Vim

Most of Vim’s commands are triggered from modes other than Insert mode, but some functionality is within easy reach from Insert mode. In this post, we’ll explore these commands. Although delete, yank and put commands are all triggered from Normal mode, we’ll see that there is a convenient shortcut for pasting text from registers without leaving Insert mode.

Vim is optimized for repetition. Its efficiency stems from the way it tracks our most recent actions. We can always replay the last change with a single keystroke. Powerful as this sounds, it’s useless unless we learn to craft our actions so that they perform a useful unit of work when replayed. Mastering this concept is the key to becoming effective in Vim.

Normal mode is Vim’s natural resting state. Other text editors spend most of their time in something that resembles Insert mode. For those new to Vim, Normal mode might seem like a strange default. But experienced Vim users have difficulty imagining it any other way.