What is the difference between the star register and the plus register?
"*p vs "+p
How it works Vim has two system clipboard registers that interact with the operating system: " -- the selection register (PRIMARY selection on Linux/X11, clipbo
Tag: editing
How do I stop Vim from creating backup and swap files in my project directories?
:set backupdir=~/.vim/backup// directory=~/.vim/swap//
How it works By default, Vim creates backup files (ending in ~) and swap files (ending in .
How do I configure Vim to auto-save files when I switch away?
:set autowriteall and autocmd FocusLost * silent! wa
How it works Vim can be configured to automatically save your files when you switch to another window or application.
How do I enable smart case-sensitive searching in Vim?
:set ignorecase smartcase
How it works By setting both ignorecase and smartcase, Vim uses an intelligent case sensitivity rule for searches: If your search pattern is all lowercase, the
How do I make Vim highlight matching brackets when typing?
:set showmatch
How it works The :set showmatch option makes Vim briefly jump the cursor to the matching opening bracket when you type a closing bracket.
How do I insert register contents into the command line?
:<C-r>a
How it works While typing an Ex command on the command line (after pressing :), you can insert the contents of any register by pressing Ctrl-R followed by the r
How do I paste the contents of a register at a specific line number without moving my cursor?
:{line}put {register}
How it works The :put Ex command pastes the contents of a register after a specified line.
How do I enable mouse support in Vim?
:set mouse=a
How it works The :set mouse=a command enables mouse support in all Vim modes.
How do I search and replace only whole words and not partial matches in Vim?
:%s/\<word\>/replacement/g
How it works In Vim's regular expressions, \ are word boundary anchors: \ matches the end of a word.
How do I delete text and save it to a specific named register?
"add
How it works When you delete text in Vim with commands like dd, dw, or x, the deleted text goes into the unnamed register and the numbered registers (1-9).
How do I create text abbreviations that auto-expand while typing in Vim?
:iabbrev {abbr} {expansion}
How it works The :iabbrev command creates abbreviations that automatically expand when you type them in insert mode.
How do I move a line or range of lines to a different location in the file?
:m {address}
How it works The :m command (short for :move) moves one or more lines to after the specified address.
How do I copy all lines matching a pattern to the end of the file?
:g/pattern/t$
How it works The :g (global) command combined with :t (copy) lets you duplicate all lines matching a pattern to a specific location.
How do I copy a line to another location without using yank and paste?
:t {address}
How it works The :t command (short for :copy) copies one or more lines and places them below the specified address.
How do I store different pieces of text in separate registers for later pasting?
"ayy "byy "cyy
How it works Vim provides 26 named registers (a through z) that you can use as independent clipboards.
How do I convert all tabs to spaces in a file in Vim?
:retab
How it works The :retab command replaces all tab characters in the current buffer with the appropriate number of spaces, based on your current tabstop and expan
How do I write a visual selection to a separate file in Vim?
:'<,'>w filename
How it works Vim's :w command can take a range, and when used with a visual selection, it writes only the selected lines to a file.
How do I copy the word under the cursor regardless of cursor position within it?
yiw
How it works The command yiw yanks (copies) the inner word under the cursor.
How do I filter a visual selection through an external shell command?
:'<,'>!command
How it works Vim can pipe selected text through any external shell command, replacing the selection with the command's output.
How do I execute buffer text as a macro dynamically?
:let @a=getline('.')<CR>@a
How it works Instead of recording keystrokes interactively, you can write a sequence of Vim commands as plain text in your buffer and then execute that text as