[gmane.comp.gnu.mingw.msys] Re: .emacs at c:\ and ~/

[David Kastrup]

Hi,

I have to agree with the misleading wording in the info page regarding
the -u option for using the init file of other users.

At least, one should probably write "to specify a user whose init file
Emacs should read instead".

Maybe we should also add a link to the Windows-specific section
explaining about what ~user means under Windows?  I don't think it is
at all clear to the average user what effect -u will have under
Windows.

> --- Begin Message ---
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> Subject: 
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> Re: .emacs at c:\ and ~/
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> Date: 
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> Tue, 26 Jun 2007 22:02:21 -0400
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> On 6/26/07, David Kastrup <dak-mXXj517/address@hidden> wrote:
> > "Daniel C. Bastos" <address@hidden>
> > writes:
> >
> > > I currently keep my .emacs in c:\ and in ~/ in msys. I tried putting it
> > > in c:\emacs and in c:\emacs\bin, but emacs seems to ignore them there.
> > >
> > > The manual says
> > >
> > > The Init File, `~/.emacs'
> > > =========================
> > >
> > >   When Emacs is started, it normally loads a Lisp program from the file
> > > `.emacs' or `.emacs.el' in your home directory.  We call this file your
> > > "init file" because it specifies how to initialize Emacs for you.  You
> > > can use the command line switch `-q' to prevent loading your init file,
> > > and `-u' (or `--user') to specify a different user's init file (*note
> > > Entering Emacs::).
> > >
> > > But I couldn't get -u or --user to work. I tried
> > >
> > > %emacs -u /c/emacs/.emacs
> > > %emacs --user /c/emacs/.emacs
> > > %emacs -u 'c:\emacs\.emacs'
> > > %emacs --user 'c:\emacs\.emacs'
> >
> > Do you actually have a user called /c/emacs/.emacs?  I find that
> > unlikely.
>
> I just noticed the proper usage of --user by looking at `emacs --help`,
> but I couldn't tell that by the text in the info page (above). It
> mentions a ``user's init file'' so I thought of giving it a path to a
> user's init file, however strange the flag --user would've been for
> that.
>
> > > If I can get this flag to work, then my problem is solved. What I
> > > currently do is use a script that copies the .emacs from /c/ to ~/
> > > before it loads emacs from the shell. But how do you guys keep your
> > > .emacs in one place?
> > >
> > > I need it in both places because emacs reads c:\.emacs when I call
> > > it from a Windows hotkey, and it reads ~/.emacs when called from
> > > msys.
> >
> > How about actually setting the HOME variable in your system?
>
> That worked a few days ago after someone suggesting the same.
>
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-- 
David Kastrup