How do I scroll down half a page in Vim?

Explanation

The <C-d> (Ctrl+d) command scrolls the window down by half a screen, moving both the viewport and the cursor. It is one of the most efficient ways to move through a file quickly without losing your place.

How it works

• <C-d> scrolls down by half the window height
• The cursor moves along with the scroll, maintaining its relative position on screen
• The scroll amount is controlled by the scroll option (default is half the window height)

Example

If your terminal window shows 40 lines, pressing <C-d> scrolls down approximately 20 lines. The cursor also moves down 20 lines, keeping you oriented in the file.

Changing the scroll amount

You can change how many lines <C-d> scrolls by setting the scroll option:

:set scroll=10

Or prefix the command with a count: 15<C-d> scrolls down 15 lines and sets the scroll option to 15 for future use.

Tips

• Use <C-u> to scroll up by half a page (the counterpart to <C-d>)
• Use <C-f> to scroll down a full page and <C-b> to scroll up a full page
• Use <C-e> to scroll the screen down by one line without moving the cursor
• Use <C-y> to scroll the screen up by one line without moving the cursor
• Use zz to center the screen on the current cursor position after scrolling
• Unlike <C-f>, <C-d> keeps better context because you can still see half of what was previously on screen