Basic vi Commands
Michael Davis
Phd Student, Atmospheric Science
What is vi?
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vi is a screen-oriented text editor written
by Bill Joy in 1976 for an early BSD
release
In other words, it’s a text editor that uses
command line on a Unix operating system
Basics about vi
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Two modes
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Insert mode
Command mode
It may appear cumbersome at first but the
more you use it the more you’ll find its
pretty well designed.
Lets get started!
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Seeing contents of a directory
Creating and changing directories
Creating files
Opening files
Closing files
Moving files
Editing
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Moving within the file
Editing characters, words, and lines
Deleting characters, words, and lines
Undoing mistakes
Joining sentences
Movement in the file
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How to move the screen
Searching
Quick movements
Other Useful Commands
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Read only
Marking files
Tips to Help
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Ask questions
Check online
Practice