Registers ” vs @

Question

Ok I must have missed something vital here. Can someone please tell me what the difference between using "a and @a is? All I know is that @ is used together with :let and e.g. :echo and " is used when pasting.

However I find no sources that explains the difference and what the prefixes mean.

Answer 1

Note: all of the following information (and much more) can be found using :help @, :help ", :help let-@, and :help expr-register

• "ap,"ad, &c.: use register a in a put from or delete to.

• @a: replay the contents of register a as a sequence of normal commands

• :let @a = 'string': assign a string to register a.

Now, there is likely some confusion because @ and " are occasionally interchangeable:

• ""p, "@p, p: put from register ", this is called the "unnamed register," but in fact it has at least two names, " and @.

• @": replay the contents of register " as a normal command (this is rarely done).

• @@: replay the previously used @{reg}.

Then, there are the let and expression usages:

• :let @" = 'string': let @@ = 'string': assign a string to register ".

• :echo @@, :echo @": echo the value of register "

• :echo @: also echo the value of register ".

• :echo "@, :echo ": syntax error.

Finally, you can execute registers as an ex command (i.e., cmdline mode),

• :@a: execute contents of register a as an ex command.

• :@:: execute the previous command line

• :@@: execute the previous :@{reg}.