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Folding lines in Vi


Often while reading code, we encounter scenarios where we want to get an overview of the code.

Sometimes we are interested in

  • viewing the functions present in the code.
  • viewing all classes defined in the code.
  • viewing all methods of a class
  • or just viewing the outer loop of a nested loop code

Most editors allow you to “collapse” a block of code to view just its definition

We could achieve the same and more using some simple key strokes in Vi

Few scenarios are mentioned in the video -> Vim : View function/class definitions

NOTE : To make these commands work on Python code you need to set the correct foldmethod as

:set foldmethod=indent

The Vi commands mentioned are as follows :

  • zM : View all definitions in the file ( Toggle all folds )
  • zo : To open one level of fold
  • zR : To open all folds
  • zM : To close all the folds ( Toggle all folds )