Re: org-mode tutorial questionaire

[Matt Lundin <mdl@imapmail.org>]

Alexander Poslavsky <alexander.poslavsky@gmail.com> writes:

> On Mar 23, 2010, at 8:42 PM, Matt Lundin wrote:
>
>> Hi Alex,
>> 
>> Alexander Poslavsky <alexander.poslavsky@gmail.com> writes:
>> 
>>> There is a new tutorial on worg: http://orgmode.org/worg/org-tutorials/
>>> org4beginners.php. The idea is to write a tutorial for somebody who is
>>> new to org-mode.
>> ...
>>> For everybody:
>>> -What kind of tutorial would be the most useful? 
>>> -What in your experience people find confusing?
>> 
>> Thanks for taking the time to put this on Worg. I wish I had had such a
>> concise summary of the various flavors of emacs on different platforms
>> when I started exploring org-mode.
>> 
>> I was wondering if you could elaborate on the following. Are you
>> suggesting that new users should never use M-x customize?

> Well, I don't know about anybody else, but I *never* use it. I think
> it is awful. But then, what do I know….

I don't use it much now, either. But when I was learning emacs, it eased
me gently into the wild and woolly world of lists, symbols, cons cells,
and the like. In addition, M-x customize-group [RET] org is a nice way
to browse org-mode's wealth of options and internal documentation. And
Carsten has put a tremendous amount of work into coding all those
exemplary defcustoms in the org*.el files. :)

>> 
>> 3. Why C-x b 2.org --> M-x org-mode --> C-x C-s as the recommended
>>   workflow? Once the configuration file is set up, C-x C-f 2.org will
>>   bring one right into org-mode.
> As far as I can see, that is actually what the doc says:
>
>    Save the file (*C-x s*) as 2.org, and you will notice that the
>    colors change, syntax highlighting is turned on, and Emacs
>    understands you are working in org-mode.
>
> but if it is not clear, let me know what paragraph you are refering
> to.

Sorry if my question was unclear. I'm simply wondering whether we should
recommend a multi-step process to new users (i.e., C-x b to create a new
buffer and then C-x C-s to activate org-mode) when C-x C-f (find-file)
both creates a new buffer and activates org-mode immediately. Of course,
all this is a matter of taste (as is almost everything in emacs)! But I
suspect a new user might find it a bit crufty if org-mode commands don't
work *until* the buffer is first saved. Also, C-x b (switch-to-buffer)
followed by C-x s typically requires you to provide two names (first the
buffer and then the file), whereas C-x C-f does everything at once.

Thanks again for all the work you put into this.

Best,
Matt