Vim and NERD Tree extension – adding a file

nerdtreevim

When using the vim editor with the NERDTree plugin to navigate through the tree of your project, is there an easy way to create a new source code file under the currently highlighted directory?

Currently I go into my shell, add the file and then refresh the tree. There must be a better way.

Best Answer

Activate the NERDTree and navigate to the directory in which the new file should live. Then press m to bring up the NERDTree Filesystem Menu and choose a for "add child node". Then simply enter the file's (or directory's name) and you're done.

Related Solutions

Tab key == 4 spaces and auto-indent after curly braces in Vim

As has been pointed out in a couple of other answers, the preferred method now is NOT to use smartindent, but instead use the following (in your .vimrc):

filetype plugin indent on
" show existing tab with 4 spaces width
set tabstop=4
" when indenting with '>', use 4 spaces width
set shiftwidth=4
" On pressing tab, insert 4 spaces
set expandtab

In your [.vimrc:][1] file:
set smartindent set tabstop=4 set shiftwidth=4 set expandtab

The help files take a bit of time to get used to, but the more you read, the better Vim gets:

:help smartindent

Even better, you can embed these settings in your source for portability:

:help auto-setting

To see your current settings:

:set all

As graywh points out in the comments, smartindent has been replaced by cindent which "Works more cleverly", although still mainly for languages with C-like syntax:

:help C-indenting

Differences between Emacs and Vim

(the text below is my opinion, it should not be taken as fact or an insult)

With Emacs you are expected to have it open 24/7 and live inside the program, almost everything you do can be done from there. You write your own extensions, use it for note-taking, organization, games, programming, shell access, file access, listening to music, web browsing. It takes weeks and weeks till you will be happy with it and then you will learn new stuff all the time. You will be annoyed when you don't have access to it and constantly change your config. You won't be able to use other peoples emacs versions easily and it won't just be installed. It uses Lisp, which is great. You can make it into anything you want it to be. (anything, at all)

With Vim, it's almost always pre-installed. It's fast. You open up a file do a quick edit and then quit. You can work with the basic setup if you are on someone else's machine. It's not quite so editable, but it's still far better than most text editors. It recognizes that most of the time you are reading/editing not typing and makes that portion faster. You don't suffer from emacs pinkie. It's not so infuriating. It's easier to learn.

Even though I use Emacs all day every day (and love it) unless you intend to spend a lot of time in the program you choose I would pick vim

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Tab key == 4 spaces and auto-indent after curly braces in Vim

Differences between Emacs and Vim

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