I'm currently running Emacs master branch (I just pulled and rebuilt a few minutes ago). I think it would be nice if IELM let you use the read-symbol shorthands you first defined in the buffer you now set as your IELM working buffer. For example, say I edit /tmp/example.el, in the buffer "example.el". It contains the following: (symbol-name 't-foo) ;; Local Variables: ;; read-symbol-shorthands: (("t-" . "tmp-")) ;; End: If I evaluate the call to symbol-name, I get "tmp-foo", which is expected. Now, let's say I open IELM, and set my working buffer to "example.el". I can evaluate read-symbol-shorthands: ELISP> read-symbol-shorthands (("t-" . "tmp-")) This makes sense, since these are the shorthands for the working buffer. But I can't actually use them! For example, if I evaluate (symbol-name 't-foo) in the IELM session, I get "t-foo". Unlike, say, in the minibuffer, the shorthand isn't expanded in this context. Ideally, the shorthand should be expanded, and I should be able to get completion for things that use shorthands, just as I would in the original buffer. What do folks think here? - Brandon