Can vim set the path relative to its current working directory?

Question

I use the :find command to find files in vim. My path is set like so:

set path=$PWD/**

This works well until I use :Explore and the c mapping to update the CWD at which point the PWD and CWD are no longer the same. I need to set the path again after each directory change. Does anyone have a solution to this problem?

P.S.

No plugins allowed =p

Answer 1

You can use the following command to update your 'path' option to the CWD.

let &path = getcwd() . '/**'

Unfortunately, there's no event for directory changes to hook into. You could either:

1. Override the mentioned c mapping in the netrw windows, with :autocmd FileType netrw nnoremap <buffer> c ...
2. Hook into some events that fire frequently, e.g. :autocmd WinEnter,CursorHold ... and invoke the above command then.

Answer 2

I think you need the autochdir to set on:

'autochdir' 'acd'   boolean (default off)
            global
            {not in Vi}
            {only available when compiled with it, use
            exists("+autochdir") to check}
    When on, Vim will change the current working directory whenever you
    open a file, switch buffers, delete a buffer or open/close a window.
    It will change to the directory containing the file which was opened
    or selected.
    This option is provided for backward compatibility with the Vim
    released with Sun ONE Studio 4 Enterprise Edition.
    Note: When this option is on some plugins may not work.

But this is buggy if you using netrw or fugitive for example.