Customize how xrefs are followed in help-mode?

Customize how xrefs are followed in help-mode?

[Eric Abrahamsen]

It's always bothered me that following a function/variable definition
button from a *Help* buffer goes to the file in a separate window -- I
almost always want to re-use the *Help* window.

Essentially, help-mode.el:209 hard-codes the use of `pop-to-buffer', I'd
like to be able to use `pop-to-buffer-same-window'.

From a user's standpoint, I guess what I'd prefer is to be able to give
a prefix arg to RET when following the button, but I don't see any way
of passing that arg down, plus there's no good equivalent for the mouse
click.

Would people consider a customization option to control this?

Eric

Re: Customize how xrefs are followed in help-mode?

[Noam Postavsky]

On Thu, 16 May 2019 at 15:19, Eric Abrahamsen <eric@ericabrahamsen.net> wrote:
>
> It's always bothered me that following a function/variable definition
> button from a *Help* buffer goes to the file in a separate window -- I
> almost always want to re-use the *Help* window.
>
> Essentially, help-mode.el:209 hard-codes the use of `pop-to-buffer', I'd
> like to be able to use `pop-to-buffer-same-window'.
>
> From a user's standpoint, I guess what I'd prefer is to be able to give
> a prefix arg to RET when following the button, but I don't see any way
> of passing that arg down, plus there's no good equivalent for the mouse
> click.
>
> Would people consider a customization option to control this?

I think this the same as Bug#35487, where there are some suggestions
to use display-buffer-alist to control this.

Re: Customize how xrefs are followed in help-mode?

[Eric Abrahamsen]

Noam Postavsky <npostavs@gmail.com> writes:

> On Thu, 16 May 2019 at 15:19, Eric Abrahamsen <eric@ericabrahamsen.net> wrote:
>>
>> It's always bothered me that following a function/variable definition
>> button from a *Help* buffer goes to the file in a separate window -- I
>> almost always want to re-use the *Help* window.
>>
>> Essentially, help-mode.el:209 hard-codes the use of `pop-to-buffer', I'd
>> like to be able to use `pop-to-buffer-same-window'.
>>
>> From a user's standpoint, I guess what I'd prefer is to be able to give
>> a prefix arg to RET when following the button, but I don't see any way
>> of passing that arg down, plus there's no good equivalent for the mouse
>> click.
>>
>> Would people consider a customization option to control this?
>
> I think this the same as Bug#35487, where there are some suggestions
> to use display-buffer-alist to control this.

Oh weird, Tak Kunihiro posted his final solution (which I'm stealing)
just a few hours ago, dunno how I missed that.

Thanks!

Eric

Re: Customize how xrefs are followed in help-mode?

[Noam Postavsky]

On Thu, 16 May 2019 at 15:30, Eric Abrahamsen <eric@ericabrahamsen.net> wrote:
> Oh weird, Tak Kunihiro posted his final solution (which I'm stealing)

I'll just add an explicit link for posterity: https://debbugs.gnu.org/35487#20

Re: Customize how xrefs are followed in help-mode?

[Stefan Monnier]

> It's always bothered me that following a function/variable definition
> button from a *Help* buffer goes to the file in a separate window -- I
> almost always want to re-use the *Help* window.

While it doesn't offer such a thing yet, it should be easy to extend
`other-frame-window` to also offer a `ofw-same-window` prefix command,
to solve this dilemma once and for all.


        Stefan

Re: Customize how xrefs are followed in help-mode?

[Eric Abrahamsen]

Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> writes:

>> It's always bothered me that following a function/variable definition
>> button from a *Help* buffer goes to the file in a separate window -- I
>> almost always want to re-use the *Help* window.
>
> While it doesn't offer such a thing yet, it should be easy to extend
> `other-frame-window` to also offer a `ofw-same-window` prefix command,
> to solve this dilemma once and for all.

The last solution on #35487 is pretty concise, though...

Re: Customize how xrefs are followed in help-mode?

[Juri Linkov]

> From a user's standpoint, I guess what I'd prefer is to be able to give
> a prefix arg to RET when following the button, but I don't see any way
> of passing that arg down, plus there's no good equivalent for the mouse
> click.

To depend on a prefix arg is a good idea.

  (defun display-buffer-from-help-p (_buffer-name _action)
    (when current-prefix-arg
      (with-current-buffer (window-buffer)
        (eq major-mode 'help-mode))))

  (setq display-buffer-alist '((display-buffer-from-help-p
                                display-buffer-same-window)))

Re: Customize how xrefs are followed in help-mode?

[Eric Abrahamsen]

On 05/19/19 22:50 PM, Juri Linkov wrote:
>> From a user's standpoint, I guess what I'd prefer is to be able to give
>> a prefix arg to RET when following the button, but I don't see any way
>> of passing that arg down, plus there's no good equivalent for the mouse
>> click.
>
> To depend on a prefix arg is a good idea.
>
>   (defun display-buffer-from-help-p (_buffer-name _action)
>     (when current-prefix-arg
>       (with-current-buffer (window-buffer)
>         (eq major-mode 'help-mode))))
>
>   (setq display-buffer-alist '((display-buffer-from-help-p
>                                 display-buffer-same-window)))

That's a nice solution, too, thanks!