I'm trying to learn emacs, getting vi custom key bindings.
Using Viper-mode, what is the correct way to re-bind a key? (I'm using Colemak keyboard layout(instead of qwerty) so have to change things like n->j) But would like it to work in viper-mode.
From this key binding guide on GNU.org:
http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/viper/Key-Bindings.html
It says the command to put in your .viper file is:
(define-key viper-vi-global-user-map "\C-v" 'scroll-down)
It doesn't work for me... in fact not sure I even have the function "define-key"...
M-x define-key [No match]
I'm not sure if 'define-key' is available on my version of emacs?
This works, but not in viper-mode
(global-set-key "n" "j")
Any help would be much appreciated. This is my first day using Emacs, to it's a pain getting Colemak & Viper-mode to work properly.
Thank for any help...
Hopefully some useful answers here:
First, having that line in the .viper works for me. Note that the viper-vi-global-user-map applies when you're in command mode, not insert mode.
Secondly, define-key isn't a command, it's a regular function, which just means that it cannot be called using M-x. See this Emacs wiki page for a little more detail on that distinction. But that was a good attempt.
Third, the global-set-key is a command, you could have tried making a change using M-x global-set-key. But, that sets the key in the current global map, which isn't the same as viper-vi-global-user-map. Viper-mode uses a bunch of different keymaps to make Emacs behave like vi, but all of the maps are overlaid on top of the global map.
I'm guessing that you found that C-v wasn't bound like you want when you're in insert mode. And that can be solved by adding this to your .viper:
(define-key viper-insert-global-user-map "\C-v" 'scroll-down)
Lastly, scroll-down may not be what you want. The down refers to the text moving down (given the perspective of a fixed window). C-v is generally bound to 'scroll-up. But,maybe it is exactly what you want.
Caveat: I'm not a viper-mode user, I don't even know how to use vi. So my terminology may be off. But I find the challenge of changing things in viper-mode very interesting.
Edited to add
From your comment it sounds like you want n to be the same as what j is bound to by default. Try adding this:
(define-key viper-vi-global-user-map "n" 'viper-next-line)
In "normal" mode I did M-x describe-key j, which told me that j is bound to 'viper-next-line, and the above line will bind n to the same routine. Repeat for the rest of the bindings you want to shift around.
in modern times evil-mode is the vim emulation layer for emacs, and to tweak it for colemak, my https://github.com/wbolster/evil-colemak-basics package helps a lot.
Related
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'd like to find all the modes which do assign a function to some specific shortcut.
For example if I'm not mistaken a stock Emacs simply assigns (or defaults to) newline for S-return but while in org-mode S-return does invoke org-table-copy-down.
Is there an easy way to figure out which modes (both major and minor) do map a function to a specific shortcut? I can find all the shortcuts of one major mode using describe-mode but I'd like to find those for all the various modes. I don't mind if it were to only work for all the currently loaded modes.
Basically I'd like to find "free" or "relatively rarely re-mapped" key shortcuts, which are also easy to type (i.e. I'm not after doing "C-c a" because for a start C-c is a very convoluted key to reach and then having to then hit another key is one key too many for me. I'm more after re-mapping C-o, S-return, M-/ and other combo trivial and fast to reach).
You can find the current-mode bindings using C-h b.
You can get all of the keymaps currently available, using accessible-keymaps. You can find all the features loaded via variable features. But you would have to work to find all possible bindings for all possible modes from all files that you have loaded so far.
I recommend that you do it for a particular mode, one mode at a time. It's easy to check a given mode's key bindings.
You can even check the bindings of keymaps (such as minibuffer maps or the Isearch map) that are hard to see otherwise, if you use command C-h M-k (describe-keymap) from library `help-fns+.el. I use that when I want to see what keys are still available in a given keymap etc.
You can use
M-x describe-unbound-keys
to find out the free keys.
This is from third party library as said in comments.
I don't know the answer to your specific question, but I can give you my solution to getting easy-to-type keybindings that don't conflict with other modes.
In my set up, I've remappped CAPS-LOCK to Alt. Most people map it to CTRL, but I can hit CTRL relatively easily, while ALT is difficult. With this set-up, one of the easiest key combos to hit is M-space. So I use this as my own private keymap:
(define-prefix-command 'ty-keymap)
(global-set-key "\M- " ty-keymap)
(define-key ty-keymap " " 'just-one-space)
(define-key ty-keymap "j" 'join-next-line)
(define-key ty-keymap "s" 'mark-sexp)
(define-key ty-keymap "c" 'org-capture)
...
Note: by default, M-space is bound to just-one-space, which is useful. I've moved that to M-space-space. Bouncing my thumb twice on the spacebar is only a fraction slower than hitting it once, so it's not a big loss.
Since M-space isn't a keymap by default, this setup allows me to use all the keys on the keyboard, without further modification. That's a lot of real-estate, guaranteed to be free of any conflict with other packages - since well-behaved packages won't clobber a basic Emacs keybinding.
You might prefer another key combo, but the idea is the same. You could even use a function key as your prefix-command, so you could do <f5> followed by a letter for your commands.
I have just started learning Linux and Emacs. It was pleasant to have the same key bindings in both Emacs and a shell (bash/tcsh) for the most frequently used cursor movements, so that I do not have to consciously think which one I have to use. Still worse, use the wrong command and undo the mistake. There were two exceptions, though.
One often used command was the equivalent of backspace, delete a character backwards. In a shell, it was C-h. I got the same behaviour in Emacs, thanks to this tip from Janos, who probably felt the same way.
http://www.math.rutgers.edu/~komlos/emacs.htm
Now the mistake I do often in Emacs is trying to delete words backwards with the command M-C-h, as in a shell.
Can somebody please give a binding that will make Emacs delete words backwards with 'M-C-h'? Currently, this command selects the whole of the text in a buffer, which is quite an useful thing (C-a in windows), but not so frequently used as deleting words backwards.
Moreover, any binding to replace the current binding of M-h (from the link above) to help will be appreciated.
Thank you,
Elan.
Below binds C-M h to backward-kill-word. You can put it in your .emacs file.
(global-set-key (kbd "C-M-h") 'backward-kill-word)
You can use M-<backspace> in terminal and emacs to delete word backward.
It's best to use key translation so C-M-h works exactly the same as M-backspace would in any minor mode (regardless of whether M-backspace is bound to backward-kill-word or not).
;; bind C-h to <backspace>
(define-key key-translation-map [?\C-h] [?\C-?])
;; bind C-M-h to M-<backspace>
(define-key key-translation-map [?\C-\M-h] [?\C-\M-?])
The usual behavior in vim is for C-o in insert-mode to allow the user to use one normal-mode command and then return to insert-mode.
Following the suggestions in this comment, I've set
(vimpulse-imap "\C-o" 'viper-escape-to-vi)
But when I press C-o in insert-mode, the characters "^O" are inserted in the buffer and I am unable to switch to normal-mode for one command as I expect. I understand viper-escape-to-vi is bound to C-z by default but I am also unable to switch to normal-mode using this key combination either ("^Z" is printed in the buffer instead). What am I doing wrong?
Also, second question: I would like for C-z to not be bound by viper-mode (or vimpulse) as I use it for elscreen. How can I tell it to leave C-z alone?
Edit: Found this bit of code in vimpulse-misc-keybindings.el:
;; temporarily escape to vi state
(define-key viper-insert-basic-map "\C-o" 'viper-escape-to-vi)
So should be defined already? Not sure why it doesn't work.
Ad 1) It works for me, maybe something went wrong with your config?
But the output is strange: The only way to get it is a quoted-insert (or similar).
viper-escape-to-vi in insert state is bound to viper-toggle-key (but well that defaults to C-z), so see below. Again your output is strange.
Ad 2) You have to set viper-toggle-key to a sexp before viper is loaded, alternatively customize it.
For the former (using the Pause key for it)
(setq viper-toggle-key [pause])
(require 'viper)
You should try evil, being the successor to vimpulse. It's coming along well and gets rid of viper.
Setting the toggle key there (to pause again) is a (evil-set-toggle-key "<pause>") away, it's a kbd sequence not a sexp.
C-o works fine, too.
I tried to define hotkey as following
(global-set-key [(control shift up)] 'other-window)
but it doesn't work (no error, just doesn't work), neither does
(global-set-key [(control shift down)] 'other-window)
But
(global-set-key [(control shift right)] 'other-window)
and
(global-set-key [(control shift left)] 'other-window)
work!
But because the last two key combinations are used by emacs (as default), I don't wanna change them for other functions.
So how could I make control-shift-up and control-shift-down work?
I have googled "(control shift up)", it seems that control-shift-up is used by other people, (but not very few results).
The reason for this is not an Emacs problem, but comes from the fact that your terminal cannot produce a key sequence for C-S-up.
You can verify this very easily. Open a terminal and then type:
Control-v Control-Shift-right
The Control-v part will make the control sequence for the next key be inserted verbatim into your shell. In our case, it will insert the sequence for Control-Shift right, and that'll look something like this:
^[[1;6C
Now, try the same thing for C-S-up:
Control-v Control-Shift-up
You'll see that no control sequence is entered, which hints at the fact that when you press C-S-up in Emacs, it will actually never receive anything, because the terminal is not able to produce anything to pass on to Emacs.
We can double-verify this if you just start a new emacs -nw and type C-h k to invoke Emacs' describe-key function. You'll get asked in the minibuffer to type a key to see what function it is bound to. If you now type C-S-up nothing happens - of course not, since the terminal in which your Emacs runs doesn't produce anything.
However, if you're just looking for an unused key-combination, how about just Shift-up (or even Shift-right) without Control? That one should work both in a terminal emacs and in the windowed version.
Finally, with the help from grawity on superuser.com, I got it working. Please this thread
https://superuser.com/questions/230852/get-ubuntu-terminal-to-send-an-escape-sequence-controlshiftup
This could well be a duplicate of:
Binding M-<up> / M-<down> in emacs 23.1.1
If this is the case, Gilles' answer should sort you out (undoubtedly with different escape sequences, though.)
edit (for better visibility -- see answer below):
It turned out that gnome terminal does not transmit these key combinations, so the solution relies upon the following: https://superuser.com/questions/230852/get-ubuntu-terminal-to-send-an-escape-sequence-controlshiftup