Re: Reducing mouse-dependency In Emacs.

[Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@dms.auburn.edu>]

Eli Zeretskii wrote:

   > 2. It seems that your suggestion would require plenty of work
   > rewriting `help-echo' properties.

   Not necessarily; we could do something similar to function-key-map, or
   some other means of redirection.  We could arrange for this to be set
   up whenever some option is customized.

I do not see the relation with `function-key-map'.  All you have to
work with is an arbitrary string that does not follow any rigid
conventions.  In the dired case, mouse-2 is bound (by default) to
`dired-mouse-find-file-other-window', which does not have any default
keyboard binding.  But `dired-find-file-other-window', usually bound
to `o', has the same functionality.  In the dired case, help-echo is:
"mouse-2: visit this file in other window", but, again, help-echo does
not need to follow any fixed pattern.

Note that there is a problem with an help-echo style: 

"mouse-2: visit this file in other window".

The user could have rebound mouse-2.  Many help-echo strings have this
problem.  The vast majority refer to default bindings, not actual bindings.

Sincerely,

Luc.