Re: desktop

[Lars Hansen <larsh@math.ku.dk>]

About the desktop module enabling thing:

When `desktop-enable' is nil the desktop module should do absolutely 
nothing. Otherwise the variable name would be misleading.
When `desktop-enable' is non-nil, the module should try to load a 
desktop when Emacs is started, and it should try to save it when Emacs 
is killed. There are several variable that let you customize how.

Alex pointed out that you have to set `desktop-enable' to non-nil if you 
want the desktop saved at Emacs kill, this was not so previously (in the 
released versions of Emacs). That is true. IMHO it was a bug that the 
desktop was saved even if `desktop-enable' was nil. That bug is 
corrected now.
Alex also pointed out that the documentation in the desktop module and 
in the manual is wrong. That is also true. It should be something like:

   To enable desktop saving, use customize to set `desktop-enable' to 
non-nil.
   Alternatively, place the following two lines somewhere in your .emacs 
file:

      (desktop-load-default)
      (setq desktop-enable t)

You should not call `desktop-read' in your .emacs file, that is done in 
the `after-init-hook'.
It is also wrong, as stated it the manual, that you need to save the 
desktop manually the first time. Previously that was needed in order the 
set the value of `desktop-dirname'. Now Emacs will ask when killed if 
the value is needed and unknown.

I agree with Miles and Alex that it would be confusing to users if 
simply loading the desktop module would enable it. So I think 
`desktop-enable' should continue to have the default value nil.

I think more updates to the documentation of the desktop module is 
needed. I will work on it and post some proposals later.

Lars