bug#69987: 28.2; *mailcap shell* not in buffer list

[Stephen Berman via "Bug reports for GNU Emacs, the Swiss army knife of text editors" <bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>]

On Sun, 24 Mar 2024 23:25:50 +0100 Tomas Hlavaty <tom@logand.com> wrote:

> Hi Eli,
>
> thanks for the quick reply.
>
>> Can you show a recipe, preferably starting from "emacs -Q"?  Or at
>> least explain how you get to this *mailcap shell* buffer?
>
> $ emacs -Q --eval='(eww
> "https://dq4n3btxmr8c9.cloudfront.net/files/oj7hht/Liberties_Rule_Of_Law_Report_2024_FULL.pdf")'
>
> then C-x 1 to hide the *mailcal shell* buffer
>
> then C-x C-b to show *Buffer List*
>
>> A stab in the dark: if the buffer's name is actually " *mailcap shell*",
>> i.e. it begins with a space,
>
> you are right, fascinating
>
>> then you can switch to it by typing its name at the "C-x b" prompt.
>
> this works, thank you!
>
> although not very discoverable
>
> Where could I learn more about such buffer name conventions?

In the Emacs user's manual (info "(emacs) List Buffers"):

   21.2 Listing Existing Buffers
   =============================
   
   ‘C-x C-b’
        List the existing buffers (‘list-buffers’).
   [...]
      ‘list-buffers’ omits buffers whose names begin with a space, unless
   they visit files: such buffers are used internally by Emacs.

With `M-x ibuffer' you get a table of all buffers, including those
beginning with a space, by typing `C-u g' in the *Ibuffer* buffer.

Steve Berman