Thread View: comp.editors
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Started by mrd@ecs.soton.ac
Fri, 23 Aug 1991 11:03
Free keys to bind to in vi (longish)
Author: mrd@ecs.soton.ac
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1991 11:03
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1991 11:03
115 lines
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6724 bytes
Which keys can I bind to in vi?
-------------------------------
When I experiment with a vi macro I always have trouble finding a free
key to bind it to. Vi has so many useful functions that all the best
keys are taken. One solution is to learn the complete vi command set
so that you know where the gaps are. Another solution is to bind to
short strings instead of single keys. A third solution is to use this
reference list to see where the gaps are.
This list shows the keys on the keyboard along with a cryptic clue to
their function in vi in command mode. If there is a gap, the key is
free and you can bind a macro to it.
Some keys do different things on different systems and implementations.
These are shown in parentheses. Many of the control-symbol and
control-number combinations produce strange results and I am not
confident about relying on these. On a PC you can usually bind to ALT
key combinations. On Suns and PCs you can bind to function keys.
The free keys which you can rely on seem to be:
^A ^I ^K ^O ^T ^V ^W ^X
g q v V \
and # * K if you're not using elvis.
I hope this is useful to others out there, although the list is a bit
over the top :-) Perhaps it could go in a FAQ list (for comp.editors.vi?)
Mark.
UNIX refers to UNIX systems.
PC refers to IBM PC compatibles.
ELV refers to elvis 1.4
Key Normal Shift Control
----------------------------------------------------------------------
ESC | cancel command | N/A | N/A |
RET | start of next line | N/A | N/A |
SPACE | move right | N/A | N/A |
! | pipe through shell | N/A | N/A |
" | refer to register | N/A | N/A |
# | (ELV,incr) | N/A | N/A |
$ | end of line | N/A | N/A |
% | match bracket | N/A | N/A |
& | repeat ex subst | N/A | N/A |
' | start marked line | N/A | N/A |
( | prev sentence | N/A | N/A |
) | next sentence | N/A | N/A |
* | (ELV,nxt err) | N/A | N/A |
+ | start of next line | N/A | N/A |
, | reverse last fFtT | N/A | N/A |
- | start of prev line | N/A | N/A |
. | repeat command | N/A | N/A |
/ | next match | N/A | N/A |
0 | first char of line | N/A | N/A |
1 | command count | N/A | N/A |
2 | command count | N/A | N/A |
3 | command count | N/A | N/A |
4 | command count | N/A | N/A |
5 | command count | N/A | N/A |
6 | command count | N/A | N/A |
7 | command count | N/A | N/A |
8 | command count | N/A | N/A |
9 | command count | N/A | N/A |
: | exec an ex command | N/A | N/A |
; | repeat last fFtT | N/A | N/A |
< | shift left | N/A | N/A |
= | lisp fmt (not ELV) | N/A | N/A |
> | shift right | N/A | N/A |
? | prev match | N/A | N/A |
@ | execute register | N/A | N/A |
a | ins after cursor | ins end of line | |
b | prev word | prev WORD | back page |
c | change area | change to eol | (break) |
d | delete area | delete to eol | scroll down |
e | next word end | next WORD end | move screen up |
f | find right | find left | forward page |
g | | goto line | file details |
h | move left | top of screen | move left |
i | ins before cursor | ins start of line | |
j | move down | join line | move down |
k | move up | (ELV,tag) | |
l | move right | bottom of screen | refresh screen |
m | mark position | middle of screen | start of next line |
n | repeat search | reverse search | move down |
o | open after line | open before line | |
p | put after cursor | put before cursor | move up (PC,print) |
q | | switch to ex | (flow control) |
r | replace char | replace to eol | refresh screen |
s | subst char | subst line | (flow control) |
t | till right | till left | |
u | undo | undo line | scroll up |
v | | | |
w | next word | next WORD | |
x | delete char | delete prev char | |
y | yank area | yank line | move screen down |
z | window control | write & quit ZZ | (UNIX,suspend) |
[ | prev sect [[ | N/A | cancel command ESC |
\ | | N/A | |
] | next sect ]] | N/A | follow tag |
^ | start of line | N/A | edit alt file |
_ | st nx ln (not ELV) | N/A | N/A |
` | goto mark | N/A | N/A |
{ | prev para | N/A | N/A |
| | move to column | N/A | N/A |
} | next para | N/A | N/A |
~ | toggle case | N/A | N/A |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--
Mark Dobie M.Dobie@uk.ac.soton.ecs (JANET)
University of Southampton M.Dobie@ecs.soton.ac.uk (Bitnet)
Re: Free keys to bind to in vi (longish)
Author: dattier@vpnet.ch
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1991 15:37
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1991 15:37
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mrd@ecs.soton.ac.uk (Mark Dobie) wrote in <8658@ecs.soton.ac.uk>: | The free keys which you can rely on seem to be: | | ^A ^I ^K ^O ^T ^V ^W ^X | g q v V \ | | and # * K if you're not using elvis. Not ^_? Is that spoken for on some systems? Mark listed it as "N/A". I've had no repercussions from mapping ^_. Also, ^I, ^V, and ^W (and ^T?) are available for mapping but not for map!ping. | I hope this is useful to others out there. Yes, it is. Thank you. David W. Tamkin Box 7002 Des Plaines, Illinois 60018-7002 +1 708 518 6769 dattier@vpnet.chi.il.us GEnie:D.W.TAMKIN CIS:73720,1570 MCI Mail:426-1818 "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" mailing list: flamingo-request@esd.sgi.com (reflector) flamingo-request@mcs.com (digest)
Re: Free keys to bind to in vi
Author: roger@quantime.c
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1991 15:25
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1991 15:25
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mrd@ecs.soton.ac.uk (Mark Dobie) wrote in <8658@ecs.soton.ac.uk>: | The free keys which you can rely on seem to be: | | ^A ^I ^K ^O ^T ^V ^W ^X | g q v V \ | | and # * K if you're not using elvis. Since [ and ] are only meaningful when doubled (e.g. ]] is bound, but ] isn't), you can map two-key sequences (e.g. [a ]b ][ ]- [1 ...), which widens your name space and can occasionally allow you to use slightly mnemonic names. Roger
Re: Free keys to bind to in vi (longish)
Author: malte@techfak.un
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1991 12:25
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1991 12:25
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In article <8658@ecs.soton.ac.uk>, mrd@ecs.soton.ac.uk (Mark Dobie) writes: |> Which keys can I bind to in vi? First of all: Thank you for the list of bound keys! Someone out there previously said, that all the "good" keys are already bound. This is true, but think of the tasks your macros are to cope with. Aren't these most frequently extensions to existing key functions? So why not overriding the previous bindings? Which leads to my question: How can one reset a key bound to a macro to its default meaning? Malte (malte@techfak.uni-bielefeld.de)
Re: Free keys to bind to in vi (longish)
Author: mrd@ecs.soton.ac
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1991 12:23
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1991 12:23
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In <1991Aug24.153729.20423@vpnet.chi.il.us> dattier@vpnet.chi.il.us (David W. Tamkin) writes: >mrd@ecs.soton.ac.uk (Mark Dobie) wrote in <8658@ecs.soton.ac.uk>: >| The free keys which you can rely on seem to be: >| >| ^A ^I ^K ^O ^T ^V ^W ^X >| g q v V \ >| >| and # * K if you're not using elvis. >Not ^_? Is that spoken for on some systems? Mark listed it as "N/A". I've >had no repercussions from mapping ^_. I have had a couple of corrections to the list. ^T pops a tag from the tag stack, so is not free. ^_ can be bound to, so it is free. The reason I listed it as N/A was that I wasn't sure, since I have to press <ctrl><shift><-> on this keyboard to get it. Many other <ctrl><shift> sequences give weird results. Also, ^\ seems to interrupt and enter ex on UNIX systems (SUN, HP). (I haven't tried it on a PC yet). >Also, ^I, ^V, and ^W (and ^T?) are available for mapping but not for map!ping. Yes. I didn't bother with insert mode keys in the list. Mark. -- Mark Dobie M.Dobie@uk.ac.soton.ecs (JANET) University of Southampton M.Dobie@ecs.soton.ac.uk (Bitnet)
Re: Free keys to bind to in vi (longish)
Author: mrd@ecs.soton.ac
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1991 12:29
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1991 12:29
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In <1991Aug26.122526.5737@unibi.uni-bielefeld.de> malte@techfak.uni-bielefeld.de (Malte Uhl) writes: >First of all: Thank you for the list of bound keys! Pleasure. >Someone out there previously said, that all the "good" keys are >already bound. This is true, but think of the tasks your macros are to >cope with. Aren't these most frequently extensions to existing key functions? >So why not overriding the previous bindings? There is always the problem of going too far away from the standard bindings, so when you use a standard setup (or someone else uses yours) things get confusing. >Which leads to my question: How can one reset a key bound to a macro to >its default meaning? :unmap does it. Mark. -- Mark Dobie M.Dobie@uk.ac.soton.ecs (JANET) University of Southampton M.Dobie@ecs.soton.ac.uk (Bitnet)
Re: Free keys to bind to in vi (longish)
Author: mfg@castle.ed.ac
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1991 08:36
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1991 08:36
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I'm not sure how many versions of vi the following will work on - 4.3BSD and
SunOs 4.* are ok but I haven't checked it on any others.
Vi lets you map function keys with 'map #3 ...'. Some implementations don't
check that it's actually a number after the '#' and so you can do things
like
map #f 0}!{fmt -70
to map the sequence '#f' to a macro which formats the current
paragraph. Together with the use of the '[' key posted earlier in
this thread this gives you more free key sequences to bind things to
than you're ever going to need (or be able to remember)
--
_ _ _ _ _
Michael Gordon - mfg@castle.ed.ac.uk OR ee.ed.ac.uk | |_| |_| |__| |_| |
| . . . . . . |
It's not an optical illusion, it just looks like one |_________|~~|_____|
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