I am running Linux on a VM under Windows. When I am using Emacs on Linux, since my keyboard doesn't have the meta key, I will do my meta key command by pressing Esc, release it, and then press the subsequent letter key.
What if the command is Ctrl-Meta-b? My previous Esc way wouldn't work since it cancels the Ctrl. Any suggestion will be welcome. (Emacs and Linux noob here, so please don't laugh and be specific.)
First hit Esc, and then Ctrl+b. The escape keypress applies to the entire following key combination.
Depends a little what your meta key is mapped to in Windows, in my (pretty "stock") Emacs 24.3 setup, "Alt" serves as the Meta key.
Related
I just started using Vim as an IDE. I was using it as a test editor for a while now, so I didn't have to go to command mode very often. But, since I program in Java, I have to go to command mode to make the file, compile/run it... etc.
The problem is: I need a good way to switch between the two modes.
I looked online and it says that the <Esc> key is supposed to do that, but that doesn't work for me (maybe it's not for gVim? I don't know why.)
I have to press CTRLO every time to go to command mode; the escape key works from that mode... it brings me back to insert mode. But is there a better, or easier, way of switching between command mode and insert mode?
Pressing ESC quits from insert mode to normal mode, where you can press : to type in a command.
Press i again to back to insert mode, and you are good to go.
I'm not a Vim guru, so someone else can be more experienced and give you other options.
Looks like your Vim is launched in easy mode. See :help easy.
This happens when Vim is invoked with the -y argument or as evim, or maybe you have a :set insertmode somewhere in your .vimrc configuration. Find the source and disable it; temporarily this can be also done via Ctrl + O :set noim Enter.
This has been mentioned in other questions, but ctrl + [ is an equivalent to ESC on all keyboards.
Using jj
In my case, the .vimrc (or in gVim it is in _vimrc) setting below.
inoremap jj <Esc> """ jj key is <Esc> setting
Coming from emacs I've found that I like ctrl + keys to do stuff, and in vim I've found that both [ctrl + C] and [alt + backspace] will enter Normal mode from insert mode. You might try and see if any of those works out for you.
For me, the problem was that I was in recording mode. To exit from recording mode press q. Then Esc worked as expected for me.
There is also one more solution for that kind of problem, which is rather rare, I think, and you may experience it, if you are using vim on OS X Sierra. Actually, it's a problem with Esc button — not with vim. For example, I wasnt able to exit fullscreen video on youtube using Esc, but I lived with that for a few months until I had experienced the same problem with vim.
I found this solution. If you are lazy enough to follow external link, switching off Siri and killing the process in Activity Monitor helped.
You can use Alt+H,J,K,L to move cursor in insert mode.
I want to use the following code to quickly go from insert mode -> command mode. The problem is it just doesnt seem to be registering my keys. I've tried with control (nothing happens) and i've also tried with command (D) and it just says spellcheck not activated.
" Quick command mode from insert
imap <C-;> <esc>:
How do i go about doing this? is there an easier vim way that I'm not aware of?
Certain Ctrl chords can't be mapped, including Ctrl-;.
This is mentioned in this FAQ, see also the Vim FAQ:
20.4. I am not able to create a mapping for the <xxx> key. What is wrong?
First make sure that the key is passed to Vim. In insert mode, press Ctrl-V
followed by the desired key. You should see the keycode corresponding to
the key. If you do see the keycode, then you can create a mapping for the
key using the following command:
:map <C-V><xxx> <your_command_to_be_mapped>
For more information, read
:help map-keys-fails
:help :map-special-keys
:help key-codes
The tip about trying to print the character using Ctrl-V is good to remember if you run into this problem with another key combo.
I tried it, however it doesn't seem to work, also as pb2q said, it just can't be mapped. But there are other ways to escape using a Ctrl key combination.
For example, you can also escape insert mode with the following key presses:
Ctrl-[
Ctrl-c
On OS X (I think Lion and above), you are able to map alt - ; using this method, alt - ; on OS X outputs ç, which you can map.
But at a MacBook, I prefer to use PCKeyboardHack to map caps lock to esc. Or at Windows, use a tool I've created myself for that or even Ctrl2Cap.
EDIT
oh sorry, I thought you wanted to switch to normal mode, that's why I talked about caps lock mappings.
I've been trying out vim, and the emphasis on speed and accessibility makes sense for the veteran programmer. I've previously used emacs, and currently use a combination of nano, and stuff like gedit or geany.
I'm confused by the need to constantly switch modes, and that returning from insert mode to normal mode requires leaving the home row to press Esc. I've read that previously, this key was Tab on some systems where vim was first used, which makes a lot more sense, but not on current systems where tab is expected to participate in smart indenting when coding.
Returning to normal mode is an operation that you need to perform all the time. Is there some alternative key mapping that makes this quicker, or mappings that I simply don't know about that do this?
Ctrl+C also return you to normal mode
You can also use ^[. If you've mapped your caps lock key to control (highly recommended), this becomes a rather easy keystroke.
I personally use the Capslock key as the second Esc key, so it is very comfortable. You can do it by adding the following lines to your .xmodmap file:
remove Lock = Caps_Lock
keysym Caps_Lock = Escape
You can map whatever you like to escape:
imap kj <Esc>
I haven't yet run across a situation where I need to type kj next to each other, besides when I talk about this mapping. I've seen other people use jk or jj, but kj works best for me.
I personally use ii to get out of insert mode while staying on the home row, but it is only a matter of personal preference:
inoremap ii <Esc>
i to go in insert and ii to go out. This is easy for your finger to remember. (I tend to still use <Esc> though)
I personally use Left Control as escape and Caps Lock as Left Control. It is not vim mapping, but some xmodmap+setxkbmap magic:
! ~/.Xmodmap
! Control_R
keycode 37 = Escape
and ctrl:nocaps in X keyboard options. You may have different keycode though.
Use Alt/Meta In a Terminal
If you use Vim in a terminal, simply press alt/meta+normal_mode_key. Most terminals send an escape character followed by the normal_mode_key that you pressed, removing the need to press escape yourself.
The terminals konsole and gnome terminal send the escape by default when you press alt/meta+normal_mode_key. For Xterm you can ctrl+click and select the option "Meta sends escape" or "Alt sends escape".
Thus in insert mode pressing alt+h alt+j alt+k alt+l all take you to normal mode and move in the expected direction. You can hold down alt when moving even while in normal mode since the additional ESC that is sent does no harm.
The advantage of using this scheme is that you can use the alt/meta+key combination with any normal mode key, e.g.
Alt+o opens a new line below the one you are currently editing,
Alt+A appends to the end of the current line,
Alt+p pastes at the current insert location.
Alt+k moves up
Thus using vim via a terminal gives you these short cut powers on any stock standard system without the need to edit each systems vim mappings.
I think that using Menu key to quit vim's insert mode would be a great thing. It would be also nice to use Super key for that, but I'm not sure if it possible since Super key is a modifier.
Anyway, I couldn't find anything related to this. Looking for your help and thanks in advance!
I don't think there's any way you can configure Vim to pay attention to the Menu key as such,
but depending on your system there are various ways to turn the Menu key into an Escape key.
If you're using X11 on Linux:
The command xmodmap -e 'keycode 135 = Escape' will turn your Menu key into an Escape key for the current session, but is not permanent. To make it permanent under Gnome, you might try adding it under System → Preferences → Startup Applications.
The xkeycaps program will give you a GUI for similar remappings.
For more information:
http://46dogs.blogspot.com/2008/05/remap-keys-in-ubuntu-804-hardy-heron.html
http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-106209.html
I haven't found a way to map it in gVim yet, but I was able to successfully map the Menu key in a urxvt+screen+vim stack by the following method:
In a terminal, type Ctrl+v and press Menu. This is mapped to the quoted-insert function in Zsh and in Readline-based tools like Bash.
It will generate an escape sequence like ^[[29~ at the prompt. (The initial ^[ must be translated to <Esc> for use in .vimrc.)
Open up .vimrc and add a line like this:
imap <Esc>[29~ <Esc>
(or imap <Esc>[29~ <Esc><Esc> if you don't want it to wait for further input like the Escape key does.)
Note that not all keys return something usable from Ctrl+v. This is a limitation of terminal emulators and can be remedied by remapping the key. You may be able to do that at the level of the terminal emulator rather than for all X apps.
For example, for urxvt, I had to add the following lines to ~/.Xresources and run xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources to apply them:
! Unbreak zsh keys in URxvt
URxvt*keysym.Home: \033[1~
URxvt*keysym.End: \033[4~
(\033 is <Esc> in ~/.Xresources syntax.)
Just try using ctrl+[ instead of binding another key. This combination is a standard one in vim, btw.
This is even easier when having rebound capslock into an additional ctrl.
I am an emacs user (on linux laptop) looking to make better use of my keyboard settings. The windows key is unused on my keyboard... is there any way to map it to m-x? This might make many emacs commands faster.
Thanks,
SetJmp
Use xmodmap to make it the Menu key, as in
keycode 115 = Menu
You will have to use xev to find out if the Windows key is key 115 on your keyboard.
Just to provide a little more info, here's a link to a quick series of steps to remap the CapsLock Key in both X and Virtual Consoles:
The steps can be identically followed for Windows key or whatever else you may wish to remap.