From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: William Case Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: Need an enabler for a bad habit. Date: Wed, 01 Nov 2006 18:12:14 -0500 Message-ID: <1162422735.2545.75.camel@CASE> References: <877iygcrtx.fsf@thalassa.informatimago.com> <1162399115.2545.43.camel@CASE> NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1162422808 9762 80.91.229.2 (1 Nov 2006 23:13:28 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2006 23:13:28 +0000 (UTC) Cc: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Thu Nov 02 00:13:26 2006 Return-path: Envelope-to: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by ciao.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1GfPGp-0002Vk-G7 for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Thu, 02 Nov 2006 00:13:19 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1GfPGo-0006Nk-Kd for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Wed, 01 Nov 2006 18:13:18 -0500 Original-Received: from mailman by lists.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1GfPGY-0006NE-Sn for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Wed, 01 Nov 2006 18:13:02 -0500 Original-Received: from exim by lists.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1GfPGX-0006N2-W2 for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Wed, 01 Nov 2006 18:13:02 -0500 Original-Received: from [199.232.76.173] (helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1GfPGX-0006Mz-T7 for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Wed, 01 Nov 2006 18:13:01 -0500 Original-Received: from [68.142.225.205] (helo=smtp107.rog.mail.re2.yahoo.com) by monty-python.gnu.org with smtp (Exim 4.52) id 1GfPGX-0000gU-0N for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Wed, 01 Nov 2006 18:13:01 -0500 Original-Received: (qmail 81142 invoked from network); 1 Nov 2006 23:12:58 -0000 DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; q=dns; c=nofws; s=s1024; d=rogers.com; h=Received:Subject:From:To:Cc:In-Reply-To:References:Content-Type:Date:Message-Id:Mime-Version:X-Mailer:Content-Transfer-Encoding; b=zzTbFV2ybSyacGRkhJzMg8wekJkNvUIyODOJXisjb92tbsNA43tmbPHX+VDuoJq2OhZ9pgCp95mti55DQuRknsjuRLxsivI+nTX0a6I0hzcMxi5VuTHbqv0nG9BsRxwCnYjlmRQ5pRF9vR2BkeCZHZo0EKjyox4mHgmfTp/wfQo= ; Original-Received: from unknown (HELO ?192.168.1.4?) (billlinux@rogers.com@74.104.100.126 with plain) by smtp107.rog.mail.re2.yahoo.com with SMTP; 1 Nov 2006 23:12:58 -0000 Original-To: Kevin Rodgers In-Reply-To: X-Mailer: Evolution 2.6.3 (2.6.3-1.fc5.5) X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Original-Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:38477 Archived-At: Thanks Kevin; On Wed, 2006-01-11 at 13:17 -0700, Kevin Rodgers wrote: > William Case wrote: > > On Wed, 2006-01-11 at 16:05 +0100, Mathias Dahl wrote: > >> So, what you want is to be able to click in the echo area (the area > >> below the mode line) to get the "M-x prompt" (without needing to type > >> M-x), is it? > > > > Essentially, yes. But I have always thought what you have called the > > echo area was the mini-buffer in emacs and I don't even need the "M-x > > prompt". I just want my cursor blinking in the very first field/column > > of the echo area. I will type the command or accelerator keys that I > > need after the cursor is placed. I would expect that the cursor would > > remain at the end of the command line until I push Enter. > > The echo area and the minibuffer share that real estate on the screen > (as is explained in both the Echo Area and Minibuffer sections of the > manual :-) > Re-read the manual (hadn't read it in 2 years -- if then) regarding echo area and mini-buffer. This thread WAS written about the mini-buffer. To quote the manual " The "minibuffer" is the facility used by Emacs commands to read arguments more complicated than a single number. Minibuffer arguments can be file names, buffer names, Lisp function names, Emacs command names, Lisp expressions, and many other things, depending on the command reading the argument. You can use the usual Emacs editing commands in the minibuffer to edit the argument text. When the minibuffer is in use, it appears in the echo area, and the terminal's cursor moves there. The beginning of the minibuffer line displays a "prompt" which says what kind of input you should supply and how it will be used. Often this prompt is derived from the name of the command that the argument is for. The prompt normally ends with a colon." What I am talking about is that a user has to type a command, or the beginning of a command, to get the cursor to appear. I just want the echo area to turn into a mini-buffer when I click on it and the cursor to appear in the mini-buffer in first column after the prompt. I want everything else to remain the same. I really do appreciate people taking the time to respond, but it seems the suggested answers are getting more complex than the original problem. I have no intention of giving up emacs because of one 'habit'. -- Regards Bill