Learning the vi and Vim Editors, 7th Edition

Marking Your Place

During a vi session, you can mark your place in the file with an invisible “bookmark,” perform edits elsewhere, and then return to your marked place. In command mode:

m x

Marks the current position with x (x can be any letter). (The original vi allows only lowercase letters. Vim distinguishes between uppercase and lowercase letters.)

' x

(Apostrophe.) Moves the cursor to the first character of the line marked by x.

` x

(Backquote.) Moves the cursor to the character marked by x.

``

(Backquotes.) Returns to the exact position of the previous mark or context after a move.

''

(Apostrophes.) Returns to the beginning of the line of the previous mark or context.

Note

Place markers are set only during the current vi session; they are not stored in the file.