copy/paste in vi editor

Newman1 · 06-16-2015, 09:16 AM

Hello guys,

I am trying to copy a line in vi editor and paste it with below commands but paste command is not working and instead of paste action prints the p character!!

I should also mention that the server is Solaris...

1) crontab -e
2) j to move down
3) yy to copy the line
4) o to create a new line
5) p to paste it

pan64 · 06-16-2015, 09:22 AM

you do not need to press o before p (point 4 should be removed)

Sefyir · 06-16-2015, 09:56 AM

When you use yy, or dd, it copies (or deletes and copies) the whole line. This includes the newline
When you paste, it pastes the newline as well, creating its own line automatically underneath the current location.

o and O are used to type in text after creating a new line above or below the current line.

suicidaleggroll · 06-16-2015, 10:13 AM

"o" creates a new line and switches to insert mode, which is why when you type "p", it just prints a literal "p". You need to be in command mode when you hit "p" to paste. You could press "esc" after "o" to switch back to command mode, but as was said above the "o" is redundant since the copy will copy the newline as well.

Newman1 · 06-16-2015, 02:20 PM

Thank you guys...it really helped and solved my question.