Using vim

These are some basic commands to get you started using vim. For lots more useful information consult "VIM USER MANUAL," http://vimdoc.sourceforge.net/vimum.html, by Bram Moolenaar.

A. File creation

1. At the $ prompt enter
       vim
   
   
2. You will then see an empty workspace
   
3. Press the the A key to allow you to enter text. Pressing A puts you into append mode.
   
   
4. Be sure to press Enter at the end of each line
   
5. To save a file:
   a. Press the ESC key to switch to command mode
   b. Enter a colon (:). The cursor will move to the command line at the bottom of the screen.
   c. Enter wq filename.cpp (press Enter)
   
6. To periodically save your work:
   a. Press the ESC key to switch to command mode
   b. Enter :w filename.cpp (press Enter)
   
   
7. Continue entering and saving text as necessary. When you save a file this way the previous version is replaced.
   
   
8. When you're done press ESC and enter :wq filename.cpp (Press Enter)to save the current workspace and exit vi.
   
   
9. To exit vim work session without saving current workspace press ESC and enter :q!

B. File Modification Using vim

1. Enter vim by entering the following at the $ prompt: vim file_name
   
   
2. Moving cursor around the screen
   
   To end of current line use: $
   To start of current line use: 0
   up, down left, right use arrow keys OR k , j, h, l
   To end of file use: G
   To first line of file use :1 ENTER
   
   
3. To advance to next page use pgdown.
   To go back to previous page use pgup
   
   
4. To display line numbers enter:
   ESC colon (:), set number , ENTER
   
   
5. To move cursor to a specific line enter
   ESC colon(:), line_number, ENTER
   e.g. ESC:15 ENTER
   
   
6. To insert text to left of cursor, enter i followed by text to insert.
   To insert text to right of cursor,enter a followed by text to insert.
   Lines may be inserted by following the same sequence and pressing ENTER as appropriate.
   
   
7. To delete character at cursor use x
   
   
8. To delete line containing cursor use dd
   To delete several lines from cursor line on use:
   #_of_linesdd, e.g. 12dd
   
   
9. To replace character at cursor use r newch
   To substitute more than one character for character at cursor use s newchars
   
   
10. To replace all occurrences of a text pattern with another use
    :g/text_pattern/s//replacement_pattern/g
    
    
11. To search the file you are editing:
    Forwards from cursor use /pattern ENTER
    Backwards from cursor use ?pattern ENTER
    To repeat previous search command use /ENTER
    
    
12. To join current line with next line use J
    
    
13. To move a block of text
    -Position cursor at start of block
    -remove block with #_lines_in_blockdd e.g. 10dd
    -reposition cursor
    -press lowercase p
    
    
14. To copy a block of text
    -Position cursor at start of block
    -copy block with #_lines_in_blockyy e.g. 12yy
    -reposition cursor
    -enter lowercase p
    
    
15. Enter % with cursor on a (,),{,},[,] to find its mate.