Lesson 8.3: Working efficiently in Vim

Vim's grammar of operators and motions, counts (3dd, 5j), jumping (gg, G, :N, line numbers), searching with / and n, copying and pasting lines (yy, p), changing a word (cw), substituting across the file with :%s, and choosing your default editor with $EDITOR.

20 min

You will learn to

Combine operators (d, c, y) with motions (w, $) and counts
Jump to the first, last or a numbered line and show line numbers
Search with / and repeat with n
Copy and paste lines with yy and p
Replace text in the whole file with :%s/old/new/g
Set the default editor with EDITOR

Key terms

Operator: A verb: d delete, c change (delete and enter insert mode), y yank (copy). Pressed twice (dd, cc, yy) it acts on the whole line.
Motion: Where the cursor goes: w next word, b previous word, $ end of line, 0 start of line, gg first line, G last line, /text next match.
Operator + motion: An operator followed by a motion acts on the text the motion covers: dw deletes to the next word, d$ to the end of the line, cw changes a word.
Count: A number typed before a command repeats it: 3dd deletes three lines, 10j moves ten lines down.
Register: Vim's clipboards. Whatever you delete or yank goes into the unnamed register; p pastes after the cursor, P before.
:s and :%s: Substitute: :s/old/new/ on the current line, :%s/old/new/g on every line, every match. The pattern is a regular expression.
EDITOR: The environment variable programs read to decide which editor to open for you.

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