Vim – How to Compare Two Files

diff()vim

Is it possible to view two files side-by-side in Vim? If so, how can I set up my editor to do this, and is there a way to diff between the two files within Vim?

I am aware of the :next and :prev commands, but this is not what I'm after. It would really be nice to view the two files in tandem.

Best Answer

Open the side by side view:

Ctrl+w v

Change between them:

Ctrl+w h or l

Checkout the vimdiff command, part of the vim package, if you want a diff-like view:

vimdiff file1.txt file2.txt

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Sending commands to dbx from Vim

You can execute shell commands in vim using the command: :!foo -fooparam

You can insert the output of shell commands similarly using: :r!foo -fooparam

Make Tmux tell Vim when its pane loses focus

This is probably best done using vim's client-server model. There's some good guidance about using it in :help remote.txt.

Firstly, you'll need a vim client compiled with the +clientserver option. If your distribution doesn't package it this way, get the source (through apt-get source, abs, et al) and add that option.

Once that's done, you'll need to rebind your keys in tmux so that when you change windows it also sends something like the following to the active window:

vim --servername foo --remote-send '<C-\><C-N>:w<CR>'

Something like the following should work (not tested):

bind-key 0 run-shell "vim --servername foo --remote-send '<C-\><C-N>:w<CR>'" \; select-window -t :0

Best Answer

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Make Tmux tell Vim when its pane loses focus

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