Vim for Word (or something like it) - vim

Question

Are there any rich-text editors that have Vi(m) keybindings? Specifically, something like Word where I can compose a document with colors, headings, et al. but use Vi(m) bindings to move around and compose?

Answer 1

So if you have to use MS Word and want vim key bindings, there is an add on, but if you are not bound to that I would def. go for LaTeX + the vim latex suite.

Answer 2

Are you familiar with Latex?
Simply put it allows you to format your documents in plain text using tags or commands.
You then "compile" your document into the final format .pdf,.ps, etc.
Ex:
\documentclass{article}
\title{Cartesian closed categories and the price of eggs}
\author{Jane Doe}
\date{September 1994}
\begin{document}
\maketitle
Hello world!
\end{document}
This will allow you to write in vim, but still get professional non plain text output for your documents.

Answer 3

If you like Markdown or Latex, you could use the free open source Rstudio editor, with VIM-mode enabled. Export as either Word, PDF, or HTML etc.
Download Rstudio:
https://www.rstudio.com/products/RStudio/#Desktop
Read about markdown:
http://rmarkdown.rstudio.com/

Answer 4

If you wish to use vim for text editing, but want to, for example have text in different colors, bold it and such ... you can use Txtfmt plugin. It enables you, by using special characters, to "prettify" plain text files a little. They can look quite nice, and it comes handy if you're used to vim, and are, for example, writing documentation for your programs which you'll later just get in word, and make an adjustment or two, and ship off.

Answer 5

If you want to (or have to) stay with Word and don't want to shell out $100 for a ViEmu license, you can try using this AutoHotKey script for providing some basic vi-like functionality. The repo linked also provides a standalone exe to get the same without using AutoHotKey.
There are many good reasons to ditch word entirely, but sometimes that's just not an option :(

Answer 6

The Txtfmt plugin definitely provides the functionality you are looking for. It's a bit like having "rich text" capability for plain text in Vim.
Txtfmt (The Vim Highlighter)
Screenshots
The latest version supports 8 configurable foreground and background colors, as well as all combinations of bold, underline, italic, etc... The highlighting is token-based, but the tokens are rendered invisible by the syntax, and can be inserted with very convenient and intuitive mappings, which don't require you to remember anything: e.g., "bold-underline" could be specified with a string such as bu or ub. The version under development even supports visual maps, which will permit you to select some text and say (for example) "Make this text red, bold-italic", and have the plugin handle insertion/removal of the appropriate tokens automatically. (It's really quite simple and intuitive, however, even with the non-visual mappings.)
Although the plugin is highly configurable, the default settings are appropriate for most users, and the author is more than happy to answer any setup or usage questions...

Answer 7

There's a way of configuring Abiword to use vi key bindings

Answer 8

You can use the text editor of your choice with vim keys (vim, emacs, sublime, atom, vscode ,etc.) and write your document in markdown. Then use an open source tool called pandoc to translate it into almost any other markup language that you want. It is possible to compile your document to rich text formats including MS Word or even MS Powerpoint.
You can costumize your output by using a template.
Pandoc has extensive documentation and uses a richer markup syntax that allows you to do pretty much anything you want with the text. It is being actively developed by the community. Almost any major text editor has a few plugins for pandoc too.

Answer 9

You can use GlobalVim.
It can simulate vim modes and commands in most editing area.