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In Vim, undo and redo are essential features that help you correct mistakes or recover previous changes while editing files. This tutorial will cover the basic Vim commands and shortcuts for undoing and redoing changes.
Undo in Vim
To undo the last change in Vim, follow these steps:
ESC
.u
to undo the last change.Vim maintains an undo history, which means you can undo multiple changes by pressing u
repeatedly.
Redo in Vim
To redo the last undone change, follow these steps:
ESC
.CTRL+R
to redo the last change you undid.Like undo, Vim maintains a redo history, so you can redo multiple changes by pressing CTRL+R
repeatedly.
Undo branches
Vim has a unique feature called undo branches, which allows you to navigate through the entire undo history of the current buffer. You can use the :earlier
and :later
commands to move backward and forward through the undo tree, respectively.
:earlier {count}
: Move {count} steps back in the undo history. Replace {count}
with the number of steps you want to go back.
:earlier {count}s
or :earlier {count}m
: Move {count} seconds or minutes back in the undo history. Replace {count}
with the number of seconds or minutes you want to go back.
:later {count}
: Move {count} steps forward in the undo history. Replace {count}
with the number of steps you want to go forward.
:later {count}s
or :later {count}m
: Move {count} seconds or minutes forward in the undo history. Replace {count}
with the number of seconds or minutes you want to go forward.
Persistent undo
By default, Vim's undo history is lost when you close the editor. However, you can enable the persistent undo feature to save the undo history to a file and reload it the next time you open the same file.
To enable persistent undo, add the following lines to your vimrc
file:
set undofile set undodir=~/.vim/undo
This will create and store undo files in the ~/.vim/undo
directory. You may need to create this directory if it does not already exist:
mkdir -p ~/.vim/undo
In conclusion, the undo and redo features in Vim are invaluable tools for correcting mistakes and managing changes in your text files. Familiarizing yourself with these commands and shortcuts will make your text editing experience more efficient and enjoyable.
Undo and redo in Vim on Linux:
# Example: Undo and redo u - undo Ctrl + r - redo
How to undo changes in Vim:
u
command to undo the last change made in normal mode.# Example: Undo changes u - undo
Vim undo and redo shortcuts:
u
for undo and Ctrl + r
for redo simplify the process.# Example: Undo and redo shortcuts u - undo Ctrl + r - redo
Navigating through undo history in Vim:
:undolist
.# Example: View undo history :undolist
Redoing changes in Vim after undo:
Ctrl + r
to redo.# Example: Redo changes Ctrl + r - redo
Vim undo tree and visualizing changes:
# Install Gundo plugin git clone https://github.com/sjl/gundo.vim.git ~/.vim/bundle/gundo
Using undo and redo commands in insert mode:
Ctrl + w
undoes the last word, and Ctrl + r
redoes.# Example: Undo and redo in insert mode Ctrl + w - undo last word Ctrl + r - redo
Undoing specific changes in Vim:
:undo
to selectively undo changes.# Example: Undo specific changes :undo 3 - undo the third change
Customizing undo and redo settings in Vim:
~/.vimrc
." Example: Customizing undo settings set undolevels=1000 - set maximum undo levels
Troubleshooting undo and redo issues in Vim: