I learned a Vim trick for inserting repeated characters in insert mode.
ctrl+o runs a normal mode command from insert mode. For example, to add a line of 80 slashes, you can do:
ctrl+o 80i/ESC
So to get a comment block like this (except 80 characters wide), use that above command to make the first line and then hit yypO:
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// █
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Then type your comment.
Reference for the commands used:
- yy – copies the current line
- p – pastes what you just copied
- shift+o – opens a line in insert mode
Also, I usually open new Vim tabs with :tabnew
, but in these videos I saw the instructor open a new tab with :tabe
. So I looked at the help file (:h tabe
) and there is a lot of interesting stuff in there. You can tell Vim exactly where you want the new tab to open (like :3tabe
), or what kind of command to run in the new tab.
Just press ESC and type this for the docs:
:h tabe