How can I paste the contents of the system clipboard into all files in the argument list?

Question

How can I paste the contents of the system clipboard to all files in the argument list in Vim?

Answer 1

You can do the following:

:argdo execute 'normal! "+p' | w

Explanation:

• :argdo Run the command that follows on each file in the argument list. Alternatively, you can use :windo to run a command on each window, or :bufdo to run a command on each buffer.

• execute "normal! ..." Run the sequence of commands after normal! as if they were entered in normal mode. Ignore all mappings and replace string escape sequences like \<esc>.

• "+p Paste the register for the system clipboard. Note that Vim has to be compiled with the +clipboard feature enabled for this to work.

• | w Write every file, whether it was updated or not. Alternatively, use | update to only write files that were changed.

For more details, see:

• Learn Vimscript the Hard Way
• Vim 101: Search and Replace on Multiple Files
• Run a command in multiple buffers

_{Originally answered by Roberto Balejík}