emacs does not record the position at which it opened a file

emacs does not record the position at which it opened a file

[gnuist006]

Hi all,

emacs does not record the position at which it opened a file. If I move the cursor and then I say

C-u SPC, there is "no mark set in this buffer" 

I am sick of C-@ as I tend to forget.

Is there any remedy like this but it does not work, I tried

(set-mark-command nil)
(set-mark-command (point))


Bolega

Re: emacs does not record the position at which it opened a file

[Alexis]

gnuist006@gmail.com writes:

> emacs does not record the position at which it opened a file. If 
> I move the cursor and then I say
>
> C-u SPC, there is "no mark set in this buffer" 
>
> I am sick of C-@ as I tend to forget.
>
> Is there any remedy like this but it does not work, I tried
>
> (set-mark-command nil) (set-mark-command (point))

Perhaps you want `saveplace'? See the save-place-* variables for 
setup.


Alexis.

Re: emacs does not record the position at which it opened a file

[Dale Snell]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 1508 bytes --]

On Sun, 19 Apr 2015 17:19:36 -0700 (PDT), in message
d339042b-1cb8-4ca5-ba9d-3c70a8314cbd@googlegroups.com,
gnuist006@gmail.com wrote:

> emacs does not record the position at which it opened a file.

Indeed, by default it does not.  However, you can set it to do so.
See the EmacsWiki page:

    <http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/SavePlace>

> If I
> move the cursor and then I say
> 
> C-u SPC, there is "no mark set in this buffer" 

C-u SPC should give you four spaces.  If it doesn't, you've got
something mis-configured somewhere.  C-x SPC sets the mark for
rectangle mode; C-SPC sets the mark.  

> I am sick of C-@ as I tend to forget.

Use C-SPC instead.

> Is there any remedy like this but it does not work, I tried
> 
> (set-mark-command nil)
> (set-mark-command (point))

"set-mark-command" is a function that is bound to a keystroke.  By
default, C-@ and C-SPC.  Either will work.

Have you gone through the Emacs tutorial?  If not, you should;
it's got lots of very useful information.  It's the first entry in
the "Help" menu, or available through "C-h t" if you don't use the
menus.  The Info manual is also very useful, especially the
Concept Index.

Hope this helps.

--Dale

-- 
+----------+  +----------+  +-----------+  +---------+  +-------+
| Space is |  | Space is |  | It's Hard |  | A Place |  | Burma |
|   Big    |  |   Dark   |  |  to Find  |  | to Park |  | Shave |
+----------+  +----------+  +-----------+  +---------+  +-------+

[-- Attachment #2: OpenPGP digital signature --]
[-- Type: application/pgp-signature, Size: 473 bytes --]

Re: emacs does not record the position at which it opened a file

[gnuist006]

On Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 6:18:25 PM UTC-7, Alexis wrote:
> gnuist006@gmail.com writes:
> 
> > emacs does not record the position at which it opened a file. If 
> > I move the cursor and then I say
> >
> > C-u SPC, there is "no mark set in this buffer" 
> >
> > I am sick of C-@ as I tend to forget.
> >
> > Is there any remedy like this but it does not work, I tried
> >
> > (set-mark-command nil) (set-mark-command (point))
> 
> Perhaps you want `saveplace'? See the save-place-* variables for 
> setup.
> 

Thanks to both of you ... however, ~/.emacs-places or saveplace is not what I am looking for. This saves a place in between sessions. My old emacs has this feature that when I open a file, it goes to a place from the saveplace and then after it, if I move the cursor and type C-u SPC, it will remember the old place in that same session and possibly other locations it pushed into some kind of stack and go back in the reverse order based on C-u SPC.

The new latest emacs does not do that, unless before the first move of the cursor, I use C-@ to memorize it.

Suppose I forget the first C-@, then I have lost the original place unless I open the same file in a 2nd emacs before closing the first one in which case it gets it from saveplace.
 
> Alexis.

Re: emacs does not record the position at which it opened a file

[Yuri Khan]

On Mon, Apr 20, 2015 at 12:52 PM,  <gnuist006@gmail.com> wrote:
> My old emacs has this feature that when I open a file, it goes to a place from the saveplace and then after it, if I move the cursor and type C-u SPC, it will remember the old place in that same session and possibly other locations it pushed into some kind of stack and go back in the reverse order based on C-u SPC.

The default key binding for this is C-u C-SPC, not C-u SPC.

Re: emacs does not record the position at which it opened a file

[gnu ist]

yes, but you and others have not answered the question asked in the thread.

what to put in .emacs so that when the file is opened, the position of the
cursor is pushed onto the stack as if it was C-@

On Mon, Apr 20, 2015 at 4:52 AM, Yuri Khan <yuri.v.khan@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Mon, Apr 20, 2015 at 12:52 PM,  <gnuist006@gmail.com> wrote:
> > My old emacs has this feature that when I open a file, it goes to a
> place from the saveplace and then after it, if I move the cursor and type
> C-u SPC, it will remember the old place in that same session and possibly
> other locations it pushed into some kind of stack and go back in the
> reverse order based on C-u SPC.
>
> The default key binding for this is C-u C-SPC, not C-u SPC.
>

Re: emacs does not record the position at which it opened a file

[Yuri Khan]

On Mon, Apr 20, 2015 at 9:48 PM, gnu ist <gnuist006@gmail.com> wrote:
> yes, but you and others have not answered the question asked in the thread.
>
> what to put in .emacs so that when the file is opened, the position of the
> cursor is pushed onto the stack as if it was C-@

I may sound harsh but I do it for your own good: Please go and read
“How To Ask Questions The Smart Way” by Eric S. Raymond. Return here
after you have read and understood that document.

http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

* * *

The C-@ key is by default bound to “set-mark-command”, and it sets
mark at the current point position when invoked without a prefix
argument — i.e. (set-mark-command nil). It looks like you already
found that out, and tried adding that to your init file.

But it did not work, because you want to invoke that after you visit a
file, not when you start Emacs. Opening the Elisp manual, you find a
node promisingly named “Standard Hooks”. You browse the list and
notice a hook called “find-file-hook”, with a cross-reference to
“Visiting Functions”. There, you read that the find-file-hook is
invoked whenever you visit a file.

Also, following the “See Hooks” link, you read that the primary way to
set a hook is by using the “add-hook” function.

So, the following incantations will do what you ask (but not
necessarily what you want or need).

(defun my-find-file-hook () (set-mark-command nil))
(add-hook 'find-file-hook 'my-find-file-hook)

Re: emacs does not record the position at which it opened a file

[Barry Margolin]

In article <mailman.1189.1429544936.904.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>,
 gnu ist <gnuist006@gmail.com> wrote:

> yes, but you and others have not answered the question asked in the thread.
> 
> what to put in .emacs so that when the file is opened, the position of the
> cursor is pushed onto the stack as if it was C-@

When a file is opened, the cursor is positioned at the beginning. Why 
would you need this saved? You can always get there with M-<.

-- 
Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA
*** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me ***

Re: emacs does not record the position at which it opened a file

[gnu ist]

On Mon, Apr 20, 2015 at 9:21 AM, Yuri Khan <yuri.v.khan@gmail.com> wrote:

> The C-@ key is by default bound to “set-mark-command”, and it sets
> mark at the current point position when invoked without a prefix
> argument — i.e. (set-mark-command nil). It looks like you already
> found that out, and tried adding that to your init file.
>
> But it did not work, because you want to invoke that after you visit a
> file, not when you start Emacs.

In the old emacs version where it works the way I am trying to
emulate, I see that if I roam around in the *scratch* buffer and try
to return to the original location by C-u C-SPC, it does not return,
so you are correct that it must work only when I visit a file, not for
*scratch*. I did not anticipate this fine distinction.

> Opening the Elisp manual, you find a
> node promisingly named “Standard Hooks”. You browse the list and
> notice a hook called “find-file-hook”, with a cross-reference to
> “Visiting Functions”. There, you read that the find-file-hook is
> invoked whenever you visit a file.

> Also, following the “See Hooks” link, you read that the primary way to
> set a hook is by using the “add-hook” function.
>
> So, the following incantations will do what you ask (but not
> necessarily what you want or need).
>
> (defun my-find-file-hook () (set-mark-command nil))
> (add-hook 'find-file-hook 'my-find-file-hook)

I have tried this and it seems to work in that it remembers the
position where the .emacs_places puts the cursor if I move it around.
There are still two problems. It has both the beginning of the file
and the current place on the stack and the region between them as
highlighted. I have to press C-g to get rid of it. Also, the mark ring
is not consistent. It appears that sometimes, if I open the file
twice, it has the mark at the beginning of the file and has
highlighted the traverse from there to the position in .emacs_places.

What I may need is a method to examine the mark ring for which I could
not locate a command. This would help me debug the problem.

thanks for any guidance.

Re: emacs does not record the position at which it opened a file

[Stefan Monnier]

> In the old emacs version where it works the way I am trying to emulate,

If it worked in some previous Emacs version, then it sounds like it's
a bug in the new version.  Please M-x report-emacs-bug giving a recipe
that worked (and indicating which Emacs version that was) but that
doesn't work any more.


        Stefan