Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!mrspoc!itkin
From: itkin@mrspoc.Transact.COM (Steven M. List)
Newsgroups: comp.editors
Subject: Re: Vi question
Message-ID: <1989Oct17.203042.14712@mrspoc.Transact.COM>
Date: 17 Oct 89 20:30:42 GMT
References: <1494@bnlux0.bnl.gov>
Reply-To: itkin@guinan.Transact.COM
Organization: Transact Software, Inc.
Lines: 34

como@max.bnl.gov (Andrew T. Como) writes:
>	I have a question about "vi"...If you are editing
>a file and want to look at another file (just for reference)
>is there a way?

Yup - you can "edit" an alternate file with ":e filename".

>	Also how can I keep switching from file1 to file2 without
>"setting autowrite".

This is what's known as "editing an alternate file".  The last file
you edited in this VI session is known as "#".  Thus, if you are
editing file1 and file2:

vi file1 file2
:n
:e #
:e #

will first bring up file1, switch to file2, then switch back to file1.
Each time you type ":e #" it switches to the last file you were editing.

I define a macro in my .exrc for this:

	map ^A :e #^M

since I do it so often.  Since ^A is right by the little finger of
my left hand, it's awfully easy to use.
-- 
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 :                Steven List @ Transact Software, Inc. :^>~                  :
 :           Chairman, Unify User Group of Northern California                :
 :     {apple,coherent,limbo,mips,pyramid,ubvax}!itkin@guinan.Transact.COM    :