How do you prefer to switch between buffers in Vim?

Question

I\'ve tried MiniBufExplorer, but I usually end up with several windows showing it or close it altogether. What I\'d like is something like LustyJuggler with incremental sear

Answer 1

I have mapped <S-J> and <S-K> to :bp and :bn, although I admit I don't use it as the number of files is greater than 10. I have then mapped <C-J> and <C-K> to Gnome Terminal's previous and next tabs, and I usually run 4 instances of vim for each of the 4 different projects I work on. I still really wish next and previous buffer would go to the history of buffers I have been working on, and not the order int he buffer list.

Answer 2

imap <A-1> <Esc>:tabn 1<CR>i
imap <A-2> <Esc>:tabn 2<CR>i
imap <A-3> <Esc>:tabn 3<CR>i
imap <A-4> <Esc>:tabn 4<CR>i
imap <A-5> <Esc>:tabn 5<CR>i
imap <A-6> <Esc>:tabn 6<CR>i
imap <A-7> <Esc>:tabn 7<CR>i
imap <A-8> <Esc>:tabn 8<CR>i
imap <A-9> <Esc>:tabn 9<CR>i

map <A-1> :tabn 1<CR>
map <A-2> :tabn 2<CR>
map <A-3> :tabn 3<CR>
map <A-4> :tabn 4<CR>
map <A-5> :tabn 5<CR>
map <A-6> :tabn 6<CR>
map <A-7> :tabn 7<CR>
map <A-8> :tabn 8<CR>
map <A-9> :tabn 9<CR>

Answer 3

I use

CTRL-J for next buffer

CTRL-K for previous buffer

CTRL-L for next tab

CTRL-H for previous tab

Here is the .vimrc configuration:

map <C-J> :bnext<CR>
map <C-K> :bprev<CR>
map <C-L> :tabn<CR>
map <C-H> :tabp<CR>

See http://syskall.com/my-biggest-vim-productivity-boost/

Answer 4

I use the basics - ':ls' + ':bn'/':bp' + ':b <part-of-name>'

Answer 5

To list and switch between buffers I use:

nnoremap <Leader>l :ls<CR>:b<space>

To switch between buffers:

map <Leader>n :bn<CR>
map <Leader>p :bp<CR>

Answer 6

I've recently gone more minimalistic.

To cycle buffers I use ]b and [b from unimpaired: https://github.com/tpope/vim-unimpaired

To jump straight to an open buffer just use Vim's tab completion with :b. A few letters is enough to get to any open buffer with a tab or two.

Similarly to open buffers I use :e with relative paths and tab complete.

I also use :ls occasionally to see what buffers I have open (and to check their modified status).

To get rid of a buffer I use :bw to wipe the buffer. I usually make a temporary split and change buffers to preserve my layout though since :bw also closes the active window.

All the minibuf things I tried just ended up annoying me, and I don't want some smart-matching thing opening random files for me. If I really need to browse for something I use NERDtree (:e .).

IDK, Lately I also dropped Yankring (because it screws up xp) and started using registers, and I recently decided the f/t movements are the greatest thing ever...