Re: Backward completions (was: Vertical completions)

[Dan Nicolaescu <dann@ics.uci.edu>]

Juri Linkov <juri@jurta.org> writes:

  > >>> It's easier to skim through a list when completions are sorted
  > >>> vertically in columns down the screen.
  > >>
  > >> If it's not too problematic to implement, I'm all for the change (or
  > >> rather an option to have it).
  > >
  > > Not problematic at all.  Below is a small patch that implements
  > > a new option for vertical completions with the default to
  > > traditional horizontal completions, of course.
  > 
  > Scrolling the *Completions* buffer a full screen with the <TAB> key
  > is convenient to find a desirable item in a long list.
  > 
  > However, typing the <backtab> key doesn't reverse the scrolling
  > direction like this key does in other places in Emacs.  So to return to
  > the previous screen requires scrolling to the end of the *Completions*
  > buffer, wrapping to the beginning and scrolling forward from the
  > beginning, looking carefully to not miss the previous screen again.
  > 
  > The following patch binds <backtab> to `minibuffer-complete-backward'
  > that is an alias of `minibuffer-complete'.  But maybe code in
  > `minibuffer-complete' is so small, so it could be copied to a new
  > function `minibuffer-complete-backward' (with small modifications)
  > instead of creating an alias?

IMHO <backtab> would be nice to have here.

Maybe when looking at this problem people want to look that the approach
in  search-completions.el (that I've been using for a while): use C-s to
move to the *Completions* buffer and do an incremental search there.
Not perfect, but it might be a useful source of inspiration.


The package is this:

;; search-completions
;; Description:  runs isearch in *Completions* buffer, and returns the
;;               completion point is on when the isearch terminates.
;;               Narrows completions interactively with regexp matches.
;; Author:    Radey Shouman              <rshouman@chpc.utexas.edu>
;; File:      search-completions.el
;; $modified: Fri Mar 25 15:09:03 1994 by rshouman $
;;
;; Modified 2003-04-10: lawrence mitchell <wence@gmx.li> to work with
;; Emacs 21.
;;