Unlike most word processing software, the vi editor uses two different modes:
- command mode (also called edit mode)
- insert mode
The commands you type in command mode
- allow you to alter text -- to fix typing errors, add or subtract lines, etc.
- are not usually printed on the screen
- do not usually require you to press the RETURN key after you type them
- are "case-sensitive," which means there is a difference between upper- and lowercase letters.
To add text to your file, use a vi command such as i (insert). What you type in insert mode
- becomes part of the file you are editing
- requires you to press the RETURN key to begin a new line of text.
To return to command mode, press the ESCAPE key.
Command mode commands
File saving and Loading
| :e filename |
edit new file filename |
| :r filename |
read in contents of filename |
| :q |
quit editing |
| :q! |
quit editing and discard changes |
| :wq |
write file and quit |
| :w filename |
write to the file named filename |
| :w |
write to the file already named |
| :w! filename |
overwrite the file filename |
Insert mode commands (text entry)
| a |
append text, after the cursor position |
| A |
append text to end of the line |
| i |
insert text, before the cursor position |
| I |
insert text at the beginning of the line |
| o |
open new line below cursor, enter insert mode |
| O |
open new line above cursor, enter insert mode |
| R |
enter overstrike mode, press the ESCAPE key to exit |
Press the ESC key to exit insert mode and return to command mode.
Search commands
| /text |
search forward for first occurrence of text |
| ?text |
search backward for first occurrence of text |
Cursor control commands
| b |
go to beginning of word |
| e |
go to end of word |
| G |
go to the last line of the file |
| ##G |
go to the ##th line of the file |
| h |
move left one character |
| j or RETURN |
move down one line |
| k |
move up one line |
| l or SPACEBAR |
move right one character |
| { |
move to the previous paragraph |
| } |
move to the next paragraph |
| $ |
move to the end of the line |
| ^ |
move to the beginning of the line |
Basic text manipulation commands
| dd |
delete one line (place in general buffer) |
| dj |
delete current line and one below |
| d} |
delete up to the end of the paragraph |
| D |
delete the rest of the line |
| J |
join two lines |
| r |
replace character on which the cursor rests |
| s |
enter insert mode to substitute text for the character on which the cursor rests |
| ##s |
substitute ## characters, enter insert mode |
| u |
undo the last change |
| x |
delete one character |
| ##x |
delete ## characters |
Advanced text manipulation commands
| cw |
deletes word starting at the cursor, enter insert mode |
| yy |
yank (copy) line into the general buffer |
| ##yy |
yank ## lines into general buffer |
| ##yl |
yank ## characters to left of cursor |
| "ay |
yank line into the buffer named "a" |
| p |
put contents of general buffer after current line |
| P |
put contents of general buffer before current line |
| "ap |
same as p but from buffer "a" |
| "aP |
same as P but from buffer "a" |
| > |
shift line right |
| < |
shift line left |
Miscellaneous commands
| CONTROL-G |
print information about file: name, current line number |
| :## |
go to the line numbered ## |
| :%s/pattern/text/ |
substitute first occurrence of pattern on each line with text |
| :%s/pattern/text/g |
substitute every occurrence of pattern with text |
| :g/pattern/d |
delete every line containing pattern |
| :10,50 ya |
yank the contents of lines 10 through 50 and place in the general buffer |
| :%!sort |
execute the UNIX command sort on every line, replace contents with output of command |