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Occasionally, my pinky will graze the ' key while reaching for enter, resulting in :w'<Enter>.

I've tried:

cabbrev w' :w
cabbrev w\' :w
cabbrev "w'" :w

None of them work. Is there a way to alias :w' to :w?

I also use cmdwin (:help cmdwin + nnoremap : :<C-F>) instead of the normal command-line, so bonus points if it works there too.

mwcz
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2 Answers2

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As Peter Rincker points out, cmaps can expand in other places as well, so a cnoreabbrev would be better:

cnoreabbrev w' w

Or, the safest, again thanks to Peter:

cnoreabbrev <expr> w' getcmdtype() == ":" && getcmdline() == "w'" ? "w" : "w'"

By explicitly checking if the command line contains only w', unwanted expansions in situations can be avoided.

You can use a cmap:

cmap w' w

You'd still have to press Enter, but an accidental ' should be ignored now.

If you're using cmdwin, a inoremap set by autocmd might be useful:

autocmd CmdwinEnter * inoremap w' w
autocmd CmdwinLeave * iunmap w'
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muru
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  • I ran :cmap w' w, but there was no change in behavior. :w' still results in writing to a file named '. "'" [New] 0L, 0C written. – mwcz Feb 19 '15 at 22:39
  • @mwcz Does the ' actually show up when you press it after w? It shouldn't if the cmap was successfully created - a cmap LHS is automatically filled in with the RHS, so if you press a ', it should still only show w. – muru Feb 19 '15 at 22:48
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    Be careful with bare cmap's and cabbrev's. They will execute/expand in other modes and other places. e.g. :s/'follow'/foo and /'follow'. Please see the following vim change :x function to delete buffer instead of save & quit or use cmdalias.vim – Peter Rincker Feb 19 '15 at 23:20
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    Better safe than sorry: cnoreabbrev <expr> w' getcmdtype() == ":" && getcmdline() == "w'" ? "w" : "w'" – Peter Rincker Feb 19 '15 at 23:27
  • Yes, the ' still shows up, but I just figured out it's because I'm using cmdwin to enter commands, and cmdwin is just a regular buffer, so cmap/cnoreabbrev don't work there. Updating the answer with noreabbrev option for cmdwin users. :) Thanks!!! – mwcz Feb 19 '15 at 23:42
  • @muru no problem. It's not a plugin. :help cmdwin. It lets you edit : commands in a regular buffer, so you can use vim to edit commands. I jumped the gun though, noreabbrev doesn't actually work in cmdwin. – mwcz Feb 19 '15 at 23:51
  • @mwcz Try an inorebbrev or inoremap. I updated with a couple of autocmds that seem to work for me. – muru Feb 20 '15 at 00:06
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This method works for me:

:ca w' w

Alternatively you can set up your vim to save the current buffer when you hit Esc twice, e.g.

:map <Esc><Esc> :w<CR>

Or use the following mapping to save file either by Ctrl+s or F2:

nmap <c-s> :w<CR>
vmap <c-s> <Esc><c-s>gv
imap <c-s> <Esc><c-s>

nmap <F2> :update<CR>
vmap <F2> <Esc><F2>gv
imap <F2> <c-o><F2>

Note: F2 only saves if necessary, and returns the user to insert mode (or restores their visual selection), as needed.

Source: Saving a file at vim wikia

Or use the following alternatives:

  • :up (:update) for :w
  • ZQ for :q
  • ZZ for :wq or :x
kenorb
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  • Notice the quotation mark in the question. :w', not :w. I want to use :w without accidentally hitting ', which writes a file I must then rm \'. Good tips, though. – mwcz Feb 20 '15 at 00:09
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    Ctrl-S doesn't send a sigstop - if the program stops, it's probably because a buffer was full. See http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/13629/whats-the-difference-between-the-s-and-z-control-characters-inside-a-terminal' – muru Feb 20 '15 at 00:19