To edit a file                       vi [ filename ]
 To recover an editing session        vi -r [ filename ]

All vi commands are entered in command mode. To enter command mode, press the ESC key.
Some vi commands cause vi to enter another mode. For example, the i (insert command)
causes vi to enter insert mode after which all keystrokes are inserted as text. To return
to command mode from insert mode, press the ESC key. The :set showmode commandwill cause
vi to display the current editing mode in the lower right corner of the editing screen.

   Repaint the current screen           {ctrl-l}
 Display line #, # of lines, etc..    {ctrl-g}

Moving the Cursor

 Beginning of current line            0 or ^
 Beginning of first screen line       H
 Beginning of last screen line        L
 Beginning of middle screen line      M
 Down one line                        j, {return}, +
 End of current line                  $
 Left one character                   h, {ctrl-h}
 Left to beggining of word            b, B
 Right one character                  l, {space}
 Right to end of word                 e, E
 Right to beginning of word           w, W
 Up one line                          k, -
 Beginning of next sentence           )

 Beginning of previous sentence       (

Paging Through Text

 Back one screen                      {ctrl-b}
 Down half a screen                   {ctrl-d}
 Down one screen                      {ctrl-f}
 Forware to end of file               G
 Move cursor to specified line        line no. G
 Up half a screen                     {ctrl-j}

Special Pattern Characters

 Beginning of line                            ^
 End of line                                  $
 Any character except newline                 .
 Any number of the preceding character        *
 Any set of characters (except newline)       .*

Searching Through Text

 Backward for pattern                         ?pattern
 Forward for pattern                          /pattern
 Repeat previous search                       n
 Reverse direction of previous search         N

 Show all lines containing pattern          :beg,endg/pattern/p
 :1,$g/compiler/p Will print all lines with the pattern compiler.

 Substitute patt2 for all patt1 found.        :beg,ends/patt1/patt2/g
 :%s/notfound/found/g Will change all occurences of notfound to found.

Creating Text

 Append text after cursor             a
 Append text after end of line        A
 Insert text before cursor            i
 Insert text at beginning of line     I
 Open new line after current line     o
 Open new line before current line    O
 Take next character literally
  (i.e. control characters...)
  and display it                      {ctrl-v}

Modifying Text

 Change current word                  cw, cW
 Change current line (cursor to end)  C
 Delete character (cursor forward)    x
 Delete character (before cursor)     X
 Delete word                          dw, dW
 Delete line                          dd
 Delete text to end of line           D
 Duplicate text                       (use yank and put)
 Join current line with next line     J
 Move text                            (use delete and put)
 Put buffer text after/below cursor   p
 Put buffer text before/above cursor  P
 Repeat last modification command     .
 Replace current character            r
 Replace text to end of line          R
 Substitute text for character        s
 Undo your previous command           u
 Transpose characters                 xp
 Yank (copy) word into buffer         yw
 Yank (copy) current line into buffer Y

Making Corrections During Text Insertions

 Overwrite last character             {delete}
 Overwrite last word                  {ctrl-w}

Ending Your Editing Sessions

 Quit (no changes made)               :q
 Quit and save changes                ZZ, :wq
 Quit and discard changes             :q!

Using ex Commands From Within vi

 Copy specified lines                 :co, t
 Display line numbers                 :set nu
 Disable display of line numbers      :set nonu
 Move lines after specified line      :m
 Read file in after specified line    :r filename
 Review current editor options        :set
 Review editor options                :set all
 Set new editor option                :set option
 Write changes to original file       :w
 Write to specified file              :w filename
 Force write to a file                :w! filename


Some useful set options for your ~/.exrc file:

 :set all             Display all Set options
 :set autoindent      Automagically indent following lines to the indentation
                        of previous line.
 :set ignorecase      Ignore case during pattern matching.
 :set list            Show special characters in the file.
 :set number          Display line numbers.
 :set shiftwidth=n    Width for shifting operators <<>>
 :set showmode        Display mode when in Insert, Append, or Replace mode.
 :set wrapmargin=n    Set right margin 80-n for autowrapping lines
                      (inserting newlines).  0 turns it off.