Questions tagged [files]
Use this tag for questions about moving, deleting, or opening files. Or for questions about the difference between a buffer and its file. For topics such as "Saving Files", use "buffers" instead.
297
questions
0
votes
1
answer
19
views
How do I save a buffer from EmacsLisp without being prompted for a filename?
I modified an answer to a recent question to try and save the output to a file. It is going to a buffer, but when it hits the (save-buffer) it prompts me for a filename. I want it to save without a ...
- 103
0
votes
0
answers
31
views
Is there workaround to mirror a buffer to a file (similar to indirect buffer)?
I am familiar with indirect buffer capability of emacs.
From doc string:
An indirect buffer shares the text of some other buffer, which is
called the base buffer of the indirect buffer. In some ways ...
- 7,967
0
votes
0
answers
28
views
Cant' delete files/directories on Synology
I'm on macOS 14.4.1 and have Emacs 29.2 plus installed from Homebrew.
I have an access problem with Dired on my Synology when I try to delete files: "file-error: Removing old name: Operation not ...
- 11
1
vote
1
answer
50
views
Opening multiple files: how to change default buffer order
When I run $ emacs file1 file2 file3 file4 in a Unix shell, this is the result (using C-x Left and C-x Right to switch buffers):
file4 file3 file1 file2 *BufferList* *scratch*
The starting buffer is ...
- 177
0
votes
1
answer
47
views
How to prompt for a virtual buffer (recently killed file buffer) using Ido completion?
When ido-use-virtual-buffers is set to t, ido-switch-buffer shows, after the list of live buffers, a list of killed file buffers in chronological order, last killed first. Those are what Ido calls ...
- 1,727
1
vote
1
answer
61
views
Re-visit a file whose buffer I just killed [duplicate]
I've not found any straightforward way to re-visit a file whose buffer I just killed. Sort of like undoing the killing of the buffer.
I thought about getting the file's path from Ido's virtual buffers ...
- 1,727
1
vote
1
answer
219
views
What causes this "Spawning child process: Exec format error"?
Sometimes when I try to open a file, I get this error. It can be any file type (.org, .html, etc.) Once Emacs gets into the state, it seems to stay messed up, and I have to restart.
Emacs version: GNU ...
- 691
0
votes
1
answer
38
views
erroneous message editing SMB file
I'm running GNU Emacs 29.1 on a Mac mini. I've used Emacs uninterruptedly since 1987. I don't normally participate in discussion groups like this.
When I edit a file in a directory that is in a SMB ...
1
vote
1
answer
50
views
What's an easy way to view a copy of a text buffer as a hexl buffer
I sometimes want to look at the hexl-mode view of a text file buffer in one window and in another window I want to keep the original text view.
What's an easy procedure to do so? -- Due to the fact ...
- 1,365
0
votes
1
answer
141
views
How to print and read a list to(from) a file?
I'd like to save a (extremely minimal) database made of a lisp list and then read it back.
The list will look like something as follows:
(:foo "bar" :baz "foobar" :foobaz "baz&...
- 103
1
vote
1
answer
237
views
Visual Glitch whenever loading emacs
I am running emacs on WSL, and whenever I load emacs I get the following screen:
It goes away for a half second whenever I click on it, but then it comes back. Very new to this so am unsure what is ...
0
votes
1
answer
56
views
Emacs macro variables
Does Emacs have 'macro variables'?
Midnight Commander allows the use of macro substitution expressions like %f %D %t which can be use when running commands. eg %f is the name of the current file in a ...
- 135
0
votes
1
answer
97
views
Setting `auto-save-file-name-transforms` has the wrong effect: Auto-save files are stored in Emacs config directory
Assume I have the file ~/Documents/bla.org. Now I open a buffer that visits the file ~/Documents/bla.org.
I check the value of the (buffer-local) variable buffer-auto-save-file-name, and it reads /...
- 125
1
vote
1
answer
62
views
Combined search: notmuch mail, org-mode docs, and filesystem locate?
I often look for information that could be either in some org-mode document, in an old email, or somewhere in the file system (and probably other places). Now I can use org-search, notmuch-search, ...
- 141
1
vote
0
answers
76
views
What causes "file changed on disk; really edit the buffer?" for files on a network share?
What causes "file changed on disk; really edit the buffer?" for files on a network share?
I edit files on an SMB share and I get constantly this question: "changed on disk; really edit ...
- 880
2
votes
2
answers
220
views
How to make buffer recognize file moved?
Here's a simple use case:
I open bar/foo/file in a buffer and I'm working. In eshell, I do mv bar/foo/file bar/baz/foo/file. Now emacs can no longer recognize where to save and doesn't save it ...
- 179
2
votes
1
answer
149
views
Function load raises error on loading an existing file
I started getting an error on loading theme files and tracked it down to the (load) function being called by (load-theme). I tried to isolate the problem with the following test function and am still ...
- 430
0
votes
0
answers
121
views
"touch file" in dired mode
I found this answer:
(eval-after-load 'dired
'(progn
(define-key dired-mode-map (kbd "c") 'my-dired-create-file)
(defun create-new-file (file-list)
(defun exsitp-untitled-...
- 179
0
votes
3
answers
133
views
How to delete all the files matching regular expression in elisp?
I want to make some clean-up with auto-generated files. How can I delete all the files matching some regexp mask from within elisp?
As an example of desired functionality... Something like the line ...
- 147
0
votes
2
answers
96
views
How can I interactively replace text in all files in all subfolders?
Emacs 27.1
Linux Mint 21
I have text modifyNetwork in 50 files in differents folders. I need to replace them by text performCommand.
What is the easiest way to replace text in all files in all ...
- 4,204
2
votes
2
answers
74
views
Creating scratch R files
Often I want to create a temporary R file and don't want to save the file or name the file. Is there a way to achieve this outside of using C-x C-f and naming a file? For example, in VSCode or Rstudio ...
- 217
0
votes
1
answer
41
views
Recent Files on Removable Media (There's no such thing)
Whenever I edit files on removable media, these files disappear from the recent files list, when I remove the media.
When I reinsert the media, I have no recent files for that medium and I have to ...
- 880
0
votes
2
answers
79
views
Edit File on USB :: umount Target is busy
If I insert a USB drive and edit a file on it, then kill the buffer, I have to wait atleast five minutes before I'm able to umount the drive
$ sudo umount /dev/sdl1
umount: /mnt/sdl1: target is busy.
...
- 880
0
votes
1
answer
45
views
Close File, Still in Use
I have a problem, where after I edit a file on a USB stick and close the file with C-x k, Emacs still has a grip on the file until this message appears a few minutes later:
Debugger entered--Lisp ...
- 880
1
vote
2
answers
161
views
How to indicate in the mode-line that current-buffer's file has changed on disk?
How can I show if a file has changed on disk, in the mode-line?
(I'm trying to troubleshoot why auto-revert doesn't work for me, and such an indication would help.)
- 880
2
votes
1
answer
48
views
FILE(s) Passed by Shell to Emacs to Visit
The FILE mentioned in the title, is what in
$ emacs FILE
or
$ emacs -file FILE
or something else similar.
How do I know whether there’s a FILE / FILEs set for Emacs to visit at startup?
If there’...
- 5,815
0
votes
0
answers
45
views
Visit New File doesn't create new directories
Maybe I am completely misremembering but I am sure that Emacs used to create missing directories when using Visit New File command.
Let say that ~/Documents exists. And I want to create a new file in ...
2
votes
1
answer
818
views
How do I hide the welcome screen if and only if one or more files are opened by emacs upon startup?
Right now, if I do "emacs foo1 foo2" emacs will open with foo1 and the welcome screen showing in two windows splitting the frame vertically. Instead, I want to be shown foo1 and foo2. ...
- 21
0
votes
2
answers
30
views
`rename-file` into a different filesystem which does not support permissions
I'm running emacs under WSL 2, in which Windows drives are mounted below /mnt/<Drive Letter> with 9p as the filesystem. That filesystem does not support (setting) permissions on files.
I want to ...
- 271
0
votes
1
answer
385
views
How to comment out multiple or all files in a directory?
I frequently use commands like paredit-comment-dwim, comment-dwim, and comment-region. I am also aware these commands can have a compound effect with the mark command.
But, I would like to comment ...
- 1,591
0
votes
1
answer
36
views
In Magit, is it possible to know when an unstaged change happened? How to find that information?
I have a repository under version control and I am using Magit as an interface to git.
I can see one unstaged change in a file after executing magit-status (C-x g). This means the file was changed and ...
- 1,591
1
vote
1
answer
22
views
Is it necessary to save buffers as files in order to use command highlight-compare-buffer?
Based on a nice comment from @Drew on this previous question, I tried to use the command highlight-compare-buffers (although he did not mention exactly this comment).
My first attempt was actually ...
- 1,591
2
votes
1
answer
36
views
How can I ignore non-existing files in a fixed custom tags-search?
I want to search through a fixed set of files and I use the tags-search command for it:
(defvar my-files-form
'(list "/path/to/one/file"
"/path/to/another/file"))
(...
- 1,365
1
vote
1
answer
69
views
How to comment or uncomment the same lines of code in multiple files at once?
Suppose you have multiple files which has common lines of code or common matches of a regexp pattern. Is there an "emacs way" to comment/uncomment such specific common lines at once in all ...
- 151
3
votes
1
answer
254
views
Organizing images in emacs
There is image-mode and image-dired, but if you want to do anything except sequential viewing, they become clunky quickly. And they are slow for good quality photographs.
I would like to be able to go ...
- 354
0
votes
0
answers
35
views
Turn directory to file in dired
I often make the mistake of creating a directory instead of a file in Dired (by hitting +). I then have to delete it and recreate the file, with the same name.
Sometimes, I tried to edit the d file ...
- 1,589
0
votes
1
answer
24
views
read-file-name: input an non-existing file with a default name in ido
I'd like to ask to the user where to save a .png file, where I provide some defaults, like:
(read-file-name "Picture name:" "/tmp" "mydefaultname.png")
(ideally in a ...
- 455
1
vote
1
answer
143
views
Function that determines and returns the programming language of a given file
I'm working on some compiler shortcuts:
I want to write a function (cmp FILE-NAME &optional args) that will use FILE-NAME and args to construct the appropriate COMMAND to call (compile COMMAND) ...
0
votes
1
answer
131
views
Option similar to `vc-directory-exclusion-list` but for files create by build tools
I'm missing an option variable similar to vc-directory-exclusion-list that holds of a list of auto-generated directory names that contain temporary files that are typically but not exlusively created ...
- 527
1
vote
2
answers
119
views
Is there some Emacs command that behaves as readlink -f to print the full path of a especific file?
In the terminal, I can do:
$ readlink -f docker-compose.yml
Which outputs:
/home/pedro/projects/docker-stuff/docker-compose.yml
I would like to have something like that in Emacs so that I can find ...
- 1,591
1
vote
0
answers
56
views
How to open file with it being editable but not writeable?
I teach, and I like to use real files as examples in class. I want to be able to edit the buffer to show student things, but I don't want to risk accidentally writing the changes on the file.
What I ...
3
votes
1
answer
481
views
Tramp mode - Copying files
when copying files in tramp mode via ssh with Dired I am not able to do anything else in Emacs. Emacs is just not usable till this process has finished.
Is there any way to use Emacs while it copies ...
- 131
0
votes
0
answers
28
views
Introducing functionality stored in a file into another file defining a minor-mode
I am debugging a minor-mode and have split the file into two files. How would one introduce the functionality in the second file into the minor-mode file?
I have my minor-mode called rk-bracemarks ...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
36
views
Being in *shell* buffer, is it possible to open a file with the current Emacs application from a shell command?
After executing the shell command, I have a shell buffer inside Emacs.
After executing classic ls -l, there is a file listed that I want to open in Emacs:
[pedro@system:~/projects/career-opportunities]...
- 1,591
1
vote
1
answer
219
views
How do I get org-todo-list to see changes I made outside of local emacs?
I sync my org files between multiple devices with a Dropbox-like service. When a change is synced to a computer1 that already has Emacs running, org-todo-list subsequently shows stale headings.
I am ...
- 111
1
vote
1
answer
78
views
How to set the file-permissions of a buffer before it's written?
Is it possible to set the permissions on a buffer before it's written to a file? Or is it necessary to change the permissions after writing it?
(technically this would allow some small time-frame for ...
- 9,027
2
votes
0
answers
71
views
How to save a Slime Debugger buffer into a file, preserving all its data?
I am using Common Lisp, SBCL, Emacs, and Slime. Often, an error will happen while programming.
When an error occurs, Slime opens a Debugger buffer. Sometimes, I would like to save this debugger buffer ...
- 1,591
0
votes
0
answers
48
views
Are there any low-level functions for reading files in elisp?
I am looking for something equivalent to this in Python
f = open('2021-11-10.org')
print(f.readline())
I know you can insert the file-contents into a buffer and do something like this, but that is ...
- 12k
0
votes
0
answers
137
views
Detect whether a file is "binary" from elisp
I am wondering whether current versions of Emacs have any built in mechanism for guessing whether a file (that my elisp code is about to load, or perhaps has just loaded, into a buffer) is 'binary' ...
- 281
0
votes
0
answers
196
views
Show progress bar for long operation?
Linux Mint 20.2
Emacs 27.2
When I do some long operation not show progress bar.
Is it possible to show progress bar in this situation?
Examples of long operations:
Copy many files
Copy big files
...
- 4,204