How do I use a macro to wrap each word in quotes?

Explanation

How it works

This macro wraps the current word in double quotes and moves to the next word, making it easy to repeat across a line or file.

The command qabi"<Esc>ea"<Esc>wq breaks down as:

• qa -- start recording into register a
• b -- move to the beginning of the current word
• i" -- enter insert mode and type an opening double quote
• <Esc> -- return to normal mode
• e -- move to the end of the word (which has now shifted one character right due to the inserted quote)
• a" -- append a closing double quote after the last character
• <Esc> -- return to normal mode
• w -- move to the next word
• q -- stop recording

The macro leaves the cursor on the next word, so you can immediately repeat it with @a or @@ to process additional words.

Example

Given a line of text:

foo bar baz qux

Position your cursor on foo and record the macro. After running @a and then 3@@, the result is:

"foo" "bar" "baz" "qux"

You can adapt this macro for single quotes by replacing " with ', or for parentheses by using ( and ). The same pattern of b, insert opening, e, append closing, and w to advance works for any wrapping characters.