Identify keypress action in vim

Question

I'm transitioning to vim from another vi-like editor. I keep trying to use my old key combinations but of course vim has different mappings. How can I find out what function is mapped to the key combination I pushed? For example, I might push Ctrl-O and something happens, but I don't understand what it is, and want to learn about it.

Answer 1

do this:

:help ^o

Where ^o is pressing CTRL-o

Answer 2

You can identify the mapping and its source via the different map commands. For example: :verbose map <C-K>* could output something like this:

v  <C-K>       * :m-2<CR>gv=gv
        Last set from ~/.vimrc
n  <C-K>       * :m-2<CR>==
        Last set from ~/.vimrc

If you have some time to kill have a look at the Vim Tips Wiki on the topic of key mappings. Their tutorial covers all you need.

If you've got Ruby on your machine I can highly recommend the vimdb gem.

Answer 3

Maybe vimdb could be something for you. From the project website:

Increase the speed and amount of vim knowledge at your fingertips with precise searching of vim's items: keys (keybindings), options and commands. vimdb is aware of vim's default items, ones in your vimrc and ones in plugins