Re: emacs24 X primary selection changes

[Bob Proulx <bob@proulx.com>]

Drew Adams wrote:
> Bob Proulx wrote:
> > Drew Adams wrote:
> > > +1 to getting back sane defaults.
> > 
> > Are you also having this problem on MS Windows?
> 
> Not sure what "this problem" is,

"The Problem" was loss of emacs keyboard interaction with the X Window
primary selection cut buffer between v23 and v24.  Cutting with the
mouse in some other X window application puts the text into the X
Windows cut buffer also known as the primary selection.  In v23
yanking text would copy text from that buffer.  In v24 C-y no longer
yanked text in from it.  In v24 C-y yank ignored the X Window primary
selection cut buffer.  This breaks keyboard use.  However paste using
the mouse still worked.

This is one of those features that you don't realize is nice until it
is taken away.  Then if you were using it you really miss it.

> but yes, I had to change the default settings as I described, to get
> back the previous, sane behavior.

Probably similar but substituting MS Windows clipboard for X Windows
primary selection cut buffer.  Don't know.

> > > But I use non-nil `x-select-enable-clipboard'.
> > 
> > Probably the best answer for you on MS-Windows.  Does Windows have
> > anything other than the clipboard?  I don't know.
> 
> It has no separate primary.

Right.

> > I don't know why the default was changed.  I assume it is further
> > encroachment of CUA mode to be more MS Windows like since I can't
> > think of any other reason.
> 
> I can't speak for Emacs Dev obviously, and I might have
> misunderstood, but I believe that all of the default changes wrt
> selection etc. were to bring Emacs more into line with X Window.
> AFAIK, nothing to do with CUA or MS Windows.

Tragicomically although I found the news entry for "cut buffer",
because I searched it for "cut buffer" I missed the entried
*immediately above it* in the NEWS file titled "Selection changes"
that describes these changes in some detail.  "D'oh!"  It was there
but I missed seeing it due to poor keyword selection.

In that news entry it says:

  The default handling of clipboard and primary selections has been
  changed to conform with modern X applications.  In short, most
  commands for killing and yanking text now use the clipboard, while
  mouse commands use the primary selection.

For me these changes broke my X applications.  I guess I am not using
any application that uses the clipboard.  For me the main X
applications from which I cut text from are Xterm, Firefox, Chromium,
other random programs but I will ignore Xterm from this discussion
since it is a venerable old program.

But Firefox and Chromium are both new and cutting text from neither of
them could be pasted into emacs using C-y unless the suggested return
to v23 control variable values were made.  Therefore that news entry
seems incorrect with regards to "modern X applications" unless they
are also arguing that Firefox and Chromium are not modern X
applications.

Bob