How do I dump output of an external command to a new buffer in Vim?

Question

:enew lets me create a new buffer and :.!<command> lets me dump the output of an external command to that buffer. Can I combine the two into a one liner?

Thanks.

Answer 1

'|' is used to chain commands together in vim. so

:enew | .! <command>

should do what you want

Answer 2

:.! actually pipes the current line through the external command, possibly losing the line. You may wish to use :r !<command>—Note the space before the !. I often use :0r !cmd so that the output is inserted at the start of the buffer.