Re: Failing to see the allure of Emacs

[Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca>]

> I guess I can't argue with that advice, given that searching the
> manual does help.  The problem is that I thought I was looking for a
> function (something that read/loaded/displayed PDF files), not a
> concept.  Perhaps I am missing a lot of functionality of emacs which
> would be useful, but I've always (up until now) found what I wanted
> with apropos.  Sometimes I've followed that up with looking in the
> manual, but rarely have I needed to.

No solution is perfect.  Apropos searches the docstrings (which tend to
describe the actual code), so it will work well if you know the exact
term used inside Emacs to refer to your functionality.  But if you
happen to use another term, it often fails miserably.  The manual
writers OTOH make a conscious effort to mention not just the precise
term used inside Emacs but also the more generic terms that are related
to it.


        Stefan