Subject: Re: bug#7747: Allow choice of "default in M-n" vs "default in `initial'"

From: Lars Ingebrigtsen <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2022 09:33:33 +0100

Lennart Borgman <[email-masked]> writes:

>>> The prompt for `rename-file' does not currently show the old file name
>>> thought it is in the history for the prompt.
>>
>> Please try `M-x rename-file RET M-n'.
>
> Yes, I know about that. What I mean is that this is very
> counterintuitive for new users. They are used to have the name they
> are renaming in the prompt (since that is what GUI software normally
> do).

(I'm going through old bug reports that unfortunately weren't resolved
at the time.)

Many prompts in Emacs have moved (or are moving) to the "don't use an
initial", but instead puts the thing into `M-n'.  There are advantages
and disadvantages to this (the main advantage is that you can just start
typing without saying `C-a C-k' first if you don't want the default),
but it's a conscious design decision which won't be reverted, so I'm
closing this bug report.

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