1 © 2012 john urrutia. all rights reserved. chapter 6 the vi editor

1© 2012 John Urrutia. All rights reserved.

Chapter 6

The vi EditorThe vi Editor


TopicsAbout vi

Getting Started: Creating and Editing

Introduction to vi Features

Command Mode – Moving the Cursor

Changing text


TopicsSearching & Substituting for a String

Miscellaneous Commands

Yank Put and Delete

Reading and Writing Files

Setting Parameters

Advanced Editing Techniques


About viStarted out as ed

Line editor – processes commands against a single line

Displays only 1 line at a time

Cumbersome and awkward to use


About viNext out as ex

Line editor – similar to ed

Added vi mode – visual mode

Displayed full screen of data

Provided Additional functionality


About viToday vi

Many variations LINUX uses vimvi has different options than vim

Extremely Powerful

Complex command structure

Works when all else fails


TopicsAbout vi




Changing text


Getting StartedSpecifying a terminal

Normally system will assign terminal attributes

vi takes advantage of terminal capabilitiesSmart vs Dumb


Getting StartedAn editing session

Start vi by typing

…$ vi someNewFileName

vi presents a screen identifying this as a new file.


Indicates file being created

~ are used as place holder


Getting StartedAn editing session

vi has two modeCommandInput

Default is Command Mode

Quit vi without saving by typing in command mode

:q!


The : sets last line mode

The q! says to quit

immediately


Getting StartedCommand Mode

Executes commands based on the keys pressed.

Commands (case sensitive)Cursor movementChange or Delete existing textSwitch to input mode



Switching to input modei – insert before cursorI – insert at beginning of line a – append after cursor A – append at end of line o – open line below cursor O – open line above cursor


Getting StartedInput Mode

Anything you type is stored in the file buffer and echoed back to the terminal.

Navigation may be available through the arrow keys depending on your terminal



The terminal control keys can be used in input mode to navigate.

Cntl+W, Cntl+H, Cntl+ULimited control



Trouble Getting around?Go back to command mode. It’s easy

Press ESCape keyIf already in command mode terminal will beep/click/flash or otherwise complain


Getting StartedCommand mode Navigation

Arrow key will move

– Move left one character

– Move right one character

– Move down one line

– Move up one line

h

l

j

k

Keyboard



Deleting Textdd – delete one line at cursord – delete two lines at cursor dw – delete word to the right of

cursor

Oops-- Undo last action – u


Getting Started

I Quit !!!!ZZ – writes the file and exits

:q! – exit Now! No save


TopicsAbout vi




Changing text



Simple Online Help:help

Similar to info or man for vim

Tutorial vimtutor


Introduction to vi FeaturesThe five faces of vi

ex – command mode

ex – input mode

vi – is a mode of the ex editorCommand modeInput modeLast line mode



The vi displayThe status line

Error messagesFile status (read-only)

Special characters~ - Identifies un-used area



The vi displayIf the terminal becomes

unreadable due to scrolling or messages from othersUse the re-draw function

Cntl+LClears screen and re-paints buffer



Correcting Text as you typeBack-space to the area you

want and change the input mode to replace (Shift R)

Remember commands are case sensitive!



The Work BufferAllocated when vi is started

Changes are made to the buffer

Overlays the file when saved

Use view for read-only files



Line Length & File SizeMaximum line length is limited

to the size of memory

Maximum file size is limited to the available drive space



Split Screens:vi – can support multiple

split screens

Switching between screensCntl+W:e


Introduction to vi FeaturesSplit Screens can be manipulated to the foreground or background:bg – send to background

:fg – rotate to foreground

:display s – display all screens in background



File LockingWhen vi opens a file it locks it

Other vi sessions will allow others to only read the original file.

How does it do that?



The same way it can recover an aborted editing session.Creates a .swp file which can

be used to re-cover some or all of the previous editing session

vi –r filename


TopicsAbout vi




Changing text


Cmnd Mode - Moving the Cursor

For one line onlyfchr – find next character

Fchr – find previous character

W – cursor to next word

B – cursor to previous word



) – go to end of sentence

( – go to beginning of sentence

} – go to next paragraph mark

{ – go to prev. paragraph mark



Cntl+B – Back 1 screen

Cntl+U – Up ½ screen

Cntl+D – Down ½ screen

Cntl+F – Forward 1 screen

Hey! BUDF Cntl yourself !#


Cmnd Mode – Changing

Change commandc3w – Change from cursor to end

of 3rd word

Deletes 3 words right of cursor

Sets insert mode