Vim Buffers: Renaming, Switching and Opening Files

Note#65

notes
Published

2023-04-08

Renaming the Current Buffer in Vim

  1. Save the current buffer with a new name and keep it open in the current window. You can use :saveas or :w.

:saveas Command

:saveas new_filename.txt

It can be shortened to :sav.

:w Command

:w new_filename.txt

The main difference between :saveas and :w is that :saveas renames the current buffer and saves it with the new name, while :w saves a copy of the buffer to a new file without renaming the buffer itself.

  1. Delete the old file from within Vim using the :! command.

    :!rm old_filename.txt

  2. If you have the old file still open in another buffer, switch to that buffer using the :b or :buffer command.

    :b old_filename.txt

  3. Close the old buffer using the :bd or :bdelete command.

    :bd

Switch Between Files in Vim with the :e# Command

  1. Open a file in Vim.

    vim file1.txt

  2. Open another file using the :edit (or :e) command.

    :edit file2.txt

  3. Switch back to the previous file using the :e# command.

    :e#

  4. Save the current file and switch to the alternate file using :w and :e# commands combined.

    :w | e#

Differences Between :b and :e Commands in Vim

  1. :b (or :buffer) is used to switch between already opened buffers in Vim by providing the buffer number or a unique part of the filename.

  2. :e (or :edit) is used to open a file in a new buffer or reload the contents of the current file from the disk.

Additional Tips and Commands

Switch Between Buffers with :bn and :bp Commands

  1. Switch to the next buffer using the :bn or :bnext command.

    :bn

  2. Switch to the previous buffer using the :bp or :bprev command.

    :bp

List Open Buffers with :ls Command

List all open buffers and their buffer numbers using the :ls or :buffers command.

:ls

Jump to a Specific Buffer with :b Command

Jump to a specific buffer using the :b or :buffer command followed by the buffer number.

:b <buffer_number>