You've probably used Vim registers when you yanked or deleted a text then pasted it with `p` or `P`. However, did you know that Vim has 10 different types of registers? Used correctly, Vim registers can save you from repetitive typing.
There are more operators (like `s` or `x`), but the above are the useful ones. The rule of thumb is, if an operator can remove a text, it probably stores the text to registers.
Both `p` and `P` accept a count and a register symbol as arguments. For example, to paste ten times, do `10p`. To paste the text from register a, do `"ap`. To paste the text from register a ten times, do `10"ap`. By the way, the `p` actually technically stands for "put", not "paste", but I figure paste is a more conventional word.
Everything you learn in this chapter can also be executed in insert mode. To get the text from register a, normally you do `"ap`. But if you are in insert mode, run `Ctrl-R a`. The syntax to call registers from insert mode is:
To get the text from the unnamed register, do `""p`. It stores the last text you yanked, changed, or deleted. If you do another yank, change, or delete, Vim will automatically replace the old text. The unnamed register is like a computer's standard copy / paste operation.
Numbered registers automatically fill themselves up in ascending order. There are 2 different numbered registers: the yanked register (`0`) and the numbered registers (`1-9`). Let's discuss the yanked register first.
When you yank a different text, Vim will update both the yanked register and the unnamed register. Any other operations (like delete) will not be stored in register 0. This can be used to your advantage, because unless you do another yank, the yanked text will always be there, no matter how many changes and deletions you do.
With your cursor on "line three", delete them one by one with `dd`. Once all lines are deleted, register 1 should contain "line one" (most recent), register two "line two" (second most recent), and register three "line three" (oldest. To get the content from register one, do `"1p`.
As a side note, these numbered registers are automatically incremented when using the dot command. If your numbered register one (`"1`) contains "line one", register two (`"2`) "line two", and register three (`"3`) "line three", you can paste them sequentially with this trick:
- Do `"1P` to paste the content from the numbered register one ("1).
- Do `.` to paste the content from the numbered register two ("2).
- Do `.` to paste the content from the numbered register three ("3).
Small deletions like a word deletion (`dw`) or word change (`cw`) do not get stored in the numbered registers. They are stored in the small delete register (`"-`), which I will discuss next.
`"-p` gives you the deleted word from step three. `"1p` gives you the deleted line from step two. Unfortunately, there is no way to retrieve the deleted word from step one because the small delete register only stores one item. However, if you want to preserve the text from step one, you can do it with the named registers.
The named registers are Vim's most versatile register. It can store yanked, changed, and deleted texts into registers a-z. Unlike the previous 3 register types you've seen which automatically stores texts into registers, you have to explicitly tell Vim to use the named register, giving you full control.
To get the text from register a, run `"ap`. You can use all twenty-six alphabetical characters to store twenty-six different texts with named registers.
Sometimes you may want to add to your existing named register. In this case, you can append your text instead of starting all over. To do that, you can use the uppercase version of that register. For example, suppose you have the word "Hello " already stored in register a. If you want to add "world" into register a, you can find the text "world" and yank it using A register (`"Ayiw`).
If the last text you wrote was "Hello Vim", running `".p` will print out the text "Hello Vim". If you want to get the name of current file, run `"%p`. If you run `:s/foo/bar/g` command, running `":p` will print out the literal text "s/foo/bar/g".
In Vim, `#` usually represents the alternate file. An alternative file is the last file you opened. To insert the name of the alternate file, you can use `"#p`.
Here, you are telling Vim that you are using the expression register with `"=`. Your expression is (`1 + 1`). You need to type `p` to get the result. As mentioned earlier, you can also access the register from insert mode. To evaluate mathematical expression from insert mode, you can do:
Don't you sometimes wish that you can copy a text from external programs and paste it locally in Vim, and vice versa? With Vim's selection registers, you can. Vim has two selection registers: `quotestar` (`"*`) and `quoteplus` (`"+`). You can use them to access copied text from external programs.
If you are on an external program (like Chrome browser) and you copy a block of text with `Ctrl-C` (or `Cmd-C`, depending on your OS), normally you wouldn't be able to use `p` to paste the text in Vim. However, both Vim's `"+` and `"*` are connected to your clipboard, so you can actually paste the text with `"+p` or `"*p`. Conversely, if you yank a word from Vim with `"+yiw` or `"*yiw`, you can paste that text in the external program with `Ctrl-V` (or `Cmd-V`). Note that this only works if your Vim program comes with the `+clipboard` option (to check it, run `:version`).
You may wonder if `"*` and `"+` do the same thing, why does Vim have two different registers? Some machines use X11 window system. This system has 3 types of selections: primary, secondary, and clipboard. If your machine uses X11, Vim uses X11's *primary* selection with the `quotestar` (`"*`) register and X11's *clipboard* selection with the `quoteplus` (`"+`) register. This is only applicable if you have `+xterm_clipboard` option available in your Vim build. If your Vim doesn't have `xterm_clipboard`, it's not a big deal. It just means that both `quotestar` and `quoteplus` are interchangeable (mine doesn't either).
I find doing `=*p` or `=+p` to be cumbersome. To make Vim to paste copied text from the external program with just `p`, you can add this in your vimrc:
Now when I copy a text from an external program, I can paste it with the unnamed register, `p`. I can also copy a text from Vim and paste it to an external program. If you have `+xterm_clipboard` on, you may want to use both `unnamed` and `unnamedplus` clipboard options.
Each time you delete or change a text, that text is stored in Vim register automatically. There will be times when you don't want to save anything into the register. How can you do that?
There is a plugin called [vim-peekaboo](https://github.com/junegunn/vim-peekaboo) that lets you to peek into the contents of the registers when you hit `"` or `@` in normal mode and `Ctrl-R` in insert mode. I find this plugin very useful because most times, I can't remember the content in my registers. Give it a try!
Keep in mind since macros are stored inside Vim registers, you can accidentally overwrite the stored text with macros. If you store the text "Hello Vim" in register a and you later record a macro in the same register (`qa{macro-sequence}q`), that macro will overwrite your "Hello Vim" text stored earlier.
Technically, there is no need to clear any register because the next register you store under the same name will overwrite it. However, you can quickly clear any named register by recording an empty macro. For example, if you run `qaq`, Vim will record an empty macro in the register a.
You can use the `:put` command to paste the content of any one register. For example, if you run `:put a`, Vim will print the content of register a below the current line. This behaves much like `"ap`, with the difference that the normal mode command `p` prints the register content after the cursor and the command `:put` prints the register content at newline.
One cool trick to pass `:put` with the black hole register (`"_`). Since the black hole register does not store any text, `:put _` will insert a blank line instead. You can combine this with the global command to insert multiple blank lines. For example, to insert blank lines below all lines that contain the text "end", run `:g/end/put _`. You will learn about the global command later.
You made it to the end. Congratulations! If you are feeling overwhelmed by the sheer information, you are not alone. When I first started learning about Vim registers, there were way too much information to take at once.
Since the unnamed register defaults to `p` and `P`, you only have to learn two registers: the named registers and the numbered registers. Gradually learn more registers when you need them. Take your time.
The average human has a limited short-term memory capacity, about 5 - 7 items at once. That is why in my everyday editing, I only use about 5 - 7 named registers. There is no way I can remember all twenty-six in my head. I normally start with register a, then b, ascending the alphabetical order. Try it and experiment around to see what technique works best for you.
