Normal Mode and Editing Mode
- By default Vim starts in the so called normal mode - one cannot enter text
then.
- To begin entering text type one of the following commands:
-
- "i" or <Insert> - to insert text before the cursor.
- "a" - to append text after the cursor.
-
- (useful at the end of the lines.)
- "I" - insert text before first character in the line.
- "A" - append after last char in the line.
- To switch back into normal mode, press the <Esc> key.
- Using :source $VIMRUNTIME/mswin.vim will make the insert mode more Windows-like and functional.
- Note:
-
- If you do not know what is $VIMRUNTIME - find it using:
:echo $VIMRUNTIME
- Hard core vi users avoid it.
- Shlomi Fish Uses it.