The bare minimum vi.
How to open a new or existing file in vi
vi filename
File navigation
Use [Page Up] , [Page Down] to page through the file. Use the arrow keys to move the cursor.
Command mode and insert mode
When you first start vi, you are in command mode
To switch to insert mode
i
Once in insert mode, you can type in your text file.
To switch from insert mode to command mode
[ESC]
Command mode
Quit without saving changes
:q!
Quit
:q
Write (save)
:w
Write a copy of the file to another name
:w filename
Search for a string (replace “search” with the string you are searching for)
:/search
Global search and replace (replace “search” and “replace” with the strings you are searching and replacing)
:%s/search/replace/