Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!ucsd!ucbvax!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!sun.com!peck
From: peck@sun.com (Jeff Peck)
Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.bug
Subject: setting the modification-flag
Message-ID: <8909191818.AA21562@denali.sun.com>
Date: 19 Sep 89 18:18:11 GMT
Sender: daemon@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu
Distribution: gnu
Organization: GNUs Not Usenet
Lines: 14

Sometimes i really want to write the buffer to a file, even if
it is not obviously modified.  Maybe i have just visited a new file
and want to save it with 0 length.  On some days I would use "xDEL"
(ie insert a char and delete it), but that mucks up the Undo record.
This simple, upward compatible change to "not-modified" does the trick.

in files.el:
(defun not-modified (&optional arg)
  "Mark current buffer as unmodified, not needing to be saved.
With prefix arg, mark buffer as modified, so save-buffer {\\[save-buffer]} will work."
  (interactive "P")
  (message (if arg "Modification-flag set"
	       "Modification-flag cleared"))
  (set-buffer-modified-p arg))