UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hi,

When working in vi, the CTRL+j command for merging lines is very convenient. Is there an equivalent for splitting them (inserting a line break)? I often find myself pressing "i" + "return" + "esc", which I find a bit lengthy.

Thanks in advance!

There are several ways you can split a line in 'vi'.
It will also depend on your criteria:
1) If you want to split lines without a defined logic that you can use
a regular expression, the only way is "i+return+esc" then for the next
times, "." (period).

2) If you can use a logic where a regular expression can define it:
:%s/\(RegExp\)/\1^M/

Where:
RegExp: Regular Expression.
^M: ctl-M (entered as ctl-V+ctl-M)

... or you can define a 'keymap' in ~/.exrc to map say 'F8' to '"i" + "return" + "esc"'

Thank you for your swift replies. I think I'll go and define myself a keymap then