This document provides tips and tricks for using Vim with Python. It covers getting around files using movements, setting and jumping to marks, making changes using commands like yank and delete combined with text objects, using visual mode, searching, undoing changes, splitting windows, configuring Vim through the vimrc file, indentation, autocompletion, tags, NERDTree for file exploration, flake8 for linting, and popular plugins.

1. VIM and Python - Tips and Tricks
http://xkcd.com/378/

2. Getting Around
h/j/k/l
gg and G – start/end of buffer
^ - first non-blank character in current line
$ - last character on current line
CTRL-u / CTRL-d – page up / page down
:n – go to line number n.
H/M/L – go to first/middle/last line on screen*
% - jump to corresponding bracket [] {} ()

3. Marks
m followed by a letter to set a mark
` followed by the letter – jump to that mark
:marks will list current marks
Vim has some special marks (a few examples):
`. - jump to position where the last change occured
`` - jump back to position where you jumped from
lots more found in :help `

4. Making Changes
y/d/c – yank/delete/change
Y/D/C – same as above, but specifies line*
p/P – paste before/after
combine with movements:
dw – delete word
cw – change word
dG – delete from cursor to end of file
c`a – change from cursor to mark a

5. Making Changes
y/d/c – yank/delete/change
Y/D/C – same as above, but specifies line*
p/P – paste after/before
x/r – delete/replace single character
combine with movements:
dw – delete word
cw – change word
dG – delete from cursor to end of file
c`a – change from cursor to mark a
use the . character to repeat last command

6. Visual Mode
v – enter visual mode
V – enter visual mode, but operate on a line
CTRL-v -enter visual mode, operate on a column
Use I to change all columns at once
combine with y/d/c for even more fun

7. Text Objects
used after an operator or visual mode
i – inner / a – ambient
a' / i' – operate on block of ''
a( / i( - operate of block of ()
a{ / i{ - operate of block of {}
at / it – operate of html or xml tags

8. Search
/ or ? - for a basic search (forward or backward)
I recommend :set ignore case, :set smartcase and
:set incsearch
n to repeat search, or N to repeat in opposite
direction
*/# - find next/previous of word under cursor
[I – list lines with word under cursor
set up a map to make this easier:
:map <space>f [I:let nr = input("Which one:
")<Bar>exe "normal " . nr ."[t"<CR>

9. Undos
u – undo, CTRL-R – redo
see also: undo-branches
time travel
:earlier Ns, m, h
:later Ns,m,h
Can't jump to the future when the code is already
done, sorry. Hoping for that feature in Vim 8

10. Splitting Windows
:sp -horizontal split
:vs – vertical split
:new
CTRL-w + movement to move between windows
I remap spacebar for easier commands

11. Configuration
.vimrc – global settings
.vim directory - plugins, color schemes, syntax
definitions, etc
browse github for ideas, or just fork one you like
:set – see your current settings
don't be afraid to consult :help to see what things
do

12. Config Examples
filtype plugin on – recoginize .py as python
filtype indent on – proper indentation (more on
this later)
set nu – turn line numbers on
set ruler – see where you are in the file
set t_Co=256 – 256 colors
cmap w!! %!sudo tee > /dev/null %
made changes to a read-only file? This mapping
allows you to use :w!! to save using sudo

13. More Config Examples
au BufReadPost * if line("'"") > 0 && line("'"") <=
line("$")|execute("normal `"")|endif
jumps cursor to last edited position on file open
set pastetoggle=<F10>
easy way to shift to paste mode to not screw up
indentation
nmap <silent> <F6> :set number!<CR>
turn line numbers on/off
set iskeyword-=-
use dash as a word seperator

14. Indentation
My biggest hang-up when I started with python
Found a python indent file that works pretty well
Found in .vim/after/indent/
Autoindents/unindents around keywords
Various other indent definitions available
(djangohtml is another I use)
= command will re-indent
use > and < to indent keys

15. Autocomplete
<tab> invokes autocomplete
Use options wildmode and wildmenu to change how
this works (I use list:longest,full)
Also work on filenames/directories (:e <tab>)
There are other forms of autocomplete:
Omnicomplete – Heuristics based completion, I
haven't had much luck
pydiction plugin – keyword/modules

16. tags
I map F4 to rebuild tags file using ctags
CTRL-] - jump to tag under cursor
CTRL-T – return to where you came from
:tag <tagname> - jump to a tag
If there are multiple matches, you select from a
list
taglist is another useful plugin to view the tags in
the current file

17. NERDtree
Popular file explorer
Opens in a new window, which can be re-sized
and customised
Supports bookmarks
I prefer to just use :e + <tab>

18. SelectBuf
Similar to a file explorer, but limited to buffers
already open
A must-have if you normally operate many
buffers at once

19. flake-8
wrapper for flake8 (must install seperately)
PyFlakes
PEP8
complexity checker
Can configure to ignore errors
I map to F5, as I also use makeprg for other
languages using the same key

20. Doxygen
Generate comment skeletons
:DoxLic - License
:DoxAuth - Author
:Dox - function/class block headers
Works well out of the box, but config options available

21. Other Plugins to Check Out
vimpdb
commandT
project
vcscommand
OScan
snippets
netrw
scratch

22. Resources
http://www.tuxfiles.org/linuxhelp/vimcheat.html
http://www.vim.org/scripts/index.php
http://www.pixelbeat.org/vim.tips.html
http://www.catswhocode.com/blog/100-vim-command
http://www.reddit.com/r/vim/