![]() Vi is the lingua franca of system administration. System administrators need to know at least a little Vim/vi to get by simply because it’s the editor most likely to be on any given *nix system that you need to work on. If you’re a touch-typist, you’ll find that your speed will improve even more with Vim because your hands rarely need to leave the “home” keys–and you’ll only need to use the mouse if you choose to do so. Working with HTML, LaTeX, or other markup languagesĮven though Vim isn’t as easy to use initially as standard GUI text editors like Gedit or word processors like ’s Writer, over a longer term you can become more productive using Vim.On the other hand, if do any of the following, you probably want to look into Vim: If you’re never going to do any system administration or heavy editing of text, and if you don’t want to invest any time in learning the capabilities that Vim has, then learning Vim might not be the best use of your time. So, why would you want to learn Vim? Even though Vim is my favorite editor, I’ll be very blunt: you might not want to. If that all sounds complicated, it’s not–but it can take a little getting used to, like driving a manual transmission instead of an automatic. From Vim’s insert mode, hit Escape and then :w. In Vim, you can save a file without your hands leaving the keyboard, and sometimes without even leaving the home keys. In Vim, the mode that the editor is in determines whether the alphanumeric keys will input those characters or move the cursor through the document.įor example, many text editors and word processors require you to use the mouse to click a menu item or icon, or use the Ctrl-s hotkey combination, to save a file. What the heck do we mean by modal? When you’re using most word processors and text editors, the alphanumeric keys (i.e., a through z, 1 through 9) are only used to input those characters unless they’re modified by a control key. It inherits the key bindings of vi, but also adds a great deal of functionality and extensibility that are missing from the original vi. ![]() It’s a “modal” text editor based on the vi editor written by Bill Joy in the 1970s for a version of UNIX. Vim is the editor of choice for many developers and power users. We’ll get to everything in due time, but there’s a lot to cover! What’s Vim, and Why Do I Want It? If you’ve been using Vim for a while, all of this should look entirely familiar–and you might wonder why some topics aren’t covered. Note that this is an article explicitly for beginners new to Vim. We have you covered! This will be the first of a four-part (possibly longer) series covering how to use Vim and where to start using the world’s best text editor. Ever wanted to learn Vim, but weren’t sure how to start? No problem.
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