Why .vimrc reports error when adding recorded macro?

Question

I've created a macro to add a piece of code.
The macro runs fine.
But when added to .vimrc, it reports error.
(The macro becomes weird when paste here.)
let @p='iprocess (clk, resetn)
€kbbegin
if (resetn = '0') then

€kbelse€kbif (clk'event and clk = '1') then

€kbend if;
€kbend if;
€ku€@7€kb€kb€kb€kd€kuprocess;q€kb'

Answer 1

The way you initialize has two flaws:

First, it is usually better to use setreg() to set the value of a register, it is more robust than let @X = and allows you to choose the type of the register (characterwise, linewise, blockwise)

Second, your string contains the keycode of some key (e.g. ^M for <CR>). I guess that you recorded your macro and tried to get what you recorded and that's what caused the problem. In your vimrc you need to write the following:

call setreg('p',  "iprocess (clk, resetn)^M€kbbegin^Mif (resetn = '0') then^M")

where ^M is not entered manually but is entered by pressing Ctrl+v then Enter this allows you to write the keycode of the key which setreg() can then interpret properly. Note that you should do that with the others special keys like <Esc> for example.

Edit As mentioned by @Rich in the comments using \<CR> inside a double quoted string is arguably more robust than <C-v><CR>.

See:

• :h setreg()
• :h i_CTRL-V