Intro to Operators

So far, you've learned how to move through text with motions. Now it's time to take action on text using operators.

Operators are commands that perform actions on text. Think of them as verbs in Vim's language.

Operators must be followed by a motion to specify what part of the text to operate on.

operator

the action to perform,
such as delete or copy.

motion

the range of text
to perform the action on

For example, the d operator deletes text. When followed by a motion, it deletes the text in the specified range:

d

w

-delete a word

Example

d

$

-delete to end of line

Example

After learning a handful of operators and motions, you can mix and match them to perform a wide variety of text operations.

In the next several lessons, you'll learn about the core operators and practice combining them with motions to perform powerful text operations.