This document presents editing tricks for cutting, copying, and pasting text in the Vim text editor. It begins with an introduction to the target audience and overview of sections on deleting/cutting text using "d" commands, copying/yanking text using "y" commands, and pasting text using "p" and "P" commands. Each section provides step-by-step examples of how to use Vim commands to edit lines, paragraphs, words, and letters. The document concludes by encouraging readers to practice these commands and explore more of Vim's powerful features.

1. EDITING TRICKS IN Vim EDITOR
Prepared by :
Ramnath Banerjee
ramnath@infidigits.com
http://www.infidigits.com
The Power of
dyp Design & Dev, Marketing, Conversion optimization

2. ● Introduction
● Target Audience
● Section A > Delete or Cut
○ Delete (or Cut) Lines
○ Delete (or Cut) Lines (Editor mode)
○ Delete (or Cut) An Entire Paragraph
○ Delete (or Cut) Letters
○ Delete (or Cut) A Word
● Section B > Yank or Copy
○ Copy Lines
○ Copy Lines (Editor mode)
○ Copy An Entire Paragraph
○ Copy Letters
○ Copy A Word
Table Of Contents
● Section C > Paste
● Conclusion
● References
● About InfiDigits
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3. While editing files in the Vim editor, it often becomes tedious to systematically
cut, copy or paste large chunks or parts of a file since the editor doesn’t come
with a GUI interface. That’s when these simple yet effective tricks come
handy. These commands are inbuilt and once mastered, helps accomplish
editing tasks at the click of a button. Before we get started, open up a file in
the Vim editor.
Introduction
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4. Target Audience
Intended For
Programmers, DBAs,
Sys Admins
Beginner
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Difficulty Level

5. SECTION A > Delete or Cut
In this section we will learn the deletion commands, mostly performed using
d or D, in the normal or in the editor mode. Note that the same commands
simultaneously performs the actions of cutting as well.
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6. Delete (or Cut) Lines
1. Move your cursor to anywhere on the line you wish to delete.
2. Type dd or D to delete the current line completely.
3. Similarly if you wish to edit 15 lines, type dd or D 15 times. Alternatively
you may also type 15dd or 15D.
4. d$ deletes everything from the position of the cursor till the end of line.
dgg deletes everything from the position of the cursor till the beginning of
file. d3k deletes the line where the cursor is plus 3 lines above the
position of the cursor.
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7. Delete (or Cut) Lines (Editor mode)
1. Move your cursor to anywhere on the line you wish to delete.
2. Open editor mode by typing Shift + :
3. Type d and press the enter key to delete the current line.
4. To delete multiple lines you’ll need the following command -
<StartingLineNumber>,<EndingLineNumber>d.
5. Let’s say you wish to delete 6 lines. So type 36,41d to delete 6
consecutive lines including line numbers 36 and 41 and press the enter
key.
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8. Delete (or Cut) An Entire Paragraph
1. Move your cursor to the paragraph which you wish to delete.
2. Type dap or {d} to delete the paragraph.
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9. Delete (or Cut) Letters
1. Move your cursor to the point from where you wish to delete the letters.
2. Let’s assume you want to delete 5 letters. Just type d5l or 5x and you’re
done.
3. Incase you need to delete 5 letters before the cursor just like using the
<backspace>, type 5X.
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10. Delete (or Cut) A Word
1. Move your cursor to the beginning of the word you wish to delete.
2. Type dw or de to delete the word.
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11. SECTION B > Yank or Copy
The easiest way to copy something in the Vim editor is by marking the string
using your keyboard or mouse. However, there are other complex routes to
achieve the same result. Follow the slides to learn more.
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12. Copy Lines
1. Move your cursor to anywhere on the line you wish to copy.
2. Type yy or Y to copy the current line completely.
3. Similarly if you wish to copy 15 lines, type yy or Y 15 times on the lines
you wish to copy. Alternatively you may also type 15yy or 15Y.
4. y$ copies everything from the position of the cursor till the end of line.
5. ygg copies everything from the position of the cursor till the beginning of
the file.
6. y3k copies the line where the cursor is plus 3 lines above the position of
the cursor.
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13. Copy Lines (Editor mode)
1. Move your cursor to anywhere on the line you wish to copy.
2. Open editor mode by typing Shift + :
3. Type y and press the enter key.
4. To copy multiple lines you’ll need the following command -
<StartingLineNumber>,<EndingLineNumber>y.
5. Let’s say you wish to copy 6 lines. Type 16,21y to copy 6 consecutive
lines including line numbers 16 and 21 and press the enter key.
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14. Copy An Entire Paragraph
1. Move your cursor to the paragraph which you wish to copy.
2. Type yap or {y} to copy the paragraph.
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15. Copy Letters
1. Move your cursor to the point from where you wish to copy the letters.
2. Let’s assume you want to copy 8 letters. Just type y8l and you’re done.
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16. Copy A Word
1. Move your cursor to the beginning of the word you wish to copy.
2. Type yw or ye to delete the word.
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17. SECTION C > Paste
The easiest way to paste something somewhere in your Vim editor is by right
clicking using your touchpad or mouse. However, if you still want to use the
difficult route, type p or P. To paste something before the position of the
cursor type p and to paste something after the position of the cursor type P.
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18. Conclusion
This presentation is limited to only the commands for delete/cut, yank or copy
& paste. You may explore all these and many more powerful commands such
as find, replace, change case, etc. in your Unix terminal by typing vimtutor
and by applying them on a regular basis. Also note that there are many
valuable online resources available in the internet which can also help you
become a Vim power user.
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19. References
1. Inbuilt vimtutor tutorial.
2. http://unix.stackexchange.com/
3. http://vim.rtorr.com/
4. http://linuxconfig.org/vim-tutorial
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20. About InfiDigits
InfiDigits is a digital marketing agency having
core competencies in web design &
development, digital marketing and
conversion optimization. Our mission is to
provide innovative, cost effective, ROI
focused web solutions.
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http://www.infidigits.com
e: sales@infidigits.com
t: +91 9830824695
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t: twitter.com/infidigits