Because emacs supports 5 mode keys plus shift, the idea (and non-tongue-in-cheek use) of foot pedals has been around for a while. https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/FootSwitches)
Vim Clutch – A hardware pedal for improved text editing (2012)
91–100 of 171 posts
Re: Vim Clutch – A hardware pedal for improved text editing (2012)
#92No, it should be variant of Termenvox (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theremin).
So each VIM command will be a 3D gesture.
I guess we all know well what will be the gesture for quitting VIM...
Business idea: VIM user may sell tickets for spectators of their editing witchcraft with the device.
Re: Vim Clutch – A hardware pedal for improved text editing (2012)
#93This is cool and all, but nearly useless for any experienced vimmer. I almost never press `i` to enter insert mode, and I don't expect most vimmers to do so either. My most common ways to enter insert mode are, off the top of my head... o -- Open new line below current line, enter insert mode. O -- Open new line above current line, enter insert mode. ci( -- Delete all text between the nearest parenthesis and enter in…
To add to this ci works for all sorts of things like [ { There’s also di (delete in) and vi (visual select in) and probably a ton of others that I don’t know about. I’ll never know all of the wonderful ways to use vim
And cit inside (html, xml) tags. And then there's a for around -- cat, daw, >a{...
Re: Vim Clutch – A hardware pedal for improved text editing (2012)
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's fun. Does it type the j, then delete it when you press k?
Yes it does. I do the same thing but with jj.
It doesn’t type it into a buffer, iirc. I removed that from my config because it annoyed me that when I press j alone it only appears in a buffer after a delay.
Re: Vim Clutch – A hardware pedal for improved text editing (2012)
#95Thank you for posting this and giving me a reason to reread my all time favorite greentext: https://i.imgur.com/WLzeQMj.png
I know the image post in your comment exaggerates the Emacs input sequence for humorous effect but I got curious and decided to count the actual keystrokes for a real world common use case.
Say, we want to replace one string with another, e.g., "foo" with "bar" as it appears in your image post. So assuming that we need simple string replacement, not regex-based replacement, and also assuming that we have vanilla Vim, vanilla Emacs, no customization, and US layout keyboard, Emacs seems to be at par with Vim.
On Vim: +; (:) +5 (%) s/foo/bar/g (16 key strokes)
On Emacs: ++, (M- bar +1 (!) (16 key strokes)
Now I know some of you might observe that I have not counted the initial to escape to normal mode and the final i to enter insert mode again in Vim. That is correct, however, I find that experienced Vim users keep themselves in the normal mode most of the time. The normal mode is really the normal mode and the insert mode is a special mode that they get into for short periods of time to insert text. Also, they rarely use i to enter insert mode. Instead, they usually o, O, a, A, I, c, c, etc. to enter insert mode. Then they return to normal mode again as soon as they are done inserting text, so I don't think it is fair to count the overhead of and i while counting Vim key strokes.
Re: Vim Clutch – A hardware pedal for improved text editing (2012)
#96As a new-ish pedal steel player, I can offer some ergonomic advices. This isn't a very popular instrument, so this may need an introduction: pedal steel is kind of like a guitar with a system of knee lever and foot pedals to modify string tension on the fly. The most used pedals are the leftmost two (in classic country), and you need to be able to select each one independently or together pretty fast.
My main takeaway:
* You usually don't use your ankle that way, so it will seems impossible at first, but you will very fast get used to "ankle rolling" which will make you able to select each pedal without moving your foot sideways
* The height of the pedal is crucial. On steel, you will have a threaded rod to set the height. You usually want (if you are using your left foot) the leftmost pedal to be around 10mm higher and with a shorter course (for both pedal to be at the same height when depressed).
* Footwear impacts your feeling, especially heel height. So if you plan to use such a device with a specific shoe, train with that specific shoe.
If you want to build such a pedal (especially a "chorded" version), I think taking cues from pedal steel hardware would be a good idea, as you need to be able to play for hours without straining your legs.
Re: Vim Clutch – A hardware pedal for improved text editing (2012)
#97This is cool and all, but nearly useless for any experienced vimmer. I almost never press `i` to enter insert mode, and I don't expect most vimmers to do so either. My most common ways to enter insert mode are, off the top of my head... o -- Open new line below current line, enter insert mode. O -- Open new line above current line, enter insert mode. ci( -- Delete all text between the nearest parenthesis and enter in…
C??? And I've been doing c$ for years like a chump!
I’ve been using $a, well ESC $a just to be sure
Re: Vim Clutch – A hardware pedal for improved text editing (2012)
#98Thank you for posting this and giving me a reason to reread my all time favorite greentext: https://i.imgur.com/WLzeQMj.png
I know the image post in your comment exaggerates the Emacs input sequence for humorous effect but I got curious and decided to count the actual keystrokes for a real world common use case. Say, we want to replace one string with another, e.g., "foo" with "bar" as it appears in your image post. So assuming that we need simple string replacement, not regex-based replacement, and also assuming that we have vanilla Vim,…
Consider remapping ';' to ':' if you use vim a lot. Something like:
" Use ; rather than : for commands
nore ; :
nore , ;Re: Vim Clutch – A hardware pedal for improved text editing (2012)
#99A full gearbox would be nice: * reverse --> undo * first gear --> replace mode * second gear --> visual mode * third gear --> command mode * fourth gear --> insert mode * fifth gear --> customizable mode
This should not be that hard to wire up since USB steering wheels with separate pedals and shifters already exist.
Re: Vim Clutch – A hardware pedal for improved text editing (2012)
#100Thank you for posting this and giving me a reason to reread my all time favorite greentext: https://i.imgur.com/WLzeQMj.png
I know the image post in your comment exaggerates the Emacs input sequence for humorous effect but I got curious and decided to count the actual keystrokes for a real world common use case. Say, we want to replace one string with another, e.g., "foo" with "bar" as it appears in your image post. So assuming that we need simple string replacement, not regex-based replacement, and also assuming that we have vanilla Vim,…
Or with a regular text editor:
Shift+ctrl+Way easier than either vim or emacs