Too Many Vim Commands#
Getting back into Vim again and decided this time to take it slower and get the basics well in place before I try and incorporate too many commands. It’s the same mentality I’m bringing to my Python journey and will reapply to C#. The notes below are a mix of my obsidian notes from when I started using Vim in April of 2021 and resources I’ve used to better understand the commands this time round.
Phase One Commands#
There were too many commands to get stated, so following the advise of The Primeagen Youtube Channel, I’m focusing for my first phase on the following commands. w, b, h, j, k, l, y, p, d, v, V, u, :w and :q.
Phase One Commands Explained#
| command |
explanation |
| w |
move forward one word |
| b |
backwards one word |
| h, j, k, l |
move left, down, up, right |
| y |
yank |
| p |
paste/put |
| d |
delete |
| v |
enter visual mode |
| V |
enter line select visual mode |
| u |
undo |
| :w |
write file/save |
| :q |
quit |
Phase Two Commands#
The goals is to feel comfortable with the phase one commands before moving on. Phase two commands are o, O, P, a, A, I, /, n, N, *, $.
Phase Two Commands Explained#
| command |
result |
| o |
open a new line and insert |
| O |
open a new line above and insert |
| p |
puts the yanked on the next line |
| P |
puts the yanked on the previous line |
| i |
insert before the cursor |
| I |
insert at the beginning of the line |
| a |
insert after the cursor (append) |
| A |
insert at the end of the line (Append) |
| / |
find |
| n |
go to next search result |
| N |
go to previous search result |
| * |
go to next search result |
| $ |
go to previous search result |
Phase Three Commands#
Phase two commands are f, t, F, T, ;, ,, x, c, D, C, S..
Phase Three Commands Explained#
| command |
result |
| f{character} |
(find) next {character} |
| F{character} |
(find) previous {character} |
| t{character} |
until next character |
| T{character} |
until previous character |
| ; , |
move to the next or previous result |
| x |
delete |
| c |
cut |
| C |
cut to the end of the line |
| D |
delete rest of the line |
| S |
delete the rest of the line and |
|
enter insert mode, properly indented |
Phase Four Commands#
Phase two commands are g, gg, :line number, G, gi, 18j, {, }, %, di{, yi{, cip, da[
Phase Four Commands Explained#
| command |
result |
| g |
go to last line of the file |
| gg |
go to first line of file |
| gi |
go to last insert change point and insert |
| G100 |
go to line number 100 |
| :100 |
go to line number 100 |
| dd |
delete line |
| D |
delete from cursor to end of line |
| dd |
delete line |
| D |
delete from cursor to line end |
| dw |
delete word |
| d2W |
delete two words |
| dt; |
delete until ; |
| d/hell |
delete until hell* |
| command |
result |
| cw |
change word |
| ci |
change inner |
| ca |
change around/append |
| ci |
change inside quotes from line beginning |
| command |
result |
| y{motion} |
yank in a direction |
| yaw |
yanks a word |
| yas |
yanks a sentence |
| yap |
yanks a paragraph |
| command |
explanation |
| e |
end of word |
| ge |
go to the end of the previous word |
| gE |
go to the end of the previous WORD |
| % |
find matching |
| 0 |
move to the fist character of a line |
| $ |
move to the end of the line |
| g_ |
move to the non-blank character at the end of a line |
| { |
jump up one paragraph |
| } |
jump down one paragraph |
| CTRL+D |
Jump down one page |
| CTRL+U |
jump up one page |
So far so good.#
Search and replace#
:#,#s/older/new/g where #,# are the line numbers of the range of lines where the substitution is to be done.
:%s/older/new/g to change every occurrence in the whole file.
:%s/older/new/gc to find every occurrence in the whole file,
% typing when on a bracket takes you to the matching bracket.
Below are my scattered notes from obsidian, as I progress through the newer commands, I’ll add them here. For me at the moment it’s about practicing phase one. Once I move onto phase two I’ll add phase three etc. Why? Because it’ll be great practice using those commands when editing this post.
Meanwhile hope the notes are helpful.
Also discovered a great looking cheat sheet at rtoor Vim Cheat Sheet code at rtoor github.
#todo#
Wow#
Just realized the power of VIm in the following example. [[Vim Learn]].
// d + i=> wdtSpolite<ESC>fcdsipolite<ESPACE><ESC>
// c => wctSpolite<ESC>fccwpolitely<ESPACE><ESC>
const courteousSalute = I courteously salute you good person.";
well that example was nothing! Wait till you see what’s coming.
Write, Quit, Open#
EX commands start with a :
:write saves the file
:quit closes the file if there are no changes
:edit creates or opens a new or existing file
Visual Mode#
| command |
explanation |
| v |
for character-wise visual mode |
| V |
for line-wise visual mode |
| C-V |
for block-wise visual mode |
Key Mappings#
| command |
explanation |
| Leader |
Spacebar |
| Leader + t |
:tabnew |
| Leader + t + n |
:tabnext |
| Leader + t + p |
:tabprev |
| Leader + t + o |
:tabo |
| **Leader + /** |
:noh |
Surround and Motion#
| Sneak |
explanation |
options |
| s{char}{char} |
jump to the f |
;next ,previous |
| {operator}z{char}{char} |
jump to on the previous linence and carry out the operator. |
; next , previous |
| w |
move forward one word |
|
| b |
backwards one word |
|
| W |
move forward one WORD |
|
| B |
backwards one WORD |
|
| Easy Motion |
explanation |
| Leader Leader +w |
Label the beginning of all words ahead |
| Leader Leader +f{char} |
Label the beginning of {char} ahead |
| Leader Leader +b |
Label the beginning of all words behind |
| Leader Leader +bd+w/b/f{char} |
Label the beginning of all words bidirection |
| Leader Leader +e |
Label the end of all words |
| Leader Leader +ge |
Label the beginning of all words backwards |
| Leader Leader +j/k |
Label the beginning of lines down/up |
| Multiple Cursors |
explanation |
| gb |
select a word, command to select others |
| switch to VISUAL mode |
move up or down to set cursors |
| switch to VISUAL mode |
move to the end or beginning to set cursors |
Moving Around and Find#
| command |
explanation |
| w |
move forward one word |
| b |
backwards one word |
| W |
move forward one WORD |
| B |
backwards one WORD |
| e |
end of word |
| ge |
go to the end of the previous word |
| gE |
go to the end of the previous WORD |
| f{character} |
(find) next {character} |
| F{character} |
(find) previous {character} |
| t{character} |
until next character |
| T{character} |
until previous character |
| % |
find matching |
| 0 |
move to the fist character of a line |
| $ |
move to the end of the line |
| g_ |
move to the non-blank character at the end of a line |
| { |
jump up one paragraph |
| } |
jump down one paragraph |
| CTRL+D |
Jump down one page |
| CTRL+U |
jump up one page |
Editing Text#
| command |
result |
| d |
delete |
| f or / or ? |
find |
| c |
change |
| t |
unTil |
| r{char} |
replace character under the cursor with {char} |
| R |
replace more than one character, it functions like delete but acts on as many characters as you type. |
Delete#
| command |
result |
| dd |
delete line |
| D |
delete from cursor to end of line |
| dd |
delete line |
| D |
delete from cursor to line end |
| dw |
delete word |
| d2W |
delete two words |
| dt; |
delete until ; |
| d/hell |
delete until hell* |
| command |
result |
| cw |
change word |
| ci |
change inner |
| ca |
change around |
| ci |
change inside quotes from line beginning |
Insert and Append#
| command |
result |
| i |
insert before the cursor |
| a |
insert after the cursor (append) |
| I |
insert at the beginning of the line |
| A |
insert at the end of the line (Append) |
Three modified inserts#
| command |
result |
| o |
open a new line and insert |
| O |
open a new line above and insert |
| gi |
go to last insert change point and insert |
Wow#
Just realized the power of VIm in the following example. [[Vim Learn]].
// d + i=> wdtSpolite<ESC>fcdsipolite<ESPACE><ESC>
// c => wctSpolite<ESC>fccwpolitely<ESPACE><ESC>
const courteousSalute = I courteously salute you good person.";
well that example was nothing! Wait till you see what’s coming.
Write, Quit, Open#
EX commands start with a :
:write saves the file
:quit closes the file if there are no changes
:edit creates or opens a new or existing file
Yank and Put#
| command |
result |
| y{motion} |
yank in a direction |
| yaw |
yanks a word |
| yas |
yanks a sentence |
| yap |
yanks a paragraph |
| p |
puts the after yanked |
| P |
puts the yanked before the cursor |
Search and replace#
:#,#s/older/new/g where #,# are the line numbers of the range of lines where the substitution is to be done.
:%s/older/new/g to change every occurrence in the whole file.
:%s/older/new/gc to find every occurrence in the whole file,
% typing when on a bracket takes you to the matching bracket.
Visual Mode#
| command |
explanation |
| v |
for character-wise visual mode |
| V |
for line-wise visual mode |
| C-V |
for block-wise visual mode |
Key Mappings#
| command |
explanation |
| Leader |
Spacebar |
| Leader + t |
:tabnew |
| Leader + t + n |
:tabnext |
| Leader + t + p |
:tabprev |
| Leader + t + o |
:tabo |
| **Leader + / ** |
:noh |
Surround and Motion#
| Sneak |
explanation |
options |
| s{char}{char} |
jump to the first occurrence |
;next ,previous |
| {operator}z{char}{char} |
jump to the first occurrence and carry out the operator. |
; next , previous |
| Easy Motion |
explanation |
| Leader Leader +w |
Label the beginning of all words ahead |
| Leader Leader +f{char} |
Label the beginning of {char} ahead |
| Leader Leader +b |
Label the beginning of all words behind |
| Leader Leader +bd+w/b/f{char} |
Label the beginning of all words bidirection |
| Leader Leader +e |
Label the end of all words |
| Leader Leader +ge |
Label the beginning of all words backwards |
| Leader Leader +j/k |
Label the beginning of lines down/up |
| Multiple Cursors |
explanation |
| gb |
select a word, command to select others |
| switch to VISUAL mode |
move up or down to set cursors |
| switch to VISUAL mode |
move to the end or beginning to set cursors |
Moving Around and Find#
| command |
explanation |
| w |
move forward one word |
| b |
backwards one word |
| W |
move forward one WORD |
| B |
backwards one WORD |
| e |
end of word |
| ge |
go to the end of the previous word |
| gE |
go to the end of the previous WORD |
| f{character} |
(find) next {character} |
| F{character} |
(find) previous {character} |
| t{character} |
until next character |
| T{character} |
until previous character |
| % |
find matching |
| 0 |
move to the fist character of a line |
| $ |
move to the end of the line |
| g_ |
move to the non-blank character at the end of a line |
| { |
jump up one paragraph |
| } |
jump down one paragraph |
| CTRL+D |
Jump down one page |
| CTRL+U |
jump up one page |
Editing Text#
| command |
result |
| d |
delete |
| f or / or ? |
find |
| c |
change |
| t |
unTil |
| r{char} |
replace character under the cursor with {char} |
| R |
replace more than one character, it functions like delete but acts on as many characters as you type. |
Delete#
| command |
result |
| dd |
delete line |
| D |
delete from cursor to end of line |
| dd |
delete line |
| D |
delete from cursor to line end |
| dw |
delete word |
| d2W |
delete two words |
| dt; |
delete until ; |
| d/hell |
delete until hell* |
| command |
result |
| cw |
change word |
| ci |
change inner |
| ca |
change around |
| ci |
change inside quotes from line beginning |
Insert and Append#
| command |
result |
| i |
insert before the cursor |
| a |
insert after the cursor (append) |
| I |
insert at the beginning of the line |
| A |
insert at the end of the line (Append) |
Three modified inserts#
| command |
result |
| o |
open a new line and insert |
| O |
open a new line above and insert |
| gi |
go to last insert change point and insert |
Wow#
Just realized the power of VIm in the following example. [[Vim Learn]].
// d + i=> wdtSpolite<ESC>fcdsipolite<ESPACE><ESC>
// c => wctSpolite<ESC>fccwpolitely<ESPACE><ESC>
const courteousSalute = I courteously salute you good person.";
well that example was nothing! Wait till you see what’s coming.
Write, Quit, Open#
EX commands start with a :
:write saves the file
:quit closes the file if there are no changes
:edit creates or opens a new or existing file
Yank and Put#
| command |
result |
| y{motion} |
yank in a direction |
| yaw |
yanks a word |
| yas |
yanks a sentence |
| yap |
yanks a paragraph |
| p |
puts the after yanked |
| P |
puts the yanked before the cursor |
Search and replace#
:#,#s/older/new/g where #,# are the line numbers of the range of lines where the substitution is to be done.
:%s/older/new/g to change every occurrence in the whole file.
:%s/older/new/gc to find every occurrence in the whole file,
% typing when on a bracket takes you to the matching bracket.
Visual Mode#
| command |
explanation |
| v |
for character-wise visual mode |
| V |
for line-wise visual mode |
| C-V |
for block-wise visual mode |
Key Mappings#
| command |
explanation |
| Leader |
Spacebar |
| Leader + t |
:tabnew |
| Leader + t + n |
:tabnext |
| Leader + t + p |
:tabprev |
| Leader + t + o |
:tabo |
| **Leader + / ** |
:noh |
Surround and Motion#
| Sneak |
explanation |
options |
| s{char}{char} |
jump to the first occurrence |
;next ,previous |
| {operator}z{char}{char} |
jump to the first occurrence and carry out the operator. |
; next , previous |
| Easy Motion |
explanation |
| Leader Leader +w |
Label the beginning of all words ahead |
| Leader Leader +f{char} |
Label the beginning of {char} ahead |
| Leader Leader +b |
Label the beginning of all words behind |
| Leader Leader +bd+w/b/f{char} |
Label the beginning of all words bidirection |
| Leader Leader +e |
Label the end of all words |
| Leader Leader +ge |
Label the beginning of all words backwards |
| Leader Leader +j/k |
Label the beginning of lines down/up |
| Multiple Cursors |
explanation |
| gb |
select a word, command to select others |
| switch to VISUAL mode |
move up or down to set cursors |
| switch to VISUAL mode |
move to the end or beginning to set cursors |