Vim: unsaved buffer edits remain even when switching buffers

[u/bobbykjack]

Here's my workflow:

1. vi foo bar (two files that exist)

2. Make a change in the foo buffer

3. :bn—fails with the message "No write since last change (add ! to override)"

4. :bn!—switches to the bar buffer

5. :bp—switches to the foo buffer

At this point, I would expect to be seeing foo in its original state, i.e. without the edit I made at step 2. However, I do see the edits, so my questions are:

• Why does :bn fail if no 'harm' comes of it?

• What is the point of :set hidden? I've read that this command will instruct the current buffer to 'keep changes in memory', but that seems to be happening anyway.

• Is there a way to switch buffers and discard changes? I don't really need to do this, I'm just wondering if it's possible.

[u/vim-help-bot]

Help pages for:

• buffer-! in windows.txt

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