On RedHat Linux distributions, you may need to install the vim-enhanced package and use "vim" instead of "vi" for some functionality.
When opening files in vim (from the terminal prompt), vim accepts a -p/-o/-O parameter to open files in separate tabs or windows.
vim -o file1.txt file2.txt
# -o for separate windows (like :split followed by the filename, or :sp for short)
# -O for separate windows split vertically (like :vsplit followed by the filename, or :vsp/:vs for short)
# -p for separate tabs
# Also see ":set splitright"
Once within vim, the following are the commands to move betweeb windows
Ctrl + W, S/s - Horizontal split Ctrl + W, v - Vertical split Ctrl + W, q - Close window Ctrl + W, Ctrl + W - Next window Ctrl + W, j/k/h/l - Go to down/up/left/right window Ctrl + W, t/b - Go to first (top-left) or last (bottom-right) window Ctrl + W, Up/Down/Left/Right - Go to up/down/left/right window g, t/T - Go to next/prev tab (Alse see ":tabnext", ":tabprevious") 2/3/4/5/..., g, t - Move to tab by number (Also see ":tablast", or short ":tabl")