Vimtutor. Getting started with Vim

Vimtutor is a fantastic starting point for anyone who wants to learn Vim. It’s user-friendly, interactive, and covers all the essentials of Vim in a way that’s easy to understand. By the time you complete Vimtutor, you’ll have a solid foundation in the basics of Vim, which you can then build upon as you continue to use the editor.

It covers a range of topics from moving around in Vim, inserting and deleting text, undoing changes, searching, and more. Once you start the Vimtutor, you will be presented with a series of lessons that will guide you through the process of learning Vim.

Navigation

One of the most important things to understand about Vim is that it uses a different navigation system than other text editors. Instead of using a mouse, you move the cursor around using keyboard shortcuts. For example, “h” moves the cursor left, “j” moves the cursor down, “k” moves the cursor up, and “l” moves the cursor right. These shortcuts may take some getting used to, but once you master them, you’ll find that moving around in Vim is much faster than using a mouse.

Text editing

In addition to navigation, Vimtutor also covers the basics of inserting and deleting text. To insert text, you need to switch to insert mode by pressing “i”. Once you’re in insert mode, you can type in text as you would in any other text editor. To exit insert mode, simply press the “Esc” key. Vim also has a number of shortcuts for deleting text, such as “x” to delete a single character under the cursor, “dd” to delete an entire line, and “d$” to delete from the cursor to the end of the line.

Another important feature of Vim is its undo functionality. Vim allows you to undo any changes you make to the text, which can be a lifesaver if you accidentally delete something important. To undo a change, simply press “u”. If you want to redo a change, you can press “Ctrl” + “r”.

Search

Vim also has a built-in search feature that makes it easy to find specific text in your document. To search for text, press “/” followed by the text you’re looking for. For example, “/hello” will search for the word “hello” in the document. To move to the next occurrence of the search term, press “n”.

Visual mode

Finally, Vim has a visual mode that allows you to select text and perform actions on it. To enter visual mode, press “v”. Once you’re in visual mode, you can move the cursor to select text. Some of the actions you can perform in visual mode include “d” to delete the selected text, “y” to yank (copy) the selected text, and “p” to paste the copied text.

In conclusion

Vimtutor is an excellent tool for anyone who wants to learn how to use Vim. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced user, Vimtutor will help you master the basics of Vim and take your text editing skills to the next level. If you’re looking to start using Vim, I highly recommend giving Vimtutor a try!