Re: suggested new command `picture-mouse-set-point'

[jpw@shootybangbang.com (John Paul Wallington)]

> > > One problem with this approach is that quite often you just need to
> > > click on some window to select another window or give focus to a frame
> > > -- and in that case you most likely don't want to modify the buffer if
> > > you accidentally click or a TAB or after EOL or EOB.
> > > 
> > > Maybe the -rigidly functionality should only be activated if
> > > the mouse is clicked in the selected window & frame.
> > 
> > I agree that is a problem, and your solution sounds good (or at least
> > the right sort of idea; I haven't tested it).
> 
> I don't understand: this problem is not specific to this
> mouse-set-point-rigidly.  Normally it is solved in a generic way
> by the window-manager by making sure that the click that changes
> focus is not sent to the application.
> Am I missing something ?

If the window manager doesn't swallow the click then Emacs will get
it.  Lots of window managers have this behaviour.  Even with such
settings, when the user clicks on an Emacs frame her intention may not
be to position point, but merely to select the frame.

`mouse-set-point' doesn't change the buffer but rather places point
somewhere within it.  Using `mouse-set-point-rigidly' instead of it
indiscriminately may result in a change (inserting whitespace) in the
buffer that the user didn't intend, which may be an annoyance.

You have made me wonder whether I am missing something though.  Do
you think it isn't worthwhile to second-guess the user who sets her
window manager to not swallow the focus-changing click?

[apologies if you cannot parse this; I am inebriated :) ]

-- 
John Paul Wallington