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Helpful notes for VI/VIM
http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Vim_Tips_Wiki
? http://tottinge.blogsome.com/use-vim-like-a-pro/ ?

vimdiff / gvim -d - Pretty awesome diff tool with all the features of vim.  Thanks to tottinger.

  • :set diffopt=filler - On by default, add spaces to keep file lines sync'd
  • :set diffopt+=iwhite - Ignore white spacing
  • :set diffopt+=icase - Ignore case
  • :set diffopt+=horizontal - use a horizontal split rather than a vertical split

vimpager - A vim based replacement for the "man" too.  Thanks to Jay K

  • export MANPAGER=/usr/bin/vimmanpager in a terminal to replace "man"
  • add to .bashrc for a persistent change

.vimrc - default settings for vim, put in your home dir
vim basics

  • Save / Exit
    • :q,:q! - quit, quit without saving
    • :w - save (write)
    • ZZ - save and quit
  • Navigation
    • j,k - down, up
    • h,l - left, right
    • w, b - next, previous word
    • e - end of word
    • 0, ^, $ - beginning of line, beginning of non whitespace, end of line
    • gg, G - first line, last line
    • H, M, L - Top, middle, and bottom of screen
    • ctrl-d, ctrl-u - half page up, half page down
    • ctrl-f, ctrl,b - page down, page up (page forward, page backward)
    • % jumps to matching brackets, v% selects all text between brackets (good for shifting code)
    • /foo - find "foo"
    • n, N - find next, find previous
  • Editing
    • >>, << - shift line to the right, to the left
    • x - delete character
    • dd, d#[j,k] - delete current line, delete x number of lines down or up
    • dw - delete word
    • yy, y#[j,k] - copy (yank) current line, copy x number of lines down or up
    • p - paste whatever is in buffer below cursor (yanked lines, deleted character, deleted word, etc)
    • P - paste above cursor
  • Viewing
    • :set tabstop=4 - set the tab width to 4 spaces (but still uses a tab char)
    • :set shiftwidth=4 - set the shift (>>,<<) width to 4 spaces (but still uses a tab char)

vim intermediate 

  • Most commands accept prefix numbers, like 5j
  • :set ic / :set noic - turn off case sesitivity
  • :e ++ff=unix - sets the reading/viewing file format to unix (Carriage Returns will be visible as ^M)
  • :set ff=unix - removes any Carriage Returns from a file (can then be saved)
  • macros - http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Macros
  • marks/buffers
  • visual copying - http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Copy,_cut_and_paste
  • Ctrl-P, Ctrol-N - auto complete from the previous and next matches
  • windows - ctrl-ww, ctrl-w-, ctrl-w+, ctrl-w_, ctrl-w=, ctrl-w<, ctrl-w>
  • tabs