~ / windows / tabslesson 5/5

Tab pages: :tabe, gt, gT, <C-w>T

Keep whole layouts on separate tab pages and flip between them.

?how it works

A tab page holds a whole layout of windows. Use tabs for separate jobs: code in one, notes in another, a config you keep checking in a third. They are not like browser tabs with one file each, and any buffer can show up in any tab.

:tabe {file} (:tabedit) opens a new tab page right after the current one, showing that file; :tabnew opens one on an empty buffer. Once there are two or more tabs, a tab line appears at the top.

gt goes to the next tab and gT to the previous one, and both wrap around at the ends. With a count, 3gt jumps to tab 3 (but 3gT goes back three tabs).

<C-w>T moves the current window out into a new tab of its own. To tidy up, :tabc closes the current tab (:tabc 2 closes tab 2), :tabo closes all the other tabs, and :tabm {N} moves the current tab after tab N (:tabm 0 makes it the first, a plain :tabm the last). Closing the last window in a tab, with :q or <C-w>c, closes the tab too.

⌨keys

`:tabe {file}`	open {file} in a new tab after the current one
`:tabnew`	open a new tab with an empty buffer
`gt`	next tab (wraps around); also :tabn
`gT`	previous tab (wraps around); also :tabp
`{N}gt`	go to tab N
`<C-w>T`	move the current window into a new tab
`:tabc`	close the current tab (:tabc N closes tab N)
`:tabo`	close all other tabs
`:tabm {N}`	move this tab after tab N (0 = first, none = last)

4 drills

Open a file in a new tab: :tabe: Open the file named in the goal in a new tab page with :tabe {file}.
Switch tabs: gt, gT and {N}gt: Go to the tab page shown in the goal with as few keys as you can, using gt, gT or a count before gt.
Give a window its own tab: <C-w>T: Move the current window out into a new tab page.
Tidy up: :tabo, :tabc and :tabm: Tidy the tab pages so they match the goal, using the tab ex commands.

The drill editor loads in your browser.