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The “Leader key” is a way of extending the power of VIM's shortcuts by using sequences of keys to perform a command. The default leader key is backslash.
To change the leader key to the comma , add let mapleader = “,” to your vimrc (to use the space key add let mapleader = “ “). Reload vim and test your new <leader> key. The leader key can be whatever key you choose.
Vim has a second "leader" key called "local leader". This is meant to be a prefix for mappings that only take effect for certain types of files, like Python files or HTML files.
The <CR> in vim mappings is the carriage return usually the Enter on your keyboard.
To see the current value currently defined for <leader>, use:
:let mapleader
Producing output like:
mapleader ,
It may be undefined if not previously set, defaulting instead to a backslash \
By default mapleader is not set, and special string "<Leader>" means \.
If you do:
:echo mapleader
you will get
Undefined variable: mapleader
Invalid expression: mapleader
If you want to set special string "<Leader>" to a different key, say ",", which is recommended by many, do:
:let mapleader=","
Then
:echo mapleader
,
Fortunately, map expands <key_name> values in both the LHS and RHS. You can exploit this to see the value of <Leader> even if it is the default value.
:nmap temp :echo('your leader is "<Leader>"')<Esc>| execute 'normal temp'| nunmap temp
Note that if you put this in your .vim/vimrc it will pause with "Press ENTER or type command to continue". Please comment if you know how to fix this.
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