I write all of my scripts, articles, and data wrangling in Vim, using it in combination with AutoKey to readily insert my template and HTML tags where needed. However, after the initial learning curve, the knowledge of editor commands and usage continues to grow with a person over time in a more or less linear format. The Vim editor is one of the few editors with such a sharp initial learning curve. If you have never used Vim before, then well done! This was your first Vim session ) This will write ( w) the file and quit ( q). When you’re done with editing the file in total, make sure you are in command mode (press the ESC key again to be sure if you like) and type the key sequence :wq!. When done with editing (which allows full editing capabilities like pressing cursor up/down, cursor left/right etc.) you can again press the ESC key to return to command mode. You can then again re-enter edit mode by for example tying a (another vi command) to enter edit mode again ( a in this case stands for append and the cursor will jump one character to the right when entering edit mode using a instead of i). When you’re done, you press ESC (the escape key) to return to command mode. You can now type the letter i (a vi command) to enter edit (or specifically in this case insert) mode ( - INSERT - will usually appear on the last line of the terminal to highlight the mode you are in) and start typing your test. To give an example, if you open a file with Vim (using a command on your terminal prompt like vi my_story.txt), you will enter Vim in command mode.

And command mode is the default mode that Vim will start in. Users are likely used to being in edit mode in most other popular text editors (OpenOffice writer etc.), but not in command mode. Vim allows users to edit files in two sets of modes, the edit mode and the command mode, if you will, which likely makes navigation in Vim challenging for new users.

Libreoffice Vim Mode