Subject: bug#42432: 26.3; Doc of `browse-url*' functions

From: Lars Ingebrigtsen <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2020 21:55:32 +0200

Drew Adams <[email-masked]> writes:

> The doc of the `browse-url*' functions that says that the function uses
> a WWW browser is, in general, incorrect when it comes to functions that
> can browse a file.  The doc should be corrected in this regard.
>
> For example, any function that directly or indirectly uses
> `browse-url-default-windows-browser' does NOT, even in general, use a
> web browser.  It typically uses `w32-shell-execute' with action "open"
> to open the file.  In general, the program that does that is determined
> by the file type, and in generalt it is NOT a web browser.

You're right about the doc string being misleading, but it's incorrect
for new reasons in more modern versions of Emacs.  :-)

These days, that action is only called for files that have with .htm{l,}
in the file names, so it's more correct in that regard.  But all other
files are opened using Emacs itself now, so there's no web browser
involved.

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
   bloggy blog: http://lars.ingebrigtsen.no