Vim: why doesn't ":normal! i" enter insert mode?
insert, mode, vim
Solution
The normal command considers ending in insert mode as an incomplete command and aborts. From `help normal`:
{commands} should be a complete command. If {commands} does not finish a command, the last one will be aborted as if `<Esc>` or `<C-C>` was typed. The display isn't updated while ":normal" is busy. This implies that an insert command must be completed (to start Insert mode, see :startinsert)
`:startinsert` might be the command you are looking for.
`:normal A` can be achieved by appending a bang (`!`) to `startinsert`, as suggested by Ingo Karkat. From `help startinsert`:
When the ! is included it works like "A", append to the line.
Problem
In `vim`, if I execute the following from the command line ``` :normal! i ``` vim does not enter insert mode. Likewise the command ``` :normal! A ``` will move the cursor to the end of the line, but the cursor remains in insert mode. Any ideas why this doesn't work? Failing that I would like to know an alternative way to enter insert mode from the body of a vimscript function (and have insert mode persist after the function returns of course). Edit: Looks like `:startinsert` will fullfill the second part of the question, but I'm still wondering how I can do something like `:normal! A` or `:normal! a` and why those don't simply work as expected. Simulating "append" with arrow movements is a bad solution, because of things like empty lines and such.