Mapping a key causes Vim to perform a sequence of operations when a specified key is pressed. See:

• Mapping keys in Vim - Tutorial (Part 1)
• Mapping keys in Vim - Tutorial (Part 2)
• Mapping keys in Vim - Tutorial (Part 3)
• Short mappings for common tasks examples of useful mappings

Keys to mapEdit

For information on which keys to map, see :help map-which-keys and :help keycodes and part 2 of the tutorial. It is also possible to map mouse events, see part 1 of the tutorial.

In insert mode, you can determine the name of a special key by pressing Ctrl-K then pressing the special key. For example, enter i to enter insert mode, then press Ctrl-K followed by Ctrl-Left (hold down the Ctrl key and press the left arrow key). Vim will insert the name of the key, namely <C-Left>.

The keys above the cursor arrows keys are:

• <Insert>
• <Del>
• <Home>
• <End>
• <PageUp>
• <PageDown>

The keys on the numeric keypad are:

• <kDivide>
• <kMultiply>
• <kHome>
• <kEnd>
• <kPageUp>
• <kPageDown>
• <kMinus>
• <kPlus>
• <kEnter>
• <kPoint>
• <k0> to <k9>

CommentsEdit

I don't know whether to make this a "tip". Perhaps an overview with a quickref is useful? Should we think if a couple of pages like this might be created, but not given the "tip" template at the top? JohnBeckett (talk) 04:11, July 30, 2012 (UTC)