How to restore vim screen when exiting

When you exit vim it does not restore the terminal screen (particularly in FreeBSD), here is how to fix that (file ~/.vimrc):

" Restore terminal screen when exiting Vim
if &term =~ "xterm"
  let &t_ti = "\<Esc>[?47h"
  let &t_te = "\<Esc>[?47l"
endif

Working with Vim Explore plugin

Vim Explore command let you browse files.

Hiding files and folders: Ctrl + H

Sometimes you would like exclude some files or folders from the list, e.g. pyc files that are results of python compilation, or .svn folders, etc. There is an easy way to get this done. Add the following to your ~/.vimrc file:

let g:netrw_list_hide = '.pyc,.svn,.egg-info'

Back to Explore: Ctrl + 6

When you click on a file in explore view Vim displays its content. Once you finished with your changes to the file there is a way to quickly get back to the explore view. Just press Ctrl+6.

Change current folder: c

When you are in Explore view you can use the following command to create a new file:

:e filename

This command create a file in a folder you started Vim, but sometimes that is not what you want, usually need a new file in a folder you currently browsing. Just press c to make a folder in explore view a current folder for Vim.
Read more about explore here.

Vim - Save in Insert Mode

You can use the following combination:

• Press Ctrl+O
• Than enter command :w and hit enter

But there is a better way. If you come from Windows there is Ctrl+S combination that saves changes, you can use it in your VIM editor (try issue the following in Vim command mode):

" Use Ctrl+S to save file is edit and command modes
inoremap <c-s> <c-o>:w<cr>
nnoremap <c-s> :w<cr>

Consider add it to your .vimrc file. If you are using Vim in putty console, please have a look here. Read more about mapping keys here.

Recovering from Ctrl+S in Putty

The problem is related to XON/XOFF command that is mapped to Ctrl+S sequence. The terminal doesn't echo the commands you issue, so you need to remember press Ctrl+Q in order to turn flow control ON. There is a way to ignore such behaviour. What you need to do is to change your terminal characteristics.

stty -ixon

Consider add this command to your /etc/profile.d/ixon.sh file.

How to disable autoindent in VIM

When copy/paste from one source to the other (e.g. sample code), vim auto-indent makes too much indentation, so you want to quickly turn it off. Here is a command:

:setl noai nocin nosi inde=

Here is a mapping (add to file ~/.vimrc):

" Disable autoindent in VIM
nnoremap <F8> :setl noai nocin nosi inde=<CR>

Alternatively, you can use:

" Turning off auto indent when pasting text into vim
set pastetoggle=<F8>

So now, before pasting something in, you press F8 to disable auto-indent.

Vim Settings

You can setup default vim settings for all users in /etc/vim/vimrc.local:

" Enable syntax highlighting
syntax on
filetype plugin indent on

" If using a dark background within the editing area and syntax 
" highlighting turn on this option as well
set background=dark

" Enable mouse usage (all modes) in terminals
set mouse=a 

set t_Co=256
"colorscheme desert256
colorscheme wombat256

set expandtab           " Convert tabs to spaces
set tabstop=4           " Tabs = 4 spaces
set shiftwidth=4        " Indent/outdent 4 spaces

set incsearch           " Do incremental searching
set showmatch           " Show matching brackets

set nobackup
set noswapfile
set number
set termencoding=utf-8
set encoding=utf-8
set fileencodings=utf-8,cp1251

Here is how you can install new color schemes for vim:

deby:~# wget -O /usr/share/vim/vimcurrent/colors/desert256.vim \
http://www.vim.org/scripts/download_script.php?src_id=4055

deby:~# wget -O /usr/share/vim/vimcurrent/colors/wombat256.vim \
http://www.vim.org/scripts/download_script.php?src_id=13397

Once downloaded, open vim and issue the following command to try:

:colorscheme wombat256

If you prefer black background in wombat256:

hi Normal       ctermfg=254     ctermbg=0       cterm=none      guifg=#f6f3e8  guibg=#CCCCCC  gui=none

Working with Vim

It is convenient to make vi alias for vim:

apt-get install vim less
update-alternatives --set vi /usr/bin/vim.basic
update-alternatives --set editor /usr/bin/vim.basic

Commands

i - opens insert mode for editing, inserts text after the current cursor position
esc - returns to command mode
a - opens insert mode for editing, inserts text at the current cursor position
:w - writes changes
:wa - writes all changes
:x or ZZ - writes and quits
:q! or ZQ - quits without saving changes
:xa - writes and quits all windows

Text Manipulation

u - undo
v - enters visual mode to mark a block on which you can use commands
d - deletes the current selection
y - yanks (copies) the current selection
p - paste
gq - reformat paragraph

Moving around

gg - top of the file
G - bottom of the file
/text - search forward
n - next match
N - previous match
?text - search backward
:%s/old/new/g - replace old with new globally

Multi-windowing

^ws - horizontal split
^wv - vertical split*
^wc - close current window
^w up arrow - move cursor up a window
^w_ - maximize current window
^w= - make all equal size

Folding

zo - open
zc - close
* - if some commands for any reason doesn't work for you, most likely you are using vi or somewhat cut version of vim. See vim cheat sheet.