Subject: RE: bug#35360: 26.2; Default bindings of `A' and `Q' in Dired, for MS Windows users

From: Drew Adams <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2019 12:53:04 -0700 (PDT)

> > Patches welcome to use Lisp replacements for 'find' and 'grep' on
> > Windows (with a defcustom that will allow to use the external programs
> > when they are available).
> 
> Something like ls-lisp? Yes, that would be useful. We shall change the
> title of this bug report, or divide it even into two reports, for
> find-lisp and grep-lisp.

That would be good.  But please create separate bug
reports for such enhancements.  Don't just retitle
this thread and change its meaning.

This bug thread is about the binding of commands that
cannot possibly work out of the box for MS Windows
users, where by out-of-the-box I mean without knowing
that they need to install some additional software
and then installing that.

And this thread is about the broken repurposing of
bindings that previously worked for such users - and
whose previous commands still work for them (and for
everyone else).

However you look at it, until/unless the enhancement
requests that Michael suggests are available this bug
needs fixing.  MS Windows users have lost something,
out of the box, at least.

As the first line of this thread says, "Shouldn't the
default bindings of `A' and `Q' DTRT on MS Windows out
of the box?"  That's what this bug is about.  How the
bug gets fixed is another matter.

If we won't restore `A' and `Q' to what they were before
for everyone (and Eli says we won't) then can we not do
something else to restore/replace what we broke for
Windows users by changing their bindings to commands
that they can use?  That is, not change `A' and `Q' back
for everyone, but do so for those that need a workaround.

As I said at the outset, "Can't Emacs either bind these
keys to what they were bound to previously [for Windows
users] or test first whether the requisite OS commands
are available before binding these keys to Emacs commands
that won't be usable for many Windows users?"

IOW, if we insist on binding `A' and `Q' generally to
commands that cannot be used by such users then can we
not at least fall back - for them - to commands that do
work?  Why make users themselves discover the gotcha
individually and work around it?