More Ways into Insert

Five doors into insert mode — pick the one that lands the cursor where you want.

Keys: i, a, I, A, o, O

i and a are the two basic doors into insert mode. I, A, o, O are the convenience doors that combine a motion with the entry.

i inserts before the cursor. a appends after. That covers most of life — but Vim gives you four more doors that do a useful little motion on the way in.

Insert before cursor

Key	Note
`i`

Append after cursor

Key	Note
`a`

Insert at first non-blank of line

Key	Note
`I`

Append at end of line

Key	Note
`A`

Open new line below, insert

Key	Note
`o`

Open new line above, insert

Key	Note
`O`

a — append after cursor

I — insert at first non-blank

A — append at end of line

o — open line below

O — open line above

Reference

Key	Where the cursor lands	Equivalent
`i`	Before cursor	—
`a`	After cursor	—
`I`	First non-blank of line	`^i`
`A`	End of line	`$a`
`o`	New line below current	`$aEnter`
`O`	New line above current	`0iEnterUp`
`gi`	Last place you left insert mode	—

Worked example — i I a A o O

Six entries to Insert mode.

Step 1 · Cursor middle of line.

[missing screenshot editing.insert-variants/frame_01.color.svg — run python content/render_screenshots.py]

Step 2 · I · I — first non-blank.

[missing screenshot editing.insert-variants/frame_02.color.svg — run python content/render_screenshots.py]

Cursor jumps before 'i' (column 4) and Insert begins. I = ^i.

Step 3 · EscA · A — end of line.

[missing screenshot editing.insert-variants/frame_03.color.svg — run python content/render_screenshots.py]

A jumps past the last char. Pair with I for boundary insertions; pair with o/O for new lines.