Beginner’s Guide to VI Shortcuts: Master Text Editing Basics

The VI editor is a powerful, efficient, ubiquitous text editor in the Unix/Linux ecosystem. For many developers and system administrators, it is a critical tool for editing configuration files, writing scripts, or coding. While VI may initially seem daunting due to its unique modal interface, its shortcodes make it an extremely productive tool when mastered.

This article will explore the essential VI shortcodes that can supercharge your editing efficiency.

What Are VI Short Codes?

Shortcodes in VI are key combinations or commands that perform specific actions. These codes allow you to navigate, edit, search, and manipulate text quickly and effectively. VI operates in different modes:

• Command Mode: Default mode for navigation and issuing commands.
• Insert Mode: For text input.
• Visual Mode: For selecting and manipulating blocks of text.

Knowing which shortcodes work in each mode is key to using VI effectively.

Navigation Short Codes

Navigating efficiently in VI is fundamental. Here are the basics:

Short Code	Action
h	Move left by one character
l	Move right by one character
j	Move down by one line
k	Move up by one line
w	Move forward to the start of the next word
b	Move backward to the start of the word
0	Move to the beginning of the current line
^	Move to the first non-whitespace character
$	Move to the end of the current line
G	Go to the end of the file
gg	Go to the beginning of the file
Ctrl+d	Scroll down half a screen
Ctrl+u	Scroll up half a screen
:n	Jump to line n
:set nu	To get line numbers

Editing Short Codes

VI offers quick ways to insert, delete, and modify text:

Short Code	Action
i	Enter insert mode before the cursor
I	Enter insert mode at the beginning of the line
a	Enter insert mode after the cursor
A	Enter insert mode at the end of the line
o	Open a new line below the current line
O	Open a new line above the current line
x	Delete the character under the cursor
dd	Delete the current line
D	Delete from the cursor to the end of the line
yy	Copy (yank) the current line
p	Paste after the cursor
P	Paste before the cursor
u	Undo the last action
Ctrl+r	Redo the undone action
r<char>	Replace the character under the cursor with <char>
cw	Change the word under the cursor

Searching and Replacing

Searching and replacing text is straightforward with VI short codes:

Short Code	Action
/pattern	Search forward for pattern
?pattern	Search backward for pattern
n	Repeat the last search in the same direction
N	Repeat the last search in the opposite direction
:%s/old/new/g	Replace all occurrences of old with new in the file
:n,m s/old/new/g	Search backwards for pattern

Working with Lines and Blocks

These shortcodes help manage and edit lines or blocks of text:

Short Code	Action
>>	Indent the current line
<<	Un-indent the current line
V	Enter visual line mode
Ctrl+v	Enter visual block mode
:n	Go to line number n
:.,.+3d	Delete the current line and the next three

Exiting VI

Exiting VI properly is crucial to avoid unintended changes or losing your work:

Short Code	Action
:w	Save the file
:q	Quit if no changes have been made
:wq or ZZ	Save and quit
:q!	Quit without saving changes

Conclusion

Mastering VI shortcodes transforms the editor into a seamless extension of your workflow. Although the learning curve may seem steep initially, the efficiency gained in editing, navigating, and managing text makes VI an invaluable tool. Whether you are a developer, system administrator, or Linux enthusiast, investing time in learning VI will pay dividends in productivity.

Resources

• Marquette
• Tmux