Editing modes
What the keys do inside the text area: Windows by default, or vi or emacs once installed.
Pick one in Settings ▸ Editing Mode.
| Mode | Keys |
|---|---|
| Windows | Notepad and VS Code keys: Ctrl+A selects all, Ctrl+V pastes. Ships with rio. On a Mac it uses the Mac's keys instead: Cmd+A, Cmd+V, Opt+Backspace for a word, and Ctrl keeps its macOS meaning (Ctrl+A and Ctrl+E for start and end of line, Ctrl+K kills). |
| emacs | readline motions: Ctrl+A and Ctrl+E for start and end of line, Ctrl+K kills, Ctrl+V scrolls. An extension. |
| vi | Modal editing: motions, counts, the d, c and y operators, visual mode, a block cursor in normal mode, and vi's own undo granularity. An extension. |
This topic is still to be written. It will cover each mode's keys in full, the mode indicator in the status bar, and writing or dropping in a mode of your own.
Until then, the Editing modes entry in README.md summarises all three, and preferences explains how vi and emacs are installed and where they live.
Two rules that hold in every mode
- App shortcuts always win.
Ctrl+S(Cmd+Son a Mac) saves even in vi's insert mode. - The mode owns the clipboard keys, which is why the Edit menu shows no accelerators beside Cut, Copy and Paste. The menu commands work regardless.
Further reading
- Keyboard shortcuts — the app chords, which are separate from the mode's keys.
- The editor — undo granularity, vi's included.