Examples of starting vi and opening files

To open an existing file for editing:

   vi intro

This opens the file intro for editing. This file already exists in the current directory.

To create a file to edit:

   vi part2

This command starts vi with a new file named part2. This file does not exist in the current directory until it is written to using the write command.

To simply start vi:

   vi

This command places you in vi. You can then enter and edit text and write it to a file.