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Title: Staying the hell out of insert mode
Date: April 24th 2010

Back in the day, the first thing I learnt about vi was how to get into insert
mode. It was really quite essential, because without knowing how, you couldn't
actually type anything.
Back in the day, the first thing I learnt about [vi][1] was how to get into
insert mode. It was really quite essential, because without knowing how, you
couldn't actually type anything.

The secret was in the "i" command.  The `i` command was what made vi useable,
it was the alpha and the omega, vi's be-all end-all--and whenever the editor
[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vi

The secret was in the "`i`" command.  The `i` command was what made vi useable,
it was the alpha and the omega, vi's be-all end-all---and whenever the editor
would magically exit insert mode, panic would ensue and I'd frantically press
`i` to go back to insert-land.
'`i`' to go back to insert-land.

I mean, what else would you want to do in a *text* editor, besides enter text?
I mean, what else would you want to do in a *text editor*, besides entering text?
It puzzled me for a long time.

The `i` key turned this rather archaic and obtuse program into a text-editor
which would respond predictably to keystrokes. I remember being asked from time
to time: "So what's the deal with vi?"; I'd answer something in the lines of:
"Vi? you have to press `i` to type. Also, try not to press `Esc`".
to time: "So what's the deal with vi?"; I'd answer in the lines of: "Vi? you
have to press `i` to start typing. Also, try not to press `Esc`".

But that was then, and this is now. Today, vi ([vim][2] actually) is my primary
editor. What I'd like to show you, is how to stay the hell out of insert mode.

But that was then, and this is now. Today, vim is my primary editor. What
I'd like to show you, is how to stay the hell out of insert mode.
[2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vim_(text_editor)

## Why stay out?

Insert mode is vi's weakest mode. In this mode, it's no better than *any other
editor*, and you may as well be using *any other editor*. Vi's true power lies
in its &lsquo;Normal mode'. Yes, inserting text is *not* normal in vi-land. The
in its 'Normal mode'. Yes, inserting text is *not* normal in vi-land. The
more time you spend in Normal mode, the more super-powers you will have.
Trust me, it doesn't get any *less* normal than Normal mode.

> Someone once argued that insert mode was actually vi's most powerful mode,
because it was the only mode in which you could insert text. He obviously


The other alternative, which I have chosen, is to map a key sequence to `Esc`.
Vi lets you map arbitrary sequences of keys to anything you like. For instance,
you could map `jj` to `Esc`. `j` is on the home row, so you don't need to move
your fingers to exit insert mode. I tried this out for a while, as well as a
couple of other alternatives. In the end, I settled for `kj`-- as it was the
couple of other alternatives. In the end, I settled for `kj`, as it was the
fastest to type. To create this mapping, add this to your `.vimrc` file:

    inoremap kj <Esc>

So what if I actually wanted to write "jj" or "kj"? For example if I wanted to
write a blog post such as this one? Well, I'd just have to wait for the
first letter in the sequence to be inserted. The length of time vi waits for you
to complete such a sequence of characters is controlled by the `timeoutlen` setting,
which defaults to 1000 ms. You can change this as such:

    set timeoutlen=200

Another really useful trick is switching to normal mode for a single command.
You can do this with `Ctrl-O`. For instance, say you're typing away and you
want to quickly save your work, you can type `Ctrl-O :w`, which will write the
file and put you back in insert mode.

## Learning, the hard way

How do you stop yourself from spending too much time in insert mode?
Add these key mappings to your *.vimrc*:
Well, you could add these key mappings to your *.vimrc*:

    inoremap <Left>  <NOP>
    inoremap <Right> <NOP>
    inoremap <Up>    <NOP>
    inoremap <Down>  <NOP>

This will make sure you don't get your little fingers on the arrow keys, and
This would make sure you don't get your little fingers on the arrow keys, and
start navigating (*gasp*) in insert mode.

## During your stay

Even though staying out of insert mode is safest, knowing what you *can* do in
this mode can be useful for the duration of your stay. I know I bashed it a
this mode can be useful for the duration of your stay. I know I criticized it a
little, but it deserves some recognition for these useful commands:

- `Ctrl-Y`: insert the character right above the cursor&mdash;you can see how this can be useful...
- `Ctrl-U`: delete the current line from the cursor position.
- `Ctrl-A`: re-insert the text inserted in the previous insert session.

48	52
49	53		The other alternative, which I have chosen, is to map a key sequence to `Esc`.
50	54		Vi lets you map arbitrary sequences of keys to anything you like. For instance,
51	55		you could map `jj` to `Esc`. `j` is on the home row, so you don't need to move
52	56		your fingers to exit insert mode. I tried this out for a while, as well as a
53		-	couple of other alternatives. In the end, I settled for `kj`-- as it was the
	57	+	couple of other alternatives. In the end, I settled for `kj`, as it was the
54	58		fastest to type. To create this mapping, add this to your `.vimrc` file:
55	59
56	60		inoremap kj <Esc>
57	61
	62	+	So what if I actually wanted to write "jj" or "kj"? For example if I wanted to
	63	+	write a blog post such as this one? Well, I'd just have to wait for the
	64	+	first letter in the sequence to be inserted. The length of time vi waits for you
	65	+	to complete such a sequence of characters is controlled by the `timeoutlen` setting,
	66	+	which defaults to 1000 ms. You can change this as such:
	67	+
	68	+	set timeoutlen=200
	69	+
58	70		Another really useful trick is switching to normal mode for a single command.
59	71		You can do this with `Ctrl-O`. For instance, say you're typing away and you
60	72		want to quickly save your work, you can type `Ctrl-O :w`, which will write the
61	73		file and put you back in insert mode.
62	74
63	75		## Learning, the hard way
64	76
65	77		How do you stop yourself from spending too much time in insert mode?
66		-	Add these key mappings to your .vimrc:
	78	+	Well, you could add these key mappings to your .vimrc:
67	79
68	80		inoremap <Left> <NOP>
69	81		inoremap <Right> <NOP>
70	82		inoremap <Up> <NOP>
71	83		inoremap <Down> <NOP>
72	84
73		-	This will make sure you don't get your little fingers on the arrow keys, and
	85	+	This would make sure you don't get your little fingers on the arrow keys, and
74	86		start navigating (gasp) in insert mode.
75	87
76	88		## During your stay
77	89
78	90		Even though staying out of insert mode is safest, knowing what you can do in
79		-	this mode can be useful for the duration of your stay. I know I bashed it a
	91	+	this mode can be useful for the duration of your stay. I know I criticized it a
80	92		little, but it deserves some recognition for these useful commands:
81	93
82	94		- `Ctrl-Y`: insert the character right above the cursor—you can see how this can be useful...
83	95		- `Ctrl-U`: delete the current line from the cursor position.
84	96		- `Ctrl-A`: re-insert the text inserted in the previous insert session.

1	1		Title: Staying the hell out of insert mode
2	2		Date: April 24th 2010
3	3
4		-	Back in the day, the first thing I learnt about vi was how to get into insert
5		-	mode. It was really quite essential, because without knowing how, you couldn't
6		-	actually type anything.
	4	+	Back in the day, the first thing I learnt about [vi][1] was how to get into
	5	+	insert mode. It was really quite essential, because without knowing how, you
	6	+	couldn't actually type anything.
7	7
8		-	The secret was in the "i" command. The `i` command was what made vi useable,
9		-	it was the alpha and the omega, vi's be-all end-all--and whenever the editor
	8	+	[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vi
	9	+
	10	+	The secret was in the "`i`" command. The `i` command was what made vi useable,
	11	+	it was the alpha and the omega, vi's be-all end-all---and whenever the editor
10	12		would magically exit insert mode, panic would ensue and I'd frantically press
11		-	`i` to go back to insert-land.
	13	+	'`i`' to go back to insert-land.
12	14
13		-	I mean, what else would you want to do in a text editor, besides enter text?
	15	+	I mean, what else would you want to do in a text editor, besides entering text?
14	16		It puzzled me for a long time.
15	17
16	18		The `i` key turned this rather archaic and obtuse program into a text-editor
17	19		which would respond predictably to keystrokes. I remember being asked from time
18		-	to time: "So what's the deal with vi?"; I'd answer something in the lines of:
19		-	"Vi? you have to press `i` to type. Also, try not to press `Esc`".
	20	+	to time: "So what's the deal with vi?"; I'd answer in the lines of: "Vi? you
	21	+	have to press `i` to start typing. Also, try not to press `Esc`".
	22	+
	23	+	But that was then, and this is now. Today, vi ([vim][2] actually) is my primary
	24	+	editor. What I'd like to show you, is how to stay the hell out of insert mode.
20	25
21		-	But that was then, and this is now. Today, vim is my primary editor. What
22		-	I'd like to show you, is how to stay the hell out of insert mode.
	26	+	[2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vim_(text_editor)
23	27
24	28		## Why stay out?
25	29
26	30		Insert mode is vi's weakest mode. In this mode, it's no better than *any other
27	31		editor, and you may as well be using any other editor*. Vi's true power lies
28		-	in its ‘Normal mode'. Yes, inserting text is not normal in vi-land. The
	32	+	in its 'Normal mode'. Yes, inserting text is not normal in vi-land. The
29	33		more time you spend in Normal mode, the more super-powers you will have.
30	34		Trust me, it doesn't get any less normal than Normal mode.
31	35
32	36		> Someone once argued that insert mode was actually vi's most powerful mode,
33	37		because it was the only mode in which you could insert text. He obviously