Vim or vi editor in Linux or Unix

          The granddaddy of Unix text editors, vi, is infamous for its difficult, non-intuitive command structure. On the bright side, vi is powerful, lightweight, and fast. Learning vi is a Unix rite of passage, since it is universally available on Unix/Linux systems. On most Linux distributions, an enhanced version of the traditional vi editor called vim is used.

 

    The vi or vim is a text editor which has three modes: command mode, input mode, and ex mode.

• To create a new file open a terminal and then type: $ vi demo.txt
• Press i to insert text.
• After type a program or text press [Esc] key and then : (the colon)
• To Save and exit from vi , press [Esc], : (colon) and type :wq
• To without Save and exit from vi , press [Esc], : (colon) and type :q!
• Exit from vi , press [Esc], : (colon) and type :q 

Common vi editor command list 

For this Purpose	Use this vi Command Syntax
To insert new text	esc + i ( You have to press 'escape'key then 'i')
To save file	esc + : + w (Press 'escape'key  then 'colon'and finally 'w')
To save file with file name (save as)	esc + : + w  "filename"
To quit the vi editor	esc + : + q
To quit without saving	esc + : + q!
To save and quit vi editor	esc + : + wq
To search for specified word in forward direction	esc + /word (Press 'escape'key, type /word-to-find, for e.g. to find word 'shri', type as /shri)
To continue with search	n
To search for specified word in backward direction	esc + ?word (Press 'escape'key, type word-to-find)
To copy the line where cursor is located	esc + yy
To paste the text just deleted or copied at the cursor	esc + p
To delete entire line where cursor is located	esc + dd
To delete word from cursor position	esc + dw
To Find all occurrence of given word and Replace then globally without confirmation	esc + :$s/word-to-find/word-to-replace/g For. e.g. :$s/mumbai/pune/g Here word "mumbai"is replace with "pune"
To Find all occurrence of given word and Replace then globally with confirmation	esc + :$s/word-to-find/word-to-replace/cg
To run shell command like ls, cp or date etc within vi	esc + :!shell-command For e.g. :!pwd

  

Common Vi / Vim File Savings Related Commands (ex mode)

Command	Description
q	Quit
q!	Quit without saving changes i.e. discard changes
r fileName	Read data from file called fileName
wq	Write and quit (save and exit)
w fileName	Write to file called fileName (save as)
w! fileName	Overwrite to file called fileName (save as forcefully)