Re: [emacs-wiki-discuss] Complexity of computing w/ Emacs

[Patricia J. Hawkins]

>>>>> "AH" == Allen Halsey <address@hidden> writes:

AH> To read mail, I click the button on my task bar for
AH> Thunderbird. Likewise for the other apps.  Simple.

And so slooowww.   I hate watching a mouse-addict work; they take
forever to do every simple task. And, mice are hard on your body.
Learn the keyboard equivalents!  

Alt-tab gets me from emacs to Firebird, and back.  Ctrl-Esc-F brings
up Firebird if it isn't running.  If you see a keyboard equivalent in
a menu, start using it.

In emacs, take the tutorial (C-h t), so you know the basic set of
keyboard commands.  Use Esc-X command-name when you can't remember the
keyboard equivalent; Emacs will tell you.

Avoid the menu like the plague; at the moment, you're over-dependent
on it.  At best, use it to look up keyboard equivalents.

(The mouse and menu have their place -- but the majority of tasks are
quicker and easier with keyboard equivalents.)

AH> Emacs can subsume the functionality of all these apps in a single
AH> instance. That's one button on task bar. But I hesitate to embark on
AH> this approach because I am absolutely terrified that I'll click that
AH> one button and drown in a sea of buffers.

OK, the emacs solution to this is two-fold.  If you know your buffer
name (and one often does, one works with a limited number of buffers,
and just know their names) hit C-x b and then type the first few
letters of the buffer name, then hit tab -- if Emacs isn't able to
hand you a unique buffer from that, hit tab again for a list of
possibilities, and type a few more characters; hit tab again, etc. 

If you don't remember the buffer name, hit C-x C-b for a window with a
list of all buffers; you can use that to manipulate those buffers, or
switch to them, or just to remind you of the buffer name.  

AH> I think maybe I just haven't learned the right tricks yet. Should I
AH> run each major app in separate frames? In separate instances? Is using
AH> an alernate Window Manager like RatPoison the answer?

I occasionally use two frames, especially if I want multiple windows
open in each frame, and am referring back and forth between them.  And
I sometimes run one emacs instance for gnus, and one for all my other
work -- but that's because gnus pigs the entire emacs instance any
time it does something.  

But mostly it's getting used to working with buffers, realizing that
you don't need the whole thing laid out across your screen as a visual
reference for each buffer, because it's so easy to bring up an index
into what's there (this is screen space that never fills up).  And
also, you'll be amazed at what you just know.

Get really slick at switching buffers and switching windows.  And learn
the help functions -- C-h a, C-h k, C-h f, C-h v 
Try C-h-f planner TAB
hit C-g
C-x b *Completions*

Now do the same thing with C-h-v planner TAB

Learn Info -- C-h i

If you want to keep the *Completions* window from getting overwritten
(or a *Help* window, etc) do M-x rename-uniquely
(aka M-x ren TAB u TAB)

(If you get "Command attempted to use minibuffer while in minibuffer",
it means you've got two commands going at once.  Use C-x o to cycle
through to the minibuffer window, hit C-g to kill the old command, and
keep going with what you were doing.)

HTH.

-- 
Patricia J. Hawkins
Hawkins Internet Applications
www.hawkinsia.com