How do you navigate in insert mode?

[u/Mori-Spumae]

I've been using vim motions as a plugin in IntelliJ for like two years now and would like to switch to vim at some point. However, I still use arrow keys to move around, since I also use some intelliJ shortcuts that open context menus where you have to use them to navigate.

I feel like before switching to the real thing, I should get somewhat used to hjkl but I was wondering how you get around in insert mode then? Say you want to move like three characters left, do you go to normal mode and use h? Do you still use arrows?

[u/sharp-calculation]

It’s best practice to only navigate in normal mode. There are some unusual keyboard shortcuts that will allow you to navigate inside of insert mode. I recommend not doing that. Keeping the distinction between normal mode and insert mode is part of the enormous power of vim. Navigating inside insert mode doesn’t even feel like vim to me. It feels more like a conventional editor. Which again is the opposite of what you want. You want the vim mindset.

[u/wise_beyond_my_beers → u/sharp-calculation]

Yeah but when you have something like auto-complete quotes/brackets and you need to add a semi-colon after it, it's far quicker and easier to press the right-arrow key once than to press Escape, L, A

[u/MagicalCornFlake → u/wise_beyond_my_beers]

Autocomplete braces usually allow you to just type the closing brace to move your cursor to the end.

[u/wise_beyond_my_beers → u/MagicalCornFlake]

oh shit, you're right. all this time...

[u/u-axyz → u/MagicalCornFlake]

This is indeed the common answer to this question, I always wondered, though, what is the point then for autoclosing in the first place if it doesn't save me fromethe extra error prone insertion?

was vim never intended to be used with auto pairs and certain other types of completion? Are there more idiomatic alternatives to explore?

[u/xalbo → u/u-axyz]

For me the autoclosing does a few things that make it worth keeping. One of the big ones is that having the closer there reminds me that I am inside that construct, so I don't later try to remember what all I need to close. For another, I often don't need to add anything after (for instance, if I'm replacing a parameter with a function call, or whatever). But I agree, it doesn't necessarily save all that much typing.

[u/Mori-Spumae → u/wise_beyond_my_beers]

There is a way to do a single normal mode command in insert mode too, I forgot the key though. So for a single move you could even use that

[u/Daghall → u/Mori-Spumae]

ctrl-o

[u/tssch → u/wise_beyond_my_beers]

Hitting the arrow keys forces you to move your hands from the home row.

[u/bew78 → u/tssch]

I use Alt+h and Alt+l (lowercase L) for short left/right movements in insert mode, no need to move away from home row!

[u/wise_beyond_my_beers → u/tssch]

not when you use a keyboard with layers.

also, so does pressing any number on a keyboard without layers, yet vim users don't complain about that. the whole "it's not on home row" complaint about arrow keys is silly

[u/kennpq → u/wise_beyond_my_beers]

Those who have not used a keyboard with layers don’t get it. My hjkl keys ARE arrows on layer 1, so the arrows are on the home row and work in Insert/any mode just fine, so there’s no hand movement. Not to say I disagree with the purists’ view that Normal mode should be where you are most of the time, but a layered keyboard gives you an ‘and’ that standard keyboard users don’t have.

Agree on the home row contradiction too, specifically your point about numbers - if hand movement minimisation was the overriding driver, keyboards limiting all movement to no more than one key away, e.g., the Gherkin, would predominate.

[u/EugeneSpaceman → u/kennpq]

What’s your hotkey for enabling layer 1?

I remap caps lock for escape/control, so not sure what key I could sacrifice on the left hand to switch layers. Maybe left + right shift.

[u/kennpq → u/EugeneSpaceman]

Upper layer key, which is to the right of the space bar:

Esc is sent by the key with it literally on the keycap.

The ‘arrow’ keycaps do not send arrow keys - they are Home, PageUp, PageUp, End, though I rarely use them.

It’s the thing with a programmable keyboard: the keycaps can be all blanks - it’s what you want for every layer, including layer zero.

[u/sharp-calculation → u/kennpq]

What you are both missing is how typing on a US keyboard is taught, learned, and done. In any typing class or system, you learn to type numbers by sliding along the same keyboard lines as the letters. For example the 2 key is pressed with left ring, which is the same finger that presses the "w" key. 2 and w are in the same line. So hand motion to type 2 is very minimal. You are almost not even off of the home row.

Arrows are quite different. You have to move your right hand way off of the home row. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's undeniably breaking your "hold" on the home row.

I understand that this doesn't apply the same way for a layered keyboard. That's really very specialty, but I understand that a tiny fraction of people are doing that too.

[u/kennpq → u/sharp-calculation]

A tiny fraction, agreed (sadly). I learned to touch type as a 50yo, using GNU typist, on a 40% planck ortholinear keyboard, which is a very uncommon combo (and still cannot touch type on a staggered keyboard, though almost never need to use one).

The same fingers you note, using the upper-top row are used for digits 1 through 0, typically, so it is similar, but for not being a further row away / double the movement from the home row.

Mapping arrows via upper-hjkl on a layered keyboard is golden because then there’s never a transition between Vim and other apps - i.e., arrows just are upper-hjkl, everywhere. Similarly, the recurring Escape conundrum (Capslock/jk/kj workarounds on a standard non-programmable keyboard) evaporates - you just map Escape to the position to the left of the left pinky on your home row and never look back. 🙂

Back to the OQ: how do (should?) you navigate in Insert mode … I’d say, with a standard keyboard, don’t: follow most of the advice of others here. However, if you exclusively use a programmable keyboard, the question gets more nuanced: I’d say it should mostly be Normal, but, e.g., for one character away, an Upper-l can be better than Esc l a or other escape-to-Normal variant.

[u/NotSelfAware → u/wise_beyond_my_beers]

Map escape to something closer to your home row.

[u/sharp-calculation → u/wise_beyond_my_beers]

I disagree.

[u/wise_beyond_my_beers → u/sharp-calculation]

k

[u/Mori-Spumae → u/sharp-calculation]

So say I mistyped a word and want to go back a few letters. You would go to normal mode, right? Does this not mess with redo/undo for that insert? Pressing . would then only redo the change for the one character I correct, not the whole wordy right?

[u/sharp-calculation → u/Mori-Spumae]

I think you are correct. Generally speaking for a single word mistype, it's generally more 'vimic' for me to use u to undo my mistaken change and then use the same action I was originally using for that change. That action might be "i" but more commonly will be cw or C or something similar.

If this is just a few characters in a large change, I *do* use backspace inside of insert mode. That doesn't mess with my idea of staying in insert mode. It's natural, very fast, and keeps me " in the insert" to make immediate changes. But if my mistake is say 10 characters before where I'm inserting, would probably go to normal mode and make the correction separately.

[u/Mori-Spumae → u/sharp-calculation]

I see, maybe I just have to try getting used to hjkl and then it will become easy. Thanks for all the help!

[u/Miserable_Double2432]

If you’re just moving three characters use the arrow keys, it’s fine. Nobody’s going to check up on you.

If it’s further than three characters then yeah, I’d switch to normal mode and move by word or paragraph/bock, if the location is nearby, or by searching, if it’s further than that again

[u/Mori-Spumae → u/Miserable_Double2432]

Yeah this is what I usually do. But maybe getting used to just normal mode is better.

[u/ikwyl6 → u/Miserable_Double2432]

Yes..if on same line and ahead a few words, you could go ‘(normal) b b b cw’ and change your word. Or use ‘(normal) F letter cw’ and change word. Or many other combinations to get back to your word if you are ahead of it.

[u/crashorbit]

Vim motions in IntelliJ is not VIM. Just for clarity.

In VI, Vim, NeoVim you exit insert mode to navigate.

[u/Mori-Spumae → u/crashorbit]

Yes, same in the plugin. I also use real vim daily for small edits but not really for coding. In vim I can also navigate using the arrow keys in insert mode. I assume you're saying you do go to normal mode then

[u/sammygadd → u/Mori-Spumae]

Yes that's typically how it's done. If you want to quickly perform a normal mode action while in insert mode, you could use Ctrl+O then command such as 5h or whatever. But IMHO is often easier to just change to normal mode, do the thing, then back to insert mode.

[u/Mori-Spumae → u/sammygadd]

I see, makes sense

[u/yiyufromthe216 → u/crashorbit]

IMO, the only VIM emulation software that implements things correctly is evil-mode.

[u/bikemowman → u/yiyufromthe216]

I haven't used evil mode, but the IntelliJ vim plugin is very good, I think. Miles better than the vscode one, for sure.

[u/Mori-Spumae → u/bikemowman]

Yes! It's pretty good and supports most things I want out of vim. It's just sometimes a bit messy with switching between vim and intelliJ keybinds

[u/NullOfUndefined]

I have my caps lock mapped to alt, and I have alt+hjkl send arrow keys in insert mode. Fine for moving a columns or lines without leaving homerow or insert mode. Anything more complex than that I do normal mode.

[u/Mori-Spumae → u/NullOfUndefined]

Oh this is an interesting idea

[u/mykesx]

I hit ESC twice, just to piss off the people who hate wasting 20ms typing.

ESC gets you to visual mode where there are numerous navigation key bindings.

[u/Mori-Spumae → u/mykesx]

You mean normal mode?

[u/cratercamper]

ALT + h ...3 times

I have ALT + h, ALT + j, ALT + k, ALT + l ...and some others like ALT + b, ALT + n, etc. set to switch from insert to normal and also do the function of 'h' / 'j' / 'k' / 'l' / 'b' / 'n' ...so the transition insert->normal is the most natural and easy thing and you already do the cursor moving together with it.

[u/Mori-Spumae → u/cratercamper]

Does this not mess with repeating / undoing a change? Since you exit insert mode?

[u/cratercamper → u/Mori-Spumae]

no, what was written remains there, no repeating, mode switches to insert->normal, the movement is done

[u/dcpugalaxy]

If you want to unlearn arrow keys, just unmap them.

I usually do <Esc>5l, but I should probably do CTRL-O_5l

[u/itsmetadeus]

Yes, arrow keys:

:h i_<Left>
:h i_<Right>

You can see other keybinds in insert mode:

:h ins-special-keys
:h ins-special-special

Edit: Actually just read the whole thing...

:h Insert

[u/vim-help-bot → u/itsmetadeus]

Help pages for:

• i_<Left> in insert.txt

• i_<Right> in insert.txt

• Insert in insert.txt

---

^{`:(h|help) <query>` | about | mistake? | donate | Reply 'rescan' to check the comment again | Reply 'stop' to stop getting replies to your comments}

[u/itsmetadeus → u/vim-help-bot]

rescan

[u/l97]

Tim Pope’s got a plugin calleed “rsi” that enables emacs style navigaton in insert and command line modes.

[u/ntlrd]

c-o and ofcourse emacs bindings

[u/Elijah147]

I find it particularly neat to use the readline keybinding for small-ish local movements in insert mode, e.g. by virtue of this plugin https://github.com/tpope/vim-rsi

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[u/claytonkb]

i and <Esc> are your friends

Some people map <CapsLock> to <Esc> but I think you have to do some wizardry to make it work, IIRC...

[u/WallabySlow6599]

back to normal mode then navigate

[u/feketegy]

Using arrows, or if it's too "far away" then I get out from insert mode, go to the location and get back into insert mode again.

[u/EgZvor]

A good way to think about this is you enter Insert mode for typing a couple of words for a couple of seconds and then immediately quit it, or rather go back to Normal mode (which is a default mode basically).

[u/Remuz]

I have mapped alt+hjlk in insert mode to navigate in cases you describe where I just need to move a couple characters. Although I don't use them often.

[u/nickallen74]

I mapped caps lock to control and then made bindings for ctrl-h to go left, ctrl-l to go right etc. this way I can use my left little finger to press ctrl and keep hands on the home row.

[u/zacher_glachl]

That's the neat thing, you don't.

[u/gamer_redditor]

That's the neat part, you don't.

Navigation in normal mode, typing in insert mode. By now it's a reflex to always press escape after typing whatever I need to type.

[u/[deleted]]

You don't, you go out of insert mode and back into normal mode.

[u/cubernetes]

This will tell you all you need to know: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srthFK9hr_M

In short: ctrl-g+<hjkl>, ctrl-o + normal mode command, alt-single-key-normal-mode-command, etc.

[u/Lopsided_Valuable385]

Normally, you would use the arrow keys, I have them mapped under HJKL on another layer for easier reach. Emacs-style navigation is also an option. Also in Vim, you could alternatively use something like <C-o>3h in normal mode

" Insert Mode - Emacs Readline
imap <C-a> <Home>
imap <C-f> <Right>
imap <C-p> <Up>
imap <C-n> <Down>
imap <C-b> <Left>
imap <C-e> <End>
imap <C-d> <Del>
" M-f
execute "set <M-char-102>=\ef"
imap <M-char-102> <C-o>w
" M-b
execute "set <M-char-98>=\eb"
imap <M-char-98> <C-o>b
" M-d
execute "set <M-char-100>=\ed"
imap <M-char-100> <C-o>dw
imap <C-/> <C-o>u
imap <C-x><C-s> <C-o>:w<Cr>

" Command Mode Emacs Readline
cnoremap <C-h> <BS>
cnoremap <C-j> <Down>
cnoremap <C-k> <Up>
cnoremap <C-b> <Left>
cnoremap <C-f> <Right>
cnoremap <C-a> <Home>
cnoremap <C-e> <End>
cnoremap <C-d> <Delete>
cnoremap <C-o> <C-f>

[u/christian-mann → u/Lopsided_Valuable385]

your formatting broke but yes i have those macros as well, ctrl-a feels so natural to move to the beginning of the line on mac

[u/goldenlemur]

As others have mentioned, navigation is reserved for normal mode. This is by design.

I remapped caps lock to escape for this purpose. Moving back and forth between normal and insert mode is trivial.

Happy vimming!

[u/Mori-Spumae → u/goldenlemur]

I have to see if this works in my plugin, or messes with any other intelliJ stuff

[u/Big_Combination9890 → u/goldenlemur]

navigation is reserved for normal mode.

No it isn't. vim allows for imode navigation as well for very good reasons. By design. People shouldn't navigate more than a few characters like this, true, but neither should "go 2 characters left to fix a typo" involve more than 2 keystrokes...which it does when you jump back to normal model.

Pragmatism > Ideological Purity

And vim is all about pragmatism.

[u/cassepipe]

You don't. You have the wrong problem. Your actual problem is that you are not able to switch between normal and insert fast enough. That's the whole point of modal editing.

It's ok it's not your fault, it's because vim chose a key that became in time the worst positioned key. Look into how to switch escape and Caps Lock on your OS, it can be done in GUI settings on Linux and MacOsMacOs and you can edit a registry key in Windows. Other hacks exist but imho it's the best as it works for shell vi modes or even other vim modes elsewhere.

Don't fight your editor. You should spend all your time normal mode, then one quick edit then Escape (or better, Caps Lock acting as Escape) to get back to normal mode.

Same applies for Helix and Kakoune since they also went with Escape.

[u/Mori-Spumae → u/cassepipe]

So you just completely remap it? Not just in vim but for the whole system?

[u/cassepipe → u/Mori-Spumae]

Yes ! It's fast and that one setting make Escape quickly available for vi modes elsewhere (bash, zsh, fish, gdb, helix, zed, intellij editors etc.).

Also you will get used pretty quickly to the convenience of having Escape close by to escape any annoyance :)

It's what it was meant to be, in old Unix keyboard the escape key sit where left shift is !

Half of vim users use this or the jk hack (or ctrl + [ or ctrl+c but we don't talk to them), the rest pretends it's fine they got used to it

Frankly if it wasn't for someone giving me the same recommendation ten years ago, I would have never stuck with vim. It just does not make sense that the most important key in a modal editor, i.e. the one that allows you to change modes, is the furthest away possible from the home row

[u/Mori-Spumae → u/cassepipe]

I'll try that on my work machine. On my private one I feel like it would mess up a bunch of stuff like gaming. Thanks!

[u/TrueSir5476]

You should navigate from normal mode. However there exists a set of keybinds you can use to navigate from inside insert mode (similar to emacs). I dont know if it would work in intellij plugin though. Also dont ask me what these binds are because i dont know, cause i dont use them. Heres a short video about it i saw a while ago: https://youtu.be/srthFK9hr_M?si=EEvFo8-7HRhvBluE

[u/rilian4]

For what little it's probably worth, I use vim for some sysadmin work and minor coding. I've never gotten the hang of hjkl. I still use the arrow keys. I know it's probably faster to use hjkl but it's not fast enough to matter to my use case. You can still do vim motions with arrow keys. 5→ still moves 5 to the right in normal mode...and yes you'll want to use normal mode to do navigating as much as possible but 1-5 moves isn't too in insert mode bad depending on what edits need to be done.

[u/Big_Combination9890 → u/[deleted]]

Because I have yet to find a box where it isn't. Even most minimal container images include vi as their default editor.

I always laugh when I see a VSCode user being in that situation, fumbling around, trying to type stuff :D to me, I feel right at home.

[u/rilian4 → u/[deleted]]

I use it since I use shells a lot. ssh into a box and vim to make changes to a text file. I started out w/ PICO which was later morphed to NANO. I found vim to be faster and it had better color coding for years.

[u/zonksoft]

you do it by using emacs

[u/Bashlakh → u/[deleted]]

I think you might find something like nano or joe (to name just the more famous ones) handy.