Re: default coding system when saving

[Richard Stallman]

    (1) I was unable to do because I customizations that try to prevent
        window splitting -- so when this error happens, the minibuffer
        and the warning message are the only two buffers visible.

This seems to be one of the cases where turning off pop-up-windows
is a bad idea.  I think there are others.

You have a problem, to which your current solution is to turn off
pop-up-windows.  But since that solution has these drawbacks, I think
we should look for another solution.  It seems to me that a more
intelligent way to restore the previous window configuration, or to
undo a change in window configuration, would solve the problem.  Do
you agree?  Would you like to try to specify what it should do?

You described the problem of how to switch back to GNUS in the best
way, which your function switch-to-gnus does.  I think I see a general
way to handle that sort of thing.

A window could have an "application" which is either nil or a cons
cell whose car is a buffer.  If it's nil, things work as now.  If it's
a cons cell, then window-configuration records the cons cell instead
of a buffer, and set-window-configuration should select the buffer
currently in the car of that cons cell.

A buffer could record its application in a local variable.

If GNUS creates applications for its buffers in the appropriate way,
switching to a window configuration that included GNUS would always
switch to the current choice of buffers for GNUS.

Does this do the job for you?  Any alternative suggestions?

I tend to think that the groups idea that Bob mentioned
won't be very useful if you want to have the Gnus windows
together with some other windows in a single frame.