Sometimes I start Vim by pointing it at a directory, but I'm not certain yet which file I'll need to change, so I end up looking through several files.
Is there a way to make the file browser open a selected file into a new buffer so that the file browser is still available without having to reopen it with :e path/to/directory ?
I'm not sure if you can have it open in a new buffer, but you can have it open in a new split using o or v for a horizontal or vertical split respectively.
You could also preview the file using p which runs
:pedit <fname>
where<fname>
is the file under the cursor. This opens a new split window but doesn't change the cursor focus or position. You can close this window with:pclose
or simply:pc
.See
:help netrw-browse-maps
for more information.This is not strictly speaking what you are asking for, but I think it's equivalent:
If you open a file from the file browser you can use CTRL-^ (and/or CTRL-6 ?) to return to the browser. This results in the file open in one buffer and the file browser open at the directory you started in.
Hope it helps...