UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hi

This is going to sound so easy to some of you out there...

trying to copy and paste lines to an existing script - is there a command that i can use that overwrites the existing text there?

Cheers

i personally dont know of a way to cut and replace... but if it exists, you will find it here...

http://www.thomer.com/vi/vi.html

you can edit 2 files at once w/ vi.

you would cut the portions of file A into the buffer then switch to file B and paste.

check out the yy, P, :e options for vi.

That doesnt give an overwrite function does it? He wanted to overwrite text with the paste.

you could try the C operative for vi to overwrighting. couple the C operator w/ a selection of lines and it might work.


C = change rest of line.

either way i dont think this is an easy task unless you are very fluent w/ vi.

You can overwrite the current line(s) with the output of a system command using double bang !!

e.g. To replace ten lines (starting from the current line) with the contents of another file use 10!!cat file

ok - its working but its quite messy using the !! command - it overwrites some and of the text and not others

- wot it is.... i have 2 sessions of unix open (different servers) and im basically trying to copy one script from the one box to the other ... it sounds easy but - as there is already a script there i need the script i am copying to overwrite the redundant script.....


is this any clearer ... any further suggestions please?