How to open multiple files and switch between them in nano text editor?

Question

In emacs, you can open new files with Ctrl+X, Ctrl+F

And go to the previous file with Ctrl+B, and go to the next file with Ctrl+N.

How to do this in nano text editor? While nano is launched, and then open new files, and how to switch between the opened files in the nano text editor?

Answer 1

Put "set multibuffer" into ~/.nanorc or start nano with -F. Toggle this inside nano with alt-F. You can now read files into their own buffer with ctrl-R.

Use alt-comma and alt-period to go forward and backward in the file list.

Answer 2

To switch between open files in nano

alt+. -- move forward one file

alt+, -- move back one file

Steps

Open as many files as you want by listing them as separate arguments to nano, like so:

nano file1.txt file2.log file3.c file4.js file5.py

The first file is opened, e.g. file1.txt. Use the keyboard shortcuts below to switch between the files.

alt+. -- move forward one file

alt+, -- move back one file

nano --version GNU nano, version 2.9.3

Answer 3

If you've already got nano open and you want to open a new file it's quite simple when you've figured out the keys...

• Ctrl+R to open the insert dialog
• EscF can be used to change the insert mode between current buffer and a new buffer
• Ctrl+X allows you to execute a command with the output going into the buffer
• Ctrl+T will open a simple browser to select a file

Answer 4

Steps:

1. Press Ctrl + r
2. Press Alt + f to open the file
3. Type the name of the file to open it
4. Press enter
5. Use alt + arrow keys to switch files

Answer 5

Building off of the other answers, here's my take on it:

Switch between open buffers with alt+left arrow and alt+right arrow. Nano will tell you which buffer you are in (the name of the file and the buffer number).

To open multiple files when you're starting up nano, do exactly what activedecay said (type such as nano file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt). Note you can also do such as nano *.txt to open all the txt files that are in the current directory, each in its own buffer.

To open a new and empty buffer after nano is already open, follow these steps:

1. Press ctrl+t
2. Press alt+f
3. Press enter

If you already have an open buffer, and want to open a file into a new buffer, do what Lenny's answer says:

1. Press Ctrl+r
2. Press alt+f (or press Esc and then press f)
3. Type the name of a single file to open in a new buffer
4. Press enter

As to how to how to open multiple buffers at once from already existing files when you're already in nano, I'm not sure, yet.

Ctrl+x closes the current buffer.

I tested these things on nano 5.5 in Termux 0.106 (and nano 6.3 on Termux 0.118.0) on Android 10, with a bluetooth keyboard. I mention the version because shortcuts in at least some previous versions, if not all of them, aren't the same.