A co-worker changed his text editor’s theme to look much like default Vim. I think he is Vim-curious.
Tag: Vim
On text editors
I have a text editor I’ve been using myself that is so complicated it makes VIM look like Notepad — maybe I’ll release that.
I had to edit a few files remotely today, and, boy…
I had to edit a few files remotely today, and, boy, does Vim shine over ssh connection while working on a weird touch-screen keyboard of an Android phone! I caught myself thinking that modal editing was invented for mobile devices, where the multi-touch is limited (hence the key-combination shortcuts), and there is a total or partial absence of control and functional keys.
Avoid ESC in Vim
OK, this is one of those times when I’ve been humbled again. I’ve been using Vim for over a decade now, and once in a while it occurred to me that using ESC to exit to normal mode is NOT the most efficient thing ever. Maybe my little finger is too little, or maybe my keyboards are too large. But reaching ESC with while in the middle of crazy typing session broke my concentration a few times. But somehow I just thought that it is one of those most natural Vim things that I had to get used to. Today, I came across something genius that told me that I don’t have to. If you have the same problem, edit your .vimrc file and add the following lines:
" exit to normal mode with 'jj' inoremap jj <ESC>
Once you load your new configuration, typing ‘jj‘ in insert mode will be equivalent to press ESC key. Brilliant!
Pentadactyle Firefox add-on for Vim and Links addicts
Pentadactyle Firefox add-on for Vim and Links addicts
Pentadactyl is a free browser add-on for Firefox, designed to make browsing more efficient and especially more keyboard accessible. Largely inspired by the Vim text editor, the appearance and finger feel of Pentadactyl should be familiar to Vim users. Additional web-specific features, such as our ‘Hint’ mode, command interface, and key bindings to automatically follow back and forward links, make it easy to navigate without touching the mouse and give Pentadactyl a habit forming nature of its own.
Pentadactyl is a fork of the Vimperator project by most of its primary developers. Major differences include a 7-fold startup speed improvement and other speed improvements elsewhere, the command-line is hidden by default, better private mode and :sanitize support, better forward and reverse incremental find support, and the ability to separate multiple Ex commands with a |.