exporter bindings in agenda

exporter bindings in agenda

[Greg Troxel]

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I use org relatively normally, with notes, TODO items, and appointments
(active timestamps), and way too many of them scheduled to be done on
any given day.  I export all agenda files to a combined ics file and
then stick it someplace I can subscribe to it from non-emacs calendaring
software.

To do this, I first invoke the agenda (because I want to see that too),
and then, because C-c C-e is not bound in the agenda view, pick a random
item and hit return, and then "C-c C-e c c" to export.

I realize there is C-x C-w in the agenda, but that does something else
-- only exporting the items in the current agenda view.

So, I'd like to suggest having the export key bindings work in the
agenda buffer.   The problem is that many of them do not make sense
because there is not a single org file associated with the agenda.

My proposal is that C-c C-e should behave similarly to when in an org
file, but choices that require an associated org file should be omitted.
Specifically, I think the following options make sense:
  c c (ical combined)
  c a (ical all)
  P x (publish - choose project)
  P a (publish - all projects

One could omit P, because publishing and agendas are disconnected,  But
I don't see the harm in it working if someone types it; it's not like
they are likely to have meant something else.

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Re: exporter bindings in agenda

[Bastien]

Hi Greg,

Greg Troxel <gdt@ir.bbn.com> writes:

> My proposal is that C-c C-e should behave similarly to when in an org
> file, but choices that require an associated org file should be omitted.
> Specifically, I think the following options make sense:
>   c c (ical combined)
>   c a (ical all)
>   P x (publish - choose project)
>   P a (publish - all projects

I'm reluctant to do this because then C-c C-e would mean something
very limited in agenda mode compared to what it means in Org mode.

What I would find natural though is to have a "write to Org and
export" mechanism: something that would write the current agenda view
to an Org file and export this Org file.

I think C-c C-e would be good for this.

What do you think?

-- 
 Bastien

Re: exporter bindings in agenda

[Greg Troxel]

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Bastien <bzg@gnu.org> writes:

> Greg Troxel <gdt@ir.bbn.com> writes:
>
>> My proposal is that C-c C-e should behave similarly to when in an org
>> file, but choices that require an associated org file should be omitted.
>> Specifically, I think the following options make sense:
>>   c c (ical combined)
>>   c a (ical all)
>>   P x (publish - choose project)
>>   P a (publish - all projects
>
> I'm reluctant to do this because then C-c C-e would mean something
> very limited in agenda mode compared to what it means in Org mode.

It would be limited, but it would essentially be the subset that anyone
who understood might expect to work.  I expected to be able to do the
ical combined export from agenda, because the combined ical export isn't
about any particular org file, and in the agenda I'm in org context.
Specifically, I did "C-C a a" to see the agenda, and then tried "C-c C-e c
c", to freshen my exported calendar daily.  (I should just write a batch
file to do the calendar export after finding one of my files.)

> What I would find natural though is to have a "write to Org and
> export" mechanism: something that would write the current agenda view
> to an Org file and export this Org file.

That seems like a reasonable thing to have, but it seems entirely separate.

> I think C-c C-e would be good for this.

That would be ok, but the bindings should not overlap the org file
bindings.   Or, the single file bindings could apply to the agenda, and
the combined to all.  I think that would be intuitive to most.

I think what this comes down to is that within org users there are those
who have really internalized the rules/bindings and thus think of agenda
and org file as clearly different, and those who see them as subsets of
org and expect common behavior when it makes sense, realizing that some
things do and don't make sense given context.  I realize many
keybindings are different, and have no problem with that.  But I don't
see why I can't do the combined export, which is almost as appropriate
(org_context + 0/N) as in any one file (org_context + 1/N).  It's
arguably more appropriate as the agenda is about the union of org files
rather than one.

But I can deal or change my own bindings, so the question is really
about what the ensemble of current and future users will find more
intuitive.

Thanks for thinking about this.

Greg

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Re: exporter bindings in agenda

[Bastien]

Hi Greg,

Greg Troxel <gdt@ir.bbn.com> writes:

> But I can deal or change my own bindings, so the question is really
> about what the ensemble of current and future users will find more
> intuitive.

Yes -- let them speak.

I don't find it intuitive to have C-c C-e in agenda trying to do
something sensible, except for exporting the result of C-x C-w, but
probably other users feel otherwise.

-- 
 Bastien