We learned about inserting and selecting text in the insert mode and visual mode sections. In this section we will learn the basics of working with text.

Most basic editing operations are performed using a combination of normal mode for navigating the buffer, visual mode for selecting text to edit, and insert mode for inserting text. Other more specific operations are executed in command-line mode.

In this section we summarize various commands that execute basic editing operations, such as deleting, copy and paste, moving text, etc.

As a refresher, here are some ways switch from normal mode to other modes:

To	key
Insert	`i`
Visual	`v`
visual-line	`V`
visual-block	`C-V`

then return to normal mode from any of these modes using Esc.

Deleting

commands related to deleting content generally use the d prefix, followed by a motion. Many commands also take an optional count.

Here is a summary common of commands for deleting text in a buffer:

Command	Action
`dd`	Delete the current line
`dw`	Delete from the cursor position to the start of the next word
`d0`	Delete from the cursor position to the start of the current line
`d$`	Delete to end of current line
`dgg`	Delete from the cursor position to the start of the document
`dG`	Delete from the cursor position to the end of the document

Yanking

commands related to yanking content generally use the y prefix, followed by a motion. Many yank commands also accept a count.

Here is a summary of common commands for yanking text in a buffer:

Command	Action
`yy`	Yank the current line
`yw`	Yank from the cursor position to the end of the current word
`y0`	Yank from the cursor position to the start of the current line
`y$`	Yank to end of current line
`Y`	Yank to end of current line
`ygg`	Yank from the cursor position to the start of the document
`yG`	Yank from the cursor position to the end of the document

Pasting

Pasting content generally takes two forms, where the content is insert either before or after the current cursor position:

Command	Action
`p`	put the text [from register x] after the cursor N times
`P`	Paste before the cursor

Joining Lines

Editing documents inherently causes lines to shrink and grow as words are added and/or deleted. It doesn't take long for lines of paragraphs of text to start looking ragged.

Vim provides commands for joining two lines together, as well as for formatting entire paragraphs to get the text looking nice and neat again.

Command	Action
`J`	Join N lines; default is 2
`gJ`	join lines without inserting space
`gwip`	Reflow the current paragraph