From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Miles Bader Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: describe-mode's treatment of minor-modes is annoying Date: 04 May 2004 13:05:09 +0900 Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Message-ID: <87wu3s96ru.fsf@tc-1-100.kawasaki.gol.ne.jp> Reply-To: Miles Bader NNTP-Posting-Host: deer.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1083643495 29956 80.91.224.253 (4 May 2004 04:04:55 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 4 May 2004 04:04:55 +0000 (UTC) Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Tue May 04 06:04:41 2004 Return-path: Original-Received: from quimby.gnus.org ([80.91.224.244]) by deer.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1BKrAf-0002Zx-00 for ; Tue, 04 May 2004 06:04:41 +0200 Original-Received: from monty-python.gnu.org ([199.232.76.173]) by quimby.gnus.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1BKrAe-0005vO-00 for ; Tue, 04 May 2004 06:04:41 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.30) id 1BKr6J-0003ug-0O for emacs-devel@quimby.gnus.org; Tue, 04 May 2004 00:00:11 -0400 Original-Received: from list by monty-python.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.30) id 1BKr51-0003Vl-N8 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 03 May 2004 23:58:51 -0400 Original-Received: from mail by monty-python.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.30) id 1BKr4E-00033j-GY for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 03 May 2004 23:58:35 -0400 Original-Received: from [203.216.5.132] (helo=smtp02.fields.gol.com) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.30) id 1BKr1V-0001Zl-LY; Mon, 03 May 2004 23:55:13 -0400 Original-Received: from filter01.fields.gol.com ([203.216.5.148] helo=localhost) by smtp02.fields.gol.com with esmtp (Magnetic Fields) id 1BKr1U-0001cG-Q2; Tue, 04 May 2004 12:55:12 +0900 Original-Received: from yokohama2-61-203-152-222.ap.0038.net ([61.203.152.222] helo=tc-1-100.kawasaki.gol.ne.jp) by smtp02.fields.gol.com with asmtp (Magnetic Fields) id 1BKr1T-0001cD-Uq; Tue, 04 May 2004 12:55:12 +0900 Original-Received: by tc-1-100.kawasaki.gol.ne.jp (Postfix, from userid 1000) id C313E2FB3; Tue, 4 May 2004 13:05:09 +0900 (JST) Original-To: emacs-devel@gnu.org System-Type: i686-pc-linux-gnu Original-Lines: 70 X-Virus-Scanned: by AMaViS GOL X-Abuse-Complaints: abuse@gol.com X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.4 Precedence: list List-Id: "Emacs development discussions." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:22676 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.devel:22676 Am I the only one who's annoyed by the way describe-mode now displays minor modes? It fills up the beginning of the buffer with notes about a zillion minor modes, most of which I don't care about, and which almost always manage to push the major mode description (which I usually _do_ care about) entirely off the screen? For instance, here's what it showed when I did `C-h m' in my message-sending buffer: Summary of minor modes: Abbrev minor mode (indicator Abbrev): Auto Fill minor mode (indicator Fill): Auto-Compression minor mode (no indicator): Auto-Image-File minor mode (no indicator): Display-Time minor mode (no indicator): File-Name-Shadow minor mode (no indicator): Font-Lock minor mode (no indicator): Global-Font-Lock minor mode (no indicator): Line-Number minor mode (no indicator): Minibuffer-Electric-Default minor mode (no indicator): Mouse-Wheel minor mode (no indicator): Recentf minor mode (no indicator): Temp-Buffer-Resize minor mode (no indicator): Transient-Mark minor mode (no indicator): Unify-8859-On-Encoding minor mode (no indicator): Utf-Translate-Cjk minor mode (no indicator): (Full information about these minor modes follows the description of the major mode.) Message mode: .... I think all that should be moved to _after_ the major mode description, with a single-line hyper link at the beginning of the buffer that jumps there. E.g., make the layout something like: (Information on [minor modes] comes after the major mode description) Message mode: ....long major mode description.... ^L Summary of minor modes in this buffer: [Abbrev minor mode] (indicator Abbrev): [Auto Fill minor mode] (indicator Fill): [Auto-Compression minor mode] (no indicator): ... ^L Abbrev minor mode (indicator Abbrev): Toggle abbrev mode. With argument ARG, turn abbrev mode on iff ARG is positive. ... ^L ... where bracketed phrases [...] indicate hyperlinks. Thanks, -Miles -- "Though they may have different meanings, the cries of 'Yeeeee-haw!' and 'Allahu akbar!' are, in spirit, not actually all that different."