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I'm new to Vim and install that in windows 10.

I write this instructions in Vim then in normal mode pressed u and all the instructions disappeared.

console.log(899) hello you can write some simple Javascript instructions here....

But when I use VsCode and press Ctrl-z all the instructions will not disappear. VsCode deletes word by word where Vim deletes all the things.

How can I set this behavior in Vim?

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  • u is to undo the last action in a whole. Here, the action was to put a full line (not a word.) The undo will work as you expect if you insert one word a time… However, you can delete a word the cursor is on with diw
    – gildux
    Commented Jan 3, 2023 at 12:19

2 Answers 2

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The undo action is per-line if you write a bunch of lines in insert-mode. This is natural as most languages use 1 statement per line (usally).

To override this behavior while in insert mode use Ctrl-g u to manually add an undo point.

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  • Actually, if you type i<multiple lines of text><esc>, then u removes all text, since the action was a single insert.
    – D. Ben Knoble
    Commented Jan 3, 2023 at 14:30
  • I don't get that behavior if there are line-breaks in the insert action. I can see each line in my undoTree. Commented Jan 4, 2023 at 14:21
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    You might have a mapping on <enter> in insert-mode; try vim --clean
    – D. Ben Knoble
    Commented Jan 4, 2023 at 21:02
  • @D.BenKnoble You are right. vim --clean gives the behavior as you said. Must be something in my config/plugin that changed that behavior. Commented Jan 26, 2023 at 12:26
  • Thanks, It works for me. Commented Feb 20, 2023 at 5:42
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One way to get a behavior to want you want is to have the following mapping:

inoremap <space> <C-g>u<space>

It create a new undo operation each time you insert a space.

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  • can I have both of this behaviors in vim? default behavior and your solution together? Commented Oct 6, 2023 at 5:33
  • I'm not sure to understand what you mean but I suppose the answer is no :-) If you mean to have to kinds of undo one with the standard behavior and one with the 'word' undo behavior I suppose it is not possible since the there is only one undo stack and I don't see ways to make the distinction between the kind of undo state. Commented Oct 6, 2023 at 6:37
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    You understood what I mean. Commented Oct 6, 2023 at 6:40

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