vim “modifiable” is off

Question

Trying to create a new file with nerd tree. I hit the a key to create a new file and i get the message:

E21: Cannot make changes, \'Modifiable\' is of

Answer 1

:set ma

which is short for

:set modifiable

will make a buffer modifiable. And

:set noma

does the opposite.

Answer 2

If you want to happen a file in NERDTree, you need to hit "m" (for menu) then "a". Simply entering "a" in NERDTree buffer will be interpreted as "modify NERDTree buffer". Adding :ma will make NERDTree buffer modifiable, but this wont create new files for you, it will lead to inconsistent info between what NERDTree display and your actual file hierarchy.

Answer 3

In case anyone else happens to google to this, check that you're not trying to open a directory in vim like I just was (d'oh)

Answer 4

For me, I had stashed changes which included a directory I was then trying to create a file in that dir I had just stashed. NERDTree was still showing the pre-stashed tree with that dir. Using m on a dir that does not exist produced the modifiable error. I should have refreshed the tree with r to see the dir was no longer there and why it could not be modified.

Answer 5

This worked for me:

:set buftype=
:w

Answer 6

I am not familiar with NerdTree but I guess that by typing a into a nerdtree view, it is interpreted as " I want to append something in the nerdtree buffer", and that buffer is not modifiable.

You can check that answer vim and NERD Tree extension - adding a file which explains how to add a file with Nerdtree.