To edit a file vi [ filename ] To recover an editing session vi -r [ filename ]
Notes on vi commands and modal editing
All vi commands are entered in command mode. To enter command mode, press the ESC key. Some vi commands cause vi to enter another mode. For example, the i (insert command) causes vi to enter insert mode after which all keystrokes are inserted as text. To return to command mode from insert mode, press the ESC key. The :set showmode command will cause vi to display the current editing mode in the lower right corner of the editing screen.
Controlling The Screen Display of Your Session
Repaint the current screen {ctrl-l}
Display line #, # of lines, etc.. {ctrl-g}
Moving the Cursor
Beginning of current line 0 or ^
Beginning of first screen line H
Beginning of last screen line L
Beginning of middle screen line M
Down one line j, {return}, +
End of current line $
Left one character h, {ctrl-h}
Left to beggining of word b, B
Right one character l, {space}
Right to end of word e, E
Right to beginning of word w, W
Up one line k, -
Beginning of next sentence )
Beginning of previous sentence (
Paging Through Text
Back one screen {ctrl-b}
Down half a screen {ctrl-d}
Down one screen {ctrl-f}
Forware to end of file G
Move cursor to specified line line no. G
Up half a screen {ctrl-j}
Special Pattern Characters
Beginning of line ^ End of line $ Any character except newline . Any number of the preceding character * Any set of characters (except newline) .*
Searching Through Text
Backward for pattern ?pattern Forward for pattern /pattern Repeat previous search n Reverse direction of previous search N Show *all* lines containing pattern :beg,endg/pattern/p :1,$g/compiler/p Will print all lines with the pattern compiler. Substitute patt2 for all patt1 found. :beg,ends/patt1/patt2/g :%s/notfound/found/g Will change all occurences of notfound to found.
Creating Text
Append text after cursor a
Append text after end of line A
Insert text before cursor i
Insert text at beginning of line I
Open new line after current line o
Open new line before current line O
Take next character literally
(i.e. control characters...)
and display it {ctrl-v}
Modifying Text
Change current word cw, cW Change current line (cursor to end) C Delete character (cursor forward) x Delete character (before cursor) X Delete word dw, dW Delete line dd Delete text to end of line D Duplicate text (use yank and put) Join current line with next line J Move text (use delete and put) Put buffer text after/below cursor p Put buffer text before/above cursor P Repeat last modification command . Replace current character r Replace text to end of line R Substitute text for character s Undo your previous command u Transpose characters xp Yank (copy) word into buffer yw Yank (copy) current line into buffer Y
Making Corrections During Text Insertions
Overwrite last character {delete}
Overwrite last word {ctrl-w}
Ending Your Editing Sessions
Quit (no changes made) :q Quit and save changes ZZ, :wq Quit and discard changes :q!
Using ex Commands From Within vi
Copy specified lines :co, t Display line numbers :set nu Disable display of line numbers :set nonu Move lines after specified line :m Read file in after specified line :r filename Review current editor options :set Review editor options :set all Set new editor option :set option Write changes to original file :w Write to specified file :w filename Force write to a file :w! filename
Some useful set options for your ~/.exrc file:
:set all Display all Set options :set autoindent Automagically indent following lines to the indentation of previous line. :set ignorecase Ignore case during pattern matching. :set list Show special characters in the file. :set number Display line numbers. :set shiftwidth=n Width for shifting operators << and >> :set showmode Display mode when in Insert, Append, or Replace mode. :set wrapmargin=n Set right margin 80-n for autowrapping lines (inserting newlines). 0 turns it off.