Emacs: How to change "M-x" prompt to something else? - emacs

I have execute-extended-command bound to alt+a. So when in minibuffer, when i press it, the read-only prompt saying "M-x" is irrelevant for me. I want to change it to something else like "execute command:". How can i do that?

This prompt is hard-coded. You would need to either redefine read-extended-command, or advise completing-read (but that seems a fairly tenuous approach).
See M-x find-function RET read-extended-command RET
There are comments in the code referring to this very issue:
;; This isn't strictly correct if `execute-extended-command'
;; is bound to anything else (e.g. [menu]).
;; It could use (key-description (this-single-command-keys)),
;; but actually a prompt other than "M-x" would be confusing,
;; because "M-x" is a well-known prompt to read a command
;; and it serves as a shorthand for "Extended command: ".
Honestly, given the lack of a clean solution, I wouldn't bother trying to do this.

Check out smex, which is an improvement upon the built-in execute-extended-command; it allows you to customize the prompt via the variable smex-prompt-string.
Or, if you've got the Emacs source installed, you can jump straight to the implementation: just M-x find-function RET execute-extended-command RET

Related

How to use terminal keyboard shortcuts inside emacs multi-term

I know there's some questions that are kind of related to this already, and I know you can do stuff like
(defun term-send-esc ()
"Send ESC in term mode."
(interactive)
(term-send-raw-string "\e"))
but it would be very convenient if there was kind of a univerisal override keybinding. For example, I just ssh:ed into a remote server and tried to nano a file and couldn't figure out how to exit because Ctl-x listens for emacs bindings. Is there such a thing?
There are two term sub modes, term-char-mode (C-x C-k) and term-line-mode (C-x C-j). Char mode is closer to a terminal, line mode is closer to a regular buffer. IIRC, multiterm starts in char mode, but it rebinds some keys to make it more Emacs-like. Look at the keys that multiterm rebinds; it has some alists that are used to modify the existing term-mode keymaps instead of using its own keymap. Or use sane-term, which is not much more than some commands to create new term buffers (no mucking with key bindings).
Ctl-x listens for emacs bindings.
Not in the default term-char-mode it doesn't, so your problem is most likely with your own config.
Run a terminal in emacs -Q to confirm the standard behaviour.

Emacs/AUCTeX prefix arguments

In LaTeX mode C-c C-c is bound to:
(TeX-command-master &optional OVERRIDE-CONFIRM)
Normally this interactive function runs a command, perhaps a LaTeX compilation, asking for confirmation.
In tex-buf.el it reads:
If a prefix argument OVERRIDE-CONFIRM is given, confirmation will
depend on it being positive instead of the entry in `TeX-command-list'.
This is a bit cryptic for me and reading C-h v TeX-command-list didn't help.
How can I pass the prefix argument to "TeX-command-master" so that I avoid all the confirmation requests?
Take a look at Emacs' documentation to find out about prefix arguments. In general, you can pass a command a prefix argument with C-u followed by a number. For one-digit numbers, you can also just type Meta followed by the digit. Thus to pass a positive prefix argument to TeX-command-master you could type:
M-1 C-c C-c
However, this will actually add another minibuffer confirmation, namely about the shell command to be used to compile the LaTeX source. Without the prefix argument, a command-dependent default is used for that.
If you want to avoid the question about the command to use, you can bind the undocumented variable TeX-command-force to "LaTeX" via:
(setq TeX-command-force "LaTeX")
However, this will have the downside that you're basically binding C-c C-c to the "latex" command, you cannot use any of the other commands such as "bibtex" or "view".
Other than that, LaTeX-mode does not allow for any customization of C-c C-c. Your best options are to either advise the function TeX-command-query or to bind C-c C-c to a wrapper function to set TeX-command-force dynamically. The latter would probably be the preferred option if you also want to auto-save the buffer.
It seems that the mystery of the OVERRIDE-CONFIRM continues. In the meantime a fellow suggests that, if we are unable to manage TeX-command-master, we can simply rewrite it.
In my version, based on his, if the buffer is not modified, the external viewer is launched; if the buffer is modified the compiler is run.
Everything with no confirmation for saving or running the given command.
(defun my-run-latex ()
(interactive)
(if (buffer-modified-p)
(progn
(setq TeX-save-query nil)
(TeX-save-document (TeX-master-file))
(TeX-command "LaTeX" 'TeX-master-file -1))
(TeX-view)))
Of course one can bind my-run-latex to whatever keybinding.
On the user's point of view this is a solution to my own question.
Do I click the close tag? Well, on the curious guy point of view I am still interested in understanding the mysterious TeX-command-master technicalities.
If someone should happen to know...
P.S.
Yes, TeX-save-query overrides the save-file request, also with TeX-command-master, that is C-c C-c. But you will still be asked to confirm the command action.
Build & view
Again, this solution, instead of modifying the behaviour of the TeX-command-master, rewrites it. The rewritten version of the command, named build-view, follows a rather straightforward logic.
If the LaTeX file buffer is not-modified, it runs the default viewer;
If the buffer is dirty, it runs the default LaTeX compiler and, after the build, opens the output in the default viewer.
Here's the code:
(defun build-view ()
(interactive)
(if (buffer-modified-p)
(progn
(let ((TeX-save-query nil))
(TeX-save-document (TeX-master-file)))
(setq build-proc (TeX-command "LaTeX" 'TeX-master-file -1))
(set-process-sentinel build-proc 'build-sentinel))
(TeX-view)))
(defun build-sentinel (process event)
(if (string= event "finished\n")
(TeX-view)
(message "Errors! Check with C-`")))
You can now type M-x build-view and start the told build-view process or associate it with a new keybinding such as “F2”:
(add-hook 'LaTeX-mode-hook '(lambda () (local-set-key (kbd "<f2>") 'build-view)))
Note: As suggested by Tyler, TeX-save-query variable is changed locally, therefore the old C-c C-c/ TeX-command-master is unaffected and will keep asking confirmations.
Do edit this code to make it better or easier to read!
I puzzled over the OVERRIDE-CONFIRM bit for a while, and couldn't figure out how it was supposed to work. If you want to automatically run Latex on your file, without being bothered about saving it first, or confirming that you want latex (rather than view, bibtex etc), you could use a function like this:
(defun my-run-latex ()
(interactive)
(TeX-save-document (TeX-master-file))
(TeX-command "LaTeX" 'TeX-master-file -1))
Bind this to something handy, and you'll still have C-c C-c for when you want to use the default processing commands. You may want to modify the TeX-command line if "Latex" isn't the processor you want to call.
If you are just looking to compile the latex source without a confirmation dialog, just add the following to your .emacs:
(setq TeX-command-force "")
You can then compile the source with C-c C-c and it won't ask to confirm. The only problem with this solution is that you can no longer change the command, but with most documents you won't want to. I might suggest that at the same time you can add this to your .emacs for even more flexibility, giving you a C-c C-c equivalent to the former behavior:
(define-key LaTeX-mode-map "\C-c\C-a"
;;; 'a' for ask, change to anything you want
(lambda (arg) (interactive "P")
(let ((TeX-command-force nil))
(TeX-command-master arg))))
You can then just work away at your document, do a C-x C-s, C-c C-c and then C-c C-v to see it. Like others have suggested you can also do the same for the save command and have it compile automatically on save, but some of my documents are in CVS and so I avoid putting hooks on that.
Credit to Ivan for some help on this one - don't know if he is on StackOverflow
I think the gist of this question is "how do I quickly compile my TeX document from AUCTeX without all the key presses and confirmations?"
My answer to that is to use the latexmk command rather than trying to coerce AUCTeX to do it.
latexmk -pdf -pvc myfile.tex
latexmk will monitor the file in question and rebuilt it as soon as you save it. If you use a good pdf viewer, it will notice the change in PDF and re-display it immediately. On OS X, skim works well for this.

running scheme from emacs

I'm a newbie to LISP.
I am attempting to invoke the scheme interpreter from within emacs (version 23 running on windows). I loaded the xscheme library by telling emacs to M-x load-library and then entering xscheme at the prompt in the minibuffer. The library loaded, and then I issued the M-x run-scheme command. (I realize that all this loading can be done from .emacs at startup, but I am not concerned with that at the moment.)
So far so good - the *scheme* buffer has been created, and now I'm hoping that I'm able to talk to the scheme interpreter.
However, when I try to evaluate something in that *scheme*buffer (e.g. (define shoe-size 14)), I get this Output file descriptor of scheme is closed message in the minibuffer.
Does anybody know how to fix this in emacs?
(Also, how does one set the major-mode as REPL in the *scheme* buffer?)
Thank you.
Try setting the scheme-program-name variable to the path to your Scheme interpreter. The major-mode of the scheme buffer is probably just comint and you cannot do much about it unless you switch to something more capable like Geiser - something that I'd recommend you do.
Add this line to your .emacs file:
(setq scheme-program-name "gsi")
(Replace "gsi" with the name of your Scheme interpreter.)
You can then start the interpreter with M-x run-scheme. You can evaluate pieces of code by using C-x C-e (to evaluate the sexp before the point) or with C-M-x to evaluate the sexp you're in right now. You can also load a file with C-c C-l.
I'll start by saying that I'm very new to programming, scheme and SICP, but I'm trying to work through the course and watch the lectures that are online.
I'm running emacs on Ubuntu 12.10 and I really wanted to get MIT scheme working in emacs instead of relying on Edwin.
The above tips didn't work for me, but here's the step-by-step instructions that did work:
Install emacs 24 from the Ubuntu Software Center (search "emacs" and install it!)
Open a terminal (ALT + CTRL + t)
Go to your home directory (cd ~)
Open the hidden file .emacs in gedit (gedit .emacs)
On the first line of the file, type exactly what's after the colon: (require 'xscheme)
Save the changes to .emacs
That's it!!!
You can now open .scm files in emacs and use commands like C-x C-e.
*directions courtesy of http://alexott.net/en/writings/emacs-devenv/EmacsScheme.html#sec14
My guess is that it's just a known issue I still dunno how to sort that out (it's out of my current skills) but I got a macro that probably helps: just after writing the s-exp you can do Cc-Cz (it calls the geiser REPL) then C-spc, C-M-b, M-w, C-x-o, C-y and RET.
There are a variation (same, placed just after writing the s-exp): C-spc, C-M-b, M-w, C-c Cz, C-y and RET

How can I reload .emacs after changing it?

How can I get Emacs to reload all my definitions that I have updated in .emacs without restarting Emacs?
You can use the command load-file (M-x load-file, and then press Return twice to accept the default filename, which is the current file being edited).
You can also just move the point to the end of any sexp and press C-x, C-e to execute just that sexp. Usually it's not necessary to reload the whole file if you're just changing a line or two.
There is the very convenient
M-x eval-buffer
It immediately evaluates all code in the buffer. It's the quickest method if your .emacs file is idempotent.
You can usually just re-evaluate the changed region. Mark the region of ~/.emacs that you've changed, and then use M-x eval-region RET. This is often safer than re-evaluating the entire file since it's easy to write a .emacs file that doesn't work quite right after being loaded twice.
If you've got your .emacs file open in the currently active buffer:
M-x eval-buffer
Solution
M-: (load user-init-file)
Notes
you type it in Eval: prompt (including the parentheses)
user-init-file is a variable holding the ~/.emacs value (pointing to the configuration file path) by default
(load) is shorter, older, and non-interactive version of (load-file); it is not an Emacs command (to be typed in M-x), but a mere Elisp function
Conclusion
M-: > M-x
M-x load-file
~/.emacs
Others already answered your question as stated, but I find that I usually want to execute the lines that I just wrote.
For that, Ctrl + Alt + X in the Elisp part works just fine.
The following should do it...
M-x load-file
I suggest that you don't do this, initially. Instead, start a new Emacs session and test whatever changes you made to see if they work correctly. The reason to do it this way is to avoid leaving you in a state where you have an inoperable .emacs file, which fails to load or fails to load cleanly. If you do all of your editing in the original session, and all of your testing in a new session, you'll always have something reliable to comment out offending code.
When you are finally happy with your changes, then go ahead and use one of the other answers to reload. My personal preference is to eval just the section you've added/changed, and to do that just highlight the region of added/changed code and call M-x eval-region. Doing that minimizes the code that's evaluated, minimizing any unintentional side-effects, as luapyad points out.
Keyboard shortcut:
(defun reload-init-file ()
(interactive)
(load-file user-init-file))
(global-set-key (kbd "C-c C-l") 'reload-init-file) ; Reload .emacs file
C-x C-e ;; current line
M-x eval-region ;; region
M-x eval-buffer ;; whole buffer
M-x load-file ~/.emacs.d/init.el
Define it in your init file and call by M-x reload-user-init-file
(defun reload-user-init-file()
(interactive)
(load-file user-init-file))
I'm currently on Ubuntu 15.04 (Vivid Vervet); I like to define a key for this.
[M-insert] translates to Alt + Ins on my keyboard.
Put this in your .emacs file:
(global-set-key [M-insert] '(lambda() (interactive) (load-file "~/.emacs")))
Besides commands like M-x eval-buffer or M-x load-file, you can restart a fresh Emacs instance from the command line:
emacs -q --load "init.el"
Usage example: Company backends in GNU Emacs
Here is a quick and easy way to quick test your config. You can also use C-x C-e at the end of specific lisp to execute certain function individually.
C-x C-e runs the command eval-last-sexp (found in global-map), which
is an interactive compiled Lisp function.
It is bound to C-x C-e.
(eval-last-sexp EVAL-LAST-SEXP-ARG-INTERNAL)
Evaluate sexp before point; print value in the echo area.
Interactively, with prefix argument, print output into current buffer.
Normally, this function truncates long output according to the value
of the variables ‘eval-expression-print-length’ and
‘eval-expression-print-level’. With a prefix argument of zero,
however, there is no such truncation. Such a prefix argument also
causes integers to be printed in several additional formats (octal,
hexadecimal, and character).
If ‘eval-expression-debug-on-error’ is non-nil, which is the default,
this command arranges for all errors to enter the debugger.
Although M-x eval-buffer will work, you may run into problems with toggles and other similar things. A better approach might be to "mark" or highlight what’s new in your .emacs file (or even scratch buffer if you're just messing around) and then M-x eval-region.
You can set a key binding for Emacs like this:
;; Reload Emacs configuration
(defun reload-init-file ()
(interactive)
(load-file "~/.emacs"))
(global-set-key (kbd "C-c r") 'reload-init-file)
If you happen to have a shell opened inside Emacs, you can also do:
. ~/.emacs
It may save a few key strokes.

How do I turn off vhdl-mode in emacs?

I am learning emacs at the moment and tried to write an easy vhdl program for testing. I can see that the vhdl-mode might be an interesting feature, but I would like to know how I can turn it off for the moment and how I can reactivate it later on.
Use the command M-x fundamental-mode, that is:
Press (and hold) the meta key (which is usually the Alt key)
Press x
This will take the cursor into the echo area at the bottom of the screen/frame. Type fundamental-mode and press return.
To disable VHDL mode permanently, you will have to change the file-extension mapping used by emacs to associate a file's extension with a particular major mode. You can do this by writing a custom .emacs configuration file. Look for auto-mode-alist in the emacs manual:
(setq auto-mode-alist (remove (rassoc 'vhdl-mode auto-mode-alist) auto-mode-alist))
Change to some other mode, e.g.
M-x fundamental-mode RET
or
M-x indented-text-mode RET
re-enable it by entering
M-x vhdl-mode RET