Newsgroups: comp.mail.elm
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!torsqnt!geac!gjetor!adeboer
From: adeboer@gjetor.geac.COM (Anthony DeBoer)
Subject: Re: where are the defaults for new users stored?
Message-ID: <1991Jun24.145647.1723@gjetor.geac.COM>
Organization: Geac Canada Ltd.
References: <1164.2862670e@amy.skidmore.edu>
Date: 24 Jun 91 14:56:47 GMT

In article <1164.2862670e@amy.skidmore.edu> ldg@amy.skidmore.edu writes:
>When we did our make on elm earlier this year, we chose vi as the default
>editor.  Now that we have emacs up and runnning, I'd like to change elm
>to be preset to emacs for all new accounts.
>
>Is there a prototype file that elm uses when it builds the .elmrc file for 
>new users or is this hard coded into the program itself?
>
>Quite obviously, I'd prefer to edit a prototype rather than go back and 
>re-make the elm binaries.  While make is not very difficult, who needs the 
>extra work.

Most of that stuff is hardcoded into the elm binary, so it's probably
re-configure and re-make time...

And yes, it would be nice if there was a "standard" elmrc file (less one or
two parameters like "fullname"!) in /usr/local/lib or whereever, that the
sysadmin could set up with defaults and that elm would read if
$HOME/.elm/elmrc didn't exist.

The other side of the coin, of course, is educating the users on how to use
the editor you set up as the default.  The simple-editor thread in this
newsgroup now is hashing over some of these issues, but basically you do need
an editor-for-idiots brought up as a default, and make it clear to the users
that they can tell it to use their favorite editor instead.  Of course, if
everyone in your shop has to know vi or emacs or Wordperfect anyway, you can
set that up as the default, but you could be putting yourself in a position
where you have to do a lot of (in your case) emacs training.  Anyway, that's
just a few words from experience.  Your own mileage will probably vary.
-- 
Anthony DeBoer  NAUI#Z8800                             adeboer@gjetor.geac.com
Geac Canada Ltd., Toronto                             uunet!geac!gjetor!adeboer