CODEWITHSUNDEEP
vimemacscopy-pastespacemacs
Simon
Simon

Reputation: 10150

Emacs / vim quick copy paste

I'm trying to make a transition to emacs (using evil mode/vim keybindings) and I'm having a hard time feeling more efficient/productive than if I just used the mouse. Here is an example of a situation where I find myself really slow:

for i in range(self.allData.shape[0]):
    self.correctSequence = self.displayNumbers(i, self.allData)
    self.userSequence = self.numberEntry()

    self.allData.set_value(i, 'userSequence', ''.join(self.userSequence))

    if len(self.correctSequence) != len(self.userSequence):
        self.allData.set_value(i, 'correct', 0)
    else:
        if list(reversed(self.correctSequence)) == self.userSequence:
            self.allData.set_value(i, 'correct', 1)
        else:
            self.allData.set_value(i, 'correct', 0)

It would be very common for me to have to change the first 4 instances of self.allData to something else (self.testData, for example), leaving the last 2 untouched.

Normally this wouldnt be too bad with a mouse. For example, I could replace the first allData with testData, copy it, use the mouse to the next 3 occurences and just hit CTRL-V for each one. Or better yet, just use multiple cursors in sublime/atom and replace all 4 in one go

I use spacesmacs in emacs with vim keybindings. So, in emacs I find myself having to do something like the following:

  1. SPC-SPC a (avy jump to words beginning with a)
  2. cw testData

Repeat those 2 steps once for each word I want to replace

This seems really inefficient and I'm wondering: am I just using an inefficient method? Is there a faster way to do what I want?

It seems that even if I managed to complete those steps really fast (4 times), theres still A LOT more typing one would have to do, and I fail to see how this would be faster than just reaching for the mouse. Yes, one could make the argument that I'm losing time by constantly reaching for the mouse, but in my mind I'm saving typing time by reaching for the mouse because I can just hit CTRL-V a few times to achieve what I want. Where exactly are the vim speed gains in a situation like this?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 505

Answers (3)

Drew
Drew

Reputation: 30701

In addition to the usual (and generally the best) answer, query-replace (see @songyuanyao's answer), you can use the secondary selection to advantage to selectively paste the same thing at various places. Unlike the region, the secondary selection is unrelated to the cursor position (aka point), so it is always available regardless of where the cursor is.

And unlike query-replacing, you can paste it on demand, instead of having to answer for each matching occurrence. If you use delete-selection mode then just select some text to replace and paste the secondary selection to replace it.

You can set and paste the secondary selection using the mouse - see Secondary Selection on the Emacs Wiki, and see the Emacs manual, node Secondary Selection.

If you use library second-sel.el then you can use the secondary selection from the keyboard as well, and get a lot more use out of it.

Upvotes: 0

romainl
romainl

Reputation: 196566

I'm not sure how "vim-like" Spacemacs is, but you could do it like this in Vim:

/all<CR>
cgntest<Esc>
.
.
.

or:

/all<CR>
cetestData<Esc>
n.
n.
n.

or:

:,$s/allD/testD/gc<CR>

Maybe one of these methods works in Spacemacs too?

Upvotes: 2

songyuanyao
songyuanyao

Reputation: 172924

If you just want to replace, you can use query-replace, and replace the word one by one.

You can use replace-string too, but remember to limit replacement to part of the buffer, activate the region around that part.

Anyway, these commands could prevent you from finding the word by your eyes, moving cursor by mouse and moving your hand back to keybaord. And they could avoid probable overlook too. At least I don't want to leave my hands from the keyboard when typing. :)

Upvotes: 3

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