> Cursor movement — h, j, k, l (left, down, up, and right)
> Delete character — x
> Delete line — dd
> Mode toggle — Esc, Insert (or i)
> Quit — :q
> Quit without saving — :q!
> Run a shell command — :sh (use 'exit' to return)
> Save file — :w
> Text search — /
Use the vimtutor command to quickly learn how to use vi's keyboard commands. The tutorial takes less than 30 minutes, and it teaches new users how to start or stop the editor; navigate files; insert and delete text; and perform search, replace, and insert operations.
Working with emacs
Richard M. Stallman's GNU emacs editor, like vi, is included with Linux and nearly every other Linux distribution. Unlike other UNIX and Linux text editors, emacs is much more than a simple text editor — it is an editing environment and can be used to compile and build programs, act as an electronic diary, appointment book and calendar, compose and send electronic mail, read Usenet news, and even play games. The reason for this capability is that emacs contains a built-in language interpreter that uses the (emacs LISP) programming language.
The GNU version of this editor requires more than 30MB of hard drive space. However, there are versions with fewer resource requirements, and at least one other text editor included with Linux, named joe, can be used as an emacs clone (albeit with fewer features).
You can start an emacs editing session like this:
$ emacs file.txt
If you start emacs when using X11, the editor launches in its own floating window. To force emacs to display inside a terminal window rather than its own window (which can be useful if the window is a login at a remote computer), use the -nw command-line option like this:emacs -nw file.txt.
The emacs editor uses an extensive set of keystroke and named commands, but you can work with it by using a basic command subset. Many of these basic commands require you to hold down the Ctrl key, or to first press a
TABLE 4.2 Emacs Editing Commands
| Action | Command |
|---|---|
| Abort | Ctrl+G |
| Cursor left | Ctrl+B |
| Cursor down | Ctrl+N |
| Cursor right | Ctrl+F |
| Cursor up | Ctrl+P |
| Delete character | Ctrl+D |
| Delete line | Ctrl+K |
| Go to start of line | Ctrl+A |
| Go to end of line | Ctrl+E |
| Help | Ctrl+H |
| Quit | Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C |
| Save As | Ctrl+X, Ctrl+W |
