CODEWITHSUNDEEP
ubuntuvimgnome-terminal
aaivo
aaivo

Reputation: 31

Vim newbie: Mapping kj key to <Esc> not working in gnome terminal

I've just started learning Vim. I use Vim in gnome-terminal (on Ubuntu 14.04). I want to map kj keys to Esc in my vimrc file. I added the following two lines in my vimrc file (~/.vimrc):

inoremap kj <Esc>
cnoremap kj <Esc>

Question 1: I sourced my vimrc file (even restarted the terminal), but when I quickly type kj in insert mode, it just types those two letters kj and does not go to normal mode. Am I doing something wrong? What is the correct way to map Esc key to something else?

Question 2: How should I edit my vimrc to map caps key to Esc?

In Vim,

:echo $COLORTERM

displays 'gnome-terminal'

For reference, here is my complete vimrc file (without comments):

set t_Co=256
colorscheme wombat256mod
syntax on
set hlsearch
set incsearch
set number
set autoindent
set ts=4
set ignorecase
set title
set scrolloff=5

" Map <ESC> key to kj
inoremap kj <Esc>
cnoremap kj <Esc>

set paste
set cursorline

Upvotes: 2

Views: 788

Answers (2)

Dan Lowe
Dan Lowe

Reputation: 56568

Insert mode keymaps will not work while paste mode is active, and you have it active by default:

set paste

You will probably be better off removing that line so paste mode is not active, and adding an easy way to turn it on when you want it. I use this:

set pastetoggle=,p

Paste mode defaults to off, and I can toggle it easily using ,p

From :help 'paste:

When the 'paste' option is switched on (also when it was already on):
        - mapping in Insert mode and Command-line mode is disabled
        - abbreviations are disabled
        - 'textwidth' is set to 0
        - 'wrapmargin' is set to 0
        - 'autoindent' is reset
        - 'smartindent' is reset
        - 'softtabstop' is set to 0
        - 'revins' is reset
        - 'ruler' is reset
        - 'showmatch' is reset
        - 'formatoptions' is used like it is empty
These options keep their value, but their effect is disabled:
        - 'lisp'
        - 'indentexpr'
        - 'cindent'

Upvotes: 3

Brian Tiffin
Brian Tiffin

Reputation: 4116

On 2)

Not exactly answering the question, as this maps CapsLock to escape for all applications, not just Vim.

xmodmap - <<EOD
! Set caps lock as escape, losing Caps Lock
remove Lock = Caps_Lock
keysym Caps_Lock = Escape
EOD

I put that script in PATH somewhere as capswap with a chmod +x. Until you log out, no more CapsLock and an Esc is where it should be for vi, near the left pinky finger.

To allow Esc to locks caps, (which I have found, even as a COBOL programmer is rarely, if ever, necessary)

xmodmap - <<EOD
! Set caps lock as escape, and escape as CapsLock
remove Lock = Caps_Lock
keysym Caps_Lock = Escape
keysym Escape = Caps_Lock
add Lock = Caps_Lock
EOD

By the by, I got used to calling it capswap, but I actually removed the "swapping" part a long time ago, as in the first listing, and just run without CapsLocking. Your preferences may lead to different choices. The first script gives the equivalent of two Esc keys.

Upvotes: 1

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