Re: New start up splash screen annoyance...

[Chong Yidong]

Richard Stallman <address@hidden> writes:

>     I would like to have the old behavior back:  if a file name was given
>     on the command line the user definitely wants to edit that file, and
>     so any editing/movement/redraw command should switch to that files
>     buffer immediately.
>
> I changed this because I want beginners to see the splash screen,
> and beginners often have the habit of passing a file name.

The way Emacs currently handles the splash screen is completely
unsatisfactory, because it gives the impression that the splash screen
is being displayed *instead of* the file specified by the user (and
thus implies that Emacs is unable to process command line arguments.)

The way other programs handle this is to (1) display the splash screen
in a small, floating X window, (2) provide a check box on the splash
screen saying "Display splash screen on startup" or something similar,
and (3) a prominent button saying "OK" or similar to dismiss the
splash screen.

Using a small, floating X window lets the user see that the command
line argument was processed correctly, since the main X window is
visible behind the splash screen panel.  In our case, it may be better
to use a pop-to-buffer.  Providing a check box makes it easy to
dismiss the splash screen, which in my experience almost everyone ends
up doing, since a splash screen gets annoying after the first time you
see it (and you shouldn't have to read the documentation to find out
how to disable it!)