Sometimes it is convenient to set a manual column width when creating a table in org-mode. This makes it so that columns do not have to grow to the size of their longest entry. When an entry in and org-mode table is longer than the column it is found in, the entry gets visually truncated with a =>
symbol at the end.
I know that I can do C-c `
to use org-table-edit-field
, but this requires pressing C-c C-c
to close the preview window and get back to the org-mode buffer. Calling the same command with a prefix argument C-u C-c `
makes the full field visible so that it can be edited in place, but it is still tedious if I want to quickly preview 5-10 fields in quick succession.
LibreOffice Calc has a preview field at the top of a spreadsheet (so does MS Excel) which shows the value of the currently selected field:
Is it possible to get a similar preview when editing an org-mode table? The minibuffer seems like one good place for it, although it might have the side effect of filling up the *Messages*
buffer quickly. A dedicated mini window at the top or bottom of the buffer would also work.
tooltip-mode
turned on, the contents will be shown in a tooltip; otherwise they will be displayed in the echo area.