Author's note: The note below is part of a digital garden. Therefore, it is likely incomplete, inaccurate or both. In other words, it's just like other information sources but perhaps to a higher degree. That said, it may still be worth exploring.

vim

July 13, 2020 Updated: August 25, 2020

neovim

Why vim?

To my knowledge, it is the fastest way for a human to process text on a computer
- Can anyone think of another?
It’s highly customizable and programmable
It’s highly extensible with plugins
It’s a power tool, which after a lot of practice and experience with it allows you to:
- write almost as fast as you think
- correct, revise and reorganize your text extremely fast
vim was created mostly for coders, but is also an excellent platform for writers. If you are coder and a writer, vim is pure joy to work with.

vim documentation

:h registers

Basic tutorial

Vim registers: The basics and beyond
- Intro
  - bunch of spaces in memory
    - these spaces are the registers
    - vim uses them to store text
    - each space has an identifier
    - text in the spaces can be accessed later
    - similar to storing text in computer clipboard
      - but vim has many places to store the text
- The basic usage
  - accessing a register
    - use a double quote before its name
    - Example, to access text in register ‘r’:
      - "r
    - copying selected text to register:
      - "ry
    - pasting text from register:
      - "rp
    - registers can be accessed from insert mode:
      - <c-r>
      - Example <c-r> r
    - :reg command shows all registers and the content
      - to view only certain registers, add a space separated list after the command:
        
        :reg a b c
- the unnamed register
  - accessed with ""
  - holds any text deleted or yanked
  - by default, p key pastes from unnamed register
    - same as doing `"”p
  - Never lose a yanked text again
    - Numbered registers
      - numbered 0 through 9 (“0 to “9)
      - “0 has the latest yanked text
      - “1 through “9 has the latest deleted text (with 9 being the oldest)
      - you can always paste yanked text with "0p
- The read only registers
  - There are 4 read only registers: “., “%, “: and “#
    - ". contains the last inserted text
    - "% contains the current file path
      - copy current path to file to clipboard
        
        :let @+=@%
    - ":
      - most recently executed command
      - can be used to rerun last command:
        
        @:
    - "# name of the alternate file
      - can be thought of as the last edited file
      - see :h alternate-file
      - vim uses it to switch between files when <c-^> is used
        
        can also do :e <c-r> #
- The expression and the search registers
  - "=
    - known as the expression register
    - used to deal with the result of expressions
    - in insert mode, type <c-r> =
      - type in the expression and result will be printed
      - Examples:
        
        <c-r>=2+2 will output 4 to the buffer
        
        <c-r>=system('ls') will output the list of all files to the buffer
  - "/
    - Search register
    - where the last search text goes
      - changed when a search is performed with /, ?, * or #
- Macros
  - recording are stored in named registers
  - you don’t have to re record a macro if you do it wrong
    - you can just edit the register it is in, instead
  - uppercase register names are how we append contents to a register:
    - :let @W='i;'
  - to edit a macro in the middle, do:
    - :let @w='<c-r> <REGISTER>

Maps

Viewing existing maps

:nmap for normal mode mappings
:vmap for visual mode mappings
:imap for insert mode mappings
:verbose map

Here’s a random collection of vim maps I use:

Plugins

Some useful plugins I use (not a complete list):

vimwiki - used to generate these notes very quickly
CtrlP - for opening files quickly

Plugins I’m currently exploring

fzfvim plugin

Jump lists

Understanding Vim’s Jump List. One of the great joys of Vim is its… | by Kade Killary | Medium

Command Line History

:help history
type in first few letters, hit up arrow
- finds previous commands that start with those letters
:his:
- lists all previous commands
More info: Using command-line history | Vim Tips Wiki | Fandom

Completion

echo complete_info() to get current completion info
<c-e> to exit completion mode
<c-y> to choose currently highlighted item in menu
good to add to vimrc: set completeopt+=longest
- allows you to whittle down options in the popup menu by typing more letters

Official documentation

From vim command line, run:

:h ins-completion
:h omnifunc
:h compl-omni
:h completeopt

Navigating buffers

From Buffers Working with Vim - mkaz.blog
- What are buffers?
  - text files residing “in-memory”
  - vim window is a viewport on the buffer
  - switching
    - you can switch between buffers
      - viewport can show a different buffer
  - author posits that buffers are better than tabs
    - Vim Tab Madness. Buffers vs Tabs - Josh Davis
- Opening Multiple Files
  - vim file1 file2 file3
  - open new file in an additional buffer
    - :e file
- Main Buffer Commands
  - :buffers or :ls
    - list buffers
  - :b {bufname} use buffer name, supports completion
    - good for switching between buffers
  - :bd
    - close current buffer
  - :bn
    - next buffer
  - :bp
    - previous buffer
  - :b#
    - last buffer
  - :b1
    - buffer 1
  - :bm
    - move not next modified buffer
    - buffer 1
- Recommended shortcuts
  - nnoremap <leader>3 :b#<cr>
    - to bounce back to previous buffer
  - nnoremap <leader>n :bn<cr>
    - go to next buffer
  - nnoremap Q :bd!<cr>
    - close buffer
  - nnoremap <Leader>, :Buffers<CR> "
    - browse buffers
    - comes from the fzf.vim plugin
      - allows for a more forgiving fuzzy match of buffer names
      - author has set up fzf and ripgrep for advanced searching

spell check feature

turn on with set spell
highlight red with: hi SpellBad guifg=red
useful mappings
- zg -> add word under cursor to dictionary permanently
- zG -> add word under cursor to dictionary temporarily
more mappings: http://vimdoc.sourceforge.net
z=:
- have vim suggest alternatives
]s:
- move to next misspelled word
[s:
- move to back to previous misspelled word

OFFERINGS

vim