[lug] vi/vim HOWTO (it's kinda long!)

[John Starkey]

I don't know if whoever the original poster was found this. But I was late for work when I
read the message requesting it.

Here's the copy I have. (Thanks PC Drew, btw).


PC Drew wrote:

> Before I go into more detail about vi, I'd like to make a few points
> about editors:
>
>         * If you're setting up a machine that will be used by multiple
>           people, _always_ install both emacs and vim (you can install
>           xemacs, vim, pico, joe, jed, etc. if you're really nice).  At
>           the very least, however, make sure that both vi and emacs are
>           on the machine.
>
>         * I'm sure emacs is a very good editor, but I've never used it.
>
>         * From this point forward, I will refer to both emacs and xemacs
>           as "emacs" and both vi and vim as "vi" unless specifically stated.
>
>         * Now, having said those things, there is a _war_ going on
>           about which editor (primarily vi or emacs) is better.  It is my
>           belief that which editor you use has a lot to do with your
>           personality type.
>
>         * There are a _ton_ of commands for most editors, vi included.
>           The commands listed here are just the tip of the iceberg.
>
>         * Some of the following will be fact (command x does this), and others
>           will be my own little tidbits.  If you don't like what I've said,
>           stop reading.  That's my disclaimer.
>
> Okay, 'nuff said about that.  I'm going to break this up into two sections.
> Section 1 will include commands that I think _everyone_ should know.  Section
> 2 will include more indepth commands for those who are interested in actually
> using vi for all of their text editing needs.
>
> ** Section 1 **
>
>  * History *
> Vi started out as the line editor called "ex".  Ex/vi was developed
> at UC Berkeley by Bill Joy for an early BSD release.  It is currently
> included in every UNIX distribution.
>
> http://www.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de/~joern/jargon/vi.HTML
>
>  * Why learn even a little bit about vi? *
> Well, it's not a bad idea to learn basic editing commands considering
> it's installed on _every_ UNIX distribution.  Even if you're an emacs person,
> it's good to know how to get around in vi in case you come to a box (i.e.
> Solaris) that doesn't have emacs installed as a default.
>
>  * Fundamentals *
> Vi was written in such a way that for the majority of commands,
> you don't have to move you fingers off of the keyboard.
>
> To learn vi you must understand the following: there are three modes
> in vi.
>
>         1. Command Mode -> normal and initial state, other modes return to this
>         state.
>         2. Input Mode -> once in this mode, you can type freely.
>         3. Line Mode -> waiting for input after certain commands.
>
> You'll mostly use the command and input modes.  Now on to the nitty gritty.
> When you open a file using vi (i.e. "vi file.c"), you will start out in command
> mode. To start typing, you have to type any one of the following keys:
>
>         i -> insert -- allows you to start typing where the cursor is currently.
>              When you first open the file, the cursor will be in the upper left
>              most corner.
>         a -> append -- instead of typing where the cursor is currently, it moves
>              over one character then allows you to start typing.  This is _very_
>              useful when you want to add more characters to the end of a line.
>         o -> open -- insert a new line, then go into insert mode.
>
> After typing the things you need to type, you'll want to save the file (or not
> save the file).  In order to do that, you need to be in command mode.  To get
> out of input mode and in to command mode, all you have to do is hit the escape
> (ESC) key.
>
> The following key combinations will help you get out of vi (and do some other
> stuff).  When you see a ":", that actually means type a colon.  Typing a ":"
> puts you into line mode.  When you press the "enter" key and after whatever
> you told it to do, it will revert back to command mode (unless you quit the
> application).
>
>         :w   -> write -- saves the file.
>         :wq  -> write then quit -- saves the file the quits vi.
>         :q   -> quit -- quit vi without saving the file.
>         :w!  -> force a write -- if you're the owner a file, but only have read
>                 permission on the file, this will bypass that and actually save
>                 the file.
>         :wq! -> force a write then quit -- same as above, then quits vi.
>         :q!  -> force a quit -- quit without saving the file.  If you just type ":q",
>                 and you've made changes, you'll get an error saying that you've
>                 changed the file and you must either write it or use ":q!".
>         :e!  -> re-edit the file -- dump any changes since the last save and re-edit
>                 the current file.
>
> Next, moving the cursor around in a file.  All of these commands are to be
> entered in command mode. Vi newbies beware - you can use the h, j, k, and l
> keys to move around, but it takes a little getting used to!
>
>         (arrow keys) -> move you around in the direction that they point.
>         h -> left -- move the cursor left (like left arrow).
>         j -> down -- move the cursor down (like down arrow).
>         k -> up -- move the cursor up (like up arrow).
>         l -> right -- move the cursor right (like right arrow).
>         (number)G -> goto -- that's right, a number followed directly by
>                      the letter "G".  That takes you to the specified line
>                      number.  If you just type "G", you'll go to the end of
>                      the file.  To go to the beginning of the file, type "1G".
>         0 -> beginning of line -- takes you to the beginning of the current line.
>         $ -> end of line -- takes you to the end of the current line.
>
> Cut, Copy, and Paste.  These commands are really powerful!  When in command mode,
> you type any of the following key combinations.
>
>         yy -> copy (yank) -- copies the current line.
>         y(number)y -> Copy (yank) -- copies the (number) lines.
>         dd -> cut (delete) -- cuts the current line.
>         d(number)d -> Cut (delete) -- cuts the (number) lines.
>         dw -> delete word -- cuts the word pointed to by the cursor.
>         x -> delete character -- deletes the character pointed to by the cursor.
>         D -> delete to the end of line -- cuts everything from the cursor to the end
>              of the line.
>         p -> paste (or put) -- pastes what is in the "clipboard".  When used after
>              a yy or a dd, it inserts the copied lines after the line where the cursor
>              is.  When used with "dw" or "D", it pastes the characters starting where the
>              cursor is pointing.
>
> Here are a list of other commands that should be executed in command mode.
>
>         . -> repeate last command -- it repeats whatever you just did.  If you
>              typed "dd" to delete 1 line, it will execute another "dd".
>         u -> undo -- does just that, undoes your _last_ command.  I'm almost positive
>              that this is a bug in the original vi, but it is fixed in most vi clones
>              (i.e. vim).  In vim, you can undo multiple commands.
>
> ** Section 2 **
>
> This will appear (magically!) in another email because I have to attend
> class now.  T'll then, have fun playing around with vi.
>
> --
> PC Drew
>
> "To understand recursion, we must first understand recursion."
>
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