Edit columnar data in vim

editorsvim

Data

Name                     Age
Madhavan                 29
saravana<Tab Press>      !

How can i edit this data in vim in a tabular fashion?

When i press tab key from column 1 in row 3, the cursor must move to the exclamatory mark position.

Note: Exclamatory mark is just a marker position where i desire the cursor to go and it is not the real character in place.

This can be done using org-table mode in emacs but it is overkill at times.

So i am looking for simpler ways in vim/shell?

Best Answer

Move the cursor to the uppermost character (if you’re selecting lines the way down, bottom if you’re going up) before which you want to insert text
Enter Visual Block Mode by pressing Ctrl+v (unless you mapped the paste action to it, in which case you probably already know how to column insert)
Select the column using the arrow keys and
Press Shift+i (switching into Insert Mode)
Type the text you want to insert (will be displayed only on the first line)
Press esc two times. In case you want to delete text, follow steps 1 through 3 and simply select all text you wish to delete, then press x and you’re done!

Note: If you need more specific functions, you can search vim plugins, other choice is export the xx column in other file (with cut or awk) if you want more solutions.

Related Solutions

How to edit multiple files in Vim

The command you are looking for is args:

For example:

:args /path_to_dir/*.py

:args /path_to_dir/**/*.py

** to match files recursively. (As suggested by @the_velour_fog)

will open all files which has .py extension in the directory.

Once the files are opened use :tab all to put them in individual tabs.

Change default editor to vim for _ sudo systemctl edit [unit-file] _

First method, you can add this line to ~/.bashrc:

export SYSTEMD_EDITOR=vim

And then sudo visudo and add this line:

Defaults  env_keep += "SYSTEMD_EDITOR"

Start new bash session to take effect, then run sudo systemctl edit <foo> as usual.

Second method is use update-alternatives:

Install your desired editor, e.g. vim.gtk3:

$ which editor
editor is /usr/bin/editor
$ sudo update-alternatives --install "$(which editor)" editor "$(which vim.gtk3)" 15

Then choose your desired editor:

$ sudo update-alternatives --config editor
There are 7 choices for the alternative editor (providing /usr/bin/editor).

  Selection    Path                Priority   Status
------------------------------------------------------------
  0            /usr/bin/vim.gtk3    50        auto mode
  1            /bin/ed             -100       manual mode
* 2            /bin/nano            40        manual mode
  3            /usr/bin/code        0         manual mode
  4            /usr/bin/gedit       5         manual mode
  5            /usr/bin/vim.basic   30        manual mode
  6            /usr/bin/vim.gtk3    50        manual mode
  7            /usr/bin/vim.tiny    15        manual mode

Press <enter> to keep the current choice[*], or type selection number: 6
update-alternatives: using /usr/bin/vim.gtk3 to provide /usr/bin/editor (editor) in manual mode

Third method is direct set the EDITOR on runtime:

sudo EDITOR=vim systemctl edit <foo>

The precedence are first method > third method > second method.

Don't try to set "GUI" editor such as gedit because Why don't gksu/gksudo or launching a graphical application with sudo work with Wayland? and Gedit uses 100% of the CPU while editing files

Best Answer

Related Solutions

How to edit multiple files in Vim

Change default editor to vim for _ sudo systemctl edit [unit-file] _

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