Re: Dired: how to mark with other character but *

[moasenwood--- via Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor <help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>]

> Your function need not have any key defined, users could
> define on which key to put it.

Check out this solution/interface to another problem.
 
This function has a state, that can change, but it uses
properties so there is no global variable.
 
You use it by invoking it (I have it `C-c j'), if you want to
set a new column to which text should be aligned, you just
move there and do `C-u C-c j', this changes the state so the
next time it is invoked that column is the reference...

Pretty cool, if I may...

Did anyone else do that or do I get to name it?

Nah, probably many people did it...

But it is still cool! :)

(defun pad-to-col (&optional set-new-col)
  (interactive "p")
  (let*((plist   (symbol-plist #'pad-to-col))
        (prop    'pad-col)
        (pad-col (or (plist-get plist prop) 0))
        (beg-col (or (current-column) 4)) )
    (if (and set-new-col (= 4 set-new-col))
        (progn
          (plist-put plist prop beg-col)
          (message "pad col set: %s" beg-col) )
      (let ((step (- pad-col beg-col)))
        (when (> step 0)
          (insert (make-string step ?\s))
          (forward-line 1)
          (forward-char beg-col) )))))

https://dataswamp.org/~incal/emacs-init/align-new.el

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