VIM the Powerful Text Editor

If you were writing a book/thesis/essay/program

Vim would allow you to
1) Move to where you want to edit quickly:-
I want to get to a certain section which was a sentence about a donkey and a cart, I can search for a line containing donkey and cart.

2) Substitution
If I want to change the name of a character all the way through my document, but have to be careful because there is more than one person with same Christian name then I can probably specify a substitution which will only change the correct one

3) Only type something once
There are a dozen ways to remember, recall and repeat text I have already entered else where.

Well that's just the briefest of introductions, see the YouTube videos for more information

Vim Use Seems to be the most active

groups.yahoo.com/group/vim

groups.google.com/group/vim_mac

comp.editors (The historical newgroup)

" new items marked *N* , corrected items marked *C*
" searching
/joe/e : cursor set to End of match
/joe/e+1 : cursor set to End of match plus 1
/joe/s-2 : cursor set to Start of match minus 2
/joe/+3 : find joe move cursor 3 lines down
/^joe.*fred.*bill/ : find joe AND fred AND Bill (Joe at start of line)
/^[A-J]/ : search for lines beginning with one or more A-J
/begin\_.*end : search over possible multiple lines
/fred\_s*joe/ : any whitespace including newline *C*
/fred\|joe : Search for FRED OR JOE
/.*fred\&.*joe : Search for FRED AND JOE in any ORDER!
/\/ : search for fred but not alfred or frederick *C*
/\<\d\d\d\d\> : Search for exactly 4 digit numbers
/\D\d\d\d\d\D : Search for exactly 4 digit numbers
/\<\d\{4}\> : same thing
/\([^0-9]\|^\)%.*% : Search for absence of a digit or beginning of line
" finding empty lines
/^\n\{3} : find 3 empty lines
/^str.*\nstr : find 2 successive lines starting with str
/\(^str.*\n\)\{2} : find 2 successive lines starting with str
" using rexexp memory in a search
/\(fred\).*\(joe\).*\2.*\1
" Repeating the Regexp (rather than what the Regexp finds)
/^\([^,]*,\)\{8}
" visual searching
:vmap // y/" : search for visually highlighted text
:vmap // y/=escape(@", '\\/.*$^~[]') : with spec chars
" \zs and \ze regex delimiters :h /\zs
/<\zs[^>]*\ze> : search for tag contents, ignoring chevrons
" zero-width :h /\@=
/<\@<=[^>]*>\@= : search for tag contents, ignoring chevrons
/<\@<=\_[^>]*>\@= : search for tags across possible multiple lines
" searching over multiple lines \_ means including newline
/ : search for multiple line comments
/fred\_s*joe/ : any whitespace including newline *C*
/bugs\(\_.\)*bunny : bugs followed by bunny anywhere in file
:h \_ : help
" search for declaration of subroutine/function under cursor
:nmap gx yiw/^\(sub\function\)\s\+"
" multiple file search
:bufdo /searchstr/ : use :rewind to recommence search
" multiple file search better but cheating
:bufdo %s/searchstr/&/gic : say n and then a to stop
" How to search for a URL without backslashing
?http://www.vim.org/ : (first) search BACKWARDS!!! clever huh!
" Specify what you are NOT searching for (vowels)
/\c\v([^aeiou]&\a){4} : search for 4 consecutive consonants
/\%>20l\%<30lgoat : Search for goat between lines 20 and 30 *N*
/^.\{-}home.\{-}\zshome/e : match only the 2nd occurence in a line of "home" *N*
:%s/home.\{-}\zshome/alone : Substitute only the occurrence of home in any line *N*
" find str but not on lines containing tongue
^\(.*tongue.*\)\@!.*nose.*$
\v^((tongue)@!.)*nose((tongue)@!.)*$
.*nose.*\&^\%(\%(tongue\)\@!.\)*$
:v/tongue/s/nose/&/gic
"----------------------------------------
"substitution
:%s/fred/joe/igc : general substitute command
:%s//joe/igc : Substitute what you last searched for *N*
:%s/~/sue/igc : Substitute your last replacement string for *N*
:%s/\r//g : Delete DOS returns ^M
" Is your Text File jumbled onto one line? use following
:%s/\r/\r/g : Turn DOS returns ^M into real returns
:%s= *$== : delete end of line blanks
:%s= \+$== : Same thing
:%s#\s*\r\?$## : Clean both trailing spaces AND DOS returns
:%s#\s*\r*$## : same thing
" deleting empty lines
:%s/^\n\{3}// : delete blocks of 3 empty lines
:%s/^\n\+/\r/ : compressing empty lines
:%s#<[^>]\+>##g : delete html tags, leave text (non-greedy)
:%s#<\_.\{-1,}>##g : delete html tags possibly multi-line (non-greedy)
" VIM Power Substitute
:'a,'bg/fred/s/dick/joe/igc : VERY USEFUL
" duplicating columns
:%s= [^ ]\+$=&&= : duplicate end column
:%s= \f\+$=&&= : same thing
:%s= \S\+$=&& : usually the same
" memory
%s#.*\(tbl_\w\+\).*#\1# : produce a list of all strings tbl_* *N*
:s/\(.*\):\(.*\)/\2 : \1/ : reverse fields separated by :
:%s/^\(.*\)\n\1$/\1/ : delete duplicate lines
" non-greedy matching \{-}
:%s/^.\{-}pdf/new.pdf/ : delete to 1st pdf only
" use of optional atom \?
:%s#\<[zy]\?tbl_[a-z_]\+\>#\L&#gc : lowercase with optional leading characters
" over possibly many lines
:%s/// : delete possibly multi-line comments
:help /\{-} : help non-greedy
" substitute using a register
:s/fred/a/g : sub "fred" with contents of register "a"
:s/fred/asome_texts/g
:s/fred/\=@a/g : better alternative as register not displayed
" multiple commands on one line
:%s/\f\+\.gif\>/\r&\r/g | v/\.gif$/d | %s/gif/jpg/
:%s/a/but/gie|:update|:next : then use @: to repeat
" ORing
:%s/suck\|buck/loopy/gc : ORing (must break pipe)
:%s/\v(.*\n){5}/&\r : insert a blank line every 5 lines *N*
" Calling a VIM function
:s/__date__/\=strftime("%c")/ : insert datestring
" Working with Columns sub any str1 in col3
:%s:\(\(\w\+\s\+\)\{2}\)str1:\1str2:
" Swapping first & last column (4 columns)
:%s:\(\w\+\)\(.*\s\+\)\(\w\+\)$:\3\2\1:
" filter all form elements into paste register
:redir @*|sil exec 'g#<\(input\|select\|textarea\|/\=form\)\>#p'|redir END
:nmap ,z :redir @*sil exec 'g@<\(input\select\textarea\/\=form\)\>@p'redir END
" substitute string in column 30 *N*
:%s/^\(.\{30\}\)xx/\1yy/
" decrement numbers by 3
:%s/\d\+/\=(submatch(0)-3)/
" increment numbers by 6 on certain lines only
:g/loc\|function/s/\d/\=submatch(0)+6/
" better
:%s#txtdev\zs\d#\=submatch(0)+1#g
:h /\zs
" increment only numbers gg\d\d by 6 (another way)
:%s/\(gg\)\@<=\d\+/\=submatch(0)+6/
:h zero-width
" rename a string with an incrementing number
:let i=10 | 'a,'bg/Abc/s/yy/\=i/ |let i=i+1 # convert yy to 10,11,12 etc
" as above but more precise
:let i=10 | 'a,'bg/Abc/s/xx\zsyy\ze/\=i/ |let i=i+1 # convert xxyy to xx11,xx12,xx13
" find replacement text, put in memory, then use \zs to simplify substitute
:%s/"\([^.]\+\).*\zsxx/\1/
" Pull word under cursor into LHS of a substitute
:nmap z :%s#\<=expand("")\>#
" Pull Visually Highlighted text into LHS of a substitute
:vmap z :%s/\<*\>/
" substitute singular or plural
:'a,'bs/bucket\(s\)*/bowl\1/gic *N*
----------------------------------------
" all following performing similar task, substitute within substitution
" Multiple single character substitution in a portion of line only
:%s,\(all/.*\)\@<=/,_,g : replace all / with _ AFTER "all/"
" Same thing
:s#all/\zs.*#\=substitute(submatch(0), '/', '_', 'g')#
" Substitute by splitting line, then re-joining
:s#all/#&^M#|s#/#_#g|-j!
" Substitute inside substitute
:%s/.*/\='cp '.submatch(0).' all/'.substitute(submatch(0),'/','_','g')/
----------------------------------------
" global command display
:g/gladiolli/# : display with line numbers (YOU WANT THIS!)
:g/fred.*joe.*dick/ : display all lines fred,joe & dick
:g/\/ : display all lines fred but not freddy
:g/^\s*$/d : delete all blank lines
:g!/^dd/d : delete lines not containing string
:v/^dd/d : delete lines not containing string
:g/fred/,/joe/d : not line based (very powerfull)
:g/fred/,/joe/j : Join Lines *N*
:g/-------/.-10,.d : Delete string & 10 previous lines
:g/{/ ,/}/- s/\n\+/\r/g : Delete empty lines but only between {...}
:v/\S/d : Delete empty lines (both types)
:v/./,/./-j : compress empty lines
:g/^$/,/./-j : compress empty lines
:g/p : ORing
:g/^/put_ : double space file (pu = put)
:g/^/m0 : Reverse file (m = move)
:'a,'bg/^/m'b : Reverse a section a to b
:g/^/t. : duplicate every line
:g/fred/t$ : copy(transfer) lines matching fred to EOF
:g/stage/t'a : copy (transfer) lines matching stage to marker a (cannot use .) *C*
:g/\(^I[^^I]*\)\{80}/d : delete all lines containing at least 80 tabs
" perform a substitute on every other line
:g/^/ if line('.')%2|s/^/zz /
" match all lines containing "somestr" between markers a & b
" copy after line containing "otherstr"
:'a,'bg/somestr/co/otherstr/ : co(py) or mo(ve)
" as above but also do a substitution
:'a,'bg/str1/s/str1/&&&/|mo/str2/
:%norm jdd : delete every other line
" incrementing numbers (type as 5 characters)
:.,$g/^\d/exe "norm! \": increment numbers
:'a,'bg/\d\+/norm! ^A : increment numbers
" storing glob results (note must use APPEND) you need to empty reg a first with qaq.
"save results to a register/paste buffer
:g/fred/y A : append all lines fred to register a
:g/fred/y A | :let @*=@a : put into paste buffer
:let @a=''|g/Barratt/y A |:let @*=@a
" filter lines to a file (file must already exist)
:'a,'bg/^Error/ . w >> errors.txt
" duplicate every line in a file wrap a print '' around each duplicate
:g/./yank|put|-1s/'/"/g|s/.*/Print '&'/
" replace string with contents of a file, -d deletes the "mark"
:g/^MARK$/r tmp.txt | -d
" display prettily
:g//z#.5 : display with context
:g//z#.5|echo "==========" : display beautifully
" Combining g// with normal mode commands
:g/|/norm 2f|r* : replace 2nd | with a star
"send output of previous global command to a new window
:nmap :redir @a:g//:redir END:new:put! a
-------------

----------------------------------------
" Global combined with substitute (power editing)
:'a,'bg/fred/s/joe/susan/gic : can use memory to extend matching
:/fred/,/joe/s/fred/joe/gic : non-line based (ultra)
:/biz/,/any/g/article/s/wheel/bucket/gic: non-line based *N*
----------------------------------------
" Find fred before beginning search for joe
:/fred/;/joe/-2,/sid/+3s/sally/alley/gIC
----------------------------------------
" create a new file for each line of file eg 1.txt,2.txt,3,txt etc
:g/^/exe ".w ".line(".").".txt"
----------------------------------------
" Summary of editing repeats *N*
. last edit (magic dot)
:& last substitute
:%& last substitute every line
:%&gic last substitute every line confirm
g% normal mode repeat last substitute
g& last substitute on all lines
@@ last recording
@: last command-mode command
:!! last :! command
:~ last substitute
:help repeating
----------------------------------------
" Summary of repeated searches
; last f, t, F or T
, last f, t, F or T in opposite direction
n last / or ? search
N last / or ? search in opposite direction
----------------------------------------
" Absolutely essential
----------------------------------------
* # g* g# : find word under cursor () (forwards/backwards)
% : match brackets {}[]()
. : repeat last modification
@: : repeat last : command (then @@)
matchit.vim : % now matches tags

: word completion in insert mode
: Line complete SUPER USEFUL
/ : Pull onto search/command line
/ : Pull onto search/command line
:set ignorecase : you nearly always want this
:set smartcase : overrides ignorecase if uppercase used in search string (cool)
:syntax on : colour syntax in Perl,HTML,PHP etc
:h regexp : type control-D and get a list all help topics containing
regexp (plus use TAB to Step thru list)
----------------------------------------
" MAKE IT EASY TO UPDATE/RELOAD _vimrc
:nmap ,s :source $VIM/_vimrc
:nmap ,v :e $VIM/_vimrc
" How to have a variant in your .vimrc for different PCs *N*
if $COMPUTERNAME == "NEWPC"
ab mypc vista
else
ab mypc dell25
endif
----------------------------------------
"VISUAL MODE (easy to add other HTML Tags)
:vmap sb "zdiz : wrap around VISUALLY selected Text
:vmap st "zdi : wrap around VISUALLY selected Text
----------------------------------------
"vim 7 tabs
vim -p fred.php joe.php : open files in tabs
:tabe fred.php : open fred.php in a new tab
:tab ball : tab open files
" vim 7 forcing use of tabs from .vimrc
:nnoremap gf gf
:cab e tabe
:tab sball : retab all files in buffer (repair) *N*
----------------------------------------
" Exploring
:e . : file explorer
:Exp(lore) : file explorer note capital Ex
:Sex(plore) : file explorer in split window
:browse e : windows style browser
:ls : list of buffers
:cd .. : move to parent directory
:args : list of files
:args *.php : open list of files (you need this!)
:lcd %:p:h : change to directory of current file
:autocmd BufEnter * lcd %:p:h : change to directory of current file automatically (put in _vimrc)
----------------------------------------
" Changing Case
guu : lowercase line
gUU : uppercase line
Vu : lowercase line
VU : uppercase line
g~~ : flip case line
vEU : Upper Case Word
vE~ : Flip Case Word
ggguG : lowercase entire file
" Titlise Visually Selected Text (map for .vimrc)
vmap ,c :s/\<\(.\)\(\k*\)\>/\u\1\L\2/g
" titlise a line
nmap ,t :s/.*/\L&/:s/\<./\u&/g *N*
" Uppercase first letter of sentences
:%s/[.!?]\_s\+\a/\U&\E/g
----------------------------------------
gf : open file name under cursor (SUPER)
:nnoremap gF :view : open file under cursor, create if necessary
ga : display hex,ascii value of char under cursor
ggVGg? : rot13 whole file
ggg?G : rot13 whole file (quicker for large file)
:8 | normal VGg? : rot13 from line 8
:normal 10GVGg? : rot13 from line 8
, : increment,decrement number under cursor
win32 users must remap CNTRL-A
=5*5 : insert 25 into text (mini-calculator)
----------------------------------------
" Make all other tips superfluous
:h 42 : also http://www.google.com/search?q=42
:h holy-grail
:h!
----------------------------------------
" Markers & moving about
'. : jump to last modification line (SUPER)
`. : jump to exact spot in last modification line
g; : cycle thru recent changes (oldest first)
g, : reverse direction
:changes
:h changelist : help for above
: retrace your movements in file (starting from most recent)
: retrace your movements in file (reverse direction)
:ju(mps) : list of your movements
:help jump-motions
:history : list of all your commands
:his c : commandline history
:his s : search history
q/ : Search history Window (puts you in full edit mode) (exit CTRL-C)
q: : commandline history Window (puts you in full edit mode) (exit CTRL-C)
: : history Window (exit CTRL-C)
----------------------------------------
" Abbreviations & Maps
" Following 4 maps enable text transfer between VIM sessions
:map :'a,'bw! c:/aaa/x : save text to file x
:map :r c:/aaa/x : retrieve text
:map :.w! c:/aaa/xr : store current line
:map :r c:/aaa/xr : retrieve current line
:ab php : list of abbreviations beginning php
:map , : list of maps beginning ,
" allow use of F10 for mapping (win32)
set wak=no : :h winaltkeys
" For use in Maps
: carriage Return for maps
: Escape
: normally \
: | pipe
: backspace
: No hanging shell window
#display RGB colour under the cursor eg #445588
:nmap c :hi Normal guibg=#=expand("")
map /price only\\|versus/ :in a map need to backslash the \
# type table,,, to get ### Cool ###
imap ,,, bdwa<pa>pa>kA
----------------------------------------
" Simple PHP debugging display all variables yanked into register a
iab phpdb exit("Debug a ");
----------------------------------------
" Using a register as a map (preload registers in .vimrc)
:let @m=":'a,'bs/"
:let @s=":%!sort -u"
----------------------------------------
" Useful tricks
"ayy@a : execute "Vim command" in a text file
yy@" : same thing using unnamed register
u@. : execute command JUST typed in
"ddw : store what you delete in register d *N*
"ccaw : store what you change in register c *N*
----------------------------------------
" Get output from other commands (requires external programs)
:r!ls : reads in output of ls
:r !grep "^ebay" file.txt : grepping in content *N*
:20,25 !rot13 : rot13 lines 20 to 25 *N*
!!date : same thing (but replaces/filters current line)
" Sorting with external sort
:%!sort -u : use an external program to filter content
:'a,'b!sort -u : use an external program to filter content
!1} sort -u : sorts paragraph (note normal mode!!)
:g/^$/;,/^$/-1!sort : Sort each block (note the crucial ;)
" Sorting with internal sort
:sort /.*\%2v/ : sort all lines on second column *N*
----------------------------------------
" Multiple Files Management (Essential)
:bn : goto next buffer
:bp : goto previous buffer
:wn : save file and move to next (super)
:wp : save file and move to previous
:bd : remove file from buffer list (super)
:bun : Buffer unload (remove window but not from list)
:badd file.c : file from buffer list
:b3 : go to buffer 3 *C*
:b main : go to buffer with main in name eg main.c (ultra)
:sav php.html : Save current file as php.html and "move" to php.html
:sav! %<.bak : Save Current file to alternative extension (old way)
:sav! %:r.cfm : Save Current file to alternative extension
:sav %:s/fred/joe/ : do a substitute on file name
:sav %:s/fred/joe/:r.bak2 : do a substitute on file name & ext.
:!mv % %:r.bak : rename current file (DOS use Rename or DEL)
:help filename-modifiers
:e! : return to unmodified file
:w c:/aaa/% : save file elsewhere
:e # : edit alternative file (also cntrl-^)
:rew : return to beginning of edited files list (:args)
:brew : buffer rewind
:sp fred.txt : open fred.txt into a split
:sball,:sb : Split all buffers (super)
:scrollbind : in each split window
:map :ls:e # : Pressing F5 lists all buffer, just type number
:set hidden : Allows to change buffer w/o saving current buffer
----------------------------------------
" Quick jumping between splits
map j_
map k_
----------------------------------------
" Recording (BEST TIP of ALL)
qq # record to q
your complex series of commands
q # end recording
@q to execute
@@ to Repeat
5@@ to Repeat 5 times
" editing a register/recording
"qp :display contents of register q (normal mode)
q :display contents of register q (insert mode)
" you can now see recording contents, edit as required
"qdd :put changed contacts back into q
@q :execute recording/register q
" Operating a Recording on a Visual BLOCK
1) define recording/register
qq:s/ to/ from/g^Mq
2) Define Visual BLOCK
V}
3) hit : and the following appears
:'<,'>
4)Complete as follows
:'<,'>norm @q
----------------------------------------
"combining a recording with a map (to end up in command mode)
:nnoremap ] @q:updatebd
----------------------------------------
" Visual is the newest and usually the most intuitive editing mode
" Visual basics
v : enter visual mode
V : visual mode whole line
: enter VISUAL BLOCK mode
gv : reselect last visual area (ultra)
o : navigate visual area
"*y : yank visual area into paste buffer
V% : visualise what you match
V}J : Join Visual block (great)
V}gJ : Join Visual block w/o adding spac

`[v`] : Highlight last insert
----------------------------------------
" Delete first 2 characters of 10 successive lines
010j2ld
----------------------------------------
" how to copy a set of columns using VISUAL BLOCK
" visual block (AKA columnwise selection) (NOT BY ordinary v command)
then select "column(s)" with motion commands (win32 )
then c,d,y,r etc
----------------------------------------
" how to overwrite a visual-block of text with another such block *C*
" move with hjkl etc
Pick the first block: ctrl-v move y
Pick the second block: ctrl-v move P
----------------------------------------
" text objects :h text-objects *C*
daW : delete contiguous non whitespace
di< yi< ci< : Delete/Yank/Change HTML tag contents
da< ya< ca< : Delete/Yank/Change whole HTML tag
dat dit : Delete HTML tag pair
diB daB : Empty a function {}
das : delete a sentence
----------------------------------------
" _vimrc essentials
:set incsearch : jumps to search word as you type (annoying but excellent)
:set wildignore=*.o,*.obj,*.bak,*.exe : tab complete now ignores these
:set shiftwidth=3 : for shift/tabbing
:set vb t_vb=". : set silent (no beep)
:set browsedir=buffer : Maki GUI File Open use current directory
----------------------------------------
" launching Win IE
:nmap ,f :update:silent !start c:\progra~1\intern~1\iexplore.exe file://%:p
:nmap ,i :update: !start c:\progra~1\intern~1\iexplore.exe
----------------------------------------
" FTPing from VIM
cmap ,r :Nread ftp://209.51.134.122/public_html/index.html
cmap ,w :Nwrite ftp://209.51.134.122/public_html/index.html
gvim ftp://www.somedomain.com/index.html # uses netrw.vim
----------------------------------------
" appending to registers (use CAPITAL)
" yank 5 lines into "a" then add a further 5
"a5yy
10j
"A5yy
----------------------------------------
[I : show lines matching word under cursor (super)
----------------------------------------
" Conventional Shifting/Indenting
:'a,'b>>
" visual shifting (builtin-repeat)
:vnoremap < >gv
" Block shifting (magic)
>i{
>a{
" also
>% and

----------------------------------------
" Redirection & Paste register *
:redir @* : redirect commands to paste buffer
:redir END : end redirect
:redir >> out.txt : redirect to a file
" Working with Paste buffer
"*yy : yank to paste
"*p : insert from paste buffer
" yank to paste buffer (ex mode)
:'a,'by* : Yank range into paste
:%y* : Yank whole buffer into paste
:.y* : Yank Current line to paster
" filter non-printable characters from the paste buffer
" useful when pasting from some gui application
:nmap p :let @* = substitute(@*,'[^[:print:]]','','g')"*p
----------------------------------------
" Re-Formatting text
gq} : Format a paragraph
gqap : Format a paragraph
ggVGgq : Reformat entire file
Vgq : current line
" break lines at 70 chars, if possible after a ;
:s/.\{,69\};\s*\|.\{,69\}\s\+/&\r/g
----------------------------------------
" Operate command over multiple files
:argdo %s/foo/bar/e : operate on all files in :args
:bufdo %s/foo/bar/e
:windo %s/foo/bar/e
:argdo exe '%!sort'|w! : include an external command
:bufdo exe "normal @q" | w : perform a recording on open files
:silent bufdo !zip proj.zip %:p : zip all current files
----------------------------------------
" Command line tricks
gvim -h : help
ls | gvim - : edit a stream!!
cat xx | gvim - -c "v/^\d\d\|^[3-9]/d " : filter a stream
gvim -o file1 file2 : open into a split
" execute one command after opening file
gvim.exe -c "/main" joe.c : Open joe.c & jump to "main"
" execute multiple command on a single file
vim -c "%s/ABC/DEF/ge | update" file1.c
" execute multiple command on a group of files
vim -c "argdo %s/ABC/DEF/ge | update" *.c
" remove blocks of text from a series of files
vim -c "argdo /begin/+1,/end/-1g/^/d | update" *.c
" Automate editing of a file (Ex commands in convert.vim)
vim -s "convert.vim" file.c
#load VIM without .vimrc and plugins (clean VIM)
gvim -u NONE -U NONE -N
" Access paste buffer contents (put in a script/batch file)
gvim -c 'normal ggdG"*p' c:/aaa/xp
" print paste contents to default printer
gvim -c 's/^/\=@*/|hardcopy!|q!'
" gvim's use of external grep (win32 or *nix)
:grep somestring *.php : creates a list of all matching files
" use :cn(ext) :cp(rev) to navigate list
:h grep
----------------------------------------
" GVIM Difference Function (Brilliant)
gvim -d file1 file2 : vimdiff (compare differences)
dp : "put" difference under cursor to other file
do : "get" difference under cursor from other file
" complex diff parts of same file *N*
:1,2yank a | 7,8yank b
:tabedit | put a | vnew | put b
:windo diffthis
----------------------------------------
" Vim traps
In regular expressions you must backslash + (match 1 or more)
In regular expressions you must backslash | (or)
In regular expressions you must backslash ( (group)
In regular expressions you must backslash { (count)
/fred\+/ : matches fred/freddy but not free
/\(fred\)\{2,3}/ : note what you have to break
----------------------------------------
" \v or very magic (usually) reduces backslashing
/codes\(\n\|\s\)*where : normal regexp
/\vcodes(\n|\s)*where : very magic
----------------------------------------
" pulling objects onto command/search line (SUPER)
: pull word under the cursor into a command line or search
: pull WORD under the cursor into a command line or search
- : pull small register (also insert mode)
[0-9a-z] : pull named registers (also insert mode)
% : pull file name (also #) (also insert mode)
=somevar : pull contents of a variable (eg :let sray="ray[0-9]")
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" List your Registers
:reg : display contents of all registers
:reg a : display content of register a
:reg 12a : display content of registers 1,2 & a *N*
"5p : retrieve 5th "ring"
"1p.... : retrieve numeric registers one by one
:let @y='yy@"' : pre-loading registers (put in .vimrc)
qqq : empty register "q"
qaq : empty register "a"
:reg .-/%:*" : the seven special registers *N*
:reg 0 : what you last yanked, not affected by a delete *N*
"_dd : Delete to blackhole, don't affect any register *N*
----------------------------------------
" manipulating registers
:let @a=@_ : clear register a
:let @a="" : clear register a
:let @a=@" : Save unnamed register *N*
:let @*=@a : copy register a to paste buffer
:let @*=@: : copy last command to paste buffer
:let @*=@/ : copy last search to paste buffer
:let @*=@% : copy current filename to paste buffer
----------------------------------------
" help for help (USE TAB)
:h quickref : VIM Quick Reference Sheet (ultra)
:h tips : Vim's own Tips Help
:h visual : obtain list of all visual help topics
: Then use tab to step thru them
:h ctrl : list help of all control keys
:helpg uganda : grep HELP Files use :cn, :cp to find next
:helpgrep edit.*director: grep help using regexp
:h :r : help for :ex command
:h CTRL-R : normal mode
:h /\r : what's \r in a regexp (matches a )
:h \\zs : double up backslash to find \zs in help
:h i_CTRL-R : help for say in insert mode
:h c_CTRL-R : help for say in command mode
:h v_CTRL-V : visual mode
:h tutor : VIM Tutor
, : Move back & Forth in HELP History
gvim -h : VIM Command Line Help
:cabbrev h tab h : open help in a tab *N*
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" where was an option set
:scriptnames : list all plugins, _vimrcs loaded (super)
:verbose set history? : reveals value of history and where set
:function : list functions
:func SearchCompl : List particular function
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" making your own VIM help
:helptags /vim/vim64/doc : rebuild all *.txt help files in /doc
:help add-local-help
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" running file thru an external program (eg php)
map :w:!c:/php/php.exe %
map :w:!perl -c %
----------------------------------------
" capturing output of current script in a separate buffer
:new | r!perl # : opens new buffer,read other buffer
:new! x.out | r!perl # : same with named file
:new+read!ls
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" create a new buffer, paste a register "q" into it, then sort new buffer
:new +put q|%!sort
----------------------------------------
" Inserting DOS Carriage Returns
:%s/$/\&/g : that's what you type
:%s/$/\&/g : for Win32
:%s/$/\^M&/g : what you'll see where ^M is ONE character
----------------------------------------
" automatically delete trailing Dos-returns,whitespace
autocmd BufRead * silent! %s/[\r \t]\+$//
autocmd BufEnter *.php :%s/[ \t\r]\+$//e
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" perform an action on a particular file or file type
autocmd VimEnter c:/intranet/note011.txt normal! ggVGg?
autocmd FileType *.pl exec('set fileformats=unix')
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" Retrieving last command line command for copy & pasting into text
i:
" Retrieving last Search Command for copy & pasting into text
i/
----------------------------------------
" more completions
:insert name of a file in current directory
----------------------------------------
" Substituting a Visual area
" select visual area as usual (:h visual) then type :s/Emacs/Vim/ etc
:'<,'>s/Emacs/Vim/g : REMEMBER you dont type the '<.'>
gv : Re-select the previous visual area (ULTRA)
----------------------------------------
" inserting line number into file
:g/^/exec "s/^/".strpart(line(".")." ", 0, 4)
:%s/^/\=strpart(line(".")." ", 0, 5)
:%s/^/\=line('.'). ' '
----------------------------------------
#numbering lines VIM way
:set number : show line numbers
:map :set number! : Show linenumbers flip-flop
:%s/^/\=strpart(line('.')." ",0,&ts)
#numbering lines (need Perl on PC) starting from arbitrary number
:'a,'b!perl -pne 'BEGIN{$a=223} substr($_,2,0)=$a++'
#Produce a list of numbers
#Type in number on line say 223 in an empty file
qqmnYP`n^Aq : in recording q repeat with @q
" increment existing numbers to end of file (type as 5 characters)
:.,$g/^\d/exe "normal! \"
" advanced incrementing
http://vim.sourceforge.net/tip_view.php?tip_id=150
----------------------------------------
" advanced incrementing (really useful)
" put following in _vimrc
let g:I=0
function! INC(increment)
let g:I =g:I + a:increment
return g:I
endfunction
" eg create list starting from 223 incrementing by 5 between markers a,b
:let I=223
:'a,'bs/^/\=INC(5)/
" create a map for INC
cab viminc :let I=223 \| 'a,'bs/$/\=INC(5)/
----------------------------------------
" generate a list of numbers 23-64
o23qqYpq40@q
----------------------------------------
" editing/moving within current insert (Really useful)
: delete all entered
: delete last word
: beginning/end of line
: jump one word b