I *think* you are looking for `:help :keepalt`: $ vim a b current buffer is 'a', no alternate file :b# current is 'b', alt is 'a' :b# current is 'a', alt is 'b' :b# current is 'b', alt is 'a' :keepalt e c current is 'c', alt is still 'a' :bd current is 'b', alt is 'a' :b# current is 'a', alt is 'b'