I don't have any plugins for this stuff. I just do: nnoremap <Leader>b :buffers<CR>:buffer<Space> nnoremap <Leader>n :bn<CR> nnoremap <Leader>p :bp

I don't have any plugins for this stuff. I just do: nnoremap <Leader>b :buffers<CR>:buffer<Space> nnoremap <Leader>n :bn<CR> nnoremap <Leader>p :bp<CR> My <Leader> is space. So "space+b" opens up my buffers, I type a few letters that match a file and Tab to autocomplete it, then press enter to open it. I also use ctrl+shift+6 to quickly switch between the 2 most recent buffers. So I'd give that a shot. If that doesn't work for you, try just ":tabe <file>" for your three files, then ctrl+pageup, ctrl+pagedown (or gt, gT) to quickly switch between them.