A Comprehensive overview about most used Vim features.

Vim, a powerful text editor, offers a vast array of features to streamline text editing. While the “most used” features can vary based on individual workflows, here are some of the core functionalities that are commonly employed by Vim users:   

Basic Navigation and Editing

• Movement commands: h, j, k, l for left, down, up, and right movement.
• Word navigation: w, b, e to move by words.
• Line navigation: 0 to move to the beginning of the line, $ to move to the end.
• Screen navigation: Ctrl+f, Ctrl+b to scroll down and up.
• Insert mode: i to insert text before the cursor, a to append text after the cursor.
• Delete and change: x to delete a character, dd to delete a line, cw to change a word.
• Undo and redo: u to undo, Ctrl+r to redo.

Search and Replace

• Search: / to search forward, ? to search backward.
• Replace: :%s/old/new/g to replace all occurrences of “old” with “new” in the entire file.
• Incremental search: / followed by characters to search as you type.

Visual Mode

• Selecting text: v to enter visual mode, V to select lines, Ctrl+v to select blocks.
• Operations on selected text: y to yank (copy), d to delete, >, < to indent or unindent.

Text Objects

• Efficient editing: aw to select a word, iw to select inside a word, ab to select a block, etc.
• Combining with operators: daw to delete a word, ciw to change a word.

Macros

• Recording actions: qa to start recording a macro in register “a”, q to stop recording.
• Playing macros: @a to play the macro in register “a”.

Ex Commands

• Writing files: :w to write the file, :wq to write and quit.
• Quitting: :q to quit, :q! to quit without saving.
• Opening files: :open filename to open a file.
• Setting options: :set number to display line numbers, :set nohlsearch to remove search highlighting.

Additional Features

• Buffers: :buffers to list open buffers, :bn to go to the next buffer.
• Windows: :split to split the window horizontally, :vsplit to split vertically.
• Tabs: :tabnew to create a new tab, gt to switch between tabs.
• Plugins: Vim’s extensibility allows for customization through plugins.  

Remember: This is just a starting point. Vim’s power lies in its depth and customization options. Experiment with different features and commands to find what works best for your workflow.

What Makes Vim Special

Vim, often described as a text editor on steroids, stands out due to several key characteristics:

Modal Editing Paradigm

• Efficiency: Vim’s modal nature (Normal, Insert, Visual, Command) allows for rapid and efficient text manipulation.

   

  1. Why Vim Is More than Just an Editor – Vim Language, Motions, and Modes Explained

   

• Power: Once mastered, it enables complex editing tasks with minimal keystrokes.

Extensibility

• Customization: Vim is highly customizable through configuration files and plugins.  
  1. Vimrc Configuration Guide – How to Customize Your Vim Code Editor with Mappings, Vimscript, Status Line, and More

   

• Scripting: Vimscript, its built-in scripting language, allows for automation and complex features.  
  1. Vim (text editor) – Wikipedia

   

• Integration: It seamlessly integrates with other tools and systems.

Efficiency and Speed

• Minimal resource usage: Vim is lightweight and runs efficiently on various systems.  
  1. Why I Use Vim (And Why You Should Too) – GEO Jobe

   

• Keyboard-centric: Its focus on keyboard shortcuts minimizes mouse usage, enhancing productivity.  
  1. Why Vim Is More than Just an Editor – Vim Language, Motions, and Modes Explained

   

• Large file handling: Vim can efficiently handle large files, making it suitable for tasks like code editing and log analysis.  
  1. Open Large Files With Good Performance in Vim | Baeldung on Linux

   

Power User Focus

• Learning curve: While initially challenging, Vim’s steep learning curve is rewarded with exceptional proficiency.
• Advanced features: It offers a rich set of features for power users, including macros, registers, and ex commands.

Versatility

• Cross-platform: Vim runs on various operating systems, ensuring consistency across environments.  
  1. download : vim online

   

• Remote editing: It’s ideal for remote editing through SSH, thanks to its terminal-based interface.  
  1. Why do I still prefer to use VIM instead of other text editors for programming?

   

• Wide range of use cases: From writing code to editing text documents, Vim is adaptable to different tasks.

Community and Support

• Active community: A large and supportive community contributes to Vim’s continuous development.
• Extensive documentation: Comprehensive documentation and tutorials are available.  
  1. Vim documentation : vim online

   

• Plugins: A vast ecosystem of plugins extends Vim’s functionality.  
  1. Exploring Vim for Python Developers | by SmoQ – Medium

   

In essence, Vim’s combination of efficiency, extensibility, power, and versatility makes it a preferred choice for many programmers, system administrators, and text enthusiasts. While it may require a significant investment of time to master, the rewards in terms of productivity and efficiency are substantial.