bug#9084: 24.0.50; displaying man pages splits the window and formats the text for the full width of the whole frame rather than for the width of the window the text is displayed in, which is only 1/2 the width of the frame

[lee <lee@yun.yagibdah.de>]

martin rudalics <rudalics@gmx.at> writes:

>>> So this might be as simple as reversing the order in which things happen:
>>> first splitting the frame automatically and then formatting the manual
>>> page vs. formatting the manual page first and then splitting the frame.
>>
>> Such reversing the order is implemented in http://debbugs.gnu.org/5054
>> Maybe we should commit that now?
>
> Sounds reasonable, yes.

When this is applied and the variable `Man-width' is set to some value,
like 75, will the width of the window to display the manpage in be
adjusted to the width of the text?  Just splitting the current window in
half when it is 230 characters wide gives you two windows each about 115
characters wide while you might rather want the window with the manpage
to be `Man-width' characters wide and the other window as wide as the
rest of the frame.

Then there's the documentation about `Man-frame-parameters':

,---- [ M-x describe-variable Man-frame-parameters ]
| Man-frame-parameters is a variable defined in `man.el'.
| Its value is nil
| 
| Documentation:
| Frame parameter list for creating a new frame for a manual page.
| 
| You can customize this variable.
| 
| [back]
`----

(I had to look at man.el to find out that I can set `Man-width'.)

And when you proceed to customise `Man-frame-parameters', you don't have
any idea what to enter to always get a frame that makes the window
`Man-width' characters wide.  Also, please note the terminology:

,---- [ info (emacs) Frames ]
| When using a graphical display, you can create multiple system-level
| "windows" in a single Emacs session.  We refer to these system-level
| windows as "frames".
`----

,---- [ info (emacs) Multiple Windows ]
| Emacs can split a frame into two or many windows.
`----

My understanding would be that `Man-frame-parameters' must be ignored
when running emacs on the console because there are only windows and no
frames available.