[Another way to do this is with
@
-functions (
31.4
)
. -JP]
Not every keymap is something you want to save in your .exrc file. Some maps are handy just because you have to do a repetitive series of edits. Developing a complex map to repeat your edits can save more time than it takes. For example, assume that you have a glossary with entries like this:
map - an ex command which allows you to associate a complex command sequence with a single key.
You want to convert this glossary list to nroff ( 43.13 ) format, so that it looks like:
.IP "map" 10n An ex command which allows you to associate a complex command sequence with a single key.
The best way to define a complex map is to do the edit once manually, writing down each keystroke that you must type. Then re-create these keystrokes as a map. You want to:
Insert the
ms
macro for an indented paragraph (
.IP
) at the beginning of the line. Insert the first quotation mark as well (
I.IP <">
).
Press ESC to terminate text-input mode.
Move to the end of the first word (
e
) and add a second quotation mark, followed by a space and the size of the indent (
a<"> 10n
).
Press RETURN to insert a new line.
Press ESC to terminate text-input mode.
Remove the hyphen and two surrounding spaces (
3x
) and capitalize the next word (
~
).
That's quite an editing chore if you have to repeat it more than a few times. With
map
you can save the entire sequence so that it can be re-executed with a single keystroke:
map g I.IP "^[ea" 10n^M^[3x~
(To set that option during a
vi
session, type a colon (
:
) first.) Note that you have to "quote" both the ESC and RETURN characters with
CTRL-v (
31.6
)
.
^[
is the sequence that appears when you type
[CTRL-v]
followed by
[ESC]
^M
is the sequence shown when you type
[CTRL-v]
[RETURN]
.
Now, simply typing
g
will perform the entire series of edits. At a slow data rate you can actually see the edits happening individually. At a fast data rate it will seem to happen by magic.
Don't be discouraged if your first attempt at keymapping fails. A small error in defining the map can give very different results from the ones you expect. Type
u
to undo the edit, and try again.
[I like to write a keymap in a temporary file and edit it there until I get it right. For instance, I write my buffer and type
:e temp.so
to open the temporary file
temp.so
. I make the keymaps, one per line - without a colon (
:
) first. I write this map file (
:w
), then read it in to the editor (
:so
% (
30.4
)
). If I don't get an error, I switch to the original file (
:e
# (
30.4
)
) and try the map. Then I usually go back to the map file (
:e#
) again, fix the mistake
:-)
, and repeat the process until I get what I wanted.
-JP
]
- from O'Reilly & Associates' Learning the vi Editor , Chapter 7