How to change the name of a vim buffer

buffervim

Is it possible to change the name of a buffer in vim?

Specifically, I'm using Conque Shell to open shells in vim (each shell is in a buffer) and with multiple shells, I see:

10: bash - 1
11: bash - 2

in my buffer list. I would like to rename these buffers with more meaningful names (e.g., "mercurial" instead of "bash – 2"). Is it possible?

Best Answer

You can use :file newname to change the buffer name.

From :help :file_f:

Sets the current file name to {name}. The optional ! avoids truncating the message, as with :file.
If the buffer did have a name, that name becomes the alternate-file name. An unlisted buffer is created to hold the old name.

Related Solutions

Vim editing/switching between multiple files efficiently in large directory structures

It's possible to set up vim to edit multiple files without having to exit at all. You use multiple buffers and switch between them. Since you're using vim inside screen You can put the following in your ~/.vimrc to enable that.

   set hidden
   syntax enable
   source $VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim
   set wildmenu
   set cpo-=<
   set wcm=<C-Z>
   map <F4> :emenu <C-Z>
   nmap <Esc>[5D :bp<CR>
   nmap <Esc>Od  :bp<CR>
   nmap <Esc>OD  :bp<CR>
   nmap <Esc>[5C :bn<CR>
   nmap <Esc>Oc  :bn<CR>
   nmap <Esc>OC  :bn<CR>
   nmap <Esc>[3~ :bd<CR>
   nmap ZZ :bd<CR>

Those key mappings map to Ctrl-Left and Right arrow keys to switch between buffers. The F4 key invoke the same menu the GUI would show. Pressing tab also now displays a little menu for selecting the completion when your press tab.

Shell – How to stop vim from editing directories

You can put the following lines in your vimrc to quit vim if any of its arguments are a directory:

for f in argv()
  if isdirectory(f)
    echomsg "vimrc: Cowardly refusing to edit directory " . f
    quit
  endif
endfor

Alternatively, if you only want to quit if all arguments are directories, you can try something like this:

let ndirs = 0
for f in argv()
  if isdirectory(f)
    let ndirs += 1
  endif
endfor
if ndirs > 0 && ndirs == argc()
  echomsg "vimrc: Cowardly refusing to edit directories"
  quit
endif

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Vim editing/switching between multiple files efficiently in large directory structures

Shell – How to stop vim from editing directories

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