Using vim and vi to Edit Text Files

It’s almost impossible to use Linux for any period of time and not need a text editor because, as noted earlier, most Linux configuration files are plain-text files that you will almost certainly need to manually change at some point. If you are using a GNOME desktop, you can run gedit (type gedit into the Search box and press Enter, or select Applications ➪ Accessories ➪ gedit), which is fairly intuitive for editing text in a GUI.

You can also run a simple text editor called nano from the shell. It is true that nano isn't as feature rich as some other editors, but it is very user friendly, and often enough to get the job done. That being said, most Linux shell users use either the vi or the also popular emacs command to edit text files.

The advantage of vi over a graphical editor is that you can use the command from pretty much any shell, character terminal, or character-based connection over a network (leveraging network applications such as telnet or ssh, for example) — no graphical interface is required.

99.9% of Linux systems you will come into contact with will have vi installed.

The following sections provide a brief tutorial on the vi text editor, which you can use to manually edit a text file from any shell. It also describes the improved versions of vi, called vim. The vi editor is somewhat difficult to learn at first, owing to its peculiar interaction contexts and key combinations, but after you become familiar with it, you never again have to use a mouse or a function key — you can edit and move around quickly and efficiently within files just by using the keyboard.

Lovely stuff!