SlickEdit User Guide

BUFFERS AND EDITOR WINDOWS
Switching Between Buffers or Windows
The method for switching the buffer or window with which you are working depends on whether you are
using a one-to-one relationship between buffers and files (see the introduction to Buffers and Editor
Windows). If you have selected One file per window, switching buffers and switching windows is the
same thing. If you have Multiple files share a window selected, then these are two very different
operations and you manipulate windows and buffers separately.
There are many styles and commands for switching between buffers and windows within the editor, and
we encourage you to try them out and pick the method that works best for you.
Using the mouse, you can switch between editor windows by clicking on the file tabs or by using the
Window menu items. By default, the active window will change when you switch to a specific file or buffer,
unless the active window is already displaying the buffer you select (see Linking to a Window below).
TIP For information about navigating within files, see Cursor Navigation.
Next Window Style
The default next window style is Smart Next Window. This style allows you to press Ctrl+Tab
(next_window command) to switch the focus between the two most frequently used open editor windows,
rather than always going to the next window. Press Ctrl+Shift+Tab (prev_window command) to switch
between all open editor windows. This style is similar to how Ctrl+Tab and Ctrl+Shift+Tab work in other
Windows MDI applications, like Visual Studio.
Smart Next Window is on by default (Tools > Options > Editing > Editor Windows > Smart next
window style). There are two alternatives to this behavior (note that all three options are mutually
exclusive):
• Reorder windows - If this option is selected, activating an existing window reinserts the window
after the current window. Neither Ctrl+Tab nor Ctrl+Shift+Tab reorders the windows. This option
is very good for switching between more than two files, but it is not the Windows standard (which
means you’re probably not used to it). It's similar to the way SlickEdit® reorders buffers.
• No window reordering - If this option is selected, newly opened windows are inserted after the
current window. Activating an existing window, pressing Ctrl+Tab, or pressing Ctrl+Shift+Tab
does not reorder windows. This option is best if you like to memorize the hot key numbers on the
Window menu (for example, Alt+W 1) because it attempts to keep the hot key numbers the same.
Buffer and Window Switching Commands
The following is a list of SlickEdit® commands that you can use to switch between buffers and windows:
• next_buff_tab/prev_buff_tab - Navigates through the buffer tabs (also called file tabs) in the
order they are displayed. next_buff_tab moves to the right and prev_buff_tab moves to the left.
Both circle around to the other end when you are on the last item. These commands are not bound
to keys by default.
• next_buffer/prev_buffer - Navigates through the buffers in the order they were last used. If you
are using multiple files per window, then you need to use this to cycle through the buffers
associated with a particular window. These commands are bound respectively to the menu items
Document > Next Buffer (Ctrl+N) and Document > Previous Buffer (Ctrl+P).
• forward/back - Same as next_buffer/prev_buffer. These commands are bound to the green
arrows on the Standard toolbar and the forward/back mouse buttons.
• next_window/prev_window - Moves between editor windows. If you are using the option One
file per window (on by default), then this is the same as next_buffer/prev_buffer. If you are
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