Linux in a Nutshell, Fourth Edition

Movement Commands

Some versions of vi do not recognize extended keyboard keys (e.g., arrow keys, Page Up, Page Down, Home, Insert, and Delete); some do. All, however, recognize the keys in this section. Many users of vi prefer to use these keys, as it helps them keep their fingers on the home row of the keyboard. A number preceding a command repeats the movement. Movement commands are also objects for change, delete, and yank operations.

Character

Command	Action
h, j, k, l	Left, down, up, right (←, ↓, ↑, →)
Spacebar	Right
Backspace	Left
Ctrl-H	Left

Text

Command	Action
w, b	Forward, backward by word (treating punctuation marks as words).
W, B	Forward, backward by word (recognizing only whitespace, not punctuation, as separators).
e	End of word (treating a punctuation mark as the end of a word).
E	End of word (recognizing only whitespace as the end of a word).
ge	End of previous word (treating a punctuation mark as the end of a word). {vim}
gE	End of previous word (recognizing only whitespace as the end of a word). {vim}
), (	Beginning of next, current sentence.
}, {	Beginning of next, current paragraph.
]], [[	Beginning of next, current section.
][, [ ]	End of next, current section. {vim}

Lines

Long lines in a file may show up on the screen as multiple lines. While most commands work on the lines as defined in the file, a few commands work on lines as they appear on the screen.

Command	Action
0, $	First, last position of ...