Re: Following links from help buffers - how to modify?

[Kevin Rodgers]

David Reitter wrote:
> I've advised my switch-to-buffer to open buffers in new frames in  order
> to take advantage of my native window manager.
>
> Turns out that this doesn't work at all for links to source code in
> help mode. When a link to a source definition is clicked in a help
> buffer (suppose you have done C-h f <function>), the source file  opens
> in SOME other window - probably the one that the help buffer  was called
> from.
>
> Now I don't like that at all, and I've gone through the sources to  find
> out how a link is followed, but I'm still clueless.
>
> Why doesn't link-following go through  switch-to-buffer-other-window?

Because it goes through pop-to-buffer (see describe-function-1 in
help.el):

    (if file-name
        (progn
          (princ " in `")
          ;; We used to add .el to the file name,
          ;; but that's completely wrong when the user used load-file.
          (princ file-name)
          (princ "'")
          ;; Make a hyperlink to the library.
          (with-current-buffer "*Help*"
            (save-excursion
              (re-search-backward "`\\([^`']+\\)'" nil t)
              (help-xref-button
               1
               #'(lambda (fun file)
                   (require 'find-func)
                   ;; Don't use find-function-noselect because it follows
                   ;; aliases (which fails for built-in functions).
                   (let* ((location (find-function-search-for-symbol
                                     fun nil file)))
                     (pop-to-buffer (car location))
                     (goto-char (cdr location))))
               (list function file-name)
               "mouse-2, RET: find function's definition")))))

--
Kevin Rodgers