How do I yank and paste using named registers?

Explanation

Named registers let you store multiple pieces of text independently. Use "a before a yank or delete command to store text in register a, then "ap to paste it later.

How it works

• "a tells Vim to use register a for the next operation
• yy yanks the current line
• "ayy yanks the current line into register a
• "ap pastes the contents of register a

Vim has 26 named registers (a through z), so you can store up to 26 different pieces of text simultaneously.

Example

1. On line 1, type "ayy to yank line 1 into register a
2. On line 5, type "byy to yank line 5 into register b
3. Move to your target location
4. Type "ap to paste from register a
5. Type "bp to paste from register b

Tips

• Use uppercase to append: "Ayy appends to register a instead of overwriting
• Use :registers or :reg to see the contents of all registers
• The " (unnamed) register always holds the last yank or delete
• The 0 register always holds the last yank specifically (not deletes)