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1 | \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*- |
2 | @c %**start of header | |
3 | @setfilename ../../info/remember | |
4 | @settitle Remember Manual | |
15f3eb73 | 5 | @syncodeindex fn cp |
c6ab4664 | 6 | @documentencoding UTF-8 |
5dc584b5 | 7 | @c %**end of header |
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8 | |
9 | @copying | |
10 | This manual is for Remember Mode, version 1.9 | |
11 | ||
6bc383b1 | 12 | Copyright @copyright{} 2001, 2004--2005, 2007--2014 |
dcb8ac09 | 13 | Free Software Foundation, Inc. |
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14 | |
15 | @quotation | |
16 | Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document | |
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17 | under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or |
18 | any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no | |
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19 | Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU Manual'', |
20 | and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the license | |
21 | is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''. | |
22 | ||
23 | (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have the freedom to copy and | |
6bf430d1 | 24 | modify this GNU manual.'' |
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25 | @end quotation |
26 | @end copying | |
27 | ||
0c973505 | 28 | @dircategory Emacs misc features |
5dc584b5 | 29 | @direntry |
62e034c2 | 30 | * Remember: (remember). Simple information manager for Emacs. |
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31 | @end direntry |
32 | ||
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33 | @titlepage |
34 | @title Guide to Remember Mode | |
35 | @subtitle a simple information manager | |
36 | @subtitle for Emacs and XEmacs | |
37 | ||
38 | @c The following two commands | |
39 | @c start the copyright page. | |
40 | @page | |
41 | @vskip 0pt plus 1filll | |
42 | @insertcopying | |
43 | @end titlepage | |
44 | ||
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45 | @contents |
46 | ||
47 | @ifnottex | |
563a450c | 48 | @node Top |
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49 | @top Remember |
50 | ||
51 | @insertcopying | |
52 | @end ifnottex | |
53 | ||
54 | @menu | |
55 | * Preface:: About the documentation. | |
56 | * Introduction:: What is Remember Mode? | |
57 | * Installation:: How to install Remember. | |
58 | * Implementation:: How Remember came into existence. | |
59 | * Quick Start:: Get started using Remember. | |
15f3eb73 | 60 | * Function Reference:: Interactive functions in remember.el. |
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61 | * Keystrokes:: Keystrokes bound in Remember Mode. |
62 | * Backends:: Backends for saving notes. | |
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63 | * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation. |
64 | * Concept Index:: Search for terms. | |
65 | ||
66 | @detailmenu | |
67 | --- The Detailed Node Listing --- | |
68 | ||
69 | Backends | |
70 | ||
71 | * Text File:: Saving to a text file. | |
bec9b2f5 | 72 | * Diary:: Saving to a Diary file. |
15f3eb73 | 73 | * Mailbox:: Saving to a mailbox. |
bec9b2f5 | 74 | * Org:: Saving to an Org Mode file. |
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75 | |
76 | @end detailmenu | |
77 | @end menu | |
78 | ||
563a450c | 79 | @node Preface |
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80 | @chapter Preface |
81 | ||
82 | This document describes remember-el, which was written by John Wiegley, | |
83 | was once maintained by Sacha Chua, and is now maintained by the Emacs | |
84 | developers. | |
85 | ||
86 | This document is a work in progress, and your contribution will be | |
87 | greatly appreciated. | |
88 | ||
563a450c | 89 | @node Introduction |
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90 | @chapter Introduction |
91 | ||
92 | Todo lists, schedules, phone databases... everything we use databases | |
93 | for is really just a way to extend the power of our memory, to be able | |
94 | to remember what our conscious mind may not currently have access to. | |
95 | ||
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96 | There are many different databases out there---and good ones---which |
97 | this mode is not trying to replace. Rather, it's how that data gets | |
98 | there that's the question. Most of the time, we just want to say | |
99 | "Remember so-and-so's phone number, or that I have to buy dinner for the | |
1df7defd | 100 | cats tonight." That's the FACT@. How it's stored is really the |
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101 | computer's problem. But at this point in time, it's most definitely |
102 | also the user's problem, and sometimes so laboriously so that people | |
103 | just let data slip, rather than expend the effort to record it. | |
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104 | |
105 | ``Remember'' is a mode for remembering data. It uses whatever | |
106 | back-end is appropriate to record and correlate the data, but its main | |
107 | intention is to allow you to express as @emph{little} structure as | |
108 | possible up front. If you later want to express more powerful | |
109 | relationships between your data, or state assumptions that were at | |
110 | first too implicit to be recognized, you can ``study'' the data later | |
111 | and rearrange it. But the initial ``just remember this'' impulse | |
112 | should be as close to simply throwing the data at Emacs as possible. | |
113 | ||
114 | Have you ever noticed that having a laptop to write on doesn't | |
115 | @emph{actually} increase the amount of quality material that you turn | |
116 | out, in the long run? Perhaps it's because the time we save | |
117 | electronically in one way, we're losing electronically in another; the | |
118 | tool should never dominate one's focus. As the mystic Faridu'd-Din | |
119 | `Attar wrote: ``Be occupied as little as possible with things of the | |
120 | outer world but much with things of the inner world; then right action | |
121 | will overcome inaction.'' | |
122 | ||
123 | If Emacs could become a more intelligent data store, where brainstorming | |
124 | would focus on the @emph{ideas} involved---rather than the structuring | |
125 | and format of those ideas, or having to stop your current flow of work | |
126 | in order to record them---it would map much more closely to how the mind | |
127 | (well, at least mine) works, and hence would eliminate that very | |
128 | manual-ness which computers from the very beginning have been championed | |
129 | as being able to reduce. | |
130 | ||
563a450c | 131 | @node Installation |
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132 | @chapter Installation |
133 | ||
134 | Installing Remember Mode is as simple as adding the following lines to | |
135 | your Emacs configuration file (usually @file{~/.emacs.d/init.el} or | |
136 | @file{~/.emacs}). | |
137 | ||
138 | @lisp | |
139 | (add-to-list 'load-path "/path/to/remember") | |
140 | (require 'remember) | |
141 | @end lisp | |
142 | ||
563a450c | 143 | @node Implementation |
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144 | @chapter Implementation |
145 | ||
146 | Hyperbole, as a data presentation tool, always struck me as being very | |
147 | powerful, but it seemed to require a lot of ``front-end'' work before | |
148 | that data was really available. The problem with BBDB, or keeping up | |
149 | a Bibl-mode file, is that you have to use different functions to | |
150 | record the data, and it always takes time to stop what you're doing, | |
151 | format the data in the manner expected by that particular data | |
152 | interface, and then resume your work. | |
153 | ||
154 | With ``remember'', you just hit @kbd{M-x remember} (you'd probably | |
155 | want to bind this to an easily accessible keystroke, like @kbd{C-x | |
156 | M-r}), slam in your text however you like, and then hit @kbd{C-c C-c}. | |
157 | It will file the data away for later retrieval, and possibly indexing. | |
158 | ||
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159 | Indexing is to data what ``studying'' is in the real world. What you do |
160 | when you study (or lucubrate, for some of us) is to realize certain | |
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161 | relationships implicit in the data, so that you can make use of those |
162 | relationships. Expressing that a certain quote you remembered was a | |
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163 | literary quote, and that you want the ability to pull up all quotes of a |
164 | literary nature, is what studying does. This is a more labor intensive | |
165 | task than the original remembering of the data, and it's typical in real | |
166 | life to set aside a special period of time for doing this work. | |
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167 | |
168 | ``Remember'' works in the same way. When you enter data, either by | |
169 | typing it into a buffer, or using the contents of the selected region, | |
170 | it will store that data---unindexed, uninterpreted---in a data pool. | |
171 | It will also try to remember as much context information as possible | |
172 | (any text properties that were set, where you copied it from, when, | |
65e7ca35 | 173 | how, etc.). Later, you can walk through your accumulated set of data |
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174 | (both organized, and unorganized) and easily begin moving things |
175 | around, and making annotations that will express the full meaning of | |
176 | that data, as far as you know it. | |
177 | ||
178 | Obviously this latter stage is more user-interface intensive, and it | |
179 | would be nice if ``remember'' could do it as elegantly as possible, | |
180 | rather than requiring a billion keystrokes to reorganize your | |
181 | hierarchy. Well, as the future arrives, hopefully experience and user | |
182 | feedback will help to make this as intuitive a tool as possible. | |
183 | ||
563a450c | 184 | @node Quick Start |
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185 | @chapter Quick Start |
186 | ||
187 | @itemize | |
188 | ||
189 | @item | |
190 | Load @file{remember.el}. | |
191 | ||
192 | @item | |
193 | Type @kbd{M-x remember}. The @samp{*Remember*} buffer should be | |
194 | displayed. | |
195 | ||
196 | @item | |
197 | Type in what you want to remember. The first line will be treated as | |
198 | the headline, and the rest of the buffer will contain the body of the | |
199 | note. | |
200 | ||
201 | @item | |
6159985a | 202 | Type @kbd{C-c C-c} (@code{remember-finalize}) to save the note and close |
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203 | the @samp{*Remember*} buffer. |
204 | @end itemize | |
205 | ||
ece4bae5 | 206 | By default, @code{remember-finalize} saves the note in @file{~/emacs.d/notes}. |
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207 | You can edit it now to see the remembered and timestamped note. You |
208 | can edit this file however you want. New entries will always be added | |
209 | to the end. | |
210 | ||
211 | To remember a region of text, use the universal prefix. @kbd{C-u M-x | |
212 | remember} displays a @samp{*Remember*} buffer with the region as the | |
213 | initial contents. | |
214 | ||
215 | As a simple beginning, you can start by using the Text File backend, | |
ece4bae5 | 216 | keeping your @file{~/.emacs.d/notes} file in outline-mode format, with a final |
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217 | entry called @samp{* Raw data}. Remembered data will be added to the |
218 | end of the file. Every so often, you can move the data that gets | |
219 | appended there into other files, or reorganize your document. | |
220 | ||
221 | You can also store remembered data in other backends. | |
222 | (@pxref{Backends}) | |
223 | ||
224 | Here is one way to map the remember functions in your @file{.emacs} to | |
225 | very accessible keystrokes facilities using the mode: | |
226 | ||
227 | @lisp | |
228 | (autoload 'remember ``remember'' nil t) | |
229 | (autoload 'remember-region ``remember'' nil t) | |
230 | ||
231 | (define-key global-map (kbd "<f9> r") 'remember) | |
232 | (define-key global-map (kbd "<f9> R") 'remember-region) | |
233 | @end lisp | |
234 | ||
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235 | By default, remember uses the first annotation returned by |
236 | @code{remember-annotation-functions}. To include all of the annotations, | |
237 | set @code{remember-run-all-annotation-functions-flag} to non-nil. | |
238 | ||
239 | @defopt remember-run-all-annotation-functions-flag | |
240 | Non-nil means use all annotations returned by | |
241 | @code{remember-annotation-functions}. | |
242 | @end defopt | |
243 | ||
244 | You can write custom functions that use a different set of | |
245 | remember-annotation-functions. For example: | |
246 | ||
247 | @lisp | |
248 | (defun my/remember-with-filename () | |
249 | "Always use the filename." | |
250 | (interactive) | |
251 | (let ((remember-annotation-functions '(buffer-file-name))) | |
252 | (call-interactively 'remember))) | |
253 | @end lisp | |
254 | ||
563a450c | 255 | @node Function Reference |
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256 | @chapter Function Reference |
257 | ||
258 | @file{remember.el} defines the following interactive functions: | |
259 | ||
260 | @defun remember initial | |
261 | Remember an arbitrary piece of data. With a prefix, it will use the | |
262 | region as @var{initial}. | |
263 | @end defun | |
264 | ||
265 | @defun remember-region beg end | |
266 | If called from within the remember buffer, @var{beg} and @var{end} are | |
267 | ignored, and the entire buffer will be remembered. If called from any | |
268 | other buffer, that region, plus any context information specific to | |
269 | that region, will be remembered. | |
270 | @end defun | |
271 | ||
272 | @defun remember-clipboard | |
273 | Remember the contents of the current clipboard. This is most useful | |
274 | for remembering things from Netscape or other X Windows applications. | |
275 | @end defun | |
276 | ||
6159985a | 277 | @defun remember-finalize |
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278 | Remember the contents of the current buffer. |
279 | @end defun | |
280 | ||
281 | @defun remember-mode | |
282 | This enters the major mode for output from @command{remember}. This | |
283 | buffer is used to collect data that you want remember. Just hit | |
284 | @kbd{C-c C-c} when you're done entering, and it will go ahead and file | |
285 | the data for latter retrieval, and possible indexing. | |
286 | @end defun | |
287 | ||
563a450c | 288 | @node Keystrokes |
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289 | @chapter Keystroke Reference |
290 | ||
291 | @file{remember.el} defines the following keybindings by default: | |
292 | ||
293 | @table @kbd | |
294 | ||
6159985a | 295 | @item C-c C-c (`remember-finalize') |
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296 | Remember the contents of the current buffer. |
297 | ||
298 | @item C-c C-k (`remember-destroy') | |
299 | Destroy the current *Remember* buffer. | |
300 | ||
6159985a | 301 | @item C-x C-s (`remember-finalize') |
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302 | Remember the contents of the current buffer. |
303 | ||
304 | @end table | |
305 | ||
563a450c | 306 | @node Backends |
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307 | @chapter Backends |
308 | ||
309 | You can save remembered notes to a variety of backends. | |
310 | ||
311 | @menu | |
312 | * Text File:: Saving to a text file. | |
bec9b2f5 | 313 | * Diary:: Saving to a Diary file. |
15f3eb73 | 314 | * Mailbox:: Saving to a mailbox. |
bec9b2f5 | 315 | * Org:: Saving to an Org Mode file. |
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316 | @end menu |
317 | ||
563a450c | 318 | @node Text File |
15f3eb73 | 319 | @section Saving to a Text File |
bec9b2f5 | 320 | @cindex text file, saving to |
15f3eb73 | 321 | |
bec9b2f5 | 322 | @subheading Insinuation |
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323 | |
324 | @lisp | |
325 | (setq remember-handler-functions '(remember-append-to-file)) | |
326 | @end lisp | |
327 | ||
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328 | @subheading Options |
329 | ||
15f3eb73 | 330 | @defopt remember-data-file |
bec9b2f5 | 331 | The file in which to store unprocessed data. |
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332 | @end defopt |
333 | ||
334 | @defopt remember-leader-text | |
bec9b2f5 | 335 | The text used to begin each remember item. |
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336 | @end defopt |
337 | ||
563a450c | 338 | @node Diary |
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339 | @section Saving to a Diary file |
340 | @cindex diary, integration | |
15f3eb73 | 341 | |
bec9b2f5 | 342 | @subheading Insinuation |
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343 | |
344 | @lisp | |
bec9b2f5 | 345 | (add-to-list 'remember-handler-functions 'remember-diary-extract-entries) |
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346 | @end lisp |
347 | ||
bec9b2f5 | 348 | @subheading Options |
15f3eb73 | 349 | |
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350 | @defopt remember-diary-file |
351 | File for extracted diary entries. | |
3728bf03 | 352 | If this is nil, then @code{diary-file} will be used instead." |
bec9b2f5 | 353 | @end defopt |
15f3eb73 | 354 | |
563a450c | 355 | @node Mailbox |
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356 | @section Saving to a Mailbox |
357 | @cindex mailbox, saving to | |
15f3eb73 | 358 | |
bec9b2f5 | 359 | @subheading Insinuation |
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360 | |
361 | @lisp | |
bec9b2f5 | 362 | (add-to-list 'remember-handler-functions 'remember-store-in-mailbox) |
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363 | @end lisp |
364 | ||
bec9b2f5 | 365 | @subheading Options |
15f3eb73 | 366 | |
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367 | @defopt remember-mailbox |
368 | The file in which to store remember data as mail. | |
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369 | @end defopt |
370 | ||
bec9b2f5 MO |
371 | @defopt remember-default-priority |
372 | The default priority for remembered mail messages. | |
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373 | @end defopt |
374 | ||
563a450c | 375 | @node Org |
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376 | @section Saving to an Org Mode file |
377 | @cindex org mode, integration | |
378 | ||
0fd2c9a3 GM |
379 | @ignore |
380 | From org.texi: | |
381 | Up to version 6.36 Org used a special setup | |
382 | for @file{remember.el}. @file{org-remember.el} is still part of Org mode for | |
383 | backward compatibility with existing setups. You can find the documentation | |
384 | for org-remember at @url{http://orgmode.org/org-remember.pdf}. | |
385 | @end ignore | |
bec9b2f5 | 386 | For instructions on how to integrate Remember with Org Mode, |
0fd2c9a3 | 387 | consult @ref{Capture, , , org}. |
15f3eb73 | 388 | |
563a450c | 389 | @node GNU Free Documentation License |
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390 | @appendix GNU Free Documentation License |
391 | @include doclicense.texi | |
392 | ||
563a450c | 393 | @node Concept Index |
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394 | @unnumbered Index |
395 | ||
396 | @printindex cp | |
397 | ||
398 | @bye |