by Ingo Karkat
It is easy to delete some text: By {motion}, visual selection, with :substitute. The opposite (keeping some text while removing the rest) isn't so easy: You have to yank to a temporary register, delete the remainder, and then paste again. You also cannot simply invert a selection; with :substitute, the match has to be captured and referenced in the replacement.
This plugin adds commands for normal, visual, and command-line mode that let you easily specify text (by {motion}, selection, [range], or {pattern}), and then removes everything else in the command's scope (line, buffer, last selection, [range]). It basically offers delete commands that operate on an inverted target. Like normal delete, the removed text is properly stored in a register.
["x]<Leader>k{motion} Delete any text in the line(s) covered by {motion}
except for the text that {motion} moves over itself,
and any indent (including a potential comment prefix).
Register x contains the deleted text (and the indent,
too).
When this is repeated (.) on a linewise selection,
the text covered by the previous {motion}, starting
from the current column, is kept in each line. For
characterwise and blockwise selections, it works like
a repeat of the following visual mode mapping,
deleting any text in the selected lines except the
selected text itself.
{Visual}["x]<Leader>k Delete any text in the selected line(s) except the
selected text itself, and any indent / comment prefix.
["x]<Leader>kkn Within the current line / [count] / selected lines,
{Visual}["x]<Leader>kkn delete any text that does not match the last search
pattern, and also keep any indent (including a
potential comment prefix).
["x]<Leader>kkN Same as the above <Leader>kkn, but query whether to
{Visual}["x]<Leader>kkN keep each match.
["x]<Leader>kk/ Same as <Leader>kkN, but query a search pattern (and
{Visual}["x]<Leader>kk/ also query whether to keep each match).
["x]<Leader>kk? Same as <Leader>kkN, but reuse the previously queried
{Visual}["x]<Leader>kk? search pattern from <Leader>kk/ (and also query
whether to keep each match).
["x]g<Leader>k{motion} Delete any text in the entire buffer except for the
text that {motion} moves over itself.
Register x contains the deleted text.
{Visual}["x]g<Leader>k Delete any text in the entire buffer except the
selected text itself.
["x]<Leader>zk{motion} Delete any text in the last selection except for the
text that {motion} moves over itself. {motion} must be
(at least partially) inside the selection.
Register x contains the deleted text.
:[range]KeepRange [{register}] {range}
Delete any lines of the buffer / within [range] except
those that are covered by {range} into the unnamed
register / [{register}].
:[range]KeepRange! [{register}] {range}
Delete any lines of the buffer / within [range] that
are covered by {range} into the unnamed register /
[{register}].
:[range]KeepMatch [{register}] /{pattern}/[flags]
Within the current line / [range], delete any text
that does not match {pattern} into the unnamed
register / [{register}]. Only match(es) are kept.
Pass the special [<] flag to also keep any indent
(including a potential comment prefix), both in the
line and as part of the deleted text.
:[range]KeepMatch [{register}] /{pattern}/{string}/[flags]
Like above, but keep {string} (which can refer to the
match via &, \1, etc.)
:[range]KeepMatch! [{register}] /{pattern}/[flags]
Within the current line / [range], delete any text
that matches {pattern} into the unnamed
register / [{register}]. Only text that does not match
is kept. This is like
:[range]substitute/{pattern}//[flags]
but it stores the deleted text in a register.
:[range]KeepMatch! [{register}] /{pattern}/{string}/[flags]
Like above, but store {string} (which can refer to the
match via &, \1, etc.) in a register.
:[range]KeepMatchAndNewline [{register}] /{pattern}/[flags]
Within the current line / [range], delete any text
that does not match {pattern} into the unnamed
register / [{register}]. Only match(es) and newline
characters are kept; i.e. in contrast to :KeepMatch,
this variant does not join lines if the newline is not
included in {pattern}.
Pass the special [<] flag to also keep any indent
(including a potential comment prefix), both in the
line and as part of the deleted text.
This command is similar to
:[range]global/^/KeepMatch ...
but with correct register contents.
Note: When executed on a single line, it's the same as
a :KeepMatch command.
:[range]KeepMatchAndNewline [{register}] /{pattern}/{string}/[flags]
Like above, but keep {string} (which can refer to the
match via &, \1, etc.)
:[range]KeepMatchAndNewline! [{register}] /{pattern}/[flags]
:[range]KeepMatchAndNewline! [{register}] /{pattern}/{string}/[flags]
Within the current line / [range], delete any text
that matches {pattern} and newlines into the unnamed
register / [{register}]. Only text that does not match
and newlines are kept. This is like
:[range]substitute/{pattern}//[flags]
but it stores the deleted text in a register.
We want to keep just the quoted text: Hello, world!
He said: "Hello, world!" and then left.
Instead of yi"0_Dp or yi"Vp, we can now simply do <Leader>ki", or vi"<Leader>k.
Instead of
:substitute/.*"\(.*\)".*/\1/
use:
:KeepMatch/"\zs.*\ze"/
The code is hosted in a Git repo at https://github.com/inkarkat/vim-KeepText You can use your favorite plugin manager, or "git clone" into a directory used for Vim packages. Releases are on the "stable" branch, the latest unstable development snapshot on "master".
This script is also packaged as a vimball. If you have the "gunzip" decompressor in your PATH, simply edit the *.vmb.gz package in Vim; otherwise, decompress the archive first, e.g. using WinZip. Inside Vim, install by sourcing the vimball or via the :UseVimball command.
vim KeepText*.vmb.gz
:so %
To uninstall, use the :RmVimball command.
- Requires Vim 7.0 or higher.
- Requires the ingo-library.vim plugin (vimscript #4433), version 1.044 or higher.
- repeat.vim (vimscript #2136) plugin (optional)
- visualrepeat.vim (vimscript #3848) plugin (optional)
For a permanent configuration, put the following commands into your vimrc:
If you want to use different mappings, map your keys to the <Plug>(KeepText...) mapping targets before sourcing the script (e.g. in your vimrc):
nmap <Leader>k <Plug>(KeepTextLineOperator)
xmap <Leader>k <Plug>(KeepTextLineVisual)
nmap g<Leader>k <Plug>(KeepTextBufferOperator)
xmap g<Leader>k <Plug>(KeepTextBufferVisual)
nmap <Leader>zk <Plug>(KeepTextSelectionOperator)
nmap <Leader>kkn <Plug>(KeepTextAllMatchesLine)
xmap <Leader>kkn <Plug>(KeepTextAllMatchesVisual)
nmap <Leader>kkN <Plug>(KeepTextQueriedMatchesLine)
xmap <Leader>kkN <Plug>(KeepTextQueriedMatchesVisual)
nmap <Leader>kk/ <Plug>(KeepTextQueriedQueriedPatternMatchesLine)
xmap <Leader>kk/ <Plug>(KeepTextQueriedQueriedPatternMatchesVisual)
nmap <Leader>kk? <Plug>(KeepTextQueriedRecalledPatternMatchesLine)
xmap <Leader>kk? <Plug>(KeepTextQueriedRecalledPatternMatchesVisual)
Report any bugs, send patches, or suggest features via the issue tracker at https://github.com/inkarkat/vim-KeepText/issues or email (address below).
- First published version.
- Started development.
Copyright: (C) 2013-2025 Ingo Karkat - The VIM LICENSE applies to this plugin.
Maintainer: Ingo Karkat <ingo@karkat.de>