vim insert current filename into the contents

Question

After some searching, I got to know :echo @% display's the current file-name in the bottom line of vim-screen.

I would like to dump the file-name(with and without full path) into the contents of the file without leaving vim.

Is there any way to do this?

Answer 1

I'm sure there are other ways to do this... but the main command you want is :r[ead] which inserts the output of a command into the buffer.

So, to insert just the file name:

:r! echo %

And, to include the full path:

:r! echo %:p

For more info:

:help read
:help filename-modifiers 

Answer 2

The current filename is in the "% register, so you can insert it (while in insert mode) with <c-r>%; the full path can be inserted with <c-r>=expand("%:p"). You could make a macro of it if you use it often. For more, similar tricks, see :h expand and :h "=.

Answer 3

As can be seen in :h registers the "% register contains the actual file name. The :pu[t] command inserts the content of a register into the text.

So, to insert the actual filename you can type either of these, in command mode:

:put %
"%p

To insert the filename with the full path, type in command mode:

:put "%:p"

---

More info:

:h pu[t]

By typing "rp you can paste the contents of register 'r'.

Answer 4

A simple way is to run:

!!echo %

• !! is replacing the current line with the result of the command following it.

• % is replaced by the name of the edited file in the command so this will effectively insert that name in the edited file.

The filename is the one you passed to the vi(m) command and might contain a relative or absolute path. Should you want to strip it and only retain the file name, run

!!echo $(basename %)