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Step 3 of 5

Saving a position on purpose

Saving a position on purpose

The jumplist only records jumps, and that’s usually what you want: the big moves, without every j and w in between. Sometimes, though, you reach a spot by small steps and know you’ll want to come back to it.

For that, Helix lets you add an entry by hand:

  • Ctrl-s — save the current position to the jumplist

Nothing visible happens when you press it, but from then on Ctrl-o knows about that spot.

If your browser intercepts Ctrl-s (most leave it to the editor here, but not all), the Space-j picker on the next step reaches the same entries without the chord.

In the checklist below you walk down the file with 14j, which is not a jump, so without Ctrl-s there would be nothing for Ctrl-o to return to. Save the position first and Ctrl-o works as expected.

  1. Move down to line 15 14j — a plain motion, so the jumplist doesn't notice.
  2. Save this spot, then move down again Hold Ctrl and press s, then type 14j to walk down to line 29.
  3. Jump back to the saved spot with Ctrl-o Ctrl-o takes you straight back to line 15 — the position you saved.
  4. Come forward again with Ctrl-i Ctrl-i (or Tab) returns you to line 29.
Move down to line 15 14j — a plain motion, so the jumplist doesn't notice.

Next: Save this spot, then move down again

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