I would like to break a line (at the location of the cursor) in to two lines without leaving normal mode (entering insert or command-line mode). Is this possible?
I currently get to the location I want and hit 'i' to enter insert mode, 'enter' to break the line in two, then 'esc' to return to normal mode.
I am not trying to set a maximum line length or do any syntax or anything like that. I just want to break one line into two lines without leaving normal mode. 'J' joins the line the cursor is on to the line below it, which is handy. I want the opposite -- to break one line into two with a single command.
Try this:
:nnoremap <NL> i<CR><ESC>
then just press Ctrl-J whenever you want to split a line.
I don't know of a single key command, but a lot of times I do "r" then "Enter" to break a line.
"r" replaces the current character under the cursor without going into insert mode. This may not be what you want if you don't want to replace a character...
put cursor in position and...
r<Enter>
Similar to other answers but doesn't replace the current character.
R<enter>
No remaps required.
As far as I know this isn't possible without entering insert mode. You can however macro it with something like (replace Z with whatever key you want to use)
nmap Z i<cr><esc>k$
basically this maps the key 'Z' to enter insert mode 'i', insert a carriage return '<cr>
', leave insert mode '<esc>
', go up a line 'k' and finally go to the end of the line '$'
Per this duplicate question: How do I insert a linebreak where the cursor is without entering into insert mode in Vim?
From within vim, type:
:map g i[Ctrl+V][Enter][Ctrl+V][Esc][Enter]
This maps the G key to macro I [Enter] [Escape]
You can use recording. Place your cursor where you would like to insert a line break. Type qa
to start recording into register a
(you can use another register other than a
if you want. Then type i
(switch to insert mode), Return (insert newline), escape (exit insert mode), q
(ends recording.) Now you can invoke this sequence of keys by typing @a
(where a
is the register number you used when you started the recording, so just keep moving the cursor where you want to insert a newline and type @a
.