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intro.txt For Vim version 5.6. Last change: 2000 Jan 10 Excerpts from VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar Introduction to Vim ref reference 1. Introduction intro 4. Notation notation 5. Modes, introduction vim-modes-intro 6. Switching from mode to mode mode-switching ============================================================================== 1. Introduction intro Vim stands for Vi IMproved. It used to be Vi IMitation, but there are so many improvements that a name change was appropriate. Vim is a text editor which includes almost all the commands from the Unix program "Vi" and a lot of new ones. It is very useful for editing programs and other plain text. All commands are given with the keyboard. This has the advantage that you can keep your fingers on the keyboard and your eyes on the screen. For those who want it, there is mouse support and a GUI version with scrollbars and menus (see gui.txt). An overview of this manual can be found in the file "help.txt", help.txt. It can be accessed from within Vim with the <Help> or <F1> key and with the :help command (just type ":help", without the bars or quotes). The 'helpfile' option can be set to the name of the help file, in case it is not located in the default place. You can jump to subjects like with tags: Use CTRL-] to jump to a subject under the cursor, use CTRL-T to jump back. Throughout this manual the differences between Vi and Vim are mentioned in curly braces, like this: {Vi does not have on-line help}. See vi_diff.txt for a summary of the differences between Vim and Vi. This manual refers to Vim on various machines. There may be small differences between different computers and terminals. Besides the remarks given in this document, there is a separate document for each supported system, see sys-file-list. This manual is a reference for all the Vim commands and options. This is not an introduction to the use of Vi or Vim, it gets a bit complicated here and there. For beginners, there is a hands-on tutor. To learn using Vim, read the user manual usr_toc.txt. book There are many books on Vi that contain a section for beginners. There are two books I can recommend: "Vim - Vi Improved" by Steve Oualline This is the very first book completely dedicated to Vim. It is very good for beginners. The most often used commands are explained with pictures and examples. The less often used commands are also explained, the more advanced features are summarized. There is a comprehensive index and a quick reference. Parts of this book have been included in the user manual frombook. Published by New Riders Publishing. ISBN: 0735710015 For more information try one of these: http://iccf-holland.org/click5.html http://www.vim.org/iccf/click5.html "Learning the Vi editor" by Linda Lamb and Arnold Robbins This is a book about Vi that includes a chapter on Vim (in the sixth edition). The first steps in Vi are explained very well. The commands that Vim adds are only briefly mentioned. There is also a German translation. Published by O'Reilly. ISBN: 1-56592-426-6. ============================================================================== 4. Notation notation When syntax highlighting is used to read this, text that is not typed literally is often highlighted with the Special group. These are items in [], {} and <>, and CTRL-X. [] Characters in square brackets are optional. count [count] [count] An optional number that may precede the command to multiply or iterate the command. If no number is given, a count of one is used, unless otherwise noted. Note that in this manual the [count] is not mentioned in the description of the command, but only in the explanation. This was done to make the commands easier to look up. If the 'showcmd' option is on, the (partially) entered count is shown at the bottom of the window. You can use <Del> to erase the last digit (N<Del>). [quotex] ["x] An optional register designation where text can be stored. See registers. The x is a single character between 'a' and 'z' or 'A' and 'Z' or '"', and in some cases (with the put command) between '0' and '9', '%', '#', ':' or '.'. The uppercase and lower case letter designate the same register, but the lower case letter is used to overwrite the previous register contents, while the uppercase letter is used to append to the previous register contents. Without the ""x" or with """" the stored text is put into the unnamed register. {} {} Curly braces denote parts of the command which must appear, but which can take a number of different values. The differences between Vim and Vi are also given in curly braces (this will be clear from the context). {motion} {motion} A command that moves the cursor. See the list at motion.txt. This is used after an operator command operator to move over the text that is to be operated upon. If the motion includes a count and the operator also had a count, the two counts are multiplied. For example: "2d3w" deletes six words. The motion can also be a mouse click. The mouse is currently only supported for MS-DOS, Win32, Linux console with GPM and xterm under Unix. The ":omap" command can be used to map characters while an operator is pending. <character> <character> A special character from the table below, optionally with modifiers, or a single ASCII character with modifiers. 'character' 'c' A single ASCII character. CTRL-{char} CTRL-{char} {char} typed as a control character; that is, typing {char} while holding the CTRL key down. The case of {char} does not matter; thus CTRL-A and CTRL-a are equivalent. But on some terminals, using the SHIFT key will produce another code, don't use it then. 'option' 'option' An option, or parameter, that can be set to a value, is enclosed in single quotes. See options. quotecommandquote "command" A reference to a command that you can type is enclosed in double quotes. ============================================================================== 5. Modes, introduction vim-modes-intro vim-modes Vim has six BASIC modes: Normal Normal-mode command-mode Normal mode In Normal mode you can enter all the normal editor commands. If you start the editor you are in this mode (unless you have set the 'insertmode' option, see below). This is also known as command mode. Visual mode This is like Normal mode, but the movement commands extend a highlighted area. When a non-movement command is used, it is executed for the highlighted area. See Visual-mode. If the 'showmode' option is on "-- VISUAL --" is shown at the bottom of the window. Insert mode In Insert mode the text you type is inserted into the buffer. See Insert-mode. If the 'showmode' option is on "-- INSERT --" is shown at the bottom of the window. Command-line mode or In Command-line mode (also called Cmdline mode) you Cmdline mode can enter one line of text at the bottom of the window. This is for the Ex commands, ":", the pattern search commands, "?" and "/", and the filter command, "!". Cmdline-mode There are five ADDITIONAL modes: Operator-pending Operator-pending-mode Operator-pending mode This is like Normal mode, but after an operator command has started, and Vim is waiting for a {motion} to specify the text that the operator will work on. Replace mode Replace mode is a special case of Insert mode. You can do the same things as in Insert mode, but for each character you enter, one character of the existing text is deleted. See Replace-mode. If the 'showmode' option is on "-- REPLACE --" is shown at the bottom of the window. ============================================================================== 6. Switching from mode to mode mode-switching If for any reason you do not know which mode you are in, you can always get back to Normal mode by typing <Esc> twice. You will know you are back in Normal mode when you see the screen flash or hear the bell after you type <Esc>. This doesn't work for Ex mode, use ":visual". i_esc TO mode Normal Visual Insert Replace Cmd-line FROM mode Normal v V ^V *1 R : / ? ! Visual *2 c C -- : Insert <Esc> -- <Insert> -- Replace <Esc> -- <Insert> -- Command-line *3 -- :start -- - NA -- not possible *1 Go from Normal mode to Insert mode by giving the command "i", "I", "a", "A", "o", "O", "c", "C", "s" or S". *2 Go from Visual mode to Normal mode by giving a non-movement command, which causes the command to be executed, or by hitting <Esc> "v", "V" or "CTRL-V" (see v_v), which just stops Visual mode without side effects. *3 Go from Command-line mode to Normal mode by: - Hitting <CR> or <NL>, which causes the entered command to be executed. - Hitting CTRL-C or <Esc>, which quits the command-line without executing the command. vim:tw=78:ts=8:sw=8:noet:
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