This section provides a review of the following:
Command-line options
vi modes
Syntax of vi commands
Status-line commands
Once the file is opened, you are in command mode . From command mode, you can:
Invoke insert mode .
Issue editing commands.
Move the cursor to a different position in the file.
Invoke ex commands.
Invoke a Linux shell.
Save or exit the current version of the file.
In insert mode , you can enter new text in the file. Press the Esc or Ctrl-[ keys to exit insert mode and return to command mode. The following commands invoke insert mode:
Append after cursor.
Append at end of line.
Begin change operation (must be followed by a movement command).
Change to end of line.
Insert before cursor.
Insert at beginning of line.
Open a line below current line.
Open a line above current line.
Replace character under cursor.
Begin overwriting text.
Substitute a character.
Substitute entire line.
In vi , commands have the following general form:
[ n ] operator [ m ] object
Here are the basic editing operators :
Begin a change.
Begin a deletion.
Begin a yank (or copy).
If the current line is the object of the operation, the operator is the same as the object: cc , dd , yy . Otherwise, the editing operators act on objects specified by cursor-movement commands or pattern-matching commands. n and m are the number of times the operation is performed or the number of objects the operation is performed on. If both n and m are specified, the effect is n m .
An object can represent any of the following text blocks:
Includes characters up to a space or punctuation mark. A capitalized object is a variant form that recognizes only blank spaces.
Extends to . , ! , or ? followed by two spaces.
Extends to next blank line or nroff / troff paragraph macro (defined by para = option ).
Extends to next nroff / troff section heading (defined by sect = option ).
Change the next two words
Delete up to next paragraph
Delete back to beginning of line
Copy the next five lines into temporary buffer (for future pasting)
Copy up to the next section into temporary buffer (for future pasting)
Most commands aren't echoed on the screen as you input them. However, the status line at the bottom of the screen is used to echo input for the following commands:
Search forward for a pattern
Search backward for a pattern
Invoke an ex command
Pipe the text indicated by a subsequent movement command through the following shell command, and replace the text with the output of the shell command
Commands that are input on the status line must be entered by pressing the Return key. In addition, error messages and output from the Ctrl-G command are displayed on the status line.