command terminal Linux Commands MOC

The vim command is a text editor similar to nano. It is more difficult than nano but more powerful.

Usage

vim <file> i goes into insert mode for typing

$ vim new-file-in-vim.txt

Important Subcommands

Go to normal mode (not insert mode) first

Esc, Ctrl+C: Normal mode for commands
i: Insert mode for typing
:q: Quit
:q!: Force quit
:wq, :x: Save and quit
gUU: Convert entire line to uppercase
ga, :as, :ascii: Display ascii character as hex
:%!xxd: Show file in hexadecimal

Searching

/<search_term>: Search forwards
?<search_term>: Search backwards
n: Next occurrence
\<: Beginning of word in search term /\<Linux\>
\>: End of word in search term /\<Linux\>
\c: Ignore case, put after search term /Linux\c
\C: Force case, put after search term /Linux\C
*: Search forwards for word on cursor
#: Search backwards for word on cursor
\%x: Search by hex code /\%x61

Visual Mode

v: Visual mode for highlighting
u: Switch highlight to lowercase
U: Switch highlight to uppercase
~: Swap all case in highlight