1

I need something like abbrev, just without any extra spaces, including spaces which trigger the replacement. I experimented with keyboard shortcuts, like this:

;;(general-auto-unbind-keys)
(global-set-key (kbd "H H") "---~")
(global-set-key (kbd "H H J") "~---")
(global-set-key (kbd "J J") "~---~")

It replaces every H, whereas I need double H (HH, uppercase only) as a trigger. I tried different shortcut descriptions; unfortunately, this is my best result. Ideally, I want also a timeout (if the second H is lagging, business as usual), and the replacement to be enabled for *.tex files only. Is there a way?

Actually I use Doom Emacs with evil mode.

UPD:

This one is unusable in a different way:

(map!
 "H H" "---~"
 "H J" "~---"
 "J J" "~---~"
 )

It firmly locks down and waits for the second key, which isn't what I need.

As a matter of fact, this is the vim script code I'm struggling to recreate:

inoremap HH ---~
inoremap HJ ~---
inoremap JJ ~---~
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5
  • You could just use "H J" for the middle combination, to avoid a common prefix.
    – Andrew Swann
    Commented Dec 20, 2022 at 13:47
  • Yes, but I have to make it work first, just for two characters. At present it fires right from the first character.
    – Alexey Orlov
    Commented Dec 20, 2022 at 14:09
  • Have you made H a prefix key?
    – NickD
    Commented Dec 20, 2022 at 16:24
  • I'm sorry, I haven't yet learned the ropes.
    – Alexey Orlov
    Commented Dec 20, 2022 at 16:36
  • Well, that's probably what map! did and you didn't want that, so no loss!
    – NickD
    Commented Dec 20, 2022 at 17:42

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
1

This might do what you're after:

(defun abbrev-or-insert ()
  (interactive)
  (self-insert-command 1)
  (expand-abbrev))

(define-global-abbrev "HH" "---~")
(define-global-abbrev "JJ" "~---~")
(define-global-abbrev "JH" "~---")

(global-set-key (kbd "H") 'abbrev-or-insert)
(global-set-key (kbd "J") 'abbrev-or-insert)

With this approach, you can't use three letter combos that repeat a two-letter combo. i.e., if you define HH to be one abbrev, you can't also use HHJ as a different abbrev`.

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5
  • Thanks! There are two kinks, so far: (1) it takes a workaround, like entering hh and then uppercase it manually, to insert HH, for instance, if you really need actual HH for some reason, because it remembers the first H indefinitely; (2) it does not respect non-English characters. For me it's essential to keep the abbreviation across different layouts.
    – Alexey Orlov
    Commented Dec 21, 2022 at 14:59
  • 1) you could also to H C-Q H, to enter HH without forcing an expansion. But yes, in general you'll want to use combos that don't get used often or ever. 2) I don't know what this means, I only use an English keyboard. You should be able to add bindings for different characters in different layouts? I'm not sure how that works though
    – Tyler
    Commented Dec 21, 2022 at 15:57
  • As a matter of fact, your abbrev solution accepts non-english characters. It's the key-chord approach, otherwise very satisfactory, that's stubborn :)
    – Alexey Orlov
    Commented Dec 21, 2022 at 16:22
  • There's a wrinkle: ---~---~aaaHH ---~---~aaaHH ---~. After any input it takes a space to put things back to rights.
    – Alexey Orlov
    Commented Dec 22, 2022 at 8:58
  • Will you please have a look at the above comment?
    – Alexey Orlov
    Commented Dec 24, 2022 at 6:15
1

This solution meets all my requirements. The discussion on reddit. Special thanks to Tyler, who prompted me in the right direction.

;; Instant abbreviations for LaTeX,
;; English and Cyrillic.
;;
;; In case no expansion is needed, example: (H C-S-q H) results in HH.
(defun abbrev-or-insert ()
  (interactive)
  (self-insert-command 1)
  (expand-abbrev))

(add-hook 'post-self-insert-hook #'expand-abbrev nil t)

(define-abbrev-table 'global-abbrev-table
  '(
    ("HH" "---~" nil :case-fixed nil :count 0)
    ("РР" "---~" nil :case-fixed nil :count 0)
    ("HJ" "~---" nil :case-fixed nil :count 0)
    ("РО" "~---" nil :case-fixed nil :count 0)
    ("JJ" "~---~" nil :case-fixed nil :count 0)
    ("ОО" "~---~" nil :case-fixed nil :count 0)
    ("LL" "\\ldots{}" nil :case-fixed t :count 0)
    ("ДД" "\\ldots{}" nil :case-fixed t :count 0)
    )
  :regexp (regexp-opt '("HH" "РР" "HJ" "РО" "JJ" "ОО" "LL" "ДД") t))

(global-set-key (kbd "H") 'abbrev-or-insert)
(global-set-key (kbd "Р") 'abbrev-or-insert)
(global-set-key (kbd "J") 'abbrev-or-insert)
(global-set-key (kbd "О") 'abbrev-or-insert)
(global-set-key (kbd "L") 'abbrev-or-insert)
(global-set-key (kbd "Д") 'abbrev-or-insert)
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4
  • Actually it works without (add-hook 'post-self-insert-hook #'expand-abbrev nil t) just fine. Maybe the innards of Doom Emacs supply it. Anybody in the know is welcome :)
    – Alexey Orlov
    Commented Dec 30, 2022 at 7:42
  • If you use abbrev-or-insert, you need the global-set-key code, but you don't need the post-self-insert-hook. On the other hand, if you use post-self-insert-hook you shouldn't need abbrev-or-insert or global-set-key
    – Tyler
    Commented Dec 31, 2022 at 20:52
  • @Tyler Could you be more specific? It's very interesting, but hopelessly cryptic.
    – Alexey Orlov
    Commented Jan 11, 2023 at 8:57
  • You solution uses two different answers, either of which should work on its own. There's the code that comes from my answer, which should be all you need (although I don't fully understand your comment under my answer with a problem). The other approach should only require the single line (add-hook 'post-self-insert-hook #'expand-abbrev nil t), as well as the (define-abbrev-table ..). If you use the post-self-insert-hook, you shouldn't need my function or the global-set-key code.
    – Tyler
    Commented Jan 11, 2023 at 18:19
0

The thing I so badly wanted is the Key Chord. The motion even has its proper name, come to think of it.

;; Mapping a pair of simultaneously pressed keys to a command or
;; mapping the same key being pressed twice in quick
;; succession to a command. Such bindings are called "key chords".
(key-chord-mode 1)
(key-chord-define-global "HH" "---~")
(key-chord-define-global "HJ" "~---")
(key-chord-define-global "JJ" "~---~")
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1
  • Most unfortunately, it won't work with non-English characters.
    – Alexey Orlov
    Commented Dec 22, 2022 at 9:06

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