I will note what I learned using vi editor, so it's vi cheatsheet or vi for designers :)
Starting vi and opening files
Open your Terminal app & type vi filename
Operating Modes
There are two modes in vi, command mode & Insert mode
-
- Command mode
In this mode commands are used to move around and edit text objects
| Key | Description |
|---|---|
| ESC | returns you to command mode |
-
- Insert mode
This is the mode you use to type or insert text into a buffer
| Key | Description | Reverse | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | insert text before the cursor. | I | insert text at the start of the line. |
| a | insert text after the cursor. | A | insert text at the end of the line. |
| o | new line below the current line. | O | new line above the current line. |
Saving files
- Saving changes
Go to command mode by ESC then type the commant :wq
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
:wq or ZZ |
Save the contents & quit vi |
- Without saving changes
Go to command mode by ESC then type the commant :wq
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
:q! |
Quit vi without saveing |
- Saving to another file
Go to command mode by ESC then type the commant :w filename while the filename is your file name
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
:w filename |
Save the contents to the filename & quit vi |
Viewing a file
You can look at a file without the risk of altering its contents by using vi in "read only" mode.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
view filename |
Look at a file in "read only" mode |
Redo and Undo
Useful commants to undo, redo or repeat
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
u |
undo changes |
:u |
undo one change |
| CTRL+R | redo change |
. |
repeat last change |
Cut and paste
Yank (copy) word or a line and paste it
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
yy |
yank a line |
yw |
yank word |
y$ |
yank to end of line |
p |
paste after cursor |
dd |
delete (cut) a line |
dw |
delete (cut) word |
d$ or D |
delete to the end of the line |
Search and replace
Just use the syntax and replace the address
Syntax:
:[address]s/old_text/new_text/
Exapmle:
:%s/post/article/ this furmula replace the all words 'post' with 'article' in the entire file.
| Address | Description |
|---|---|
. |
current line |
n |
line number n |
.+m |
current line plus m lines |
% |
entire file |
Setting a wrap margin
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
set wm=5 |
Wrapp text five (5) characters |
In insert mode, text is wrapped five (5) characters from the right margin of the screen
Contribute
Any contribute are welcome.