Vim Consolidated Notes

Vim Consolidated Notes

VimTutor

Lesson 1 - Basics

The basic movement in vim is accomplished with the right-hand, home row keys:

h (left) j (down) k (up) l (right)

:q! - Discards changes and exits vim

x - Deletes the character under the cursor (or to the right)

i - Inserts text before the highlighted character (or to the left)

A - appends text to the end of the line (very handy)

:wq - Saves changes and quits vim

Lesson 2 - Deletion

dw - [delete] to start of next [word], excluding first character - places cursor just to left of next word (no space)

de - [delete] to end of current word, including last character - places cursor to left of next word with a space

d$ - [delete] to end of [line]

The first letter is an operator followed by a motion

Motions can be modified via counts (e.g. 3w, 2e)

Operators, Counts, and Motions can be combined (e.g d3w)

dd - deletes an entire line

u - undo previous action

U - undo all actions on current line

CTRL-R - undo the last undo

Lesson 3 - The Put/Replace/Change Operator

p - put previously deleted text after cursor (below current line)

r - replaces the currently highlighted character (to the right)

c - change operator

ce - change to end of word

cc - change entire line

c$ - change to end of line - equivalent to C

Lesson 4 - Hopping and Searching

CTRL-G - File name, status and cursor location

G - Go to end of file

gg - Go to beginning of file

#G - Go to # line number

/pattern - search for pattern and place cursor

n - search next forward

N - search next backward

?pattern - search for pattern in reverse and place cursor there

CTRL-O - hop to previous location

CTRL-I - hop to newer position

CTRL-W - switches windows

% - hops to matching bracket

:s/old/new/[g] - substitute command (for a single line)

:#,#s/old/new - change occurrence in between line number

:%s/old/new/[g] - change occurrence in entire file

Lesson 5 - External Commands & Visual Mode

:![COMMAND] - allows for external command execution

v - Visual inspection mode

:w FILENAME - write current file to FILENAME

:r - Retrieve command

Lesson 6 - Open/Append/Copy & Paste - Set Option

o - Open a line BELOW the current line and changes to INSERT mode

O - Open a line ABOVE the current line and changes to INSERT mode

a - INSERT text after the cursor

A - INSERT text at the end of line

i - INSERT text before the cursor

R - REPLACE mode

y - YANK operator

yy - yank whole line

yw - yank word

:set OPTION - sets an OPTION

SOME OPTIONS:

ic - ignore case

is - incremental search (show partial matches)

hls - highlight search matches

noOPTION - turns off option

Lesson 7 - How to get Help

:help - Enter online vim help documentation

CTRL-D - Command line completion

CTRL-W - Jump to another window

Primeagen Guide to VIM

Basic Movement

YouTube
keys: w b h j k l y p d v V :w <esc>
- basic movement: h j k l
- Word-hop forward/back: w b
- Copy/Paste: y p
- Delete: d
- Visual/Visual-line mode: v V
- Save: w
- Enter Normal mode: <esc>

Foundation for Speed

YouTube
keys: o O p P a I A / ? n N * #
- Insert line below/above: o O
- Paste line below/above: p P
- Insert mode at first/last non-empty character on line: I A
- Forward/Backward Search and Next/Previous match: / ? n N
- Search forward/backward on current word: * #

Horizontal Speed

YouTube
keys: f t F T ; , x s c D C S
- Jump to/before character on current line forward/back and next/previous match: f t F T ; ,
- Delete single character and also go into insert mode: x s
- Delete word and go into insert mode: dw cw
- Delete reset of line and also insert mode: D C
- Delete entire line and go into insert mode: S

Vim MIT Lecture Notes

Vim is a modal editor

Esc - Enter NORMAL mode i - Enter INSERT mode BEFORE cursor a - Enter INSERT mode AFTER cursor A - Enter INSERT mode AFTER end of line R - Enter REPLACE mode until hit ESC r - Enter REPLACE mode for a single next character v - Enter VISUAL mode V - Enter VISUAL line mode CTRL-V - Enter VISUAL block mode : - Enter COMMAND-LINE mode

Movement in VIM

^ - Move to first non-blank character in a line

H - Move to TOP of screen M - Move to MIDDLE of screen L - Move to BOTTOM of screen

CTRL-u - SCROLL Up CTRL-d - SCROLL Down

#G - Jump to line number

Editing with VIM

~ - Flips the character under cursor

Modifiers in VIM

ci( - change content INSIDE current parentheses da' - deletes single quote content INCLUSIVE (AROUND)

Windows in VIM

:sp - split panel (HORIZONTAL) vsp - split panel (VERTICAL)

Also completed [EXERCISES]

Plugins to read about:
- surround.vim
- repeat.vim
- matchit.vim

Surround.vim Plugin

Change Surround

cs[old][new] - change surround

Delete Surround

ds[old] - delete surround

Yank(Add) Surround

ysiw[new] - yank surround + text object
yss[new] - yank surround entire line

Practical Vim Book Notes

Chapter 00 - Movement Commands

t/T/f/F - toward a character and forward to character

; and , - next/previous instance of above

* and # - find next/previous instance of current word

< > = - indentation related commands

vim -u NONE -N - start vim in default mode

Chapter 01 - The Vim Way (11 pages)

Tip 1 - Meet the Dot Command

The dot command lets us repeat the last change. It is the most powerful and versatile command in Vim.

The dot command is a micro macro. haha!

Tip 2 - Don't Repeat Yourself

Use combined shortcuts like A to be more efficient.

Tip 3 - Take One Step Back, Then Three Forward

f{char} which searches for the given character can be combined with ; and . to be super powerful.

Tip 4 - Act, Repeat, Reverse

Handy commands and their reverse:
- .: Repeat the last change. u reverses the last change.
- ;: Forward line search next char. , reverse line search previous char. Equivalent to F{char}.
- n: Forward search next char. N reverse search previous char.
- :s/target/replacement: Perform forward substitution. Repeat using & and undo using u.
- qx{changes}q: Perform a macro. u reverses the macro.

Tip 5 - Find and Replace by Hand

* Searches for the next occurrence of the word under the cursor.
n Let's you repeat the previous search. Handy for quick search/edits, repeat.
*, cw, edit, *, . Boom!

Tip 6 - Meet the Dot Formula

The goal: One Keystroke to Move, One Keystroke to Execute

Chapter 02 - Normal Mode (12 pages)

Normal mode is Vim's natural resting mode
Just as a painter spends a fraction of their time applying paint, programmers spend a fraction of their time composing code.

Tip 07 - Pause with Your Brush Off the Page

Make Normal your default (make it a habit)

Tip 08 - Chunk Your Undos

Entering Insert mode and leaving to Normal typically corresponds to an undoable chunk

Tip 09 - Compose Repeatable Changes

daw delete a word (works great with the . operator)
Develop a habit of making your changes repeatable wherever possible, then Vim will reward you for it

Tip 10 - Use Counts to Do Simple Arithmetic

<C-a> adds a number to the current line
<C-x> subtracts a number to the current line

Tip 11 - Don't Count If You Can Repeat

No real useful advice here other than don't over count when a repeat might suffice

Tip 12 - Combine and Conquer

dap deletes a paragraph
An action is composed from an operator followed by a motion

Chapter 03 Insert Mode (9 pages)

Tip 13 - Make Corrections Instantly from Insert Mode

<C-u> - deletes back to start of line (also works in the terminal)
<C-w> - deletes back to start of word (also works in the terminal)

Tip 14 - Get Back to Normal Mode

zz - redraws screen with the current line in the middle

Tip 15 - Paste from a Register Without Leaving Insert Mode

<C-r> - pastes from register

Tip 16 - Do Back-of-the-Envelope Calculations in Place

<C-r>= - pastes from expression register (didn't work in neovim inside vscode)

Tip 17 - Insert Unusual Characters by Character Code

<C-v> - inserts a character by character code (didn't work in neovim inside vscode)

Tip 18 - Insert Unusual Character by Diagraph

<C-k>{char1}{char2} - inserts a character by diagraph (didn't work in neovim inside vscode)

Tip 19 - Overwrite Existing Text with Replace Mode

R and gR - Replace mode and Virtual Replace mode
r and gr - Single-shot replace mode and virtual replace mode

Chapter 04 - Visual Mode (14 pages)

Tip 20 - Grok Visual Mode

c - In visual mode, deletes the selected text and changes into Insert mode
- Useful for wrapping changed selected text with quotes or brackets!!!

Tip 21 - Define a Visual Selection

v - character-wise Visual mode
V - line-wise Visual mode
<C-v> - block-wise Visual mode
gv - reselect the last visual selection
o go to end of highlighted text (ping-pong cursor)
- o is handy for redefining the begin/end points of the selection

Tip 22 - Repeats Line-Wise Visual Commands

. - repeats the edit on the previously selected text when using visual-line mode
vit - visual select in-between tags

Tip 23 - Prefer Operators to Visual Commands Where Possible

gU - uppercase the following motion
As a general rule, we should prefer operator commands over this Visual mode equivalents when working through a repetitive set of changes

Tip 24 - Edit Tabular Data with Visual-Block Mode

Fancy visual block-mode kung-fu

Tip 25 - Change Columns of Text

Not that block mode works like you think it should but you won't see the multiple cursor effect until you re-enter normal mode

Tip 26 - Append After a Ragged Visual Block

Visual block-mode is actually quite useful. Similar to vscode native multi-cursor functionality
Note i and a while in visual or operator-pending mode represent the inside and around part of a text object

In the beginning, there was ed. ed begat ex, and ex begat vi, and vi begat Vim.
- The Old Testament of Unix

Chapter 05 - Command-Line Mode (28 pages)

In the beginning, there was ed, ed begat ex, and ex begat vi, and vi begat Vim

The Old Testament of Unix

Tip 27 - Meet Vim's Command Line

Ex commands strike far and wide

Tip 28 - Execute a Command on One or More Consecutive Lines

:d- delete range and place in register
:y- yank range and place in register
:put - [line] put [x] register at specified line
:normal - apply normal commands to given range
[range] - range #,#
% - symbol for entire file

Tip 29 - Duplicate or Move Lines Using `:t` and `:m` Commands

:t - copy range to address
:m - move range to address
:[range] copy/move {address}

Tip 30 - Run Normal Mode Commands Across a Range

:normal A; - Add semicolon at the end of all lines
:normal i// - Comment out all lines (JS)

Tip 31 - Repeat the Last Ex Command

@: - repeat last Ex command; use @@ - after one repeat for multiple repeats
<C-o> - goes one step back in the jump list (may not work because of my fancy ctrl scheme)

Tip 32 - Tab-Complete Your Ex Commands

Remember to make use of tab completions in Ex mod
<C-d> - invokes completion menu

Tip 33 - Insert the Current Word at the Command Prompt

<C-r><C-w> - inserts current word in command line prompt (Doesn't work in vscode) :

Tip 34 - Recall Commands from History

q: - opens command line menu (doesn't work in vscode)

Tip 35 - Run Commands in the Shell

:! - runs command in shell (doesn't work in vscode)
- In vscode, output of external command is sent to neovim output console
% - in command line mode, % represents the current file name
:shell - opens (interactive) shell in command line mode (return to vim by typing exit)
:write {cmd} - buffer is provided as input to cmd
:read {cmd} - output of cmd is placed in buffer

Tip 36 - Run Multiple Ex Commands as a Batch

:source - to execute a vim script; don't need leading :
:argdo source [filename] - to run script on multiple files

Chapter 08 - Navigate Inside Files with Motions (22 pages)

Tip 47 - Keep Your Fingers on the Home Row

Just a reminder to use h (left), j (down), k (up), l (right) for movement in place of the arrow keys

Tip 48 - distinguish Between Real Lines and Display Lines

gj and gk - move down/up display line wise
^ - move to first non-blank character of a display line
Basically prefix the real line movement keys with g to get the analogues display line movement

Tip 49 - Move Word-Wise

w - move forward to start of next word
b - move backward to start of current/previous word
e - move forward to end of current/next word
ge - move backward to end of previous word
W, B, E, gE - WORD movements

Tip 50 - Find by Character

f{char} - move by character in current line, also F, t, T

Tip 51 - Search to Navigate

/{pattern} - search forward for pattern, ?{pattern} - search backward for pattern
Consider setting hlsearch and incsearch settings; relates keys n and N o hop
Using the d{motion} in combination with /{pattern} search is a powerful combination

Tip 52 - Trace your Selection with Precision Text Objects

t - Text Object to reference HTML tags
i - Inside text object
a - All text object
b - parentheses delimiter
B - curly brackets delimiter
Set of possible delimiters include: ), }, ], >, ', ", backtick, t, b, B

Tip 53 - Delete Around, or Change Inside

i/a w/W/s/p - Text objects are powerful when combined with word, WORD, sentence, paragraph
Simple tip to use a when deleting and i when changing

Tip 54 - Mark Your Place and Snap Back to It

m{a-zA-Z} - mark a place in the file (capital are global)
``{mark}` - go to the marked place
double-backticks - go to last jump in file
``.` - go to last change location

Tip 55 - Jump Between Matching Parentheses

% - jumps between matching set of brackets
S" - surround the selection with double quotes (surround.vim)

Chapter 09 - Navigate Between Files with Jumps (8 pages)

Tip 56 - Traverse the Jump List

<C-o> - goes backwards through the jump list
<C-i> - goes forwards through the jump list
motions - move around within a file
jumps - move around between files
:jumps - list the jump list
(, ) - jump to previous/next sentence
{, } - jump to previous/next paragraph

Tip 57 - Traverse the Change List

g; and g, - go to previous/next change
backtick. - go to last change
gi - go to last insertion and enter insert mode

Tip 58 - Jump to the Filename Under the Cursor

gf - navigates to filename under cursor (go to file)
bundler.vim - might be a useful plugin to incorporate to enhance gf power
<C-]> - jump to method definition from invocation (may need some initial config to work)

Tip 59 - Snap Between Files Using Global Marks

m[Capital] - sets a global mark
backtick[Capital] - navigates to a global mark
Handy trick, set mV, to init.vim for easy jumping to the vimrc file
Handy trick, set mS, to .zshrc for easy jumping to the zshrc file
Before going on a jump journey, set the global mark mM and return with backtickM to get back to the mark

Chapter 10 - Copy and Paste (18 pages)

Tip 60 - Delete, Yank, and Put with Vim's Unnamed Register

xp - transpose the next to characters using the unnamed register -- useful!!!
ddp - transpose the next two lines
yyp - line-wise copy and paste

Tip 61 - Grok Vim's Registers

"{register}[delete | yank | put] - copy to a named register
_ - the black hole register (e.g. _d{motion} nothing escapes a black hole)
"" - the unnamed register
x, s, d{motion}, c{motion}, y{motion} - all write to register
:reg - inspect registers
lowercase registers override any existing text; uppercase registers append to existing content
"+ - named register that reference the system clipboard
Not sure how, but I also have normal CMD+C and CMD+V functional

Tip 62 - Replace a Visual Selection with a Register

v{motion}p - replace visual selection with unnamed register content
Think of it this way: the visual selection in the document swaps places with the text in the register. Is it a feature? Is it a bug? You decide.

Tip 63 - Paste from a Register

p/P - inserts register text after and before cursor position
<ctrl-r>{register} - inserts register text while in INSERT or COMMAND mode
gp/gP - alter the position of the cursor after the put operation. This is useful for pasting a block of text into a document.

Tip 64 - Interact with the System Clipboard

Not relevant since I don't use nvim in terminal often

Chapter 11 - Macros (21 pages)

Tip 65 - Record and Execute a Macro

:reg{register} - inspects the content of the given register; useful to examine macros
@{register} - executes the contents of the specified register
@@ - executes the contents of the last executed macro
macros can be executed serial or in parallel

Tip 66 - Normalize, Strike, Abort

The golden rule is this: when recording a macro, ensure that every command is repeatable.
w, b, e, ge - are more reliable movements when recording a macro

Tip 67 - Play Back with a Count

n@{register} - repeats a macron times or until failure

Tip 68 - Repeat a Change on Contiguous Lines

:'<,'>normal @{register} - repeat macro on each of highlighted lines

Tip 69 - Append Commands to a Macro

use q{A-Z} - to append to an existing macro

Tip 70 - Act Upon a Collection of Files

not useful since I don't use vim to manipulate across multiple files

Tip 71 - Evaluate an Iterator to Number Items in a List

super niche. not going to bother with this tip until other tips are muscle memory
makes use of expression register, "=

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