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https://github.com/frostyx/current-window-only

Open things only in the current window. No other windows, no splits.
https://github.com/frostyx/current-window-only

emacs emacs-package window-management

Last synced: 4 months ago
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Open things only in the current window. No other windows, no splits.

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* ~M-x current-window-only~



Open things only in the current window. No other windows, no splits.



In the ideal world, this package should not be necessary and one would

simply configure ~display-buffer-alist~ to display buffers only in the

current window. But not all commands respect this variable

(e.g. ~org-agenda~), and so this package implements multiple tricks to

achieve the desired behavior.



** Obligatory GIF section



My apologies for not recording key presses. I am basically just

hitting enter to open things and ~q~ to close things.



| Command            | Before                                        | After                                        |

|--------------------+-----------------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------|

| ~M-x calendar~     | [[images/calendar-before.gif?raw=1][GIF]]     | [[images/calendar-after.gif?raw=1][GIF]]     |

| ~M-x org-agenda~   | [[images/org-agenda-before.gif?raw=1][GIF]]   | [[images/org-agenda-after.gif?raw=1][GIF]]   |

| ~M-x magit-status~ | [[images/magit-status-before.gif?raw=1][GIF]] | [[images/magit-status-after.gif?raw=1][GIF]] |

| ~M-x man~          | [[images/man-before.gif?raw=1][GIF]]          | [[images/man-after.gif?raw=1][GIF]]          |



Or you can [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qut1oO6nqgA][watch a short video]].



** Installation



The package is not available in MELPA yet. Please choose your

preferred package manager to install.



Quelpa:



#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp

(use-package current-window-only

  :quelpa (current-window-only

           :fetcher github

           :repo "FrostyX/current-window-only")

  :config

  (current-window-only-mode))

#+END_SRC



Straight:



#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp

(use-package current-window-only

  :straight (current-window-only

             :type git

             :host github

             :repo "FrostyX/current-window-only")

  :config

  (current-window-only-mode))

#+END_SRC



** Motivation



The [[DemystifyingEmacs][Demystifying Emacs’s Window Manager]] article

provides a great explanation of the key concepts, behavior, and

configuration of the window manager. Are you ready for the red pill

and seeing how deep the rabbit hole goes? The rest of us want

reasonable behavior without being required to understand.



In short, a user can adjust how buffers should be displayed by adding

new rules to the ~display-buffer-alist~ variable. The general

consensus is that the rules are just too cryptic, too complicated, and

not many people understand them. As a consequence third-party packages

such as ~shackle~ and ~popwin~ appeared, allowing to define

human-readable rules.



My humble guess is that the majority of people add rules for Emacs to

stop breaking their /splits/, to open things in the current window,

and nothing else. Why define some rules in the first place, when

you can simply ~M-x current-window-only~?



** See also



- [[DemystifyingEmacs][Demystifying Emacs’s Window Manager]]

- [[https://karthinks.com/software/emacs-window-management-almanac/][The Emacs Window Management Almanac]]

- [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-UIzYPn38s][Emacs: control where buffers are displayed]]

- [[prot][Emacs: window rules and parameters]]

- [[shackle][shackle]]

- [[popwin][popwin]]



** Tips and tricks



You might need to adjust some workflows after enabling the package.



*** Magit commit



When creating a new commit, Magit spawns two buffers - diff with file

changes and a commit message. It is useful to see the changes while

writing the commit message but with ~current-window-only~, they will

open in the same window and therefore only one of them remains

visible. This is consistent with the goals of this package but if you

don't like it, you can:



- Use ~evil-switch-to-windows-last-buffer~ or ~C-x b RET~ to easily

  jump back and forth between the two buffers within one window.

- Move the cursor to any appropriate window and manually open the

  other Magit buffer there

- Use ~(setq magit-commit-diff-inhibit-same-window t)~ to sidestep

  ~current-window-only~



#+LINK: DemystifyingEmacs https://www.masteringemacs.org/article/demystifying-emacs-window-manager

#+LINK: prot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjOhJMbA-q0

#+LINK: shackle https://depp.brause.cc/shackle/

#+LINK: popwin https://github.com/emacsorphanage/popwin