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List:       kde-bugs-dist
Subject:    [Bug 185843] New: Adopt best ideas from emacs editing practice
From:       Boris <barbour () ens ! fr>
Date:       2009-02-28 23:40:03
Message-ID: bug-185843-17878 () http ! bugs ! kde ! org/
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https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=185843

           Summary: Adopt best ideas from emacs editing practice
           Product: kate
           Version: unspecified
          Platform: unspecified
        OS/Version: Linux
            Status: UNCONFIRMED
          Severity: wishlist
          Priority: NOR
         Component: general
        AssignedTo: kwrite-devel@kde.org
        ReportedBy: barbour@ens.fr


Version:           2.5.10 (using 3.5.10, Debian Package 4:3.5.10.dfsg.1-1+b1
(lenny/sid))
Compiler:          Target: x86_64-linux-gnu
OS:                Linux (x86_64) release 2.6.26-1-amd64

There are a few things emacs does better than kate and that I think could
easily be implemented to improve the text editing experience.

i) Ctrl-arrow for jumping word by word should jump from word end to word end.
Current behaviour is the opposite (word beginnings). Why change? Because most
often one wants to edit the _end_ of a word - plural, singular, agreement,
ending, verb form, tense, etc. It is much rarer to have to edit the beginning
of a word. So, after quick navigation, I nearly always find myself having to
adjust cursor position. Jumps should also stop between a word end and
punctuation. I guess many kate users will be set in their ways, so maybe this
could be an option (possibly associated automatically with text, latex, html,
... and other prose filetypes). However, I have used both systems and the emacs
version is much more efficient, at least for writing text.

ii) Ctrl-del and ctrl-backspace should always remove a whole word and leave
single spacing between the remaining words, except where there is punctuation
instead of a space. Following punctuation should not be deleted and should be
left joined to the remaining word (in some editing within kde this is still not
the case). The logic is to avoid having to adjust spacing (two or no spaces
left between words after deletion) and/or redundant keypresses (to remove a
space then the word you wanted to delete). Current behaviour is rather
unpredictable, but depending on the start point, direction and history, will
often require more than one keypress and/or fixing up the spacing between
words.

iii) A word transpose would be nice (in emacs meta-T). I think the alt-ctrl-T
binding is free and would nicely complement the letter transpose (ctrl-t).
Again, if the spacing has to be fixed up manually, that's extra work...

iv) Interactive search should be able to search backwards. Alt-ctrl-F advances,
alt-ctrl-R could reverse search (and also launch the I-search box in the
reverse direction). Typing the other combination should reverse direction.

v) The bookmark feature is nice, but it ought to be possible for kate simply to
remember the last few regions where editing occurred and be able to return to
those. Automatic bookmarks in other words. The typical use case is you go
somewhere to copy text in a large document and then you have to find your way
back to where you wanted to paste it. Sure, you can set a bookmark and use the
mouse to navigate back to that entry and then toggle it off, but that wastes
many keypresses and requires use of the mouse also; quite a waste of time and
effort.

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