How do I switch between visual mode and select mode in Vim?

Explanation

Vim has a lesser-known select mode that behaves like selection in typical GUI editors: any typed character replaces the selection. You can toggle between visual mode and select mode using <C-g> while a selection is active. This is useful when you want to quickly replace a block of text by typing over it.

How it works

• v{motion} — start visual mode and select text with any motion
• <C-g> — toggle from visual mode to select mode (or back)
• In select mode, typing any printable character replaces the entire selection with that character and puts you in insert mode
• Press <C-g> again to toggle back to visual mode

Select mode is essentially visual mode with "type-to-replace" behavior, making it feel more like a traditional text editor.

Example

Starting with:

The quick brown fox

1. Press vee to visually select quick brown
2. Press <C-g> to enter select mode
3. Type slow red — the selection is replaced and you are in insert mode

Result:

The slow red fox

Tips

• Enter select mode directly with gh, gH, or g<C-h> (character, line, and block select modes)
• <C-o> in select mode executes one visual-mode command and returns to select mode
• Useful in snippet/template systems where placeholders should be replaced by typing