> After spending a frustrating evening that stretched into the night, I
> had one of those moments of revelation that I have a feeling all Vim
> users get now and again.
>
> In this case it was breaking from my previous text editor way of
> thinking to suddenly "get" the vim way of file browsing. Hardened Vim
> users will not see it as anything new as it's really about the
> using :Ex while editing rather than assigning specific windows the
> role of file browser.
>
> Anyway, since it really needed an image or two, I wrote it up here...
>
> http://www.ingredients.com.au/nick/2006/06/21/file-browsing-in-vim/
>
> I hope that it will help others in the same boat.
I know you're probably sick of suggestions by now, but I have also spent
a lot of time in the same boat as you. In the end, I determined that
the built-in file browser for vim (even in vim 7) doesn't work very well
as a "file browser window" like you displayed in your blog.
For me, a very good solution to your needs it the Project plugin:
<http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=69>
There's a slight learning curve to use it, but it has the following
advantages:
* You don't have to type some funky command to open a file in the "edit"
window. You just move your cursor over the file name and hit return.
* You can explicitly specify the pwd of a list of files, even if those
files are in different directories. This can be very useful.
* You can define which files are present in the Project window in an
arbitrary way.
* This basically gives you a project-based view of your files, similar
to what you would see in an IDE like Eclipse.
* Just trust me when I say that it's a terribly useful and robust plugin
enables you to do exactly what you want :)
If you would like to see a screenshot of what my setup looks like, then
check out the following:
* <http://static.flickr.com/61/171982939_c636495ffc.jpg?v=0>
Good luck, and have fun learning about what you can do with Vim.
Tom Purl
