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cVim Google Chrome Browser Extension

cVim Google Chrome Browser Extension

What features does cVim add to Chrome?

  • Google/IMDB/Wikipedia/Amazon/Duckduckgo/Yahoo/Bing search completion.
  • Support for custom search engines.
  • History and Bookmark search/completion with bookmark folder support.
  • Caret/Visual mode.
  • Efficient link hints (with support for custom mappings).
  • Support for custom keyboard mappings.
  • Regex page search with highlighting.
  • Command bar with tab-completion.
  • Smooth scrolling.

Installing cVim

Acquire it by either:

  1. Installing it through the Chrome web store.
  2. Downloading the .zip file here
    • Enabling it by going to the chrome://extensions URL.
    • Checking developer mode.
    • Then pointing Chrome to the unzipped folder via Load unpacked extensions.

Using cVim

Here’s how to use the addon including an example of the configuration settings and bindings by a group.

Settings

You can sync with a Gist file in the settings of the browser addon.

Keybindings

Note: Uppercase bindings are triggered with SHIFT + KEY as normal.

Basic

  • j,s – scroll down.
  • k,w – scroll up.
  • h – scroll left.
  • l – scroll right.

Page

  • gg – scroll to top of the current page.
  • G – scroll to the bottom of the current page.
  • zi – Zoom page in.
  • zo – Zoom page out
  • z0 – Zoom page to original size.

Links

  • f – open a link in a new tab by pressing the marked keys in the page elements.
  • G – scroll to the bottom of the current page. (SHIFT + g)
  • W – open a link in a new tab by pressing the marked keys in the page elements.
  • W – open a link in a new window by pressing the marked keys in the page elements.
  • mf – open multiple links in a new tab by pressing the marked keys in the page elements.
  • gy – Copy a URL from a link to to the clipboard.

Tabs

  • x – Close the current tab.
  • X – Open the last closed tab.
  • t – Alias for :tabnew .
  • a – An alias to :tabnew google .
  • < – Move current tab left.
  • > – Move current tab right.

Tab Navigation

  • gtKR – Navigate to the next tab.
  • gTJE – Navigate to the previous tab.
  • HS – Go back a page in current tab.
  • LD – Go forward a page in current tab.

Caret/Visual Mode

  • v – Toggle between visual/caret mode.
  • h,jkl – Move the caret position/extend the visual selection
  • y – Copies the current selection.
  • ESC – Exit visual mode to caret mode/exit caret mode to normal mode.

Keybindings Continued

Core

: – Open the command bar.

. – Repeat the last command entered.

r – Reload the current tab .

gR – Reload the current tab + local cache.

yy – Copy the URL of the current page to the clipboard.

Searching

/ open search bar

n – Next search result .

N – Previous search result.

b – Search through bookmarks.

Misc

I – An alias to :history that let’s you search through browser history.

zr – Restart Google Chrome.

gd – An alias to :chrome://downloads

P – Open the clipboard contents in a new tab.

gq – Stop the current tab from loading


Command Mode

Core

:tabnew(autocomplete) – Open a new tab with the typed/completed search.

:new (autocomplete) – Open a new window with the typed/completed search.

:open (autocomplete) – Open the typed/completed URL/google search.

:quit Close the current tab

:qall Close the current window

:duplicate – Duplicate the current tab.

Searching

:history (autocomplete) – Search through browser history.

:bookmarks (autocomplete) – Search through bookmarks.

Misc

:tabattach (autocomplete) – Move the current tab to another open window.

:tabdetach – Move the current tab to a new window.

:restore (autocomplete) – Restore a previously closed tab (newer versions of Chrome only).

:mksession – Create a new session from the current tabs in the active window.


cVim Tips

  • You can use @% in open commands to specify the current URL. For example, :open @% would essentially refresh the current page.
  • Prepend a number to the command to repeat that command N times.
  • Use the up/down arrows in command/find mode to navigate through previously
    executed commands/searches.
  • You can set directives like reloadAllTabs in the settings to a binding.