Quick Reference: vi

Modes of Operation

vi, the Unix visual editor, has two modes of operation:

1. Command mode--This is vi's initial and normal state. In this mode, most commands you type are not displayed. Only commands preceded by :, /, or ! are displayed on the status line, which also gives feedback about input, output, and large changes. Execute these commands with <Return> or <Esc>. Use <Esc> to change from text input mode to command mode (when in doubt, press <Esc>).
2. Text input (Insert) mode--This mode is entered by pressing a, A, i, I, o, or O. Press <Esc> to end text input mode and return to command mode.

The following notations are used in this document (variables appear in italics):

	x	represents a single character
	<Control> x	control character: while holding down the <Control> key, press x
	text	one or more characters
	n	represents a number
	pat	text and pattern matching characters
	<Return>	Return key on your terminal
	<Esc>	Escape key on your terminal
Entering and Leaving vi Files
	vi filename(s)	edit a file or files
	vi -r filename	retrieve saved version of file after system or editor crash
	vi -x filename	edit encrypted file
	vi -wn   filename	set default window size to n (useful for dial-ups)
	:wq	save (write) file and exit to system prompt
	ZZ	save file and exit to system prompt
	:q!	discard all changes and exit to system prompt
Basic Cursor Movement
Use h, j, k, and l to move the cursor--using arrow keys may result in undesirable consequences
	h	move cursor left one character
	j	move cursor down one line
	k	move cursor up one line
	l	move cursor right one character
(Any of the above commands preceded by n will move the cursor n spaces or lines in the indicated direction.)
Inserting Text
(If n precedes an insert character, n copies of inserted text are added upon escape from insertion mode.)
	a	begin insert at right of cursor
	A	begin insert at end of line
	i	begin insert at left of cursor
	I	insert at beginning of line
	o	open line below, ready for insertion
	O	open line above, ready for insertion
	S	replace text with blank line; begin insertion at beginning of that line
	<Control>i	insert tab
	<Control>v	insert non-printing character
	<Backspace>	erase character (invisible until over-typed or insert mode escaped)
	<Esc>	terminate insert mode; also terminates unwanted commands
Deleting, Retrieving, and Undoing
	dw	delete word
	dd	delete line
	yw	yank word into buffer
	yy	yank line into buffer
	x	delete character
	D	delete characters from cursor to end of line
	ndw	delete n words into buffer
	ndd	delete n lines into buffer
	nyw	yank n words into buffer
	nyy	yank n lines into buffer
	nx	delete n characters into buffer
	p	put buffer contents after cursor
	P	put buffer contents before cursor
	u	undo last single change
	U	restore current line
Changing, Replacing, and Copying Text
	.	repeat last change
	n.	repeat last change n times
	cwtext	mark end of a word with $ and change to text (press <Esc> to end)
	rx	replace character under cursor with character x
	nrx	replace n characters with character x
	Rtext	write over existing text, (<Esc> to end)
	J	join succeeding line to current cursor line
	:s/pat1/pat2	on the current line, substitute the first occurence of pattern 1 with pattern 2
	:s/pat1/pat2/ g	on the current line, substitute all occurences of pattern 1 with pattern 2
	:&	;repeat the last :s request
	:%s/pat1/pat2/ g	substitute all occurences of pattern 1 with pattern 2 throughout the file
	:.,$s/pat1/pat2/ g	substitute all occurences of pattern 1 with pattern 2 from cursor to end of file
Moving Around in a File
	<Control>g	ascertain line number of current line
	G	go to end of file
	nG	go to line n
	<Return> or +	move cursor to beginning of next line
	-	move to beginning of previous line
	w or nw	move one word or n words to the right
	b or nb	move one word or n words to the left
	)	move to next sentence
	(	move to previous sentence
	}	move to next paragraph
	{	move to previous paragraph
	<Control>d	scroll down one-half screen
	<Control>u	scroll up one-half screen
	<Control>l	clear and redraw the screen
	mx	mark cursor position with character x
	`x	move to position marked with x
	d`x	delete text from marked x to cursor
	y`x	yank text from marked x to cursor
Note: If you precede the mark letter with ' (apostrophe) instead of ` (grave accent), the action will apply to the entire line the mark is in, not the exact marked location.
File Manipulation
	:rfile	read in a file beginning on the line below the current line
	:w	save and remain in current file
	:wq	save file and quit
	:q	quit (leave unedited file)
	:q!	quit and do not save changes
	:!command	run single Unix command while editing (press <Return> to return to file)
	:sh	obtain temporary shell (<Control>D to return to file being edited)
	:n,mm l	move lines numbered n through m after line l
	:n,mt l	make a copy of lines numbered n through m and put after line l
	:n,mw file	write lines numbered n through m to file
	:n,mw>> file	append lines numbered n through m to end of file
	:'a,' bwfile	write block, marked with a and b, to file
Searching For Text
	/pat	go to pattern pat (forward in file from current cursor position)
	?pat	go to pattern pat (backward in file from current cursor position)
	n	repeat last search, looking in direction of initial search
	N	repeat last search, looking in reverse direction of initial search
	%	find matching ( ) or { } or [ ] (can be used in combination with /,?,n, or N to search for matching brackets throughout file)
Setting Options
Options are either toggled on and off, or given values. When editing, set options for a file with the set command. If you want options to be permanent in a particular directory, create a .exrc file in that directory and set options in that file: set option option option=n. (For example, set ai sm sw=4.) If you want certain option settings to apply throughout your Unix environment, edit your .login file by entering setenv EXINIT'set option option option=n' (for example, setenv EXINIT'set ai sw wm=10').
The values in a .exrc file for a directory will override the values of EXINIT in the .login file. If no .exrc file exists, any option values set in the .login are used. If some option values are set in the .exrc file and others are set in the .login file, values from both files are used.
	:set all	displays all option settings on your terminal
	:set	displays settings set by EXINIT, the .exrc file, and any current changes
	:set option	sets option
	:set option=n	sets option and assigns it the value of n
	:set nooption	unsets option
	:set option?	displays setting of option on screen status line
Common Option Selections
(To see a complete list of options, enter :set all.)

	Option Name	Default	What Option Does
	autoindent (ai)	noai	provides automatic indentation during text entry
	autowrite (aw)	noaw	automatically saves file (write) before searches, control codes, escapes to shell
	ignorecase (ic)	noic	ignore case during searchs
	lisp	nolisp	modify )( }{ ][ to be compatible with lisp
	list	nolist	show tabs (^I) and ends of lines ($)
	magic	magic	allows metacharacters; with nomagic, these only include <Control> and $
	number (nu)	nonu	show line numbers
	readonly (ro)	noro	make file status read only
	redraw (re)	nore	simulate smart terminal on dumb
	shell	sh=/bin/sh	pathname of new shell for ! and :sh (default from $SHELL if present)
	showmatch (sm)	nosm	show matching ( or { when ) or } is entered
	term	$TERM	name of terminal being used; set by Unix $TERM
	terse	noterse	provide shorter error diagnostics
	wrapmargin (wm)	wm=0	cause lines to be broken at least n spaces from right edge of screen