Vim 101: Practicing Motions with Visual Mode

I often find myself using Visual mode purely to figure out the best motion to use for a given task. For example, let’s say I’m trying to duplicate the following function’s body:

function specialAdd(a, b) {
  if (!a || !b) {
    return 0;
  }
  return a + b;
}

If the cursor was on function and I pressed v/} it would select up to and including the curly bracket that closes the if condition. Pressing n would select the whole function.

The next thing I might try would be the } motion (for moving over a paragraph). Typing v} would select the whole function, which is what I wanted. By using Visual mode I can easily see what the outcome of typing the } motion was. From that point on I can combine } with operators, like y} to yank the function.

If the function has spaces in it, then things become a little trickier:

function specialAdd(a, b) {
  if (!a || !b) {
    return 0;
  }
return a + b;
}

Now y} won't work because the entire function isn't a "paragraph". Vim also has the notion of a "section", the meaning of which is determined by the 'sections' option. Typing v][ will select the whole function, even with a space, but typing y][ will miss the final closing brace.

How about block selection? Typing vaB will select either the inside of the if condition, or the function's body, depending on where the cursor is. If the cursor is on the first brace, typing v% will select the function body because % is the motion for finding the next bracket. Typing y% would cause Vim to yank the text enclosed by the curly braces and it would also include the braces themselves.

My advice is to use Visual mode sparingly -- purely as a way to literately visualise editing operations. Ultimately using v or V (linewise Visual mode) can be less efficient than mastering the operator commands and motions.