Re: M-x custom: *PLEASE*, someone, have it build an INDEX (as in *info*)

[dkcombs@panix.com (David Combs)]

In article <mailman.1677.1263871922.18930.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>,
Kevin Rodgers  <kevin.d.rodgers@gmail.com> wrote:
>David Combs wrote:
>> Unlike most everyone else, I find "custom" basically UNUSABLE.
>> 
>> (Actually, I'd much prefer a super-LONG edit-options -- at least
>> I could run M-x occur on it, see where things were.
>> 
>> This custom thing -- I have no idea where things are, how far
>> down I have to go.
>> 
>> Maybe if someone could code it to draw one HUGE tree (lying on its
>> side, of course), but the current scheme doesn't work for me.
>> 
>> So, an INDEX would help -- each one being a LINK to the thing
>> it's about.  Custom would make the index each time it started up.
>
>Why not `M-x apropos-variable' to generate the *Apropos* buffer as a
>virtual index?  Then click on one of the links to display the *Help*
>buffer for any variable, which has a link to customize the variable.
>
>-- 
>Kevin Rodgers
>Denver, Colorado, USA
>
>
>

You mean with a regexp like "."?  To get EVERYTHING?

   (everything that emacs knows about, anyway, at that time
    I guess that custom works the same way -- if a .el file
    hasn't yet been read in, emacs won't know any of its
    variables?

   Or is that just plain wrong.  Isn't there something that
  is predefined, and if referenced, it's then read in?
  Or is that just for defuns?  Or not even emacs-lisp?)

David