* Suggested amendment to www.gnu.org/software/emacs/download.html#windows
@ 2017-11-28 21:24 David Wardle
2017-11-29 3:30 ` Eli Zaretskii
0 siblings, 1 reply; 5+ messages in thread
From: David Wardle @ 2017-11-28 21:24 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: emacs-devel; +Cc: Eli Zaretskii
Hi developers.
I have a suggested amendment to:
https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/download.html#windows
I've put the suggested amendment and the reason I suggest it below (in
separate sections).
Sincerely,
David Wardle
Auckland
NEW ZEALAND
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The amendment:
Append to the first paragraph (which currently ends
`...double-clicking on that shortcut's icon.'):
`Note that to use some tools, <a
href="http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/DMSwinAH.html"> additional
downloads are required</a>.'
...where the link is to a new webpage with content (this is just the
bare bones):
<body>
<h1>GNU Emacs</h1>
<h2>Download & installation --- MicroSoft Windows system ---
additional help</h2>
<p>Running <code>bin\runemacs.exe</code> should give:
<img class="teaser" src="images/teaser.png" alt=""/>
(or something similar).</p>
<p>Clicking on Tools gives the options:
<!-- A picture the same as the previous one, but with the Tools menu
dropped down -->
</p>
<p>Some of the options e.g. Compare (Ediff) will not work unless
additional packages are downloaded and correctly installed.</p>
<h3>An example solution</h3>
<p>Taking the case of Compare (Ediff), one solution (among several
possibilities) is to download the Setup program for <a
href="http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/diffutils.htm">DiffUtils
for Windows</a> (which is created by the <a
href="http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/">GnuWin project</a>). Running
the Setup program will create a directory on your computer e.g.
`C:\Program Files\GnuWin32' containing directories `bin' (which
contains programs `comp.exe', `diff.exe', etc.), `contrib' (which
contains a directory `diffutils'), etc.</p>
<p>In order for Compare (Ediff) to work, Emacs needs to be told about
the existence of `comp.exe', `diff.exe', etc. This is done by <a
href="https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000549.htm">adding the
directory</a> `C:\Program Files\GnuWin32\bin' to your computer's PATH
(note that changing the PATH is serious and must be done with care ---
be sure to record the PATH <em>before</em> you change anything in case
you need to return the PATH to its original state).
</body>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The reason I suggest it:
I'm not a computer expert. But I do have some knowledge. I have been
using a Mac but recently needed to organize some files on a Windows
machine. I went to Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_file_comparison_tools
Based on the Wikipedia page, Ediff seemed the most appealing option
(it could compare binary files, was available across the three major
operating systems, etc.). So I followed the Wikipedia links to the
Emacs Wikipedia page and then to:
https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/download.html#windows
I downloaded emacs-25.3-i686.zip from:
http://mirror.lagoon.nc/pub/gnu/emacs/windows/
When I ran bin\runemacs.exe, Emacs started fine and Tool -> Compare
(Ediff) worked fine comparing directories. But, when I tried to use
Ediff for comparing files, I just got the error `No such file or
directory, diff'. This had me completely mystified. I spent hours
trying to understand the error and did get there in the end with some
much appreciated help:
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/help-emacs-windows/2017-11/msg00000.html
But it would have been much better if the download instructions were
supplemented with some additional information for less-expert users
(like me). Such information would have saved me hours of frustration
and the need to pester others. Hence the reason I make my suggestion.
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 5+ messages in thread
* Re: Suggested amendment to www.gnu.org/software/emacs/download.html#windows
2017-11-28 21:24 Suggested amendment to www.gnu.org/software/emacs/download.html#windows David Wardle
@ 2017-11-29 3:30 ` Eli Zaretskii
2017-12-09 5:09 ` David Wardle
0 siblings, 1 reply; 5+ messages in thread
From: Eli Zaretskii @ 2017-11-29 3:30 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: David Wardle; +Cc: emacs-devel
> From: David Wardle <d.wardle.b@gmail.com>
> Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2017 10:24:27 +1300
> Cc: Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
>
> I have a suggested amendment to:
> https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/download.html#windows
>
> I've put the suggested amendment and the reason I suggest it below (in
> separate sections).
My opinion on this is that this suggestion is too much for us. I
could support adding some short text saying that additional tools
ported from Unix are needed to support various Emacs features, with a
list of suggested packages, but that's as far as I would go. YMMV.
Thanks.
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 5+ messages in thread
* Re: Suggested amendment to www.gnu.org/software/emacs/download.html#windows
2017-11-29 3:30 ` Eli Zaretskii
@ 2017-12-09 5:09 ` David Wardle
2017-12-09 14:50 ` Óscar Fuentes
0 siblings, 1 reply; 5+ messages in thread
From: David Wardle @ 2017-12-09 5:09 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: Eli Zaretskii; +Cc: emacs-devel
Hi everyone.
I have edited the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_file_comparison_tools
... to give readers some warning that, although Ediff can be used with
Windows, it's currently not easy to install unless you have knowledge
of using GNU software in a Windows environment. I don't like doing
this because it will obviously deter prospective Ediff (and hence
Emacs users) (and, after I did finally manage to get Ediff working, I
did find it useful). However, I feel that it's only fair to give
readers such a warning or they, like me, might end up wasting a lot of
their time. A better solution would be to make Ediff easier to
install but I leave it with you.
Sincerely,
David Wardle.
On 11/29/17, Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> wrote:
>> From: David Wardle <d.wardle.b@gmail.com>
>> Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2017 10:24:27 +1300
>> Cc: Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
>>
>> I have a suggested amendment to:
>> https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/download.html#windows
>>
>> I've put the suggested amendment and the reason I suggest it below (in
>> separate sections).
>
> My opinion on this is that this suggestion is too much for us. I
> could support adding some short text saying that additional tools
> ported from Unix are needed to support various Emacs features, with a
> list of suggested packages, but that's as far as I would go. YMMV.
>
> Thanks.
>
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 5+ messages in thread
* Re: Suggested amendment to www.gnu.org/software/emacs/download.html#windows
2017-12-09 5:09 ` David Wardle
@ 2017-12-09 14:50 ` Óscar Fuentes
2017-12-09 14:59 ` Noam Postavsky
0 siblings, 1 reply; 5+ messages in thread
From: Óscar Fuentes @ 2017-12-09 14:50 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: emacs-devel; +Cc: David Wardle
David Wardle <d.wardle.b@gmail.com> writes:
> I have edited the Wikipedia page:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_file_comparison_tools
> ... to give readers some warning that, although Ediff can be used with
> Windows, it's currently not easy to install unless you have knowledge
> of using GNU software in a Windows environment. I don't like doing
> this because it will obviously deter prospective Ediff (and hence
> Emacs users) (and, after I did finally manage to get Ediff working, I
> did find it useful). However, I feel that it's only fair to give
> readers such a warning or they, like me, might end up wasting a lot of
> their time. A better solution would be to make Ediff easier to
> install but I leave it with you.
The comparison table already says that Ediff will work on "anything with
Emacs and diff". Your warning is unnecesary and singles out a specific
platform.
Just because you took a long time to realize that Ediff requires diff it
doesn't mean that others will need redundant information about the fact.
Furthermore, that wikipedia page is not the best place to inform the
world about Ediff requirements. It would be much better if Ediff itself
emitted a message informing the user when diff is missing.
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 5+ messages in thread
* Re: Suggested amendment to www.gnu.org/software/emacs/download.html#windows
2017-12-09 14:50 ` Óscar Fuentes
@ 2017-12-09 14:59 ` Noam Postavsky
0 siblings, 0 replies; 5+ messages in thread
From: Noam Postavsky @ 2017-12-09 14:59 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: Óscar Fuentes; +Cc: David Wardle, Emacs developers
On Sat, Dec 9, 2017 at 9:50 AM, Óscar Fuentes <ofv@wanadoo.es> wrote:
> The comparison table already says that Ediff will work on "anything with
> Emacs and diff". Your warning is unnecesary and singles out a specific
> platform.
It only says that now, after I edited it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Comparison_of_file_comparison_tools&action=historysubmit&type=revision&diff=814547107&oldid=814498666
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 5+ messages in thread
end of thread, other threads:[~2017-12-09 14:59 UTC | newest]
Thread overview: 5+ messages (download: mbox.gz follow: Atom feed
-- links below jump to the message on this page --
2017-11-28 21:24 Suggested amendment to www.gnu.org/software/emacs/download.html#windows David Wardle
2017-11-29 3:30 ` Eli Zaretskii
2017-12-09 5:09 ` David Wardle
2017-12-09 14:50 ` Óscar Fuentes
2017-12-09 14:59 ` Noam Postavsky
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