How do I open a blank new file in a split in Vim?

Question

Must be something super obvious, but I can't figure out, and Google is not helping out either.

score 177 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 18 '10 at 13:19

177

:help new
:help vnew

should bring you on course.

you will have a new buffer then, obviously. that buffer becomes a file only if you :w it to the disk.

answered Nov 18 '10 at 13:19

akira

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And `:set splitright` puts the new split on the right. Awesome, thanks – hakanensari Nov 18 '10 at 13:56
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Also `:set splitbelow` is the corresponding command to make the new split appear on the bottom when splitting horizontally. – dsaxton Apr 22 '16 at 14:10

g19fanatic · Answer 2 · 2017-08-04T11:43:52.723

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another way is to do a <CTRL + W> n in normal mode. This will create a new split.

EDIT:

You can also do <CTRL + W> v in normal mode to create a vertical split (the previous one will do a horizontal split.

And just to be complete, you move to the different splits by doing <CTRL + W> <direction> with the direction being any h, j, k, or l

To close a buffer, do <CTRL + W> q

edited Aug 04 '17 at 11:43

answered Nov 22 '10 at 15:32

g19fanatic

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fyi: these open the current buffer in a new split, not a new file in a new split. – Emile 81 May 10 '17 at 08:44
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For me, `Ctrl+w n` opens a split with a new buffer, but `Ctrl+w v` just splits the current buffer. Strange. – c24w Aug 04 '17 at 08:46
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if you're looking to create a vertical split with a new file, check out this question/answer https://vi.stackexchange.com/questions/2811/vertical-equivalent-of-controlw-n – g19fanatic Aug 04 '17 at 11:42
note that `:split ` would open/edit a file in splitwindow. – Louis Go Nov 25 '20 at 01:31

score 4 · Answer 3 · edited Oct 03 '16 at 23:11

vim myfile.txt  # open one file in one window
:buffers        " shows one buffer with "myfile.txt" in it
:sp             " create split window; we now have one buffer with two windows.
:e newfile.txt  " create new buffer with new filename in first window
:buffers        " shows two buffers (myfile.txt & newfile.txt), each in own window

This is a good link: http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Easier_buffer_switching

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 18 '10 at 13:44

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I used the Vim menu under File - Split Open. You will have to give a name for your new blank file though.

answered Nov 18 '10 at 13:44

Rolnik

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Vim has a menu? – frabjous Nov 18 '10 at 16:23
gvim or macvim are able to display a menu, yes. what did you expect? :) – akira Nov 18 '10 at 16:26
It seems that :sp also can work -- for those not using the gvim version. – Rolnik Nov 18 '10 at 18:58

How do I open a blank new file in a split in Vim?

4 Answers4