Because vi emulation works through major modes, it does not work to switch buffers during emulation. Return to normal Emacs first.
If you plan to use vi emulation much, you probably want to bind a key
to the vi-mode command.
M-x vip-mode invokes another vi emulator, said to resemble real vi more thoroughly than M-x vi-mode. "Input" mode in this emulator is changed from ordinary Emacs so you can use <ESC> to go back to emulated vi command mode. To get from emulated vi command mode back to ordinary Emacs, type C-z.
This emulation does not work through major modes, and it is possible to switch buffers in various ways within the emulator. It is not so necessary to assign a key to the command vip-mode as it is with vi-mode because terminating insert mode does not use it.
see VIP, for full information.
M-x wordstar-mode provides a major mode with WordStar-like key bindings.
