bug#7747: Please put current file name in the prompt for rename-file

[Lennart Borgman]

On Tue, Dec 28, 2010 at 3:24 AM, Stefan Monnier
<monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> wrote:
>>> You can use `rename-file' from anywhere in Emacs.  Yes, if you use it from a
>>> file buffer or from Dired then a reasonable default value is provided.  But
>>> that's all it is: a default value.
>> I did not think of that, but I am sure you understood me.
>
> Maybe he's lucky enough, but I must say I'm still lost.  Can someone
> turn this into an actual bug-report, please?

Sorry, I should have been thinking of that you all use Emacs for
almost everything so this idea might be unfamiliar to you ;-)

It is just a simple but useful thing I want - too eat the cake and
have the cake. Though I was not aware of that first.

It is very useful that the current filename is in the prompt history
when renaming a file. However one more thing can be done now:

- Put the old file name in the prompt + made it selected (if visual
regions are on).

This is what at least the w32 GUI does. If you then want to overwrite
that filename you just start typing the new file name. If you want to
edit the file name instead you move the point first. This aborts the
selection and you can now edit as usual.

The advantage is more clarity and less key strokes.

This would work very well in Emacs too - at least when cua-mode is on.
(And in the case it is not on I think we should reconsider how
self-insert is handled.)


I realize now that this bug is quite a bit more general than for
rename-file. Sorry for that.