Re: Please install: Some improvements to doc-view.el

[Juri Linkov]

>     I think both methods are very useful.
>
> Why are they both useful?

The mailcap feature is useful to get the names of the external programs.
Doc-view is useful to view rendered images of PDF/PS/DVI files in a
Emacs buffer.

>     The Gnus mailcap mechanism provides several alternatives of external
>     programs to run.  There are many different file types associated with
>     programs in the mailcap file, not only documents supported by doc-view.
>
> Ok, but when mailcap finds these kinds of documents,
> should it run the external program or should it use doc-view?

I think on Gnus attachments of PDF/PS/DVI files it should now use doc-view.

>     But I think a better way would be to allow the user to select the
>     preferred program, inspect the command line and be able to edit the
>     command line before running a command.  This can be achieved by putting
>     program names found by the Gnus mailcap mechanism to the default value
>     in the minibuffer activated after typing !  in Dired.
>
> This seems to be a suggestion for changing the Gnus mailcap
> feature.  Is that right?

No, the mailcap feature only returns the names of the external programs.
So how to use them is a matter of other packages.  Gnus always runs the
first found program to view the Gnus attachment.  However, I think Dired
should get programs names from the mailcap feature, and present them in the
minibuffer activated by ! in Dired to allow the user select the desired
program.

-- 
Juri Linkov
http://www.jurta.org/emacs/