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I’m trying to use vim’s compl-filename feature (Ctrl-XCtrl-F) to complete paths in INSERT mode, but I can’t work out how to traverse into directories without (temporarily) ending the completion mode:

Let’s say I want to complete the path /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifup.

I would like to be able to do something like:

/eCtrl-XCtrl-F
/etc/
/etc/sysCtrl-F
/etc/sysconfig/
/etc/sysconfig/netCtrl-F
/etc/sysconfig/netconsoleCtrl-N
/etc/sysconfig/networkCtrl-N
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifupCtrl-Y
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifup

The issue is, as soon as I start typing* after a path match (like /etc/), it ends file name completion. I would like it to stay in file name completion, so that I can still use Ctrl-F, Ctrl-N, etc. Since it ends completion, I have to type Ctrl-XCtrl-F again to restart it, and the helpful completion popup menu disappears in the meantime.

Is there an option I can set to change this?

* By ‘typing’ here, I am referring to characters in 'isfname' -- of course, typing other characters (like space or punctuation) should not continue file name completion.

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4 Answers 4

Reset to default
5

I'm not sure exactly what you're saying, but you can just press Ctrl-XCtrl-F again on a directory while you're in the completion menu to expand it. You don't have to close out of the menu first. I just keep Ctrl held down and tap xf to traverse a directory, n and p to move up and down and w to go back up.

If you don't use :h i_CTRL-F then you could remap it. For example,

inoremap <C-f> <C-x><C-f>
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4 Comments

If I type ^XF immediately after completing one part of the path (ending with a /), I might have to scroll through many paths to find the one I want, without being able to restrict the options by typing extra characters. ^XFP will at least let me type extra characters, but is clunky and just shouldn't be necessary.
@codebeard You shouldn't ever need to type ^XFP. If you start typing /et then you can hit ^XF. Then type X^XF (for example) to get to /etc/X11/. You can just start typing while you're in the menu without using ^P. It's quite possible I'm biased here, but I can really imagine a better way to do it. You could inoremap <Tab> <C-x><C-f> if you want it to behave like bash completion.
Except that as soon as I type the 'X' here, I lose the popup menu, which is probably the goal of using file name completion in the first place -- I rarely use it to save typing (I can type a 30 character path name in less time than it takes to mess around with key combinations), but I use it when I can't remember what path I was looking for. Also, inoremap <Tab> ... is probably unwise given the importance of the <Tab> key in editing most files.
@codebeard Oops, I meant I can't imagine a better way to do it. There might be a plugin out there that puts you back into file completion mode until you hit <Space> to end it. Hope you find something that works well for you.
2

Simple remap would be

inoremap / /<C-x><C-f>

So when you type slash(/) in insert mode you will get that auto completion popup :)

Place it in your .vimrc file (for vim) or in init.vim (for neovim)

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0

Vim doesn't do auto-completion.

For that, you'll need a dedicated plugin like AutoComplPop or NeoComplCache

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0

Please use insert "i" first before using cntr+x+f. I was in similar situation. :)

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1 Comment

? didnt help here. You mean to be in insert-mode?

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