diff --git a/MMBackend.m b/MMBackend.m
index 54afef76b8..a58f43a925 100644
--- a/MMBackend.m
+++ b/MMBackend.m
@@ -1142,7 +1142,9 @@ static int specialKeyToNSKey(int key);
         // HACK!  I'm not sure how to get Vim to open a list of files in tabs,
         // so instead I create a ':tab drop' command with all the files to open
         // and execute it.
-        NSMutableString *cmd = [NSMutableString stringWithString:@":tab drop"];
+        NSMutableString *cmd = (n > 1)
+                ? [NSMutableString stringWithString:@":tab drop"]
+                : [NSMutableString stringWithString:@":drop"];
 
         const void *end = [data bytes] + [data length];
         int i;