Vim Tips and Tricks

This document contains 50+ Vim tips and tricks to help you become a more efficient Vim user. These tips cover everything from basic navigation to advanced editing techniques.

Opening Files

Open a file to a specific line number
```
vim +34 filename
```
Opens filename and jumps to line 34.
Open a file in Vim from the command line
```
vim filename
```

Cursor Positioning

Move cursor to the top of the screen
Press H (capital H).
Move cursor to the middle of the screen
Press M (capital M).
Move cursor to the bottom of the screen
Press L (capital L).

Deleting and Changing Text

Delete a line
Press dd.
Delete a word
Press dw (deletes from cursor to end of word).
Delete a single character
Press dl or x.
Delete multiple lines
Press 5dd to delete 5 lines.
Change a word
Press cw (deletes the word and enters insert mode).
Change a single character
Press cl or s.
Change text inside parentheses
Press ci( or ci).
Change text inside quotes
Press ci" or ci'.
Change text inside brackets
Press ci[ or ci].

Quitting and Saving

Quit without saving
Press ZQ (capital Z followed by Q).
Save and quit
Press ZZ (capital Z twice).
Save a file
Press :w.
Quit without saving changes
Press :q!.

Navigating Lines

Jump to a specific line number
Press :100 to jump to line 100.
Jump down 10 lines
Press 10j.
Jump up 5 lines
Press 5k.
Jump to matching bracket
Press %.

Search and Replace

Search for a word
Press /word and hit Enter.
Search and replace globally
```
:%s/old/new/g
```
Replaces old with new throughout the file.
Search for two words
```
/word1\_.*word2
```
Clear search highlights
Press :noh.
Search for the word under the cursor
Press * to search forward, # to search backward.

Copying and Pasting

Yank (copy) a line
Press yy.
Yank a word
Press yw.
Yank a single character
Press yl.
Paste after the cursor
Press p.
Paste before the cursor
Press P.

Working with Buffers

Switch between buffers
Press Ctrl + o to go back, Ctrl + i to go forward.
Open a file in a new buffer
```
:e filename
```
Split window horizontally
```
:sp filename
```
Split window vertically
```
:vs filename
```
Close the current buffer
Press :q.

File Management

Rename a file
```
:saveas newfilename
```
Move a file to a different directory
```
:w /path/to/newlocation/filename
```
Open a file manager in Vim
```
:Ex
```

Advanced Editing

Insert output of a command into the file
```
:r !command
```
Example: :r !ls inserts the output of ls.
Sort lines
In visual mode, select lines and press :!sort.
Repeat the last command
Press . (period).
Auto-complete in insert mode
Press Ctrl + n.
Delete blank lines
```
:g/^$/d
```

Visual Mode

Select character by character
Press v.
Select line by line
Press V (capital V).
Select block (column-wise)
Press Ctrl + v.
Select inside parentheses
Press vi( or vi).
Select inside quotes
Press vi" or vi'.
Select inside brackets
Press vi[ or vi].
Select a paragraph
Press vip.

Miscellaneous Tips

Undo changes
Press u.
Redo changes
Press Ctrl + r.
Reload Vim configuration
```
:source ~/.vimrc
```
Search for lines containing a word
```
:g/word
```
Search for lines containing two words
```
:g/word1.*word2
```
Insert current date and time
```
:r !date
```
Run the current line as a shell command
```
:!!sh
```
Switch two characters
Press xp.

Conclusion

These tips and tricks will help you become more proficient in Vim. Practice them regularly to build muscle memory and improve your workflow.