Practical Vim, 2nd Edition

Chapter 2Normal Mode

Normal mode is Vim’s natural resting state. If this chapter seems surprisingly short, then that’s because most of this book is about how to use Normal mode! Here, however, is where we cover some core concepts and general tips.

Other text editors spend most of their time in something that resembles Insert mode. So to the Vim newcomer, it can seem strange that Normal mode is the default. In Tip 7, we’ll begin explaining why this is by drawing an analogy with the workspace of a painter.

Many Normal mode commands can be executed with a count, which causes them to be run multiple times. In Tip 10, we’ll meet a pair of commands that increment and decrement numerical values and see how these commands can be combined with a ...