wq writes the current file and closes the current window (which quits vim if you happen to be on the last window). The command to close the current buffer is :b

wq writes the current file and closes the current window (which quits vim if you happen to be on the last window). The command to close the current buffer is :bd(elete). If you want to return to the previous file without closing the new file, you can just use :bp(rev) so that the new file also stays in memory. Relevant man page is available at :help buffers. >Also curious if there is a way to open the file as a new split screen rather than replacing the entire window? CTRL-W f Another remark: vim's shortcuts are organized in a way that you are often able to guess what the correct shortcut should be. CTRL-W is the common prefix for commands regarding split windows CTRL-W v/s for splits, CTRL-W CTRL-W cycle through windows. So naturally you can guess that CTRL-W f should be open file in split and CTRL-W ] should be jump to definition in split.