Being able to execute shell commands from within the vi editor is sometimes quite useful. The following table lists some examples of shell command execution from Line Mode:
|
Line Mode command |
Description |
|
:! <shell command> |
Executes a shell command (press Enter to return to vi editor) |
|
:!wc % |
Executes the wc command on the file opened in vi editor (% represents the file currently being edited) |
|
:sh |
Temporarily returns to the shell prompt (type Exit to return to vi editor) |
|
:r !<shell command> |
Reads the output from a shell command into the opened file at the current cursor position |