Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!bloom-beacon!mit-eddie!USWEST.COM!jbw
From: jbw@USWEST.COM (Joe Wells)
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: Re: How to make Emacs keep quiet?
Message-ID: <8908221704.AA13619@ketchum.uswest.com>
Date: 22 Aug 89 17:04:02 GMT
Sender: daemon@eddie.MIT.EDU
Lines: 37


   Every once in a while when I'm using this editor it inter-
   rupts me to tell me "Auto-saving...done", "Garbage-collection...
   done". I don't want that. Auto-saving seems like a good idea
   so I like to have it on, but I want it to happen QUIETLY.

I disagree with this part.  The messages are very helpful for
understanding why GNU Emacs is not responding to the keys you're typing.

     On top of all: the most common message is the fantastic
   "Buffer xxxx has shrunk a lot. Not autosaving.", since I
   mainly use Unix to read and write news and mail which means
   that I start with a big file from which I cut everything except
   that I comment. It's really a pain. Particulary on a 75/1200 line.
   And I would like it to auto-save even if the buffer "has shrunk
   a lot". Tell me, how do I do. The editor just can't be that
   !"#$%&/(/) stupid that it is not impossible.

I agree with you completely.  Unfortunately, this particular behaviour is
in the C code, and is harder for the ordinary user to fix.  I suggest that
everyone who dislikes this behaviour should post to gnu.emacs and/or send
mail to RMS.  Maybe if enough of us complain it will go away or become an
option.

(If you can't post to gnu.emacs, send mail to info-gnu-emacs@prep.ai.mit.edu) 

   I would also like to Emacs stop echoing prefix keys. It's a good
   idea but it becomes absurd when your using keypad keys as prefix
   keys as I do.

According to the manual:

 (setq echo-keystrokes 0)

--
Joe Wells <jbw@uswest.com>
jbw%maverick.uswest.com@boulder.colorado.edu