141 lines
7.3 KiB
Markdown
141 lines
7.3 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Useful Commands
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---
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# Useful Commands
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## Basic functionality
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Most likely you'll find yourself in "normal" mode, it allows you to enter commands by pressing the colon `:` key.
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To get here from other modes you can type `ctrl + c` or `escape`.
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To edit text and move around in a familiar way press `i`, for "insert" mode. Try to move around with the arrow keys in "insert" mode - see the "Navigation" section below for details.
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Depending on the configuration, you may enter a file browser by typing and entering the command `:e .` in "normal" mode. The 'e' stands for edit, and the period for the file or directory.
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## Navigation
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- Cursor movement: you can use either the arrow keys or `h`, `j`, `k`, `l` (left, down, up, right)
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- `gg` brings you to the start of the file
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- `G` brings you to the end of the file
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- `:(num)` brings you to a specific line in your file (ex- :42 brings you to line 42)
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## Saving
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1. Press `Escape` to make sure you're in `normal mode`;
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2. Type in `:w` ("w" stands for "write");
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3. Press `Enter`.
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## Saving (to a new file)
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1. Press `Escape` to make sure you're in `normal mode`.
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2. Type in `:w newfilename` (newfilename is the file name of the new file that you want to save to).
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3. Press `Enter`.
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## Exiting Vi, Vim, Nvim, Gvim
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1. Press escape to get you into "normal" mode
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2. `:q` will soft quit vim
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3. `:q!` will force quit vim
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4. `:qa` this will close all files open
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5. `:qa!` closes all files while abandoning changes
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6. `:q` saves and closes current file
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(NOTE: The command `:q!` will force Vim to exit without saving. Make sure you save first by typing the command `:w` if you do not want to lose any changes you've made.)
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**OR**
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- Type ZZ (save and quit)
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- Type `:wq`/`:x` (save and quit but using with the commonly used "w" and "q" commands)
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## Cut, Copy, and Paste
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- `dd` deletes (cuts) a single line
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- `yy` yanks (copies) a single line
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- you can use `yy` and `dd` preceded by a number to cut or copy multiple lines (ex- `13dd` will cut 13 lines)
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- `p` pastes everything from paste buffer
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## Pasting blocks of code
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Very often you will find yourself looking for solutions to problems, and finding someone has written a block of code that does exactly what you want.
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If you try to copy and paste the code directly into Vim you might find that the code is weirdly formatted or hasn't been pasted correctly.
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This is due to the fact that Vim reads each character that you paste one after the other, meaning any key-combinations that activates a Vim shortcut will be executed and Vim will try (and fail) to automatically indent the pasted code.
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To overcome this you can use Vim's **Paste mode** which you can activate by entering normal mode (press `escape` or `crtl + c`) and type `:set paste`, then press ENTER.
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You are now in *paste* mode.
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You can then enter insert mode with `i` and paste the block of text/code without any issues!
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To return to regular Vim without paste mode you can enter normal mode (`escape` or `crtl + c`) and type `:set nopaste`, and press ENTER.
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## Setting line numbers
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1. Press escape to get you into "normal" mode
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2. Type `:set number`, press enter
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To set line numbers on by default:
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1. Open/create the vim configuration file with `vim ~/.vimrc`
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2. Add the line `set number`, press enter
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## Opening a file within VIM
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In VIM you can open a file within the same window by setting your cursor on a path and typing `gf`. This will tell VIM that the current text that the cursor resides is a file that you want to open. The file will open up within the VIM terminal so if you want to return to the previous window just type `ctrl+o`. This will tell VIM to go to the previous screen.
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## How to split windows
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You can split vim windows and edit 2 or more files at the same time.
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- `:split` -> split window (horizontal)
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- `:vsplit` -> split window (vertical)
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- `:vertical` new -> open a new file in a new window
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To move between windows you can use the following commands:
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- `CTRL-W h` - move to the window on the left
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- `CTRL-W j` - move to the window below
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- `CTRL-W k` - move to the window above
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- `CTRL-W l` - move to the window on the right
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- `CTRL-W t` - move to the top window
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- `CTRL-W b` - move to the bottom window
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## Undo/Redo
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These actions should be performed in __Normal Mode__.
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__Undo__: Press `u` or type in `:undo` and press `Enter`.
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__Redo__: Press `U` (`Shift` + `u`) or type in `:redo` and press `Enter`.
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## Repeat last change
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To repeat the last change made to a file, press `.` in __Normal Mode__.
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## Opening a file in a specific line
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- vi filename +n, where n is the line number
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## Opening a file searching for word/term
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- vi filename +/word, where word is what you are looking for. The cursor will be positioned on the first occurrence of the word.
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## Searching a file in Vim
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When in normal mode (press the `escape` key to make sure), you can search for any term in the document by typing `/`, followed by the term you're looking for, and then pressing `enter`. For example, type `/hello` and press `enter` to search for the word "hello" in the current file.
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You can skip to the next occurrence of your search term by pressing `n`, or the previous occurrence by pressing `N`. `*` searches for the word underneath the cursor.
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If you want to highlight all the search matches type `:set hlsearch` or use the abbreviated command `:set hls`. Use `:set noh` to turn off highlighting until the next search.
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## Compiling a Project
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Vim has very tight integration with the `make` build automation tool. If your project uses a Makefile, you can type `:make` at the Vim command line in order to run your system's `make` tool. Vim will print the output of `make` on the screen and bring you to the first error, if any, when the `make` command completes. You can then jump through the compilation errors and warnings in your project's code by using the `:cn` and `:cp` commands, for next and previous issues respectively.
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## Find and Replace
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1. Press `Escape` to make sure your are in `normal mode`;
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2. Type in `:` (You will switch to `command mode`);
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3. Type `%s,word_to_be_replaced,new_word,g`;
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4. Press `ENTER`.
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Important: if you want to replace the first occurrence of the word, remove the `g` at the end.
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## I Want to Learn Vim!
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For total beginners, Vim comes with a built in tutorial! You can access it by running `vimtutor` from your terminal and this will launch an interactive tutorial on *how to get started with Vim* (takes around 15 minutes to work through).
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If you are not as confident in English, you can launch `vimtutor` in your language of choice. For example `vimtutor fr` will launch the tutorial in french!
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## Other Useful Commands
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- `gg=G` fixes the indentation of the entire file
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- If you want to learn more about a specific command, type `:help` followed by the command name (ex- :help :w)
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Read the rest of our Vim Guides to get a better understanding of this powerful editor.
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## Other Resources
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- [Vim Golf](https://vimgolf.com/) - A good way to learn from doing vim challenges to get the lowest amount of keystrokes. You can see solutions submitted by others if you can't figure the challenge out.
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- [Vim Adventures](https://vim-adventures.com/) - A fun and gamified approach to learn Vim where you lern the different key strokes with every new level in the game.
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- <a href='http://www.openvim.com/' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>Open Vim</a> - An interactive vim tutorial that teaches basic commands
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