"More than two buffers in diff mode" - How do you turn off diff on the buffers?

Question

I did :vert diffsplit file1.txt, then realized I didn't want to diff it but a different file. So I closed one window with :q and turned off the diff highlighting with :diffoff.

I then tried :vert diffsplit file2.txt, but now if I try to dp or do to put/get changes, I get the E101: More than two buffers in diff mode, don't know which one to use error.

How do I avoid this, or what am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

Note the buffer number which you want to put/get the changes by :ls command.

Then prefix your put/get command with the buffer number of your choice, e.g. 2dp.

Source: Vimdiff with multiple buffers.

Answer 2

You should switch off diff mode for the unwanted buffer with :diffoff before quitting it with :q. Depending on your settings (e.g. :set hidden), the buffer will persist in the buffer list (:ls), and Vim will consider it when doing a diff.

A :bufdo diffoff should turn off diff for all existing buffers, though I usually just quit Vim and relaunch it with vimdiff ... should such a situation arise.