using macro in vim insert mode

Question

I'm a new user of vim and found macros very useful, but I wonder if there is a way I could use them in insert mode instead of switching to regular mode all the time. It means I want to start and finish recording macros in insert mode.

Answer 1

As the command to trigger a macro, @, is a normal mode command you are out of luck. You could of course use something like <c-o> in insert mode to execute 1 normal mode command then return back to insert mode. However what you want are wanting to do sounds like it goes against the "vim way".

The vim way means you spend most of your time in normal mode and only go into insert mode for short bursts. Mastering normal mode is where vim gets much of its power. Normal mode allows you to compose operators and motions to operate on chunks of text with little thought, makes simple repeats/redos with the . command possible, and allows for pleasant chunky undo history.

Answer 2

You can use Control-O to go out of insert mode, do one macro command and then go back to insert mode.

In practice it is 5 key presses: Control Shift O @ macro_key

But can use inoremap in your .vimrc file to remap a key to multiple key presses!

On my keyboard, the ù key is never used in practice and my .vimrc file contain the lines:

inoremap ù <C-O>@

Now I can execute a macro in insert mode by pressing the ù key followed by the macro key.