how to close a single window by mentioning filename opened in that window

Question

I want to close a window by mentioning window name in command line.

For example, let's assume I have opened 1.c, 2.c and 3.c in different windows in vim. Now i'm in 2.c and i want to close 3.c. Is there a way i can close it like e.g. :close 3.c?

Answer 1

You need to use :bdelete 3.c or in short form :bd 3.c

There are a couple of terms you need to understand:

A buffer is the in-memory text of a file.
A window is a viewport on a buffer.
A tab page is a collection of windows.

So, what you're trying to do is close a buffer, not a window. The available commands to manipulate buffers are

• :buffers or :ls or :files : See the list of opened buffers
• :badd : Add a file to the buffer list
• :bdelete : Remove buffer from the buffer list
• :bwipeout : Like :bdelete, but really delete the buffer. And many more. You can find all about them from :help windows.txt