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Omg! We have this exact functionality nowadays in emacs with which-key (which incidentally is going to be included as part of core emacs in the next version), s

Omg! We have this exact functionality nowadays in emacs with which-key (which incidentally is going to be included as part of core emacs in the next version), so I guess wordstar is where the idea originally comes from! That's so interesting :D

SoftTalker 2y ago
> which incidentally is going to be included as part of core emacs in the next version Certainly off by default, I hope?
- dingnuts 2y ago
  I don't know what the maintainers chose, but honestly, which-key would be an awesome default to have turned on. It's soooo helpful for discovery and recall of commands (which is a huge problem with such a complicated application as Emacs!) that the fact that which-key was included by default in Spacemacs half a decade ago is a big reason I am as proficient in Emacs as I am today, and I'm sure there are others who feel the same. It would be very, very useful for new users. Experienced users can turn it off if they don't like it -- much like the menu bars that are on by default in Emacs.
  - SoftTalker 2y ago
    Yeah I suppose. I find M-x describe-bindings works fine when I need help. Maybe something like "on by default if there's no .emacs" (so likely a new user) but if there is a .emacs then only on if enabled. But that probably has at least as many downsides as up. I guess I'll just disable it along with the menus and scrollbars as I already do.
    - dingnuts 2y ago
      where which-key really excels is when you're already halfway through a complicated series of keyboard shortcuts and can't remember the next sequence. you pause, and the menu pops up to remind you using describe bindings you have to ctrl-g out of your half entered command, run describe bindings, search for what you wanted to do (without context -- which-key has the context of your half built command and only shows relevant commands, but describe-bindings just shows everything), make note of it, dismiss the documentation buffer, and then repeat the whole command again to try again much easier to have which-key pop up and remind you of how to continue while you're still in the middle of it, and go away on its own when you continue if you're really proficient you won't even have to turn it off because it only appears when you pause, so you'll go so fast you never see it which-key is not a replacement for describe-bindings, it's a contextual tool to surface that information automatically when it's needed and to dismiss it or not display it when it's not
      - SoftTalker 2y ago
        Thanks for the added detail. Guess I'll give it a try. But I really tend to dislike behaviors that kick in when I pause, because I pause for a lot of reasons other than not remembering what comes next. It's why I also tend to disable all forms of auto-complete.
        deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
        dingnuts 2y ago
        that's fair! I tend to be the opposite and I love that our editor lets us both have it how we like it :D

SoftTalker 2y ago

> which incidentally is going to be included as part of core emacs in the next version Certainly off by default, I hope?

dingnuts 2y ago
I don't know what the maintainers chose, but honestly, which-key would be an awesome default to have turned on. It's soooo helpful for discovery and recall of commands (which is a huge problem with such a complicated application as Emacs!) that the fact that which-key was included by default in Spacemacs half a decade ago is a big reason I am as proficient in Emacs as I am today, and I'm sure there are others who feel the same. It would be very, very useful for new users. Experienced users can turn it off if they don't like it -- much like the menu bars that are on by default in Emacs.
- SoftTalker 2y ago
  Yeah I suppose. I find M-x describe-bindings works fine when I need help. Maybe something like "on by default if there's no .emacs" (so likely a new user) but if there is a .emacs then only on if enabled. But that probably has at least as many downsides as up. I guess I'll just disable it along with the menus and scrollbars as I already do.
  - dingnuts 2y ago
    where which-key really excels is when you're already halfway through a complicated series of keyboard shortcuts and can't remember the next sequence. you pause, and the menu pops up to remind you using describe bindings you have to ctrl-g out of your half entered command, run describe bindings, search for what you wanted to do (without context -- which-key has the context of your half built command and only shows relevant commands, but describe-bindings just shows everything), make note of it, dismiss the documentation buffer, and then repeat the whole command again to try again much easier to have which-key pop up and remind you of how to continue while you're still in the middle of it, and go away on its own when you continue if you're really proficient you won't even have to turn it off because it only appears when you pause, so you'll go so fast you never see it which-key is not a replacement for describe-bindings, it's a contextual tool to surface that information automatically when it's needed and to dismiss it or not display it when it's not
    - SoftTalker 2y ago
      Thanks for the added detail. Guess I'll give it a try. But I really tend to dislike behaviors that kick in when I pause, because I pause for a lot of reasons other than not remembering what comes next. It's why I also tend to disable all forms of auto-complete.
      - deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
      - dingnuts 2y ago
        that's fair! I tend to be the opposite and I love that our editor lets us both have it how we like it :D