From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Pascal Bourguignon Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: Making Emacs more newbie friendly Date: 18 Mar 2005 22:57:17 +0100 Organization: [posted via Easynet Spain] Message-ID: <874qf8d3cy.fsf@thalassa.informatimago.com> References: NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1111183112 27802 80.91.229.2 (18 Mar 2005 21:58:32 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 18 Mar 2005 21:58:32 +0000 (UTC) Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Fri Mar 18 22:58:32 2005 Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by ciao.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1DCPU1-0001Vm-Bc for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Fri, 18 Mar 2005 22:58:18 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1DCPka-0007mc-6u for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Fri, 18 Mar 2005 17:15:24 -0500 Original-Path: shelby.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!newsmi-us.news.garr.it!newsmi-eu.news.garr.it!NewsITBone-GARR!irazu.switch.ch!switch.ch!news.tele.dk!news.tele.dk!small.news.tele.dk!newsfeed.icl.net!newsfeed.fjserv.net!colt.net!easynet-quince!easynet.net!easynet-post2!not-for-mail Original-Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.help User-Agent: Gnus/5.09 (Gnus v5.9.0) Emacs/21.3 Original-Lines: 65 Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: 62.93.174.79 Original-X-Trace: DXC=OR[IXZ6UK2_TFR2M[P9]bREY<>`XO4V7]>Uh 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 X-MailScanner-To: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:24927 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.help:24927 PT writes: > I'm sure I'm not the first to come up with this idea, but I think it > really would help if emacs had a newbie-mode which made it easier for > newbies to get acquainted with it. C-h t > I don't even recommend emacs anymore when someone asks me for a good > editor, because they always complain about emacs being too foreign, > non-standard, etc. > > This newbie mode would be a simple command which when activated would > change default emacs settings, keybindings to as similar to a more > usual editor as possible. M-x viper RET > This would include for example keybindings which are familiar for new > users: > > F1 for help, F2 for save file, F3 for load file, etc. Where did you find these keybindings? I've never seen them! You call them Familiar??? > Menus should be activated with Alt+, e.g. Alt-F for File menu. I > know that Alt-F (Meta-F) is forward word, but I don't think a newbie > would miss it too much. pc-selection-mode should be the default, so > that he can move around with arrows + ctrl, shift, etc. > > I know there could be a problem with these bindings if emacs is run in > a terminal, but newbies rarely do that, a graphical environment is > more common nowadays. > > Useful general settings should be turned on by default. column > numbers, global font lock, etc. > > So I'd like a single command which I could put into a newbies .emacs file: > > (newbie-mode) > > and this would set everything, so that a new user can perform any > simple editing operation using only the knowledge he brought from > other systems/editors. And when he sees that emacs is not the editor > from hell then he might be more interested to learn more about it. > > Anyone thinks it's a good idea? Better put: alias newbie-emacs=nano # or pico in your ~/.bashrc -- __Pascal Bourguignon__ http://www.informatimago.com/ Nobody can fix the economy. Nobody can be trusted with their finger on the button. Nobody's perfect. VOTE FOR NOBODY.