Highlight completion info

Highlight completion is a variant on completion in Emacs. Download the package here: highlight-completion.el.

Description:

This package modified how Emacs performs completions. Ordinarily, if you are typing a file name into the minibuffer (after hitting C-x C-f, say), if you type a few letters and hit the TAB key, then Emacs completes as far as possible. For example, suppose a directory contains only these files:

   filbert   filibuster   frank   grunge.tex

If you type g followed by TAB, then runge.tex is inserted. If you hit fi then TAB, an l is inserted. If you hit f then TAB, there is no unique continuation of the file name, so Emacs opens up a new window displaying the list of possible completions.

That's the old system. This package provides a variant: if you type g, then runge.tex is automatically inserted as highlighted text, to indicate that it's only provisional. The point remains immediately after the g. If you hit TAB, the point jumps to the end, and the added text is no longer highlighted. (So if you weren't looking at the screen, you wouldn't know that anything different had happened.) If after hitting g, you typed a (because you wanted to find a new file gaptooth.el) the highlighted text would disappear. The effects of various keys:

TAB: jump forward to the end of the highlighted text. If no text is highlighted, open up a window showing possible completions.
SPC: jump forward a word (so g followed by SPC would yield grunge.tex, with the point after the ., and with tex highlighted). If no text is highlighted, open up a window showing possible completions.
?: open up a window showing possible completions.
RET: open the named file (so g followed by RET would open grunge.tex).
C-g: stop this modified completion process and exit the minibuffer.
C-c: delete the highlighted text and stop this modified completion process.
character: if consistent with completion, unhighlight it and move the point forward. if inconsistent, insert the character and delete the highlighted text, stopping this completion process.

How to use:

Put the file highlight-completion.el in your load-path.
Put (require 'highlight-completion) in your .emacs file (or your .xemacs/init.el file).
Turn on highlight completion by either
```
        M-x highlight-completion-mode
	
```
or customizing variables:
```
	M-x customize-group highlight-completion
	
```
Then turn on "Highlight completion mode". You may want to modify some of the entries in "Highlight completion list".

You can also run the functions

   hc-completing-insert-file-name       to complete file names
   hc-completing-insert-lisp-function          lisp functions
   hc-completing-insert-lisp-variable          lisp variables
   hc-completing-insert-kill                   contents of kill ring
   hc-completing-insert-buffer contents        buffer contents
   hc-ispell-complete-word                     words from a dictionary,
                                                   using ispell

These functions can be used anywhere, not just in the minibuffer.

Download:

Download the package here: highlight-completion.el.

Back to the Highlight completion home page.

Back to John Palmieri's Emacs lisp page.

Back to John Palmieri's home page.

You can contact me by e-mail if you have any questions or comments.

John H. Palmieri, Department of Mathematics, University of Washington, palmieri@math.washington.edu

Last modified: Thu Jun 21 20:29:36 PDT 2001