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@kconragan
Last active December 4, 2023 03:40
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Enable key repeat in Apple Lion for Sublime Text in Vim mode
# Mac OS X Lion introduced a new, iOS-like context menu when you press and hold a key
# that enables you to choose a character from a menu of options. If you are on Lion
# try it by pressing and holding down 'e' in any app that uses the default NSTextField
# for input.
#
# It's a nice feature and continues the blending of Mac OS X and iOS features. However,
# it's a nightmare to deal with in Sublime Text if you're running Vintage (Vim) mode,
# as it means you cannot press and hold h/j/k/l to move through your file. You have
# to repeatedly press the keys to navigate.
# You can disable this feature for just Sublime Text by issuing the following command
# in your terminal (*not* the Sublime Text console):
defaults write com.sublimetext.3 ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool false
# Note: replace com.sublimetext.3 with whichever version of Sublime Text you are running
# eg. 'com.sublimetext.2'
# Alternately, if you want this feature disabled globally, you can enter this:
defaults write -g ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool false
# In either case you'll need to restart Sublime Text for the change to take place.
# Happy coding!
@VuongTran21
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Thanks, it worked for me. Btw, I wonder, will .vimrc apply for Vintage in Sublime Text 3?

@eproxus
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eproxus commented Mar 4, 2021

For anyone on the Sublime Text 4 dev version just change the version to 4:

defaults write com.sublimetext.4 ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool false

@sp4c38
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sp4c38 commented May 22, 2021

Only works for me if I turn off press and hold globally. Tried multiple things but couldn't get it to deactivate only for Sublime Text (macOS Big Sur 11.4).

@frankfarm
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I confirm that to make this work in Sublime Text released on May 21, 2021, aka Sublime Text 4 aka Build 4107 aka ST4, the solution provided above by @eproxus works.

defaults write com.sublimetext.4 ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool false

@atkmh66
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atkmh66 commented Feb 18, 2022

2022 , Sublime 4 . Technique Still works !
Great tip. Thanks !

@tylermako
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Still works with Sublime 4, so happy this is a thing 💯

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