Difference between revisions of "Vi"

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'''vi''' is a screen-oriented text editor computer program run from the [[:Category:Linux Command Line Tools|command line]].
 
'''vi''' is a screen-oriented text editor computer program run from the [[:Category:Linux Command Line Tools|command line]].
−
 
−
== Configuring vi/vim ==
 
−
 
−
It is possible to extensively configure <code>vi</code> (or <code>vim</code>) to suit your personal needs.
 
−
 
−
For an example, if you would like syntax-highlighting to be used by default for most of your code files, edit your <code>.vimrc</code> file (located in your "home" directory. If one does not exist, create it) and add the following line:
 
−
 
−
<pre>syn on</pre>
 
  
 
== Commands ==
 
== Commands ==
Line 107: Line 99:
 
</td></tr>
 
</td></tr>
 
</table>
 
</table>
 +
 +
== Switching cases ==
 +
 +
In the replacement part of a substitution command, i.e. between the second "/" and third "/",
 +
 +
\u means make the following character upper case
 +
\l means make the following character lower case
 +
\U means make the rest of the replacement upper case
 +
\L means make the rest of the replacement lower case
 +
 +
* Make the first letter of every word from line 18 to 43 uppercase:
 +
 +
:18,43s/\<./\u&/g
 +
 +
* Change "uPPeR" and "LoweR" in any mixture of cases to lowercase:
 +
 +
:s/[UuLl][PpOo][PpWw][Ee][Rr]/\L&/
 +
 +
* Make the whole file uppercase:
 +
 +
:%s/.*/\U&/
 +
 +
* Make the region from line m to line n all uppercase:
 +
 +
:'m,'ns/.*/\U&/
 +
 +
* Make a paragraph all lowercase:
 +
 +
:?^$?,/^$/s/.*/\L&/
 +
 +
* Make the first letter of every word in a paragraph uppercase:
 +
 +
:?^$?,/^$/s/\([^ ][^ ]*\)/\u&/g
 +
 +
* Make the second word of each line uppercase:
 +
 +
:1,$s/^\([^ ]*\) \([^ ]*\) \(.*\)/\1 \U\2\e \3/
 +
 +
== Configuring vi/vim ==
 +
 +
It is possible to extensively configure <code>vi</code> (or <code>vim</code>) to suit your personal needs.
 +
 +
For an example, if you would like syntax-highlighting to be used by default for most of your code files, edit your <code>.vimrc</code> file (located in your "home" directory. If one does not exist, create it) and add the following line:
 +
 +
syn on
  
 
[[Category:Linux Command Line Tools]]
 
[[Category:Linux Command Line Tools]]
 
[[Category:Technical and Specialized Skills]]
 
[[Category:Technical and Specialized Skills]]

Revision as of 06:44, 26 August 2006

The correct title of this article is vi. The initial letter is capitalized due to technical restrictions.

vi is a screen-oriented text editor computer program run from the command line.

Commands

Below is a very short list of the most useful commands:

Command mode
ESC
Movement command
h, j, k, l left, down, up, right
w, W, b, B forward, backward by word
H top of the screen
M middle of the screen
L last line of the screen
Ctrl-F forward one screen
Ctrl-B backward one screen
Ctrl-D forward half screen
Ctrl-U backward half screen
0 (zero), $ start, end of current line
Inserting text
a append after cursor
i insert before cursor
A append to end of line
I insert at start of line
o open a line below current line
O open a line above current line
r replace char
Delete text
x current character
dh previous character
dw current word
db previous word
dd entire line
d$ to end of line
d0 (zero) to start of line
ndd next n lines
Undelete
p insert after cursor
P insert before cursor
Goto line
:linenumber  
nG Goto line n
:7 Goto line 7
Save and exit
ZZ write if changes and quit
:wq write and quit
:w filename save to new file
:q! quit vi
Search
/pattern <RETURN> forward for a pattern
?pattern <RETURN> backward for a pattern
n repeat previous search
N repeat previous search in reverse direction
Search and replace
Example:
  • Search from current line and replace first occurance
    :s/search_string/replace_string/
  • Search from current line and replace all matches
    :s/search_string/replace_string/g
  • Search from every line, replace confirmation (with [y]es)
    :%s/search_string/replace_string/gc
    :1,$s/search_string/replace_string/gc
  • Search lines from 10 to 20
    :10,20s/search_string/replace_string/g
Undo
u the latest change
U all changes on a line
Concatenate
J concatenate two lines

Switching cases

In the replacement part of a substitution command, i.e. between the second "/" and third "/", 

\u means make the following character upper case
\l means make the following character lower case
\U means make the rest of the replacement upper case
\L means make the rest of the replacement lower case
  • Make the first letter of every word from line 18 to 43 uppercase:
:18,43s/\<./\u&/g
  • Change "uPPeR" and "LoweR" in any mixture of cases to lowercase:
:s/[UuLl][PpOo][PpWw][Ee][Rr]/\L&/
  • Make the whole file uppercase:
:%s/.*/\U&/
  • Make the region from line m to line n all uppercase:
:'m,'ns/.*/\U&/
  • Make a paragraph all lowercase:
:?^$?,/^$/s/.*/\L&/
  • Make the first letter of every word in a paragraph uppercase:
:?^$?,/^$/s/\([^ ][^ ]*\)/\u&/g
  • Make the second word of each line uppercase:
:1,$s/^\([^ ]*\) \([^ ]*\) \(.*\)/\1 \U\2\e \3/

Configuring vi/vim

It is possible to extensively configure vi (or vim) to suit your personal needs.

For an example, if you would like syntax-highlighting to be used by default for most of your code files, edit your .vimrc file (located in your "home" directory. If one does not exist, create it) and add the following line: 

syn on
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