Vim Tip 20, 21, 22, 23 - visual mode basics
enabling visual mode
| command | effect |
|---|---|
v |
Visual character-wise |
V |
Visual Line |
<C-v> |
Visual Block |
gv |
repeat last selection |
o |
go to other end of selection |
The "Vim Language" usually is {verb}{text-object} (or {verb}{movement}). In visual mode we invert this order. We first select the text we want to do some operation, and then execute the operation.
Other interesting thing about Visual Mode: if you press o you put the cursor in the other end of the selection.
Visual mode is also an awesome way to practice text-objects, because you have a visual hint of what the text-object is.
The Vim Tip 23 is basically saying the same as Chris Toomey in his nice video "Mastering the Vim Language":
Using Visual Mode is a smell!.
Although it can be useful for on-off operations, using visual mode can make your last action not very repeatable.