Can I open a file in a new tab with ctrl + return in NERDTree?

Question

In my current environment, I open a file with return key in NERDTree, but sometimes I want to open it in a new tab. That being said, there is still more case where I want to open a file in the current buffer, so I don't like to swap it.

So I rather want to open it in a new tab with a separate key, possibly ctrl + return. Is it possible in NERDTree?

Answer 1

It's right there in the NERDTree help. Like it says at the top of the NERDTree window: Press ? for help

" File node mappings~
" double-click,<CR>,o: open in prev window
" t: open in new tab
" T: open in new tab silently

Answer 2

B Layer already answered how to open a file in a new tab. That just leaves: Is it possible with <Ctrl-Enter>. The short answer is: No.

To check if a key or key-combination is mappable, do the following. Start Vim and change into insert mode. Then hit Ctrl-V followed by the key/key-kombination you plan to map.

If you try that with Ctrl-Enter the resulting input in Vim will be ^M (one character) usually displayed in light blue (depends on colorscheme). Now do the same with just Enter. The result is the same ^M as above.

Conclusion: Vim can't distinguish between Ctrl-Enter and Enter, so Ctrl-Enter can't be mapped.

Answer 3

Ctrl-Return, as @Ralf said, you cannot. But other ways yes. Add this to ~/.vimrc:

" in NERDTree, to open-silently file in newtab with Enter, instead of default pressing "T" (same for not silently with Tab instead of t) 
let NERDTreeMapOpenInTab='<TAB>'
let NERDTreeMapOpenInTabSilent='<ENTER>'

Sources:

• https://stackoverflow.com/a/13344903/9391770

• https://stackoverflow.com/a/8684124/9391770