The vi editor is practically universal, especially in the Unix and BSD worlds. Many operating systems package either vi or an enhanced edition of vi -- usually Vim -- with their base system. vi is much more difficult to learn and use than Pico, Nano, or ee, but it is able to do more. Many people use vi as a tool for writing and editing programs and Web pages and composing email as well as everyday editing.

Unlike the easier editors, vi won't let you start typing right away. Here are the commands you need to know to use vi and Vim for quick editing jobs:

Press i to enter "insert mode," which allows you to type and erase text
Press Escape to exit "insert mode"
Press colon and then type w and press Enter to save a file, as in:
:w

Press the d key twice to delete a line
Press the / key and then enter a search string to perform a search
Press the o key to skip to the next line, insert a line break, and enter "insert mode"
Type in :q and press enter to quit
To save and then quit, type :wq and press Enter
To quit without saving, type :q! and press Enter
Remember to exit insert mode before you try to execute other commands.