Some days I take Vim’s power for granted. Today isn’t one of those days. I just got done migrating all of my content from shoddily-marked-up “static” PHP and HTML files into my CMS, and the cleanup has begun. The problem is that I’ve been writing articles and posts in various editors and formats (with varying code quality) for…
The Differences Between Vi, Vim, and Emacs
Few geek conflicts have the incandescence of the “best editor” debate. Say the words Vim or Emacs in a deeply crowd and you’ll likely hear the sound of Katana safety clasps. But what’s the debate at this point? What are the merits of each? The advantages. The downsides.Let’s take a quick look at the core advantages and disadvantages…
VIM: Toggle Settings with the Exclamation Point
One quick tip for vim users out there: you can toggle a setting by appending the ! to it. So while you’d normally set :number and set :nonumber, you can instead just: nnormap <leader>n set:number! Then just hit <leader>n to toggle line numbers (or whatever the setting) off and on.
Upgraded to Vim 7.4
I just took my vim instance on my Mac to 7.4, and the biggest advantage I’ve seen so far is getting this new line number display, called hybrid mode. As you can see from the screenshot above, you can see both the relative line numbers from where you are, and the absolute line number of your current line.…
Vimoptphobia
vimoptphobia vim-opt-phobia, noun, The overwhelming fear (almost invariably justified) that whatever you’re doing in vim can be done much more elegantly.
Using jk vs. jj for ESC Remapping in Vim by Steve Losh
Some people prefer using jj instead of jk, but I prefer jk for two reasons: jk is typed with two separate keys, so you can “roll” your fingers instead of using the same one twice, and pressing jk in normal mode out of habit will move down and then up, leaving you exactly where you started, whereas hitting…
9 Enhancements to Shell and Vim Productivity
If you enjoy the command line then you don’t need to be sold on efficiency or purity of action. But even those who grok CLI are unaware of a number of ways to be more elegant accomplishing their tasks. Here are a few of my favorites. Remap Your CAPSLOCK Key Use ctrl-r For History Autocomplete Switch to iTerm…
3 Ways to Use Vim Commands in Other Applications
I recently converted (from TextMate) to using vim for all of my text editing, and it turns out there are a number of places where knowing your vim strokes can help you. Vimium Vimium is a Chrome extension that allows you to use vim commands to control your browser. It’s stunning how fast browsing can be when using…
Best Way to Convert Markdown to HTML using Janus / Vim?
So, as I’ve mentioned a number of times, I’m moving completely off of all other text editors and to vim. I’ve been using it for close to a decade, but not 100%, and not with deep knowledge. It’s always been my UNIX editor of choice, but only at the power user level. Anyway, I’m using Janus as my…
I Feel About Vim Like Many Feel About Surfing
You never really feel like you master it, but that’s not really the point. The point is to get intimate with it, to never stop learning, and to accept its vastness. Let it swallow you up, and be thankful for what you do know about it while you’re constantly learning more. In short, enjoy it rather than trying…