When we run vi we normally issue it with a single command line argument which is the file you would like to edit. If you do either of these it is generally easy to recover so don't worry too much. A common mistake is to start entering commands without first going back into edit mode or to start typing input without first going into insert mode. In edit mode you can move around the file, perform actions such as deleting, copying, search and replace, saving etc. In input mode you may input or enter content into the file. Everything in Vi is done via the keyboard. It does, however have a lot more power compared to Notepad or Textedit.Īs a result you have to ditch the mouse. Vi is intended as a plain text editor (similar to Notepad on Windows, or Textedit on Mac) as opposed to a word processing suite such as Word or Pages. Vi has been designed to work within these limitations and many would argue, is actually quite powerful as a result. It's a single window with text input and output only. As you would be quite aware now, the command line is quite a different environment to your GUI. I highly recommend you look into a few of them. At the end of the section I'll provide some links to resources where you can learn Vi further. In this section my aim is not to cover everything that Vi can do but to get you up and running with the basics. I've chosen to look at Vi first so that your mind has a bit of time to process and make sense of it in preparation for later when we'll need it. This section and the next few sections are actually forming the foundation for the last few sections where we will put them all together and start doing some really funky stuff. It's kinda like touch typing, initially learning is awkward and you wonder why you're bothering but once you get the hang of it you will not want to go back.Įven if you don't use Vi all the time you will definitely find that work patterns you develop in learning the editor can be transferred easily to other programs and to great effect. It will take a while to get your head around but once you do you will realise it is actually quite powerful. Vi is a text editor that is most likely very different to any editor you have used before. In this section we'll look at a tool to put content into files and edit that content as well. A little boring but we have to start somewhere. ![]() Now that you understand the basics of how to use Vim editor such as saving a file, quitting, and switching from insert to command default mode, this is only the beginning!Ĭompared to other text editors, Vim might have a higher learning curve, but the payoff is also worth the process.In the last section we created a few files but they were blank. ![]() ![]() “qa!” This will exit Vim without saving a file or any changes made.“:qa” This will close Vim but will only exit once a file or any changes are saved.“:xa” This will save all the changes/multiple files and exit Vim.“Press Esc” is the default text to type so you can switch from insert to command default mode. Note: Remember to press Esc before you type these in. With more than one file open, use these as a guide: The basic commands “type q/w/x” are useful when handling a single file on Vim editor. Now that you know how to save a file in Vim, exit, and open a file using the Vim editor, in the event you want to open more than one file on Vim, you can do that as well. This will allow you to perform a Vim exit without saving any changes made. Type “q!” after the (:) colon and then hit Enter.This command works if you don’t want to quit Vim and not save a file or save any changes made. You can also use “w” to make changes to a filename, for example: This will allow you to save a file in Vim and not quit Vim. Type “w” after the (:) colon and then hit Enter.This will prompt open a bar in the bottom-left part of your screen. Switch back to command default mode by pressing the Esc key.Alternatively, you can type “wq” after the (:) colon to also save a file in Vim and exit. This will allow you to save a file in Vim and exit. Type “x” after the (:) colon and then hit Enter.This will prompt open a bar in the bottom-left part of your screen If you’re currently in insert mode, switch back to command mode by pressing the Esc key.Exit without saving Save a File and Exit Vim. ![]() There are three ways to use the save & quit commands in Vim: “vim” file.txt Save & Quit commands in Vim
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