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emacsemacs23

How to start in the middle of command input

How can I have emacs start and be in the middle of a command input? Particularly, I want emacs to start in the middle of a command input find-file with a message in the small buffer saying:

Find file: ~/

and the cursor at the last character of it so that I can continue typing the remaining path to open the file I want.

Solution

  • I have to admit that my lisp is a bit rusty, but this works for me. Drop it in your ~/.emacs file (or whatever init file you are using):

    (add-hook 'emacs-startup-hook
          (lambda ()
            (if (= (length command-line-args) 1)
                  (call-interactively 'find-file))))

    If you call emacs with no arguments, like this:

    sawa@localhost:~$ emacs

    It will invoke find-file for you. If, on the other hand, you invoke emacs with an argument, such as a filename, like this:

    sawa@localhost:~$ emacs somefile.txt

    It will default to just visiting somefile.txt