How to prevent left/right arrow from cycling through completion candidates on the :cmdline?

Question

Say I have 4 files in current directory:

file-bar-01.txt
file-bar-02.txt
file-foo-01.txt
file-foo-02.txt

Next, I want to save current buffer to a new file file-foo-03.txt. So I enter :w f and then press Tab for a few times until the cmdline becomes :w file-foo-01.txt:

Then, I want to use ← to move cursor to 1 and change it to 3. But if I press ← it'll behave like Shift-Tab and the previous file file-bar-02.txt is selected and the cmdline becomes :w file-bar-02.txt:

So how can I ask ← and → to move cursor rather than cycle through the file completion candidates?

Answer 1

Use Ctrl-Y (as a mnemotechnic reminder I think of it as Ctrl-"Yes" to validate the selection)

When you use Ctrl-Y in a selection menu it chooses the selection but does not launch the command line

After the filename that pleases you most is selected/validated, you can now edit the filename using Left and Right and change it to your taste

Answer 2

Found the answer in :help wildmenu:

While the menu is active these keys have special meanings:

• CTRL-Y - accept the currently selected match and stop completion.
• CTRL-E - end completion, go back to what was there before selecting a match.
• Left / Right - select previous/next match (like CTRL-P / CTRL-N)
• Down - in filename/menu name completion: move into a subdirectory or submenu.
• CR - in menu completion, when the cursor is just after a dot: move into a submenu.
• Up - in filename/menu name completion: move up into parent directory or parent menu.

If you want Left and Right to move the cursor instead of selecting a different match, use this:

  :cnoremap <Left>  <Space><BS><Left>
  :cnoremap <Right> <Space><BS><Right>