How to make Vim open an already opened file where I ask it to?

Question

Vim has an annoying behavior that I can't seem to condense enough to ask a search engine for a solution:

Say I have 2 windows open in tab 1, displaying file_a and file_b, and 1 open window in tab page 2, containing file_c. While in tab page 1, in the window containing file_b, I run the command

:e /path/to/file_c

What I want to happen is to open file_c in the current tab page 1 window, the one with file_b. What actually happens is that it switches me to tab page 2, which already contains file_c.

Apparently some people consider this a feature, but it's a pain to have to switch to tab page 2, close the file_c window, go back to tab page 1, and reopen it again. In other words it isn't my intention to just open file_c, I want to open file_c next to file_a.

How can I disable this "help" and get Vim to open a file where I tell it to?

EDIT: Changed "window" & "pane" to "tab" & "window", which seems to be the Vim terminology.

What do you mean by window and pane? Is window a Vim window, or a Vim tab page, or a window manager window? By pane I presume that you mean a Vim window, is this true? — AlexP
– AlexP, Commented Feb 12, 2017 at 2:58
@AlexP, By window I mean a Vim tab page. By pane, I mean the divisions of a tab. — Mori
– Mori, Commented Feb 12, 2017 at 3:39
Vim has garbage terminology. "tab" and "split" are easier to understand, and "buffers" if you're describing multiple files open in the same tab or split, where only one is visible. — Andy Ray
– Andy Ray, Commented Feb 12, 2017 at 3:49
Please edit your question to be coherent. Include a minimum number of steps to get Vim into the state you're in. If I have one tab with file_a and file_b in splits, and another tab with file_c, and I do :e file_c while in the first tab, file_c appears on the first tab and i am not sent to the second tab. You may have a plugin that's causing this behavior, or you may not be asking a coherent question. — Andy Ray
– Andy Ray, Commented Feb 12, 2017 at 3:55
@AndyRay: Vim has coherent terminology. A buffer is a chunk of text, which may be or not be associated with a file. A window is a view into a buffer; not all buffers have associated windows, and a buffer can be shown in more than one window. But yes, I agree, the original question describes unusual behavior. Normally, :edit will load the file into the current window even if it is already shown in another window. — AlexP
– AlexP, Commented Feb 12, 2017 at 4:03

Andy Ray · Accepted Answer · 2017-02-12 04:07:45Z

2

+50

This is not the default behavior of Vim. You have a plugin or a configuration setting in your .vimrc causing this. You can quickly test things like this by running vim at the command line with no plugins:

$ vim -u NONE

answered Feb 12, 2017 at 4:07

Andy Ray

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