Question is in the title but an example will explain it better. Suppose I am editing a config file with vim and want to change this line
uid = www-data
to
uid = anotheruser
the ci" is perfect for me when the value is between quotes ( cf How to replace text between quotes in vi ) but when it's not I resort to use insert mode (for now). What would you use to get the job done faster ?
Assuming your cursor is somewhere on www-data
I would do T<space>Canotheruser.
T{char} moves the cursor to left until the it is just after the first occurrence of {char}
C is a short hand for c$ which deletes from the cursor to the end of the line and enters insertion mode.
As an alternative to your ci" when the text is in between quotes you could in this scenario use the WORD text-object.
Putting your cursor somewere inside www-data and press ciW
Read more about text-objects by typing :h text-objects
But personally I would use also the C command which changes the text from cursor to the end of the line, as already mentioned by others. Probably something like this /www<CR>Canotheruser<ESC>
Use c$ to delete text to the end of line.
Put cursor on the first w of uid = www-data and then use c$.
