VI Command Mode - Editing Text Files in Linux
VI Command Mode - Editing Text Files in Linux
Reference
| VI COMMAND MODE INSTRUCTIONS | |
|---|---|
| File Saving | |
| ZZ or :wq | Save the file and exit vi |
| :w | Save the file |
| :q | This quits the current file, but only if there are no unsaved changes |
| :q! | The get-me-out-of-here! command, this quits vi without saving, so all changes are lost |
| Navigating Text | |
| Arrow keys | Move the cursor around the document |
| h(left), l(right), j(down), k(up) | Alternatives to the arrow keys |
| w | Moves the cursor to the beginning of the next word |
| b | Moves the cursor to the beginning of the previous word |
| 0 (zero) | Moves the cursor to the beginning of the current line |
| $ | Moves the cursor to the end of the current line |
| H | Moves the cursor to the beginning of the first line currently on the screen |
| M | Moves the cursor to the beginning of the middle line currently on the screen |
| L | Moves the cursor to the beginning of the last line currently on the screen |
| Ctrl+f | Go forward one page |
| Ctrl+b | Go back one page |
| Ctrl+d | Go forward half a page |
| Ctrl+u | Go back half a page |
| G | Go to the last line of the file |
| #G | Move the cursor to the line number specified by # |
| Deleting text | |
| x | Deletes the character under the cursor |
| X | Deletes the character before the cursor |
| dw | Deletes from the current character to the end of the current word |
| d$ | Deletes from the current character to the end of the current line |
| d0 | Deletes from the current character to the beginning of the current line |
| Search and Replace | |
| /text | Search the file forward from the current cursor position for the text specified |
| ?text | Search the file backward from the current cursor position for the text specified |
| /some.*text | Using regular expression-like wildcards, this will search for a line that contains the character string some followed by, after any intervening characters, the character string text |
| ?[tT]ext | Searches backwards for text or Text - remember that searches are case sensitive |
| :g/text | Prints every line in the file that contains text |
| :s/text/replacement | Replaces text with replacement on the current line |
| :g/text/s//replacement/g | Replaces text with replacement in the entire file |
| :g/text/s//replacement/gp | Replaces text with replacement in the entire file and displays the changes made onscreen |
