1. Text Editors Vim (Chapter 6) Emacs (Chapter 7)
John Carelli, Instructor Kutztown University

2. Unix Text Editors Two popular choices, Emacs and Vim Emacs Vim
non-modal
no separate editing mode
commands make use of key combinations (cntl, alt, …)
slower, complex, extensible
Vim
“vi improved”
inherently modal
command vs. text entry modes
faster, simpler

3. Basic operation Emacs Vim to enter text, just start typing
navigate with movement commands
key combinations (using cntl, alt, esc, …)
additional commands to copy/paste, etc.
Vim
to enter text, first enter “insert mode”
enter text
return to “command mode” with esc key
in command mode
navigate, copy/paste, etc.
basic commands are one character

4. EMACS
some basic commands

5. Emacs Cursor Movement CTRL-f forward one character CTRL-b
Back one character
ESC-f
Forward one word
ESC-b
Back one word
CTRL-a
Beginning of current line
CTRL-e
End of current line
CTRL-p
Previous line
CTRL-n
Next line
ESC-a
Beginning of current sentence
ESC-e
End of current sentence
CTRL-v
Forward one page
ESC-v
Back one page
ESC-<
Beginning of buffer
ESC->
End of buffer

6. CTRL-x CTRL-s
Save file
CTRL-x CTRL f
Open a file
CTRL-h
Help
CTRL-_
Undo

7. CTRL-k
Delete line from cursor to end and puts it in kill ring (buffer)
CTRL-y
Yank kill ring contents to current position
CTRL-s
Search forward for word
CTRL-_r
Search backward for word

8.
Esc-x set-mark also works; set Mark to current position
ESC-w
Copy region to kill ring (buffer)
CTRL-w
Cut region and paste in kill ring (buffer)

9. CTRL-x CTRL-b
Open a new window
CTRL-x b
Switch to named window
CTRL-2
Split window into 2 horizontally
CTRL-3
Split window into 2 vertically
CTRL-x o
Switch to the other window
CTRL-x 0
Close current window

10. Esc-l
Convert word to lowercase
Esc-u
Convert word to uppercase
Esc-c
Convert word to initial caps
CTRL-x CTRL-l
Convert region to lowercase
CTRL-x CTRL-u
Convert region to uppercase

11. CTRL-x (
Start recording a macro
CTRL-x )
Stop recording a macro
CTRL-e
Run the macro
Esc-# CTRL-e
Run the macro # times

12. Vim
some basic commands

13. Vim Modes Typically starts in “command mode”
keystrokes are interpreted as commands
edit, navigate, etc.
“Insert mode”
enter with insert command
esc key
return to command mode
Note: vim is based on vi, which was based on ed (more on ed here)
Some Insert Commands i
before current location a
after current location I
at beginning of line A
at end of line o
new line below O
New line above

14. Vim Cursor Movement l forward one character h Back one character w
Forward one word b
Back one word ^
Beginning of current line $
End of current line
Enter
Beginning of next line k
Character above j
Character below e
End of word
CTRL-f
Forward one page
ESC-b
Back one page

15. :w
Save file
:wq (or ZZ)
Save file and exit
:q!
Exit without saving
:e name
Open a file
:help
Help u
Undo r
redo

16. d$
Delete line from cursor to end and put it in buffer p
Paste buffer contents to current position
/word
Search forward for “word”
?word
Search backward for word

17. ma
set Mark “a” to current position
(can use any letter to set multiple marks)
c’a
Copy lines from present location to the mark into the buffer
d’a
Delete lines from present location to the mark and store in the buffer v
Highlight a region by moving the cursor
(subsequent commands work on the highlighted text)
esc
Remove highlighting

18. CTRL-w CTRL-s
(or :sp)
Split window into 2 horizontally
CTRL-w CTRL-w
Cycle through open windows
CTRL-w CTRL-v
Split window into 2 vertically :q
Close current window

19. ~
Switch case u
Make highlighted text lowercase U
Make highlighted text uppercase

20. qa
Start recording macro “a”
(can use any letter to record multiple macros) q
Stop recording a macro @a
Run macro “a”
Rerun last macro
Run the macro # times

21. Initialization files Customize editor behavior
located in home directory
.emacs file
.vimrc file
Key Mappings
Colors
Default behavior
etc…