5 ms·

Escape key alternatives in Vim

threatofrain 10y ago
I'm surprised of no mention of mapping <esc> to <caps> -- it's such a sweet modification to Vim. I'd do it regardless of Apple's touchbar announcement.
- ErikCorry 10y ago
  I haven't done this because I'm trying to stop chording: pressing two keys simultaneously with the same hand. I'm pretty sure it causes RSI (try Googling chording and RSI). When I have to type all caps, I find myself chording a lot. The alternative is to always use the right shift for capital letters on the left and vice versa, but that doesn't work well for all caps words. Therefore I'm trying to learn to actually use caps lock. Admittedly it's not going very well
  - chubot 10y ago
    Vim solution: type in all lower case, then select what you just typed and press ~. Admittedly it doesn't help for non-Vim applications, but I don't find myself typing all caps outside Vim very often. It's usually to type something like FOO_BAR, but then you can just type FO<Ctrl-N> and that usually works.
    - typicalrunt 10y ago
      ~ is for one character. If you have a word you want in caps, do gUw. For lowercase, it's guw.
      - chubot 10y ago
        ~ works under visual selection.
      - falcolas 10y ago
        Or for a string, gUi" "go Uppercase inside double quotes"
  - michaelmrose 10y ago
    How often do you type in all caps and why can't you bind another key or key combo to caps? Regarding chording I use the following strategy. I use i3wm which lets you define your own modes and bind arbitrary keys to commands. Effecting a mode is a set of effective bindings wherein one binding in one mode can make a different mode active letting you define vim like sequences of keys to accomplish a goal. I use xcape which lets you have a key produce a different key when pressed vs used as a modifier. I use the key produced by tapping right shift to start operations with my window manager. Eg vot opens appkey t in this case terminal in a vertical split. In Emacs I use the key produced by tapping left shift to start operations as a leader key eg to correct mispellings I use left shift c w. I remap caps to escape. I would also just map escape to caps but some games seem to ignore what you have mapped and require you to press the real escape key to get out of a menu. So lacking an optimal key I just map right shift -> c to caps.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
mpobrien 10y ago
Remapping caps lock to ESC has been my preferred method for this, I'd suggest giving it a try!
- falcolas 10y ago
  Better, IMO, to use it as a control key (you can do so much with the control key inside a terminal). Of course, why not both? http://www.economyofeffort.com/2014/08/11/beyond-ctrl-remap-make-that-caps-lock-key-useful/ http://www.economyofeffort.com/2014/08/11/beyond-ctrl-remap-...
ErikCorry 10y ago
jk works pretty well. Actually faster to type than jj
red2awn 10y ago
I mapped <esc> to jk, though I don't use vim that often.
simplicio 10y ago
I use alt-[keystroke], which changes to normal mode and executes [keystroke]. So if the first command I intend to execute in normal mode is simple, I get that plus the mode change in one keystroke. If the command is complicated, I just use alt-l (moves the cursor one space) which I find easier to hit than ctrl-[ or esc. As a bonus, it works in readlines vi mode as well.
K0nserv 10y ago
I've been using jk for quite some time now. It's definitely my favourite improvement over stock vim. You can sort of roll your fingers with your right hand index and middle finger which makes it super fast.
ibiza 10y ago
You can reduce the lag of using <Esc> with: set timeout timeoutlen=1000 ttimeoutlen=10
- kough 10y ago
  Very cool trick, thanks for sharing. Is there any reason I wouldn't want this?
  - jks 10y ago
    Arrow and function keys are mapped to escape sequences, so if you use vi over a slow or unreliable connection your arrow keys could randomly get interpreted as escape followed by some commands.
  - z1mm32m4n 10y ago
    timeoutlen is also used by leader key combos, and things like gg, fx, etc. If you drop your timeoutlen, make sure you can still combo these fast enough for them to register.
kough 10y ago
Ctrl-c and Ctrl-[ are my favorite -- once you remap caps lock to control (so that control is where it was when these interfaces were designed), you have a simple, 2-hand chorded escape with minimal stress on the keys. Does anyone here remap backspace to something else? My right wrist has been particularly RSI sensitive in the last month or so and I've noticed that reaching for backspace tends to set it off.
- ErikCorry 10y ago
  I have backspace on my left thumb: https://www.kinesis-ergo.com/shop/advantage2/ https://www.kinesis-ergo.com/shop/advantage2/ Highly recommended for Linux or Windows desktop computers if you have RSI trouble. A bit unwieldy for laptops though. I use both and switching isn't a big issue (unlike switching national keyboards, which drives me crazy). It doesn't quite have enough modifiers for Mac - can't have both left and right versions of shift, alt, ctrl and command. Vi users have to swap the up-arrow and the down-arrow since they use the same fingers as j and k, but reversed. However, it's pretty easy to remap, and it happens in the keyboard so it works everywhere.
Tempest1981 10y ago
A coworker with RSI mapped a foot switch to Escape. Something like this: https://www.kinesis-ergo.com/shop/advantage-3-pedal/ https://www.kinesis-ergo.com/shop/advantage-3-pedal/
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- dongslol 10y ago
  I've thought of using one of those to map a parenthesis to each foot, for Lisp.
IgorPartola 10y ago
Off topic: I love vim and use it for everything from writing love notes to assembly. Lately I've picked up using Vue.js with the new .vue files using ES6. What code highlighting plugin have y'all successfully used for the JS/ES portion of the file that does highlighting well and doesn't just stop working if you scroll up and down in the file? It's driving me a little batty.
- ufmace 10y ago
  The stock Javascript stuff works all right for me. After just tracking down a problem I was having with indention that turned out to be a dumb line in my .vimrc, I'd suggest doing a standard troubleshoot - take out all of your extensions and your .vimrc and see if it still does it. If it stops, re-enable stuff until you figure out exactly what's causing the problem.
- oinksoft 10y ago
  Highly recommend https://github.com/othree/yajs.vim https://github.com/othree/yajs.vim
  - IgorPartola 10y ago
    That's the one I'm using.
- aeosynth 10y ago
  There is a vim-vue plugin: https://github.com/posva/vim-vue https://github.com/posva/vim-vue I'm getting by with the stock html syntax: au BufNewFile,BufRead *.vue set filetype=html
  - IgorPartola 10y ago
    My current plugin list is: Bundle 'scrooloose/syntastic' Plugin 'tmhedberg/SimpylFold' Plugin 'ipartola/igor-vim' Plugin 'othree/yajs.vim' Plugin 'mxw/vim-jsx' Plugin 'leafgarland/typescript-vim' Plugin 'posva/vim-vue' Plugin 'bronson/vim-trailing-whitespace'
cygned 10y ago
That's my setup. vnoremap <C-c> <Esc> inoremap <C-c> <Esc> inoremap <Esc> <nop> vnoremap <Esc> <nop>
nikkisnow 10y ago
I prefer to use <,><e> to escape out of insert mode.
bilalq 10y ago
The article mentions that you can set custom mappings to escape and uses this as an example: imap jj <Esc> If you're interested in doing that, I'd strongly recommend you never do a plain `imap` and instead always do `inoremap` (this advice applies to `nmap`, `vmap`, and the like as well). The difference is that the noremap variant is non-recursive [0]. Also, since we're on the subject of escape alternatives, I may as well mention mine. It really bothers me that exiting insert mode moves your cursor back a space. To remedy that, I've got a custom mapping that escapes and them jumps to the mark at which insert mode last was [1]. The mapping is: inoremap jj <Esc>`^ [0]: http://learnvimscriptthehardway.stevelosh.com/chapters/05.html#nonrecursive-mapping http://learnvimscriptthehardway.stevelosh.com/chapters/05.ht... [1]: http://vimdoc.sourceforge.net/htmldoc/motion.html#`^ http://vimdoc.sourceforge.net/htmldoc/motion.html#`^
- EduardoBautista 10y ago
  I'll go ahead and update it. Thanks for the info!
valbaca 10y ago
I use "kj" for escape, "lkj" for escape-and-save, and ";lkj" for escape-and-save-and-quit since I can roll my fingers faster that way that doing "jk" or "jj" It also has the advantage of usually being a no-op in visual mode (kj moves up, then moves down). "jk" has the same advantage. Whereas "jj" will move you down. I also have my caps-lock key mapped to escape. (EDIT: learning from bilalq https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13101691 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13101691) "during insert, kj escapes, `^ is so that the cursor doesn't move inoremap kj <Esc>`^ "during insert, lkj escapes and saves inoremap lkj <Esc>`^:w<CR> "during insert, lkj escapes and saves and QUITS inoremap ;lkj <Esc>:wq<CR>

I'm surprised of no mention of mapping <esc> to <caps> -- it's such a sweet modification to Vim. I'd do it regardless of Apple's touchbar announcement.

ErikCorry 10y ago
I haven't done this because I'm trying to stop chording: pressing two keys simultaneously with the same hand. I'm pretty sure it causes RSI (try Googling chording and RSI). When I have to type all caps, I find myself chording a lot. The alternative is to always use the right shift for capital letters on the left and vice versa, but that doesn't work well for all caps words. Therefore I'm trying to learn to actually use caps lock. Admittedly it's not going very well
- chubot 10y ago
  Vim solution: type in all lower case, then select what you just typed and press ~. Admittedly it doesn't help for non-Vim applications, but I don't find myself typing all caps outside Vim very often. It's usually to type something like FOO_BAR, but then you can just type FO<Ctrl-N> and that usually works.
  - typicalrunt 10y ago
    ~ is for one character. If you have a word you want in caps, do gUw. For lowercase, it's guw.
    - chubot 10y ago
      ~ works under visual selection.
    - falcolas 10y ago
      Or for a string, gUi" "go Uppercase inside double quotes"
- michaelmrose 10y ago
  How often do you type in all caps and why can't you bind another key or key combo to caps? Regarding chording I use the following strategy. I use i3wm which lets you define your own modes and bind arbitrary keys to commands. Effecting a mode is a set of effective bindings wherein one binding in one mode can make a different mode active letting you define vim like sequences of keys to accomplish a goal. I use xcape which lets you have a key produce a different key when pressed vs used as a modifier. I use the key produced by tapping right shift to start operations with my window manager. Eg vot opens appkey t in this case terminal in a vertical split. In Emacs I use the key produced by tapping left shift to start operations as a leader key eg to correct mispellings I use left shift c w. I remap caps to escape. I would also just map escape to caps but some games seem to ignore what you have mapped and require you to press the real escape key to get out of a menu. So lacking an optimal key I just map right shift -> c to caps.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

mpobrien 10y ago

Remapping caps lock to ESC has been my preferred method for this, I'd suggest giving it a try!

falcolas 10y ago
Better, IMO, to use it as a control key (you can do so much with the control key inside a terminal). Of course, why not both? http://www.economyofeffort.com/2014/08/11/beyond-ctrl-remap-make-that-caps-lock-key-useful/ http://www.economyofeffort.com/2014/08/11/beyond-ctrl-remap-...

ErikCorry 10y ago

jk works pretty well. Actually faster to type than jj

red2awn 10y ago

I mapped <esc> to jk, though I don't use vim that often.

simplicio 10y ago

I use alt-[keystroke], which changes to normal mode and executes [keystroke]. So if the first command I intend to execute in normal mode is simple, I get that plus the mode change in one keystroke. If the command is complicated, I just use alt-l (moves the cursor one space) which I find easier to hit than ctrl-[ or esc. As a bonus, it works in readlines vi mode as well.

K0nserv 10y ago

I've been using jk for quite some time now. It's definitely my favourite improvement over stock vim. You can sort of roll your fingers with your right hand index and middle finger which makes it super fast.

ibiza 10y ago

You can reduce the lag of using <Esc> with: set timeout timeoutlen=1000 ttimeoutlen=10

kough 10y ago
Very cool trick, thanks for sharing. Is there any reason I wouldn't want this?
- jks 10y ago
  Arrow and function keys are mapped to escape sequences, so if you use vi over a slow or unreliable connection your arrow keys could randomly get interpreted as escape followed by some commands.
- z1mm32m4n 10y ago
  timeoutlen is also used by leader key combos, and things like gg, fx, etc. If you drop your timeoutlen, make sure you can still combo these fast enough for them to register.

kough 10y ago

Ctrl-c and Ctrl-[ are my favorite -- once you remap caps lock to control (so that control is where it was when these interfaces were designed), you have a simple, 2-hand chorded escape with minimal stress on the keys. Does anyone here remap backspace to something else? My right wrist has been particularly RSI sensitive in the last month or so and I've noticed that reaching for backspace tends to set it off.

ErikCorry 10y ago
I have backspace on my left thumb: https://www.kinesis-ergo.com/shop/advantage2/ https://www.kinesis-ergo.com/shop/advantage2/ Highly recommended for Linux or Windows desktop computers if you have RSI trouble. A bit unwieldy for laptops though. I use both and switching isn't a big issue (unlike switching national keyboards, which drives me crazy). It doesn't quite have enough modifiers for Mac - can't have both left and right versions of shift, alt, ctrl and command. Vi users have to swap the up-arrow and the down-arrow since they use the same fingers as j and k, but reversed. However, it's pretty easy to remap, and it happens in the keyboard so it works everywhere.

Tempest1981 10y ago

A coworker with RSI mapped a foot switch to Escape. Something like this: https://www.kinesis-ergo.com/shop/advantage-3-pedal/ https://www.kinesis-ergo.com/shop/advantage-3-pedal/

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
dongslol 10y ago
I've thought of using one of those to map a parenthesis to each foot, for Lisp.

IgorPartola 10y ago

Off topic: I love vim and use it for everything from writing love notes to assembly. Lately I've picked up using Vue.js with the new .vue files using ES6. What code highlighting plugin have y'all successfully used for the JS/ES portion of the file that does highlighting well and doesn't just stop working if you scroll up and down in the file? It's driving me a little batty.

ufmace 10y ago
The stock Javascript stuff works all right for me. After just tracking down a problem I was having with indention that turned out to be a dumb line in my .vimrc, I'd suggest doing a standard troubleshoot - take out all of your extensions and your .vimrc and see if it still does it. If it stops, re-enable stuff until you figure out exactly what's causing the problem.
oinksoft 10y ago
Highly recommend https://github.com/othree/yajs.vim https://github.com/othree/yajs.vim
- IgorPartola 10y ago
  That's the one I'm using.
aeosynth 10y ago
There is a vim-vue plugin: https://github.com/posva/vim-vue https://github.com/posva/vim-vue I'm getting by with the stock html syntax: au BufNewFile,BufRead *.vue set filetype=html
- IgorPartola 10y ago
  My current plugin list is: Bundle 'scrooloose/syntastic' Plugin 'tmhedberg/SimpylFold' Plugin 'ipartola/igor-vim' Plugin 'othree/yajs.vim' Plugin 'mxw/vim-jsx' Plugin 'leafgarland/typescript-vim' Plugin 'posva/vim-vue' Plugin 'bronson/vim-trailing-whitespace'

cygned 10y ago

That's my setup. vnoremap <C-c> <Esc> inoremap <C-c> <Esc> inoremap <Esc> <nop> vnoremap <Esc> <nop>

nikkisnow 10y ago

I prefer to use <,><e> to escape out of insert mode.

bilalq 10y ago

The article mentions that you can set custom mappings to escape and uses this as an example: imap jj <Esc> If you're interested in doing that, I'd strongly recommend you never do a plain `imap` and instead always do `inoremap` (this advice applies to `nmap`, `vmap`, and the like as well). The difference is that the noremap variant is non-recursive [0]. Also, since we're on the subject of escape alternatives, I may as well mention mine. It really bothers me that exiting insert mode moves your cursor back a space. To remedy that, I've got a custom mapping that escapes and them jumps to the mark at which insert mode last was [1]. The mapping is: inoremap jj <Esc>`^ [0]: http://learnvimscriptthehardway.stevelosh.com/chapters/05.html#nonrecursive-mapping http://learnvimscriptthehardway.stevelosh.com/chapters/05.ht... [1]: http://vimdoc.sourceforge.net/htmldoc/motion.html#`^ http://vimdoc.sourceforge.net/htmldoc/motion.html#`^

EduardoBautista 10y ago
I'll go ahead and update it. Thanks for the info!

valbaca 10y ago

I use "kj" for escape, "lkj" for escape-and-save, and ";lkj" for escape-and-save-and-quit since I can roll my fingers faster that way that doing "jk" or "jj" It also has the advantage of usually being a no-op in visual mode (kj moves up, then moves down). "jk" has the same advantage. Whereas "jj" will move you down. I also have my caps-lock key mapped to escape. (EDIT: learning from bilalq https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13101691 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13101691) "during insert, kj escapes, `^ is so that the cursor doesn't move inoremap kj <Esc>`^ "during insert, lkj escapes and saves inoremap lkj <Esc>`^:w<CR> "during insert, lkj escapes and saves and QUITS inoremap ;lkj <Esc>:wq<CR>