How to copy text from gVim to Windows system clipboard

Sun May 3 6:46 pm EDT 2026

Key points

• Use the "+ register before copying or cutting text.
• Press " (double quote) key and + (plus) key consecutively.

How to do it

To copy text into Windows clipboard, enter Visual mode by pressing v key. Select the text using your mouse and press "+y to copy it.

When cutting the text rather than copying it, press "+x or "+d instead.

Alternatively, you can do the same thing in Normal mode. When copying a line, for example, in the Normal mode, just press "+yy.

In the case of pasting text from the system clipboard to gVim, press "+p or "+P in Normal mode. The former pastes the text after the cursor while the latter pastes it before the cursor.