Re: [patch] ox-koma-letter.el: credit [3/4]

[Viktor Rosenfeld <listuser36@gmail.com>]

Hi,

Rasmus wrote:

> > - It doesn't work because `org-koma-letter-special-content' is set to
> >   nil at the beginning of `org-koma-letter-template'. Why is that? If I
> >   comment it out everything works.
> 
> Hmm, it should be populated by the headline function each time. . .
> That is at least the idea.  I.e.
>    - When exporting `org-koma-letter-special-content' gets populated
>      and is available until next export.  
>    - When exports run again stuff might have changed so I want to
>      repopulate the variable.

Why not clear `org-koma-letter-special-content' at the start of
`org-koma-letter-headline'?

> > - I would remove the formatting from org-koma-letter-ps-prefix and put
> >   it in the docstring, simply because the separators for \encl and \cc
> >   are also not formatted in the KOMA-Script defaults.
> 
> So you'd set org-koma-letter-ps-prefix to nil or ""?  The thing is, in
> scrlttr2 does not add a ps-prefix by itself, which seems inconsistent.
> So with your suggesting we'd get a more vanilla feel, which I guess
> would normally be nice, but here somehow feel inconsistent to me.  I'm
> happy to oblige on this issue.

Either nil or "" or even "PS". I guess there is no default because
people write things like PPS and PPPS and so on. Anyway, in my view
having \ps specially formatted is inconsistent because \encl and \cc are
not per default.

> >> One thing I'd like to discuss is whether to adopt headings for TO and
> >> FROM also.  The Groff exporter already does so for it's letters.  The
> >> main benefit is that it allows for org-syntax.  IMO it's a lot nicer
> >> to look at as well.  Check the org-groff site in the footnote for an
> >> example.
> >
> > I am not sure about this. I often write a letter below a task in my
> > Org files so I rely on exporting the subtree only. So I would have to
> > put the TO address below the letter text which looks weird, but is
> > doable. On the other hand, being able to use Org syntax and not have to
> > escape linebreaks with `\\' is a big plus.
> 
> > Maybe both options could be supported. I.e., use a FROM headline if
> > available, but fall back on option lines if not? Or is this too
> > confusing for users?
> 
> The reason why I didn't add it as this point is that I'd want to keep
> it 'backward compatible' and I had to think about it.  I was toying
> with introducing a =:with-legacy= variable that would govern which of
> =* TO :TO:= and =#+TO_ADDRESS= would be printed if both are present.

I would definitely like to keep the old functionality. I like how your
patch uses headlines to add additional information to the letter. But in
the letters I wrote I would only need a FROM headline and having this
single headline below the letter text seems strange.

However, I realize that my preferences are very much tied to my workflow
and being able to specify an address below FROM or TO headlines is very
useful because it is so powerful (and probably easier to new users). If
a letter uses both a headline and an option line to set an address I
would think the headline should take precedence, because it is more
powerful. A `:with-legacy' variable doesn't really solve anything
because what does the exporter do if the variable is missing but there
are two addresses set? Maybe the exporter could simply emit a warning in
that case.

Cheers,
Viktor

> 
> What do you think?
> 
> Thanks for your comments.
> –Rasmus
> 
> -- 
> The Kids call him Billy the Saint
>