Re: Patch to disable links line in *info* buffer

[Eli Zaretskii]

On Mon, 10 Jun 2002, Robert J. Chassell wrote:

> address@hidden (Kim F. Storm) writes
> 
>     You have never been able to copy what's in the mode-line.  
> 
> That is very true.  This means I cannot copy a file name for Info.

Emacs is replete with text you cannot copy, and so do other applications.

IMHO, the need for copying the header line is greatly exaggerated in this 
thread.  As much as you never needed to copy the mode line, I (and 
probably many others) never needed to copy the Info header line.  FWIW, I 
don't find much value in telling users to go to (info)Help or some such: 
I think this cryptic notation alienates them to Info rather than helps 
them to embrace it.  But I digress.

> For example, how can you
> efficiently discuss variations to the `Options' menu without being
> able to quote what you have?)

If we want to be able to copy menus (and I agree it could be a useful 
feature), we should add a command that creates a text representation of a 
menu structure.  But it would be IMHO absurd to ask that M-w on the menu 
item would produce that effect: users understand that menus are not 
normal buffer text, so they won't be surprised by the need to type 
something special to copy a menu.

The same holds for a header line, which is a special part of the Emacs 
frame, not part of buffer text.