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To: XEmacs Beta List <xemacs-beta@xemacs.org>
Subject: start up buffer (was Re: 19.15 b4)
References: <199612171152.LAA13465@wrath.parallax.co.uk> <m2wwuhm42l.fsf@altair.xemacs.org> <kign2vdatj0.fsf@jagor.srce.hr> <m2u3pk506f.fsf@altair.xemacs.org> <kigbubssv1c.fsf@jagor.srce.hr>
Reply-To: Colin Rafferty <craffert@ml.com>
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From: Colin Rafferty <craffert@spspme.ml.com>
Date: 19 Dec 1996 16:51:18 -0500
In-Reply-To: Hrvoje Niksic's message of 17 Dec 1996 22:47:11 +0100
Message-ID: <ocrloaurynd.fsf_-_@spssunp.spspme.ml.com>
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Two days ago, Hrvoje Niksic writes:
> Steven L. Baur (steve@miranova.com) wrote:

>> The *scratch* buffer is so useful once you know what do with it, that
>> I'm not suggesting that it go away.  It just seems to me we could
>> provide a nicer default for the first buffer entered.  The current
>> behavior, nice as it is for advanced users, violates the principle of
>> least surprise to a novice user.  When a text editor is started, one
>> should expect to immediately be able to enter text.  Getting a lisp
>> interpreter instead is a little weird.

> Well, this is Emacs, not an ordinary editor.  Besides, to get the lisp
> interpreter stuff, you have to press keys like C-j, M-C-x and such.  I
> believe the "normal" users will press plain RET.

The new user should have text-mode by default, because it has the
capabilities that he is expecting.

The strangest thing that my fiancee had to get used to in XEmacs was the
fact that I wanted her to do a `find-file' on a non-existant file before
she could start writing.  Compared to that, LaTex was normal.

I think that we should actually consider having a menu entry under
"File" called "New Buffer" that creates an empty buffer called
"*Unnamed*" that is not associated with a file, but has checkpoint
capabilities.

-- 
Colin

