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Just like 
nano
, the 
vim
 editor can be called by itself by entering the command 
vim
 
with no options, or with a path to a file, such as 
vim /home/myuser/myfile.txt
. With 
no file chosen, 
vim
 will display its default help text. It gives you some of the default 
commands, such as 
:q
 for quitting the editor:
Figure 5.3: The vim text editor, with no file open
When you start 
vim
, you start in 
command mode
, which is one of several different 
modes the editor can be in. In command mode, you can't actually edit text. 
Command mode allows you to run commands, as the name implies, which can allow 
you to manipulate text in really neat ways.
If you want to edit a file as you were already doing in 
nano
, you'll need to switch to 
insert mode
 to do so. You can switch to insert mode by pressing the 
Insert
 key on your 
keyboard, or the 
i
 letter key. Once you're in insert mode, you can start typing as you 
normally would in any other editor. You'll move the cursor around with the arrow 
keys, and insert text wherever you want. You can also navigate with the 
h
, 
j
, 
k
, and 
l
 keys in place of the arrow keys (which some users actually prefer). To exit insert 
mode, you can press 
Esc
. That will bring you back to command mode.

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Chapter 5