Tables

Introduction

Vim Motions provides comprehensive support for Markdown tables, including structural navigation, cell-level text objects, manipulation commands, and a specialized table widget for Live Preview that preserves Vim’s editing power.

Cell navigation

Table navigation

Navigate Markdown table cells without leaving Vim mode.

Keybinding	Description
]| or ]c	Move to the next table cell
[| or [c	Move to the previous table cell
]r	Move to same column in next row
[r	Move to same column in previous row

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Table navigation commands allow you to move between cells horizontally and vertically.

• Wrapping: Horizontal navigation (]|, [|, ]c, [c) wraps around to the next or previous row when reaching the end or beginning of a row.
• Separator-skip: Vertical navigation (]r, [r) automatically skips over table separator rows (the |---| lines) to land on the same column in the next or previous content row.

Warning

On many non-US keyboard layouts, the pipe character (|) requires a modifier key (like AltGr) that may conflict with Vim’s key capture. If ]| or [| do not work on your keyboard, use the alternative ]c and [c bindings.

Table text objects

Table text objects

Operate on table cells with standard Vim operators.

Keybinding	Description
i|	Inside table cell (content between pipes)
a|	Around table cell (content plus trailing pipe)

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Table text objects allow you to operate on the content of individual cells using standard Vim operators:

• di|: Delete the content of the current cell.
• ci|: Change the content of the current cell (delete and enter insert mode).
• yi|: Yank (copy) the content of the current cell.
• vi|: Visually select the content of the current cell.

The a| variant includes the surrounding pipes and padding.

Table manipulation

Table manipulation

Manage table structure using the <leader>t prefix.

Keybinding	Description
<leader>tm	Insert table
<leader>to	Add row below
<leader>tO	Add row above
<leader>tJ	Move row down
<leader>tK	Move row up
<leader>tdd	Delete row
<leader>tiL	Add column to the right
<leader>tiH	Add column to the left
<leader>tL	Move column right
<leader>tH	Move column left
<leader>tdc	Delete column
<leader>tr	Realign table columns

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A suite of manipulation commands is available under the <Leader>t prefix for structural changes to the table:

• <Leader>to: Add a row below the current row.
• <Leader>tO: Add a row above the current row.
• <Leader>tj: Move the current row down.
• <Leader>tk: Move the current row up.
• <Leader>tdd: Delete the current row.
• <Leader>tiL: Add a column to the right.
• <Leader>tiH: Add a column to the left.
• <Leader>tL: Move the current column to the right.
• <Leader>tH: Move the current column to the left.
• <Leader>tdc: Delete the current column.
• <Leader>tr: Realign the entire table.

Note

These manipulation commands call Obsidian’s internal table commands. They require the interactive table widget to be disabled or the cursor to be inside the table in a mode where the widget is suppressed.

Table auto-formatting

Vim Motions includes built-in auto-formatting for tables:

• Realignment: Typing | in insert mode on a table line triggers an automatic realignment of the table columns.
• Separator generation: Typing || on a new line immediately below a table header row generates a correctly formatted separator row matching the header’s column count.

Table widget in Live Preview

To provide a seamless editing experience, Vim Motions manages how tables are rendered in Obsidian’s Live Preview mode.

• Cursor-aware (Default): Tables are rendered as themed HTML when the cursor is outside, but switch to raw Markdown when the cursor enters the table. This allows for full Vim editing power within the table.
• Always raw: Tables always display as plain Markdown.
• Off: Restores Obsidian’s default interactive table editor.

Info

You can configure the table widget mode in Settings → Vim Motions → Table widget in live preview.

Note

First-render learning lag: On the very first load after plugin installation, the suppressor needs to observe one table widget render to learn its internal structure. A table may briefly flash as a widget before being suppressed; this is cached for the session.

Ex commands

The following Ex commands are available for table manipulation:

Command	Short	Description
:tablerowbefore	:tablerowb	Add row above
:tablerowafter	:tablerowa	Add row below
:tablerowup	:tablerowu	Move row up
:tablerowdown	:tablerowd	Move row down
:tablerowdelete	:tablerowde	Delete row
:tablecolbefore	:tablecolb	Add column left
:tablecolafter	:tablecola	Add column right
:tablecolleft	:tablecoll	Move column left
:tablecolright	:tablecolr	Move column right
:tablecoldelete	:tablecold	Delete column
:tablealignleft	:tablealignl	Align column left
:tablealigncenter	:tablealignc	Align column center
:tablealignright	:tablealignr	Align column right
:tableinsert	:tablei	Insert a new table
:tablerealign	:tablerea	Realign the table

See known-limitations > Tables for detailed technical limitations.