Perry Wagle <wagle@mac.com> writes:

[...]

>> So you want to search the word at point, right?  Try C-s C-w.  If you
>> need more, just press C-w more.
>
> No, I have something in my mouse-2 paste buffer, one way or another.

Hmm, Emacs does have some problems with X primary selection.

> Also, I can double mouse-1 anywhere in a word.  Emacs wants me to be
> more precise, by going to the beginning.

If you don't mind writing some Elisp, it's easy.  After all there's
built-in M-h, you can refer to that.

> The mouse is not a precise instrument.  Rather, its a fast one, used
> properly.

You're right, but how do you define "properly"?  I believe that's not my
way of moving and clicking, it should be what I use it for.

[...]

>> I suggest throwing away your mouse.
>
> I suggest learning to use your mouse effectively with a real GUI.
> Then come back and make more refined suggestions.

I won't bother to learn more about mouse using, but here's the more
refined suggestion:

In GNU Emacs, use keyboard more, mouse less.  As for me, I use mouse to
drag the windows for resizing and moving, and when it's sometimes
confused by the primary selection.  If you're very annoyed when dealing
X primary selection, you can write some Elisp to insert the primary
selection at point, perhaps with an external tool like `xsel'.

>> Some hints: Use isearch extensively.  Jump to somewhere with C-s (or
>> C-r), and after you finished your edits there, jump back with C-u C-SPC
>> --- you may press it more if it failed.
>
> As I said above, the stuff gets into my mouse-2 paste buffer in a number of
> ways.  I make no sense of the above.  It doesn't apply.

Sorry, I have the prejudice that one who uses mouse a lot will use mouse
to move around in the buffer.  If you don't do that, please ignore
these.

>>> Apparently, I'm going to have to do this myself, unless someone else
>>> sees my light this time.  What's the best way to do it?  I have the
>>> feeling I'm fighting the foundations of emacs to try to funnel mouse
>>> button events into the minibuffer.

If you're interested in mouse in Emacs, you can help extending it.  In
this case, you don't need to hack the core of Emacs yet.

>>> Thanks for whatever help, hints, and guidance you can give me!
>
> With a little help from #emacs, I got isearch.el to do what I want, by
> telling it to NOT abort itself if mouse-2 is pressed outside the
> minibuffer.  But now it drags the highlighted region all over the
> place when I keep pressing control s.

Don't know about this, since I don't know what you did exactly.

-- 
Carl Lei (XeCycle)
Department of Physics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
OpenPGP public key: 7795E591
Fingerprint: 1FB6 7F1F D45D F681 C845 27F7 8D71 8EC4 7795 E591