How do I switch buffer with gVim?

Question

If I create multiple buffers on gVim (gnome interface for vim), how do I switch buffer ? Vim doc says it's F8 key but it doesn't work...

Any idea ?

Answer 1

Switching buffers is done in general with :bp[revious] and :bn[ext] (the part in the brackets being optional). If you don't feel like typing that every time, you can map it to some key, or key combination.

nnoremap <F1> :bp<cr>
nnoremap <F2> :bn<cr>

(feel free to modify to your needs)

If you're thinking about switching between splits, that is done with <C-W> some key, depending on where you want to go. They're all really nicely described in help CTRL-W, but the most commonly used are V and S for splitting, and then C-W C-W (twice) for switching between open splits.

Answer 2

It depends on how you create those multiple buffers. If they are in multiple windows, then you can switch between windows with Ctrl-W Ctrl-W and related commands. See

:help window-move-cursor

If the bvffers are in multiple tabs, you can switch between tabs with gt and related commands. See

:help gt

Using :helpgrep f8 and :helpgrep F8, I don't find any mention in the Vim docs of F8 being used to switch buffers. What Vim docs are you referring to?