Using vi to edit a file in terminal
Solution 1
vi = too hard to use for a new user
nano = text editor that is run from the terminal like vi, only it's much easier to use for 2 reasons:
- The instructions for using nano editor are always found at the bottom of every page.
- 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. Press the keyboard combination Ctrl+X to exit nano.
nano is installed by default in Ubuntu.
Tip - Make the terminal easier to read. In the terminal select Edit -> Profile Preferences -> Colors tab and change the Background color to black and the Text color to white.
Solution 2
vi
or vim
is an advanced editor. So I will suggest you to get familiar with it before using it.
For now:
If you want to edit a file using terminal, press
i
to go intoinsert
mode.Edit your file and press ESC and then
:w
to save changes and:q
to quit.
However, you can combine these two like :wq
to write and quit the vim
editor.
If you want to learn how to use
vim
editor, use vimtutor
command, which starts the Vim tutor.
Solution 3
You can also use gksu gedit /etc/icinga/objects/localhost.cfg
to open it in gedit and work from there, if you are having trouble using vi
.
But G_P is right, type man vi
in the terminal and it should give you all the instructions.
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Jaap Grinwis
Updated on September 18, 2022Comments
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Jaap Grinwis over 1 year
I have a question, I have installed Ubuntu 14.04 and on this machine is icinga software. when I opened the terminal and typed:
sudo vi /etc/icinga/objects/localhost.cfg
then the terminal opened the file, but I can't type in this file. When I type "d" then the terminal delete everything in the file.
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P.-H. Lin over 9 yearsIf you're not familiar with vi, please take a look here How to edit a file in vi editor, or install vim instead.
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P.-H. Lin over 9 years@EliahKagan nah, the default package is vim.tiny, not vim, you have to do some tweak to make it work like vim.
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Eliah Kagan over 9 years@P.-H.Lin The advice in ps_cool's answer to How to edit a file in vi editor (arrow keys prints letters)? applies equally to both. Both Ubuntu's default
vi
(asvim.tiny
) and fullervim
installations operate based on the same modal editing concept and have the same basic usage. At the level of answering the question of why typing D deletes a line instead of writing D at the current cursor position, the same answers apply tovi
andvim
. -
Elder Geek almost 7 yearsYou may find this answer informative. You might also find this useful.
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