How do I execute normal commands from an autocmd?

Question

I am trying to do some window management in VIM where I create certain windows such as two or three vertical splits with different sizes.

At the moment, I only know how to change panes with <C-w>h/j/k/l

How am I meant to tell my ~/.vimrc to automatically go to the pane to the right?

I have tried autocmd VimEnter * <C-w>l but that does not do anything.

Answer 1

If you want to run commands as if you had typed keys automatically when you start vim, you'll need to use the normal command (to run a normal mode command).

:norm[al][!] {commands}                 *:norm* *:normal*
            Execute Normal mode commands {commands}.  This makes
            it possible to execute Normal mode commands typed on
            the command-line.  {commands} are executed like they
            are typed.  For undo all commands are undone together.
            Execution stops when an error is encountered.

So you'd need autocmd VimEnter * normal <C-w>l. However, vim is really dumb about the <C-w> family of commands. For example this answer of mine. I still don't know why this happens, I just know it's a quirk of vimscript.

Thankfully, there's an easy way around this:

:[count]winc[md] {arg}
        Like executing CTRL-W [count] {arg}.  Example: >
            :wincmd j
<       Moves to the window below the current one.
        This command is useful when a Normal mode cannot be used (for
        the |CursorHold| autocommand event).  Or when a Normal mode
        command is inconvenient.
        The count can also be a window number.  Example: >
            :exe nr . "wincmd w"
<       This goes to window "nr".

So you should be able to do what you want with autocmd VimEnter * wincmd l. Although this might not do very much, since typically there would only be one split open when you open up vim for the first time.