Re: How in .dir-locals.el make association between file extension and Emacs mode?

[Oleksandr Gavenko]

On 2011-01-05 1:11, Tim X wrote:
> > Oleksandr Gavenko<gavenkoa@gmail.com>  writes:
> > I store collected my tips under same folder with .txt extension.
> >
> > Every time when I create new .txt file I forget add:
> >
> >    -*- mode: outline; coding: utf-8; fill-column: 80 -*-
> >
> > to header. There are nearly 120 files.
> >
> > I can fix headers from time to time by script but this require
> > spending own time, so ugly.
> >
> > I expect that Emacs already have mechanism to make this.
> > Per project configurations which provided by standard Emacs packages.
>
> My first comment would be that you should not need to have these headers
> at all - at least not with a fairly recent version of emacs. I only need
> these types of file headers for the unusual/special case. What you have
> in yours looks like the common or standard setup.
Yes. I want eliminate them.

> 1.  You can add files with extension .txt to auto-file-alist so that all
> *.txt files will start up with outline mode enabled.  Eliminate need for
> first setting in your header.
I prefer save association for '*.txt' to 'text-mode'.

.txt files usually interpreted as text files by many software.

If I make own unique extension I must teach all another soft how
understand this files (if this is possible )).

> 2. UTF-8 is rapidly becoming the default coding system for most systems.
> Unless you have the need for an alternative coding system because of
> special characters that are not well supported under utf-8, you probably
> should set this as your system default. Emacs will use the default
> platform coding system as its default. So, set your environment to utf-8
> and eliminate the second option from your header.
Agree, but how about Russian Windows with it default cp1251?

> 3. You can set the fill column via the custom 8nterface and you can
> enable filling (wrapping) from the options menu for all text modes. This
> would eliminate the last of your header settings and you would no longer
> need the header line at all.
Set fill-column every time I edit new file is unnecessary work.

And I always forget which value I prefer 78 or 80 or 90 or 120?

As I store files under version control when run 'fill-region'
with different 'fill-column' I get changes in places where I do
not edit text.

> Another alternative to the above is to just put these settings in your
> .dir-local file and ensure only *.txt fiels live below that directory.
I understand how set 'fill-column' via '.dir-local.el'.

But how set coding system and make association between file extension
and Emacs modes?

> However, my recommendation for this specific case is that you start using
> org-mode.
>
> I notice you are already using outline mode for your tip/note files, so
> you will already be familiar with much of org-mode (which is based on
> outline), plus you get a lot of other really handy things.
>
> By default, files with the extension of .org will be palced in org mode,
> so you can just try it by opening a file with that extension. Org mode
> is so extremely useful for keeping notes/tips I'm not even sure where to
> start. Some of its benefits include
>
>         * Improved key bindings for cycling through outline levels etc
>         * Handy table editing support
>         * Quick capturing of information, with formatting and other bits
>         * Useful linking and hypertext support
>         * Support for wiki like markup
>         * Export to multiple output formats
>
>
> plus much much more. Cannot recommend it highly enough.
Thanks for interest and tips. I would try org-mode.

Currently I use 'outline-mode' for:

 * colouring headers to make it more visible
 * folding text to see document structure (only headers shown)


Sorry, but I repeat question:

How set coding system and make association between file extension
and Emacs modes per directory?

--
Best regards!