Re: globbing file links

[John Kitchin <jkitchin@andrew.cmu.edu>]

This could be useful. Here is something close. It does not use
dired-virtual. I couldn't figure out how to generate the ls -lR like
listing for each file, but if you know how to do that it should be
straightforward to modify.

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
(defun glob-follow (path)
  (interactive)
  (let ((files (directory-files-recursively "." path)))
    (if (= 1 (length files))
	(find-file (car files))
      (pop-to-buffer (get-buffer-create "*org-glob*"))
      (erase-buffer)
      (org-mode)
      (insert
       (cl-loop for file in files concat
		(format "[[./%s]]\n" (file-relative-name file ".")))))))


(org-link-set-parameters
 "glob"
 :follow 'glob-follow)
#+END_SRC

Here is an example usage:

[[glob:.org$]]


Samuel Wales <samologist@gmail.com> writes:

> i frequently have broken file: links.  this might reduce their occurrence.
>
> i'd like to be able to do this:
>
>   file:.../**/myfile
>
> which would use bash's globbing mechanism or an elisp equivalent.
>
> also perhaps this:
>
>   file:.../**/*myfile*
>
> if one file results, i would like it to open as normal.  if more than
> one file results, i would like all of them to open in a dired-virtual
> buffer.  i think dired-virtual is in core.
>
> the first case would prevent broken links by allowing myfile to be
> moved as long as it is under ....
>
> the second case would allow you to select a bunch of files that have a
> common substring.  it would also prevent broken links by allowing
> myfile to be renamed slightly [such as compressed or uncompressed].
>
> i think broken links are likely a common problem for org users.  maybe
> this can help prevent it.
>
> does this sound like a good idea as an optional feature?
>
> if no, then what would be a good implementation of a glob: link?


--
Professor John Kitchin
Doherty Hall A207F
Department of Chemical Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-268-7803
@johnkitchin
http://kitchingroup.cheme.cmu.edu