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RE: TAB for non-editing modes
From: |
Drew Adams |
Subject: |
RE: TAB for non-editing modes |
Date: |
Sat, 22 Sep 2007 15:44:11 -0700 |
> Duplication is not a good way to evaluate this, we have many keys that
> are duplicated.
Yes, for this command alone, we have `n', `SPC', `C-n', and `down'.
`C-n' and `down' often go together. `n' is a shortcut for `C-n', since Dired
is read-only.
`SPC' and `DEL' are sometimes used in Emacs (e.g. View, Info) to browse down
and up (forward or back). But in Dired we've broken that, since `DEL'
unmarks entries instead. Same thing for Buffer Menu. I wouldn't mind if
`SPC' removed the current mark and moved down, in analogy with `DEL', but
it's probably too late to change that.
> The question is it useful? Is it intuitive to use? Is it consistent
> with other uses of the same key? IMO the answer is YES to all those
> questions.
The question is not just whether it useful, but how useful it is. When there
are already umpteen other simple keys bound to a command that is not
particularly important, is it worthwhile to waste another key on it?
Especially a key such as `TAB', which has important associations and uses in
other contexts:
- `TAB' is used for indenting, which can be context-dependent. Someday
perhaps we will have a notion of indenting for Dired. (No idea what such
indentation might mean - perhaps for inserted subdirs?)
- `TAB' is used for completion - both minibuffer and buffer text. Someday
perhaps we will have some notion of "completing" a file or directory entry
in Dired. (No idea what such completion might mean.)
- `TAB' is used for field navigation (particularly outside Emacs), as
Lennart mentioned. Someday perhaps we will have fields of some sort in
Dired.
Maybe you are thinking of a file/directory name in Dired as a field. Perhaps
that's what you think of as "consistent with other uses of the same key". In
that case, it would make sense, but I don't see `TAB' as very helpful for
this in Dired today.
Perhaps if we had a notion of "current column" and various operations were
permitted on the data in the current Dired column (e.g. change file
permissions, change the date), then `TAB' could move to the next "field" in
the current column. IOW, if a user changed the current column to
`Permissions', then `TAB' would move to the next `Permissions' field, where
you could change a permission (other than by `M', which acts regardless of
the current cursor column).
I'm not familiar with wdired, but perhaps it has such a notion of field, so
that some editing commands get their specific effect from the kind of field
the cursor is in. I don't know. In that case, letting `TAB' move among
fields might be useful.
Anyway, this is not all that important. I just don't like to see good keys
wasted.
- RE: bind commands that change buffer contents to `undefined' when read-only?, (continued)
- RE: bind commands that change buffer contents to `undefined' when read-only?, Drew Adams, 2007/09/23
- RE: bind commands that change buffer contents to `undefined' when read-only?, Davis Herring, 2007/09/24
- RE: bind commands that change buffer contents to `undefined' when read-only?, Drew Adams, 2007/09/24
- RE: bind commands that change buffer contents to `undefined' when read-only?, Davis Herring, 2007/09/24
- RE: bind commands that change buffer contents to `undefined' when read-only?, Drew Adams, 2007/09/24
- Re: bind commands that change buffer contents to `undefined' when read-only?, Stefan Monnier, 2007/09/24
- Re: bind commands that change buffer contents to `undefined' when read-only?, Richard Stallman, 2007/09/25
- RE: bind commands that change buffer contents to `undefined' whenread-only?, Drew Adams, 2007/09/25
- Re: bind commands that change buffer contents to `undefined' when read-only?, Richard Stallman, 2007/09/24
- Re: bind commands that change buffer contents to `undefined' when read-only?, Stefan Monnier, 2007/09/25
- RE: TAB for non-editing modes,
Drew Adams <=
- Re: TAB for non-editing modes, Bastien, 2007/09/23
- Re: TAB for non-editing modes, Juri Linkov, 2007/09/23
- Re: TAB for non-editing modes, Richard Stallman, 2007/09/23
- RE: TAB for non-editing modes, Drew Adams, 2007/09/23
- Re: TAB for non-editing modes, Johan Bockgård, 2007/09/23
- RE: TAB for non-editing modes, Drew Adams, 2007/09/23
- Re: TAB for non-editing modes, Johan Bockgård, 2007/09/23
- Re: TAB for non-editing modes, Richard Stallman, 2007/09/23
- Re: TAB for non-editing modes, Dan Nicolaescu, 2007/09/23
- Re: TAB for non-editing modes, Richard Stallman, 2007/09/24