|id=0

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|created=October 21, 2009

|complexity=basic

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|version=7.0

|subpage=/200910

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}}

Switching buffers in Vim is a little painful as you don't realize how many buffers you have opened. This is mostly true while browsing a large source tree with cscope.

Put the following function in your [[vimrc]] to get a visual feedback of all your buffers while switching buffers.

<pre>

function! DoBuff()

execute "bnext"

let buf = 1

echon " "

while buf <= bufnr("$")

echon "["

if bufloaded(buf)

echohl WarningMsg | echon bufname(buf) | echohl None

else

echon bufname(buf)

endif

echon "] "

let buf = buf + 1

endwhile

endfunction

map <Esc>e :call DoBuff()<CR>

</pre>

To change the key-mapping change map to a key of your choice (I use Esc-e)

Now using Alt-e will cycle between buffers and also provide a listing of your buffers while you switch.

[[File:shot.jpg]]

==Comments==

Thanks for the contribution. I don't know if you are aware but we have a number of tips relating to buffers, with the most relevant being [[Easier buffer switching]]. In general, we like to keep related information in one place (or, where too complex for one tip, a small number of places). That makes the tips more useful for readers and easier to manage for editors.

I haven't had a chance to think about the tip in detail yet, but I have a couple of preliminary thoughts:

#What happens when you have a lot of buffers? Many people have far more than 10 buffers open at once.

#The tip maps <tt><Esc>e</tt> but mentions Alt-e.

#Images can be useful but this one is too big since I think it is only the last line that is relevant. We can think about that later.

Later, we will discuss how best to handle the October proposed tips [[Vim Tips Wiki:New tips/200910|here]]. [[User:JohnBeckett|JohnBeckett]] 07:06, October 21, 2009 (UTC)

[[Category:buffers]]