Vim Feature of the Day: gv

Have you ever highlighted something in vim, yanked it, and then realized you wanted to yank it to a different buffer, often + or *? Well, try the command gv. It will highlight whatever you had previously selected. I probably use it at least once a day.

Enjoy!

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(The following includes affiliate links.)

If you’d like to learn more, I can recommend two excellent books. I first learned how to use vi from Learning the vi and Vim Editors. The new edition has a lot more information and spends more time on Vim specific features. It was helpful for me at the time, and the fundamental model of vi is still well supported in Vim and this book explores that well.

Second, if you really want to up your editing game, check out Practical Vim. It’s a very approachable book that unpacks some of the lesser used features in ways that will be clearly and immediately useful. I periodically review this book because it’s such a treasure trove of clear hints and tips.

Posted Mon, Jun 8, 2009

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