When & why you should stay out of visual mode

Transcript

1. 29th January, 2013 Drew Neil WHEN & WHY YOU SHOULD

   STAY OUT OF VISUAL MODE

2. v{motion}{command} VISUAL OPERATIONS (Vim at it’s most user-friendly)

3. v{motion}{command} VISUAL OPERATIONS (Vim at it’s most user-friendly) v engage

   visual mode

4. v{motion}{command} VISUAL OPERATIONS (Vim at it’s most user-friendly) v engage

   visual mode {motion} select the range of text to act upon

5. v{motion}{command} VISUAL OPERATIONS (Vim at it’s most user-friendly) v engage

   visual mode {motion} select the range of text to act upon {command} execute

6. {command}{motion} NORMAL OPERATIONS (the old-school vi way)

7. {command}{motion} NORMAL OPERATIONS (the old-school vi way) {command} execute operation

8. {command}{motion} NORMAL OPERATIONS (the old-school vi way) {command} execute operation

   {motion} over the specified range

9. COMMAND EFFECT HELP {Visual}u Make highlighted text lowercase :help v_u

   gu{motion} Make {motion} text lowercase :help gu DOWNCASING

10. gu it it u v . downcase next 3 characters

    downcase inner tag VISUAL OPERATOR OPERATOR- PENDING Vs.

11. COMMAND EFFECT HELP {Visual}gw Format the highlighted text :help v_gw

    gw{motion} Format the lines that {motion} moves over :help gw HARD-WRAPPING

12. gq ip ip gq v . reformat next 4 lines

    reformat inner paragraph VISUAL OPERATOR OPERATOR- PENDING Vs.

13. FOR REPETITIVE WORK (where dot is your friend) . PREFER

    NORMAL OPERATIONS over VISUAL

14. Operator, the true power of Vim by Kana Natsuno http://whileimautomaton.net/2008/11/vimm3/operator

    Practical Vim, Tip 23 Prefer operators to Visual commands where possible http://pragprog.com/book/dnvim/practical-vim FURTHER READING