GNU bug report logs - #77731
[PATCH] Add yank-media-handler for copied files from file manager

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Message #11 received at 77731 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Visuwesh <visuweshm <at> gmail.com>
To: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
Cc: Po Lu <luangruo <at> yahoo.com>, 77731 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#77731: [PATCH] Add yank-media-handler for copied files from
 file manager
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2025 17:14:36 +0530

[வெள்ளி ஏப்ரல் 11, 2025] Eli Zaretskii wrote:

>> From: Visuwesh <visuweshm <at> gmail.com>
>> Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2025 14:58:32 +0530
>> 
>> [ This has been sitting in my drafts folder for many months now.  ]
>> 
>> Attached patch adds a yank-media-handler to message-mode to attach files
>> copied/cut from a file manager.  I tested this patch using pcmanfm and
>> xfe.  The regexp for the media-type was chosen after the blogpost [1],
>> pcmanfm in particular sets the media-type to
>> x-special/gnome-copied-files.
>
> Thanks, but copy/paste operations on files should first and foremost
> be supported in Dired, no?  Limiting such support to message-mode
> seems too narrow and much less useful than it could be, let alone what
> users would expect.
>
> Can we support this in Dired?

Sure, I can prepare a patch that would copy/rename the file if the user
has copy/cut the file from her file manager.  I have code for this
living in my init file.

>> I strip the null byte in the split-string call in the handler because
>> pcmanfm adds a null byte at the end of clipboard selection.  I don't
>> know if this is the case with other file managers.
>> 
>> I also cannot find the spec of this clipboard type but [2] and pcmanfm
>> suggests that the selection is
>> 
>>     OPERATION
>>     file://FILE1
>>     file://FILE2...
>> 
>> where OPERATION is either cut or copy, and the rest of the lines are
>> links to the files.  I do the same as what Org does to parse the above.
>> 
>> 1. https://larsee.com/blog/2019/05/clipboard-files/
>> 2. https://indigo.re/posts/2021-12-21-clipboard-data.html
>
> I wonder if this is too specific to the specific file managers you
> tested this with.  If it is, should we try to support more file
> managers?

I believe covering x-special/gnome-copied-files will cover a large
ground of file managers.  Obviously, I have no idea how to support file
managers in MacOS or Windows.

>> +(defun message--yank-media-copied-files-handler (_ data)
>> +  "Attach files copied/cut from the file manager.
>
> The name and the doc string should be more specific to the file
> managers for which this is supposed to work.  I doubt that these
> details are general enough to say that any file manager capable of
> copy/pasting files will behave like that.

See above.  I can say that it works with pcmanfm, xfe, and thunar if my
memory serves right.

> Btw, isn't copy/paste of files similar or maybe even equivalent to
> drag-n-drop?

They essentially serve to perform the same function in most cases, yes.

> If so, perhaps a better way would be to use the DND machinery we have
> in Emacs?  Adding Po Lu in case he has opinions or comments about
> this.

As in, call the relevant function in dnd-protocol-alist for ^file:///?
This hasn't crossed my mind.  I am not opposed to this idea.

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