Re: Start value in minibuffer [Was: opening /tmp//foo doesn't work.]

[Robert J. Chassell]

Today's GNU Emacs CVS snapshot, Mon, 2005 Nov 14  11:30 UTC
GNU Emacs 22.0.50.25 (i686-pc-linux-gnu, GTK+ Version 2.6.10)
started with

     emacs/src/emacs -Q -D

[Context: in the default user interface for C-x C-f (find-file) a
visit to /tmp/foo in which you type /emacs has you visiting /emacs,
not /tmp/emacs.]

Chong Yidong wrote:

   > The reason is convenience.  This allows you to enter a new
   > filename without having to erase the default offered in the
   > minibuffer. ...

To which Lars Hansen replied,

   To me this feature seems as a rather awkward work-around the lack
   of a general way to handle start values in the minibuffer.

I do not follow you.  How do you want to change to the current user
interface?

To take an example, I just went from

    /usr/local/src/emacs/lisp/files.el
to

    ~/.emacs

To do this, I typed     C-x C-f ~/.emacs RET
That is all.  

After typing            C-x C-f
I saw                   /usr/local/src/emacs/lisp/
as expected 
but, as I said, I typed ~/.emacs instead and visted my .emacs file.

       1. If the user just hits return, the start value should be used
       as a default value.

In this case, I do not want to go to the default value or any location
near it.

On the other hand, I could: for example, instead of ~/.emacs, I could
have typed

    ad TAB

to list add-log.el and visit it.  Or in the minibuffer, I can use
`M-p' (previous-history-element) to pull in a previous value.  Or I
can press return and see the current directory.

   2. If something similar to the start value is needed, it should be
   possible the edit it.  This is convenient in eg. a rename command
   if the old name is inserted as the start value.

Nor, at this time, do I not want to go to anything similar to the
start value.  However, I can and do edit the start value when I do
want to go to such a file, such as

    /usr/local/share/emacs/22.0.50/lisp/files.el.gz

I just did this.  I found out what comes after the `22' by using TAB
completion (minibuffer-complete).

   3. If one don't want to use the start value, it is annoying to have
   to delete it.  In this case it should possible to simply type what
   one wants instead.

Yes, it is annoying, and I have never done that.  I do not delete the
start value.

As far as I understand you, the current interface has been doing what
you say for several decades.

What do you want to change?

--
    Robert J. Chassell
    address@hidden                         GnuPG Key ID: 004B4AC8
    http://www.rattlesnake.com                  http://www.teak.cc