From: Peter K. Lee <saint@corenova.com>
Subject: Re: Making Emacs more newbie friendly
Date: Mon, 21 Mar 2005 11:23:36 -0800 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <m3eke8247b.fsf@corenova.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: opsnuqi11mp52o26@home-ca12fabbc0
PT <mailshield.gg@mailnull.com> writes:
> I'm sure I'm not the first to come up with this idea, but I think it
> really would help if emacs had a newbie-mode which made it easier for
> newbies to get acquainted with it.
>
> I don't even recommend emacs anymore when someone asks me for a good
> editor, because they always complain about emacs being too foreign,
> non-standard, etc.
>
> This newbie mode would be a simple command which when activated would
> change default emacs settings, keybindings to as similar to a more
> usual editor as possible.
>
> This would include for example keybindings which are familiar for new
> users:
>
> F1 for help, F2 for save file, F3 for load file, etc.
>
> Menus should be activated with Alt+<key>, e.g. Alt-F for File menu. I
> know that Alt-F (Meta-F) is forward word, but I don't think a newbie
> would miss it too much. pc-selection-mode should be the default, so
> that he can move around with arrows + ctrl, shift, etc.
>
> I know there could be a problem with these bindings if emacs is run in
> a terminal, but newbies rarely do that, a graphical environment is
> more common nowadays.
>
> Useful general settings should be turned on by default. column
> numbers, global font lock, etc.
>
> So I'd like a single command which I could put into a newbies .emacs file:
>
> (newbie-mode)
I think this is a great idea. But if the real goal is to present a
"alternate-editor-compatibility" mode for ease of
introduction/transition, I think the (newbie-mode) should have few
further additions than simple binding/interface changes.
For one, if they are in (newbie-mode), every time they issue
(non-standard/non-emacs-like/whatever) key binding, they get a chunk
of their mini-buffer grab their window real-estate and EXPLAIN to them
what the REAL key binding should be, and why it makes sense. Also, if
the key binding under use is in *place* of another, let them know what
it USED to be.
Actually, I don't think it's a bad idea to have this take place EVERY
TIME they put in a key sequence that maps to a command. Just so they
know what they did every time they issue a key stroke.
I realize there's C-h xxx family of tools for this, but it's rather
annoying to type in C-h blah every time you want to find out what a
particular key sequence maps to.
And this will only take place if they have (newbie-mode) in their
.emacs (or interactively do M-x newbie-mode) so nothing is being
dumbed down for 'veteran users' as some in previous threads seem to
suggest.
i.e. if they press the left arrow key, the mini-buffer would let them
know they can do the exact same thing pressing C-b. Not only that,
let them know you can go back a word by pressing M-b. If you wanted
to go back to the beginning of the line, press C-a. If you wanted to
go back to the beginning of the buffer, press C-x [.
I'm sure you can think of plenty of commands related to what most
editor users think of the four directional arrows. Just 4 keys and
what emacs empowers users beyond simple cursor movement would be a
fine introduction to the "superior emacs way of doing things".
I think the advantage we have here is that most editors don't have a
whole lot of key bindings (well, at least based on the emacs
standard...). So, it really shouldn't be too hard to put something
like this together.
I personally find hunting down 'how to use' information frustrating.
We should be able to use preexisting knowledge of users to
preemptively provide information they are looking for, and retrain
them on the correct way of using an editor. :)
> and this would set everything, so that a new user can perform any
> simple editing operation using only the knowledge he brought from
> other systems/editors. And when he sees that emacs is not the editor
> from hell then he might be more interested to learn more about it.
Seriously, I also thought emacs was an editor from hell when I first
fired it up, and couldn't figure out how to exit the damn thing.
Only through sheer will power and years of sub standard emacs usage
has made this journey worthwhile at the end.
I have no desire to debate whether the above is in essence a
prerequisite to proper emacs appreciation/usage. ;)
So how about it?
------------
Peter K. Lee
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2005-03-21 19:23 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 123+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2005-03-18 21:12 Making Emacs more newbie friendly PT
2005-03-18 21:57 ` Pascal Bourguignon
2005-03-19 5:40 ` PT
2005-03-19 7:57 ` rgb
2005-03-19 9:51 ` David Kastrup
2005-03-19 10:46 ` Steinar Børmer
2005-03-19 11:01 ` David Kastrup
2005-03-20 0:42 ` Steinar Børmer
2005-03-19 20:16 ` Miles Bader
[not found] ` <mailman.4427.1111265353.32256.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
2005-03-19 20:53 ` David Kastrup
2005-03-19 10:56 ` Eli Zaretskii
[not found] ` <mailman.4380.1111231068.32256.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
2005-03-19 14:23 ` PT
2005-03-19 15:08 ` David Kastrup
2005-03-19 15:45 ` Eli Zaretskii
2005-03-19 10:47 ` Eli Zaretskii
2005-03-19 14:34 ` nfreimann
2005-03-19 15:49 ` Gian Uberto Lauri
2005-03-19 16:13 ` nfreimann
[not found] ` <mailman.4406.1111250911.32256.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
2005-03-19 19:12 ` Shawn Betts
2005-03-19 19:35 ` David Kastrup
2005-03-19 21:00 ` Miles Bader
[not found] ` <mailman.4435.1111267700.32256.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
2005-03-19 22:42 ` David Kastrup
2005-03-19 15:50 ` Eli Zaretskii
2005-03-19 12:42 ` Thien-Thi Nguyen
2005-03-19 14:56 ` PT
2005-03-19 15:37 ` David Kastrup
2005-03-19 17:45 ` Thien-Thi Nguyen
2005-03-19 18:07 ` PT
2005-03-19 18:15 ` David Kastrup
2005-03-19 18:24 ` PT
2005-03-19 18:34 ` David Kastrup
2005-04-09 18:01 ` Nathan Hess
[not found] ` <mailman.4378.1111230698.32256.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
2005-03-19 13:41 ` Brian Elmegaard
2005-03-19 14:31 ` David Kastrup
2005-03-19 16:04 ` Lee Sau Dan
2005-03-20 12:33 ` Brian Elmegaard
2005-03-20 17:33 ` Thien-Thi Nguyen
2005-03-21 7:39 ` Brian Elmegaard
2005-03-21 10:07 ` Joe Corneli
2005-03-21 11:27 ` Thien-Thi Nguyen
2005-03-22 11:25 ` Brian Elmegaard
2005-03-21 11:54 ` Klaus Straubinger
2005-03-21 12:37 ` David Kastrup
2005-03-20 12:27 ` Brian Elmegaard
2005-03-20 12:47 ` Jason Rumney
2005-03-21 18:30 ` Drew Adams
2005-03-19 15:37 ` Eli Zaretskii
2005-03-19 17:09 ` Stefan Monnier
2005-03-20 12:42 ` Brian Elmegaard
[not found] ` <mailman.4399.1111247782.32256.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
2005-03-20 12:39 ` Brian Elmegaard
2005-03-20 20:27 ` Eli Zaretskii
[not found] ` <mailman.4504.1111351877.32256.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
2005-03-20 21:05 ` David Kastrup
2005-03-21 8:11 ` Brian Elmegaard
2005-03-21 19:56 ` Eli Zaretskii
[not found] ` <mailman.4626.1111436194.32256.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
2005-03-22 11:33 ` Brian Elmegaard
2005-03-19 14:52 ` PT
2005-03-19 15:14 ` David Hansen
2005-03-19 15:33 ` David Kastrup
2005-03-19 16:00 ` PT
2005-03-19 16:22 ` David Kastrup
2005-03-19 16:57 ` PT
2005-03-19 17:16 ` David Kastrup
2005-03-19 17:55 ` PT
2005-03-19 18:03 ` David Kastrup
2005-03-20 12:52 ` Brian Elmegaard
2005-03-20 17:44 ` David Kastrup
2005-03-20 21:49 ` Alan Mackenzie
2005-03-22 11:46 ` Brian Elmegaard
2005-03-22 13:09 ` David Kastrup
2005-03-23 7:29 ` Brian Elmegaard
2005-03-21 8:17 ` Brian Elmegaard
2005-03-19 18:01 ` PT
2005-03-19 20:45 ` Miles Bader
2005-03-20 17:43 ` Alan Mackenzie
2005-03-19 18:05 ` Shawn Betts
2005-03-19 18:15 ` PT
2005-03-20 17:51 ` Alan Mackenzie
2005-03-19 17:17 ` Eli Zaretskii
2005-03-19 23:16 ` Pascal Bourguignon
2005-03-20 11:49 ` Steinar Børmer
2005-03-20 13:06 ` Floyd L. Davidson
2005-03-19 16:05 ` Eli Zaretskii
2005-03-19 18:16 ` Shawn Betts
2005-03-19 23:34 ` Pascal Bourguignon
2005-03-20 0:45 ` David Kastrup
[not found] ` <mailman.4404.1111249572.32256.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
2005-03-20 11:51 ` Steinar Børmer
2005-03-20 16:31 ` ken
[not found] ` <mailman.4485.1111338015.32256.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
2005-03-20 23:35 ` Floyd L. Davidson
2005-03-21 4:44 ` Sean Richards
2005-03-21 11:00 ` Floyd L. Davidson
2005-03-22 20:33 ` Sean Richards
2005-03-19 15:45 ` Pascal Bourguignon
2005-03-19 15:54 ` Gian Uberto Lauri
2005-03-19 17:25 ` Eli Zaretskii
[not found] ` <mailman.4413.1111254615.32256.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
2005-03-19 23:33 ` Pascal Bourguignon
2005-03-20 4:37 ` Eli Zaretskii
2005-03-20 9:07 ` Gian Uberto Lauri
2005-03-20 11:30 ` nfreimann
2005-03-20 12:16 ` Gian Uberto Lauri
[not found] ` <mailman.4474.1111322832.32256.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
2005-03-20 18:04 ` Joe Bush
2005-03-21 8:23 ` Brian Elmegaard
[not found] ` <mailman.4470.1111319220.32256.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
2005-03-20 13:01 ` Floyd L. Davidson
2005-03-20 17:37 ` David Kastrup
[not found] ` <mailman.4443.1111294657.32256.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
2005-03-20 15:29 ` Pascal Bourguignon
2005-03-20 15:58 ` Joe Corneli
[not found] ` <mailman.4479.1111335526.32256.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
2005-03-20 20:33 ` Jochen Küpper
2005-03-20 23:50 ` Joe Corneli
2005-03-20 12:59 ` Brian Elmegaard
2005-03-20 17:45 ` David Kastrup
2005-03-21 8:19 ` Brian Elmegaard
2005-03-19 18:42 ` Shawn Betts
2005-03-19 19:27 ` David Kastrup
2005-03-20 6:55 ` Joe Corneli
2005-03-18 22:11 ` Peter Dyballa
2005-03-19 17:17 ` Jason Rumney
2005-03-19 18:10 ` Floyd L. Davidson
2005-03-22 1:59 ` Cristian Gutierrez
2005-03-21 9:56 ` Mathias Dahl
2005-03-21 19:23 ` Peter K. Lee [this message]
-- strict thread matches above, loose matches on Subject: below --
2005-03-21 12:53 nfreimann
2005-03-21 15:22 ` Joe Corneli
[not found] <mailman.4566.1111411378.32256.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
2005-03-21 13:21 ` Klaus Straubinger
2005-03-21 21:44 ` Miles Bader
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