VI Editor
There are two main modes to the vi editor: text insertion mode and vi command mode. Unlike
most other editors, the vi editor does not start you out in text insertion mode; you start in the vi
command mode. You can move back and forth between the two using the escape key.
vi command mode will allow you to move around in your text, enter the text insertion mode,
replace text, move/copy blocks of text, etc. There is also a large group of commands that can be
entered from the colon (:) prompt, such as: leaving the vi editor (with or without saving your
text), searching for text strings, copying blocks to text, etc. Please note: You do not hit the
return key after you enter a vi command.
text insertion mode will only allow you to insert text. There are several ways to get into text
insertion mode from the vi editor, depending on where you want to start inserting text. The only
way to get out of text insertion mode and back into command mode is by use of the “esc” key.
Please note: While you are in text insertion mode you cannot move up/down lines to insert text.
If you need to add text to another location than you cursor is located, you must leave text
insertion mode (“esc”), move to the new location, and re-enter text insertion mode.
Moving the Cursor
x delete character
by character dd delete line
h one character to the left dw delete word
l one character to the right D delete rest of line
n moves to n column of line d) delete rest of sentence
xp transpose 2 characters
by word
w forward to start of word Inserting Text
e forward to end of word
b backward to start of word a append text after cursor
A append text at end of line
by line I insert text before cursor
0 or ^ forward to start of line I insert text at beginning of line
$ forward to end of line o open a blank line below the cursor
j down one line O open a blank line above the cursor
k up one line
ENTER forward to start of next line Replacing Text
by line number r replace single character
lG goto line 1 R Replace multiple characters
nG goto line n c (c followed by a space) change
G goto last line of file character
cw change word
by screen cc change line
H top of screen C change rest of line
M middle of screen c) change rest of sentence from cursor
L last line of screen s substitute character
^d down half screen S substitute line
^u up half screen
^f forward one screen
^b backward one screen
^e screen up one line
^y screen down one line
Deleting Text
1
Line Move and Copy Commands :set nu display line numbers
:set nonu remove line numbers
yy yank line to buffer
yw yank word to buffer Saving Text and/or Leaving vi
dd delete line to buffer
dw delete word to buffer :w write
p put buffer below cursor :wq write and quit
P put buffer above cursor :x write and quit
“cy yank buffer to c :q quit
“cp put buffer c :q! quit and ignore changes
ZZ write if changed and quit
Searching for a Character String :r filename read in file filename
:w filename write to file filename
/string forward search for string :n,m w filename write lines n through m
?string backward search for string to filename
n repeat last search in same direction
N repeat last search in reverse direction Moving a Section of Text: Cut and Paste
Global search and replace a: Move the cursor to the beginning of the
block to be moved
:g/string1/s//string2/g b: Use ndd to delete n lines.
replaces all occurrences c: Move the cursor to the place you want to
of string1 with string2 insert the cut text.
d: Use p to paste below the cursor or P to paste
Miscellaneous Commands above the cursor.
J join the line below the cursor to the
current line
:! execute a shell command and stay
in vi
:set auto-indent
:csh open a shell
^d close shell and return to vi
:r read results of UNIX command
into the buffer
Leading Command Counts
All commands that do not begin with a colon
(:) can be preceded by a number to perform
multiple repetitions of the command. For
example, 22y will yank 22
lines into the buffer and 7cw will change 7
words.
Repeating a Command
Press the period (.) to repeat the last
command.
Undoing Edits
u undo last change
U undo all changes on the same line
Displaying Line Numbers
