How do I run a command on the file name under the cursor

Question

I like the functionality of gf but for certain files I would like to run some (non-Vim) code on the file prior to displaying it in my window. Is there a way to capture the filename under the cursor so it can be used in a shortcut?

For example, I want to create a shortcut that would run <custom_unix_script> <file> (where is under the cursor) and display those results in a new buffer or tab.

Answer 1

In addition to @Luc Hermitte's answer of using expand(<cfile>), you can also use the :! command to run a shell command. You could do something like the following:

nnoremap gf :execute "!<custom_unix_script> " . expand(<cfile>)

• nnoremap: Creates a normal mode non-recursive mapping
• :execute: Allows us to build the command on the fly
• :!...: Runs the following command in your shell
• expand(<cfile>): Uses the file-like word under your cursor

Note that this will do this for ALL files. If you want to filter by certain files you'll need to get a little bit more fancy. I'd recommend calling a function and doing a conditional on the output of expand(<cfile>).

See :h expand, :h <cword>, :h execute, and :h !cmd for more info.

Answer 2

The filename under the cursor can be obtained with expand(<cfile>). From there you can do whatever you wish.

If you want more precisions, you'll need to provide us more precisions.