From: Lars Ingebrigtsen Date: Tue, 19 Oct 2021 20:39:00 +0000 (+0200) Subject: Tweak how 'align' and 'align-regexp' align text X-Git-Tag: emacs-29.0.90~3671^2~491 X-Git-Url: http://git.eshelyaron.com/gitweb/?a=commitdiff_plain;h=90266b8356dc5e7e6e437fb37b49970205b01408;p=emacs.git Tweak how 'align' and 'align-regexp' align text * lisp/align.el (align-rules-list): Change to work without `C-u'. (align): Doc clarification. (align-regexp): Ditto, and change default `C-u' regexp from "\\(\\s-*\\)" to "\\(\\s-*\\)" so that it'll make things columnar if the user just hits RET through all the defaults. --- diff --git a/etc/NEWS b/etc/NEWS index 98c710ae578..20696afb612 100644 --- a/etc/NEWS +++ b/etc/NEWS @@ -103,6 +103,15 @@ delimiter in the echo area. * Changes in Specialized Modes and Packages in Emacs 29.1 +** align + +--- +*** Alignment in 'text-mode' has changed. +Previously, 'M-x align' didn't do anything, and you have to say 'C-u +M-x align' for it to work. This has now been changed. The default +for regexp for 'C-u M-x align-regexp' has also been changed to be +easier for inexperienced users to use. + ** eww +++ diff --git a/lisp/align.el b/lisp/align.el index 7ced7b70445..2fd6dcda6d7 100644 --- a/lisp/align.el +++ b/lisp/align.el @@ -553,8 +553,7 @@ The possible settings for `align-region-separate' are: (modes . align-text-modes) (repeat . t) (run-if . ,(lambda () - (and current-prefix-arg - (not (eq '- current-prefix-arg)))))) + (not (eq '- current-prefix-arg))))) ;; With a negative prefix argument, lists of dollar figures will ;; be aligned. @@ -836,11 +835,22 @@ See the variable `align-exclude-rules-list' for more details.") ;;;###autoload (defun align (beg end &optional separate rules exclude-rules) "Attempt to align a region based on a set of alignment rules. -BEG and END mark the region. If BEG and END are specifically set to -nil (this can only be done programmatically), the beginning and end of -the current alignment section will be calculated based on the location -of point, and the value of `align-region-separate' (or possibly each -rule's `separate' attribute). +Interactively, BEG and END are the mark/point of the current region. + +Many modes define specific alignment rules, and some of these +rules in some modes react to the current prefix argument. For +instance, in `text-mode', `M-x align' will align into columns +based on space delimiters, while `C-u - M-x align' will align +into columns based on the \"$\" character. See the +`align-rules-list' variable definition for the specific rules. + +Also see `align-regexp', which will guide you through various +parameters for aligning text. + +Non-interactively, if BEG and END are nil, the beginning and end +of the current alignment section will be calculated based on the +location of point, and the value of `align-region-separate' (or +possibly each rule's `separate' attribute). If SEPARATE is non-nil, it overrides the value of `align-region-separate' for all rules, except those that have their @@ -889,6 +899,15 @@ on the format of these lists." BEG and END mark the limits of the region. Interactively, this function prompts for the regular expression REGEXP to align with. +Interactively, if you specify a prefix argument, the function +will guide you through entering the full regular expression, and +then prompts for which subexpression parenthesis GROUP (default +1) within REGEXP to modify, the amount of SPACING (default +`align-default-spacing') to use, and whether or not to REPEAT the +rule throughout the line. + +See `align-rules-list' for more information about these options. + For example, let's say you had a list of phone numbers, and wanted to align them so that the opening parentheses would line up: @@ -908,15 +927,8 @@ regular expression after you enter it. Interactively, you only need to supply the characters to be lined up, and any preceding whitespace is replaced. -Non-interactively (or if you specify a prefix argument), you must -enter the full regular expression, including the subexpression. -Interactively, the function also then prompts for which -subexpression parenthesis GROUP (default 1) within REGEXP to -modify, the amount of SPACING (default `align-default-spacing') -to use, and whether or not to REPEAT the rule throughout the -line. - -See `align-rules-list' for more information about these options. +Non-interactively, you must enter the full regular expression, +including the subexpression. The non-interactive form of the previous example would look something like: (align-regexp (point-min) (point-max) \"\\\\(\\\\s-*\\\\)(\") @@ -928,7 +940,7 @@ construct a rule to pass to `align-region', which does the real work." (list (region-beginning) (region-end)) (if current-prefix-arg (list (read-string "Complex align using regexp: " - "\\(\\s-*\\)" 'align-regexp-history) + "\\(\\s-*\\) " 'align-regexp-history) (string-to-number (read-string "Parenthesis group to modify (justify if negative): " "1"))