Unable to edit using vi

Question

I'm trying to edit my /etc/network/interfaces file to add a line for a proxy server. I first "sudo su -" to be root, and then "vi /etc/network/interfaces". But once I'm in there, I'm unable to edit. I've tried hitting both "insert" and "i" on my keyboard, which should work for vi. What gives? And what am I doing wrong?

Solution 1

You are doing nothing wrong. You just don't know how to use vim.

Vim is an editor that works differently from any other editor. If you want to understand how it works, open a terminal in full screen and type vimtutor. It will teach you how to use vim inside vim.

Solution 2

If you're dissatisfied with the complexities of using vi, try using nano text editor, which is included in the default Ubuntu installation. There are only two things that you need to know to use nano, and they both appear at the bottom of every page in nano. The only two nano keyboard shortcuts that you need to know are for WriteOut and Exit.

• Press the keyboard combination Ctrl+O and after that press Enter to save the file being edited in nano to its current location.

• Press the keyboard combination Ctrl+X to exit nano.

To edit the /etc/network/interfaces file from the terminal type:

sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces  

Comments

[gertvdijk]

"I'm unable to edit" So what happens instead when you start typing? Do you see something in the bottom of the terminal window? Please be a bit more descriptive as we can't see your screen we rely on the information in your question.

[BlitZz]

also, try sudo vi /etc/network/interfaces. You'll type less :)

[Warren Hill]

have you tried another editor such as nano. sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces should work and nano is a more intuitive editor to use. If you particularly want to use vi you will need to provide more details.

[mreq]

@roadmr sudoedit /etc/network/interfaces even better :)

[Panther]

@roadmr sudo -e /etc/network/interfaces, even less typing =)

[Panther]

By default, ubuntu has vim-tiny installed. If you use vim, I suggest you simply install vim sudo apt-get install vim vim-scripts vim-doc vim-latexsuite vim-gui-common vim-gnome

[Rmano]

A lot of people (including myself since relatively short ago) is unable to edit using vi... :-). Jokes aside, I concur that for casual use better resort to nano. Being root and trying to learn vi together is a really, really dangerous thing to do.

[falconer]

Just a note: If he just wants to use nano for fast editing a system file then CTRL+X is enough to remember as it will ask whether he wants to save the file. If he wants to do just a little bit more serious editing then he will definitely need to switch to a more powerful editor, as nano lacks even an undo functionality. (Okay there is experimental support if you start with nano -u ...)