26-Mar-2025

Yanking and putting in Vim are analogous to copying and pasting in other text editors. They provide a powerful and efficient way to move text around within your file or even between different files.

Yanking (Copying)

The y operator is used for yanking (copying) text. It’s often combined with a motion to specify what text to yank. Here are a few examples:

• yw: Yank the current word.
• y2w: Yank the next two words.
• yl: Yank the character under the cursor.
• y$: Yank to the end of the line.
• y0: Yank to the beginning of the line.
• yy: Yank the entire current line. Equivalent to Y.
• y3j: Yank the current line and the three lines below it.
• yip: Yank inside the current paragraph.
• ya': Yank inside single quotes, including the quotes.
• yi(: Yank inside the parentheses, excluding the parentheses.

Putting (Pasting)

The p operator puts (pastes) the yanked text after the cursor or the current line. P (uppercase) puts the yanked text before the cursor or the current line.

Examples:

• Yank the current word and paste it after the next word: ywep
• Yank the current line and paste it below: yyp
• Yank the current line and paste it above: yyP
• Yank inside the parentheses and paste it at the end of the line: yi(A) (Note: A appends to the end of the line).

Using Registers

Vim has named registers that allow you to store multiple yanked items. You can specify a register by using "register before the yank or put command.

• "ayiw: Yank the current word into register a.
• "ap: Put the contents of register a.
• "0p: Put the yanked text from the default register (the last yank without a specified register).
• "+y: Yank the current line into the system clipboard (often used for pasting outside of Vim).
• "+p: Paste the contents of the system clipboard.

Example with Registers:

Let’s say you want to swap two words. You can use registers to achieve this:

1. Position the cursor on the first word.
2. "ayiw: Yank the first word into register a.
3. dw: Delete the first word.
4. Move the cursor to the second word.
5. "byiw: Yank the second word into register b.
6. dw: Delete the second word.
7. "ap: Put the first word (from register a).
8. "bp: Put the second word (from register b).

By mastering yanking, putting, and registers, you’ll significantly enhance your text editing efficiency in Vim.