Tutorials
vi Editor, Learn vi About vi editor
  • vi is Found on Nearly Every Unix Computer
  • vi is the standard Unix editor
  • vi is Powerful and Fast
  • Your terminal displays a section of the file you are editing
  • vi can do anything you want
  • You don't need to remove your fingers from the standard typing keys-the keys themselves give commands to vi
  • vi Stays Out of Your Way
  • vi has no menus
  • vi commands are short

    Starting vi
    Open a file with vi.
    Type: vi myfile.txt
    If myfile.txt does not exist, a screen will appear with just a cursor at the top followed by tildes (~) in the first column.

    If myfile.txt does exist, the first few line of the file will appear.

    The status line at the bottom of your screen shows error messages and provides information and feedback, including the name of the file.

    vi Modes

    Command Mode

  • Command mode is the mode you are in when you start (default mode)
  • Command mode is the mode in which commands are given to move around in the file, to make changes, and to leave the file
  • Commands are case sensitive: j not the same as J
  • Most commands do not appear on the screen as you type them. Some commands will appear on the last line: : / ?

    Insert (or Text) Mode

  • The mode in which text is created. (You must press at the end of each line unless you've set wrap margin.)
  • There is more than one way to get into insert mode but only one way to leave: return to command mode by pressing
  • When in doubt about which mode you are in, press

    Basic Cursor Movement
    k Up one line
    j Down one line
    h Left one character
    l Right one character (or use )
    w Right one word
    b Left one word

    NOTE: Many vi commands can take a leading count (e. g., 6k, 7e).

    Entering, Deleting, and Changing Text
    i Enter text entry mode
    x Delete a character
    dd Delete a line
    r Replace a character
    R Overwrite text, press to end


    Setting Basic Options in vi
    Displaying Line Numbers
    :set nu Display line numbers
    :set nonu Hide line numbers

    Setting Right Margin
    :set wm=number Set Wrap Margin number of spaces from right edge of screen
    :set wm=10 Set Wrap Margin 10 spaces from right edge of screen
    :set wm=0 Turn off Wrap Margin

    Exiting vi
    To exit you must be in command mode-press if you are not in command mode

    You must press after commands that begin with a : (colon)
    ZZ Write (if there were changes), then quit
    :wq Write, then quit
    :q Quit (will only work if file has not been changed)
    :q! Quit without saving changes to file


    Basics Summary
    A Basic vi Session
    To enter vi, type: vi filename
    To enter insert mode, type: i
    Type in the text: This is easy.
    To leave insert mode and return to command mode, press:
    In command mode, save changes and exit vi by typing: :wq
    You are back at the Unix prompt.


    INTERMEDIATE VI
    More On Cursor Movement
    e Move to end of current word
    $ Move to end of current line
    ^ Move to beginning of current line
    + Move to beginning of next line
    - Move to beginning of previous line
    G Go to last line of the file
    :n Go to line with this number (:10 goes to line 10)
    d Scroll down one-half screen
    u Scroll up one-half screen
    f Scroll forward one full screen
    b Scroll backward one full screen
    ) Move to the next sentence
    ( Move to the previous sentence
    } Move to the next paragraph
    { Move to the previous paragraph
    H Move to the top line of the screen
    M Move to the middle line of the screen
    L Move to the last line of the screen
    % Move to matching bracket: ( { [ ] } )


    Entering Text Mode
    i Insert text before current character
    a Append text after current character
    I Begin text insertion at the beginning of a line
    A Append text at end of a line
    o Open a new line below current line
    O Open a new line above current line


    Commands and Objects
    FormatExample
    operator number objectc2w
    number operator object2cw


    Operators
    c change
    d delete
    y yank

    Objects and Locations
    w one word forward
    b one word backward
    e end of word
    H, M, L top, middle, or bottom line on screen
    ), ( next sentence, previous sentence
    }, { next paragraph, previous paragraph
    ^, $ beginning of line, end of line
    /pattern/ forward to pattern


    Replacing and Changing Text
    rReplace only the character under the cursor. (Note: using r you remain in command mode.)
    RBeginning with the character under the cursor, replace as many characters on this line as you want. (You are in overtype mode until you press
    cwBeginning with the character under the cursor, change a word to whatever you type. (You are in insert mode until you press )
    c$Beginning with the character under the cursor,
    Cchange a line to whatever you type. (You are in insert mode until you press )


    Deleting Text
    x Delete a character
    dw Delete an alphabetic word and the following space (6dw deletes six words)
    dW Delete a blank-delimited word and the following space
    dd Delete a line (6dd deletes six lines)
    d$ Delete all characters to the end of the line.
    d} Delete all characters to the end of the paragraph.
    :5,30d Delete lines 5 through 30

    Deleted text goes into a temporary buffer that is replaced each time you delete (or copy) more text. The current contents of the buffer can be put back into your file.

    Copying and Pasting Text
    yy Copy (yank) the current line
    6yy Copy (yank) six lines, beginning with the current line
    yw Copy the current word
    p Put the text after the cursor position
    P Put the text before the cursor position
    Copied text goes into a temporary buffer that is replaced each time you copy (or delete) more text. Only the current contents of the temporary buffer can be put back into your file. As a result, when you use copy (y), use the put (p) command immediately.

    A yank and put procedure using colon commands:
    :5,10y Copy lines 5-10

    Move cursor
    :put Put after cursor

    Other Useful Commands
    . Repeat last command
    n. Repeat last command n number of times
    J Join next line to current line
    u Undo last single change
    U Restore current line
    ~ Change letter's case (capital to lower and vice versa)


    Buffers
    Temporary Buffer
    Deleted or copied text goes into a temporary unnamed buffer. The contents of the temporary buffer may be retrieved by using the p or P commands.
    p Put words from temporary buffer after cursor or put lines from temporary buffer below current line
    P Put words from temporary buffer before cursor or put lines from temporary buffer above current line


    Lettered Buffers
    There are 26 lettered buffers (a-z). Contents of a lettered buffer are saved until you copy or delete more characters into it, or until you quit your current vi session.
    "ayy Copy (yank) a line into buffer a
    "Ayy Appends to buffer a
    "a10yy Copies 10 lines into buffer a
    "a10dd Deletes 10 lines of text into buffer a
    "ap Put contents of lettered buffer a below the current line

    Both temporary and lettered buffers last only for the current vi session.

    Copying, Deleting, or Moving Text Using Line Numbers
    These commands start with a colon (:) and end with a or g shows the line number of the current line
    The basic form of colon commands is

    :beginning_line, ending_line command destination

    where destination is the line after which you want the text placed.
    :5,10 co 105 Copy lines 5-10 to the line after 105
    :5,20 m $ Move lines 5-20 to end of file
    :7,300 d Delete lines 7-300 (to buffer)


    Searching for Text
    /text Search forward (down) for text (text can include spaces and characters with special meanings.)
    ?text Search backward (up) for text
    n Repeat last search in the same direction
    N Repeat last search in the opposite direction
    fchar Search forward for a charcter on current line
    Fchar Search backward for a character on current line
    ; Repeat last character search in the same direction
    % Find matching ( ), { }, or [ ]


    Substitutions
    The simplest way to do substitutions over a range of lines, or throughout the file, is to use the s colon command. The basic form of this command is the following:

    :n1,n2s/old/new/gc
    n1 is the beginning line
    n2 is the ending line number
    s means to substitute text matching the pattern (old) with text specified by (new)
    g (global) is optional. It indicates you want to substitute all occurrences on the indicated lines. If you use g, the editor substitutes only the first occurrence on the indicated lines.
    c (confirm) is optional. It indicates you want to confirm each substitution before vi completes it.


    :%s/old/new/g Substitutes old with new throughout the file
    :.,$s/old/new/g Substitutes old with new from the current cursor position to the end of the file
    :^,.s/old/new/g Substitutes old with new from the beginning of the file to the current cursor position
    :& Repeats the last substitute (:s) command


    ADVANCED VI TUTORIAL

    Writing to and Reading from Files
    :w file Write current file to file
    :w>>file Append current file to file
    :5,10w file Write lines 5 through 10 to file
    :5,10w>>file Append Lines 5 through 10 to file
    :r file Read a copy of file into current file
    :!ls See a list of files in your current directory


    More About Options From Command Mode-within vi for the current file only
    :set all Display all options
    :set Display current settings of options
    :set nooption Unset option
    :set ai Set Auto Indentation during text entry
    :set ic Set Ignore Case during searches
    :set nu Show line Numbers
    :set sm Show Matching ( or { when ) or } is entered
    :set wm=10 Set Wrap Margin 10 spaces from right edge of screen


    Customizing vi Sessions Options can be set four ways:
  • During a vi session
    • :set nu
  • In a .exrc file in your home directory. Sample contents of a .exrc file
    • set nu
    • set ai
    • set wm=10
  • In a .exrc file in a subdirectory.
  • By setting the EXINIT environmental variable. Example of setting the EXINIT environmental variable
    • setenv EXINIT "set nu ai ic"


    Order of Precedence
  • If a .exrc file exists in the current directory, vi reads it when beginning a session.
  • If no .exrc file exists in the current directory, vi checks the home directory for a .exrc file. If such a file exists, vi reads it when beginning a session.
  • If no .exrc file is found, vi uses its defaults.
  • Values set in the EXINIT environmental variable override any values set in a .exrc file.

    Creating a .exrc File

    At the system prompt, type: vi .exrc
    Type the following commands, each on a separate line:
  • set ai
  • set ic
  • set nu
  • set wm=8 Do not leave blank lines at the beginning or end of the .exrc file.
    When you are finished, type: ZZ

    Abbreviations & Mapping
    Abbreviations are text strings that automatically expand into larger strings during insert mode.
    :ab UW University of Washington

    Mapping defines a single key to execute a sequence of keystrokes when the single key is pressed in command mode. In the following example,the @ key is mapped to replace the current word with "University of Washington". The v allows you to enter the key into the command sequence.
    :map @ cwUniversity of Washington v

    Mapping can also be used to call commands external to vi, such as sort or fmt. In the following example, the @ sign is mapped to the sort command, so that the current paragraph (indicated by the }) will be sorted. The v allows you to enter the key into the command sequence. The second completes the map command.
    :map @ !}sort v

    Note: You can also put abbreviation and mapping commands in your .exrc file.

    TIPS AND TRICKS

    Find the line that reads
    editor=
    Change it to read
    editor=vi
    Write and quit the file. (ZZ or :wq) vi-ing More Than One File
    You can edit more than one file at a time with vi.
    From The Unix Shell Prompt
    vi file1 file2 vi two (or more) files at the same time From Command Mode
    :n Move to file2 from file1
    :rew Rewind back to file1
    :e! Restore original file1 file2 (start all over)
    ZZ Save and quit file. (Must be done for each file.)


    Moving the Left Margin
    When you print a file you may want the left margin moved to the right. This leaves room for a three-hole punch.
    :1,$> Move entire file 1 shift width (eight spaces) to the right
    :1,$< Move entire file eight spaces to the left
    :%s/^/ /g Insert any number of spaces at the beginning of each line in the entire file. Simply press the space bar the desired number of times.
    :20>> Moves next 20 lines over 1 shift width.


    Issuing Shell Commands From vi
    You can issue a single shell command while in the vi editor. For example, to list the files in your directory (ls), follow these steps:


    Press d to return to vi editing.

    Double Spacing a File
    Occasionally, you may want a double spaced version of your file for editing or review.
    :w Write changes to your file (just in case).
    :!ls List contents of your current directory on the screen. Press to return to vi. You can issue many shell commands by temporarily leaving the vi editor. From Command Mode
    :w Write changes to your file.
    :sh Return to the shell to enter a number of commands without leaving vi.
    :w original.backup Save a backup copy of the original file
    :%! sed G Double space the entire file.
    :1,5! sed G Double space the lines from 1-5.
    ye
    • vi Editor