VSCodeVim / VSCodeVim/Vim

Input method: change only in Normal Mode

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#4,536 2 comments 1 reaction 0 assignees View on GitHub

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Dominant language
TypeScript
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Forks
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Avg merge
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

Hello,

Maybe I have missed something in the readme, but I would like to be able to switch input methods based on window focus.

I am using an azerty keyboard(layout 1035) and autoSwitchInputMethod im-select with defaultIM = 1033, and that indeed correctly maps to qwerty in Normal, and azerty in Insert, which is what I want.

The issue is when switching to another app(eg alt-tab, desktop switch), the current layout based on Normal vs Insert is used, but I would like it to always be the Insert mode one.

PS: I tried rebinding using .vimrc, and normalModeKeyBindingsNonRecursive but both make the extension crash when rebinding special keys(probably single quote, double quote, and some others)

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by tracing the autoSwitchInputMethod setting and the handling of window-focus changes, then compare how Normal and Insert mode determine the active input method. Done means switching to another app consistently uses the Insert-mode input method without breaking special-key rebinding.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
typescript, vscode
Domain
tooling
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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