Re: Org and Hyperbole

[Robert Weiner <rsw@gnu.org>]

Hi:

Thanks to Juan for starting this thread and the interesting
conversation it has started.  I just joined this mail list, so I don't
have the prior messages and can't reply to the thread, so I have
started this new one.

I am the author of Hyperbole and would be happy to answer questions
concerning Hyperbole today (so you don't have to answer based on
experience from the 1990s).  Hyperbole has been modernized for use
with Org mode and Emacs 28 and continues to develop.  There are videos
that demonstrate some of its features in simple, understandable ways.
Hyperbole is a single Emacs package that can be installed and
uninstalled quickly for testing.  It is largely a global minor mode,
so you can also disable it quickly if you ever care to.  In 20 minutes
you can get through the builtin, interactive demo and be on your way
to basic yet powerful usage.  We have listened to much feedback in the
last few years and made it much more approachable.

I find most of the confusion is people trying to understand how
Hyperbole works under the covers rather than just following the
tutorial and exploring it.  Hyperbole can be hacked on if you are a
moderate to advanced programmer but it is meant to be used, like Org
mode.  Hyperbole recognizes many, many common contexts in buffers that
could serve as hyperlinks (paths, URLs, multiple key sequences, mail
addresses, and on and on) and performs the typically desired action
when you press its Action Key {M-RET} on these 'implicit buttons'.
You get all this for free with no effort on your part.  Then if you
want to extend such behavior, as you have seen a bit of, you can
define your own implicit button and action types once and then
activate an infinite number of matching implicit buttons.  For
example, in an Emacs shell buffer, type:

   echo $PATH

then press the {M-RET} key or Shift-Middle mouse button on any path
there and jump right to it.  I find that very useful as a simple
example.  People are often surprised at how many things simply work
right out of the box because such broad context-sensitive behavior is
difficult to develop and rarely seen.  Just try it out and you should
find some contexts that you can leverage rapidly.  {C-h A} displays
what Hyperbole's Action Key will do in any context so you can always
check and learn before activating anything.  We say: Hyperbole brings
your text to life.  Like Org and Emacs, it provides an extensive
environment that you can grow into across time, getting ever more
productive rather than hitting a ceiling as with most point
packages/tools.

I am happy to answer questions and discuss ways we can make Hyperbole
and Org work even better together; one direct question per message
would typically work best.  Responses may take awhile as my schedule
makes it difficult to keep up with high volume mailing lists but if
you cc: rsw@gnu.org, I'll likely see your message faster and respond.