Vim: What do these short names / verbs like <leader>, <C-r> mean?

Posted by Ambidex on Super User See other posts from Super User or by Ambidex
Published on 2012-10-11T07:27:08Z Indexed on 2012/10/11 9:41 UTC
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I'm using Vim for a while now, starting to like it more and more. But when searching for some new features that Vim has in it's goodie bag, I'm often slapped in the face with things like <Leader> <C-r>, etc... I'm feeling really stupid for not being able to relate these to keys, commands, or what soever they should mean. I've also been searching multiple times for the use of these verbs, but I think I'm not using the correct search queries to get to the right explanation pages.

Could someone give me a push in the right direction or maybe summarize the meaning / workings of these verbs? I thank you in advance!

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