GNU bug report logs - #44375
Always give a message when flashing the screen

Previous Next

To add a comment to this bug, you must first unarchive it, by sending
a message to control AT debbugs.gnu.org, with unarchive 44375 in the body.
You can then email your comments to 44375 AT debbugs.gnu.org in the normal way.

Toggle the display of automated, internal messages from the tracker.

Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: 積丹尼 Dan Jacobson <jidanni <at> jidanni.org>
To: bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org
Subject: Always give a message when flashing the screen
Date: Mon, 02 Nov 2020 03:32:49 +0800

Always give a message when flashing the screen. See e.g., bug 44340
(Archived rather fast.)

Message #8 received at 44375 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Stefan Kangas <stefankangas <at> gmail.com>
To: 積丹尼 Dan Jacobson <jidanni <at> jidanni.org>, 
 44375 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#44375: Always give a message when flashing the screen
Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2020 13:26:44 -0800

積丹尼 Dan Jacobson <jidanni <at> jidanni.org> writes:

> Always give a message when flashing the screen. See e.g., bug 44340
> (Archived rather fast.)

I have no idea what any of the above means.

What is the bug?

Message #11 received at 44375 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: 積丹尼 Dan Jacobson <jidanni <at> jidanni.org>
To: Stefan Kangas <stefankangas <at> gmail.com>
Cc: 44375 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#44375: Always give a message when flashing the screen
Date: Mon, 02 Nov 2020 05:48:07 +0800

In http://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=44340 one can see how to
produce a [Show] button.

If the user just clicks it, the screen flashes.

Instead there should be a message printed at the bottom of the screen.

"Don't just click me. I need to be specially clicked: with the middle
button to work."

The above is a case of where flashing should be replaced by a message.

I think most of the cases where emacs just flashes like this, leaving
the user puzzled, have been found already. But there still may be others.

Message #14 received at 44375 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi <at> gnus.org>
To: 積丹尼 Dan Jacobson <jidanni <at> jidanni.org>
Cc: 44375 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, Stefan Kangas <stefankangas <at> gmail.com>
Subject: Re: bug#44375: Always give a message when flashing the screen
Date: Mon, 02 Nov 2020 17:01:51 +0100

積丹尼 Dan Jacobson <jidanni <at> jidanni.org> writes:

> In http://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=44340 one can see how to
> produce a [Show] button.
>
> If the user just clicks it, the screen flashes.

I'm now sure what's this is about.  Clicking any links (with mouse-1) in
the *Help* buffer here dings my Emacs, and this is the backtrace I'm
getting if I instrument `ding':

Debugger entered--entering a function:
* ding()
  pop-mark()
  #f(compiled-function () #<bytecode 0xb41ff211354d205>)()
  #f(compiled-function () #<bytecode 0x1b178ae04d6865b2>)()
  clear-transient-map()

I don't have a recipe to reproduce it, though -- In this Emacs I can do
`M-x describe-face RET default RET' and then mouse-1 on the "faces.el"
button, and Emacs will ding me before taking me to the faces.el file.

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
   bloggy blog: http://lars.ingebrigtsen.no

Message #17 received at 44375 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi <at> gnus.org>
To: 積丹尼 Dan Jacobson <jidanni <at> jidanni.org>
Cc: 44375 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, Stefan Kangas <stefankangas <at> gmail.com>
Subject: Re: bug#44375: Always give a message when flashing the screen
Date: Mon, 02 Nov 2020 17:24:28 +0100

Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi <at> gnus.org> writes:

> I don't have a recipe to reproduce it, though -- In this Emacs I can do
> `M-x describe-face RET default RET' and then mouse-1 on the "faces.el"
> button, and Emacs will ding me before taking me to the faces.el file.

I still don't have a recipe -- it seems to happen after having done an
unspecified number of actions in the *Help* buffer.  The thing that's
dinging is this, though:

(defun mouse-drag-track (start-event)

[...]

     t (lambda ()
         (setq track-mouse old-track-mouse)
         (setq auto-hscroll-mode auto-hscroll-mode-saved)
         (deactivate-mark)
         (pop-mark)))))

When the pop-mark is called (mark t) is non-nil.  pop-mark is just this:

(defun pop-mark ()
  "Pop off mark ring into the buffer's actual mark.
Does not set point.  Does nothing if mark ring is empty."
  (when mark-ring
    (setq mark-ring (nconc mark-ring (list (copy-marker (mark-marker)))))
    (set-marker (mark-marker) (car mark-ring))
    (set-marker (car mark-ring) nil)
    (unless (mark t) (ding))
    (pop mark-ring))
  (deactivate-mark))

(mark t) is nil here, so it dings.

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
   bloggy blog: http://lars.ingebrigtsen.no

Message #20 received at 44375 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi <at> gnus.org>
To: 積丹尼 Dan Jacobson <jidanni <at> jidanni.org>
Cc: 44375 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, Stefan Kangas <stefankangas <at> gmail.com>
Subject: Re: bug#44375: Always give a message when flashing the screen
Date: Mon, 02 Nov 2020 17:26:03 +0100

Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi <at> gnus.org> writes:

> (defun pop-mark ()
>   "Pop off mark ring into the buffer's actual mark.
> Does not set point.  Does nothing if mark ring is empty."
>   (when mark-ring
>     (setq mark-ring (nconc mark-ring (list (copy-marker (mark-marker)))))
>     (set-marker (mark-marker) (car mark-ring))

And this is the bit that unsets the mark -- the first entry in mark-ring
is a mark that points to no buffer.

Is it obvious to anybody what's going wrong here?  :-)

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
   bloggy blog: http://lars.ingebrigtsen.no

Message #23 received at 44375 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi <at> gnus.org>
To: 積丹尼 Dan Jacobson <jidanni <at> jidanni.org>
Cc: 44375 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, Stefan Kangas <stefankangas <at> gmail.com>
Subject: Re: bug#44375: Always give a message when flashing the screen
Date: Wed, 08 Sep 2021 12:22:18 +0200

Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi <at> gnus.org> writes:

> Is it obvious to anybody what's going wrong here?  :-)

The `ding' in `pop-mark' has been there since the function was first
written, but there doesn't really seem to be a reason to ding at the
user in this case, so I've removed the ding.

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
   bloggy blog: http://lars.ingebrigtsen.no

Previous Next

GNU bug tracking system
Copyright (C) 1999 Darren O. Benham, 1997,2003 nCipher Corporation Ltd, 1994-97 Ian Jackson.