Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!psuvax1!psuvm!blekul11!ffaac09
From: FFAAC09@cc1.kuleuven.ac.be (Nicole Delbecque & Paul Bijnens)
Newsgroups: comp.editors
Subject: Re: vi Alternative Required
Message-ID: <90355.114904FFAAC09@cc1.kuleuven.ac.be>
Date: 21 Dec 90 11:48:04 GMT
References: <25267@adm.brl.mil> <111331@convex.convex.com> <captaincat@dce.ie>
Organization: K.U.Leuven - Academic Computing Center
Lines: 41

In article <captaincat@dce.ie>, em@dce.ie (Eamonn McManus) says:
>
>In comp.unix questions tchrist@convex.COM (Tom Christiansen) writes:
>>:Has anyone got a set of 'map!' commands that implement arrow keys in
>>:'vi' Input mode?
>>
>>Yes, I've mailed Richard a uuencoded copy.  I posted it very recently in
>>comp.editors, so don't think I should post it again here.
>
>As I (apparently) never tire of pointing out, it's not possible to get
>arrow keys to work correctly using map! commands, though you can certainly
>get better behaviour than what happens if you don't map them. :-)
>
>You're likely to get your novice users coming in and saying `Why does it
>move diagonally when I do up-arrow at the start of a line?'

You can certainly use map! commands for arrow-keys.  But you need
to be consistent with text-mode vs. command-mode.
Do try to hide the mode oriented nature of vi.  Just be consistent
with your mappings.
The convention is: cursor-movement is command mode.
Then map cursor movement like this:

  map  ^[[A k
  map! ^[[A ^[k
  etc...

The command mode map for up-arrow is clear, I think.
The input mode map takes you first to command mode, and then just moves.
To go back into input mode use i or a or whatever, like you always do.
The input maps for cursor movement are just another way to quickly
switch to command mode.  See it as: vi guesses you want command mode
when you hit the cursor-keys, so it switches quickly an moves the cursor.
You never "suddenly" change from insert to append mode.
The only movement in input mode is backspace (and ^W, which most
people use very rare).
Most novices find this very consistent (so do I, you mileage may vary...)

--
Polleke
FFAAC09@cc1.kuleuven.ac.be