3

Say you have an org file with several code blocks like the one below:

#+BEGIN_SRC jupyter-python :session py :results silent :async yes
stuff
more stuff
even more stuff
#+END_SRC

Question: Is there any function that would clear the contents of all code blocks, while leaving the code block declaration in place?

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2

I do not know whether there is an existing function to clear all org source blocks, but here is a quick example of how to do it.

CAVEAT: This example does not check for broken source code blocks; e.g., the code assumes there is a matching beginning/ending.

(defun org-clear-src-blocks ()
"Clear src code blocks."
(interactive)
  (save-excursion
    (goto-char (point-max))
    (while (re-search-backward "#\\+END_SRC" nil t)
      (let ((reg-end (point))
            reg-beg)
        (re-search-backward "#\\+BEGIN_SRC" nil t)
        (setq reg-beg (1+ (line-end-position)))
        (delete-region reg-beg reg-end)))))
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3

I use code like this to do that.

(defun scimax-ob-clear-all-contents ()
  "Clear all src-block contents in the buffer."
  (interactive)
  (save-excursion
    (goto-char (point-min))
    (while (org-babel-next-src-block)
      (org-edit-special)
      (delete-region (point-min) (point-max))
      (org-edit-src-exit))))

If you just want to remove all the results, I use this.

(defun scimax-ob-clear-all-results ()
  "Clear all results in the buffer."
  (interactive)
  (save-excursion
    (goto-char (point-min))
    (while (org-babel-next-src-block)
      (org-babel-remove-result))))
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  • Your code looks very neat! I'm sorry if I am confused but I think your code is removing the results part of the code block, while I was looking for something to remove the contents (the code) inside the code block. – Guilherme Salomé Jul 3 '19 at 21:52
  • 3
    Indeed, I misread the first question! I updated my answer with a similar approach to remove the contents. – John Kitchin Jul 3 '19 at 22:12
  • Thanks for the update, the code reads well! – Guilherme Salomé Jul 4 '19 at 12:21
  • 1
    @JohnKitchin: That was a very sensible misreading! I've often wanted to clear all results but never have I wanted to clear all code blocks. Maybe it's the Ikea effect? Maybe I feel more attached to the code I wrote than to the results the computer calculated? – Omar Jul 5 '19 at 14:00

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