Advanced Editing Techniques

Vim offers a plenty of advanced editing techniques that can significantly boost productivity and efficiency. This section delves into some of these techniques, providing detailed descriptions and examples.

Text Objects

• Words: Use daw to delete a word, ciw to change inside a word (from cursor to end).
• Sentences: Use das to delete a sentence, cis to change inside a sentence.
• Paragraphs: Use dap to delete a paragraph, cip to change inside a paragraph.

Advanced Movement

• Jump to Matching Bracket: Press %.
• Beginning of Next/Previous Function: Use ]] and [[ in code.
• Jump to a Specific Character: Press f followed by the character (e.g., fa to jump to next 'a').

Macros

• Recording: Press q followed by a letter to start recording, q again to stop.

• Playback: Press @ followed by the same letter to playback.

  • Example: qd (start recording to register d), perform actions, q (stop recording), @d (playback).

Visual Block Mode

• Entering: Press Ctrl + v.
• Editing Multiple Lines: Select a block and perform actions like insert (I) or append (A).

Folding

• Creating a Fold: Select lines in Visual mode, then zf to create fold.
• Opening/Closing Folds: Use zo to open and zc to close a fold.

Marks and Jumps

• Setting a Mark: Press m followed by a letter (e.g., ma).
• Jumping to a Mark: Press ' followed by the letter (e.g., 'a).