Question

Lets say I am copying a file with the vim command mode and my cursor is at the end of the line.

:!cp path/to/original/file path/to/new/file

Is there a way I can jump back a word like I can in the shell by typing Esc b?

Answer 1

You cannot use “Esc b” because, obviously, that would discard the command you where typing. However you can bind some keys to move around.

The question as already be answered here : Navigating in Vim's Command Mode

The easy way is just to add :

cnoremap <C-a> <Home>
cnoremap <C-e> <End>
cnoremap <C-p> <Up>
cnoremap <C-n> <Down>
cnoremap <C-b> <Left>
cnoremap <C-f> <Right>
cnoremap <M-b> <S-Left>
cnoremap <M-f> <S-Right>

In your .vimrc