Evil Basics - Vim Style Editing
Evil provides multiple editing states, multi-modal editing, simplifying keybindings by reducing the need for simultaneous key presses.
Spacemacs provides Evil editing states and simplified keybindings throughout all layers and major modes.
- normal - for manipulating and navigating existing text (default state)
- insert - for writing new text
- visual - for selecting blocks of text
- iedit - edit multiple regions simultaneously
- lisp - structural editing for Clojure & Lisp style languages (e.g. slurp, barf)
First get familiar with normal, insert and visual states. Then when you are comfortable, move on to iedit and lisp states.
Normal state by default
Evil normal state should be used most of the time, unless you are writing code or creating lots of text.
Learning Vim-style editing
Vim style editing is arguably the most effective way for touch typists to use a text editor and you can edit and manipulate text far faster once you are practiced.
The recommended way to learn vim style editing is to practice and ideally use it for everything you do.
SPC h T v starts the build in Vim tutorial. This provides the basic movement of vim and provides an interactive way to practice your skills
To help make Vim style editing become a sub-conscious act you should learn to speak Evil
Vim Adventures is a web-based game that is an alternative to practising Vim.
Lecture and exercises on Vim
A very interesting lecture on editors, focused on learning Vim and understanding why its so powerful. Transcript and exercises are also available.