Cool Emacs Packages

This is a list of emacs packages that I have found to be very useful. For each package a short description, with installation instructions and pointers to documentation is given. They have been tested with emacs-21.1.

Documentation on getting started with emacs.

The information below is out-of-date. The links to web pages might still be useful.

A collection of these useful packages is available in the file cool.el. Just add

(setq load-path 
      (cons "/net/azdak/dsg/local/share/emacs/site-lisp" load-path))
(load "cool")

Contents:

• haskell-mode (mode for Haskell code)
• preview-latex (WYSIWYG features in LaTeX mode)
• iswitchb.el (smart switch buffer with completion)
• ftp-quik (a manager for hotlists of (ange-ftp) dirs and urls)
• RefTex (support for references and citations in LaTeX)
• Emacs/W3 (a web browser)
• escreen (multiple emacs screens)
• FFF (fast file find)
• AUC TeX (fancy latex support)
• whine (print witty messages in the echo area)
• yow (witty fortunes)
• GNU Calc (desktop calculator)

• Name: haskell-mode
• Key: haskell-mode
• Description: A Haskell mode with extensive font lock support
• Short Summary: A mode for Haskell code, featuring keyword highlighting, declaration scanning with automatic pop-up of types in the minibuffer, and much more.
• Invocation: M-x haskell-mode (only necessary if you don't have the installation code installed, or if your file does not have an .hs suffix)
• Installation: Add the following lines to your .emacs file:

    (setq auto-mode-alist
  	(append '(("\\.[he]s$" . haskell-mode) 
  		  ("\\.l[he]s$" . haskell-mode)  ; for literate prgs
  		  ("\\.hi$" . haskell-mode))    ; for interface files
  		  auto-mode-alist))
  
    (autoload 'haskell-mode "haskell-mode"
       "Major mode for editing Haskell scripts." t)
    (autoload 'literate-haskell-mode "haskell-mode"
       "Major mode for editing literate Haskell scripts." t)
  
    (setq haskell-use-font-lock t)          ; enable font-lock highlighting
    (setq haskell-use-decl-scan t)          ; enable imenu
  
  
    ; use haskell-doc mode for pop-up type info on fcts etc
    (autoload 'turn-on-haskell-doc-mode "haskell-doc" nil t)
    (add-hook 'haskell-mode-hook 'turn-on-haskell-doc-mode)
         

• Requirements: none
• Location: /net/azdak/dsg/local/share/emacs/site-lisp/haskell-mode.el
• Documentation: See the beginning of the above file.
• Comments: The most important feature is keyword and comment highlighting. Optionally, you can use the haskell-doc feature (enabled with the last line of the installation code), which scans the type definitions in the buffer, and automatically pops-up the type of the function under the cursor.

• Name: preview-latex
• Key: preview-latex
• Description: embed preview LaTeX images in source buffer
• Short Summary: This package adds WYSIWYG features to emacs (version 21 and higher). Math-mode formulae as well as included .ps files can be previewed directly in the emacs buffer.
• Invocation: In the emacs buffer of your top-level LaTeX document call M-x preview-document (or in the Command pull-down menu pick the Generate Preview option). This will run LateX in the background and then inline math-mode formulae and .ps files into the emacs buffer.
• Installation: Add the following lines to your .emacs file:

     (autoload 'LaTeX-preview-setup "preview")
     (add-hook 'LaTeX-mode-hook #'LaTeX-preview-setup)
         

• Requirements: Emacs 21 or higher (this is default if you pick it up from /net/azdak/dsg/local/i386-unknown-linux/bin), a working LaTeX installation, the auc-tex package for emacs (see below). Be sure that you have the DSG group's LaTeX dir in your LaTeX path by e.g. adding to your .bashrc file

  TEXINPUTS=${TEXINPUTS}:/net/azdak/dsg/local/teTeX/share//
         

• Location: /net/azdak/dsg/local/share/emacs/site-lisp/preview/preview.el
• Documentation:
  • Local: Info pages in emacs C-u C-h /net/azdak/dsg/local/info/dir and look for preview-latex
  • Web: Home page
• Comments:

• Name: iswitchb.el
• Key: iswitchb
• Description: switch between buffers using substrings
• Short Summary: As you type in a substring, the list of buffers currently matching the substring are displayed as you type. The list is ordered so that the most recent buffers visited come at the start of the list. The buffer at the start of the list will be the one visited when you press return. By typing more of the substring, the list is narrowed down so that gradually the buffer you want will be at the top of the list. Alternatively, you can use C-s an C-r to rotate buffer names in the list until the one you want is at the top of the list. Completion is also available so that you can see what is common to all of the matching buffers as you type.
• Invocation: none; after installation the binding of C-x b is changed to use iswitchb-buffer
• Installation: Put the following into your .emacs file:

           (require 'iswitchb)
           (iswitchb-default-keybindings)
         

• Requirements: none
• Location: /usr/local/contrib/share/emacs/site-lisp/iswitchb.el
• Documentation: See the header of the above file.
• Comments: It's really cool.

• Name: ftp-quik.el
• Key: ftp-quik
• Description: a glorified hotlist of (ange-)ftp directories and URLs
• Short Summary: This package allows you to treat a buffer as a hotlist with three types of links: ange-ftp directories, local directories, and URLs. Per mouse-2 click an action is performed on a link with the following default settings:
  • ange-ftp dir/file: pop-up dired buffer or find-file
  • plain dir/file: open a shell (via `term.el') or find-file
  • url: start an emacs web browser (requires `w3')
  A pull down menu offers further options like converting URLs into ange-ftp directory names.
• Invocation: none; after installation ftp-quik-mode is active for every file with .ftq or .ftp-quik extension. You can invoke the mode manually by typing M-x ftp-quik-mode.
• Installation: Put the following in your .emacs file:

      (setq load-path (append load-path '("/usr/local/contrib/share/emacs/site-lisp")))
      (autoload 'ftp-quik-mode "ftp-quik" nil t)
      (setq auto-mode-alist (append '(("\\.ftp-quik$" . ftp-quik-mode)
  				       ("\\.ftq$" . ftp-quik-mode))
  				  auto-mode-alist))
         

  To load your favourite ftp-quik file with two keystrokes add:

      (global-set-key "\C-c\C-q" 'find-daily)
     
      (defun find-daily ()
        (interactive)
        (find-file "~/emacs/daily.ftp-quik")) ; your favourite `ftp-quik' list
         

  To pick a shell other than /bin/sh add:

      (eval-after-load 'ftp-quik
         (setq ftp-quik-shell "/usr/local/gnu/bin/bash"))
         

• Requirements: ange-ftp, term, font-lock, w3 (all are already installed by default).
• Location: /usr/local/contrib/share/emacs/site-lisp/ftp-quik.el
• Documentation: See the header of the source file.
• Comments: I use this package heavily to have transparent access to files on remote machines (either via a remote account or anonymous FTP). A dired buffer allows youto manipulate local and remote directories in the same way with keybindings for moving files, searching the directory etc.

  To try ftp-quik install it and load the sample file into an emacs buffer by typing: C-x C-f ~hwloidl/ftp-quik.ftq.

• Name: reftex.el
• Key: reftex
• Description: Minor mode for doing \label{} \ref{} and \cite{} in LaTeX
• Short Summary: RefTeX is a minor mode with distinct support for \ref{}, \label{} and \cite{} commands in LaTeX. It can be run as additional mode to any of the major LaTeX modes available (most notably AUCTeX).
• Invocation: RefTeX adds several key-bindings. The most useful ones are probably C-( for dropping a label, C-) for adding a \ref{} entry and popping up a buffer that lets you page through the list of labels defined in your latex file, and C-] for adding a \cite{} entry and popping up a buffer that lets you page through the bibtex files defined in the file.
• Installation: Put the following in your .emacs file:

    (autoload 'reftex-mode    "reftex" "RefTeX Minor Mode" t)
    (autoload 'turn-on-reftex "reftex" "RefTeX Minor Mode" t)
  
  (add-hook 'LaTeX-mode-hook 'turn-on-reftex) ; with AUCTeX LaTeX mode
  ;  (add-hook 'latex-mode-hook 'turn-on-reftex)) ; with Emacs latex mode
         

• Requirements: To make best use of this mode you should also use AUC TeX Mode.
• Location: /usr/local/contrib/share/emacs/site-lisp
• Documentation: See the header of the elisp file in /usr/local/contrib/share/emacs/site-lisp/reftex.el
• Comments: If you work with multi-file latex documents it is really handy to use the AucTeX support for these by putting

    ;;      %%% Local Variables: 
    ;;      %%% TeX-master: my_master.tex
    ;;      %%% End:
           

  at the end of every tex-file. RefTex will look up the master file to find the name of the bibtex files it needs for citations, and of all other tex files it needs to find all labels defined in that document. Especially useful when you work for example on a thesis ;-)

• Name: w3.el
• Key: w3
• Description: an emacs based web browser
• Short Summary: Users can browse the World Wide Web from within Emacs by using Emacs/W3. Emacs/W3 is a full-featured web browser, written entirely in Emacs-Lisp, that supports all the bells and whistles you will find in use on the web today, including frames, tables, stylesheets, and much more.
• Invocation: M-x w3
• Installation: Put the following in your .emacs file:

    ;;; Emacs/W3 Configuration
    (setq load-path (cons "/usr/local/contrib/share/emacs/site-lisp/w3" load-path))
    (require 'w3-auto "w3-auto")
         

• Requirements: ange-ftp, widget, timezone and a few others (all are installed by default already)
• Location: /usr/local/contrib/share/emacs/site-lisp/w3
• Documentation: See the info pages on w3 (via C-h i), the HTML docu, or use the help button after having started w3.
• Comments: I mainly use the w3 for quick look-up of information when I already know the page. The main advantage is that you don't get the gratuitous graphics and you can easily edit the text that pops-up. If you use emacs based mail and/or news readers you also get a powerful integration of all utilities into one customisable package. Personally, I maintain a hot-list of these pages via ftp-quik and kick off w3 via a mouse click. If you cannot do without the graphics I recommend using it with xemacs. In that setup you have in-line images and most of the other noisy stuff on the web.

• Name: escreen.el
• Key: escreen
• Description: emacs window session manager
• Short Summary: This package provides something like `virtual desktops' (here called screens) known from state-of-the-art window managers. For each session the window configuration is saved and will be restored when jumping to that screen.
• Invocation: none (it's enabled after installing it). You can create a new screen with C-\ c and jump to a specific screen with C-\ N where N is the screen number.
• Installation: Put the following in your .emacs file:

      (load "escreen")
      (escreen-install)
          

  The prefix key for all commands is C-\. If you want to change this do something like:

      (setq escreen-prefix-char "\C-o")
      (global-set-key escreen-prefix-char 'escreen-prefix)
      

  I find it particularly useful to bind my keypad number keys to the escreen-goto-screen function for a quick jump to my screens:

      (global-set-key [kp-1] 'escreen-goto-screen-1)
      (global-set-key [kp-2] 'escreen-goto-screen-2)
      (global-set-key [kp-3] 'escreen-goto-screen-3)
         

• Requirements: none
• Location: /usr/local/contrib/share/emacs/site-lisp/escreen.el
• Documentation: Type C-\ ? after having called escreen-install.
• Comments: If you read mail and news via emacs (e.g. using mh-e and gnus) it is very handy to have separate screens for them to maintain their window configuration. Switching to your mailer is then even faster than in an X-environment.

  One shortcoming of this package is the buffer-list which is the same for all screens. I.e. if you create a buffer in screen 1 you have it at the front of your buffer list in the other screens, too. Fixing that is on the to-do list.

  This is one of Noah Friedman's Emacs Packages (tm). If you see another one: grab it!

• Name: fff.el
• Key: fff
• Description: file-finding commands and utilities
• Short Summary: Short-cut commands for loading files into an emacs buffer (a C-x C-f that knows about pathes and locate databases). For example, you can visit emacs lisp libraries, programs in your exec-path (some of which are humanly-readable shell scripts or config files), or anything else which is quickly locatable via a prebuilt database or path list.
• Invocation: C-c C-f (this is a prefix; e.g. C-c C-f C-f loads the file you enter in the minibuffer via searching the locate database).
• Installation: Put the following in your .emacs file:

      (autoload 'fff-find-emacs-lisp-library         "fff" nil t)
      (autoload 'fff-insert-emacs-lisp-library       "fff" nil t)
      (autoload 'fff-locate-emacs-lisp-library       "fff" nil t)
      (autoload 'fff-find-loaded-emacs-lisp-function "fff" nil t)
      (autoload 'fff-find-file-in-envvar-path        "fff" nil t)
      (autoload 'fff-insert-file-in-envvar-path      "fff" nil t)
      (autoload 'fff-find-file-in-exec-path          "fff" nil t)
      (autoload 'fff-insert-file-in-exec-path        "fff" nil t)
      (autoload 'fff-find-file-in-path               "fff" nil t)
      (autoload 'fff-insert-file-in-path             "fff" nil t)
      (autoload 'fff-find-file-in-locate-db          "fff" nil t)
      (autoload 'fff-insert-file-in-locate-db        "fff" nil t)
  
      (autoload 'fff-install-map                     "fff" nil t)
      (fff-install-map)
         

  If you want another prefix for this keymap put something like

      (setq fff-map-prefix "\C-x\C-l")
         

  into your .emacs file (before calling fff-install-map).
• Requirements: You must have the locate command in your UNIX path in order to search in the locate database.
• Location: /usr/local/contrib/share/emacs/site-lisp/fff.el
• Documentation: Type C-c C-f C-h after having called fff-install-map.
• Comments: I use this package a lot. Especially, if you have a lengthy UNIX path you don't have to type `which' first to get the absolute pathname. And via the locate database you have fast access to almost all files in the filesystem (even if you have no clue where the thing is lying).

• Name: auctex
• Key: tex-site
• Description: AUC TeX is an integrated environment for editing LaTeX and TeX files.
• Short Summary: AUC TeX offers a lot of useful features and is highly customisable. The things I use most often are:
  • C-c C-e: add a LaTeX environment (template)
  • C-c C-s: add a sectioning command
  • C-c C-f: insert a latex font (C-u C-c C-f to change it)
  • M-tab: complete a latex command you're just typing
  • C-c C-c: run latex on this buffer (if there are errors C-c ` can be used to jump to the right point in the buffer)
• Invocation: automatically in latex-mode, so your auto-mode-alist variable must be right; if it's not, set it with:

         (setq auto-mode-alist
               (append '(("\\.tex$" . latex-mode)) auto-mode-alist))
         

• Installation: (load-library "tex-site")
• Requirements: none
• Location: /net/azdak/dsg/local/share/emacs/site-lisp/tex-site.el (components in subdir auctex).
• Documentation: See the auctex info page.
• Comments: Take a look at the introductory section of the info page to get a feeling for the most important commands. If you use it heavily you might want to use its hooks to customise it or define your own style.

• Name: whine.el
• Key: whine
• Description: Print witty messages in the echo area
• Short Summary: This package is for amusement only. It regularly prints messages in the echo area while you're typing.
• Invocation: Add the following lines to your .emacs file:

          (load-library "whine")
          (whinify)
         

• Installation: - (to uninstall do M-x unwhinify).
• Requirements: none
• Location: /net/azdak/dsg/local/share/emacs/site-lisp/whine.el
• Documentation:
• Comments:

• Name: yow.el
• Key: yow
• Description: quote random zippyisms
• Short Summary: This package provides functions for displaying and inserting `quotes' you might want to use for e.g. your email signature.
• Installation: none (part of emacs-21.1)
• Invocation: yow (display quote) or C-u yow (insert quote)
• Requirements: cookie1.el
• Location: /net/azdak/dsg/local/share/emacs/21.1/lisp/play/yow.el
• Documentation: none needed (read docu of functions in the code)
• Comments: If you're using an emacs based mail reader you can insert a quote into your signature by calling (yow t) from a hook in your email package (e.g. from mh-letter-mode-hook). If you want to use your own collection of quotes (in the format used by fortune(6)) just have the variable yow-file point to it. But the coolest thing is to combine it with the doctor program: type psychoanalyze-pinhead and watch how emacs does psychotherapy --- with itself.

• Name: GNU Calc
• Key: calc
• Description: Desktop calculator
• Short Summary: "Calc 2.02" is an advanced desk calculator and mathematical tool that runs as part of the GNU Emacs environment.
• Installation: Add the following to your .emacs file:

   (autoload 'calc-dispatch	   "calc" "Calculator Options" t)
   (autoload 'full-calc		   "calc" "Full-screen Calculator" t)
   (autoload 'full-calc-keypad	   "calc" "Full-screen X Calculator" t)
   (autoload 'calc-eval		   "calc" "Use Calculator from Lisp")
   (autoload 'defmath		   "calc" nil t t)
   (autoload 'calc			   "calc" "Calculator Mode" t)
   (autoload 'quick-calc		   "calc" "Quick Calculator" t)
   (autoload 'calc-keypad		   "calc" "X windows Calculator" t)
   (autoload 'calc-embedded	   "calc" "Use Calc inside any buffer" t)
   (autoload 'calc-embedded-activate  "calc" "Activate =>'s in buffer" t)
   (autoload 'calc-grab-region	   "calc" "Grab region of Calc data" t)
   (autoload 'calc-grab-rectangle	   "calc" "Grab rectangle of data" t)
   (global-set-key "\e#" 'calc-dispatch)
         

• Invocation: M-# or M-x calc
• Requirements: Nothing special
• Location: /usr/local/contrib/share/emacs/site-lisp/calc
• Documentation: See info pages (part of emacs' info menu). An HTML version of the info pages is also available.
• Comments: `Desktop calculator' is an understatement. It has many features like statistics functions, matrix operations, manipulation of symbolic formulae etc. However, there is a mode for doing quick pocket-calculator style computations in the minibuffer (M-# q). The manual (~500 pages) and the info pages are quite detailed, too.

If you don't want all of the features in cool.el you can set the variable hwl-enable-list to a list of those features you want to have, ignoring the rest. This line must appear before loading the module. For example, if you only want to enable the LaTeX related features use the following code:

(setq hwl-enable-list '(preview-latex reftex tex-site))

(setq load-path 
      (cons "/net/azdak/dsg/local/share/emacs/site-lisp" load-path))
(load "cool")

You can find the names of all packages to be used in this list under the Key field of the descriptions above.

Troubleshooting

The module has been tested with emacs-21.1. It should definitely work if you use only this file on startup, and you can test this by calling:

emacs -nw -q --eval "(progn (setq load-path (cons \"/net/azdak/dsg/local/share/emacs/site-lisp\" load-path))(load \"cool\"))"

If this gives you error messages, send me a bug report.

If you have problems using this module it is most likely a conflict with some other package you have loaded. To locate the problem have a look into the buffer *HWL emacs startup* where you will find log messages, listing the enabled packages etc. From how far the startup got you should be able to figure out where the conflict arose.

Another useful thing to do is to enable elisp debugging in your .emacs file. You can do this by adding the following line at the beginning of your .emacs:

(setq debug-on-error t)