Why does mapping cause arrow keys to fail in vim

keyboardvim

When I do

inoremap <Esc> <Esc>`^

in vim, the next time I switch to insert mode (after using Esc) the arrow keys fail to move the cursor (they insert letters instead). Why does that happen?

Edit: It is possible to remap Esc and still retain working arrow keys?

Best Answer

The underlying code associated with an arrow key is an escape sequence beginning with <Esc>. For example, the up arrow key, if I remember right, is sending <Esc> [ A.

Related Solutions

Why does the vim-7.3 compile fail to include clientserver

According to this building Vim page, you'll need these dependencies on Ubuntu

sudo apt-get install libncurses5-dev libgnome2-dev libgnomeui-dev \
   libgtk2.0-dev libatk1.0-dev libbonoboui2-dev \
   libcairo2-dev libx11-dev libxpm-dev libxt-dev

Run configure again.

./configure --with-features=huge --enable-gui=gnome2 --enable-cscope

I've tried and all seemed to be enabled.

Vim Key Mapping – How to Fix Shifted Function Keys in Vim in Xterm

You can use a special wildcard syntax with :set <Key> to let Vim automatically recognize xterm-style modified keys:

if &term =~ '^gnome'
execute "set <xUp>=\e[1;*A"
execute "set <xDown>=\e[1;*B"
execute "set <xRight>=\e[1;*C"
execute "set <xLeft>=\e[1;*D"
execute "set <xHome>=\e[1;*H"
execute "set <xEnd>=\e[1;*F"
execute "set <PageUp>=\e[5;*~"
execute "set <PageDown>=\e[6;*~"
execute "set <F1>=\eOP"
execute "set <F2>=\eOQ"
execute "set <F3>=\eOR"
execute "set <F4>=\eOS"
execute "set <xF1>=\eO1;*P"
execute "set <xF2>=\eO1;*Q"
execute "set <xF3>=\eO1;*R"
execute "set <xF4>=\eO1;*S"
execute "set <F5>=\e[15;*~"
execute "set <F6>=\e[17;*~"
execute "set <F7>=\e[18;*~"
execute "set <F8>=\e[19;*~"
execute "set <F9>=\e[20;*~"
execute "set <F10>=\e[21;*~"
execute "set <F11>=\e[23;*~"
execute "set <F12>=\e[24;*~"
endif

See :help xterm-function-keys and :help xterm-modifier-keys.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Why does the vim-7.3 compile fail to include clientserver

Vim Key Mapping – How to Fix Shifted Function Keys in Vim in Xterm

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