Bug: recurring mesages - Invalid face reference: nil [nnn times] [8.2.7b (8.2.7b-1-ga5beff-elpa @ c:/home/george/.emacs.d/elpa

Bug: recurring mesages - Invalid face reference: nil [nnn times] [8.2.7b (8.2.7b-1-ga5beff-elpa @ c:/home/george/.emacs.d/elpa

[George Pearson]

Remember to cover the basics, that is, what you expected to happen and
what in fact did happen.  You don't know how to make a good report?  See

     http://orgmode.org/manual/Feedback.html#Feedback

Your bug report will be posted to the Org-mode mailing list.
------------------------------------------------------------------------



Emacs  : GNU Emacs 24.3.1 (i386-mingw-nt6.2.9200)
 of 2013-03-17 on MARVIN
Package: Org-mode version 8.2.7b (8.2.7b-1-ga5beff-elpa @ 
c:/home/george/.emacs.d/elpa/org-20140630/)

current state:
==============
(setq
 org-ctrl-c-ctrl-c-hook '(org-babel-hash-at-point
			  org-babel-execute-safely-maybe)
 org-tab-first-hook '(org-hide-block-toggle-maybe
		      org-src-native-tab-command-maybe
		      org-babel-hide-result-toggle-maybe
		      org-babel-header-arg-expand)
 org-cycle-hook '(org-cycle-hide-archived-subtrees org-cycle-hide-drawers
		  org-cycle-hide-inline-tasks org-cycle-show-empty-lines
		  org-optimize-window-after-visibility-change)
 org-agenda-before-write-hook '(org-agenda-add-entry-text)
 org-speed-command-hook '(org-speed-command-default-hook
			  org-babel-speed-command-hook)
 org-babel-pre-tangle-hook '(save-buffer)
 org-occur-hook '(org-first-headline-recenter)
 org-metaup-hook '(org-babel-load-in-session-maybe)
 org-confirm-elisp-link-function 'yes-or-no-p
 org-clock-out-hook '(org-clock-remove-empty-clock-drawer)
 org-agenda-ndays 1
 org-mode-hook '(#[nil "\300\301\302\303\304$\207"
		   [org-add-hook change-major-mode-hook org-show-block-all
		    append local]
		   5]
		 #[nil "\300\301\302\303\304$\207"
		   [org-add-hook change-major-mode-hook
		    org-babel-show-result-all append local]
		   5]
		 org-babel-result-hide-spec org-babel-hide-all-hashes
		 turn-on-font-lock)
 org-directory "/home/george/orgfiles/"
 org-metadown-hook '(org-babel-pop-to-session-maybe)
 org-agenda-files '("~/orgfiles/master.org" "~/orgfiles/recurring.org")
 org-src-mode-hook '(org-src-babel-configure-edit-buffer
		     org-src-mode-configure-edit-buffer)
 org-after-todo-state-change-hook '(org-clock-out-if-current)
 org-confirm-shell-link-function 'yes-or-no-p
 )

The message:

Invalid face reference: nil [nnn times]

where, nnn is replaced by a number, appears frequently in the *Messages* 
buffer.

How I reproduce it:
1. start emacs
2. open any file
3. open a 2nd window or frame for the *Messages* buffer
4. type ctrl-g in the open file's buffer - notice only Quit messages in
the *Messages* buffer i.e. the normal effect
5. open master.org
6. create an agenda with ctrl-a a
7. type "G" into the agenda window (This is just one of several ways to
produce the problem.)
8. now type ctrl-g in ANY of the open file's buffers or the agenda window
itself and observe the "QuitInvalid face reference ..." message.

What I've tried:

- debug-on-error t - nothing happened
- debug-on-entry to message function - nothing happened
- attached advice to message function, as described at
  http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/DebugMessages.  That also did nothing -
  perhaps because the message occurs in a "repaint"?

Observations:
- it's interesting that once the effect is triggered in org, then it
occurs everywhere
- this problem does NOT happen if I switch back to org 7.9.3f.
- if I don't use org from ELPA and instead use org 8.2.6 in a site-lisp 
directory, the problem still happens

Any ideas?

	- George

Re: Bug: recurring mesages - Invalid face reference: nil [nnn times] [8.2.7b (8.2.7b-1-ga5beff-elpa @ c:/home/george/.emacs.d/elpa

[Nick Dokos]

"George Pearson" <george@canals.com> writes:


> The message:
>
> Invalid face reference: nil [nnn times]
>
> where, nnn is replaced by a number, appears frequently in the
> *Messages* buffer.
>
> How I reproduce it: 1. start emacs 2. open any file 3. open a 2nd
> window or frame for the *Messages* buffer 4. type ctrl-g in the open
> file's buffer - notice only Quit messages in the *Messages* buffer
> i.e. the normal effect 5. open master.org 6. create an agenda with
> ctrl-a a 7. type "G" into the agenda window (This is just one of
> several ways to produce the problem.)  8. now type ctrl-g in ANY of
> the open file's buffers or the agenda window itself and observe the
> "QuitInvalid face reference ..." message.
>
> What I've tried:
>
> - debug-on-error t - nothing happened - debug-on-entry to message
> function - nothing happened - attached advice to message function, as
> described at
>   http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/DebugMessages.  That also did nothing
>   - perhaps because the message occurs in a "repaint"?
>
> Observations: - it's interesting that once the effect is triggered in
> org, then it occurs everywhere - this problem does NOT happen if I
> switch back to org 7.9.3f.  - if I don't use org from ELPA and instead
> use org 8.2.6 in a site-lisp directory, the problem still happens
>
> Any ideas?
>

I can't reproduce it in my setup, but I found this note in the gnus
changelog which might (or might not) be illuminating:

,----
| 2012-12-27 Wolfgang Jenkner <wjenkner@inode.at>
| 
| 	* gnus-spec.el (gnus-face-face-function): Don't use nil as no-op face
| 	place holder since this gives `Invalid face reference: nil'
| 	messages.  Use the `default' face instead.  It has the same
| 	effect here, even though it is not no-op.
`----

The message is produced by merge_face_ref() in xfaces.c however, so
elisp debugging is probably not applicable: you have to run emacs under
gdb to catch it. But maybe somebody will have a better idea.

Nick