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Vim Modes

In this chapter, we will introduce several modes in Vim. Some of them have been mentioned in the previous chapters, such as Normal mode, Insert mode and Visual mode. In addition to these modes, Vim also has some other modes, such as Visual-line mode, Command-line mode, Ex mode and so on. The difference between these modes is that they have different purposes and different key mappings.

Normal Mode

Normal Mode is the default mode in Vim, and it is also the most commonly used mode. In Normal mode, the function of keys is Vim commands, such as h, j, k, l, w, b, 0, $, gg, G, dd, yy, p, u and so on. The function of these commands is to move the cursor, delete, copy, paste, undo and so on. These keys have been introduced in Chapter 1, you can review them.

Insert Mode

INsert mode is one of the most commonly used modes in Vim, and its function is to insert content into the text. Press i in Normal mode to enter Insert mode, and press Esc to exit Insert mode.

You also can enter Insert mode by pressing I, a, A, o, O, r, R and so on. The function of these keys is to insert content before or after the current cursor position, or insert a new line above or below the current line.

  • i insert content before the current cursor position
  • I insert content at the beginning of the current line
  • a insert content after the current cursor position
  • A insert content at the end of the current line
  • o insert a new line below the current line
  • O insert a new line above the current line
  • r replace the character at the current cursor position
  • R replace characters from the current cursor position until Esc is pressed

Test these keys in the current document.

Visual Mode

Visual Mode is one of the most commonly used modes in Vim, and its function is to select text. Press v in Normal mode to enter Visual mode, and press j, k, h, l to move the cursor to select text (of course, other cursor movement operations are also supported), and press Esc to exit Visual mode.

Place the cursor on the { or } of the code block below, press v to enter Visual mode, and then press % to select the entire code block.

const bio = () => {
  console.log("自由引導人民。");
  console.log("· Why so serious? ·");
};

Except for entering Visual mode by pressing v, you can also enter Visual Line mode by pressing V, and then select the entire line of text. Press Ctrl + v to enter Visual Block mode, and then select the text in the rectangular area.

Command-line Mode

Press : in Normal mode to enter Command-line mode, and press Esc to exit Command-line mode. In Command-line mode, you can execute some Vim commands, such as :w, :q, :wq, :e, :set, :help and so on.

You can refer to the official documentation

Ex Mode

Press Q in Normal mode to enter Ex mode. In Ex mode, you can execute some Vim commands, such as w, q, wq, e, set, help and so on. Press Enter to execute the command.

You can exit Ex mode by executing the vi command, or by pressing q to exit the entire Vim.

You can refer to the official documentation for more Vim commands.

Other Modes

Except for the modes mentioned above, Vim also has some other modes, such as Replace mode, Select mode, Prompt mode, Terminal mode and so on. These modes have different purposes, and their key mappings are also different, so they are not introduced one by one here.