How to Edit Files in Linux with VIM | Tutorial

• 4 January 2023
• ThunderVM Team
• Information Technology, Linux

Introduction to VIM

VIM is a powerful text editor that is widely used in the Linux community. It is known for its efficiency and versatility, and is a popular choice among developers and system administrators. In this tutorial, we will cover the basics of using VIM to edit files in Linux.

Getting Started with VIM

Before we dive into the tutorial, it is important to note that VIM has two main modes: normal mode and insert mode. Normal mode is the default mode, and is used for navigating and manipulating text. Insert mode is used for inserting and editing text.

To open a file in VIM, simply type the following command in your terminal:

vim filename

This will open the file in VIM. If the file does not exist, VIM will create a new file with the specified name.

Navigating in VIM

One of the most useful features of VIM is its ability to quickly navigate through a file. In normal mode, you can use the following keys to move around:

• h: move left
• j: move down
• k: move up
• l: move right

You can also use the arrow keys to move around, but this is generally not recommended as it can be slower and less efficient than using the h, j, k, and l keys.

To move to the beginning or end of a line, use the 0 (zero) key to go to the beginning of the line and the $ key to go to the end of the line.

To move to the beginning or end of a file, use the gg key to go to the beginning of the file and the G key to go to the end of the file.

Editing Text with VIM

To enter insert mode, simply press the i key. This will allow you to insert text at the current cursor position. To exit insert mode and return to normal mode, press the Esc key.

To delete a character, use the x key. To delete a line, use the dd keys. To delete a word, use the dw keys.

To undo your last action, use the u key. To redo an action that you have undone, use the Ctrl + r keys.

Saving and Exiting a file with VIM

To save your changes and exit VIM, use the :wq command. This will write (save) your changes and quit VIM.

If you want to save your changes and continue editing, use the :w command. To exit without saving your changes, use the :q! command.

Select all text on vim

To select all text in Vim, you can use the ggVG command.

Here’s how it works:

• gg moves the cursor to the beginning of the file
• V enters Visual Mode, which allows you to select text
• G moves the cursor to the end of the file

Once you have entered this command, all text in the file will be highlighted and you can perform actions on it, such as copying or deleting.

If you just want to select a portion of the text, you can use Visual Mode to select the text you want by moving the cursor to the beginning of the text you want to select, pressing v, and then using the arrow keys to highlight the text. When you are finished selecting, you can perform actions on the selected text as usual.

Note: If you are in Insert Mode and want to select all text, you can press Esc to exit Insert Mode and then use the ggVG command to select all text.

Advanced VIM Techniques

There are many advanced techniques and features that you can use in VIM. Some of the most useful ones include:

• Searching: you can use the / key followed by a search term to search for a specific string of text.
• Replace: you can use the :s/old/new/g command to replace all occurrences of the “old” string with the “new” string.
• Visual mode: you can use the v key to enter visual mode, which allows you to select and manipulate text in a more intuitive way.
• Split window: you can use the :split command to split the current window into two panes,