How do I temporarily maximize a split window to full height or width?

Explanation

When working with multiple splits, you sometimes need to focus on one window temporarily without closing the others. <C-w>_ maximizes the current window's height (in horizontal splits), and <C-w>| maximizes its width (in vertical splits). The other windows shrink to a single line or column but remain open, so you can restore them with <C-w>=.

How it works

• <C-w>_ — sets the current window height to the maximum available, shrinking all other horizontal splits to one line each
• <C-w>| — sets the current window width to the maximum available, shrinking all other vertical splits to one column each
• <C-w>= — equalizes all window sizes again when you are done focusing
• Both commands accept a count: 10<C-w>_ sets the window height to exactly 10 lines

Example

You have three horizontal splits open and need to focus on the middle one:

" Move to the middle window
<C-w>j

" Maximize its height
<C-w>_

" The other two windows collapse to single status lines
" When done, restore equal sizes:
<C-w>=

Tips

• Combine both for a "zoom" effect: <C-w>_<C-w>| maximizes the current window in both dimensions
• Use a count prefix with these commands to set an exact size rather than maximizing: 30<C-w>_ sets height to 30 lines
• Pair with <C-w>= to quickly toggle between focused and balanced layouts
• For a more permanent zoom, consider :tab split to open the current buffer in a new tab, then :tabclose when done