The vi editor is available on almost all Unix systems. vi can be used from any type of terminal because it does not depend on arrow keys and function keys--it uses the standard alphabetic keys for commands. This help note explains the basics of vi: opening and closing a file, moving around in a file and elementary editing.
vi filename Edit a file named "filename".
vi newfile create a new file named "newfile".
i Insert text left of cursor.
a Append text right of cursor.
h Left one space.
j Down one line.
k Up one line.
l Right one space.
x Delete character.
nx Delete n characters.
X Delete character before cursor.
dw Delete word.
ndw Delete n words.
dd Delete line.
ndd Delete n lines.
D Delete characters from cursor to end of line.
r Replace character under cursor.
cw Replace a word.
ncw Replace n words.
C Change text from cursor to end of line.
o Insert blank line below cursor (ready for insertion).
O Insert blank line above cursor (ready for insertion).
J Join succeeding line to current cursor line.
nJ Join n succeeding lines to current cursor line.
u Undo last change.
U Restore current line.
w Forward word by word.
b Backward word by word.
$ To end of line.
0 (zero) To beginning of line.
H To top line of screen.
M To middle line of screen.
L To last line of screen.
G To last line of file.
1G To first line of file.
<Control>f Scroll forward one screen.
<Control>b Scroll backward one screen.
<Control>d Scroll down one-half screen.
<Control>u Scroll up one-half screen.
n Repeat last search in same direction.
N Repeat last search in opposite direction.
ZZ Save file and then quit.
:w Save file.
:q! Discard changes and quit file.
Copyright 1991 by yhang, Simon Fraser University.
Last update: 2024-05-26T11:03:36-07:00