Linux+ Vi Editor

Front 1

vi syntax to open an already existing file by typing
vi syntax to create a new file

Back 1

vi filename
vi newname

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vi Modes

Back 2

vi has two modes:
command mode - the letters of the keyboard perform editing functions. To enter command mode, press the escape key.
insert mode - the letters you type form words and sentences. Unlike many word processors, vi starts up in command mode

Front 3

In order to begin entering text in this empty file, you must change from command mode to insert mode. To do this, type

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i

Front 4

Moving the Cursor

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h - left one space
j - down one line
k - up one line
l - right one space

Front 5

Deleting Characters
To delete a character from a file
To remove four characters
To delete the character before the cursor

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To del a character from a file - x
To remove four characters - 4x
To delete the character beofre the cursor - X

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Deleting Words
To delete a word
To delete three words

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To delete a word - dw
To delete three words - 3dw

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Deleting Lines
To delete a whole line, type
To delete two lines, type
To delete from the cursor position to the end of the line type

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To delete a whole line, type - dd
To delete two lines - 2dd
To delete from the cursor position to the end of the line type - D

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Replacing Character
To replace one character with another:

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Move the cursor to the character to be replaced.
Type r
Type the replacement character

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Replacing Lines
To change text from the cursor position to the end of the line:

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Type C (uppercase).
Type the replacement text.
Press .

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Inserting Text
To insert text in a line:

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Position the cursor where the new text should go.
Type i
Enter the new text.

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Appending Text
To add text to the end of a line:

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Position the cursor on the last letter of the line.
Type a
Enter the new text.

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To insert a blank line above the current line, type

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O (uppercase)

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Joining Lines
To join two lines together:
To join three lines together:

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Put the cursor on the first line to be joined.
Type J
----------------------------------------------------------
Put the cursor on the first line to be joined.
Type 3J

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Undoing
To undo your most recent edit, type
To undo all the edits on a single line, type

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To undo your most recent edit, type - u
To undo all the edits on a single line, type - U

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Moving Around in a File
forward word by word
backward word by word
to end of line
to beginning of line
to top line of screen
to middle line of screen

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forward word by word - w
backward word by word - b
to end of line - $
to beginning of line - 0
to top line of screen - H
to middle line of screen - M

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Moving Around in a File
to last line of screen
to last line of file
to first line of file
scroll forward one screen
scroll backward one screen
scroll down one-half screen
scroll up one-half screen

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to last line of screen - L
to last line of file - G
to first line of file - 1G
scroll forward one screen - Ctrl+f
scroll backward one screen - Ctrl+b
scroll down one-half screen - Ctrl+d
scroll up one-half screen - Ctrl+u

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Moving by Searching
To move quickly by searching for text, while in command mode:
--------------------------------
To repeat the search in a forward direction, type
To repeat the search in a backward direction, type

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Type / (slash).
Enter the text to search for.
Press .
-------------------
To repeat the search in a forward direction, type - n
To repeat the search in a backward direction, type - N

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To save the file and quit vi, type

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To save the file and quit vi, type - zz

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To save the edits you have made, but leave vi running and your file open:

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Press .
Type :w
Press

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To quit vi, and discard any changes your have made since last saving:

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Press .
Type :q!
Press .

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discard changes and quit file

How to close the editor
How to close editor and force it to discard chagnes

Back 21

:q!

:q
:q!

Front 22

start vi
start vi with a particular file

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$ vi
$ vi myfile.txt

Front 23

vi is different from many editors, in that it has two main modes of operation:

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command mode, and insert mode.

Front 24

When you first load the editor, you will be placed into command mode. To switch into insert mode, simply press the

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i key

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When you have finished typing, you may return to command mode. This is done by pressing your

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'Esc'

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save file

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:w
or
:w newfilename.txt

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To move the cursor around the screen, you must be in command mode.

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h - Cursor left
j - Cursor down
k - Cursor up
l - Cursor right

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how to delete a character

how to delete multiple character

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in cmd mode use
x
20x

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delete a line

delete 5 lines

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d

5d

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move forward 1 word
move back 1 word
move to end of word

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w
b
e

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move to beginning of current sentence
move to beginning of next sentence
move to beginning of current paragraph
move to beginning of next paragraph

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(
)
{
}

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move to start of current line
move to first non white char of current line
move to end of current line

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0
^
$

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first character of next line
first character of previous line

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+
-

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Top line of current screen
Middle line of current screen
Last line of current screen

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H
M
L

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Forward 1 screen
Back 1 screen
Down half screen
Up half screen

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Ctrl-F
Ctrl-B
Ctrl-D
Ctrl-U

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search for text forward
repeat forward search
search for text backward
repeat backward search

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/text
/
?text
?

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repeat previous search in forward direction
repeat previous search in backward direction

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n
N

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Append to end of current line
Insert before cursor
Insert at beginning of line
Open line above cursor
Open line below cursor

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A
i
I
o
O

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Insert tab
Move to next tab position

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Ctrl-I
Ctrl-T

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Delete current line
Quote next character
Move back one word

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Ctrl-U
Ctrl-V
Ctrl-W

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insert buffer after cursor
insert buffer before cursor

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p
P

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undo last change
restore current line

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u
U

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delete current cursor position
delete back one character
delete previous n characters

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X
X
nX

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repeat last change
revers case

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-
~

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Copy current line to new buffer
Copy current line
Copy current line into buffer x
Put contents of buffer x

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y
yy
"xyy
"xp

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write file
write file (ignoring warnings)
overwrite file
write file and quite

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:w
:w!
:w! file
:wq

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Quit
Quit (even if changes not saved)
Write file as file, leaving original untouched

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:q
:q!
:w file

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Quit, only writing file if changed
Quit, only writing file if changed

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ZZ
:x

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Reload file from disk (revert to previous saved version)
Display current filename
Edit next file

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:e!
%
:n

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Insert file after cursor
Run command, and insert output after current line

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:r file
:r !command