GNU bug report logs - #988
cursor runs over prompt in minibuffer; suggestion on default

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Message #5 received at submit <at> emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com (full text, mbox):

From: xah lee <xah <at> xahlee.org>
To: bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org
Subject: cursor runs over prompt in minibuffer; suggestion on default
Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:42:15 -0700

Suggestion: I think that cursor shouldn't run over prompt by default.  
This behavior is basically universal today.

Here's a newsgroup gnu.emacs.help post that prompted me to file this  
as a “bug”:

-------------------------------------------------

Davin Pearson asked:

When I execute M-x find-file it says Find File: Why I press cursor  
left a few times and then try to press a key, it says: "Text is read  
only".  Surely a more natural behavour would be to beep and not allow  
the user to type in that character in the first place.  What gives?

Daniel Pittman wrote:
A:
   M-x customize-variable <RET> minibuffer-prompt-properties <RET>
   Enable the "Don't Enter" option and save your changes

Thanks a lot!

When i switched to emacs in about 2006 from 4 years of xemacs, i was  
quite annoyed by this behavior. I remember i posted this question, i  
got some silly responses from emacs regulars in comp.emacs, who says  
that something to the effect that “sometimes you need to copy the  
prompt”.

in my opinion, is this one of the usability problem.

  Xah
∑ http://xahlee.org/

☄


☄

Message #12 received at 988-quiet <at> emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com (full text, mbox):

From: Glenn Morris <rgm <at> gnu.org>
To: 988-quiet <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#988: cursor runs over prompt in minibuffer; suggestion on default
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2008 03:01:53 -0400

tags 988 wontfix
stop

Tagging as wontfix following Stefan's comment in emacs-devel:

http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2008-10/msg00133.html

    > How about making including `point-entered minibuffer-avoid-prompt'
    > in the default value of `minibuffer-prompt-properties'?

    No: the small benefit is not worth the cost of not being able to
    copy (part of) the prompt like any other piece of text.

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