C-a in lists when org-special-ctrl-a/e

C-a in lists when org-special-ctrl-a/e

[François Pinard]

Hi, Org people.

This morning, I activated org-special-ctrl-a/e (setting it to "t").  It
works as documented on header lines having TODO keywords.  On check
lists however, I would have expected a corresponding behavior.
Currently, on the first C-a, the cursor moves back on the "[" character,
while I think it should move after the space following "]".

François

Re: C-a in lists when org-special-ctrl-a/e

[Nicolas Goaziou]

Hello,

pinard@iro.umontreal.ca (François Pinard) writes:

> On check lists however, I would have expected a corresponding
> behavior.  Currently, on the first C-a, the cursor moves back on the
> "[" character, while I think it should move after the space following
> "]".

According to the documentation: "In an item, this will be the position
after the bullet". Thus, that behaviour seems correct to me.

Note that check-boxes are not part of the bullet (text is indented below
them on second line of an item).


Regards,

-- 
Nicolas Goaziou

Re: C-a in lists when org-special-ctrl-a/e

[François Pinard]

Nicolas Goaziou <n.goaziou@gmail.com> writes:

> pinard@iro.umontreal.ca (François Pinard) writes:

>> On check lists however, I would have expected a corresponding
>> behavior.  Currently, on the first C-a, the cursor moves back on the
>> "[" character, while I think it should move after the space following
>> "]".

> According to the documentation: "In an item, this will be the position
> after the bullet". Thus, that behaviour seems correct to me.  Note
> that check-boxes are not part of the bullet (text is indented below
> them on second line of an item).

The text says:

   When t, `C-a' will bring back the cursor to the beginning of the
   headline text, i.e. after the stars and after a possible TODO
   keyword.  In an item, this will be the position after the bullet.

It all depends if we read the letter or the spirit of the second
sentence.  "[ ]" is a kind of TODO, and "[X]" is a kind of DONE, as
demonstrated by the commands `C-x -' and `C-x *'.  That's why I quite
naturally expect the cursor to be positioned after the check box.

This is of course all debatable.  I think the spirit and usefulness of
org-special-ctrl-a/e would be better guaranteed, if the behavior was
amended.

François

Re: C-a in lists when org-special-ctrl-a/e

[Nicolas Goaziou]

pinard@iro.umontreal.ca (François Pinard) writes:

> It all depends if we read the letter or the spirit of the second
> sentence.  "[ ]" is a kind of TODO, and "[X]" is a kind of DONE, as
> demonstrated by the commands `C-x -' and `C-x *'.  That's why I quite
> naturally expect the cursor to be positioned after the check box.

Ok, then, let's read the spirit. I've implemented this behaviour in
master branch. We'll see how it goes.

Also, for those, like me, who would rather read the letter, I've also
modified the doc-string accordingly.

Thanks for your suggestion.


Regards,

-- 
Nicolas Goaziou

Re: C-a in lists when org-special-ctrl-a/e

[Anthony Lander]

On 12-Jan-23, at 3:30 PM, Nicolas Goaziou wrote:

> pinard@iro.umontreal.ca (François Pinard) writes:
> 
>> It all depends if we read the letter or the spirit of the second
>> sentence.  "[ ]" is a kind of TODO, and "[X]" is a kind of DONE, as
>> demonstrated by the commands `C-x -' and `C-x *'.  That's why I quite
>> naturally expect the cursor to be positioned after the check box.
> 
> Ok, then, let's read the spirit. I've implemented this behaviour in
> master branch. We'll see how it goes.

It's interesting... I've wished for this for a long time, but now that you've built it, I see a problem: "[" is not in the beginning of word regex set, so there is no easy way to get back to the "[". 

With that one sole exception, I think the behaviour gives a better user experience this way than the way it was before. It's easier to get to your text.

  -anthony

Re: C-a in lists when org-special-ctrl-a/e

[Nicolas Goaziou]

Hello,

Anthony Lander <anthony@landerfamily.ca> writes:

> It's interesting... I've wished for this for a long time, but now that
> you've built it, I see a problem: "[" is not in the beginning of word
> regex set, so there is no easy way to get back to the "[". 

There is C-M-b.


Regards,

-- 
Nicolas Goaziou

Re: C-a in lists when org-special-ctrl-a/e

[Anthony Lander]

On 12-Jan-27, at 10:08 AM, Nicolas Goaziou wrote:

> Hello,
> 
> Anthony Lander <anthony@landerfamily.ca> writes:
> 
>> It's interesting... I've wished for this for a long time, but now that
>> you've built it, I see a problem: "[" is not in the beginning of word
>> regex set, so there is no easy way to get back to the "[". 
> 
> There is C-M-b.

Indeed there is! Thank you Nicolas, I didn't even think to try that.

  -Anthony

Re: C-a in lists when org-special-ctrl-a/e

[François Pinard]

Nicolas Goaziou <n.goaziou@gmail.com> writes:

>> It all depends if we read the letter or the spirit of the second
>> sentence.  "[ ]" is a kind of TODO, and "[X]" is a kind of DONE, as
>> demonstrated by the commands `C-x -' and `C-x *'.  That's why I quite
>> naturally expect the cursor to be positioned after the check box.

> Ok, then, let's read the spirit. I've implemented this behaviour in
> master branch. We'll see how it goes.  Also, for those, like me, who
> would rather read the letter, I've also modified the doc-string
> accordingly.

> Thanks for your suggestion.

Thanks for the implementation, and of course, for the open spirit :-).

François

Re: C-a in lists when org-special-ctrl-a/e

[Bastien]

Hi Nicolas,

Nicolas Goaziou <n.goaziou@gmail.com> writes:

>> It all depends if we read the letter or the spirit of the second
>> sentence.  "[ ]" is a kind of TODO, and "[X]" is a kind of DONE, as
>> demonstrated by the commands `C-x -' and `C-x *'.  That's why I quite
>> naturally expect the cursor to be positioned after the check box.
>
> Ok, then, let's read the spirit. I've implemented this behaviour in
> master branch. We'll see how it goes.

I think this is a good change, thanks for implementing it!

-- 
 Bastien