Keyboard commands for editing recentf buffer?

Keyboard commands for editing recentf buffer?

[simonh]

Does anyone know of a way to edit the recentf files in the buffer
directly? What I'm hoping for is way to:

Mark files
Unmark files
Delete files that I don't want to be kept in history
Sort by recency, filename, path

Similar functionality to Ibuffer. Commands shown in the minibuffer as
seen below.

Ibuffer:
Commands: m, u, t, RET, g, k, S, D, Q; q to quit; h for help

Thanks for any help.

RE: Keyboard commands for editing recentf buffer?

[Drew Adams]

> Does anyone know of a way to edit the recentf files in the buffer
> directly? What I'm hoping for is way to:
> 
> Mark files
> Unmark files
> Delete files that I don't want to be kept in history
> Sort by recency, filename, path

Dunno what you mean by "files in the buffer" (what buffer?).

But with Icicles you can sort, (un)mark, and delete files whenever you use a
command that completes a file name. And you can remove file names from the
`file-name-history' or the `recentf-list', individually or by groups.

For recentf files, you can do all of this when you use multi-command
`icicle-recent-file(-other-window)'. More generally, for any files (recent or
not), you can do it when you use any file-access multi-command (e.g. `C-x C-f' =
`icicle-file').

http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/Icicles_-_File-Name_Input

* You can *delete* the file named by the current completion candidate using
`S-delete'. Cycle to delete as many files as you like.

http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/Icicles_-_More_About_Multi-Commands#DeletingObjec
ts

But did you really mean *delete* the _file_?

If you meant only to remove a file name from the `recentf-list', then you can do
that by using `C-S-RET' when you use command
`icicle-recent-file(-other-window)'. That removes the current completion
candidate from the `recentf-list' - cycle among candidates to remove multiple
files. Or use `C-|' to remove all file names that match your input in the
minibuffer.

* You can also clean up any input history, including `file-name-history', in a
couple of ways.

** When you cycle through the minibuffer history (as usual), `M-k' deletes the
current entry (e.g. a file name) from the current history (e.g.
`file-name-history').

** `M-i' in the minibuffer prompts you for matching history entries to remove.
Entries matching your current input are candidates for removal. `C-!' removes
all such matches; `C-RET' or `C-mouse-2' removes a specific candidate. `C-u M-i'
clears the current history completely (without prompting).

Command `M-x icicle-clear-history' prompts you for a history to clean up (e.g.
`file-name-history'); then it behaves the same as `M-i', letting you choose
entries to remove.

http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/Icicles_-_History_Enhancements#ClearHistoryEntrie
s

* You can cycle among available sort orders using `C-,' during completion.

http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/Icicles_-_Sorting_Candidates

* You can mark/unmark files that are completion candidates. I call it saving a
set of completion candidates (e.g. for later use during file-name completion).

http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/Icicles_-_Candidate_Sets

[Except for the specific behavior of `C-S-RET' and `C-|' for
`icicle-recent-file(-other-window)', all of these things are general - you can
use them with completion of any kind, not just file-name completion. You can use
`M-k' during `M-x' to remove commands from the command history; you can save
("mark") a set of variable names during `C-h v', and so on.]

HTH.

Re: Keyboard commands for editing recentf buffer?

[simonh]

Hi Drew. Thanks for the detailed reply.  I've just started using dired
+ and bookmark+, so thanks for those by the way.

What I meant by "files in the buffer" is the list in 'recentf-open-
files'. I'd like to be able to do more than just select a file or
press 'q' to close the window.

I did have a look into Icicles a few weeks ago but it seemed a bit
'heavy' for my needs. If I can't find any lighter solution, I'll look
into it again.

Thank for your help.

Re: Keyboard commands for editing recentf buffer?

[B. T. Raven]

simonh wrote:
> Hi Drew. Thanks for the detailed reply.  I've just started using dired
> + and bookmark+, so thanks for those by the way.
> 
> What I meant by "files in the buffer" is the list in 'recentf-open-
> files'. I'd like to be able to do more than just select a file or
> press 'q' to close the window.
> 
> I did have a look into Icicles a few weeks ago but it seemed a bit
> 'heavy' for my needs. If I can't find any lighter solution, I'll look
> into it again.
> 
> Thank for your help.

If you don't need the full power of Icicles you can try the function
'recentf-edit-list. This is the same recentf screen you get from the
Files menu but you can stay on the keyboard by marking with the RET key.
The only other option I know of is to edit the .recentf file directly.