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Another great addition is: http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Avoid_the_escape_key

Getting out of insert mode with a double j instead of moving your hand (esc) or doing the slightly awkward ctrl+[ is a godsend.

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Actually, Ctrl-c is the fastest way to get back to normal mode. Unlike Ctrl-[ and <Esc>, it does not check for abbreviations and does not trigger InsertLeave. And on most keyboards it's even easier to type.

Wow. Thanks! That is fantastic. great tip.

Ctrl-c is not always equivalent to <Esc>. For example, if you hit q: to get the command history editor, Ctrl-c will close that buffer, but <Esc> won't.

Is not triggering InsertLeave a good thing or a bad thing?

Another good alternative is to remap the infrequently used Caps-Lock key to Esc (what Emacs users remapped to Control for ages). http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?RemapCapsLock

I am an avid vimmer, but I sometimes use Emacs. I have capslock mapped to ESC, and it works well in emacs. I am pretty comfortable with C-{some_key}. It's the M-C-{some_key} that are a pain. ESC-C-{some_key} is what I use and since I have my capslock mapped, it's convenient.

I write a lot of shell scripts and C where $UPPER_CASE variables are common. Is it still worth remapping Caps-Lock? (The problem is it would be remapped system-wide, not just in Vim.)

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