Evil: Is there a default register that does not get overwritten by later yanks to explicit registers?

Question

I often use registers in evil, but I have a common use case that I cannot seem to resolve. I would like to have all copied text stored somewhere that does not get overwritten when I explicitly make another copy to a specific register.

---

Here is an example:

I want to copy this FIRST line, so I copy it (without explicitly using a register)

I later realize that I want to copy this SECOND line as well, and I want to be able paste it separately from the FIRST line, so I copy it to a register (ie register j via "jVy)

I can easily paste that SECOND line (ie "jp), but how can I paste the FIRST line? The default register is overwritten by my second copy command (ie "*p would paste the SECOND line) and my clipboard stores the SECOND line as well (ie p would paste the SECOND line).

In sum, I don't want to explicitly use a register for all of my copy commands - that is too tedious. Is there a "default" register that I can use that is not overwritten when I copy to a specific register? Perhaps I can bind all copy commands to a specific register?

UPDATE

I prefer a solution that uses pure vim/evil commands, so that it is extensible for my other vim editors and vim plugins (ie JetBrains' idea-vim). I found my solution by using the 0 register. In my example above, I can paste the FIRST line by running "0p.

In hindsight, I think this solution would have been better suited for a vim-related forum, but I hope it proves helpful for other Evil-mode users.

Answer 1

Simply use the kill ring. In evil, your simplest option is to use evil-paste-pop, bound by default to C-p. Here's the docstring:

Replace the just-yanked stretch of killed text with a different stretch. This command is allowed only immediatly after a yank, evil-paste-before, evil-paste-after or evil-paste-pop. This command uses the same paste command as before, i.e., when used after evil-paste-after the new text is also yanked using evil-paste-after, used with the same paste-count argument.

So:

1. Copy the first line (yy).
2. Copy the second line into your register ("jyy)
3. Paste (p), which pastes the second line.
4. Cycle through the kill ring with C-p, which will switch out your first paste (the second line) with the previous line you copied.

Answer 2

I found a solution, which sticks to using the vim registers:

Just use the 0 register. In my example above, I can paste the FIRST line by running "0p.

Dan's kill-ring answer is also very helpful, and may be preferable for some. I prefer using the 0 register above because it keeps consistent with pure vim keybindings, which allows me to use it across other editors that support vim keybindings.

I also prefer to explicitly paste my first copy with one command, instead of cycling through all of my yanks.