| There is no doubt that Vim is a very powerful text editor. The sheer number of features it offers means that it's practically impossible to learn and remember all of Vim's features. But we can at least keep learning easy ways to get things done, so our experience with the editor will get better over time. |
This article is part of a series on the Vim User Guide:
- A Beginner's Guide to Vim
- Vim Shortcuts Cheat Sheet
- 5 Vim Tips for Experienced Users
- 3 Practical Vim Editor Tips for Advanced Users
Keep in mind that some of the Vim editor tricks we'll discuss in this article are aimed at advanced users.
Note: If you are new to Vim, you can read our getting started guide first. For users who have already used the Vim editor, I am sure that the Vim shortcut key cheat sheet will be very helpful to you. If you are already an experienced user, you might be interested in some tips for experienced users.
Please note that most of the techniques mentioned in the article are explained in the context of simple, understandable code, because they are really useful in software development. But that doesn't mean that normal users (non-programmers, who don't use Vim as a normal text editor) can't use it in their work.
1. Set specific variables for the file
Sometimes, in a particular file, you may want to replace entered tabs with spaces, or you may want to indent source code files with two spaces, even though the editor's default indentation is four spaces.
Basically we're talking about changes to files here. This feature provided by Vim allows you to change specific settings for a specific file. This feature is called "Modeline".
For example, if you want to replace each tab character (Tab) entered with a space, then you only need to add the following model line to the first few lines or the last few lines of the file:
# vim: set expandtab:
If you want to change the default indentation from 4 spaces to 2 spaces, you can add the following modeline to the source file:
// because: noai:ts=2:sw=2
When using modelines, keep in mind the following important points:
- Modelines can only be added on the first five or last five lines of a file.
- In order to use the model line feature, you must add: set modeline to the .vimrc file
- This feature does not work when editing files as the root user.
For more information, please read the official documentation of this feature.
2. Keyword completion
When you start writing more and more complex code or start editing a large source file, you will encounter some variable names. Sometimes it's not easy to remember all the variable names, so when you need to type a variable name, you usually copy it from where you've already used it.
Fortunately, with Vim you only need to type the first few letters of the variable. In 'insert mode', press Ctrl + n or Ctrl + p to get a list of matching keywords. Ctrl + n is used to insert the next matching word; Ctrl + p gives a list of previously matched keywords.
The image below is a demonstration of this feature:
As the screenshot above clearly shows, words contained in other source files also appear in the list.
3. Search
Suppose you are debugging code, and one of the jobs you need to do is to quickly view all occurrences of a variable in a file. A common method is to exit 'insert mode', enter the /[variable name] command , press enter, then return to 'insert mode', and use n and p to navigate between keywords.
There is nothing wrong with the method described above, but there is an easier and faster way to perform such a search. Using this method, first you need to exit 'insert mode', then move the cursor under the word/variable you want to search for, which is not time consuming. Next, you just need to press Shift + *.
Do this repeatedly, and the editor will take you to all occurrences of this word/variable in the file.
in conclusion
Although aimed at advanced users, the techniques discussed in this article are not difficult to understand and relatively easy to use. If you have a certain foundation, then you can benefit a lot from it. Needless to say, with any new feature or concept, you need to practice these skills diligently to turn them into a habit.