I'm refactoring a big piece of code in one file in Emacs.
What is the best way to simplify jumping to several places in a big emacs buffer?
Currently I'm using search (C-S) and custom comments - "markers".
This becoming quiclkly unreliable.
Ideally I would like to have the same file open in several buffers, so I can switch between them using C-X B.
What are your solutions?
It seems that what you are looking for is Indirect-Buffers.
Personally, I find that splitting my window (C-x 2) is a great help.
Also bookmarks come to mind.
See Emacs Bookmarks.
Going to a particular bookmark switches to the correct buffer automatically (a bookmark is associated to a buffer).
Registers are useful for marking and jumping to positions. If you only have a small number of spots to mark and remember at any time, it may be faster to use single-character registers than named bookmarks.
C-xrSPC runs point-to-register
C-xrj runs jump-to-register
When prompted for the register, you can type any character.
Use autonamed bookmarks. No need to specify a name each time you create a bookmark -- just hit a key. Like using C-SPC to set a mark, but bookmarks are (by default) persistent; marks are not.
With Bookmark+ you can also organize bookmarks (including autonamed bookmarks) into sets etc. Tag them in various ways, for instance.
Visual bookmarks is extremely useful for this case. You can get it from here or install it using
M-x package-install RET bm
and add this to your config.
(global-set-key (kbd "<f5>") 'bm-toggle)
(global-set-key (kbd "<f7>") 'bm-next)
(global-set-key (kbd "<f6>") 'bm-previous)
Now, any where in your file press f5 and it creates a mark there. If you want to remove it, just press f5 again.
You can create any number of markers and now using f6 & f7 you can quickly go to any point you want.
Related
I am switching to emacs and in the process of configuring my emacs environment, I am stuck with implementing a functionality which I used to have in eclipse and IntelliJ. Move back and forth in code with alt left/right keys.
I want it to be able to work across all major modes and across all buffers(not just for java or any specific language). For example,
say I'm at beginning of file1.txt(say p1). I search for some text and go to line 10(p2) in file1.txt. Then I open another file, file2.txt and repeat the same , start at line 1(p3) and then go to line 10(p4). Upon Alt + Left and Alt + right (or any other similar keybinding), I should be able to cycle between positions p1 <-> p2 <-> p3 <-> p4
I am aware of the following.
ctags/etags specific approach of generating tags, jumping to functions and then back. But I want it to be applicable to text files and a lot of files for which ctags cant be generated or not worth generating as I use them rarely e.g Makefiles generated from cmake builds etc.
Questions, answers and comments in
https://superuser.com/questions/241939/how-to-jump-back-to-the-last-position-of-the-cursor-in-emacs
,
In Emacs, how to go back to previous line position after using semantic Jump to Symbol?
where answers are mentioned about using mark ring and registers for
storing mark. But after trying such approach initially, I found that
once if I go forward, then backward, I pop stuff from the register.
I need it to be there forever(:D )
I read really bad things about icicles and bit hesitant to try
it.
Any other approach that I have missed ? Any plugin or anything ? Implementing this is a bit complex. I hoping this is a common problem and hoping some piece of elisp code exists for solving this problem.
maybe this is useful .maybe not
https://github.com/joodland/bm
(setq-default
bm-recenter nil
bm-highlight-style 'bm-highlight-line-and-fringe
bm-cycle-all-buffers t
bm-in-lifo-order t)
;; (global-set-key (kbd "M-.") 'bm-toggle); you need set mark before you jump
;; (global-set-key (kbd "M-/") 'bm-next)
;; (global-set-key (kbd "M-,") 'bm-previous)
and I know evil-mode
C-o evil-jump-backward
C-i evil-jump-forward
whenever you use gg G / it can remember last position
I've been using Vim for a several years. And now I want to give a try to Emacs.
For Vim I have a general config file (here) where I'm overriding defaults (e.g. hey, Vim, show me the line numbers; save more history, don't create these stupid backup files, etc...)
I want the same thing for Emacs. While searching, the best thing I've found is better-defaults.el from technomancy. I'm still digging in Prelude and Emacs-Starter-Kit sources, but there are too many overrides and plugins.
So, what I want:
ability to see a list of variables, which I can customize (e.g. indent-tabs-mode or newline-and-indent). I know about C-h v variable-name but this command requires me to know a name of variable, but I want a list of them
sample config file for Emacs which sets helpful defaults with comments for each command
For your first question: M-x customize-option.
C-h v TAB is not what you want, as it shows you also non-option variables (e.g., internal variables).
However, if you load library help-fns+.el then C-u C-h v TAB shows you only the user options (in buffer *Completions*).
My advice would be to not look for an existing "sample config file", if you intend to start with it, as opposed to just seeing how another user redefines things. And for help with the latter, I would still recommend the Emacs manual over looking at someone elses init file. Especially to start with.
However, if you really want to look at init files from other users then this is the place to start. (And this is a good place to start, other than the manual (which is the best place), to learn about customizing Emacs.)
Finally, my (unsolicited) advice wrt learning Emacs, including customizing, is to start by not customizing it at all. I say that without irony as one who has heavily customized Emacs.
If you want to "get it", i.e., to get a feel for the Emacs design and what makes it different, then let yourself get used to Emacs as it is out of the box -- for maybe a month or so. At that point you can think about customizing, and your customizations are likely to be much wiser (in your own terms, i.e., for whatever it is that you want).
Another way of putting this is that until you know Emacs a bit, you really do not know what it is that you want or need in terms of customization. In particular, it would be a mistake, IMO, to start out by trying to think of Emacs in terms of Vim or trying to make Emacs do what you've done in Vim. There is plenty of time for that later, if, based on understanding Emacs, you really do want to do that.
Welcome to Emacs. Enjoy.
I'm going to take a reasonable dissent from Drew's excellent answer, there are some things you really ought to set in your emacs-file immediately, that aren't set out of the box that you really ought to set.
Issue number 1: THAT $(generate-swearing) BELL!
The bell will ding like a madman. That's annoying. You can turn it off.
In your init-file, do this:
(setq visible-bell 1)
Issue number 2: Emacs has an interesting view of backup files.
If you edit a file, say "foo.txt", emacs will create little backups of the file with the name "foo.txt~" in the same directory.
This is annoying as all hell, and you can fix it by doing this:
(setq backup-directory-alist '(("" . "~/.emacs.d/emacs-backup")))
Issue number 3: Emacs uses C-w differently than bash does, and that's a bit annoying.
C-w usually deletes a word backwards. By standard in emacs, it deletes the marked region. That's a bit silly.
It is better to do something like this:
;; This is my preference, your mileage may vary.
(global-set-key (kbd "C-x C-k") 'kill-region)
(global-set-key (kbd "C-x k") 'kill-buffer)
(global-set-key (kbd "C-w") 'backward-kill-word)
Issue number 4: Alt-X is a clunky way of running an interactive command.
It is better to do something like this instead, avoid your hand cramping up all the time.
(global-set-key (kbd "C-x C-m") 'execute-extended-command)
(global-set-key (kbd "C-x C-m") 'execute-extended-command)
You also may want to check out Steve Yegge's Effective Emacs: https://sites.google.com/site/steveyegge2/effective-emacs
It's pretty amazing. One thing to note though is that the caps-lock to ctrl thing is also available through a microsoft tool here:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/ctrl2cap
This is better than the manual hack Yegge suggests, and you can turn it off if you don't like it.
I've recently started using emacs and I'm enjoying using it for the most part. The only thing I'm not enjoying, is switching between buffers. I often have a few buffers open and I've grown tired of using C-x b and C-x C-b, are there any packages that make switching between buffers easier? I've looked into emacs wiki on switching buffers and I'd appreciate insight/feedback on what are are using/enjoying. Thanks.
UPDATE: iswitchb-mode is obsolete in Emacs >= 24.4, replaced by ido.
All of the features of iswitchdb are now provided by ido. Ross provided a link to the documentation in his answer. You can activate with the following in your .emacs (or use the customization interface as Ross suggests):
(require 'ido)
(ido-mode 'buffers) ;; only use this line to turn off ido for file names!
(setq ido-ignore-buffers '("^ " "*Completions*" "*Shell Command Output*"
"*Messages*" "Async Shell Command"))
By default, ido provides completions for buffer names and file names. If you only want to replace the features of iswitchb, the second line turns off this feature for file names. ido will ignore any buffers that match the regexps listed in ido-ignore-buffers.
The behaviour described below for iswitchb-mode applies equally to ido for switching buffers.
iswitchb-mode (Emacs < 24.4)
iswitchb-mode replaces the default C-x b behaviour with a very intuitive buffer-switching-with-completion system. There are more sophisticated options, but I've never needed more than this.
After you hit C-x b, you are presented with a list of all buffers. Start typing the name of the buffer you want (or part of its name), and the list is narrowed until only one buffer matches. You don't need to complete the name, though, as soon as the buffer you want is highlighted hitting enter will move you to it. You can also use C-s and C-r to move through the list in order.
You can turn it on by default with this in your .emacs:
(iswitchb-mode 1)
You can also tell it to ignore certain buffers that you never (or very rarely) need to switch to:
(setq iswitchb-buffer-ignore '("^ " "*Completions*" "*Shell Command Output*"
"*Messages*" "Async Shell Command"))
You can use C-x <right> (next-buffer) and C-x <left> (previous-buffer) to cycle around in the buffer ring. You could bind S-<right> and S-<left> to these functions. (S is the "super-key" or windows-key). This way you can save some keystrokes.
Moreover, note that C-x b has a default entry, i.e. it displays a standard value (most of the time this is the previously viewed buffer), so that you don't always need to enter the buffer name explicitly.
Another nice trick is to open separate windows using C-x 2 and C-x 3. This displays several buffers simultaneously. Then you can bind C-<tab> to other-window and get something similar to tabbed browsing.
M-x customize-group ido then set Ido Mode to Turn on both buffer and file and set Ido Everywhere to on. Then click the Save for future sessions button at the top and enjoy ido magic for both files and buffers. Read the docs to get a sense of how to use ido.
Also, take a look at smex.
ido-mode provides an efficient way to switch buffers.
ibuffer is best for managing all opened buffers.
anything is good for selecting an interested thing from different
sources. (for eg: a single key can be used to switch to another
buffer or to open recently closed file or to open a file residing
in the same directory or ... anything you want ... )
If you've looked at the Emacs Wiki, you probably have all this information already, but here are a few other relevant Q&As:
Emacs: help me understand file/buffer management
Buffer switching in Emacs
How to invoke the buffer list in Emacs
My toolkit consists of ibuffer, windmove+framemove, winner-mode, and a custom binding to make C-xleft/right and C-cleft/right less of a hassle to use.
I have mapped the "ยง"-key to 'buffer-list and I find it to be very efficient.
I've started using anything for a couple of days and I'm really liking it: http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/Anything .
Emacs-fu has an good intro to anything: http://emacs-fu.blogspot.com/2011/09/finding-just-about-anything.html
My favourite function for this is helm-mini which is part of helm.
As other helm functions, it allows incremental narrowing of the selection. It also searches your recently visited buffers, which is a really nice way to re-open a buffer. Helm can be a little surprising at first and as a new Emacs user, I found it visually overwhelming and I preferred ido or ibuffer which have been suggested in other replies. But now I absolutely love it and use it all the time for countless things.
Something that I realized by accident and that can be useful:
mouse-buffer-menu is by default bound to <C-mouse-1> (Control key + mouse left click) and opens a popup with a list of the current buffers.
I have two operations that I do all the time in Emacs:
Create a new buffer and paste the clipboard. C-S-n
Close the current buffer. C-S-w
Switch to the last viewed buffer. C-TAB
I feel like a keyboard acrobat when doing the first two operations. I think it would be worth trying some custom key bindings and macros.
A few questions about this customization:
How would I make a macro for #1?
Are these good key bindings? (I know this is a bit subjective, but they might be used by something popular that I don't use.)
Has anyone found a C-TAB macro that will act like Alt+Tab in Linux/Windows? Specifically, I want to have a stack of buffers according to the last viewed timestamp (most recent on top). I want to continue cycling through the stack until I let go of the Ctrl key. When the Ctrl key is released, I want the current buffer to get an updated position on the stack.
Have you tried using vertically or horizontally split windows for this (via C-x 3 or C-x 2)? It seems like it would give you fewer steps - even if you implement something like you're talking about.
I find split windows really speed up copy and pasting operations. I use the arrow keys on my num pad to switch among windows (windmove-left/-right/-up/-down), so it's only one key to press and you go to the window you want.
I guess this is a little different from what you're asking for, but it sounds like it might help speed things along a bit.
C-x left and C-x right cycle through buffers, but you have to hit it multiple times, you can't just keep the key pressed down.
For creating a macro for #1, you just start a macro, hit the keys you usually do to create a new buffer, and stop the macro.
So it would be something like:
C-x ( C-x b NEW RET C-x )
You can then save NEW to a file once you're done pasting, so you can use the macro again to create a new buffer. C-x e to try out the macro. If it works you can save it into your init.el file. This is done with:
M-x name-last-kbd-macro
Then you'll get a prompt to enter the name of your choice. This is only good for the current session. Then you save the named macro to your initialization file. First you open your .emacs or init.el file. Then you place point where you want the macro definition to go, then you type:
M-x insert-kbd-macro
Now you can run your macro using its name via M-x <macroname> . You can bind your macro to keys too (in your .emacs or init.el file):
(global-set-key (kbd "C-c a") '<macroname>)
For example this is how your init.el would look after creating a macro that opens a new buffer called NEW that is not associated with a file and binding this macro to C-c n:
;; Creates a new unassociated buffer called NEW
(fset 'new-buffer "\C-xbNEW\C-m");
;; Shortcut for new-buffer
(global-set-key (kbd "C-c n") 'new-buffer)
You can also throw in the paste, buffer close, and buffer switching operations. I guess you'd have to save the buffer to a file manually.
Some resources
Information about macros on EmacsWiki
Possibly useful: Swap text between buffers
start by invoking start-kbd-macro, finish by with end-kbd-macro. Afterwards you may immediately test the new macro with call-last-kbd-macro. If you're happy with the result you might want to save the macro.
Emacs generally doesn't use C-S keybindings and they are easy to use, so I'd call them good. They might cause problems if you're using the terminal version of Emacs, but I assume that's not the case with you.
I use this simple snippet:
(global-set-key (kbd "<C-tab>") 'bury-buffer)
bury-buffer basically makes the current buffer the last in the buffer-list so you'll be able to cycle buffers in a predictable order.
I wouldn't make a macro for that but write a function like someone else posted on this page. Instead of (cua-paste nil) you could also use (yank). I'm not sure which one's better and why.
I don't like them that much. For things that I use often I'd like to do as little finger acrobatics as possible, so that would mean modifier+key instead of modifier1+modifier2+key.. or use a function key if you don't feel tied to the homerow.
no comment
Vim completes words and lines with CTRL-X P and CTRL-L. There's a Emacs plugin called Company mode but this plugin interfere and cause conflicts with lots of things within Emacs (with global linum and yasnippets). I know that I can complete words with CTRL-/ in Emacs. But it is possible to take previously written lines to complete code?
Maybe you're looking for hippie-expand? From that web page (as of this writing, anyway):
HippieExpand looks at the word before
point and tries to expand it in
various ways including expanding from
a fixed list (like expand-abbrev),
expanding from matching text found in
a buffer (like dabbrev-expand) or
expanding in ways defined by your own
functions. Which of these it tries and
in what order is controlled by a
configurable list of functions.
For a comprehensive list of completion options visit the emacs wiki page on completion.
There are a gazillion ways to do completion in Emacs. Some are mode specific, some inline, some configurable and what not. Here is a list of modes that might help you.
Use numberic argument to complete by line, say M-5 M-/ will complete by line, while M-/ alone still complete the normal way.
hippe-expend function has a very useful feature which is :
With a positive numeric argument, jumps directly to the ARG next function in this list. With a negative argument or just C-u, undoes the expansion.
Customize the expansion functions in hippie-expand-try-functions-list and put the function try-expand-line as 5th list element, then you could use M-5 M-/ to complete by line.
This tip is very handy and useful and I highly recommend it.
Also worth noting: if your window manager does not steal Alt-tab, emacs will auto-complete with Alt-tab (I set up my window manager to user the "windows key" instead of alt for this very reason).
If you are using evil, this is the most vim-like solution I use:
(defun my-expand-lines ()
(interactive)
(let ((hippie-expand-try-functions-list
'(try-expand-line-all-buffers)))
(call-interactively 'hippie-expand)))
(define-key evil-insert-state-map (kbd "C-x C-l") 'my-expand-lines)
This way you can use our old friend C-x C-l in insert mode for whole line all buffers completion.
Thanks #ymln for the suggestion of using try-expand-line-all-buffers.