Subject: bug#7702: 24.0.50; doc of select-active-regions, cut/paste/kill/yank

From: "Drew Adams" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2010 20:02:28 -0800

Doc string of `select-active-regions':
 
"If non-nil, an active region automatically becomes the window
selection."
 
Nowhere in Emacs is it defined or described what a "window selection"
is.  This new terminology (and perhaps a new concept?) needs to be
explained to Emacs users.
 
(emacs) `Cut/Paste Other App':
 
This node has become _much_ more complicated, and much less clear.
 
It is not clear which of the things (all of them? any of them?)
discussed in this node are for an X window system only.  This needs to
be clarified.  Distinguish statements that are true for Emacs across
platforms from statements that are specific to particular platforms - in
particular but not only, X Window.
 
Variables and such that have no meaning or effect on some platforms
should be pointed out wrt this behavior.  For example, the description
of `select-active-regions' makes it sound like it has no effect on a
system, such as MS Windows, that has no concept of a primary selection.
If that is so, then say so.
 
In general, this content needs cleanup, clarification, and probably some
reorganization.  The node should cover _Emacs_, not just Emacs on X
Window.  It should say everything that users need to know about cutting
and pasting between applications and Emacs.
 
And it (or some other node) should cover pasting between Emacs sessions,
to the extent that this is not covered under the category of "other
app".  Does another Emacs session act just like some other, non-Emacs
app in all respects wrt transferring text?  If not, what are the
differences?  Does it matter which Emacs versions the Emacs sessions
manifest?  If so, explain.
 
Also, the concepts of "pasting" and "yanking" need to be compared and
contrasted.  Sometimes Emacs doc seems to treat them as the same;
sometimes as different.  This just confuses users, especially if there
is no section that covers the relation between the two explicitly.
Likewise, cutting and killing.
 
Finally, there is a disconnect between the name of node `Cut and Paste'
and its title, "Killing and Yanking on Graphical Displays".  This mess
was introduced in Emacs 22.
 
Perhaps back then we were just attempting to be friendlier to newbies
(?), passing killing off as cutting, and yanking as pasting.  But the
job was done haphazardly (hence the title disconnect), and now the
result is confusion - especially since there now is a significant
difference in behavior between the two ways of removing and inserting
text.  Cleanup is needed.

In GNU Emacs 24.0.50.1 (i386-mingw-nt5.1.2600)
 of 2010-12-20 on 3249CTO
Windowing system distributor `Microsoft Corp.', version 5.1.2600
configured using `configure --with-gcc (4.4) --no-opt --cflags
-Ic:/imagesupport/include'