6.5.6.1 Copying Lines

To copy a line requires two commands: yy or Y ("yank") and either p ("put below") or P ("put above"). Note that Y does the same thing as yy.

To yank one line, position the cursor anywhere on the line and type yy. Now move the cursor to the line above where you want the yanked line to be put (copied), and type p. A copy of the yanked line will appear in a new line below the cursor.

To place the yanked line in a new line above the cursor, type P.

The yy command works well with a count: to yank 11 lines, for example, just type 11yy. Eleven lines, counting down from the cursor, will be yanked, and vi indicates this with a message at the bottom of the screen: 11 lines yanked.

You can also use the P or p commands immediately after any of the deletion commands discussed earlier. This puts the text you deleted above or below the cursor, respectively.

Use only cursor-moving commands between yanking or deleting and putting. If you delete or yank any other text before putting the new text in place, the lines you yanked or deleted will be lost.