7.4. Manage Hidden Buffers

Pracical Vim Tip 38.

Vim buffer FAQ Vim 101: Set Hidden

Open more than one file.

$ vim *.txt
:ls
# Edit one file and move to another file without saving
:bnext!
:ls

In #h + "a.txt", # means alternative, h means hidden and + means modified. %a means active and current file.

Options for hidden buffers on quit.

:w[rite] # Write the contents of the buffer to disk
:e[dit]! # REad the file from disk back into the buffer (that is, revert changes)
:qa[ll]! # Cose all windows, discarding changes without warning
:wa[ll]  # Write all modified buffers to disk

• Under default settings, making changes and then opening a new file will display E37: No write since last change (add ! to override)
• Typing :set hidden will change this behaviour
• With :set hidden, opening a new file when the current buffer has unsaved changes causes files to be hidden instead of closed
• The unsaved changes can still be accessed by typing :ls and then :b[N], where [N] is the number of a buffer