mouse-1-click-follows-link: doc, Options menu, customize groups

mouse-1-click-follows-link: doc, Options menu, customize groups

[Drew Adams]

I fired up GNU Emacs 21.3.50.1 (i386-mingw-nt5.1.2600) of 2005-01-30 on
NONIQPC and discovered that mouse-1 was now following links. Not remembering
the email thread about this, I looked in Emacs itself for how to turn this
new behavior off.

I didn't find anything about it in the Emacs manual or the Emacs Lisp
manual. I searched everywhere for "mouse-1" (and that's a lot of hits).

I tried looking in Customize by browsing groups. Starting at the top, I
didn't see anything about "mouse", so I tried group "convenience" - to no
avail.

After I searched my emacs-devel email and found the name
`mouse-1-follows-link', I searched Info for that, still to no avail. I tried
`describe-variable' and then clicked the customize link, finding that the
only group for this option is "mouse".

Some questions:

 - Shouldn't this option be described in the Emacs manual?

 - Should this option perhaps be added to the Options menu? Maybe not, since
this that menu is best for things that you are likely to change more than
once.

 - Does it perhaps make sense to add _all_ options to the Options menu that
change commonly used behavior from the previous Emacs version? Such options
could be candidates for removal from the menu in later releases, but Emacs
users will want to know how to turn off or modify any new default behavior
that they discover.

 - Does it perhaps make sense to add "convenience" to the customize groups
for this option?

 - Does it perhaps make sense to add "convenience" as a parent to the
"mouse" customize group? Its only parents currently are "environment" and
"editing".

Re: mouse-1-click-follows-link: doc, Options menu, customize groups

[Richard Stallman]

    I tried looking in Customize by browsing groups. Starting at the top, I
    didn't see anything about "mouse", so I tried group "convenience" - to no
    avail.

It should be somewhere under the group hypermedia.  (It could be in
other places too.)

    After I searched my emacs-devel email and found the name
    `mouse-1-follows-link', I searched Info for that, still to no avail. I tried

That name doesn't seem to exist as a variable.
The right name is mouse-1-click-follows-link.

     - Shouldn't this option be described in the Emacs manual?

It is.

     - Should this option perhaps be added to the Options menu?

I don't think so.

     - Does it perhaps make sense to add _all_ options to the Options menu that
    change commonly used behavior from the previous Emacs version?

No, it is far too much.  We decide these one by one.
To adopt a uniform policy is a mistake.

Re: mouse-1-click-follows-link: doc, Options menu, customize groups

[Kevin Rodgers]

Drew Adams wrote:
 > I fired up GNU Emacs 21.3.50.1 (i386-mingw-nt5.1.2600) of 2005-01-30 on
 > NONIQPC and discovered that mouse-1 was now following links. Not 
remembering
 > the email thread about this, I looked in Emacs itself for how to turn 
this
 > new behavior off.
 >
 > I didn't find anything about it in the Emacs manual or the Emacs Lisp
 > manual. I searched everywhere for "mouse-1" (and that's a lot of hits).

The first place to look for information on new features is NEWS (C-h n),
isn't it?

 > I tried looking in Customize by browsing groups. Starting at the top, I
 > didn't see anything about "mouse", so I tried group "convenience" - to no
 > avail.
 >
 > After I searched my emacs-devel email and found the name
 > `mouse-1-follows-link', I searched Info for that, still to no avail. 
I tried
 > `describe-variable' and then clicked the customize link, finding that the
 > only group for this option is "mouse".

I would have started with `C-h v mouse?' which lists it straight away.

-- 
Kevin Rodgers

Re: mouse-1-click-follows-link: doc, Options menu, customize groups

[Luc Teirlinck]

Richard Stallman wrote:

	- Shouldn't this option be described in the Emacs manual?

   It is.

But in a not very clear way.  It says: "The variable
@code{mouse-1-click-follows-link} controls whether @kbd{Mouse-1} has
this behavior." after talking about all kinds of details, short clicks
vs long clicks, dragging and such.  Thus, it is not at all clear _which_
behavior is meant with "this behavior".  The NEWS is equally unclear.

It is also good to mention (in the Emacs manual) that mouse-2 is the
pre-22 behavior, for people who have to use more than one Emacs version.

What about the following patches to man/frames.texi and the NEWS,
which I can install if desired.

===File ~/man-frames.texi-diff==============================
*** frames.texi	25 Apr 2005 19:43:56 -0500	1.81
--- frames.texi	06 May 2005 18:18:07 -0500	
***************
*** 319,334 ****
  @kbd{Mouse-2} on a completion in the @samp{*Completions*} buffer, you
  choose that completion.
  
- @vindex mouse-1-click-follows-link
    However, most applications use @kbd{Mouse-1} to do this sort of
  thing, so Emacs implements this too.  If you click @kbd{Mouse-1}
  quickly on a reference or button, it follows or activates.  If you
  click slowly, it moves point as usual.  Dragging, meaning moving the
  mouse while it is held down, also has its usual behavior of setting
! the region.  The variable @code{mouse-1-click-follows-link} controls
! whether @kbd{Mouse-1} has this behavior.
  
! @vindex mouse-1-click-follows-link
    Normally, the @kbd{Mouse-1} click behavior is performed on links in
  any window.  The variable @code{mouse-1-click-in-non-selected-windows}
  controls whether @kbd{Mouse-1} has this behavior even in non-selected
--- 319,332 ----
  @kbd{Mouse-2} on a completion in the @samp{*Completions*} buffer, you
  choose that completion.
  
    However, most applications use @kbd{Mouse-1} to do this sort of
  thing, so Emacs implements this too.  If you click @kbd{Mouse-1}
  quickly on a reference or button, it follows or activates.  If you
  click slowly, it moves point as usual.  Dragging, meaning moving the
  mouse while it is held down, also has its usual behavior of setting
! the region.
  
! @vindex mouse-1-click-in-non-selected-windows
    Normally, the @kbd{Mouse-1} click behavior is performed on links in
  any window.  The variable @code{mouse-1-click-in-non-selected-windows}
  controls whether @kbd{Mouse-1} has this behavior even in non-selected
***************
*** 342,347 ****
--- 340,353 ----
  where the mouse already is), never, or only immediately after you move
  the mouse.
  
+ @vindex mouse-1-click-follows-link
+   In Emacs versions before 22, only @kbd{Mouse-2} follows links and
+ @kbd{Mouse-1} always sets points.  If you prefer this behavior, set
+ the variable @code{mouse-1-click-follows-link} to @code{nil}.  This
+ variable also lets you choose various other alternatives for following
+ links with the mouse.  Type @kbd{C-h v mouse-1-click-follows-link @key{RET}}
+ for more details.
+ 
  @node Menu Mouse Clicks
  @section Mouse Clicks for Menus
  
============================================================

===File ~/NEWS-diff=========================================
*** NEWS	05 May 2005 15:30:28 -0500	1.1179
--- NEWS	06 May 2005 18:34:56 -0500	
***************
*** 719,725 ****
  click to follow a link, whereas most other applications use a Mouse-1
  click for both purposes, depending on whether you click outside or
  inside a link.  Now the behavior of a Mouse-1 click has been changed
! to match this context-sentitive dual behavior.
  
  Depending on the current mode, a Mouse-2 click in Emacs may do much
  more than just follow a link, so the new Mouse-1 behavior is only
--- 719,726 ----
  click to follow a link, whereas most other applications use a Mouse-1
  click for both purposes, depending on whether you click outside or
  inside a link.  Now the behavior of a Mouse-1 click has been changed
! to match this context-sentitive dual behavior.  (If you prefer the old
! behavior, set the user option `mouse-1-click-follows-link' to nil.)
  
  Depending on the current mode, a Mouse-2 click in Emacs may do much
  more than just follow a link, so the new Mouse-1 behavior is only
============================================================

Re: mouse-1-click-follows-link: doc, Options menu, customize groups

[Richard Stallman]

This change is good; please install it.