Vim Tips #1

Dec 22, 2013

For some time now I use only Vim instead of Sublime Text 2 that I used to use for everything.

There are plenty reasons for that and I will not go into it.

As a result I have acquired some experience that will help mostly begginers and hopefully some intermediate users.

Start with the tutorials

Vim has an excellent tutorial to get you started!

:help tutor will guide you to the basics of vim like instert mode, save a file, etc. With these commands you will be ready to do some work on any vim.

Find a good .vimrc

After you use vim for some time, slowly remaping stuff on your .vimrc and start getting some work done you could find a well constructed configuration that fits your needs and taste.
I use the awesome version of Amir’s Salihefendic .vimrc.
Now it doesn’t look like it anymore because I reconfigured it for my own taste and convenience but it provided me with a feature-full and well structured starting point.

There are plenty configurations out there and every user has his own.
So instead of building your own, save your self some frustration and don’t solve the problems others have solved many times before.

Don’t use the arrows

This is very difficult at first but hjkl are very faster when navigating if you get used to that.

I will start sharing vim tips with you from now on and I’ll be glad to hear yours’ too!

Update:

@tsironakos reported that Janus build and maximum-awesome are great configuration choices for beginners! Check them out!