solution 19 for Terminal.app in MAC= edit edit source Had issue with Up/Down in cscope/vim. Enable VT mode in Terminal Preferences ' Allow VT100 application keypad mode Solution 20 edit edit source Add the following mappings in your.vimrc for whatever terms to disable arrow keys in normal and insert mode. It works for me. Vim editor is one of the more popular text editors we use today. It is a clone of the Vi editor and is written by Bram Moolenaar. It is cross platform editor and available on most popular platforms like Windows, Linux, Mac and other UNIX variants. In this chapter, we will discuss following items −.

Vim has a total of 12 different editing modes.

I / a - Start insert mode at/after cursor; I / A - Start insert mode at the beginning/end of the line; o / O - Add blank line below/above current line; Esc or Ctrl+. You will not be able to copy from outside of Vim. For Mac users, homebrew install Vim with the clipboard option. Install homebrew and then run brew install vim. From the terminal, navigate to a file and let's edit it with Vim: vim whatever.txt Alternatively, you can create a brand new file with the same command: vim mynewfile.txt. Now that you're using Vim, we need to explain the two modes that Vim has: Command Mode and Insert Mode. Command Mode, just like it sounds, is for executing commands. VIM proved (henceforth referred to as Vim) editor is one of the popular text editors. It is clone of Vi editor and written by Bram Moolenaar. It is cross platform editor and available on most popular platforms like Windows, Linux, Mac and other UNIX variants. It is command-centric editor, so beginners might find it difficult to work with it.

The three main modes are:

• Command mode (also sometimes reffered to as Normal mode) is where you can run commands. This is the default mode in which Vim starts up.
• Insert mode is the mode where you insert/write your text.
• Visual mode is where you visually select a bunch of text so that you can run a command/operation only on that part of the text.

Basic Vim Commands

Let’s start with an easy set of Vim commands to open, save, and exit Vim.

Moving in the File

While in command mode, the following set of commands will allow you to easily move the cursor in the file, jump to a particular line number, or set the cursor position at the beginning of the file.

Cut, Copy & Paste

Here are some basic Vim commands to cut, copy and paste portions of text. All the commands below has to be ran in command mode.

Search

In command mode, you can easily search for any string within a file. This is extremely useful for developers and sysadmins alike.

Replace

Vim command line tool is extremely useful to replace many occurences of a string by another within a file. Using more advanced commands, there are a lot of search and replace options available.

Case

Vim has some powerful commands to modify the case of text. All the commands below have to be run in command mode.

Read and Write Files

Vim is clearly one of the most powerful text editors available. This section shows how you can manipulate files, insert the content of a file into another, and export portions of a file into a new file.

File Explorer

Vim features a built in file explorer, which allows you to explorer the content of your server without exiting the text editor.

Interact With Unix

Vim is installed by default on most Unix based operating systems, including Mac OS and most GNU/Linux distros. It therefore feature various commands that allows you to interact with the OS.

Alignment

In command mode, you can quickly and easily align a file’s lines for better clarity.

Tabs and Windows

One of my favorite Vim options is the ability to use tabs to edit various files at the same time. The following Vim commands will let you open, close, and organize your tabs for better productivity.

Window Spliting

Vim allows you to split the screen horizontally or vertically, so you can edit many files at once using the insert mode.

Auto-Completion

Vim can use external dictionaries to provide auto-completion. This can be a real time saver, so pay attention to the commands below if you want to speed up your workflow.

Vim Enter Edit Mode

Marks

When editing large files, it can be tricky to move in the file and remember important sections. Happilly, Vim allows its users to create marks that can easily be accessed later. No need to remember a dozen of line numbers anymore!

Abbreviations

This little known trick lets you define abbreviations that can be reused later and as many times as needed.

Text Indentation

Edit Mode Vim

Text indentation is vital when it comes to code readability. Luckily, Vim has a set of commands for the text editor to indent your lines in a clear and readable manner.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I Type Commands in Vim?

To type commands, you have to first activate Vim’s command mode. To do so, press the Esc key of your keyboard. You can then type any command of your choice.

How do I Start Typing Text in Vim?

Vim must be in insert mode for you to type text. Simply press the i key when in command mode to enter the insert mode.

On Which Hosting Plans Can You Use Vim?

Basically any Linux hosting will have Vim installed on the server. As long as you are able to access your server via SSH, you’ll be able to use Vim. Please refer to our best web hosting for developers guide to find out which hosts provide a SSH access.