This is Anupam's personal page.
== Some of the packages I use ==
# [[OrgMode]] - A fantastic PIM/Notes taking application which is really useful for implementing GTD.
# [[Gnus]] - The Emacs Usenet reader
# [[Eshell]] - The Emacs Shell
# [[Icicles]] - A completion package. Tons of functionality
# [[DictEm]] - A dictionary package
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== Tips and Tricks for Emacs on OS X ==
These tips and tricks have been tested on plain-vanilla [[CarbonEmacs]] version 22.1 on OS X. YMMV on other versions.
In addition to the tips below, tons of other OS X tips can be found at:
* [[MacOSTweaks]]
* [[EmacsForMacOS]]
* [[CarbonEmacsPackage]]
=== Use Spotlight within Emacs ===
Emacs comes with a `locate' command that uses the locate system command to find files within your system. On OS X, it is easier to use Spotlight, which is trivial to enable in Emacs.
In your .emacs file, add the following code:
(setq locate-command "mdfind")
Now try:
M-x locate enter your search here
Your search results will be populated in a new Window.
=== Emulate a three button Mouse on a single button Mac Mouse/trackpad ===
Traditionally, mice on Macs have had just one button (including the iBook/Powerbook trackpads) - even through Mac OS (including OS X) can accept 2 or 3 button input without any problems.
If you want to emulate a three button mouse in Emacs on OS X, a simple customization option will do the trick.
Invoke:
M-x customize-group and enter mac. Navigate to the "Mac Emulate Three Button Mouse" and select option 2 or option 3. Voila!
=== Use the Capslock as a Control key ===
This is an absolute must, unless you like contorting your fingers and risk RSI. It is also an easy thing to do on OS X.
You need to bring up the System preferences --> Keyboard & Mouse
and then click the "Modifier Keys" to remap the Capslock to Control.
This is available on OS X 10.4 and later versions.
=== Use M-` for switching Frames ===
The standard key-binding for moving to the other frame (`other-frame') is C-x 5 o. That's quite a few key-strokes, and also does not match with the standard OS X key-mapping for switching windows, which is Command-`. On OS X, the Command key maps to Meta.
However, this is easy to fix. Put the following code-fragment into your .emacs file:
(define-key icicle-mode-map [?\M-`] nil) # Only needed if you use Icicles
(global-set-key [?\M-`] 'other-frame) # This sets the key binding
Note that by default M-` invokes `tmm-menubar' which can also be accessed via [f10]. Also, you do not need the first line (to undefine the key binding in [[Icicles]] if you do not use that package.
=== Use emacsclient from the command line ===
Emacs is a great editor, but has one setback - it is *slow* to startup if you have loads of packages to load. On my G4 iBook, it takes around 45 seconds before Emacs becomes usable (OK - I use *lots* of packages).
However, Emacs is not meant to be restarted every so often. The canonical usage is to start Emacs once, start the server mode (see [[EmacsClient]]) and then use the emacsclient from the command line to invoke the editor instance when needed.
On my system, I have aliased the `emacsclient' binary to be `ec', which is much simpler to type.
I.e., in my `.bashrc', I have
alias ec emacsclient
I have also defined $EDITOR to use `emacsclient' when possible, and `vi' otherwise. However, instead of directly assigning to the $EDITOR environment variable, I have a small shell-script to define the default editor I want to use. This script is then assigned to the $EDITOR variable.
The code for the default-editor shell-script (named `default-editor') is:
#!/bin/bash
# Set up a default editor for the shell
# Use Emacs if already open, and vi in other cases (including fallback)
EMACS_EDITOR=`which emacsclient`
if [ -x "$EMACS_EDITOR" ]; then
$EMACS_EDITOR -a vi "$@"
else
vi "$@" # Never fails!
fi
And then, in the .bashrc file, I have:
if [ -x $HOME/bin/default_editor ]; then
export EDITOR=$HOME/bin/default_editor
else
export EDITOR=`which vi`
fi
BTW, the code above assumes that you use [http://www.gnu.org/software/bash/ bash] as the primary shell in your terminal. You can however trivially modify the scripts above for your specific shell.
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== My Code ==
=== A Small function to set the PATH variable from within Emacs ===
Very useful for OS X, where the default path is set by plists.
;;; Define a function to setup additional path
(defun my-add-path (path-element)
"Add the specified path element to the Emacs PATH"
(interactive "DEnter directory to be added to path: ")
(if (file-directory-p path-element)
(setenv "PATH"
(concat (expand-file-name path-element)
path-separator (getenv "PATH")))))
and use it as:
;;; Set localized PATH for OS X
(if (fboundp 'my-add-path)
(let ((my-paths (list
"/opt/local/bin"
"/usr/local/bin"
"/usr/local/sbin"
"/usr/local/mysql/bin"
"~/bin")))
(dolist (path-to-add my-paths (getenv "PATH"))
(my-add-path path-to-add))))
=== Downloading Icicles packages from within Emacs ===
[[Icicles]] has quite a few files ([[Icicles - Libraries]]) that form the package, and LeWang has provided a shell script at [[get-icicles.sh]] to conveniently download all the required files. However, on Windows, unless you have Cygwin (http://www.cygwin.com/), it is difficult to run this script.
The [[ELPA]] package system by [[TomTromey]] provides an elegant mechanism to download packages from within Emacs itself, using the [[UrlPackage]]. The code below allows you to use a similar mechanism to download Icicles.
To use, please select the code snippet below and paste it in the *scratch* buffer, move your cursor to the last closing parenthesis, and hit C-x C-e
The download may take some time - be patient!
;; Evaluate this code in a scratch buffer to download all Icicles files.
(let ((buffer
(url-retrieve-synchronously
"http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/emacs/download/download-icicles.el")))
(save-excursion
(set-buffer buffer)
(goto-char (point-min))
(re-search-forward "^$" nil 'move)
(eval-region (point) (point-max))
(kill-buffer (current-buffer))))
;; ---------------------------------^
;; Place your cursor HERE and hit C-x C-e
The actual lisp file which downloads rest of Icicles is at: [[download-icicles.el]]
=== An alternate mechanism to download Icicles ===
After discussions with DrewAdams, I created an alternate mechanism to download Icicles from within Emacs. You need to perform the following steps:
# Download [[icicles-install.el]] to a convenient directory (e.g. ~/elisp)
# Add the following line in your .emacs file: (load "~//icicles-install") (//Note: Adjust the directory name for your local download directory.//)
# You need not restart Emacs. At end of the sexp listed above, enter C-x C-e to load the file.
# //Optional Step:// You may want to customize the download directory (it defaults to ~/icicles) by running `customize-variable' on the `icicle-download-dir' variable
# Run the command `icicle-download-wizard' from the mini-buffer. I.e., run M-x icicle-download-wizard
This will run a prompt-based wizard which will guide you through the download and optional byte-compile steps.
== My Wiki Contributions ==
* [http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki?action=rc&all=1&showedit=1&from=1&rcuseronly=AnupamSengupta All Contributions]
* [http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki?action=rc;rcuseronly=AnupamSengupta This week's contributions]
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