30 lines
1.2 KiB
Markdown
30 lines
1.2 KiB
Markdown
# vim quickstart
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The core concept of `vim` is _modal editing_, where you are in one of a few
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modes while editing text. The modes determine what happens when you press
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keys.
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The most important mode to know is _Insert Mode_, which lets you type things.
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The default mode is _Normal Mode_, where you can edit the text that is already
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there or run commands.
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When you start `vim`, press `i`. You should see **-- INSERT --** at the bottom
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of your screen. You can now type away happily.
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When it's time to save, hit `escape`. The escape key is used in vim to exit
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whatever mode you are in; thus, from insert mode, you go back to normal mode.
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Now press `:`. In normal mode, this opens a little command line at the bottom
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of your screen. Type `w` and hit `enter`. You just saved your file.
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To quit, make sure you are in normal mode. press `:`, type `q`, and hit enter.
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If you've made an edit, you wont be able to quite using just `:q`, though. If
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you want to abandon your changes, use `:`, and then type `q!`, and then hit
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enter. To save changes, use `:`, and then type `wq`, and then hit enter.
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For a more in depth tutorial on vim, check out this cool [interactive
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tutorial](http://www.openvim.com/).
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Our own ~shanx has [a page](/~shanx/vim.html#TIL) about `vim`.
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