find-alternate-file default filename annoyance

find-alternate-file default filename annoyance

[Leo]

Hi there,

  1. Open an existing file
  2. M-x find-alternate-file

You can see 'find-alternate-file' will put `buffer-file-name' as its
filename by default. I think this is a bad default because it
contradicts the name 'find-alternate-file'. I found myself every time
struggling to remove the default filename before I can type the
desired one.

BTW,
Ido-mode doesn't have this annoyance only if ffap is not enabled.

-- 
Leo <sdl.web AT gmail.com>                         (GPG Key: 9283AA3F)

Re: find-alternate-file default filename annoyance

[Richard Stallman]

    You can see 'find-alternate-file' will put `buffer-file-name' as its
    filename by default.

This is what it has always done.

Re: find-alternate-file default filename annoyance

[Leo]

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On 2007-01-21, Richard Stallman said:
>     You can see 'find-alternate-file' will put `buffer-file-name' as
>     its filename by default.
>
> This is what it has always done.

Indeed the default behavior is not too bad since it places the cursor
at the beginning of the filename and can be easily removed if user
wants to choose another one.

*HOWEVER*, there must be a bug in either ffap or ido which cause Emacs
 to place the cursor at the end of the filename. I have narrowed it
 down to the following recipe:

  1. emacs -q -l faf
  2. Open an existing file
  3. C-x C-v


[-- Attachment #2: faf --]
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;;-*-mode: emacs-lisp;coding: utf-8;-*-
(setq ffap-require-prefix t)
(ffap-bindings)
;;; ido
(require 'ido)
(ido-mode t)
(ido-everywhere t)

[-- Attachment #3: Type: text/plain, Size: 75 bytes --]

-- 
Leo <sdl.web AT gmail.com>                         (GPG Key: 9283AA3F)

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Re: find-alternate-file default filename annoyance

[Kim F. Storm]

Leo <sdl.web@gmail.com> writes:

> On 2007-01-21, Richard Stallman said:
>>     You can see 'find-alternate-file' will put `buffer-file-name' as
>>     its filename by default.
>>
>> This is what it has always done.
>
> Indeed the default behavior is not too bad since it places the cursor
> at the beginning of the filename and can be easily removed if user
> wants to choose another one.
>
> *HOWEVER*, there must be a bug in either ffap or ido which cause Emacs
>  to place the cursor at the end of the filename. 

Ido _always_ places the cursor at the end of the "current input", which
in this case happens to be the current buffer filename.

So there is no bug.  Just use M-DEL to delete the filename as
usual with ido.

-- 
Kim F. Storm <storm@cua.dk> http://www.cua.dk

Re: find-alternate-file default filename annoyance

[Leo]

On 2007-01-22, Kim F. Storm said:

>> *HOWEVER*, there must be a bug in either ffap or ido which cause
>> Emacs to place the cursor at the end of the filename.
>
> Ido _always_ places the cursor at the end of the "current input",
> which in this case happens to be the current buffer filename.

There maybe a good explanation behind the whole cursor placing
things. As I found 99% of the time IDO is more convenient than the
default behaviors, this one really confuses me. Is it because C-k has
been bound to ido-delete-file-at-head, so if the cursor is placed at
the beginning of the filename, users might accidentally delete files?

> So there is no bug.  Just use M-DEL to delete the filename as usual
> with ido.

But We are paying a price. This will increase the keystrokes to more
than 2 as most files have an extension.

-- 
Leo <sdl.web AT gmail.com>                         (GPG Key: 9283AA3F)

Re: find-alternate-file default filename annoyance

[Kim F. Storm]

Leo <sdl.web@gmail.com> writes:

> There maybe a good explanation behind the whole cursor placing
> things. As I found 99% of the time IDO is more convenient than the
> default behaviors, this one really confuses me. Is it because C-k has
> been bound to ido-delete-file-at-head, so if the cursor is placed at
> the beginning of the filename, users might accidentally delete files?

Ok, you have convinced me -- 1% inconvenience is too much :-)

I have modified ido to place the cursor at the start of the input when
a default item is present (which ffap provides).

I've also made C-a, C-e, C-b, and C-k work more intelligently when the
cursor is not at the end of the input -- e.g. C-k delete the rest of
the input, and C-e moves to the end of the input.

C-a normally toggles the "ignore" list processing ... and that is a
very important binding (C-a = show all).  So C-a cannot be used
directly to move to the beginning of input, but I changed it so that
it moves to the beginning of the input if the cursor is _not_ at the
end of the input ... so use C-b C-a to move cursor to the start of
input.

-- 
Kim F. Storm <storm@cua.dk> http://www.cua.dk

Re: find-alternate-file default filename annoyance

[Leo]

On 2007-01-24, Kim F. Storm said:

> Leo <sdl.web@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> There maybe a good explanation behind the whole cursor placing
>> things. As I found 99% of the time IDO is more convenient than the
>> default behaviors, this one really confuses me. Is it because C-k has
>> been bound to ido-delete-file-at-head, so if the cursor is placed at
>> the beginning of the filename, users might accidentally delete files?
>
> Ok, you have convinced me -- 1% inconvenience is too much :-)
>
> I have modified ido to place the cursor at the start of the input when
> a default item is present (which ffap provides).
>
> I've also made C-a, C-e, C-b, and C-k work more intelligently when the
> cursor is not at the end of the input -- e.g. C-k delete the rest of
> the input, and C-e moves to the end of the input.
>
> C-a normally toggles the "ignore" list processing ... and that is a
> very important binding (C-a = show all).  So C-a cannot be used
> directly to move to the beginning of input, but I changed it so that
> it moves to the beginning of the input if the cursor is _not_ at the
> end of the input ... so use C-b C-a to move cursor to the start of
> input.

Thank you, Kim.

-- 
Leo <sdl.web AT gmail.com>                         (GPG Key: 9283AA3F)

ido-dired is not activated in ffap (was: find-alternate-file default filename annoyance)

[Leo]

On 2007-01-22, Leo said:

> ;;-*-mode: emacs-lisp;coding: utf-8;-*-
> (setq ffap-require-prefix t)
> (ffap-bindings)
> ;;; ido
> (require 'ido)
> (ido-mode t)
> (ido-everywhere t)

With the setting above, C-x d will use dired-at-point and use the
default dired behavior. C-u C-x d will have the ido-dired behavior.

But shouldn't C-x d be using ido-dired if ido is enabled?

-- 
Leo <sdl.web AT gmail.com>                         (GPG Key: 9283AA3F)

Re: ido-dired is not activated in ffap (was: find-alternate-file default filename annoyance)

[Kim F. Storm]

Leo <sdl.web@gmail.com> writes:

> On 2007-01-22, Leo said:
>
>> ;;-*-mode: emacs-lisp;coding: utf-8;-*-
>> (setq ffap-require-prefix t)
>> (ffap-bindings)
>> ;;; ido
>> (require 'ido)
>> (ido-mode t)
>> (ido-everywhere t)
>
> With the setting above, C-x d will use dired-at-point and use the
> default dired behavior. C-u C-x d will have the ido-dired behavior.
>
> But shouldn't C-x d be using ido-dired if ido is enabled?

ffap rebinds C-x d to dired-at-point which does its own directory reading.
There is nothing ido can do about that...

One possible remedy is to set dired-at-point-require-prefix to t.

-- 
Kim F. Storm <storm@cua.dk> http://www.cua.dk

Re: ido-dired is not activated in ffap (was: find-alternate-file default filename annoyance)

[Leo]

On 2007-01-30, Kim F. Storm said:

> Leo <sdl.web@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> On 2007-01-22, Leo said:
>>
>>> ;;-*-mode: emacs-lisp;coding: utf-8;-*-
>>> (setq ffap-require-prefix t)
>>> (ffap-bindings)
>>> ;;; ido
>>> (require 'ido)
>>> (ido-mode t)
>>> (ido-everywhere t)
>>
>> With the setting above, C-x d will use dired-at-point and use the
>> default dired behavior. C-u C-x d will have the ido-dired behavior.
>>
>> But shouldn't C-x d be using ido-dired if ido is enabled?
>
> ffap rebinds C-x d to dired-at-point which does its own directory reading.
> There is nothing ido can do about that...
>
> One possible remedy is to set dired-at-point-require-prefix to t.

Thank you for this.

-- 
Leo <sdl.web AT gmail.com>                         (GPG Key: 9283AA3F)