From: "Drew Adams" <drew.adams@ORACLE.COM>
To: <emacs-devel@gnu.org>
Subject: improve Dired menus
Date: Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:53:00 -0700 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <FB735B7749DD4C89897BFA2F3230244D@us.oracle.com> (raw)
Dunno why I open this worm can again, but here goes. I will
avoid getting involved in any discussion, myself. All I have to
say about it is said here, and should be clear enough. Discuss
or not, as you like.
----
The Dired menus are `Operate', `Mark', `Regexp', `Immediate', and
`Subdir'.
`Immediate' has become a catch-all - its items are a hodge-podge.
Actually, it has been a catch-all for a long time. And the names
`Operate' and `Immediate' don't mean much - every command
operates and is immediate.
Perhaps it is because "Immediate" doesn't mean anything specific
that we have stuck items such as `Edit File Names', `Refresh',
and `Isearch in File Names' there - dunno.
I use a better breakdown in dired+.el. I propose that we use
something like it for vanilla Emacs:
* Rename: `Subdir' to `Dir'
`Immediate' to `Single'
`Operate' to `Multiple'
* `Dir' is for general actions on the Dired directory, all of
its content, and the Dired buffer content. Some of the
`Immediate' items belong here, in a separate pane from the
current `Subdir' items.
* `Single' is for actions on the current line (single file or
subdir). Only some of the `Immediate' items belongs here.
* `Multiple' is for actions on the marked (or next prefix arg)
lines (files or subdirs), as now. The current set of
`Operate' items is OK as is for `Multiple'.
IOW, each menu would be defined by the objects on which acts: the
Dired directory/buffer, a single file/subdir, or a set of files
and subdirs.
Dir
---
All items currently in `Subdir' would be in one pane of `Dir'.
We would move the following items to `Dir' for its non-subdir
pane:
--------------------------------------------
Up Directory ^
Create Directory +
Compare Directories...
Edit File Names (Wdired)... C-x C-q
Isearch in File Names... M-s f C-s
Isearch Regexp in File Names... M-s f C-M-s
Refresh g
--------------------------------------------
FWIW, these are additional items that I add to `Dir':
--------------------------------------------
Dired (Filter via Wildcards)... C-x d
Dired Marked Files
Dired Fileset...
--------------------------------------------
(I add them mainly to advertize/teach using Dired with a set of
files. Too few users are aware of it.)
Single
------
Menu `Single' would contain (only) the following items:
--------------------------------------------
Open RET
Display in Other Window C-o
View (Read-Only) v
--------------------------------------------
Diff =
Diff with Backup M-=
--------------------------------------------
Display Image C-t i
Display Image Externally C-t x
--------------------------------------------
Insert Subdir i
--------------------------------------------
Encrypt :e
Decrypt :d
Sign :s
Verify :v
--------------------------------------------
The other items currently in `Immediate' would not be in
`Single'.
`Insert Subdir' is an addition, but it must be active only when
point is on a subdir line (bug #4701 filed). This action would
thus be in both `Dir' and `Single' menus, because it can be an
action on a subdir (insert it) or on the Dired directory (go to
an existing subdir part or return from it).
FWIW, these are additional items that I add to `Single':
--------------------------------------------
Open in Other Window C-o (non-standard)
Open in Windows Explorer M-RET
Open Associated Windows App C-RET
--------------------------------------------
Compare using Ediff = (non-standard)
--------------------------------------------
Copy to...
Rename to... r
Upcase M-u
Downcase M-l
Capitalize M-c
Delete C-k
--------------------------------------------
Symlink to...
Hardlink to...
--------------------------------------------
Print... M-p
Grep...
Compress/Uncompress z
Shell Command...
Byte Compile b
Load
--------------------------------------------
Change Mode... M-m
Change Group...
Change Owner
--------------------------------------------
(Items such as `Copy to' are somewhat redundant wrt the similar
items in `Multiple', but they are not the same. Here, they
always act on the current line's file, even if there are marked
files. IOW, they are shortcuts for using a prefix arg with the
`Multiple' items.)
Multiple
--------
No change is needed in the set of items from the current
content of `Operate'. But we might want to group items using
separators:
--------------------------------------------
Copy to... C
Rename to... R
Delete Marked (not Flagged)... D
--------------------------------------------
Print... P
Compress/Uncompress Z
Shell Command... !
Byte Compile B
Load L
--------------------------------------------
Symlink to (Absolute)... S
Hardlink to... H
--------------------------------------------
Search Files... A
Query Replace... Q
Isearch Files... M-s a C-s
Isearch Regexp Files... M-s a C-M-s
--------------------------------------------
Change Timestamp...
Change Mode... M
--------------------------------------------
Display Image Thumbnails C-t d
Add Image Content... C-t c
Add Image Tags... C-t t
Delete Image Tag... C-t r
--------------------------------------------
FWIW, these are additional items that I add to `Multiple':
--------------------------------------------
Open F
Open Associated Windows App
Dired (Marked)
Copy File Names (to Paste) w
--------------------------------------------
Upcase %u
Downcase %l
Capitalize
Delete Flagged x
--------------------------------------------
Symlink to (Relative)... Y
--------------------------------------------
Grep... M-g
--------------------------------------------
Change Group... G
Change Owner... O
--------------------------------------------
Dired on the marked files is thus in both `Dir' (to advertize
it) and `Multiple'. The former is not needed, but I think it
helps.
Enjoy. Discuss or ignore.
next reply other threads:[~2009-10-11 20:53 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 2+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2009-10-11 20:53 Drew Adams [this message]
2009-10-12 0:21 ` improve Dired menus Drew Adams
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