Questions tagged [insert-mode]
The mode in Vi and Vim in which you can insert text to the open document.
243
questions
0
votes
1answer
41 views
How to go to the nth-to-last character in insert mode?
Capital A in Vim takes me to the last character in insert mode, but can I go to the nth-to-last character in insert mode (or append mode) in vim?
Example:
this is some t|ext
how to go specifically to ...
1
vote
1answer
45 views
Delete from cursor position until end of line in command-line mode
I am trying to emulate readline keybindings in insert and command-line modes (for example, <C-u> for deleting from cursor position to beginning of the line, or <C-w> to delete previous ...
1
vote
1answer
33 views
Tab to align cursor with next non-whitespace character in the line above (in insert mode)
How can we do this with vim?
set hlsearch " Highlight search matches
set incsearch " Highlight search matches as you type
set visualbell ...
0
votes
1answer
48 views
How to set a keybinding in Insert mode
I'm new to Vim, and I've read that a best practice in Vim is to begin a new Append with each line. In other words, instead of pressing <Enter>, it is more advisable to leave Insert mode, and ...
0
votes
1answer
27 views
Replacement of characters gives ^@ when replaced with newline but not newline [duplicate]
Why does replacement of something by using :%s/,/\n/gc in vim gives me ^@ instead of giving me newline. Sed replacement works perfectly sed s/,/'\n'/g. Any idea how to do sed thingy in Vim and save ...
3
votes
1answer
131 views
Can macros be edited? [duplicate]
I want to end up in insert mode after a macro. Is there a way to do that?
A real life example:
Given "foo", I'm wanting to convert it into "$123" where the number is something I ...
0
votes
1answer
14 views
Trigger complete keybind mapping using <C-O> when in Insert mode
I know that when I am in insert mode I can enter Normal mode for one command only and automatically switch back to insert mode using <C-O>. For example to go to the end of the line when in ...
1
vote
1answer
46 views
Inserting abbreviation from file
First, I apologize if this is a trivial question.
I have the following file (main.ab) defining a Python snippet:
def main(args):
...
if __name__ == '__main__':
args = ...
main(args)
And ...
1
vote
1answer
109 views
Auto pairing using strings instead of characters
I'm already aware of existing solution to automatically "surround" sentences/word/etc (eg: auto-surround, vim-surround, etc) but those (as far as i know) don't support using normal strings ...
0
votes
1answer
31 views
How to make cursor move to the top line inserted with 2O?
Using a simple example:
h[]ello
If I type 2o<esc>, the cursor will be moved to the last inserted line like this:
hello
[]
But if I type 2O<esc>, the cursor will be moved to the last ...
1
vote
2answers
60 views
How to return to normal mode by pressing ESC only once
I have been using vim for a short time, so I may not know a lot, please forgive me.
There is a problem with my vim. It cannot enter normal mode from insert mode by pressing esc/ctrl-[ only once, but ...
1
vote
0answers
88 views
NeoVim : Can we "insert literally" every ASCII symbol with `<c-v>` ? (including delete `^?` )
In insert or command mode, the printable ASCII chars, like a can be insert with just a
(we don't need <c-v> for those ones, but most of them will still work with <c-v>letter ).
If I type, ...
0
votes
1answer
33 views
How to make mouse click ALSO enter Insert mode?
I've enabled mouse and clipboard and ... something else:
set mouse=a
set clipboard+=autoselect guioptions+=a
That's almost perfect, but I want it so that when I left click it moves the cursor and ...
0
votes
0answers
21 views
How to automatically start in Normal mode? [duplicate]
I am using zsh on Mac and noticed that whenever I start vim, it always starts in insert mode. I use vim to inspect files more often than to edit. I tried adding set noinsertmode but it didn't have any ...
1
vote
1answer
35 views
Enter insert mode automatically after moving (e.g. with e, w)
Is there something similar to A and I for "smaller ranges" like w and e, i.e. I don't want to have to press i to insert, after navigating to the end of the word with e?
0
votes
2answers
105 views
How to backward-kill-word in Vim insert mode like zsh?
I'm re-learning Vim. My question is that I want to option + ⌫ to backward-delete a word in INSERT MODE. I've spent some days to achieve this (and succeeded) to my zsh shell through bindkey in .zshrc ...
0
votes
0answers
18 views
Shift+AnyLetter and Forward Slash Not Working on wsltty [duplicate]
I'm noticing errant behaviour with some standard key sequences with Vim 8.1 on wsltty. The correct behaviour is displayed when inside wsltty's standard terminal, so until proven otherwise I'm assuming ...
0
votes
1answer
143 views
When would I use append and when would I use insert?
I already know that a and i makes the cursor one space to the right and left respectively, but when would I use i to edit a file? Is there some special circumstance that makes insertion mode more ...
-1
votes
1answer
136 views
Enter insert mode after search?
So you're in Normal mode, then you press f followed by a character, then vim takes you to the next occurrence of that character. When you land on that character you are in Normal mode.
My question is ...
1
vote
1answer
24 views
How to prevent cursor shift when using <C-O>{delete cmd} at the end of a line?
<C-w> deletes a (small-)word in insert mode, but I often want to delete the Word (to last whitespace) I've most recently typed. I tried
inoremap <C-_> <C-o>dB
which kind-of works -- ...
0
votes
1answer
58 views
Keep open fold open on `o`
I have a file with foldmethod=indent. I have the folds automatically open when I enter them, and close when I leave them. When I sit in Normal mode on the bottom line of a fold and press o, the fold ...
1
vote
3answers
200 views
How can I delete whitespace backwards until end of previous word?
I want to delete whitespace backwards until end of previous word.
Say, I have the cursor on the character "d" in the word "dog":
horse cat dog
If I press Ctrl-W (Insert ...
1
vote
2answers
128 views
Shouldn't `softtabstop` be set, when using option 2 in `:h tabstop` to configure Vim to use spaces for `<Tab>`s?
I want to configure Vim to use spaces for <Tab>s everywhere. Therefore, I've had a look at :h tabstop to figure out how to perform the configuration.
Looking at the help text, option 2. seems ...
1
vote
3answers
70 views
How to make a shortcut to activate and deactivate multiple maps?
I know there are questions/answers to execute commands with a single shortcut, but in my case I can't think how to do multiple maps with a single shortcut in Insert Mode. In other words, what I want:
...
1
vote
0answers
56 views
Typing colon character in Insert mode undoing changes?
I am really curious as to why this is happening. I have this line in my .vimrc file (I am using WSL2 on windows and this line helps support copying from vim to the system clipboard):
set clipboard=...
1
vote
1answer
32 views
line-completion based on non-initial substring
Is there a way to perform a completion similar to <c-x><c-l>, but completes lines based on an arbitrary substring rather than a leading prefix of the line? I'm especially interested in a ...
0
votes
0answers
18 views
Why does disabling arrow keys in Insert mode (e.g. `inoremap <left> <nop>`) result in e.g. `0D` being written? [duplicate]
I want to disable the arrow keys in Insert mode, since I want to force myself to always go into Normal mode for performing movements.
To achive this, I've made the following mappings for Insert mode, ...
4
votes
2answers
62 views
How can I use `ci'` to change the N'th occurrence of single-quoted text in a line?
I find the ci' (and similar commands) very useful, since I can execute it at the start of the line, and it will automatically change the first occurrence of text between single quotes ('...').
However,...
1
vote
0answers
21 views
How can I make `<Shift>+<LeftArrow>` and `<Shift>+<RightArrow>` key bindings work using MacVim?
How can I make <Shift>+<LeftArrow> and <Shift>+<RightArrow> key bindings work using MacVim?
I often use these (default) key bindings in Insert mode to move the cursor one word ...
0
votes
5answers
297 views
I keep forgetting which mode I'm in
My main problem is that I don't realize which mode I am in each time I use
vim.
Sometimes I forget to <ESC> into normal mode, hence pressing vim commands in
insert mode. I have to waste time ...
2
votes
3answers
190 views
How do vim users type/edit while switching between modes?
I'm not talking about learning or introducing commands, but how to work by switching
between modes, and using normal known commands. Do most vim users stay more in
normal mode instead of in insert ...
1
vote
0answers
20 views
How to prevent `autocmd` for stripping trailing whitespace for moving the cursor? [duplicate]
I've the following autocmd for stripping trailing whitespace in a buffer, every time the buffer is written to a file:
" trim whitespace
autocmd BufWritePre * %s/\s\+$//e
However, the autocmd has ...
-1
votes
1answer
159 views
Paste clipboard data in Insert mode
I have learnt to paste clipboard data (something i copied from web browser using ctrl+c) to my current buffer in insert mode.
It is much easier than doing that in Normal mode.
To paste clipboard data ...
0
votes
1answer
220 views
Navigation in insert mode with soft wrap and showbreak
I’m having trouble with hjkl movement in insert mode.
The issue is that I have changed hjkl movement to move by display line. I have 'wrap' on. The cursor should normally move line by line, not move ...
2
votes
1answer
137 views
Conflict between system compose key and insert mode meta key mappings
I use the right alt key as a compose key on my system, to easily draw diacritics and accent characters.
In Vim, I unlock alt key mappings with this (from stackoverflow):
" Allow <alt> key ...
7
votes
3answers
3k views
How can I add text to the end of words on each line?
I have a series of single-word codes on separate lines in a text file. I'd like to add a backquote ( ` ) to the beginning and end of each word.
I know I can add a backquote to the beginning of each ...
0
votes
2answers
31 views
How to delete strings to close quote and close parenthese
I have a code like this:
h5 style=("text-align: center; margin-top: 2rem;") some text
p style=("text-align: center; margin-top: 2rem;") some text
And in first line, I want to ...
1
vote
1answer
45 views
Typing d in insert mode briefly moves cursor backwards
In Vim, when I'm in Insert mode and hit d, the cursor moves back one spot for a second, then jumps back to behind the letter just typed. This is quite distracting when typing texts.
It looks like Vim ...
2
votes
0answers
72 views
how to have two different colour schemes for command mode and edit mode in vim?
I have been using vim for some time now but I am always unsure of which mode I am currently in and hence end up pressing Esc too often even in the command mode. This causes an irritating computer ...
1
vote
1answer
39 views
How to put cursor in the right position after switching from normal mode to insert mode in terminal
After launching a terminal inside vim via :terminal, vim doesn't put curosr in the right position after pressing i in normal mode. As seen in the following picture, the cursor is put at the end of the ...
0
votes
1answer
69 views
prevent printing control-character in insert mode and command line
When in insert mode, if no mapping is associated to a sequence, Vim will print the character corresponding to the signal.
For example, typing <c-b> will input ^b as a character.
It is more ...
2
votes
3answers
989 views
How can I delete forward in "Insert" mode?
I often use the Ctrl-w command in "Insert" mode to delete the word behind the cursor, just like I would do in Bash.
In Bash, I also have a Meta-d (Esc-d) command for deleting the word in front of the ...
1
vote
1answer
180 views
blockwise visual mode multi line prepend doesn't work for me [duplicate]
I'm using nVim v0.4.3 and I'm having trouble getting multiline inserts to work in visual blockwise mode.
You can check this asciinema to see what I'm doing.
https://asciinema.org/a/...
0
votes
1answer
119 views
Simulate backspace in normal mode
I would like to have the delete key work similarly in normal mode as it does in insert mode, and it's been a bit tricky to map this. Here is what I have so far:
:nnoremap <Backspace> i<BS>...
2
votes
6answers
812 views
How to delete a pair of parenthesis with backspace
I'm using vim to code C++ and I want to handle the parenthesis more easily.
I knew that there was a plugin named Surround, which can help us but it is not what I expected.
I set some shortcuts as ...
1
vote
3answers
141 views
How to loop backwards through getline
I want to code a vim function, which searches backwards a specific char from the cursor at the current line.
Here is what I've done:
function! CustomSearch()
let currentLine = getline(".")
"...
0
votes
2answers
102 views
Cursor difference with "Esc" and "Ctrl + O"
Say I have a session like this:
Sunday|Monday
Where | is the cursor in insert mode. If I press Esc, I get this:
Sunda█Monday
but I want this:
Sunday█onday
As I want to select the second "word", ...
1
vote
1answer
46 views
Setting to prevent <c-h> to erase text
I have a map which allows me to navigate with hjkl in insert mode:
" In insert or command mode, move normally by using Ctrl
inoremap <C-h> <Left>
inoremap <C-j> <Down>
...
1
vote
1answer
92 views
Why doesn't inoremap work in this case
I'm coding c++ with vim and I want to set a shortcut while typing parenthesis and new line. Here is an example,
if (a == 1) {}| // the cursor is at the end of the line and the vim is under INSERT ...
1
vote
1answer
26 views
Problem when inserting text from a function in a for loop
I have a function that animates the insertion of the contents of the last modified register at the cursor's location as if someone was typing it:
function! AnimateInsertion() abort
" split ...
