

Ask HN: Vim Pro Tips? - samirahmed

Lots of HN users use Vim, does anybody have an pro-tips for the average Vim user they can share, to help boost everybody's productivity
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ehamberg
Learn to use text objects¹ – they are what makes Vim much more powerful than
Vi. You can even add custom text objects² such as function argument³ or camel
case word⁴.

Text objects let you operate on logical units of text. E.g. “change inner
word” (ciw), “delete a sentence” (das), change inner double quotes (ci"), ...

[1] [http://blog.carbonfive.com/2011/10/17/vim-text-objects-
the-d...](http://blog.carbonfive.com/2011/10/17/vim-text-objects-the-
definitive-guide/)

[2] <http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Creating_new_text_objects>

[3] <http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=2699>

[4] <http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=1905>

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DavidChouinard
I highly recommend installing Janus, it comes with a bunch of useful
customization and plugins: <https://github.com/carlhuda/janus>

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swatermasysk
I recommend avoiding packages like Janus when you are just getting started.

The key to vim success is really understanding the basics. Packages like Janus
obscure some of this and hurt truly learning the fundamentals.

Similarly, I would limit plugins entirely. Maybe limit yourself to 1 or 2 new
plugins per week until you really get understand whats going on.

