Is there a particular key to enter one character and exit insert mode in vim vscode extension?

Question

I find myself adding a single letter during edits. Is there any way to add a character and exit insert mode just like replacing r but not deleting the character in Vs code vim extension? pressing i <character> <Esc> each and every time defeats the purpose of being productive. I have also looked for mapping and tried but not sure how they work. Any help is appreciated.

Answer 1

From normal mode, you can put yourself in insert mode, type a space, exit back to normal mode, then put yourself in replace mode. That way you find your cursor on a blank space in replace mode, where you can simply type the character you want to add.
Here's how to do it (replace "your-desired-mapping-here" by the mapping that you like, for example: M)
vscode vim plugin way: (add this to your settings.json)

"vim.normalModeKeyBindingsNonRecursive": [
    {
        "before": ["<your-desired-mapping-here>"],
        "after": ["i", " ", "<ESC>", "r"]
    }
]

vim way: (add this to your .vimrc)

nnoremap <your-desired-mapping-here> i <esc>r

note: please notice the space after i in the vim way.