you want to run @samp{tar xvf}, and suggest that as the default shell
command.
-The default is mentioned in brackets and you can type @kbd{M-n} to get
-the default into the minibuffer for editing. If there are several
-commands for a given file, e.g., @samp{xtex} and @samp{dvips} for a
-@file{.dvi} file, you can type @kbd{M-n} several times to see each of
-the matching commands.
+You can type @kbd{M-n} to get the default into the minibuffer for
+editing. If there are several commands for a given file, type
+@kbd{M-n} several times to see each matching command in order.
Dired only tries to guess a command for a single file, never for a
list of marked files.
-The following variables control guessing of shell commands:
-
@defvar dired-guess-shell-alist-default
This variable specifies the predefined rules for guessing shell
commands suitable for certain files. Set this to @code{nil} to turn
@end defvar
@defvar dired-guess-shell-alist-user
-If non-@code{nil}, this variables specifies the user-defined alist of
+If non-@code{nil}, this variable specifies the user-defined alist of
file regexps and their suggested commands. These rules take
precedence over the predefined rules in the variable
-@code{dired-guess-shell-alist-default} (to which they are prepended)
-when @code{dired-do-shell-command} is run). The default is
-@code{nil}.
+@code{dired-guess-shell-alist-default} when
+@code{dired-do-shell-command} is run). The default is @code{nil}.
Each element of the alist looks like
@var{regexp}. When Emacs invokes the @var{command}, it replaces each
instance of @samp{*} with the matched file name.
-You can set this variable in your Init file. For example, to add
-rules for @samp{.foo} and @samp{.bar} file extensions:
+To add rules for @samp{.foo} and @samp{.bar} file extensions, add this
+to your Init file:
@example
(setq dired-guess-shell-alist-user
This will override any predefined rules for the same extensions.
@end defvar
-@defvar dired-guess-shell-case-fold-search
-If this variable is non-@code{nil},
-@code{dired-guess-shell-alist-default} and
-@code{dired-guess-shell-alist-user} are matched case-insensitively.
-The default is @code{t}.
-@end defvar
-
-@defvar dired-guess-shell-gnutar
-If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it specifies the name of the GNU
-Tar executable (e.g., @file{tar} or @file{gtar}). GNU Tar's @samp{z}
-switch is used for compressed archives. If you don't have GNU Tar,
-set this to @code{nil}: a pipe using @command{zcat} is then used
-instead.
-@end defvar
-
-@defvar dired-guess-shell-gzip-quiet
-A non-@code{nil} value of this variable means that @samp{-q} is passed
-to @command{gzip}, possibly overriding a verbose option in the
-@env{GZIP} environment variable. The default is @code{t}.
-@end defvar
-
-@defvar dired-guess-shell-znew-switches nil
-This variable specifies a string of switches passed to @command{znew}.
-An example is @samp{-K} which will make @command{znew} keep a
-@file{.Z} file when it is smaller than the @file{.gz} file. The
-default is @code{nil}: no additional switches are passed to
-@command{znew}.
-@end defvar
-
-@defvar dired-shell-command-history nil
-This variable holds the history list for commands that read
-dired-shell commands.
-@end defvar
+You can find more user options with @kbd{M-x customize-group @key{RET}
+dired-guess @key{RET}}.
@node Transforming File Names
@section Transforming File Names in Dired