Re: Should ending successful Isearch with C-g restore the relativewindow position?

[Alan Mackenzie <acm@muc.de>]

Hello again, Drew.

On Tue, Jan 15, 2013 at 08:22:08AM -0800, Drew Adams wrote:
> > > > Recentering is the default, always was.

> > > Just the _default_?  Does that mean that there is a simple user
> > > setting that changes the behavior from the default so that it
> > > returns things as they were before searching?

> > No, I don't think it does.  You might be being a bit too pedantic
> > here.

> Dunno why you think that, but OK.  So what was meant then by "the
> default"?  What's the alternative behavior, and how does a user get it?

I think Eli meant nothing more than "what Emacs in general usually does,
when no other special action is taken", but he can confirm that himself
if he wants.  The alternative is carefully to scroll the contents of the
window to the desired position, something which is out of reach of normal
users.

> > I think it would be easy enough to record the window position in
> > isearch for this.

> Is that the alternative for users to "the default" behavior - recoding
> Isearch?  Not a rhetorical question.  If I'm missing something I'd like
> to know what the suggestion is.

Recoding isearch is certainly an alternative, but it's not for the faint
of heart.

> > But... If C-g restores the window position, then sooner or later
> > somebody's going to want C-<space> to do the same.  Seems perfectly
> > reasonable.

> Why?  The doc makes clear that the intention of `C-g' (for successful
> search) is to take you back where you were.  Including window position
> as part of where you were would be a natural and reasonable extension
> for the `C-g' behavior.

> I would not object if that were optional for users, if there is someone
> who really thinks we should also keep the current behavior.

> But what does any of this have to do with `C-SPC'?  Sorry, you've lost
> me.  The question is about `C-g' in the case of search success.

I suppose it's the way I use isearch.  I frequently use C-g to go back to
my starting position, but I also use C-<space> to do this (completing the
search in the process).  So, to me, C-g and C-<space> are semantically
very close.  Were I a mere user, I'd get somewhat irritated if C-g
restored the original scroll-position, but C-<space> didn't.

-- 
Alan Mackenzie (Nuremberg, Germany).