Why use Esc in vim? [closed]

Answer 1

I've remapped it to my right ⌘ (mac keyboard) because it works always no matter what mode you're in or application.

Answer 2

I have mapped Escape to otherwise unused Caps Lock. This is a common method to streamline vim's usage. This article has some alternative solutions, too. The same article links to tweaks to make the Escape-Capslock switch system-wide if you prefer.

Answer 3

I have the key sequence jk mapped to Esc.

You might ask, so what happens when you come across a word with jk. No problem. Type j, wait for half a second and then type k. Yes, that's non-ideal but the advantages of not having to move your hands of home row is much more.

I highly recommend jk sequence as `Esc.

Other variations of the same idea are jj - which in my humble opinion wont work for me. I use j for moving down - as others.

Answer 4

I use Menu key instead of escape.

Details are here: How to map Menu key ("Application key") to Escape key in vim?

Answer 5

I remap Esc to Caps systemwide.

In Linux:

Create a file ".Xmodmap" in your home directory, with the following content:

clear Lock
keysym Escape = Caps_Lock
keysym Caps_Lock = Escape

In Mac:

Download a program called "KeyRemap4MacBook" and remap tab to Esc.

Using other people's computer becomes a pain in the ass though. I'm such an environment tweaker that I look like my grandma on a standard setup :/

Answer 6

imap jj <ESC>

Others like to map 'jk', or 'leader-j'. I don't use hjkl nearly as much as I should.