[Chapter 2] 2.5 Joining Two Lines with J
Author: Linda Lamb
Date: 1998-08-03T20:49:48Z

#

| Chapter 2 Simple Editing |

## 2.5 Joining Two Lines with J

`[J]` Sometimes while editing a file you will end up with a series of short lines that are difficult to scan. When you want to merge two lines into one, position the cursor anywhere on the first line, and press `J` to join the two lines.

Suppose your file practice reads:

>     With a
>     screen editor
>     you can
>     scroll the page, move the cursor

Keystrokes | Results
--- | ---
> `J` |
>     With a screen editor
>     you can
>     scroll the page, move the cursor
| `J` joins the line the cursor is on with the line below.
> `.` |
>     With a screen editor you can
>     scroll the page, move the cursor
| Repeat the last command (`J`) with the `.` to join the next line with the current line.

Using a numeric argument with `J` joins that number of consecutive lines. In the example above, you could have joined three lines by using the command `3J`.

### 2.5.1 Problem Checklist

- When you type commands, text jumps around on the screen and nothing works the way it's supposed to.

  Make sure you're not typing the `J` command when you mean `j`. You may have hit the `[CAPS LOCK]` key without noticing it. vi is case-sensitive. That is, uppercase commands (`I`, `A`, `J`, etc.) are different from lowercase commands (`i`, `a`, `j`), so all your commands are being interpreted not as lowercase but as uppercase commands. Press the `[CAPS LOCK]` key again to return to lowercase, then type either `U` to restore the last line changed or `u` to undo the last command. You'll probably also have to do some additional editing to fully restore the garbled part of your file.

2.4 More Ways to Insert Text |  | 2.6 Review of Basic vi Commands