Let `C-h i' open all Info buffers that were quit?

Let `C-h i' open all Info buffers that were quit?

[Drew Adams]

Post-release feature request -

You can use `M-n' (`clone-buffer') in Info, to have more than one Info
buffer open. I don't know if other people use Info this way very much, using
different parts of Info in different buffers, but I do. Very handy.

`q' in Info quits it and remembers where you were, so that the next time you
use `C-h i', you reenter where you left off. Also very handy.

If you quit Info and reenter, apparently only the first Info buffer is
reentered (displayed) - the clones are not. The clone Info buffers are still
available, so you can get to them, e.g., via `C-x C-b', but `C-h i' doesn't
automatically display them.

If only one of the Info buffers is displayed by `C-h i', I'm not sure that
the original one is the best choice; perhaps the last one that you quit
would be a better choice.

Anyway, my real suggestion here is this: It would be handy if `C-h i' opened
(displayed) *all* of the Info buffers.

Even users who know about `q' followed by `C-h i' might not know that all of
their Info buffers are still available - that is, they might not think to
use `C-x b' to access them. I think letting `C-h i' open all of them at once
would be convenient.

If we implemented this feature, then it would also be good to have another
way of quitting Info, besides `q', which would be more definitive - the
equivalent of `C-x k', for instance - perhaps `x' ("exit") would be a good
binding for it. That way, if you're really through with an Info buffer, you
just kill it, so it won't be reopened later. That would be analogous to
closing a Web browser window instead of iconifying it.

I imagine that there will usually only be relatively few Info buffers at any
time, so I don't think it would be a nuisance for anyone if `C-h i'
displayed all of them. If people disagree, then we might consider having a
user option to express this preference (e.g. open all, open last, or open
first).

If the prefix arg for `C-h i' were not already used for something else, I
would have suggested that it could be used to say whether you wanted to open
all Info buffers or only one.

Another possibility, which I would not like much, would be to have `C-h i'
ask you which Info buffers you want to display. To me, that would be a
nuisance.

WDOT?

Re: Let `C-h i' open all Info buffers that were quit?

[Eli Zaretskii]

> From: "Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com>
> Date: Fri, 28 Jul 2006 18:01:10 -0700
> 
> Post-release feature request -
> 
> You can use `M-n' (`clone-buffer') in Info, to have more than one Info
> buffer open. I don't know if other people use Info this way very much, using
> different parts of Info in different buffers, but I do.

I'm a heavy user of this feature.

> If you quit Info and reenter, apparently only the first Info buffer is
> reentered (displayed) - the clones are not. The clone Info buffers are still
> available, so you can get to them, e.g., via `C-x C-b', but `C-h i' doesn't
> automatically display them.

You need to give `C-h i' an argument.  For example, `C-u 3 C-h i' goes
to the buffer `*info*<3>'.

> Anyway, my real suggestion here is this: It would be handy if `C-h i' opened
> (displayed) *all* of the Info buffers.

Perhaps what you lack is this piece of information: `C-x C-b' shows
the Info manual's identification next to its *info*<N> buffer name,
instead of the file name for buffers that have an associated file.
So, if what you want is a fast way of getting back to a specific Info
buffer, type `C-x C-b' and select the manual you want from the list.

I implemented this feature because I couldn't remember which buffer
has what manual.

> Even users who know about `q' followed by `C-h i' might not know that all of
> their Info buffers are still available - that is, they might not think to
> use `C-x b' to access them.

Why would a user think that Emacs killed one or more buffers without a
good reason?  `q' is not documented to kill a buffer.

For that matter, I don't understand why do you use `q' in Info.  All
it does is bury the Info buffer, then switch to another buffer.  I'd
simply use `C-x b', or even `C-x 5 b'.

> I imagine that there will usually only be relatively few Info buffers at any
> time

This evidently is not so in my case.  I currently have 14 different
Info buffers in this session, each one displaying a different manual
which I frequently need to look in. (I also dedicate a separate frame
to those buffers.)  I cannot imagine how Emacs could manage to display
all of those 14 buffers in any useful way.

RE: Let `C-h i' open all Info buffers that were quit?

[Drew Adams]

    > If you quit Info and reenter, apparently only the first Info buffer is
    > reentered (displayed) - the clones are not. The clone Info
    > buffers are still available, so you can get to them, e.g., via
    > `C-x C-b', but `C-h i' doesn't automatically display them.

    You need to give `C-h i' an argument.  For example, `C-u 3 C-h i' goes
    to the buffer `*info*<3>'.

Ah, I missed that when (mis)reading the doc string. I knew about regular
`C-u', but I missed the part about numeric prefix.

I notice that if there is no *info<8>* and you use `C-u 8 C-h i', then a new
*info<8>* is opened. And if you rename *info<3>* to Regexp Node, then the
`C-u N' technique doesn't help. Still, it's very good.

    > Anyway, my real suggestion here is this: It would be handy if
    > `C-h i' opened (displayed) *all* of the Info buffers.

    Perhaps what you lack is this piece of information: `C-x C-b' shows
    the Info manual's identification next to its *info*<N> buffer name,
    instead of the file name for buffers that have an associated file.
    So, if what you want is a fast way of getting back to a specific Info
    buffer, type `C-x C-b' and select the manual you want from the list.

No, I wasn't missing that information. That's why I mentioned `C-x C-b'.

The manual name doesn't help if you have 7 Info buffers pointing to the same
manual.  Without the node name, I can't use `C-x C-b' in this way most of
the time: I don't necessarily have just one Info buffer per manual.

If the node name were displayed in `C-x C-b', and if it were pointed out in
the doc string of `q' that you can use `C-x C-b' to get back to the Info
buffer, then that might be better than having `C-h i' display all Info
buffers.

And why not let `C-u 0 C-h i' display all Info buffers, if that's what you
really want at some time? Right now, this just opens a new Info buffer named
*info*<0> (which is not the same as *info*). This change could be made
before figuring out how to add the node name to the buffer list. It would be
trivial to implement and I, for one, would use it. I often have a set of
related nodes open at the same time. I close them for a while, and then I
want to get back to them all again, later.

And it would still be good to have an Info binding of, say, `x', to do `C-x
k'.

    I implemented this feature because I couldn't remember which buffer
    has what manual.

It's a good feature; thank you. I'm also interested in knowing which buffer
has which node of which manual.

Re: Let `C-h i' open all Info buffers that were quit?

[Eli Zaretskii]

> From: "Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com>
> Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2006 07:42:59 -0700
> 
> The manual name doesn't help if you have 7 Info buffers pointing to the same
> manual.  Without the node name, I can't use `C-x C-b' in this way most of
> the time: I don't necessarily have just one Info buffer per manual.

If others think that it'll be useful, we can add the node name to the
(fake) file name.

Re: Let `C-h i' open all Info buffers that were quit?

[Kevin Rodgers]

Eli Zaretskii wrote:
>> From: "Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com>
>> Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2006 07:42:59 -0700
>>
>> The manual name doesn't help if you have 7 Info buffers pointing to the same
>> manual.  Without the node name, I can't use `C-x C-b' in this way most of
>> the time: I don't necessarily have just one Info buffer per manual.
> 
> If others think that it'll be useful, we can add the node name to the
> (fake) file name.

I agree, that would be useful.

-- 
Kevin

Re: Let `C-h i' open all Info buffers that were quit?

[Lennart Borgman]

Kevin Rodgers wrote:
> Eli Zaretskii wrote:
>>> From: "Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com>
>>> Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2006 07:42:59 -0700
>>>
>>> The manual name doesn't help if you have 7 Info buffers pointing to 
>>> the same
>>> manual.  Without the node name, I can't use `C-x C-b' in this way 
>>> most of
>>> the time: I don't necessarily have just one Info buffer per manual.
>>
>> If others think that it'll be useful, we can add the node name to the
>> (fake) file name.
>
> I agree, that would be useful.
>
One more vote for it from me!

Re: Let `C-h i' open all Info buffers that were quit?

[Mathias Dahl]

> > The manual name doesn't help if you have 7 Info buffers pointing to the same
> > manual.  Without the node name, I can't use `C-x C-b' in this way most of
> > the time: I don't necessarily have just one Info buffer per manual.
>
> If others think that it'll be useful, we can add the node name to the
> (fake) file name.

That seems useful.

Re: Let `C-h i' open all Info buffers that were quit?

[Eli Zaretskii]

> From: Kevin Rodgers <ihs_4664@yahoo.com>
> Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 09:38:42 -0600
> 
> Eli Zaretskii wrote:
> >> From: "Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com>
> >> Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2006 07:42:59 -0700
> >>
> >> The manual name doesn't help if you have 7 Info buffers pointing to the same
> >> manual.  Without the node name, I can't use `C-x C-b' in this way most of
> >> the time: I don't necessarily have just one Info buffer per manual.
> > 
> > If others think that it'll be useful, we can add the node name to the
> > (fake) file name.
> 
> I agree, that would be useful.

Done.