Traversing directories with vim file name completion in insert mode (Ctrl-X Ctrl-F)

Question

I’m trying to use vim’s compl-filename feature (Ctrl-XCtrl-F) to complete paths in INSERT mode, but I can’t work out how to traverse into directories without (temporarily) ending the completion mode:

Let’s say I want to complete the path /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifup.

I would like to be able to do something like:

/eCtrl-XCtrl-F
/etc/
/etc/sysCtrl-F
/etc/sysconfig/
/etc/sysconfig/netCtrl-F
/etc/sysconfig/netconsoleCtrl-N
/etc/sysconfig/networkCtrl-N
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifupCtrl-Y
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifup

The issue is, as soon as I start typing* after a path match (like /etc/), it ends file name completion. I would like it to stay in file name completion, so that I can still use Ctrl-F, Ctrl-N, etc. Since it ends completion, I have to type Ctrl-XCtrl-F again to restart it, and the helpful completion popup menu disappears in the meantime.

Is there an option I can set to change this?

* By ‘typing’ here, I am referring to characters in 'isfname' -- of course, typing other characters (like space or punctuation) should not continue file name completion.

Answer 1

I'm not sure exactly what you're saying, but you can just press Ctrl-XCtrl-F again on a directory while you're in the completion menu to expand it. You don't have to close out of the menu first. I just keep Ctrl held down and tap xf to traverse a directory, n and p to move up and down and w to go back up.

If you don't use :h i_CTRL-F then you could remap it. For example,

inoremap <C-f> <C-x><C-f>