6 ms·

I've always been an emacs user but have only recently gotten serious about customizing it to replace other applications I normally use. If anyone has bought thi

I've always been an emacs user but have only recently gotten serious about customizing it to replace other applications I normally use. If anyone has bought this and at least skimmed through I'd love to hear your thoughts before I drop $35.99 to see for myself.

yenda 11y ago
If you want to start heavy customization you can start by looking at configurations in literate programming style, you will learn a lot of documented customs. Here is an exemple : https://github.com/vdemeester/emacs-config https://github.com/vdemeester/emacs-config Also about the book someone on #emacs said it's mostly tips for beginners and about 14 more for intermediate users. I'll suggest you to read the website first and see if you like the author style/pov
- unknownzero 11y ago
  Thanks for the info :) I did enjoy the posts I read on the site, but was hoping for more advanced material in the book, good to know. Browsing through that repository right now, awesome stuff, I'll have to look for more like this.
phaer 11y ago
I've just bought and skimmed it. In my opinion it looks like a good introduction to emacs and its included packages for new users but it does not really discuss customization in detail. I really like the chapter "Theory of Movement" which discusses editing commands.
- unknownzero 11y ago
  Thanks for the heads up. I really liked the blog posts I just read through but I think I'll avoid making a purchase in that case.
damontal 11y ago
Swap your CTRL and caps lock keys. It will make it a lot easier to use.
- htns 11y ago
  No, swap your alt-gr and ctrl.
  - renke1 11y ago
    Put Ctrl on left Alt. And left Alt und right Alt (Alt-Gr). Then you are free to finally map Caps Lock to Escape. After that map left Ctrl such that left Ctrl+E/S/D/F is Up, Left, Down and Right.
    - htns 11y ago
      I map esc to the key between left shift and Z. It doesn't exist on US keyboards, though. And I put backspace on caps-lock. What I don't understand is putting any kind of simultaneous combo key on caps-lock, since caps-lock + a is not really easy to press. It doesn't help that many keyboards have a bit of a gap between a and caps-lock (to help position the left hand and prevent accidental caps-locking?).
- Dewie3 11y ago
  I guess this is if you use your pinky to hold down CTRL? I try to mostly use the knuckle below my pinky fingers[1] to hold down CTRL. This can be harder on certain keyboards, and I guess especially laptop keyboards. I think I learnt this from some kind of ErgoEmacs article/webpage. I also use god-mode, and one of the tips is to swap ESC with CAPS-LOCK (ESC is used to toggle god-mode). Nonetheless, I guess most of us can agree that CAPS-LOCK is in a too convenient position compared to its normal utility. :p [1] I use my left hand to hold down CTRL when it's more comfortable to press the next key with my right hand (like in C-u), and vice versa.
  - molteanu 11y ago
    Yes, that was from ErgoEmacs. Very nice info in there.
brudgers 11y ago
If Mastering Emacs isn't the right book for your situation, you might consider purchasing a hardcopy of the Emacs Manual: http://shop.fsf.org/category/books/ http://shop.fsf.org/category/books/ As a bonus, you'd be supporting the Free Software Foundation with your purchase.

yenda 11y ago

If you want to start heavy customization you can start by looking at configurations in literate programming style, you will learn a lot of documented customs. Here is an exemple : https://github.com/vdemeester/emacs-config https://github.com/vdemeester/emacs-config Also about the book someone on #emacs said it's mostly tips for beginners and about 14 more for intermediate users. I'll suggest you to read the website first and see if you like the author style/pov

unknownzero 11y ago
Thanks for the info :) I did enjoy the posts I read on the site, but was hoping for more advanced material in the book, good to know. Browsing through that repository right now, awesome stuff, I'll have to look for more like this.

phaer 11y ago

I've just bought and skimmed it. In my opinion it looks like a good introduction to emacs and its included packages for new users but it does not really discuss customization in detail. I really like the chapter "Theory of Movement" which discusses editing commands.

unknownzero 11y ago
Thanks for the heads up. I really liked the blog posts I just read through but I think I'll avoid making a purchase in that case.

damontal 11y ago

Swap your CTRL and caps lock keys. It will make it a lot easier to use.

htns 11y ago
No, swap your alt-gr and ctrl.
- renke1 11y ago
  Put Ctrl on left Alt. And left Alt und right Alt (Alt-Gr). Then you are free to finally map Caps Lock to Escape. After that map left Ctrl such that left Ctrl+E/S/D/F is Up, Left, Down and Right.
  - htns 11y ago
    I map esc to the key between left shift and Z. It doesn't exist on US keyboards, though. And I put backspace on caps-lock. What I don't understand is putting any kind of simultaneous combo key on caps-lock, since caps-lock + a is not really easy to press. It doesn't help that many keyboards have a bit of a gap between a and caps-lock (to help position the left hand and prevent accidental caps-locking?).
Dewie3 11y ago
I guess this is if you use your pinky to hold down CTRL? I try to mostly use the knuckle below my pinky fingers[1] to hold down CTRL. This can be harder on certain keyboards, and I guess especially laptop keyboards. I think I learnt this from some kind of ErgoEmacs article/webpage. I also use god-mode, and one of the tips is to swap ESC with CAPS-LOCK (ESC is used to toggle god-mode). Nonetheless, I guess most of us can agree that CAPS-LOCK is in a too convenient position compared to its normal utility. :p [1] I use my left hand to hold down CTRL when it's more comfortable to press the next key with my right hand (like in C-u), and vice versa.
- molteanu 11y ago
  Yes, that was from ErgoEmacs. Very nice info in there.

brudgers 11y ago

If Mastering Emacs isn't the right book for your situation, you might consider purchasing a hardcopy of the Emacs Manual: http://shop.fsf.org/category/books/ http://shop.fsf.org/category/books/ As a bonus, you'd be supporting the Free Software Foundation with your purchase.