
Advanced Vim Registers - airnomad
http://blog.sanctum.geek.nz/advanced-vim-registers/
======
gws
A less powerful but much simpler alternative to using the registers is the
Yankring plugin (<https://github.com/vim-scripts/YankRing.vim>)

With that anything you have ever yanked or deleted is in the ring and when you
paste something you can easily rotate through the items in the ring. Basically
you type 'p' to paste and if that's not what you wanted you keep pressing
ctrl-p until you get what you want.

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petepete
I've just been through the YankRing tutorial and it's fantastic; I don't know
how I haven't come across this before. Thanks!

~~~
crazydiamond
I used it (YankRing) for some time, but it was never consistent. The plus
point is that it works across terminal, otoh often "p" did not work, so i
would have to do "YRShow" and select.

Often this is used, but everything you delete gets copied to your clipboard.

    
    
           set clipboard=unnamed
    

So i prefer to map C-c and C-x (or whatever) to copy/cut to clipboard.

    
    
        " regardless of clipboard option, c-c copies selection to clip
        vmap <C-c> "+y
        " cut into clipboard
        vmap <C-x> "+d
        " copy to clipboard, http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4767227 , use 3 \y to copy 3 lines
        map <leader>y "+yy
        " paste from clipboard
        map <leader>p "+p
        " delete to black hole register, not going to clipboard etc
        nnoremap <leader>d "_d
        vnoremap <leader>d "_d
    

I've also mapped a key to write selected lines to a file, and another to read
from it.

    
    
        map <silent> <leader>ww  :w! ~/tmp/vimxfer<CR>
        map <silent> <leader>wa  :w!>> ~/tmp/vimxfer<CR>
        nmap <silent> <leader>rr  :r ~/tmp/vimxfer<CR>
    

Pls refer to post below on "reattach to user namespace" for OSX ML users.

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bilalq
This was an incredibly helpful article. Tom Ryder's written a lot of other
blog posts that were really insightful and enlightening as well. I even
learned how to use ed from him.

~~~
koralatov
His blog has taught me more about using vim than any other single resource,
and I recommend it unreservedly to anyone thinking of starting out with vim.

~~~
ZeroGravitas
Does anyone know of a service where I could point to "timeless" blog content
like this and it would give me a feed that it picks old content on a random,
perhaps weekly basis? Then I can integrate it with more timely sources.

I feel like this must exist but I've no idea what to Google for.

~~~
crazydiamond
Try <http://www.vimtips-blog.com/>

Also vimcasts.org, and check the zzapper page linked in the tips blog.

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srik
Always glad to see vim usage articles pop up now and then. Here's a similar HN
thread from a while ago - <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2870024>

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LauriL
A useful article for at least intermediate VIM users.

Regarding the system clipboard register: in OS X 10.8 the `"+` register no
longer works. Has anyone found a way to get it working again?

~~~
bilalq
It works fine for me. Seems like whatever install of Vim you have doesn't
support the clipboard. Run "vim --version | grep clipboard" and see if you get
a + or - for the clipboard.

If you want a quick fix for getting it working again, make sure /usr/local/bin
is early on in your PATH and run "brew install macvim --override-system-vim"

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reyan
If you want to edit your macros, (e.g., the default register q) do "qp, edit,
visual select and do "qy.

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dschobel
wow, capital register appending is super useful. lots of good tips in this
one.

thanks for posting this!

~~~
terhechte
I find the difficulty is remembering this when I need it. I've read about
capital registers several times, but when I am editing, and I need to copy
several distinct lines, I do a "ayy "byy "cyy and then "ap "bp "cp instead of
a "ayy "Ayy "Ayy -> "ap because I never remember to use capital registers. I'd
love a VIM plugin that tells me that there is an easier way to what I just did
by pattern matching my input.

~~~
dschobel
I wonder what the complexity of a plugin would be that watches you use vim and
tells if you're doing an anti-pattern?

My only gripe with vim is that the discoverability of features is god awful
because :help is so overwhelming.

~~~
terhechte
Yeah me too. I guess it would need to match all the wrong ways against a right
way. It is probably easy for something like "jjjjj", but already someone doing
BBBBi instead of I would be difficult to match: because one would also need to
see where he ended up with BBBB: beginning of line or somewhere in the middle

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lavkesh
I am going to buy a t-shirt which says "I use Vim"

~~~
gaving
why

