This article will help you navigate more swiftly and effectively.

Basic Movement

While you can use the arrow keys (Up, Down, Left, Right) to move around in Vim, many advanced users prefer to keep their fingers on the home row of the keyboard. Instead of using the arrow keys, you can use the keys h, j, k, and l for navigation(In Normal Mode):

h - Move left
j - Move down
k - Move up
l - Move right

Initially, it may take some time to get accustomed to this method.

It's perfectly fine to use the arrow keys as you learn. Gradually incorporating h, j, k, and l into your navigation will help you appreciate their efficiency, as it allows you to keep your hands on the home row.

Navigating Through Words

As you become more comfortable with navigation, try to focus on moving between words rather than individual characters. Here are some useful commands to facilitate this(In Normal Mode):

Key	Description
`w`	Move to the start of the next word
`e`	Move to the end of the current word
`b`	Move to the beginning of the previous word
`Shift + Right Arrow`	Move the cursor to the right, word by word
`Shift + Left Arrow`	Move the cursor to the left, word by word

Note that all navigation commands can also take a numeric prefix.

These numeric prefixes allow for more precise navigation, enabling you to move quickly to specific locations within your text.

Examples of navigation commands in Vim that can take a numeric prefix:

5j: Move down five lines.
2k: Move up two lines.
4h: Move left four characters.
3l: Move right three characters.
10w: Jump to the start of the tenth next word.
7b: Move to the beginning of the seventh previous word.
8e: Go to the end of the eighth word ahead.
3G: Move to the third-to-last line of the file.
1G: Jump to the first line of the file.
$: Go to the end of the current line (no numeric prefix needed).

Here are the commands for scrolling and jumping around a file in Vim:

Scrolling Pages

When working with large files, you can scroll through the document using these shortcuts:

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl-d`	Scroll down half a page
`Ctrl-u`	Scroll up half a page
`Ctrl-f`	Scroll down a full page
`Ctrl-b`	Scroll up a full page (to beginning)

Jumping Around the File

Vim provides several commands to quickly navigate to specific points in a file, which is particularly useful for large documents:

Command	Description
`gg`	Move to the top of the file
`G`	Move to the bottom of the file
`{`	Move to the beginning of the current paragraph
`}`	Move to the end of the current paragraph
`%`	Jump to the matching pair of parentheses, brackets, or braces
`50%`	Move to the line at the 50% mark of the file
`:NUM`	Go to line number NUM (e.g., `:28` jumps to line 28)

Navigating Inside the Window

You can also navigate within the current window using these commands:

Key	Description
`H`	Move the cursor to the top line of the current window
`M`	Move the cursor to the middle line of the current window
`L`	Move the cursor to the bottom line of the current window

These commands enhance your ability to navigate efficiently through large files, making it easier to find the information you need.