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Vim is a full-featured text editor. It is basically a clone of vi with a lot of features.
Vim is a modal editor: in different modes of vim, the same keystroke is interpreted differently.
You can open vim from the command line by typing 'vim'. If you want to learn more, then type ':vimtutor' for a relatively quick (~30 min) introduction. For help type ':help' or press 'F1'.
Small tips to survive in Vim
To insert text (and be in the insert mode): press 'i' then edit your text. To come back to the command mode press "ESC".
To save text (in command mode): press ':w'
To quit vim (in command mode): press ':q'
To quit vim without saving (in command mode): press ':q!'
To delete the line where the cursor is (in command mode): press 'dd'
Syntax highlighting
Vim supports syntax highlighting. To activate it open up
/etc/vim/vimrc
and uncomment the line
" Vim5 and later versions support syntax highlighting. Uncommenting the next " line enables syntax highlighting by default. syntax on
Other text editors
You can use a GUI version (gvim) provided by the vim-gtk, vim-gnome or vim-athena packages.
If you don't know anything about vi, it is better to use nano.
TextEditor - other editors.
See Also
vim package bugs in the Debian BTS
External Links
https://www.vim.org - Vim homepage.
Vim Tips Wiki - Wiki with Vim tips