First there was a Navigator, then there was an Explorer.
Later it was time for a Konqueror. Now it's time for an Imperator, the
VIMperator :)
Introduction
Vimperator is a free browser add-on for Swiftweasel,
which makes it look and behave like the
Vim
text editor. It has similar key bindings, and you could call it a modal
web browser, as key bindings differ according to which mode you are in.
Warning:
To provide the most authentic Vim experience, the Swiftweasel menubar and toolbar are hidden.
If you really need them, type: :set guioptions+=mT to get them back.
If you don't like Vimperator at all, you can uninstall it by typing
:extdelete Vimperator or :extdisable Vimperator to disable it.
If you like it but can't remember the shortcuts, then press
or :help to get this help window back.
Vimperator was initially written by
Martin
Stubenschrott but has found many other
contributors
in the meanwhile. If you appreciate the work on Vimperator and want to
encourage us working on it more, you can send us greetings, patches, or
donations (thanks a lot to
these
people
who already did):
If you prefer getting some nice products for your money, you can also support
us by buying some cool
merchandise like
t-shirts or mugs. Of course, as we believe in free, open source software, only
support us financially if you really like Vimperator and the money doesn't hurt
— otherwise just use it, recommend it, and like it :)
-
Quick-start tutorial:
A quick-start tutorial for new users.
-
Starting Vimperator:
How Vimperator starts up, where it reads the config file…
-
Browsing:
Basic mappings and commands needed for a browsing session (how to open
a web page or go back in history).
-
Buffer:
Operations on the current document like scrolling or copying text.
-
Command-line mode:
Command-line editing.
-
Insert mode:
Insert-mode editing.
-
Options:
A description of all options.
-
Text search commands:
Searching for text in the current buffer.
-
Tabs:
Managing your tabbed browsing session.
-
Hints:
Selecting hyperlinks and other page elements.
-
Key mappings, abbreviations, and user-defined commands:
Defining new key mappings, abbreviations and user commands.
-
Expression evaluation:
Executing JavaScript.
-
Marks:
Using bookmarks, QuickMarks, history and local marks.
-
Repeating commands:
Using macros to repeat recurring workflows.
-
Automatic commands:
Automatically executing code on certain events.
-
Printing:
Printing pages.
-
Vimperator's GUI:
Accessing Swiftweasel menus, dialogs and the sidebar.
-
Styling the GUI and web pages:
Changing the styling of content pages and Vimperator itself.
-
Error and informational messages:
A description of messages and error messages.
-
Developer information:
How to write docs or plugins.
-
Various commands:
Other help which didn't fit into any other category.
-
Plugins:
Documentation for any plugins you may have installed.
-
Index:
An index of all commands and options.
You can also jump directly to the help of a specific command with :help o
or :help :set.
- Vim-like keybindings (h, j, k, l, gg, G, 0, $, ZZ, <C-f>, etc.)
- Ex commands (:quit, :open www.foo.com, …)
- Tab completion available for all commands with support for "longest" matching when set in 'wildmode'
- Hit-a-hint like navigation of links (start with f to follow a link)
- Advanced completion of bookmark and history URLs (searching also in title, not only URL)
- Vim-like statusline with a Wget-like progress bar
- Minimal GUI (easily hide useless menubar and toolbar with :set guioptions=)
- Ability to :source JavaScript files, and to use a ~/.vimperatorrc file with syntax highlighting if you install vimperator.vim
- Easy quick searches (:open foo will search for "foo" in google, :open ebay terminator will search for "terminator" on ebay) with support for Swiftweasel keyword bookmarks and search engines
- Count supported for many commands (3<C-o> will go back 3 pages)
- Beep on errors
- Marks support (ma to set mark a on a web page, 'a to go there)
- QuickMarks support (quickly go to previously marked web pages with go{a-zA-Z0-9})
- :map and :command support (and feedkeys() for script writers)
- :time support for profiling
- Move the text cursor and select text with Vim keys and a Visual mode
- External editor support
- Macros to replay key strokes
- AutoCommands to execute actions on certain events
- A comprehensive help system, explaining all commands, mappings and options
Please send comments/bug reports/patches to the mailing list, where we will
properly answer any questions. You can also join the
#vimperator IRC channel
on Freenode or check the
Wiki for
frequently asked questions (FAQ)
. Make sure, you have read the TODO file first, as we are aware of many
things which can be improved when we find time for it or receive patches.