Users of Vim and similars, what exactly makes it useful compared to other text editors? How much time do you suppose you save when working with it? (programming.dev)

submitted 3 months ago by ICastFist@programming.dev to c/ask_experienced_devs@programming.dev

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I'd like actual examples instead of "I work faster", something like "I can move straight to the middle of the file with 7mv" or "I can keep 4 different text snippets in memory and paste each with a number+pt, like 2pt", things that you actually use somewhat frequently instead of what you can do, but probably only did once.

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[-] Uebercomplicated@lemmy.ml 10 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I do most of my work on my laptop, which has a really shitty touchpad (a system76 pangolin 12). Using the touchpad to scroll, move around, etc. feels clunky and frustrating. Using my wonderful keyboard feels amazing, quick, and responsive. Honestly, that's the main reason I use neovim; touchpads, especially bad ones, just feel clumsy, imprecise, and inefficient.

Now I've gotten used to typing nv and, in under 30 milliseconds, getting a full-featured, LSP-supporting text editor. Other editors trigger my impatience now 😂. The features are secondary to me, they're not what makes nvim great.

If there were two things that are a game changer for me though, they would probably be <C-o> (mixed with plugins like trailblazer) and the incredible ease of use that vim macros offer.

this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2024

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