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Re: [O] A gentle introduction to Emacs & Org-mode?


From: John Hendy
Subject: Re: [O] A gentle introduction to Emacs & Org-mode?
Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 18:06:52 -0500

I learned Emacs from scratch for the sake of Org-mode.
- I printed out an Emacs shortcut cheat sheet and tacked it on my cubicle wall.

- Basic Orgmode setup is pretty simple. My config, which allows
working with R and exporting to various formats:

#+begin_src

(add-to-list 'load-path "~/.elisp/org.git/lisp/")
(add-to-list 'load-path "~/.elisp/org.git/contrib/lisp")
(add-to-list 'load-path "~/.elisp/site-lisp/ess/lisp/")

(org-babel-do-load-languages
 'org-babel-load-languages
 '((latex . t)
   (R . t)))

;; font size, window height/width/placement
(set-face-attribute 'default nil :height 100)
(setq initial-frame-alist
     '((left . 0) (top . 16)
       (width . 120) (height . 45)))
(tool-bar-mode 0)

;; misc org stuff
(require 'org-inlinetask)
(require 'org-id)
(global-set-key "\C-cl" 'org-store-link)
(global-set-key "\C-ca" 'org-agenda)
(setq org-hide-leading-stars t)
(setq org-blank-before-new-entry nil)
(setq org-link-file-path-type (quote absolute))
(setq org-link-to-org-use-id 'create-if-interactive)

;; babel
(require 'ess-site)

;; get copy and paste to the clipboard
(global-set-key "\C-w" 'clipboard-kill-region)
(global-set-key "\M-w" 'clipboard-kill-ring-save)
(global-set-key "\C-y" 'clipboard-yank)


#+end_src

I have some agenda tweaks, todo keywords, fill-mode adjustments,
sunrise commander file manager settings, and other miscellany, but the
above would still cover 90% of my usage needs.

I think the biggest phrase that needs further clarification is
"...spend any more than, say, 2 days on [...] learning basics of
Em&Om." Where do you draw the line between basics and advanced usage,
and what qualifies as "learning." Having used Org for maybe 4 years
now, I still consider most of what I do fairly basic compared to
others I see, but my co-workers nearly soil themselves in fear/awe
sometimes when they see me working in Org-mode.

My recommendation, only because it worked for me, is simply to sell
the end result/benefits of Org, which is why I assume we all keep
using it (and started using it in the first place). It wasn't because
I just wanted to try something new on a whim that I learned Org. It
was because I'd tried other stuff (TiddlyWiki, iGTD, Chandler, Tracks,
Zim, EverNote, Google Notebook) and in simply watching videos and
reading about Org, I was sold.

Thus, it was the hope/desire/being-sold-in-advance on the benefits
that gave me the energy to overcome the learning curve (which was
definitely painful). I'm not sure that without understanding why one
is doing it that they'll go for it. I certainly don't think I could
have made the switch if I set a goal of 2 days to feel like I knew
what I was doing (I wouldn't have succeeded)!

Instead, I tried to just start simple. Just stop taking notes in
TiddlyWiki and start taking them in Org. Then I'd decide I wanted to
try something like time stamps and learn those. Then time tracking,
then beamer, then babel/in-document plot generation. And so on.

Long winded... but I'd suggest starting small. Maybe just get to the
point where he could take a recent document created with Scrivener and
re-create it in Org?


Good luck with the migration!
John


On Wed, Jul 23, 2014 at 4:20 PM, Marcin Borkowski <address@hidden> wrote:
> Hi list,
>
> this is only partially Org-ode related, but I hope I'll be excused.
> A friend of mine uses Scrivener; he also does some simple
> JavaScript/jQuery programming and HTML/CSS editing.  He *is* interested
> in Emacs & Org-mode, but does not want to spend more than, say, 2 days
> on installing, configuring and learning basics of E&Om.  Are there any
> resources which might help?  I offered him some help with installing
> and teaching, but what could I use?  (Of course, the built-in tutorial
> and Sacha Chua's sketch-tutorials are great, but what else does there
> exist?  Also, is prelude or Emacs Starter Kit a good idea?  I
> understand this is opinion-based, but maybe someone has some experience
> *teaching* Emacs and Org-mode?)
>
> Best,
>
> --
> Marcin Borkowski
> http://octd.wmi.amu.edu.pl/en/Marcin_Borkowski
> Adam Mickiewicz University
>



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