Calvin Waterbury wrote:
Note: I realized after I sent this it was in HTML, I thought it was test only -
please accept my apologies for any difficulty - Calvin
Hello VIM,
[Disclaimer] - I realize this is a long post, but if it results in triggering
interest, the resultant increase in productivity will be worth it, especially
for anyone in research of any kind!
In the Windows program "NoteTab Pro" there are two features that I have not located on the VIM
search called "Pasteboard" and "Outline (this may not be what you think it is)" If
you've used the NTP Pasteboard you know how handy it is and the lack of these two features is the only thing
that stands in the way of me making the paradigm shift to VIM for good. VIM is great! For those that don't
know or understand what I am talking about, here is an explanation...
--------------
- PASTEBOARD -
--------------
This is a feature that automatically captures clipboard content to a text file that has
been designated as the "Pasteboard." Perhaps an example would clarify. If I
had this feature implimented in VIM I would do the following:
- Open a text ed window
- Set it to be the "Pasteboard"
- Switch to whatever window I want to capture (webpage text like a recipe,
another text file, etc.)
--- [1]Select the first text item
--- [2]Copy to clipboard
--- [3]Repeat [1] and [2] until done.
- Go back to the "Pasteboard" window and I would see all of my captures neatly separated
by whatever separator (a line of hyphens, equal signs, etc.) I had set in the "Options."
- Turn off the "Pasteboard"
- Save the file.
The advantages are a lot less key or mouse clicks and I do not have to leave
the window I am viewing. I hope you can see how valuable this would be to
doing research (FYI - I consider collecting ANY data as research)! You're
never distracted with ALT-TAB (or equivalent) to switch back-and-forth to your
scratch pad, not to mention the amount of time saved! :o)
This feature has been a staple of my research efforts since I discovered it. I can also testify that not being distracted with the mechanics has the effect of releasing creative thought and the resultant productivity. I think I probably need help in locating it as I would be stunned if this feature has not already been created (or discovered)! I'm sure you can tell, I am sold on this utility! :o)
Does anyone know if this is available in VIM?
Vim is not limited by the clipboard. In fact, when cutting and pasting from
one place to another within a Vim session, the clipboard is normally not used.
Normally, vim only uses the clipboard when you want to copy data to or from a
different program, or between different instances of Vim.
Also, between cuts that you want to "remember", you may do cuts and pastes
which are to be "done and forgotten" -- e.g., by hitting xp on the e of "teh"
you change it to "the". You wouldn't want that single e to be remembered on
your pasteboard, would you?
Vim allows you to remember 26 independent "important cuts and copies" by
deleting or yanking to "registers" named a to z. In addition to that, the
latest yank is available as register 0 (zero), the nine latest deletes as
registers 1 to 9, the latest search pattern as register /, etc., ... the
system clipboard as register +
All those "important cuts" are remembered from one session to the next without
your intervention. All you have to do is specify a register name when deleting
or yanking, by prefixing the d or y or ... with "x where x is the register
name (a to z for overwriting, A to Z for appending). Similarly, to paste them,
precede the p or P command by "x where x is the register name (here, "a and "A
are equivalent).
In the case of your cooking recipe, you would select (maybe linewise, using V
followed by up-and down cursor moves) the first part of your recipe, then copy
it to register r (for recipe) by means of "ry (where y means yank, in Vim
terminology). Then you would select the next part, hit "Ry , the next, again
"Ry , etc. After you yank the last part, the whole recipe is in register r and
you can open a new file (":e recipe.txt" in the same window, or ":new
recipe.txt" in a split window, in both cases without the quotes -- notice that
Vim calls "windows" what most other programs call "panes") and paste your
whole recipe at one go using "rP . There won't be any separators unless you
yank them too (which means you can have different separators, or none at all,
between different cuts), but if you selected your text linewise, there will be
a line break between each part (i.e., text won't flow from one cut into the
next on the same line). You may edit your recipe there if you wish, then save
it using :w or :x (the latter closes the file window too, it is equivalent to
:wq with one less keystroke).
In other words, in Vim you can have up to 26 parallel pasteboards without even
asking for them. :-)
See ":help change.txt".
Also, knowing the talent that exists out there in the community, if it is not
yet created someone will pick up the gauntlet. If you are interested in
scripting this, please contact me direct at cjw[at]eml.cc and I'll explain in
greater detail.
I will put the "Outline" request in another mail as this one is long enough.
Best regards,
Calvin
Best regards,
Tony.
