Here are a few useful commands for those who are new to vi.
| esc :q! | Just quit – don’t save |
| esc :e! | Revert to saved |
| esc :wq | Save and exit |
| esc shift zz | Save and exit |
| esc i | Enter insert mode (edit mode) |
| esc a | Enter append mode (edit mode) |
| esc | Exit edit mode |
| esc r | Replace a single character |
| esc x | Delete a single character |
| esc u | Undo last Change |
| esc U | Undo all changes to line |
| esc dd | Delete a single line |
| esc yy | Copy a single line |
| esc p | Paste a single line |
| . | Repeat the last command |
| esc / | String search |
| esc $ | Jump to end of line |
| esc ^ | Jump to begining of line |
| shift g (or) :$ | Jump to the end of the file |
| :1 or gg | Jump to the begining of the file |
| :.= | Display the current line number |
| nG (or) :n | Move to nth line of the file |
| :set nu | To turn ON numbering to each line |
| :set nonu | To turn OFF numbering to each line |
FIND & REPLACE :
Syntax: :%s/WORD-To-Find-HERE/Replace-Word-Here/g
Examples
To find each occurrence of ‘UNIX’, and replace it with ‘Linux’, enter (press ESC, type : and following command):
:%s/UNIX/Linux/g
Task: Find and Replace with Confirmation
Find a word called ‘UNIX’ and replace with ‘Linux’, but ask for confirmation first, enter:
:%s/UNIX/Linux/gc
Task: Find and Replace Whole Word Only
Find whole words exactly matching ‘UNIX’ to ‘Linux’; and ask for confirmation too:
:%s/\<UNIX\>/Linux/gc
Task: Case Insensitive Find and Replace
Find ‘UNIX’ (match UNIX, unix, UnIx, Unix and so on) and replace with ‘Linux’:
:%s/unix/Linux/gi
Same command with confirmation:
:%s/unix/Linux/gic
Task: Case sensitive Find and Replace
Find each ‘UNIX’ and replace with ‘bar’:
:%s/UNIX/bar/gI
Same command with confirmation:
:%s/UNIX/bar/gIc
How Do I Replace In the Current Line Only?
Find ‘UNIX’ and replace with ‘Linux’ in the current line only (note % is removed from substitute command)
:s/UNIX/Linux/g
NOTE: You need to prefix % the substitute command to make changes on all lines:
:%s/UNIX/Linux/g
How Do I Replace All Lines Between line 100 and line 250?
:{START-n},{END-n}s/word1/word2/g
EX : Find ‘UNIX’ and replace with ‘Linux’ all lines between line 100 and line 250, enter
:100,200s/UNIX/Linux/g
OR
:100,200s/UNIX/Linux/gc
Task : Count the word ABC in entire vi file :%s/ABC/ABC/g
