Unleashing the Power of vim-commentary Plug-in

Introduction:

The incredible vim-commentary plug-in developed by tpope.

As someone who doesn’t use vim frequently, I often forget to take advantage of its features. This post serves as a handy memo to remind myself (and others) about the usefulness of this plug-in.

The Basic Concept of Modes in Vim:

Before we delve into the practical usage of the vim-commentary plug-in, it’s essential to grasp the concept of modes in Vim. Vim operates in three primary modes that determine how we interact with the text:

Use the vim-commentary Plug-in:

The different ways to utilize the vim-commentary plug-in in each mode.

Normal Mode:

1. gcc:

   In normal mode, entering “gcc” comments or uncomments a single line. Repeating the command will toggle the comment status.

   

   comments

   

   uncomments

   The vim-commentary plug-in also allows us to comment multiple lines at once.

   By using the command “gc” followed by a digit number and the up or down arrow keys (j/k), we can effortlessly comment or uncomment as many lines as we want.

   e.g. gc+3+j

   

   comments

   

   uncomments

2. gc + j/k:

   Using “gc” followed by the up or down arrow keys (j or k) allows us to comment or uncomment two lines simultaneously, with the indicator adjusting accordingly.

   

   comments

   

   uncomments

3. gcap:

   Typing “gcap” in normal mode comments or uncomments an entire paragraph or block of text efficiently.

   

   comments

   

   uncomments

Command Line Mode:

1. :107,113Commentary:

   This command lets us comment or uncomment lines 107 to 113. Executing the command again will undo the action.

   

   comments

   

   uncomments

2. :g/alias /Commentary:

   By using this command, we can comment or uncomment lines that match a specific pattern, such as “alias " Repeating the command will revert the action.

   

   comments

   

   uncomments

Visual Mode:

The other modes, Vim also offers a Visual Mode. In this mode, we can select lines and use the “gc” command to comment or uncomment them effortlessly.

comments

uncomments

File Type Supported

These filetypes include TOML, plain text, C, C++, C#, Java, Kotlin, YAML, and Apache configuration files.

Insert the command in the .vimrc file

1
2
3

cat >> ~/.vimrc << EOF
autocmd FileType toml,txt,c,cpp,cs,java,kotlin,yaml,apache setlocal commentstring=#\ %s
EOF

Conclusion:

The vim-commentary plug-in significantly enhances text editing efficiency.

By familiarizing ourselves with its capabilities, we gain the ability to seamlessly comment on or uncomment lines, paragraphs, and even specific patterns of text.

Reference:

• https://github.com/tpope/vim-commentary

Related:

• Linux 的命令基本用法 - vim 編輯器

• Install VIM-PLUG on Synology DSM

• NeoVim and Vim plugins Install in Alpine Linux