[Another way to do this is with
@
-functions (31.4
)
.
-JP]
Not every keymap is something you want to save in your .exrc
file. Some maps are handy just because you have to do a repetitive
series of edits. Developing a complex map to repeat your edits can
save more time than it takes. For example, assume that you have a
glossary with entries like this:
map - an ex command which allows you to associate
a complex command sequence with a single key.
You want to convert this glossary list to
nroff
(43.13
)
format, so that it looks like:
.IP "map" 10n
An ex command which allows you to associate
a complex command sequence with a single key.
The best way to define a complex map is to do the edit once manually,
writing down each keystroke that you must type.
Then re-create these keystrokes as a map.
You want to:
Insert the ms
macro for an indented paragraph (.IP
)
at the beginning of the line.
Insert the first quotation mark as well (I.IP <">
).
Press ESC to terminate text-input mode.
Move to the end of the first word (e
) and add a second
quotation mark,
followed by a space and the size of the indent (a<"> 10n
).
Press RETURN to insert a new line.
Press ESC to terminate text-input mode.
Remove the hyphen and two surrounding spaces (3x
) and
capitalize the next word (~
).
That's quite an editing chore if you have to repeat it more than
a few times. With map
you can save the entire sequence so that it
can be re-executed with a single keystroke:
map g I.IP "^[ea" 10n^M^[3x~
(To set that option during a vi
session, type a colon
(:
) first.) Note that you have to "quote" both the
ESC and RETURN characters with CTRL-v (31.6
)
.
^[
is the sequence that appears when you type
[CTRL-v]
followed by [ESC]
^M
is the sequence shown when you type
[CTRL-v]
[RETURN]
.
Now, simply typing g
will perform the entire series of edits.
At a slow data rate you can actually see the edits happening individually.
At a fast data rate it will seem to happen by magic.
Don't be discouraged if your first attempt at keymapping fails.
A small error in defining the map can give very different results
from the ones you expect.
Type u
to undo the edit, and try again.
[I like to write a keymap in a temporary file and edit it there until
I get it right.
For instance, I write my buffer and type :e temp.so
to open
the temporary file temp.so
.
I make the keymaps, one per line - without a colon (:
) first.
I write this map file (:w
), then read it in to the editor
(:so
% (30.4
)
).
If I don't get an error, I switch to the original file
(:e
# (30.4
)
) and try the map.
Then I usually go back to the map file (:e#
) again, fix the mistake
:-)
, and repeat the process until I get what I wanted. -JP
]
- TOR
from O'Reilly & Associates' Learning the vi Editor
, Chapter 7