Re: Could Emacs Have a Set-up Wizard?

[Stefan Kangas]

Joost Kremers <joostkremers@fastmail.fm> writes:

> I suspect profiles will end up adding an additional layer to the 
> configuration.
> Put too many options into a profile and they'll just make Emacs' configuration
> more opaque, not more transparent. A new user won't have the faintest idea 
> what
> choosing a certain profile entails and will either just go with the default or
> choose whatever is commonly suggested on the web.

Choosing the default sounds to me like the experience we should be aiming for.

Choosing whatever is commonly suggested on the web is fine, but not my
first hand choice.

My thinking is that a wizard should be optional, but also feel like a
natural next step for a beginning user.

> A wizard, on the other hand, presents a new user with a couple of choices, 
> each
> of which can be explained on the spot and the necessary change to the init 
> file
> made visible. Add a comment to each change with the same explanation that
> appears in the wizard and the new user can easily see how to undo the change 
> if
> they end up not liking it.

If we could do it well, that sounds like it could be a good idea.
Maybe we could let the user choose such a mode of operation
optionally, while hiding the nitty-gritty details by default.

> In fact, I would even suggest having the wizard run automatically if no init
> file is found (with a button to quit the wizard, of course).

Well, maybe.  If the default user experience is already good enough,
there would be less need for running a wizard.