Learning Emacs Org-Mode

In this file I add new things I learn about Emacs and orgmode. QUESTION and #FIXME mark section where help is needed.

Starting Emacs

Options to run Emacs

Pure Windows - Windows executable (not WSL, just from shell):

• emacs.exe starts GUI (Russian font ok, preferred option)
• emacs.exe -nw for text mode
• runemacs.exe (runs GUI, has issue with bad Russian font spacing)

WSL:

• WSL in terminal (cmder) with bash (Ubuntu)
• XServ graphics (X410) - pipeline to start a bit complex

VSCode extension:

• syntax highlighing and some commands
• no agenda view

Mobile:

• Android + Termux + Emacs (You will probably need something like Hacker’s Keyboard to input the shortcuts effectively)
• Orgzly

Console vs teminal vs shell.

Basic pipeline

• Install emacs on WSL with sudo apt-get install emacs
• Launch emacs with emacs -nw <FILENAME.org> command
• Open a file with F10 - File menu
• Edit file
• Save file C-x C-s
• Exit Emacs C-x C-c

Improvements and changes

Configure terminal to avoid key conflicts

Must configure terminal to resolve key binding conflicts like Ctrl-C.

Set org-support-shift-select

• Selection with Shift is already built-in part of Emacs, but not org-mode
• Start with ‘M-x customize’ to find options about Shift selection

Set CUA option in F10 menu

• Set CUA (Ctrl-Z/X/C/V) as part of F10 menu with Enter
• Save options

Where is the config?

Use just one, any of them:

• ~/.emacs is a config file
• ~/.emacs.d is a directory with init.el config file

Using X410 video system

• Original article with X410 recommendation
• On WSL 1 works at 127.0.0.1
• X410 is available form Windows Store (USD10 with discount), it saves a ton of time for configuration, including the fonts.

Change keyboard layout in X410

• Selecting a Keyboard Layout
• This page details the use of the setxkbmap command to set X410 keyboard layout. By example, to set keyboard layout to Russian, the command is setxkbmap ru.

Avoid screen with tutorial

Kill it with C-x 1 or try (setq inhibit-splash-screen t).

Using Emacs

Make a selection, copy and paste selection

You can configure orgmode to use Shift-arrows for selection with org-support-shift-select.

[C] Finding and replacing text

Unsure how it works on emacs, is it C-s? What about replace? Please recommend some tutorial on this?

[C] Working with windows

I currently use <Remove other windows> from File menu. Maybe I can do better.

How to select a vertical block of text?

• Similar to Alt-Shift-arrows in Notepad++:

  How to select a rectangle in emacs Most voted answer (53 votes) said that C-x SPC starts rectangle-mark-mode that is similar to the functionality you request from Notepad++, but with all the operations available to Emacs. The selected rectangle can be copied with M-w or killed with C-w, by example. More information here.

• Multiline cursor for editing (similar to ctrl-alt-arrow in VS Code): https://emacs.stackexchange.com/questions/751/fundamentals-of-multiple-cursors

Run bash

M-X shell

How to move across buffers?

• C-x o move to the other window
• C-x 1 maximixe current buffer
• C-x 2 split current window vertically
• C-x 3 split current window horizontally
• C-x b ask for the name of a buffer and display it in current window
• C-x B split current window and show a buffer list in the other window
• C-x B split current window and show a buffer list in the other window
• C-x k kills buffer

[B] How to run some command from a command line?

Imagine I needed something like

~emacs README.md –run “C-c C-e h h”

How would it do it? Using emacs lisp?

Refresh file from disk

The command is M-x revert-buffer (details).

Is there somethign similar to prettier or black code formatter for org files?

M-x revert-buffer

Using orgmode

<TAB> is all you need

• TAB shows/hides headers (quite powerful!)
• Shift-TAB opens all headers

Getting around headers

• Alt + left or right changes header level
• Alt + up or down moves lines around
• Shift - arrow:
  • changes list numbering style
  • cycles TODO-DONE in header
  • selects in CUA mode

Move line across headers beyond own section

• Alt - arrow has limits within a header
• In VS Code Alt Up/Down move line wherever
• Is there some key combination that moves lines across file
• Currently using C-k C-y
• Shift-Arrow-Up/Down maybe?
• https://emacs.stackexchange.com/questions/68140/unrestricted-movement-of-lines-alt-up-down

Create a hyperlink

• Use [[url][]] syntax or C-c C-l
• Internal hyperlink here
• Or link to file
• Link example

Use timestamps

As guide suggests:

• C-c . for active date-only timestamp (Active = it creates an entry on Org agenda)
• C-c ! for inactive date-only timestamp (Inactive = it doesn’t create entries on Org agenda)
• S-arrow for change

[A] How to put a timestamp with time, not just date?

• C-u C-c . and C-u C-c ! for timestamp including date and time, active and inactive respectively

Checkboxes

• You must type [0/0] or [0%] for checkbox
• Only X counts for completion, not `x` or `+`
• C-c C-c toggles and recalculates
• QUESTION: what can recalculate on its own?
• Check Rainer König video OrgMode E01S05: Checklists

Sample checkbox list [2/3], [66%]:

• [X] Item 1
• [X] Item 2
• [ ] Item 3

Agenda

• Use F10 and menu for agenda view

C-c a

Why is C-c a undefined? Shoud I define it?

Seems to be undefined by default, but this page of the Org mode guide says that with (global-set-key (kbd "C-c a") 'org-agenda) can be set. If the keyboard shortcut isn’t activated, you can activate the agenda view manually with M-x org-agenda.

How to sort agenda by priority?

This Emacs Stackexchange question shows Emacs-Lisp code to make sorting by priority the default in agenda view

	(defun hw-org-agenda-sort-habits (a b)
	  "Sort habits first by user priority, then by schedule+deadline+consistency."
	  (let ((ha (get-text-property 1 'org-habit-p a))
		(hb (get-text-property 1 'org-habit-p b)))
	    (when (and ha hb)
	      (let ((pa (org-get-priority a))
		    (pb (org-get-priority b)))
		(cond ((> pa pb) +1)
		      ((< pa pb) -1)
		      ((= pa pb) (org-cmp-values a b 'priority)))))))
	(setq org-agenda-cmp-user-defined 'hw-org-agenda-sort-habits
	      org-agenda-sorting-strategy '((agenda time-up user-defined-down habit-down)
					    (todo priority-down category-keep)
					    (tags priority-down category-keep)
										(search category-keep)))

How to close agenda buffer?

In Emacs you close a buffer with C-x k

Clocking

*** Clock this!

• Start: C-c C-x C-i
• End: C-c C-x C-o

It is easy to “clock-in” to a particular task by positioning point within an item and typing C-c C-x C-i and clocking out with C-c C-x C-o.

https://www.adventuresinwhy.com/post/org-mode-timekeeping/

What are useful habit with clocking? Does pomodoro help?

SJ: In the same way the body cannot sustain exercise indefinitely, but needs to rest after a period of sustained effort, so does the brain. So pomodoro is a good practice, but you need to tailor the focus and rest periods to your personal optimum./

Table

• Start table from menu
• C-c C-c to format

Calendar

How to view calendar (it was popping up accidantally when I hit something wrong).

Other actions

• Sort this list is C-c ^
• Add cycling todo tags #+SEQ_TODO:
• Archive tasks through Org menu
• Defintion list with :: separator
• Github search for org files with [[https://github.com/search?o=asc&q=language%3Aorg&s=indexed&type=Code][language:org]]
• C-k C-y can move lines

Useful scenarios

What are productive scenarios for using org-mode?

- @Trevoke via reddit:

The best advice I’ve heard for using org-mode in some sort of GTD system was not to try and set up categories when you start. Start with just a bunch of TODOs, and slowly grow the system as you feel the need to.

SJ:

• As a general notebook for brainstorming and keeping interesting ideas at hand.
• Org mode can execute code in several programming languages, so it can also be used to automate tasks that require collections of scripts.
• It can even be used as database client for SQL databases, and the result of SQL queries can be shown in Org tables.
• To measure your productivity by tabulating hourly, weekly, daily views on your clock-ins and clock-outs.
• Alongside existing productivity methodologies like GTD

Reference

Concepts

buffer

a screen that represents a file or Emacs own output

frame

is a new window for the whole program

modeline

a line at the bottom of a screen with something like -UUU(DOS)**--F1

window

is a windows inside editor

Notation

• * is a header
• drawer box has :NAME: and :END:

Links

Videos

New:

• https://cestlaz.github.io/stories/emacs/

Essential:

• Carsten Dominik keynote (2008)
• Rainer König lesson series

Extension:

• Evil Mode: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Emacs
• Andrew Tropin - Modern Emacs (2021)

Academic:

• On the design of text editors

Blogs and success stories

• https://sachachua.com/blog/2014/01/tips-learning-org-mode-emacs/
• https://blog.aaronbieber.com/2016/09/24/an-agenda-for-life-with-org-mode.html

[C] add images from sachachua.com

[C] redraw mindmap to simplify

Orgfiles on github

• https://github.com/abcdw/notes/blob/master/notes/20210805075718-the_modern_emacs.org
• https://github.com/zkat/sheeple/blob/5393c74737ccf22c3fd5f390076b75c38453cb04/presentation/sheeple-talk-22-10-09.org
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ymd-h/cpprb/c44cf5d53f807e58f71d1a2e1cf46aa92b5e193d/README.org
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/deopurkar/ag2021/f73c35fede17a123806102306ce0c47bc2a87cd9/course.org
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Literate-DevOps/literate-programming-tutorials/0dcff18ae2047fb46df1edc2cde7b2ea0cb57a12/how-to/01-assassinate-the-archbishop-of-canterbury-in-1170-ce/how-to-assassinate-the-archbishop-of-canterbury-in-1170-ce.org

Out of scope

I try to avoid more complicated topics:

• packages and complex configuration
• programming in lisp
• spacemacs, emacs-doom and similar

• org-roam
• org-capture
• email with gnus
• git with magit
• export to latex and beamer

Appendix.

Key binding cheatsheet

Command	Action
M-x <command>	Run command by name
M-x shell	Run Shell
F10	Upper menu
C-s	Advanced search
C-c C-c	Toggle or recalculate
C-k C-y	Kill and undo line
C-c C-e h h	Create HTML
C-x 1	Remove window
Way out
C-g	Kill, stop or exit
ESC-ESC-ESC	Exit (hopefully)
q	Exit (sometimes)
Not Emacs:
Fn-Esc	Lock Fn key (Lenovo)

Emacs commands

M-x:

• revert-buffer (in File menu)
• customize
• shell
• query-replace-regexp (asks for a regular expression, replaces it, it is very powerful to automate editing tasks)