GNU bug report logs - #12750
Highlighting text no longer works

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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Bruce Korb <bruce.korb <at> gmail.com>
To: bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org
Subject: Highlighting text no longer works
Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2012 09:16:13 -0700

For many years, I have selected text and then pasted it where I wanted.
There is a new feature in emacs:  selected text is no longer in the
pasteable buffer.  I must move my hand from the mouse to the keyboard
to copy the text and then back to the mouse to paste it.  This is a bug.
Pending a fix in the next emacs release, how do I work around this problem?
Thank you!

$ rpm -q -a|grep -i emacs
emacs-24.2-15.8.2.x86_64
go-emacs-1.0.2-1.4.1.x86_64
emacs-info-24.2-15.8.2.noarch
emacs-x11-24.2-15.8.2.x86_64
emacs-nox-24.2-15.8.2.x86_64
emacs-el-24.2-15.8.2.noarch

Message #8 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Bruce Korb <bruce.korb <at> gmail.com>
To: bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org
Subject: Re: Highlighting text no longer works
Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2012 09:32:28 -0700

On 10/28/12 09:16, Bruce Korb wrote:
> For many years, I have selected text and then pasted it where I wanted.
> There is a new feature in emacs:  selected text is no longer in the
> pasteable buffer.  I must move my hand from the mouse to the keyboard
> to copy the text and then back to the mouse to paste it.  This is a bug.
> Pending a fix in the next emacs release, how do I work around this problem?
> Thank you!
> 
> $ rpm -q -a|grep -i emacs
> emacs-24.2-15.8.2.x86_64
> go-emacs-1.0.2-1.4.1.x86_64
> emacs-info-24.2-15.8.2.noarch
> emacs-x11-24.2-15.8.2.x86_64
> emacs-nox-24.2-15.8.2.x86_64
> emacs-el-24.2-15.8.2.noarch

Some experimentation has allowed me to characterize the issue better.
Double click a word and paste the word works fine.  The habit that
is broken is:

1. left click the end of some text
2. right click the start of some text
3. alt-shift-5 ctl-y (query replace followed by paste)
   Expected result: the text I just selected would be in the query-replace buffer
   Actual result:  the previous paste buffer gets inserted

Still a nuisance.

Message #11 received at 12750 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
To: Bruce Korb <bruce.korb <at> gmail.com>
Cc: 12750 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#12750: Highlighting text no longer works
Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2012 18:47:02 +0200

> Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2012 09:16:13 -0700
> From: Bruce Korb <bruce.korb <at> gmail.com>
> 
> For many years, I have selected text and then pasted it where I wanted.
> There is a new feature in emacs:  selected text is no longer in the
> pasteable buffer.  I must move my hand from the mouse to the keyboard
> to copy the text and then back to the mouse to paste it.  This is a bug.

Actually, it's a feature: it was deemed a Good Thing to behave like
the other GUI applications.

> Pending a fix in the next emacs release, how do I work around this problem?

See this entry in NEWS (what you want, if you still do, is at the
end):

  ** Selection changes.

  The default handling of clipboard and primary selections has been
  changed to conform with modern X applications.  In short, most
  commands for killing and yanking text now use the clipboard, while
  mouse commands use the primary selection.

  In the following, we provide a list of these changes, followed by a
  list of steps to get the old behavior back if you prefer that.

  *** `select-active-regions' now defaults to t.
  Merely selecting text (e.g. with drag-mouse-1) no longer puts it in
  the kill ring.  The selected text is put in the primary selection, if
  the system possesses a separate primary selection facility (e.g. X).

  **** `select-active-regions' also accepts a new value, `only'.
  This means to only set the primary selection for temporarily active
  regions (usually made by mouse-dragging or shift-selection);
  "ordinary" active regions, such as those made with C-SPC followed by
  point motion, do not alter the primary selection.

  **** `mouse-drag-copy-region' now defaults to nil.

  *** mouse-2 is now bound to `mouse-yank-primary'.
  This pastes from the primary selection, ignoring the kill-ring.
  Previously, mouse-2 was bound to `mouse-yank-at-click'.

  *** `x-select-enable-clipboard' now defaults to t on all platforms.

  *** `x-select-enable-primary' now defaults to nil.
  Thus, commands that kill text or copy it to the kill-ring (such as
  M-w, C-w, and C-k) also use the clipboard---not the primary selection.

  **** The "Copy", "Cut", and "Paste" items in the "Edit" menu are now
  exactly equivalent to M-w, C-w, and C-y respectively.

  **** Note that on MS-Windows, `x-select-enable-clipboard' was already
  non-nil by default, as Windows does not support the primary selection
  between applications.

  *** To return to the previous behavior, do the following:

  **** Change `select-active-regions' to nil.
  **** Change `mouse-drag-copy-region' to t.
  **** Change `x-select-enable-primary' to t (on X only).
  **** Change `x-select-enable-clipboard' to nil.
  **** Bind `mouse-yank-at-click' to mouse-2.

Message #14 received at 12750 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Bruce Korb <bruce.korb <at> gmail.com>
To: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
Cc: 12750 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#12750: Highlighting text no longer works
Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2012 13:14:36 -0700

Hi Eli,

Thank you.

On Sun, Oct 28, 2012 at 9:47 AM, Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org> wrote:
>
> Actually, it's a feature: it was deemed a Good Thing to behave like
> the other GUI applications.
[...]
> See this entry in NEWS (what you want, if you still do, is at the
> end):

It is quite inconvenient to switch stuff like this without more readily
apparent announcements.  Folks like me do not ever deliberately
update things, so we don't go reading "NEWS" of the 100+ things
that get updated automatically.

>   ** Selection changes.
>
>   The default handling of clipboard and primary selections has been
>   changed to conform with modern X applications.  In short, most
>   commands for killing and yanking text now use the clipboard, while
>   mouse commands use the primary selection.

Sounds like the mouse ought to be using the clipboard to me.
Using separate mechanisms is clumsy.  This may explain why
I have so much difficulty pasting stuff into a Chrome buffer.
I think they must have it confused and wrong, too.
Seems to work okay in Firefox.  For Chrome, I often must go figure out
where in heck the "edit"->"select" thingy is and go through that menu
operation in order to be able to paste my text.

The separation was not well considered.  (expletives elided.)

>   In the following, we provide a list of these changes, followed by a
>   list of steps to get the old behavior back if you prefer that.

The "modern" approach is brain damaged, so, yes, I prefer it.

>   *** To return to the previous behavior, do the following:
>
>   **** Change `select-active-regions' to nil.
>   **** Change `mouse-drag-copy-region' to t.
>   **** Change `x-select-enable-primary' to t (on X only).
>   **** Change `x-select-enable-clipboard' to nil.
>   **** Bind `mouse-yank-at-click' to mouse-2.

It is really helpful to have explicit instructions:

*** To return to the previous behavior, add the following to your .emacs file:
    (setq select-active-regions         nil)
    (setq mouse-drag-copy-region        't)
    (setq x-select-enable-primary       't)
    (setq x-select-enable-clipboard     nil)
    (global-set-key [mouse-2]          'mouse-yank-at-click)

Message #17 received at 12750 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Bruce Korb <bruce.korb <at> gmail.com>
To: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
Cc: 12750 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#12750: Highlighting text no longer works
Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2012 13:57:56 -0700

Hi Eli,

On Sun, Oct 28, 2012 at 1:14 PM, Bruce Korb <bruce.korb <at> gmail.com> wrote:
>>   *** To return to the previous behavior, do the following:
>>
>>   **** Change `select-active-regions' to nil.
>>   **** Change `mouse-drag-copy-region' to t.
>>   **** Change `x-select-enable-primary' to t (on X only).
>>   **** Change `x-select-enable-clipboard' to nil.
>>   **** Bind `mouse-yank-at-click' to mouse-2.
>
> It is really helpful to have explicit instructions:
>
> *** To return to the previous behavior, add the following to your .emacs file:
>     (setq select-active-regions         nil)
>     (setq mouse-drag-copy-region        't)
>     (setq x-select-enable-primary       't)
>     (setq x-select-enable-clipboard     nil)
>     (global-set-key [mouse-2]          'mouse-yank-at-click)

I do need explicit instructions.  This didn't work.  I want to
highlight and paste
and highlight and yank.  Both and.  This isn't working.  Help, please?
 Thank you!!

Message #20 received at 12750 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
To: Bruce Korb <bruce.korb <at> gmail.com>
Cc: 12750 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#12750: Highlighting text no longer works
Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2012 05:43:27 +0200

> From: Bruce Korb <bruce.korb <at> gmail.com>
> Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2012 13:57:56 -0700
> Cc: 12750 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
> 
> On Sun, Oct 28, 2012 at 1:14 PM, Bruce Korb <bruce.korb <at> gmail.com> wrote:
> >>   *** To return to the previous behavior, do the following:
> >>
> >>   **** Change `select-active-regions' to nil.
> >>   **** Change `mouse-drag-copy-region' to t.
> >>   **** Change `x-select-enable-primary' to t (on X only).
> >>   **** Change `x-select-enable-clipboard' to nil.
> >>   **** Bind `mouse-yank-at-click' to mouse-2.
> >
> > It is really helpful to have explicit instructions:
> >
> > *** To return to the previous behavior, add the following to your .emacs file:
> >     (setq select-active-regions         nil)
> >     (setq mouse-drag-copy-region        't)
> >     (setq x-select-enable-primary       't)

t, not 't.

> >     (setq x-select-enable-clipboard     nil)
> >     (global-set-key [mouse-2]          'mouse-yank-at-click)
> 
> I do need explicit instructions.  This didn't work.  I want to
> highlight and paste
> and highlight and yank.  Both and.  This isn't working.  Help, please?

See above.

Message #23 received at 12750 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Andreas Schwab <schwab <at> linux-m68k.org>
To: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
Cc: 12750 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, Bruce Korb <bruce.korb <at> gmail.com>
Subject: Re: bug#12750: Highlighting text no longer works
Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2012 09:44:42 +0100

Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org> writes:

>> From: Bruce Korb <bruce.korb <at> gmail.com>
>> Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2012 13:57:56 -0700
>> Cc: 12750 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
>> 
>> On Sun, Oct 28, 2012 at 1:14 PM, Bruce Korb <bruce.korb <at> gmail.com> wrote:
>> >>   *** To return to the previous behavior, do the following:
>> >>
>> >>   **** Change `select-active-regions' to nil.
>> >>   **** Change `mouse-drag-copy-region' to t.
>> >>   **** Change `x-select-enable-primary' to t (on X only).
>> >>   **** Change `x-select-enable-clipboard' to nil.
>> >>   **** Bind `mouse-yank-at-click' to mouse-2.
>> >
>> > It is really helpful to have explicit instructions:
>> >
>> > *** To return to the previous behavior, add the following to your .emacs file:
>> >     (setq select-active-regions         nil)
>> >     (setq mouse-drag-copy-region        't)
>> >     (setq x-select-enable-primary       't)
>
> t, not 't.

Which is exactly the same.

Andreas.

-- 
Andreas Schwab, schwab <at> linux-m68k.org
GPG Key fingerprint = 58CA 54C7 6D53 942B 1756  01D3 44D5 214B 8276 4ED5
"And now for something completely different."

Message #26 received at 12750 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Chong Yidong <cyd <at> gnu.org>
To: Bruce Korb <bruce.korb <at> gmail.com>
Cc: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>, 12750 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#12750: Highlighting text no longer works
Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2012 17:08:44 +0800

Bruce Korb <bruce.korb <at> gmail.com> writes:

>>     (setq select-active-regions         nil)
>>     (setq mouse-drag-copy-region        't)
>>     (setq x-select-enable-primary       't)
>>     (setq x-select-enable-clipboard     nil)
>>     (global-set-key [mouse-2]          'mouse-yank-at-click)
>
> I do need explicit instructions.  This didn't work.  I want to
> highlight and paste and highlight and yank.  Both and.  This isn't
> working.

You have to be more specific than that.  With a .emacs file, your
previous recipe

> 1. left click the end of some text
> 2. right click the start of some text
> 3. alt-shift-5 ctl-y (query replace followed by paste)

does indeed yank the text into the minibuffer.

Message #29 received at 12750 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Bruce Korb <bruce.korb <at> gmail.com>
To: Chong Yidong <cyd <at> gnu.org>
Cc: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>, 12750 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#12750: Highlighting text no longer works
Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2012 05:02:25 -0700

Hi Chong,

On Mon, Oct 29, 2012 at 2:08 AM, Chong Yidong <cyd <at> gnu.org> wrote:
> Bruce Korb <bruce.korb <at> gmail.com> writes:
>
>>>     (setq select-active-regions         nil)
>>>     (setq mouse-drag-copy-region        't)
>>>     (setq x-select-enable-primary       't)
>>>     (setq x-select-enable-clipboard     nil)
>>>     (global-set-key [mouse-2]          'mouse-yank-at-click)
>>
>> I do need explicit instructions.  This didn't work.  I want to
>> highlight and paste and highlight and yank.  Both and.  This isn't
>> working.
>
> You have to be more specific than that.  With a .emacs file, your
> previous recipe
>
>> 1. left click the end of some text
>> 2. right click the start of some text
>> 3. alt-shift-5 ctl-y (query replace followed by paste)
>
> does indeed yank the text into the minibuffer.

Hmm.  OK, I use this many ways.  Sometimes, I click button 2,  sometimes
I type Ctl-Y.  Either way, I am very habituated to the selected text
being pasted.
I want to avoid having to remember Ctl-W/Ctl-C *ESPECIALLY* because I
don't even have Cmd-C working on my Mac.  I have to use the pull down menu
to access "edit->copy".  That becomes especially interesting when my
mouse crosses other emacs windows because if the mouse touches one
of them, then the selected text is no longer current and "edit->copy" grabs
a different block of text.

So, here's what I want:  I want the selected text to be inserted into all
buffers that relate to pasting of any sort.  If Mouse-2 and Ctl-Y refer to
different buffers, then both buffers should have the selected text.
How do I do this?

Thank you so much!!  Regards, Bruce

Message #32 received at 12750 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Bruce Korb <bruce.korb <at> gmail.com>
To: Andreas Schwab <schwab <at> linux-m68k.org>
Cc: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>, 12750 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#12750: Highlighting text no longer works
Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2012 07:07:54 -0700

On 10/29/12 01:44, Andreas Schwab wrote:
>>>> It is really helpful to have explicit instructions:
>>>>
>>>> *** To return to the previous behavior, add the following to your .emacs file:
>>>>     (setq select-active-regions         nil)
>>>>     (setq mouse-drag-copy-region        't)
>>>>     (setq x-select-enable-primary       't)
>>
>> t, not 't.
> 
> Which is exactly the same.

Either I really fumble-fingered the stuff (very possible), or it isn't exactly
the same.  After changing "'t" to "t" I've found that it works.
Perhaps I should change it back to "'t" to see if, indeed, it causes
it to not work the way I need it to.  I don't know. I _do_ know
that with:

> (setq select-active-regions         nil)
> (setq mouse-drag-copy-region        t)
> (setq x-select-enable-primary       t)
> (setq x-select-enable-clipboard     nil)
> (global-set-key [mouse-2]          'mouse-yank-at-click)

all my pasting works the way it should.  I know this:

* I highlighted and pasted into this email (mouse-2)
  (I later cut and pasted-as-quotation)
* I highlighted and clicked button 2 and pasted in emacs
* I highlighted and yanked (Ctl-Y) in emacs

That's what I needed!

Thank you all.  Regards, Bruce

Message #35 received at 12750 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Andreas Schwab <schwab <at> linux-m68k.org>
To: Bruce Korb <bruce.korb <at> gmail.com>
Cc: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>, 12750 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#12750: Highlighting text no longer works
Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2012 16:20:39 +0100

Bruce Korb <bruce.korb <at> gmail.com> writes:

> On 10/29/12 01:44, Andreas Schwab wrote:
>>>>> It is really helpful to have explicit instructions:
>>>>>
>>>>> *** To return to the previous behavior, add the following to your .emacs file:
>>>>>     (setq select-active-regions         nil)
>>>>>     (setq mouse-drag-copy-region        't)
>>>>>     (setq x-select-enable-primary       't)
>>>
>>> t, not 't.
>> 
>> Which is exactly the same.
>
> Either I really fumble-fingered the stuff (very possible), or it isn't exactly
> the same.

You can find out yourself: (eq t 't)

Andreas.

-- 
Andreas Schwab, schwab <at> linux-m68k.org
GPG Key fingerprint = 58CA 54C7 6D53 942B 1756  01D3 44D5 214B 8276 4ED5
"And now for something completely different."

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