Why is the star in front of every info item sometimes black and sometimes red?

Why is the star in front of every info item sometimes black and sometimes red?

[Hongyi Zhao]

As you can see, there is a star before each info entry, as shown here
[1]. But some stars are black, others are red. Does this mean anything
special?

[1] https://github.com/raxod502/straight.el/issues/899#issuecomment-989550497

Regards,
HZ

Re: Why is the star in front of every info item sometimes black and sometimes red?

[Michael Heerdegen]

Hongyi Zhao <hongyi.zhao@gmail.com> writes:

> As you can see, there is a star before each info entry, as shown here
> [1]. But some stars are black, others are red. Does this mean anything
> special?

When I look up the face I get:

| Face: info-menu-star
| 
| Documentation:
| Face used to emphasize `*' in an Info menu.
| The face is assigned to the third, sixth, and ninth `*' for easier
| orientation.  See `Info-nth-menu-item'.

That's all I know about it - and even that only since now.

Michael.

Re: Why is the star in front of every info item sometimes black and sometimes red?

[Hongyi Zhao]

On Fri, Dec 10, 2021 at 8:51 AM Michael Heerdegen
<michael_heerdegen@web.de> wrote:
>
> Hongyi Zhao <hongyi.zhao@gmail.com> writes:
>
> > As you can see, there is a star before each info entry, as shown here
> > [1]. But some stars are black, others are red. Does this mean anything
> > special?
>
> When I look up the face I get:
>
> | Face: info-menu-star
> |
> | Documentation:
> | Face used to emphasize `*' in an Info menu.
> | The face is assigned to the third, sixth, and ninth `*' for easier
> | orientation.  See `Info-nth-menu-item'.

But there is no mention of using specific colors as indicators.

Re: Why is the star in front of every info item sometimes black and sometimes red?

[Eduardo Ochs]

On Thu, 9 Dec 2021 at 21:54, Hongyi Zhao <hongyi.zhao@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Fri, Dec 10, 2021 at 8:51 AM Michael Heerdegen
> <michael_heerdegen@web.de> wrote:
> >
> > Hongyi Zhao <hongyi.zhao@gmail.com> writes:
> >
> > > As you can see, there is a star before each info entry, as shown here
> > > [1]. But some stars are black, others are red. Does this mean anything
> > > special?
> >
> > When I look up the face I get:
> >
> > | Face: info-menu-star
> > |
> > | Documentation:
> > | Face used to emphasize `*' in an Info menu.
> > | The face is assigned to the third, sixth, and ninth `*' for easier
> > | orientation.  See `Info-nth-menu-item'.
>
> But there is no mention of using specific colors as indicators.


Hi Hongyi,

try this:

  (describe-function 'Info-mode)

You will see this in the description:

  1 .. 9  Pick first ... ninth item in node’s menu.
  Every third ‘*’ is highlighted to help pick the right number.

The highlighted stars are there to help the people who like to use
the keys 1..9 to navigate info manuals.

  Cheers,
    Eduardo Ochs
    http://angg.twu.net/#eev

Re: Why is the star in front of every info item sometimes black and sometimes red?

[Hongyi Zhao]

On Fri, Dec 10, 2021 at 9:04 AM Eduardo Ochs <eduardoochs@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Thu, 9 Dec 2021 at 21:54, Hongyi Zhao <hongyi.zhao@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > On Fri, Dec 10, 2021 at 8:51 AM Michael Heerdegen
> > <michael_heerdegen@web.de> wrote:
> > >
> > > Hongyi Zhao <hongyi.zhao@gmail.com> writes:
> > >
> > > > As you can see, there is a star before each info entry, as shown here
> > > > [1]. But some stars are black, others are red. Does this mean anything
> > > > special?
> > >
> > > When I look up the face I get:
> > >
> > > | Face: info-menu-star
> > > |
> > > | Documentation:
> > > | Face used to emphasize `*' in an Info menu.
> > > | The face is assigned to the third, sixth, and ninth `*' for easier
> > > | orientation.  See `Info-nth-menu-item'.
> >
> > But there is no mention of using specific colors as indicators.
>
>
> Hi Hongyi,
>
> try this:
>
>   (describe-function 'Info-mode)
>
> You will see this in the description:
>
>   1 .. 9  Pick first ... ninth item in node’s menu.
>   Every third ‘*’ is highlighted to help pick the right number.
>
> The highlighted stars are there to help the people who like to use
> the keys 1..9 to navigate info manuals.

Got it, thanks!

HZ

Re: Why is the star in front of every info item sometimes black and sometimes red?

[H. Dieter Wilhelm]

Eduardo Ochs <eduardoochs@gmail.com> writes:

> The highlighted stars are there to help the people who like to use
> the keys 1..9 to navigate info manuals.

You nailed it.

Note: Blather to come ;-)

A far fetched analogy is writing dates in a form like 20211210.  For me
it's hard to discern whether the date starts by the year and then where
month or days begin.  I'm annoyed when some colleagues do not use the
visually supporting form: 2021-12-10 (actually this form is recommended
by standard ISO 8601).

In this vane - I guess - Emacs' Info reader supports here the counting
of headlines.

   Dieter
-- 
Best wishes
H. Dieter Wilhelm
Zwingenberg, Germany

Re: Why is the star in front of every info item sometimes black and sometimes red?

[Colin Baxter 😺]

>>>>> H Dieter Wilhelm <dieter@duenenhof-wilhelm.de> writes:

    > Eduardo Ochs <eduardoochs@gmail.com> writes:
    >> The highlighted stars are there to help the people who like to
    >> use the keys 1..9 to navigate info manuals.

    > You nailed it.

    > Note: Blather to come ;-)

    > A far fetched analogy is writing dates in a form like 20211210.
    > For me it's hard to discern whether the date starts by the year
    > and then where month or days begin.  I'm annoyed when some
    > colleagues do not use the visually supporting form: 2021-12-10
    > (actually this form is recommended by standard ISO 8601).

Don't forget about dates like 20211210T175343 in gnus :-)

Re: timeanddateformats, was: why is the star in front of every info item sometimes black and sometimes red?

[H. Dieter Wilhelm]

Colin Baxter 😺 <m43cap@yandex.com> writes:

>>>>>> H Dieter Wilhelm <dieter@duenenhof-wilhelm.de> writes:
>
>     > Eduardo Ochs <eduardoochs@gmail.com> writes:
>     >> The highlighted stars are there to help the people who like to
>     >> use the keys 1..9 to navigate info manuals.
>
>     > You nailed it.
>
>     > Note: Blather to come ;-)
>
>     > A far fetched analogy is writing dates in a form like 20211210.
>     > For me it's hard to discern whether the date starts by the year
>     > and then where month or days begin.  I'm annoyed when some
>     > colleagues do not use the visually supporting form: 2021-12-10
>     > (actually this form is recommended by standard ISO 8601).
>
> Don't forget about dates like 20211210T175343 in gnus :-)

Sorry, where do you see that?!
Maybe I configured above format away and forgot about it.

      Dieter


-- 
Best wishes
H. Dieter Wilhelm
Zwingenberg, Germany

Re: timeanddateformats, was: why is the star in front of every info item sometimes black and sometimes red?

[Colin Baxter 😺]

>>>>> H Dieter Wilhelm <dieter@duenenhof-wilhelm.de> writes:

    > Colin Baxter 😺 <m43cap@yandex.com> writes:
    >>>>>>> H Dieter Wilhelm <dieter@duenenhof-wilhelm.de> writes:
    >> 
    >> > Eduardo Ochs <eduardoochs@gmail.com> writes: >> The highlighted
    >> stars are there to help the people who like to >> use the keys
    >> 1..9 to navigate info manuals.
    >> 
    >> > You nailed it.
    >> 
    >> > Note: Blather to come ;-)
    >> 
    >> > A far fetched analogy is writing dates in a form like 20211210.
    >> > For me it's hard to discern whether the date starts by the year
    >> > and then where month or days begin.  I'm annoyed when some >
    >> colleagues do not use the visually supporting form: 2021-12-10 >
    >> (actually this form is recommended by standard ISO 8601).
    >> 
    >> Don't forget about dates like 20211210T175343 in gnus :-)

    > Sorry, where do you see that?!  Maybe I configured above format
    > away and forgot about it.

I think gnus info suggests

#+begin_src emacs-lisp
 (setq gnus-group-line-format "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
#+end_src

for nndiary.

It's my very poor joke.

Best wishes,

Re: timeanddateformats, was: why is the star in front of every info item sometimes black and sometimes red?

[H. Dieter Wilhelm]

Colin Baxter 😺 <m43cap@yandex.com> writes:

>>>>>> H Dieter Wilhelm <dieter@duenenhof-wilhelm.de> writes:
>
>     > Colin Baxter 😺 <m43cap@yandex.com> writes:
>     >>>>>>> H Dieter Wilhelm <dieter@duenenhof-wilhelm.de> writes:
>     >> 
>     >> > Eduardo Ochs <eduardoochs@gmail.com> writes: >> The highlighted
>     >> stars are there to help the people who like to >> use the keys
>     >> 1..9 to navigate info manuals.
>     >> 
>     >> > You nailed it.
>     >> 
>     >> > Note: Blather to come ;-)
>     >> 
>     >> > A far fetched analogy is writing dates in a form like 20211210.
>     >> > For me it's hard to discern whether the date starts by the year
>     >> > and then where month or days begin.  I'm annoyed when some >
>     >> colleagues do not use the visually supporting form: 2021-12-10 >
>     >> (actually this form is recommended by standard ISO 8601).
>     >> 
>     >> Don't forget about dates like 20211210T175343 in gnus :-)
>
>     > Sorry, where do you see that?!  Maybe I configured above format
>     > away and forgot about it.
>
> I think gnus info suggests
>
> #+begin_src emacs-lisp
>  (setq gnus-group-line-format "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
> #+end_src
>
> for nndiary.
>
> It's my very poor joke.

The joke is good! :-)

And thank you for nndiary it's an interesting concept, good to know.

    Dieter
-- 
Best wishes
H. Dieter Wilhelm
Zwingenberg, Germany

Re: timeanddateformats, was: why is the star in front of every info item sometimes black and sometimes red?

[Emanuel Berg via Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor]

Colin Baxter 😺 wrote:

>> Sorry, where do you see that?! Maybe I configured above
>> format away and forgot about it.
>
> I think gnus info suggests
>
>   (setq gnus-group-line-format "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")

I configured that to

  "%0{%L%} %1{%2~(ignore \"0\")T%} %G%44= %7~(ignore \"0\")y %8~(ignore \"0\")t %4{%15s%}
  "

:)

-- 
underground experts united
https://dataswamp.org/~incal

Re: timeanddateformats, was: why is the star in front of every info item sometimes black and sometimes red?

[H. Dieter Wilhelm]

Emanuel Berg via Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor
<help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org> writes:

> Colin Baxter 😺 wrote:
>
>>> Sorry, where do you see that?! Maybe I configured above
>>> format away and forgot about it.
>>
>> I think gnus info suggests
>>
>>   (setq gnus-group-line-format "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
>
> I configured that to
>
>   "%0{%L%} %1{%2~(ignore \"0\")T%} %G%44= %7~(ignore \"0\")y %8~(ignore \"0\")t %4{%15s%}
>   "
> :)

Are you using this for all message buffers or only for nndiry?

Thanks
        Dieter
-- 
Best wishes
H. Dieter Wilhelm
Zwingenberg, Germany

Re: timeanddateformats, was: why is the star in front of every info item sometimes black and sometimes red?

[Emanuel Berg via Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor]

H. Dieter Wilhelm wrote:

>>> I think gnus info suggests
>>>
>>>   (setq gnus-group-line-format "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
>>
>> I configured that to
>>
>>   "%0{%L%} %1{%2~(ignore \"0\")T%} %G%44= %7~(ignore \"0\")y
>> %8~(ignore \"0\")t %4{%15s%}
>>   "
>> :)
>
> Are you using this for all message buffers or only
> for nndiry?

It is used for all groups in the `gnus-group-mode' *Group*
buffer ...

-- 
underground experts united
https://dataswamp.org/~incal

Re: Why is the star in front of every info item sometimes black and sometimes red?

[Emanuel Berg via Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor]

Colin Baxter wrote:

>> A far fetched analogy is writing dates in a form like
>> 20211210. For me it's hard to discern whether the date
>> starts by the year and then where month or days begin.
>> I'm annoyed when some colleagues do not use the visually
>> supporting form: 2021-12-10 (actually this form is
>> recommended by standard ISO 8601).
>
> Don't forget about dates like 20211210T175343 in gnus :-)

Where? I see the mail Date header of your post in
`gnus-article-mode' like this:

  Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2021 17:59:27 +0000 (1 day, 1 hour ago)

Dunno if that's even a Gnus thing tho ...

-- 
underground experts united
https://dataswamp.org/~incal

Re: Why is the star in front of every info item sometimes black and sometimes red?

[Emanuel Berg via Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor]

H. Dieter Wilhelm wrote:

> A far fetched analogy is writing dates in a form like
> 20211210. For me it's hard to discern whether the date
> starts by the year and then where month or days begin.
> I'm annoyed when some colleagues do not use the visually
> supporting form: 2021-12-10 (actually this form is
> recommended by standard ISO 8601).

Indeed, 2021-12-10 is the best form.

-- 
underground experts united
https://dataswamp.org/~incal

Re: Why is the star in front of every info item sometimes black and sometimes red?

[Emanuel Berg via Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor]

Hongyi Zhao wrote:

>>> As you can see, there is a star before each info entry,
>>> as shown here [1]. But some stars are black, others are
>>> red. Does this mean anything special?
>>
>> When I look up the face I get:
>>
>> | Face: info-menu-star
>> |
>> | Documentation:
>> | Face used to emphasize `*' in an Info menu. The face is
>> | assigned to the third, sixth, and ninth `*' for easier
>> | orientation. See `Info-nth-menu-item'.
>
> But there is no mention of using specific colors
> as indicators.

?

The colors belong to the face ... or I don't understand what
you mean. really?

-- 
underground experts united
https://dataswamp.org/~incal

Re: Why is the star in front of every info item sometimes black and sometimes red?

[Hongyi Zhao]

On Fri, Dec 10, 2021 at 9:11 AM Emanuel Berg via Users list for the
GNU Emacs text editor <help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org> wrote:
>
> Hongyi Zhao wrote:
>
> >>> As you can see, there is a star before each info entry,
> >>> as shown here [1]. But some stars are black, others are
> >>> red. Does this mean anything special?
> >>
> >> When I look up the face I get:
> >>
> >> | Face: info-menu-star
> >> |
> >> | Documentation:
> >> | Face used to emphasize `*' in an Info menu. The face is
> >> | assigned to the third, sixth, and ninth `*' for easier
> >> | orientation. See `Info-nth-menu-item'.
> >
> > But there is no mention of using specific colors
> > as indicators.
>
> ?
>
> The colors belong to the face ... or I don't understand what
> you mean. really?

I now understand what Michael Heerdegen means. Thanks again.