struggling with icomplete, trying to terminate matching process

struggling with icomplete, trying to terminate matching process

[Eric S Fraga]

Hello,

I have recently switched to icomplete from vertico.  So far, mostly
good.  However, there is one situation that I cannot seem to resolve in
icomplete in the mini-buffer.

This situation is when I wish to *not* choose one of the matches given
to me.  For example, if I'm in a directory which has two files, "one"
and "two".  If I wish to create a new sub-directory (or file, I guess)
called "o", I am unable to do so because icomplete insists of choosing
"one".

Is there a magical incantation within icomplete that will return the
partial string I may have typed or one which will turn off icomplete?  I
found nothing with C-h b while in the mini-buffer and the icomplete
section in the Emacs info manual also mentions nothing.

In other completion systems, incomplete return might be C-j or C-RET or
M-RET or ... depending on which system one chooses to use.

I'm sure, as usual, that I am missing something obvious. :-/

Thank you,
eric

-- 
Eric S Fraga via gnus (Emacs 31.0.50 2025-01-06) on Debian 12.8

Re: struggling with icomplete, trying to terminate matching process

[Stefan Monnier via Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor]

> This situation is when I wish to *not* choose one of the matches given
> to me.  For example, if I'm in a directory which has two files, "one"
> and "two".  If I wish to create a new sub-directory (or file, I guess)
> called "o", I am unable to do so because icomplete insists of choosing
> "one".
>
> Is there a magical incantation within icomplete that will return the
> partial string I may have typed or one which will turn off icomplete?  I
> found nothing with C-h b while in the mini-buffer and the icomplete
> section in the Emacs info manual also mentions nothing.

Your question is incomplete, because in my tests it "just works":

    src/emacs -Q -f icomplete-mode
    C-x C-f R

shows me ".../R[EADME]"

    RET

opens the (not yet existing) "R" file.


        Stefan

Re: struggling with icomplete, trying to terminate matching process

[Eric S Fraga]

Response below/inline for email Stefan Monnier via Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor wrote:
> (original email sent  9 Jan 2025 at 10:13)
> 
> Your question is incomplete, because in my tests it "just works":
>
>     src/emacs -Q -f icomplete-mode
>     C-x C-f R

I knew it would be embarrassing... this also works for me.  And I should
have checked with -Q, of course.  Sorry for the noise.

I will figure out what I am doing wrongly in my configuration [*] to
make it not work properly.

Thank you,
eric

* I keep telling myself to declare Emacs bankruptcy and start over: 40+
    years of cruft building up (layers upon layers) in my .emacs is not
    good.  But it generally works and I dread the thought of going back
    to vanilla Emacs at this point...

-- 
Eric S Fraga via gnus (Emacs 31.0.50 2025-01-06) on Debian 12.8