* Annoying change in "other window" behavior
@ 2011-08-23 6:55 MBR
2011-08-23 8:26 ` suvayu ali
` (2 more replies)
0 siblings, 3 replies; 8+ messages in thread
From: MBR @ 2011-08-23 6:55 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: help-gnu-emacs
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I've been using Emacs 21.3.1 for a long time and never got around to
upgrading. I just installed Ubuntu (Natty Narwahl) on another system and
when I installed Emacs on it, version 23.2.1 got installed. The new
Emacs implements a "feature" that I'm finding very inconvenient, but I
haven't found any way to turn it off.
There are certain commands that operate on the "other window". For example:
1. C-x b brings up the *Buffer List* buffer in the other window,
2. C-x 4 f opens up a file in the other window, and
3. In a dired buffer you can position the cursor on a file or
directory and type "o", and it will open that file or directory in
the other window.
Note that I'm using the Emacs meaning of "window". I don't mean what the
GUI (e.g. X11) calls a "window", which Emacs calls a "frame". I mean a
subdivision of a top-level GUI window. Emacs windows are tiled either
side-by-side or directly above and below other Emacs windows.
Anyway, I can split a window horizontally (i.e. turn it into two
side-by-side windows) with C-x 3.
+--------------------+--------------------+
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
+--------------------+--------------------+
Or I can split a window vertically (i.e. turn it into two windows, one
directly below the other) with C-x 2.
+-----------------------------------------+
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
+-----------------------------------------+
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
+-----------------------------------------+
In the older version of Emacs, when I used a command that operates on
the other window, it always chose the other window from the set of
windows I'd already created. If I'd previously created two
vertically-stacked windows with C-x 2 or two side-by-side windows with
C-x 3, it would put the data in whatever window the cursor was not in.
Only when I had just one Emacs window, would it create a second window.
In version 23.2.1, that's all changed. The rule now seems to be that it
will reuse a side-by-side window, but won't reuse a vertically-stacked
window. So, if I've previously split my screen into side-by-side windows
with C-x 3, the behavior is like it used to be. If my screen starts out
looking like:
+--------------------+--------------------+
| Dired buffer | |
| ...>file #1 | |
| ... file #2 | |
| ... file #3 | |
| ... file #4 | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
+--------------------+--------------------+
Note: ">" represents the cursor position.
after I type "o" (which runs dired-find-file-other-window), it looks
just like it used to in the older version:
+--------------------+--------------------+
| Dired buffer | This window now |
| ...>file #1 | displays the |
| ... file #2 | contents of |
| ... file #3 | file #1. |
| ... file #4 | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
+--------------------+--------------------+
BUT if I've previously split my screen into vertically-stacked windows
with C-x 2, it now splits my current window into two side-by-side
windows, leaving me with three windows. So, if my screen starts out
looking like:
+-----------------------------------------+
| Dired buffer |
| ...>file #1 |
| ... file #2 |
| ... file #3 |
| ... file #4 |
| |
+-----------------------------------------+
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
+-----------------------------------------+
After I type "o" it used to look like:
+-----------------------------------------+
| Dired buffer |
| ...>file #1 |
| ... file #2 |
| ... file #3 |
| ... file #4 |
| |
+-----------------------------------------+
| This window now displays the contents |
| of file #1. |
| |
| |
| |
| |
+-----------------------------------------+
BUT NOW it looks like:
+--------------------+--------------------+
| Dired buffer | This window now |
| ...>file #1 | displays the |
| ... file #2 | contents of |
| ... file #3 | file #1. |
| ... file #4 | |
| | |
+--------------------+--------------------+
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
+-----------------------------------------+
I'm finding this very inconvenient. Does anyone know if there's a
variable I can set in my .emacs to change back to the old behavior? Or
if not, is there anyone who's familiar with the Lisp code that
implements this who can point me to where in the code I should look to
figure out how to change this?
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^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 8+ messages in thread
* Re: Annoying change in "other window" behavior
2011-08-23 6:55 Annoying change in "other window" behavior MBR
@ 2011-08-23 8:26 ` suvayu ali
2011-08-23 16:14 ` MBR
2011-08-23 8:30 ` suvayu ali
2011-08-23 11:34 ` Bernardo
2 siblings, 1 reply; 8+ messages in thread
From: suvayu ali @ 2011-08-23 8:26 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: MBR; +Cc: help-gnu-emacs
On Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 8:55 AM, MBR <mbr@arlsoft.com> wrote:
> There are certain commands that operate on the "other window". For example:
>
> C-x b brings up the *Buffer List* buffer in the other window,
I believe you mean C-x C-b or list-buffers? C-x b is switch-to-buffer.
> C-x 4 f opens up a file in the other window, and
find-file-other-window
> In a dired buffer you can position the cursor on a file or directory and
> type "o", and it will open that file or directory in the other window.
dired-find-file-other-window
In any case these commands have always used the other-window. I will
have to say you either had some special configuration which is not
working with Emacs 23 or you remember incorrectly.
I just tested this with Emacs 21.4.1.
--
Suvayu
Open source is the future. It sets us free.
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 8+ messages in thread
* Re: Annoying change in "other window" behavior
2011-08-23 6:55 Annoying change in "other window" behavior MBR
2011-08-23 8:26 ` suvayu ali
@ 2011-08-23 8:30 ` suvayu ali
2011-08-23 11:34 ` Bernardo
2 siblings, 0 replies; 8+ messages in thread
From: suvayu ali @ 2011-08-23 8:30 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: MBR; +Cc: help-gnu-emacs
Sorry, I misunderstood the post. Too early in the morning for me. :-p
On Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 8:55 AM, MBR <mbr@arlsoft.com> wrote:
> In version 23.2.1, that's all changed. The rule now seems to be that it will
> reuse a side-by-side window, but won't reuse a vertically-stacked window.
> So, if I've previously split my screen into side-by-side windows with C-x 3,
> the behavior is like it used to be. If my screen starts out looking like:
Maybe you have customised how spitting is controlled which doesn't
work the same way in Emacs 23, split-*-threshold or
split-window-prefered-funtion ?
--
Suvayu
Open source is the future. It sets us free.
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 8+ messages in thread
* Re: Annoying change in "other window" behavior
2011-08-23 6:55 Annoying change in "other window" behavior MBR
2011-08-23 8:26 ` suvayu ali
2011-08-23 8:30 ` suvayu ali
@ 2011-08-23 11:34 ` Bernardo
2011-08-23 16:34 ` MBR
[not found] ` <mailman.1818.1314117273.939.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
2 siblings, 2 replies; 8+ messages in thread
From: Bernardo @ 2011-08-23 11:34 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: MBR; +Cc: help-gnu-emacs
> After I type "o" it used to look like:
>
> +-----------------------------------------+
> | Dired buffer |
> | ...>file #1 |
> | ... file #2 |
> | ... file #3 |
> | ... file #4 |
> | |
> +-----------------------------------------+
> | This window now displays the contents |
> | of file #1. |
> | |
> | |
> | |
> | |
> +-----------------------------------------+
>
> BUT NOW it looks like:
>
> +--------------------+--------------------+
> | Dired buffer | This window now |
> | ...>file #1 | displays the |
> | ... file #2 | contents of |
> | ... file #3 | file #1. |
> | ... file #4 | |
> | | |
> +--------------------+--------------------+
> | |
> | |
> | |
> | |
> | |
> | |
> +-----------------------------------------+
>
setting the value of split-width-threshold variable to a larger value
might help;
maybe something like this will make a difference:
(setq split-width-threshold 300)
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 8+ messages in thread
* Re: Annoying change in "other window" behavior
2011-08-23 8:26 ` suvayu ali
@ 2011-08-23 16:14 ` MBR
0 siblings, 0 replies; 8+ messages in thread
From: MBR @ 2011-08-23 16:14 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: suvayu ali; +Cc: help-gnu-emacs
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On 8/23/2011 4:26 AM, suvayu ali wrote:
> In any case these commands have always used the other-window. I will
> have to say you either had some special configuration which is not
> working with Emacs 23 or you remember incorrectly.
>
> I just tested this with Emacs 21.4.1.
>
I'm sure I'm not remembering incorrectly because I still have both
installations. I recently installed Ubuntu in a separate partition on
my laptop. Emacs 21.3.1 runs when I boot Windows XP, and Emacs 23.2.1
runs when I boot Ubuntu. The behavior differences I'm describing should
all be implemented in Lisp, and should therefore not depend in any way
on the OS under which Emacs is running.
I did discover something more about 23.2.1's behavior after I posted.
It seems the behavior depends on the width of the top-level window (what
Emacs calls a "frame"). If I have two vertically-stacked Emacs windows
in a small Emacs frame and type C-x C-b, *Buffer List* is displayed in
the other pre-existing Emacs window. But if I have the same two
vertically-stacked Emacs windows in a large Emacs frame (I frequently
work with one Emacs frame maximized) when I type C-x C-b, instead of
displaying *Buffer List* in the other pre-existing Emacs window, it
behaves as if I'd run M-x split-window-horizontally before running M-x
list-buffers.
Just to be sure, I double-checked 21.3.1's behavior (i.e. the old
version), and it doesn't do this. Unless it's starting with only one
Emacs window and has no choice but to split it into two, it always
reuses a pre-existing Emacs window.
So, there can be no doubt that somebody added a new feature that makes
this window-splitting behavior dependent on the width of the frame,
which it never used to be. I'd really like to turn this feature off.
Mark
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^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 8+ messages in thread
* Re: Annoying change in "other window" behavior
2011-08-23 11:34 ` Bernardo
@ 2011-08-23 16:34 ` MBR
[not found] ` <mailman.1818.1314117273.939.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
1 sibling, 0 replies; 8+ messages in thread
From: MBR @ 2011-08-23 16:34 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: bernardo.bacic; +Cc: help-gnu-emacs
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Thank you! I just Googled the variable you pointed me to
(split-width-threshold), and instantly turned up the Emacs 23.3 page at
http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/elisp/html_node/Choosing-Window.html,
which describes the function display-buffer. display-buffer is described
as "the basic facility that chooses a window to display a buffer in."
This sounds like exactly the function I was looking for. The
documentation shown when I run M-x describe-function display-buffer in
21.3 doesn't contain any mention of a variable named
split-width-threshold, which is pretty strong evidence that that feature
wasn't added until some later version.
Mark
On 8/23/2011 7:34 AM, Bernardo wrote:
>
>> After I type "o" it used to look like:
>>
>> +-----------------------------------------+
>> | Dired buffer |
>> | ...>file #1 |
>> | ... file #2 |
>> | ... file #3 |
>> | ... file #4 |
>> | |
>> +-----------------------------------------+
>> | This window now displays the contents |
>> | of file #1. |
>> | |
>> | |
>> | |
>> | |
>> +-----------------------------------------+
>>
>> BUT NOW it looks like:
>>
>> +--------------------+--------------------+
>> | Dired buffer | This window now |
>> | ...>file #1 | displays the |
>> | ... file #2 | contents of |
>> | ... file #3 | file #1. |
>> | ... file #4 | |
>> | | |
>> +--------------------+--------------------+
>> | |
>> | |
>> | |
>> | |
>> | |
>> | |
>> +-----------------------------------------+
>>
>
> setting the value of split-width-threshold variable to a larger value
> might help;
> maybe something like this will make a difference:
> (setq split-width-threshold 300)
>
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^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 8+ messages in thread
* Re: Annoying change in "other window" behavior
[not found] ` <mailman.1818.1314117273.939.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
@ 2011-08-24 5:51 ` Jason Rumney
2011-08-24 16:11 ` MBR
0 siblings, 1 reply; 8+ messages in thread
From: Jason Rumney @ 2011-08-24 5:51 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: gnu.emacs.help; +Cc: help-gnu-emacs
C-h n will give you the NEWS file, explaining all the changes in the latest version of Emacs. In there you will find the answer you are looking for (how to get the old behaviour back):
** Changes affecting display-buffer
*** display-buffer tries to be smarter when splitting windows.
The new option split-window-preferred-function lets you specify your own
function to pop up new windows. Its default value split-window-sensibly
can split a window either vertically or horizontally, whichever seems
more suitable in the current configuration. You can tune the behavior
of split-window-sensibly by customizing split-height-threshold and the
new option split-width-threshold. Both options now take the value nil
to inhibit splitting in one direction. Setting split-width-threshold to
nil inhibits horizontal splitting and gets you the behavior of Emacs 22
in this respect. In any case, display-buffer may now split the largest
window vertically even when it is not as wide as the containing frame.
This is for 23.3, for 23.2, you may not have the option of setting it to nil (judging by the wording above, this was added at a later date) but setting it to a very large value (more columns than will fit on your display) should also work.
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 8+ messages in thread
* Re: Annoying change in "other window" behavior
2011-08-24 5:51 ` Jason Rumney
@ 2011-08-24 16:11 ` MBR
0 siblings, 0 replies; 8+ messages in thread
From: MBR @ 2011-08-24 16:11 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: gnu.emacs.help; +Cc: help-gnu-emacs, Jason Rumney
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Much obliged. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.
Mark
On 8/24/2011 1:51 AM, Jason Rumney wrote:
> C-h n will give you the NEWS file, explaining all the changes in the latest version of Emacs. In there you will find the answer you are looking for (how to get the old behaviour back):
>
> ** Changes affecting display-buffer
>
> *** display-buffer tries to be smarter when splitting windows.
> The new option split-window-preferred-function lets you specify your own
> function to pop up new windows. Its default value split-window-sensibly
> can split a window either vertically or horizontally, whichever seems
> more suitable in the current configuration. You can tune the behavior
> of split-window-sensibly by customizing split-height-threshold and the
> new option split-width-threshold. Both options now take the value nil
> to inhibit splitting in one direction. Setting split-width-threshold to
> nil inhibits horizontal splitting and gets you the behavior of Emacs 22
> in this respect. In any case, display-buffer may now split the largest
> window vertically even when it is not as wide as the containing frame.
>
>
> This is for 23.3, for 23.2, you may not have the option of setting it to nil (judging by the wording above, this was added at a later date) but setting it to a very large value (more columns than will fit on your display) should also work.
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-- links below jump to the message on this page --
2011-08-23 6:55 Annoying change in "other window" behavior MBR
2011-08-23 8:26 ` suvayu ali
2011-08-23 16:14 ` MBR
2011-08-23 8:30 ` suvayu ali
2011-08-23 11:34 ` Bernardo
2011-08-23 16:34 ` MBR
[not found] ` <mailman.1818.1314117273.939.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
2011-08-24 5:51 ` Jason Rumney
2011-08-24 16:11 ` MBR
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