When opening a number of files into buffers a user may want to switch quickly through the open buffers. The following methods will allow the user to map key combinations to buffers for easier access.

Method 1Edit

Use Alt-X to quickly switch between buffers, where X is the buffer number 1 to 9.

In your .vimrc add:

:map <M-1> :confirm :b1 <CR>
:map <M-2> :confirm :b2 <CR>
...
...
...
:map <M-9> :confirm :b9 <CR>

Note this is somewhat similar to the built-in CTRL-^ command, which can take a count to jump to a specific buffer number.

Method 2Edit

Use <ALT><Left> and <ALT><Right> to cycle through buffers.

In your .vimrc add:

" cycle through buffers with <ALT><Left> and <ALT><Right>
:nmap <M-Left> :bprev<CR>
:nmap <M-Right> :bnext<CR>

See alsoEdit

• script#159 - The minibufexpl script

CommentsEdit