From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Luc Teirlinck Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Re: Documentation for custom-file - is not (load custom-file) needed? Date: Sun, 5 Dec 2004 18:24:22 -0600 (CST) Message-ID: <200412060024.iB60OMe14987@raven.dms.auburn.edu> References: <075b01c4d9a4$52799460$0200a8c0@sedrcw11488> <006701c4da59$e9c36de0$0200a8c0@sedrcw11488> NNTP-Posting-Host: deer.gmane.org X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1102292812 20201 80.91.229.6 (6 Dec 2004 00:26:52 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2004 00:26:52 +0000 (UTC) Cc: lennart.borgman.073@student.lu.se, emacs-devel@gnu.org Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Mon Dec 06 01:26:40 2004 Return-path: Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by deer.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1Cb6i7-00016J-00 for ; Mon, 06 Dec 2004 01:26:39 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.33) id 1Cb6rq-0000fR-8p for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Sun, 05 Dec 2004 19:36:42 -0500 Original-Received: from mailman by lists.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.33) id 1Cb6rY-0000fL-0a for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sun, 05 Dec 2004 19:36:24 -0500 Original-Received: from exim by lists.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.33) id 1Cb6rX-0000f5-G2 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sun, 05 Dec 2004 19:36:23 -0500 Original-Received: from [199.232.76.173] (helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.33) id 1Cb6rX-0000ev-Bp for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sun, 05 Dec 2004 19:36:23 -0500 Original-Received: from [131.204.53.104] (helo=manatee.dms.auburn.edu) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.34) id 1Cb6hV-0002gV-Gl; Sun, 05 Dec 2004 19:26:01 -0500 Original-Received: from raven.dms.auburn.edu (raven.dms.auburn.edu [131.204.53.29]) by manatee.dms.auburn.edu (8.12.10/8.12.10) with ESMTP id iB60Q0Fu022978; Sun, 5 Dec 2004 18:26:01 -0600 (CST) Original-Received: (from teirllm@localhost) by raven.dms.auburn.edu (8.11.7p1+Sun/8.11.7) id iB60OMe14987; Sun, 5 Dec 2004 18:24:22 -0600 (CST) X-Authentication-Warning: raven.dms.auburn.edu: teirllm set sender to teirllm@dms.auburn.edu using -f Original-To: rms@gnu.org In-reply-to: (message from Richard Stallman on Sun, 05 Dec 2004 16:52:07 -0500) X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: "Emacs development discussions." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Original-Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:30730 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.devel:30730 Richard Stallman wrote: The doc string for custom-file says "If you specify some other file, you need to explicitly load that file for the settings to take effect". Info however says "Emacs loads the file right after your `.emacs' if you did \not load it already". One of these must be wrong. I just looked at the code, and the latter is correct. So my previous doc change is not right. I will fix it. Unless I am completely missing something, it would appear that, unless some other (doc or code) fixes are made, problems remains for people trying to set `custom-file' through Custom, as Lennart pointed out before. Present docstring: (defcustom custom-file nil "File used for storing customization information. The default is nil, which means to use your init file as specified by `user-init-file'. When you change this variable, look in the previous custom file \(usually your init file) for the forms `(custom-set-variables ...)' and `(custom-set-faces ...)', and copy them (whichever ones you find) to the new custom file. This will preserve your existing customizations." Problems: 1. Fails to point out that saving this through Custom without taking additional steps will not work, because Custom will store `custom-file' in `custom-file' as Lennart pointed out. Emacs will _not_ load custom-file after .emacs, because `custom-file' will still be nil. 2. Maybe the docstring should warn the user to use an absolute file name. (This may not be obvious at all to a beginning user.) Very confusing things can happen if a relative file name is used when setting this through Custom with a bad default-directory. 3. The last paragraph fails to point out that if you set `custom-file' through Custom, Custom will automatically copy your `custom-set-variables' and `custom-set-faces' forms to `custom-file'. (But it will not erase them from .emacs or the old `custom-file'.) I could propose an alternate docstring, as well as maybe some changes to `(emacs)Saving Customizations', if we decide to leave the code unchanged. Sincerely, Luc.