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Old Release notes | Org mode

Notes for the latest stable release are available on orgmode.org.

1. Version 9.6

1.1. Important announcements and breaking changes

1.1.1. python-mode.el (MELPA) support in ob-python.el is deprecated

We no longer aim to support third-party python-mode.el implementation of Python REPL. Only the built-in python.el will be supported from now on.

We still keep the old, partially broken, code in ob-python.el for the time being. It will be removed in the next release.

See https://orgmode.org/list/87r0yk7bx8.fsf@localhost for more details.

1.1.2. Element cache is enabled by default and works for headings

The old element cache code has been refactored. Emacs does not hang anymore when the cache is enabled.

When cache is enabled, org-element-at-point for headings is guaranteed to return valid :parent property. The highest-level headings contain new org-data element as their parent.

The new org-data element provides properties from top-level property drawer, buffer-global category, and :path property containing file path for file Org buffers.

The new cache still need to be tested extensively. Please, report any warning coming from element cache. If you see warnings regularly, it would be helpful to set org-element--cache-self-verify to 'backtrace and provide the backtrace to Org mailing list.

1.1.3. Element cache persists across Emacs sessions

The cache state is saved between Emacs sessions. Enabled by default.

The cache persistence can be controlled via org-element-cache-persistent.

1.1.4. Users experiencing performance issues can use new folding backend

The old folding backend used in Org is poorly scalable when the file size increases beyond few Mbs. The symptoms usually include slow cursor motion, especially in long-running Emacs sessions.

A new optimized folding backend is now available, and enabled by default. To disable it, put the following to the Emacs config before loading Org:

(setq org-fold-core-style 'overlays)

Even more performance optimization can be enabled by customizing org-fold-core--optimise-for-huge-buffers. However, this option may be dangerous. Please, read the variable docstring carefully to understand the possible consequences.

When org-fold-core-style is set to text-properties, several new features will become available and several notable changes will happen to the Org behavior. The new features and changes are listed below.

  1. Hidden parts of the links can now be searched and revealed during isearch

    [2024-06-09 Sun] Since Org 9.7, this is no longer working. See changes for Org 9.7.

    In the past, hidden parts of the links could not be searched using isearch (C-s). Now, they are searchable by default. The hidden match is also revealed temporarily during isearch.

    To restore the old behavior add the following core to your Emacs config:

    (defun org-hidden-link-ignore-isearch ()
      "Do not match hidden parts of links during isearch."
      (org-fold-core-set-folding-spec-property 'org-link :isearch-open nil)
      (org-fold-core-set-folding-spec-property 'org-link :isearch-ignore t))
    (add-hook 'org-mode-hook #'org-hidden-link-ignore-isearch)
    

    See docstring of org-fold-core--specs to see more details about :isearch-open and :isearch-ignore properties.

  2. org-catch-invisible-edits now works for hidden parts of the links and for emphasis markers

    In the past, user could edit invisible parts of the links and emphasis markers. Now, the editing is respecting the value of org-catch-invisible-edits.

    Note that hidden parts of sub-/super-scripts are still not handled.

  3. Breaking structure of folded elements automatically reveals the folded text

    In the past, the user could be left with unfoldable text after breaking the org structure.

    For example, if

    :DRAWER:
    like this
    :END:
    

    is folded and then edited into

    DRAWER:
    like this
    :END:
    

    The hidden text would not be revealed.

    Now, breaking structure of drawers, blocks, and headings automatically reveals the folded text.

  4. Folding state of the drawers is now preserved when cycling headline visibility

    In the past drawers were folded every time a headline is unfolded.

    Now, it is not the case anymore. The drawer folding state is preserved. The initial folding state of all the drawers in buffer is set according to the startup visibility settings.

    To restore the old behavior, add the following code to Emacs config:

    (add-hook 'org-cycle-hook #'org-cycle-hide-drawers)
    

    Note that old behavior may cause performance issues when cycling headline visibility in large buffers.

  5. outline-* functions may no longer work correctly in Org mode

    The new folding backend breaks some of the outline-* functions that rely on the details of visibility state implementation in outline.el. The old Org folding backend was compatible with the outline.el folding, but it is not the case anymore with the new backend. From now on, using outline-* functions is strongly discouraged when working with Org files.

1.1.5. HTML export uses MathJax 3+ instead of MathJax 2

Org now uses MathJax 3 by default instead of MathJax 2. During HTML exports, Org automatically converts all legacy MathJax 2 options to the corresponding MathJax 3+ options, except for the path option in which now must point to a file containing MathJax version 3 or later. The new Org does not work with the legacy MathJax 2.

Further, if you need to use a non-default font or linebreaks (now overflow), then the path must point to MathJax 4 or later.

See the updated org-html-mathjax-options for more details.

MathJax 3, a ground-up rewrite of MathJax 2 came out in 2019. The new version brings modularity, better and faster rendering, improved LaTeX support, and more.

For more information about new features, see:

https://docs.mathjax.org/en/latest/upgrading/whats-new-3.0.html https://docs.mathjax.org/en/latest/upgrading/whats-new-3.1.html https://docs.mathjax.org/en/latest/upgrading/whats-new-3.2.html

MathJax 3 comes with useful extensions. For instance, you can typeset calculus with the physics extension or chemistry with the mhchem extension, like in LaTeX.

Note that the Org manual does not discuss loading of MathJax extensions via +HTML_MATHJAX anymore. It has never worked anyway. To actually load extensions, consult the official documentation:

https://docs.mathjax.org/en/latest/input/tex/extensions.html

Lastly, MathJax 3 changed the default JavaScript content delivery network (CDN) provider from CloudFlare to jsDelivr. You can find the new terms of service, including the privacy policy, at https://www.jsdelivr.com/terms.

1.1.6. List references in source block variable assignments are now proper lists

List representation of named lists is now converted to a simple list as promised by the manual section org#Environment of a Code Block. Previously, it was converted to a list of lists.

Before:

#+NAME: example-list
- simple
  - not
  - nested
- list

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :var x=example-list :results value
(format "%S" x)
#+END_SRC

#+RESULTS:
: (("simple" (unordered ("not") ("nested"))) ("list"))

After:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :var x=example-list :results value
(format "%S" x)
#+END_SRC

#+RESULTS:
: ("simple" "list")

1.2. New features

1.2.1. Column view: new commands to move rows up & down

You can move rows up & down in column view with org-columns-move-row-up and org-columns-move-row-down. Keybindings are the same as org-move-subtree-up and org-move-subtree-down M-<up> and M-<down>.

1.2.2. Clock table can now produce quarterly reports

:step clock table parameter can now be set to quarter.

1.2.3. Publishing now supports links to encrypted Org files

Links to other published Org files are automatically converted to the corresponding html links. Now, this feature is also available when links point to encrypted Org files, like [[file:foo.org.gpg::Heading]].

1.2.4. Interactive commands now support escaping text inside comment blocks

org-edit-special and org-insert-structure-template now handle comment blocks.

See 1.4.3.

1.2.5. New customization option org-property-separators

A new alist variable to control how properties are combined.

If a property is specified multiple times with a +, like

:PROPERTIES:
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: some/path
:EXPORT_FILE_NAME+: to/file
:END:

the old behavior was to always combine them with a single space (some/path to/file). For the new variable, the car of each item in the alist should be either a list of property names or a regular expression, while the cdr should be the separator to use when combining that property.

The default value for the separator is a single space, if none of the provided items in the alist match a given property.

For example, in order to combine EXPORT_FILE_NAME properties with a forward slash /, one can use

(setq org-property-separators '((("EXPORT_FILE_NAME") . "/")))

The example above would then produce the property value some/path/to/file.

1.2.6. New library org-persist.el implements variable persistence across Emacs sessions

The library stores variable data in org-persist-directory (set to XDG cache dir by default).

The entry points are org-persist-register, org-persist-unregister, org-persist-read, and org-persist-read-all. Storing circular structures is supported. Storing references between different variables is also supported (see :inherit key in org-persist-register).

The library permits storing buffer-local variables. Such variables are linked to the buffer text, file inode, and file path.

1.2.7. New :options attribute when exporting tables to LaTeX

The :options attribute allows adding an optional argument with a list of various table options (between brackets in LaTeX export), since certain tabular environments, such as longtblr of the tabularray LaTeX package, provides this structure.

1.2.8. New :compact attribute when exporting lists to Texinfo

The :compact attribute allows exporting multiple description list items to one @item command and one or more @itemx commands. This feature can also be enabled for all description lists in a file using the compact-itemx export option, or globally using the org-texinfo-compact-itemx variable.

1.2.9. New shorthands recognized when exporting to Texinfo

Items in a description list that begin with Function:, Variable: or certain related prefixes are converted using Texinfo definition commands.

1.2.10. New :noweb-prefix babel header argument

:noweb-prefix can be set to no to prevent the prefix characters from being repeated when expanding a multiline noweb reference.

1.2.11. New :noweb babel header argument value strip-tangle

:noweb can be set to strip-tangle to strip the noweb syntax references before tangling.

1.2.12. New LaTeX source block backend using engraved-faces-latex

When org-latex-src-block-backend is set to engraved, engrave-faces-latex from engrave-faces is used to transcode source blocks to LaTeX. This requires the fvextra, float, and (by default, but not necessarily) tcolorbox LaTeX packages be installed. It uses Emacs's font-lock information, and so tends to produce results superior to Minted or Listings.

1.2.13. Support for #+include-ing URLs

#+include: FILE will now accept URLs as the file.

1.2.14. Structure templates now respect case used in org-structure-template-alist

The block type in org-structure-template-alist is not case-sensitive. When the block type starts from the upper case, structure template will now insert #+BEGIN_TYPE. Previously, lower-case #+begin_type was inserted unconditionally.

1.2.15. New ox-latex tabbing support for tables.

LaTeX tables can now be exported to the latex tabbing environment tabbing environment]]. This is done by adding #+ATTR_LATEX: :mode tabbing at the top of the table. The default column width is set to 1/n times the latex textwidth, where n is the number of columns. This behavior can be changed by supplying a :align parameter.

The tabbing environment can be useful when generating simple tables which can be span multiple pages and when table cells are allowed to overflow.

1.2.16. Support for nocite citations and sub-bibliographies in the "csl" export processor

The "csl" citation export processor now supports nocite style citations that add items to the printed bibliography without visible references in the text. Using the key * in a nocite citation, for instance,

[cite/n:@*]

includes all available items in the printed bibliography.

The "csl" export processor now also supports sub-bibliographies that show only a subset of the references based on some criterion. For example,

#+print_bibliography: :type book :keyword ai

prints a sub-bibliography containing the book entries with ai among their keywords.

1.2.17. New :filetitle option for clock table

The :filetitle option for clock tables can be set to t to show org file title (set by #+title:) in the File column instead of the file name. For example:

#+BEGIN: clocktable :scope agenda :maxlevel 2 :block thisweek :filetitle t

If a file does not have a title, the table will show the file name instead.

1.2.18. New org-md-toplevel-hlevel variable for Markdown export

The org-md-toplevel-hlevel customization variable sets the heading level used for top level headings, much like how org-html-toplevel-hlevel sets the heading level used for top level headings in HTML export.

1.2.19. Babel: new syntax to pass the contents of a src block as argument

Use the header argument :var x=code-block[] or

#+CALL: fn(x=code-block[])

to pass the contents of a named code block as a string argument.

1.2.20. New property ORG-IMAGE-ACTUAL-WIDTH for overriding global org-image-actual-width

The new property ORG-IMAGE-ACTUAL-WIDTH can override the global variable org-image-actual-width value for inline images display width.

1.2.21. Outline cycling can now include inline image visibility

New org-cycle-hook function org-cycle-display-inline-images for auto-displaying inline images in the visible parts of the subtree. This behavior is controlled by new custom option org-cycle-inline-images-display.

1.2.22. New org-babel-tangle-finished-hook hook run at the very end of org-babel-tangle

This provides a proper counterpart to org-babel-pre-tangle-hook, as org-babel-post-tangle-hook is run per-tangle-destination. org-babel-tangle-finished-hook is just run once after the post tangle hooks.

1.2.23. New :backend header argument for clojure code blocks

The :backend header argument on clojure code blocks can override the value of org-babel-clojure-backend. For example:

(range 2)

1.2.24. New :results discard header argument

Unlike :results none, the return value of code blocks called with :results discard header argument is always nil. Org does not attempt to analyze the results and simply returns nil. This can be useful when the code block is used for side effects only but generates large outputs that may be slow to analyze for Org.

1.2.25. Add Capture template hook properties

Capture templates can now attach template specific hooks via the following properties: :hook, :prepare-finalize, :before-finalize, :after-finalize. These nullary functions run prior to their global counterparts for the selected template.

1.3. New options

1.3.1. New option org-columns-checkbox-allowed-values

This would allow to use more than two states ("[ ]", "[X]") in columns with SUMMARY-TYPE that use checkbox ("X", "X/", "X%"). For example you can add an intermediate state ("[-]"). Or empty state ("") to remove checkbox.

1.3.2. A new option for custom setting org-refile-use-outline-path to show document title in refile targets

Setting org-refile-use-outline-path to 'title will show title instead of the file name in refile targets. If the document do not have a title, the filename will be used, similar to 'file option.

1.3.3. A new option for custom setting org-agenda-show-outline-path to show document title

Setting org-agenda-show-outline-path to 'title will show title instead of the file name at the beginning of the outline. The title of the document can be set by special keyword #+title:.

1.3.4. New custom settings org-icalendar-scheduled-summary-prefix and org-icalendar-deadline-summary-prefix

These settings allow users to define prefixes for exported summary lines in ICS exports. The customization can be used to disable the prefixes completely or make them a little bit more verbose (e.g. "Deadline: " instead of the default "DL: ").

The same settings can also be applied via corresponding exporter options: :icalendar-scheduled-summary-prefix, :icalendar-deadline-summary-prefix

1.3.5. A new custom setting org-hide-drawer-startup to control initial folding state of drawers

Previously, all the drawers were always folded when opening an Org file. This only had an effect on the drawers outside folded headlines. The drawers inside folded headlines were re-folded because org-cycle-hide-drawers was present inside org-cycle-hook.

With the new folding backend, running org-cycle-hide-drawers is no longer needed if all the drawers are truly folded on startup: 1.1.4.4. However, this has an unwanted effect when a user does not want the drawers to be folded (see this bug report).

The new custom setting gives more control over initial folding state of the drawers. When set to nil (default is t), the drawers are not folded on startup.

The folding state can also be controlled on per-file basis using STARTUP keyword:

#+startup: hidedrawers
#+startup: nohidedrawers

1.3.6. New custom setting org-icalendar-force-alarm

The new setting, when set to non-nil, makes Org create alarm at the event time when the alarm time is set to 0. The default value is nil – do not create alarms at the event time.

1.3.7. New special value 'attach for src block :dir option

Passing the symbol attach or string "'attach" (with quotes) to the :dir option of a src block is now equivalent to :dir (org-attach-dir) :mkdir yes and any file results with a path descended from the attachment directory will use attachment: style links instead of the standard file: link type.

1.4. New functions and changes in function arguments

1.4.1. New function org-get-title to get #+TITLE: property from buffers

A function to collect the document title from the org-mode buffer.

1.4.2. org-fold-show-entry does not fold drawers by default anymore

org-fold-show-entry now accepts an optional argument HIDE-DRAWERS. When the argument is non-nil, the function folds all the drawers inside entry. This was the default previously.

Now, org-fold-show-entry does not fold drawers by default.

1.4.3. New command org-edit-comment-block to edit comment block at point

As the contents of comments blocks is not parsed as Org markup, the headlines and keywords inside should be escaped, similar to src blocks, example blocks, and export blocks. This in inconvenient to do manually and org-edit-special is usually advised to edit text in such kind of blocks.

Now, comment block editing is also supported via this new function.

1.4.4. New function org-element-cache-map for quick mapping across Org elements

When element cache is enabled, the new function provides the best possible performance to map across large Org buffers.

It is recommended to provide :next-re and :fail-re parameters for best speed.

Diagnostic information about execution speed can be provided according to org-element--cache-map-statistics and org-element--cache-map-statistics-threshold.

org-scan-tags and tag views in agenda utilize the new function.

1.4.5. New function org-element-at-point-no-context

This function is like org-element-at-point, but it does not try to update the cache and does not guarantee correct :parent properties for headline elements.

This function is faster than org-element-at-point when used together with frequent buffer edits.

1.4.6. Various Org API functions now use cache and accept Org elements as optional arguments

org-in-archived-heading-p, org-in-commented-heading-p, org-up-heading-safe, org-end-of-subtree, org-goto-first-child, org-back-to-heading, org-entry-get-with-inheritance, and org-narrow-to-subtree all accept Org element as an extra optional argument.

org-get-tags now accepts Org element or buffer position as first argument.

1.4.7. New function org-texinfo-kbd-macro

This function is intended for us in the definition of a kbd macro in files that are exported to Texinfo.

1.4.8. org-at-heading-p now recognizes optional argument. Its meaning is inverted.

org-at-heading-p now returns t by default on headings inside folds. Passing optional argument will produce the old behavior.

1.4.9. org-babel-execute:plantuml can output ASCII graphs in the buffer

Previously, executing PlantUML src blocks always exported to a file. Now, if :results is set to a value which does not include "file", no file will be exported and an ASCII graph will be inserted below the src block.

1.5. Removed or renamed functions and variables

1.5.1. org-plantump-executable-args is renamed and applies to jar as well

The new variable name is org-plantuml-args. It now applies to both jar PlantUML file and executable.

1.5.2. Default values and interpretations of org-time-stamp-formats and org-time-stamp-custom-formats are changed

Leading < and trailing > in the default values of org-time-stamp-formats and org-time-stamp-custom-formats are stripped.

The Org functions that are using these variables also ignore leading and trailing brackets (<...> and [...], if present).

This change makes the Org code more consistent and also makes the docstring for org-time-stamp-custom-formats accurate.

No changes on the user side are needed if org-time-stamp-custom-formats was customized.

1.5.3. org-timestamp-format is renamed to org-format-timestamp

The old function name is similar to other org-time-stamp-format function. The new name emphasizes that org-format-timestamp works on timestamp objects.

1.5.4. Updated argument list in org-time-stamp-format

New custom argument in org-time-stamp-format makes the function use org-time-stamp-custom-formats instead of org-time-stamp-formats to determine the format.

Optional argument long is renamed to with-time, emphasizing that it refers to time stamp format with time specification.

Optional argument inactive can now have a value no-brackets to return format string with brackets stripped.

1.6. Miscellaneous

1.6.1. SQL Babel :dbconnection parameter can be mixed with other SQL Babel parameters

Before you could either specify SQL parameters like :dbhost, :dbuser, :database, etc or a :dbconnection parameter which looks up all other parameters from the sql-connection-alist variable. Now it's possible to specify a :dbconnection and additionally other parameters that will add or overwrite the parameters coming from sql-connection-alist.

E.g. if you have a connection in your sql-connection-alist to a server that has many databases, you don't need an entry for every database but instead can just specify :database next to your :dbconnection parameter.

1.6.2. Post-processing code blocks can return an empty list

When the result of a regular code block is nil, then that was already treated as an empty list. Now that is also the case for code blocks that post-process the result of another block.

1.6.3. Styles are customizable in biblatex citation processor

It is now possible to add new styles or modify old ones in biblatex citation processor. See org-cite-biblatex-styles for more information.

1.6.4. Citation processors can declare styles dynamically

When a citation processor is registered, it is now possible to set :cite-styles key to a function, which will be called whenever the list of styles is required.

1.6.5. Org also searches for CSL style files in default directory

When CSL style file name is relative, Org first looks into default-directory before trying org-cite-csl-styles-dir.

1.6.6. Users can add checkers to the linting process

The function org-lint-add-checker allows one to add personal checks when calling org-lint. See its docstring for more information.

1.6.7. New transparent-image-converter property for dvipng

The dvipng option in org-preview-latex-process-alist has a new property transparent-image-converter which is used instead of image-converter when producing transparent images.

1.6.8. :tangle-mode now accepts more permissions formats

Previously :tangle-mode (identity #o755) was the only reasonable way to set the file mode. org-babel-interpret-file-mode has been introduced which will accept three new formats:

  • Short octals, e.g. :tangle-mode o755
  • ls-style, e.g. :tangle-mode rwxrw-rw-
  • chmod-style, e.g. :tangle-mode u+x

Chmod-style permissions are based on the new variable org-babel-tangle-default-file-mode.

1.6.9. A new custom setting org-agenda-clock-report-header to add a header to org agenda clock report

1.6.10. org-latex-listings has been replaced with org-latex-src-block-backend

org-latex-listings has been renamed to better reflect the current purpose of the variable. The replacement variable org-latex-src-block-backend acts in exactly the same way, however it accepts listings and verbatim in place of t and nil (which still work, but are no longer listed as valid options).

1.6.11. org-link-parameters has a new :insert-description parameter

The value of :insert-description is used as the initial input when prompting for a link description. It can be a string (used as-is) or a function (called with the same arguments as org-make-link-description-function to return a string to use).

An example of a such function for info: links is org-info-description-as-command. To access a manual section outside of Org, description may be pasted to shell prompt or evaluated within Emacs using M-: (wrapped into parenthesis). For example, description of the info:org#Tags link is info "(org) Tags". To restore earlier behavior add to your Emacs init file the following:

(with-eval-after-load 'ol-info
  (org-link-set-parameters "info" :insert-description nil))

1.6.12. New list of languages for LaTeX export: org-latex-language-alist

org-latex-language-alist unifies into a single list the old language lists for the babel and polyglossia LaTeX packages: org-latex-babel-language-alist and org-latex-polyglossia-language-alist, respectively, which are declared obsolete.

This new list captures the current state of art regarding language support in LaTeX. The new babel syntax for loading languages via ini files and the new command \babelprovide (see: https://mirrors.ctan.org/macros/latex/required/babel/base/babel.pdf) are also supported.

1.6.13. Texinfo exports include LaTeX

With the new customization option org-texinfo-with-latex set to (its default value) 'detect, if the system runs Texinfo 6.8 (3 July 2021) or newer, Org will export all LaTeX fragments and environments using Texinfo @math and @displaymath commands respectively.

1.6.14. More flexible org-attach-id-to-path-function-list

List entries may return nil if they are unable to handle the passed ID. So, responsibility is passed to the next item in the list. Default entries org-attach-id-uuid-folder-format and org-attach-id-ts-folder-format now return nil for too short IDs. Earlier an obscure error has been thrown.

After the change, error text suggests adjusting org-attach-id-to-path-function-list value. The org-attach-dir-from-id function is adapted to ignore nil values and to take first non-nil value instead of the value returned by first org-attach-id-to-path-function-list item.

New policy allows mixing different ID styles while keeping subfolder layout suited best for each one. For example, one can use the following snippet to allow multiple different ID formats in Org files.

(setq org-attach-id-to-path-function-list
      '(;; When ID looks like an UUIDs or Org internal ID, use
        ;; `org-attach-id-uuid-folder-format'.
        (lambda (id)
          (and (or (org-uuidgen-p id)
                   (string-match-p "[0-9a-z]\\{12\\}" id))
               (org-attach-id-uuid-folder-format id)))
        ;; When ID looks like a timestamp-based ID. Group by year-month
        ;; folders.
        (lambda (id)
          (and (string-match-p "[0-9]\\{8\\}T[0-9]\\{6\\}\.[0-9]\\{6\\}" id)
               (org-attach-id-ts-folder-format id)))
        ;; Any other ID goes into "important" folder.
        (lambda (id) (format "important/%s/%s" (substring id 0 1) id))
        ;; Fallback to detect existing attachments for old defaults.
        ;; All the above functions, even when return non-nil, would
        ;; point to non-existing folders.
        org-attach-id-uuid-folder-format
        org-attach-id-ts-folder-format))

2. Version 9.5

2.1. Important announcements and breaking changes

2.1.1. The contrib/ now lives in a separate repository

Org's repository has been trimmed from the contrib/ directory.

The old contents of the contrib/ directory now lives in a separate repository at https://git.sr.ht/~bzg/org-contrib.

You can install this repository by cloning it and updating your load-path accordingly. You can also install org-contrib as a NonGNU ELPA package.

2.1.2. Org ELPA and Org archives won't be available for Org > 9.5

Org ELPA is still available for installing Org 9.5, either with or without contributed packages, but future versions won't be available via Org ELPA, as we are deprecating this installation method.

Also, Org 9.5 is available as tar.gz and zip archives, but this installation method is also deprecated.

If you want to install the latest stable versions of Org, please use the GNU ELPA package. If you want to install the contributed files, please use the NonGNU ELPA package. If you want to keep up with the latest unstable Org, please install from the Git repository.

See https://orgmode.org/org.html#Installation for the details.

2.1.3. ditaa.jar is not bundled with Org anymore

ditaa.jar used to be bundled with Org but it is not anymore. See the ditaa repository on how to install it.

2.1.4. org-adapt-indentation now defaults to nil

If you want to automatically indent headlines' metadata, set it to headline-data.

If you want to automatically indent every line to the headline's current indentation, set it to t.

Indent added by RET and C-j also depends on the value of electric-indent-mode. Enabling this mode by default in 9.4 revealed some bugs caused confusing behavior. If you disabled electric-indent-mode for this reason, it is time to try it again. Hopefully problems have been fixed. See this FAQ for more details.

2.1.5. org-speed-commands-user is obsolete, use org-speed-commands

Setting org-speed-commands-user in your configuration won't have any effect. Please set org-speed-commands instead, which see.

2.1.6. Some ob-*.el files have been moved to the org-contrib repo

These files have been moved to https://git.sr.ht/~bzg/org-contrib:

  • ob-abc.el
  • ob-asymptote.el
  • ob-coq.el
  • ob-ebnf.el
  • ob-hledger.el
  • ob-io.el
  • ob-J.el
  • ob-ledger.el
  • ob-mscgen.el
  • ob-picolisp.el
  • ob-shen.el
  • ob-stan.el
  • ob-vala.el

See the discussion here.

2.1.7. Compatibility with Emacs versions

We made it explicit that we aim at keeping the latest stable version of Org compatible with at least Emacs V, V-1 and V-2, where V is the stable major version of Emacs.

For example, if the current major version of Emacs is 28.x, then the latest stable version of Org should be compatible with Emacs 28.x, 27.x and 26.x – but not with Emacs 25.x.

See this note on Worg and this commit.

2.1.8. The keybinding for org-table-blank-field has been removed

If you prefer to keep the keybinding, you can add it back to org-mode-map like so:

(define-key org-mode-map (kbd "C-c SPC") #'org-table-blank-field)

2.2. New features

2.2.1. New citation engine

Org 9.5 provides a new library oc.el which provides tooling to handle citations in Org, e.g., activate, follow, insert, and export them, respectively called "activate", "follow", "insert" and "export" capabilities. Libraries responsible for providing some, or all, of these capabilities are called "citation processors".

The manual contains a few pointers to let you start and you may want to check this blog post. If you need help using this new features, please ask on the mailing list.

Thanks to Nicolas Goaziou for implementing this, to Bruce D’Arcus for helping him and to John Kitchin for paving the way with org-ref.el.

2.2.2. Async session evaluation

The :async header argument can be used for asynchronous evaluation in session blocks for certain languages.

Currently, async evaluation is supported in Python. There is also functionality to implement async evaluation in other languages that use comint, but this needs to be done on a per-language basis.

By default, async evaluation is disabled unless the :async header argument is present. You can also set :async no to force it off (for example if you've set :async in a property drawer).

Async evaluation is disabled during export.

2.2.3. ox-koma-letter.el is now part of Org's core

ox-koma-letter.el provides a KOMA scrlttr2 back-end for the Org export engine. It used to be in the contrib/ directory but it is now part of Org's core.

2.2.4. Support exporting DOI links

Org now supports export for DOI links, through its new ol-doi.el library. For backward compatibility, it is loaded by default.

2.2.5. Add a new :refile-targets template option

When exiting capture mode via org-capture-refile, the variable org-refile-targets will be temporarily bound to the value of this template option.

2.2.6. New startup options #+startup: show<n>levels

These startup options complement the existing overview, content, showall, showeverything with a way to start the document with n levels shown, where n goes from 2 to 5.

Example:

#+startup: show3levels

2.2.7. New u table formula flag to enable Calc units simplification mode

A new u mode flag for Calc formulas in Org tables has been added to enable Calc units simplification mode.

2.2.8. Support fontification of inline export snippets

2.2.9. New command org-refile-reverse bound to C-c C-M-w

You can now use C-c C-M-w to run org-refile-reverse.

It is almost identical to org-refile, except that it temporarily toggles how org-reverse-note-order applies to the current buffer. So if org-refile would append the entry as the last entry under the target heading, org-refile-reverse will prepend it as the first entry, and vice-versa.

2.2.10. LaTeX attribute :float now passes through arbitrary values

LaTeX users are able to define arbitrary float types, e.g. with the float package. The Org mode LaTeX exporter is now able to process and export arbitrary float types. The user is responsible for ensuring that Org mode configures LaTeX to process any new float type.

2.2.11. Support verse and quote blocks in LaTeX export

The LaTeX export back-end accepts four attributes for verse blocks: :lines, :center, :versewidth and :latexcode. The three first require the external LaTeX package verse.sty, which is an extension of the standard LaTeX environment.

The LaTeX export back-end accepts two attributes for quote blocks: :environment, for an arbitrary quoting environment (the default value is that of org-latex-default-quote-environment: "quote") and :options.

2.2.12. org-set-tags-command selects tags from org-global-tags-completion-table

Let org-set-tags-command TAB fast tag completion interface complete tags including from both buffer local and user defined persistent global list (org-tag-alist and org-tag-persistent-alist). Now option org-complete-tags-always-offer-all-agenda-tags is honored.

2.2.13. Clocktable option :formula % now shows the per-file time percentages

This change only has an effect when multiple files are contributing to a given clocktable (such as when :scope agenda has been specified). The existing behavior is that such tables have an extra 'File' column, and each individual file that contributes has its own summary line with the headline value 'File time'. Those summary rows also produce a rollup time value for the file in the 'Time' column.

Prior to this change, the built-in % formula did not produce a calculation for those per-file times in the '%' column (the relevant cells in the '%' column were blank). With this change, the percentage contribution of each individual file time to the total time is shown.

The more agenda files you have, the more useful this behavior becomes.

2.2.14. ob-python.el improvements to :return header argument

The :return header argument in ob-python now works for session blocks as well as non-session blocks. Also, it now works with the :epilogue header argument – previously, setting the :return header would cause the :epilogue to be ignored.

This change allows more easily moving boilerplate out of the main code block and into the header. For example, for plotting, we need to add boilerplate to save the figure to a file and return the filename. Instead of doing this within the code block, we can now handle it through the header arguments as follows:

#+header: :var fname="/home/jack/tmp/plot.svg"
#+header: :epilogue plt.savefig(fname)
#+header: :return fname
#+begin_src python :results value file
  import matplotlib, numpy
  import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
  fig=plt.figure(figsize=(4,2))
  x=numpy.linspace(-15,15)
  plt.plot(numpy.sin(x)/x)
  fig.tight_layout()
#+end_src

#+RESULTS:
file:/home/jack/tmp/plot.svg

As another example, we can use :return with the external tabulate package, to convert pandas Dataframes into orgmode tables:

#+header: :prologue from tabulate import tabulate
#+header: :return tabulate(table, headers=table.columns, tablefmt="orgtbl")
#+begin_src python :results value raw :session
  import pandas as pd
  table = pd.DataFrame({
      "a": [1,2,3],
      "b": [4,5,6]
  })
#+end_src

#+RESULTS:
|   | a | b |
|---+---+---|
| 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 2 | 3 | 6 |

2.2.15. Display images with width proportional to the buffer text width

Previously, if you used a :width attribute like #+attr_html: :width 70% or #+attr_latex: :width 0.7\linewidth this would be interpreted as a 70px wide and 0.7px wide width specification respectively.

Now, percentages are transformed into floats (i.e. 70% becomes 0.7), and float width specifications between 0.0 and 2.0 are now interpreted as that portion of the text width in the buffer. For instance, the above examples of 70% and 0.7\linewidth will result in an image with width equal to the pixel-width of the buffer text multiplied by 0.7.

This functionality is implemented in a new function, org-display-inline-image--width which contains the width determination logic previously in org-display-inline-images and the new behavior.

2.3. New options

2.3.1. Option org-hidden-keywords now also applies to #+SUBTITLE:

The option org-hidden-keywords previously applied to #+TITLE:, #+AUTHOR:, #+DATE:, and #+EMAIL:. Now it can also be used to hide the #+SUBTITLE: keyword.

2.3.2. New formatting directive %L for org-capture

The new %L formatting directive contains the bare link target, and may be used to create links with programmatically generated descriptions.

2.3.3. New option org-id-ts-format

Earlier, IDs generated using ts method had a hard-coded format (i.e. 20200923T160237.891616). The new option allows user to customize the format. Defaults are unchanged.

2.3.4. New argument for file-desc babel header

It is now possible to provide the file-desc header argument for a babel source block but omit the description by passing an empty vector as an argument (i.e., :file-desc []). This can be useful because providing file-desc without an argument results in the result of file being used in the description. Previously, the only way to omit a file description was to omit the header argument entirely, which made it difficult/impossible to provide a default value for file-desc.

2.3.5. New option to set org-link-file-path-type to a function

org-link-file-path-type can now be set to a function that takes the full filename as an argument and returns the path to link to.

For example, if you use project.el, you can set this function to use relative links within a project as follows:

(setq (org-link-file-path-type
       (lambda (path)
         (let* ((proj (project-current))
                (root (if proj (project-root proj) default-directory)))
           (if (string-prefix-p (expand-file-name root) path)
               (file-relative-name path)
             (abbreviate-file-name path))))))

2.3.6. New options and new behavior for babel LaTeX SVG image files

Org babel now uses a two-stage process for converting latex source blocks to SVG image files (when the extension of the output file is .svg). The first stage in the process converts the latex block into a PDF file, which is then converted into an SVG file in the second stage. The TeX->PDF part uses the existing infrastructure for org-babel-latex-tex-to-pdf. The PDF->SVG part uses a command specified in a new customization, org-babel-latex-pdf-svg-process. By default, this uses inkscape for conversion, but since it is fully customizable, any other command can be used in its place. For instance, dvisvgm might be used here. This two-part processing replaces the previous use of htlatex to process LaTeX directly to SVG (htlatex is still used for HTML conversion).

Conversion to SVG exposes a number of additional customizations that give the user full control over the contents of the latex source block. org-babel-latex-preamble, org-babel-latex-begin-env and org-babel-latex-end-env are new customization options added to allow the user to specify the preamble and code that precedes and proceeds the contents of the source block.

2.3.7. New option org-html-meta-tags allows for HTML meta tags customization

New variable org-html-meta-tags makes it possible to customize the <meta> tags used in an HTML export. Accepts either a static list of values, or a function that generates such a list (see org-html-meta-tags-default as an example of the latter).

2.3.8. Option org-agenda-bulk-custom-functions now supports collecting bulk arguments

When specifying a custom agenda bulk option, you can now also specify a function which collects the arguments to be used with each call to the custom function.

2.3.9. New faces to improve the contextuality of Org agenda views

Four new faces improve certain styles and offer more flexibility for some Org agenda views: org-agenda-date-weekend-today, org-imminent-deadline, org-agenda-structure-secondary, org-agenda-structure-filter. They inherit from existing faces in order to remain backward-compatible.

Quoting from this thread:

  • The 'org-imminent-deadline' is useful to disambiguate generic warnings from deadlines. For example, a warning could be rendered in a yellow colored text and have a bold weight, whereas a deadline might be red and styled with italics.
  • The 'org-agenda-structure-filter' applies to all tag/term filters in agenda views that search for keywords or patterns. It is designed to inherit from 'org-agenda-structure' in addition to the 'org-warning' face that was present before (and removes the generic 'warning' face from one place). This offers the benefit of consistency, as, say, an increase in font height or a change in font family in 'org-agenda-structure' will propagate to the filter as well. The whole header line thus looks part of a singular design.
  • The 'org-agenda-structure-secondary' complements the above for those same views where a description follows the header. For instance, the tags view provides information to "Press N r" to filter by a numbered tag. Themes/users may prefer to disambiguate this line from the header above it, such as by using a less intense color or by reducing its height relative to the 'org-agenda-structure'.
  • The 'org-agenda-date-weekend-today' provides the option to differentiate the current date on a weekend from the current date on weekdays.

2.3.10. New option org-clock-ask-before-exiting

By default, a function is now added to kill-emacs-query-functions that asks whether to clock out and save when there's a running clock. Customize org-clock-ask-before-exiting~ to nil to disable this new behavior.

2.3.11. Option org-html-inline-image-rules now includes .webp

By default ox-html now inlines webp images.

2.3.12. org-html-head-include-scripts is now nil by default

2.3.13. New option org-html-content-class

This is the CSS class name to use for the top level content wrapper.

2.3.14. New option org-babel-plantuml-svg-text-to-path

This option, nil by default, allows to add a SVG-specific post-export step that runs inkscape text-to-path replacement over the output file.

2.3.15. You can now configure org-html-scripts and org-html-style-default

org-html-scripts and org-html-style-default used to be constants, you can now configure them.

2.3.16. New option org-attach-git-dir

org-attach-git-dir will decide whether to use org-attach-git-dir (the default) or use the attachment directory of the current node, if it is correctly configured as a Git repository.

2.3.17. New option org-attach-sync-delete-empty-dir

org-attach-sync-delete-empty-dir controls the deletion of an empty attachment directory at calls of org-attach-sync. There is Never delete, Always delete and Query the user (default).

2.3.18. org-babel-default-header-args can now be specified as closures or strings

org-babel-default-header-args now also accepts closures that evaluate to a string. Previously, only direct strings were supported. These closures are evaluated when point is at the source block, which allows them to make use of contextual information at the relevant source block. One example that illustrates the usefulness of this addition (also given in the documentation for org-babel-default-header-args) is:

(defun org-src-sha ()
  (let ((elem (org-element-at-point)))
    (concat (sha1 (org-element-property :value elem)) \".svg\")))

(setq org-babel-default-header-args:latex
      `((:results . \"file link replace\")
        (:file . (lambda () (org-src-sha)))))

This will set the :file header argument to the sha1 checksum of the contents of the current latex source block.

Finally, the closures are only evaluated if they're not overridden for a source block. This improves efficiency in cases where the result of a compute-expensive closure would otherwise be discarded.

2.4. Miscellaneous

2.4.1. org-bibtex includes doi and url entries when exporting to BiBTeX

doi and url entries have been made optional for some publication types and will be exported if present for those types.

2.4.2. Missing or empty placeholders in "eval" macros are now nil

They used to be the empty string.

2.4.3. org-goto-first-child now works before first heading

When point is before first heading org-goto-first-child will move point to the first child heading, or return nil if no heading exist in buffer. This is in line with the fact that everything before first heading is regarded as outline level 0, i.e. the parent level of all headings in the buffer.

Previously org-goto-first-child would do nothing before first heading, except return nil.

2.4.4. Faces of all the heading text elements now conform to the headline face

In the past, faces of todo keywords, emphasized text, tags, and priority cookies inherited default face. The resulting headline fontification was not always consistent, as discussed in this bug report. Now, the relevant faces adapt to face used to fontify the current headline level.

Users who prefer to keep the old behavior should change their face customization explicitly stating that default face is inherited.

Example of old face customization:

(setq org-todo-keyword-faces '(("TODO"
                                :background "chocolate"
                                :height 0.75)))

To preserve the old behavior the above customization should be changed to

(setq org-todo-keyword-faces '(("TODO"
                                :inherit default
                                :background "chocolate"
                                :height 0.75)))

2.4.5. Storing ID-links before first heading uses title as description

Storing links to files using org-store-link (<C-c l>) when org-id-link-to-org-use-id is not nil will now store the title as description of the link, if available. If no title exists it falls back to the filename as before.

2.4.6. Change in org-tags-expand signature

The function does not allow for a third optional parameter anymore.

2.4.7. LaTeX environment #+results are now removed

If a babel src block produces a raw LaTeX environment, it will now be recognized as a result, and so replaced when re-evaluated.

2.4.8. Tag completion now uses completing-read-multiple

Tag completion now uses completing-read-multiple with a simple completion table, which should allow better interoperability with custom completion functions.

2.4.9. Providing directory-empty-p from Emacs 28 as org-directory-empty-p

2.4.10. org-get-last-sibling marked as obsolete

Use org-get-previous-sibling instead. This is just a rename to have a more consistent naming. E.g. recall the pair of funtctions next-line / previous-line.

2.4.11. Make org-protocol compatible with URLSearchParams JavaScript class

Decoder of query part of org-protocol URI recognizes "+" as an encoded space characters now, so it is possible to avoid call to encodeURIComponent for each parameter and use more readable expression in bookmarklet:

'org-protocol://store-link?' + new URLSearchParams({
      url: location.href, title: document.title})

2.4.12. Remove obsolete LaTeX packages from org-latex-default-packages-alist

The LaTeX packages grffile and textcomp are redundant, with their capabilities being merged into graphicx and the LaTeX core respectively a while ago.

3. Version 9.4

3.1. Incompatible changes

3.1.1. Possibly broken internal file links: please check and fix

A bug has been affecting internal links to headlines, like

[[*Headline][A link to a headline]]

Storing a link to a headline may have been broken in your setup and those links may appear as

[[*TODO Headline][A link to a headline]]

Following the link above will result in an error: the TODO keyword should not be part of internal file links.

You can use the following command to fix links in an Org buffer:

(defun org-fix-links ()
  "Fix ill-formatted internal links.
E.g. replace [[*TODO Headline][headline]] by [[*Headline][headline]].
Go through the buffer and ask for the replacement."
  (interactive)
  (visible-mode 1)
  (save-excursion
    (goto-char (point-min))
    (let ((regexp (format "\\[\\[\\*%s\\s-+"
                          (regexp-opt org-todo-keywords-1 t))))
      (while (re-search-forward regexp nil t)
        (when (and (save-excursion
                     (goto-char (match-beginning 0))
                     (looking-at-p org-link-bracket-re))
                   (y-or-n-p "Fix link (remove TODO keyword)? "))
          (replace-match "[[*")))))
  (visible-mode -1))

3.1.2. Calling conventions changes when opening or exporting custom links

This changes affects export back-ends, and libraries providing new link types.

Function used in :follow link parameter is required to accept a second argument. Likewise, function used in :export parameter needs to accept a fourth argument. See org-link-set-parameters for details.

Eventually, the function org-export-custom-protocol-maybe is now called with a fourth argument. Even though the 3-arguments definition is still supported, at least for now, we encourage back-end developers to switch to the new signature.

3.1.3. Python session return values must be top-level expression statements

Python blocks with :session :results value header arguments now only return a value if the last line is a top-level expression statement. Also, when a None value is returned, "None" will be printed under "#+RESULTS:", as it already did with :results value for non-session blocks.

3.1.4. In HTML export, change on how outline-container-* is set

When the headline has a CUSTOM_ID, use this custom id to build the div id. For example, if you have :CUSTOM_ID: my-headline then the resulting <div> will be <div id="outline-container-my-headline">.

You may want to check whether your HTML files are rendered differently after this change.

3.1.5. New keybinding <C-c C-TAB> for org-force-cycle-archived

org-force-cycle-archived used to be associated with <C-TAB> but this keybinding is used in Emacs for navigating tabs in Emacs. The new keybinding is <C-c C-TAB>.

3.2. New default settings for some options

These options now default to t:

  • org-loop-over-headlines-in-active-region
  • org-fontify-done-headline
  • org-src-tab-acts-natively

You may want to read the docstrings of these options to understand the consequences of this change.

Also, org-startup-folded now defaults to showeverything.

3.3. New features

3.3.1. RET and C-j now obey electric-indent-mode

Since Emacs 24.4, electric-indent-mode is enabled by default. In most major modes, this causes RET to reindent the current line and indent the new line, and C-j to insert a newline without indenting.

Org mode now obeys this minor mode: when electric-indent-mode is enabled, and point is neither in a table nor on a timestamp or a link:

  • RET (bound to org-return) reindents the current line and indents the new line;
  • C-j (bound to the new command org-return-and-maybe-indent) merely inserts a newline.

To get the previous behavior back, disable electric-indent-mode explicitly:

(add-hook 'org-mode-hook (lambda () (electric-indent-local-mode -1)))

Alternatively, if you wish to keep RET as the "smart-return" key, but dislike Org's default indentation of sections, you may prefer to customize org-adapt-indentation to either nil or headline-data.

3.3.2. New allowed value for org-adapt-indentation

org-adapt-indentation now accepts a new value, headline-data.

When set to this value, Org will only adapt indentation of headline data lines, such as planning/clock lines and property/logbook drawers. Also, with this setting, org-indent-mode will keep these data lines correctly aligned with the headline above.

3.3.3. Looping agenda commands over headlines

org-agenda-loop-over-headlines-in-active-region allows you to loop agenda commands over the active region.

When set to t (the default), loop over all headlines. When set to 'start-level, loop over headlines with the same level as the first headline in the region. When set to a string, loop over lines matching this regular expression.

3.3.4. New minor mode org-table-header-line-mode

Turn on the display of the first data row of the table at point in the window header line when this first row is not visible anymore in the buffer.

You can activate this minor mode by default by setting the option org-table-header-line-p to t. You can also change the face for the header line by customizing the org-table-header face.

3.3.5. New minor mode org-list-checkbox-radio-mode

When this minor mode is on, checkboxes behave as radio buttons: if a checkbox is turned on, other checkboxes at the same level are turned off.

If you want to occasionally toggle a checkbox as a radio button without turning this minor mode on, you can use <C-c C-x C-r> to call org-toggle-radio-button.

You can also add #+ATTR_ORG: :radio t right before the list to tell Org to use radio buttons for this list only.

3.3.6. Numeric priorities are now allowed (up to 65)

You can now set org-priority-highest/lowest/default to integers to use numeric priorities globally or set, for example

to define a buffer-local range and default for priorities. Priority commands should work as usual. You cannot use numbers superior to 64 for numeric priorities, as it would clash with priorities like [#A] where the "A" is internally converted to its numeric value of 65.

3.3.7. Property drawers allowed before first headline

Property drawers are now allowed before the first headline.

Org mode is moving more towards making things before the first headline behave just as if it was at outline level 0. Inheritance for properties will work also for this level. In other words: defining things in a property drawer before the first headline will make them "inheritable" for all headlines.

3.3.8. Refinement in window behavior on exiting Org source buffer

After editing a source block, Org will restore the window layout when org-src-window-setup is set to a value that modifies the layout.

3.3.9. Display remote inline images

Org now knows how to display remote images inline.

Whether the images are actually displayed is controlled by the new option org-display-remote-inline-images.

3.3.10. New option to resolve open clock at a provided time

org-resolve-clocks now has a `t' option, which works just like the `k' option, but the user specifies a time of day, not a number of minutes.

3.3.11. New step value semimonth accepted for clock tables

3.3.12. Allow text rescaling in column view

You can now use C-x C-+ in column view: the columns face size will increase or decrease, together with the column header size.

3.3.13. New startup option #+startup: num

When this startup option is set, display headings as numerated.

Use #+startup: nonum to turn this off.

3.3.14. New tool for custom links

Org provides a new tool org-link-open-as-file, useful when defining new link types similar to "file"-type links. See docstring for details.

3.3.15. New optional numeric argument for org-return

In situations where org-return calls newline, multiple newlines can now be inserted with this prefix argument.

3.3.16. New source code block header argument :file-mode

Source code block header argument :file-mode can set file permissions if :file argument is provided.

3.3.17. ob-C.el allows the inclusion of non-system header files

In C and C++ blocks, :includes arguments that do not start with a < character will now be formatted as double-quoted #include statements.

3.3.18. ob-clojure.el supports inf-clojure.el and ClojureScript evaluation

You can now set (setq org-babel-clojure-backend 'inf-clojure) and evaluate Clojure source blocks using inf-clojure. With a header argument like :alias "alias" the Clojure REPL will boot with clojure -Aalias. Otherwise Clojure will boot with lein, boot or tools.deps, depending on whether the current directory contains a project.clj, build.boot or deps.edn, falling back on inf-clojure-generic-cmd in case no such file is present.

Also, when using cider, you can now use #+begin_src clojurescript to execute ClojureScript code from Org files. Note that this works only if your Org file is associated with a cider session that knows how to run ClojureScript code. A bare lein repl session outside of a directory configured for ClojureScript will not work.

3.3.19. ob-java.el supports Java command line arguments

Babel Java blocks recognize header argument :cmdargs and pass its value in call to java.

3.3.20. ob-screen.el now accepts :screenrc header argument

Screen blocks now recognize the :screenrc header argument and pass its value to the screen command via the "-c" option. The default remains /dev/null (i.e. a clean screen session)

3.3.21. ob-plantuml: now supports using PlantUML executable to generate diagrams

Set org-plantuml-exec-mode to 'plantuml in order to use the executable instead of JAR. When using an executable it is also possible to configure executable location as well as arguments via: org-plantuml-executable-path and org-plantuml-executable-args.

3.4. New commands

3.4.1. org-table-header-line-mode

Turn on a minor mode to display the first data row of the table at point in the header-line when the beginning of the table is invisible.

3.4.2. org-agenda-ctrl-c-ctrl-c

Hitting <C-c C-c> in an agenda view now calls org-agenda-set-tags.

3.4.3. org-hide-entry

This command is the counterpart of org-show-entry.

3.4.4. org-columns-toggle-or-columns-quit

<C-c C-c> bound to org-columns-toggle-or-columns-quit replaces the recent org-columns-set-tags-or-toggle. Tag setting is still possible via column view value edit or with <C-c C-q>.

3.4.5. org-datetree-find-month-create

Find or create a month entry for a date.

3.5. New options and settings

3.5.1. New option org-html-prefer-user-labels

When non-nil, use NAME affiliated keyword, or raw target values, to generate anchor's ID. Otherwise, consistently use internal naming scheme.

CUSTOM_ID values are still always used, when available.

3.5.2. New option for using tabs in org-agenda-window-setup

Choosing other-tab for org-agenda-window-setup will open the agenda view in a new tab. This will work with versions of Emacs since 27.1 when tab-bar-mode was introduced.

3.5.3. New option org-table-header-line-p

Setting this option to t will activate org-table-header-line-mode in org-mode buffers.

3.5.4. New option org-startup-numerated

When this option is t, Org files will start using (org-num-mode 1) and headings will be visually numerated.

You can turn this on/off on a per-file basis with #+startup: num or #+startup: nonum.

3.5.5. New option org-clock-auto-clockout-timer

When this option is set to a number and the user configuration contains (org-clock-auto-clockout-insinuate), Org will clock out the currently clocked in task after that number of seconds of idle time.

This is useful when you often forget to clock out before being idle and don't want to have to manually set the clocking time to take into account.

3.5.6. New option to group captured datetime entries by month

A new `:tree-type month' option was added to org-capture-templates to group new datetime entries by month.

3.5.7. New option to show source buffers using "plain" display-buffer

There is a new option plain to org-src-window-setup to show source buffers using display-buffer. This allows users to control how source buffers are displayed by modifying display-buffer-alist or display-buffer-base-action.

3.5.8. New option org-archive-subtree-save-file-p

Archiving a subtree used to always save the target archive buffer. Commit b186d1d7 changed this behavior by always not saving the target buffer, because batch archiving from agenda could take too much time.

This new option org-archive-subtree-save-file-p defaults to the value from-org so that archiving a subtree will save the target buffer when done from an org-mode buffer, but not from the agenda. You can also set this option to t or to from-agenda.

3.5.9. New option org-show-notification-timeout

This option will add a timeout to notifications.

3.5.10. New option org-latex-to-html-convert-command

This new option allows you to convert a LaTeX fragment directly into HTML.

3.5.11. New option org-babel-shell-results-defaults-to-output

By default, source code blocks are executed in "functional mode": it means that the results of executing them are the value of their last statement (see the documentation.)

The value of a shell script's execution is its exit code. But most users expect the results of executing a shell script to be its output, not its exit code.

So we introduced this option, that you can set to nil if you want to stick using :results value as the implicit header.

In all Babel libraries, the absence of a :results header should produce the same result than setting :results value, unless there is an option to explicitly create an exception.

See this thread for more context.

3.5.12. New option in org-attach-store-link-p

org-attach-store-link-p has a new option to store a file link to the attachment.

3.5.13. New option org-fontify-todo-headline

This feature is the same as org-fontify-done-headline, but for TODO headlines instead. This allows you to distinguish TODO headlines from normal headlines. The face can be customized via org-headline-todo.

3.5.14. New default value for org-file-apps

The new value uses Emacs as the application for opening directory.

3.5.15. New hook org-agenda-filter-hook

Functions in this hook are run after org-agenda-filter is called.

3.6. Removed or renamed functions and variables

3.6.1. Deprecated org-flag-drawer function

Use org-hide-drawer-toggle instead.

3.6.2. Deprecated org-hide-block-toggle-maybe function

Use org-hide-block-toggle instead.

3.6.3. Deprecated org-hide-block-toggle-all function

This function was not used in the code base, and has no clear use either. It has been marked for future removal. Please contact the mailing list if you use this function.

3.6.4. Deprecated org-return-indent function

In Elisp code, use (org-return t) instead. Interactively, C-j is now bound to org-return-and-maybe-indent, which indents the new line when electric-indent-mode is disabled.

3.6.5. Removed org-maybe-keyword-time-regexp

The variable was not used in the code base.

3.6.6. Removed org-export-special-keywords

The variable was not used in the code base.

3.6.7. Renamed org-at-property-block-p

The new name is org-at-property-drawer-p, which is less confusing.

3.6.8. Renamed org-columns-set-tags-or-toggle

See 3.4.4.

3.6.9. Renamed priority options

From org-lowest-priority to org-priority-lowest. From org-default-priority to org-priority-default. From org-highest-priority to org-priority-highest. From org-enable-priority-commands to org-priority-enable-commands. From org-show-priority to org-priority-show.

3.7. Miscellaneous

3.7.1. ob-screen.el now respects screen :session name

Screen babel session are now named based on the :session header argument (defaults to default).

Previously all session names had org-babel-session- prepended.

3.7.2. Forward/backward paragraph functions in line with the rest of Emacs

org-forward-paragraph and org-backward-paragraph, bound to <C-UP> and <C-DOWN> functions mimic more closely behavior of forward-paragraph and backward-paragraph functions when available.

They also accept an optional argument for multiple calls.

See their docstring for details.

3.7.3. org-table-to-lisp no longer checks if point is at a table

The caller is now responsible for the check. It can use, e.g., org-at-table-p.

The function is also much more efficient than it used to be, even on very large tables.

3.7.4. New function org-collect-keywords

3.7.5. Drawers' folding use an API similar to block's

Tooling for folding drawers interactively or programmatically is now on par with block folding. In particular, org-hide-drawer-toggle, a new function, is the central place for drawer folding.

3.7.6. Duration can be read and written in compact form

org-duration-to-minutes understands 1d3h5min as a duration, whereas org-duration-from-minutes can output this compact form if the duration format contains the symbol compact.

3.7.7. C-n, C-p, SPC and DEL in agenda commands dispatch window

You can now use <C-n>, <C-p>, <SPC> and <DEL> key to scroll up and down the agenda and attach dispatch window.

3.7.8. <C-c C-c> in agenda calls org-agenda-set-tags

Both <C-c C-q> and <C-c C-c> set the tags of the headline in the Org buffer. Both keybindings are now available from the agenda too.

3.7.9. Allow to use an empty HTML extension

Using (setq org-html-extension "") or setting the HTML extension in any fashion will produce the expected output, with no trailing period to the resulting HTML file.

3.7.10. Handle repeated tasks with .+ type and hours step

A task using a .+ repeater and hours step is repeated starting from now. E.g.,

,** TODO Wash my hands
   DEADLINE: <2019-04-05 08:00 Sun .+1h>
   Marking this DONE shifts the date to exactly one hour from now.

3.7.11. The format of equation reference in HTML export can now be specified

By default, HTML (via MathJax) and LaTeX export equation references using different commands. LaTeX must use \ref{%s} because it is used for all labels; however, HTML (via MathJax) uses \eqref{%s} for equations producing inconsistent output. New option org-html-equation-reference-format sets the command used in HTML export.

3.7.12. ob-haskell.el supports compilation with :compile header argument

By default, Haskell blocks are interpreted. By adding :compile yes to a Haskell source block, it will be compiled, executed and the results will be displayed.

3.7.13. Support for org-edit-special with LaTeX fragments

Calling org-edit-special on an inline LaTeX fragment calls a new function, org-edit-latex-fragment. This functions in a comparable manner to editing inline source blocks, bringing up a minibuffer set to LaTeX mode. The math-mode deliminators are read only.

3.7.14. org-capture-current-plist is now accessible during org-capture-mode-hook

3.7.15. New org-refile.el file

Org refile variables and functions have been moved to a new file.

3.7.16. The end of a 7 years old bug

This bug originally reported by Matt Lundin and investigated by Andrew Hyatt has been fixed. Thanks to both of them.

4. Version 9.3

4.1. Incompatible changes

4.1.1. Change bracket link escaping syntax

Org used to percent-encode sensitive characters in the URI part of the bracket links.

Now, escaping mechanism uses the usual backslash character, according to the following rules:

  1. All [ and ] characters in the URI must be escaped;
  2. Every \ character preceding either [ or ] must be escaped;
  3. Every \ character at the end of the URI must be escaped.

When in doubt, use the function org-link-escape in order to turn a link string into its properly escaped form.

The following function will help switching your links to the new syntax:

(defun org-update-link-syntax (&optional no-query)
  "Update syntax for links in current buffer.
Query before replacing a link, unless optional argument NO-QUERY
is non-nil."
  (interactive "P")
  (org-with-point-at 1
    (let ((case-fold-search t))
      (while (re-search-forward "\\[\\[[^]]*?%\\(?:2[05]\\|5[BD]\\)" nil t)
        (let ((object (save-match-data (org-element-context))))
          (when (and (eq 'link (org-element-type object))
                     (= (match-beginning 0)
                        (org-element-property :begin object)))
            (goto-char (org-element-property :end object))
            (let* ((uri-start (+ 2 (match-beginning 0)))
                   (uri-end (save-excursion
                              (goto-char uri-start)
                              (re-search-forward "\\][][]" nil t)
                              (match-beginning 0)))
                   (uri (buffer-substring-no-properties uri-start uri-end)))
              (when (or no-query
                        (y-or-n-p
                         (format "Possibly obsolete URI syntax: %S.  Fix? "
                                 uri)))
                (setf (buffer-substring uri-start uri-end)
                      (org-link-escape (org-link-decode uri)))))))))))

The old org-link-escape and org-link-unescape functions have been renamed into org-link-encode and org-link-decode.

4.1.2. Change match group number in org-link-bracket-re

Link description, if any, is located in match group 2 instead of match group 3.

4.1.3. ob-clojure does not auto prepend (ns ..) statement anymore

When tangling, user usually just wants to tangle literally code instead of prepend inserting a (ns ..) statement before source block code. Now, when you have no :ns header argument specified, this behavior will not happen automatically.

4.1.4. Change in behavior on exit from an Org edit buffer

Org will no longer attempt to restore the window configuration in the frame to which the user returns after editing a source block with org-edit-src-code. Instead, the window configuration will remain as it is.

4.1.5. Change default value for org-email-link-description-format

When linking from a mail buffer, Org used to truncate the subject of the message to 30 characters in order to build the description of the link. This behavior was considered as too surprising. As a consequence, Org no longer truncates subjects.

You can get the old behavior back with the following:

(setq org-email-link-description-format "Email %c: %.30s")

4.1.6. :file header argument no longer assume "file" :results

The "file" :results value is now mandatory for a code block returning a link to a file. The :file or :file-ext header arguments no longer imply a "file" result is expected.

4.1.7. Plain numbers are hours in Column View mode

4.1.8. All LaTeX preview backends use now xcolor

The dvipng backend was previously relying on fg and bg parameters to be passed to the CLI. This didn't work when xcolor was directly or indirectly used in the document (e.g. tkiz is a user of xcolor). Since every other backend was already using xcolor to set fg and bg, the CLI alternative was removed and there is no more a :use-xcolor options since now it's implicitly always true.

4.1.9. Org-Attach Git commit

Refactoring of Org-Attach affected the Git commit functionality. Not much, but the following changes are required if you still need to auto-commit attachments to git:

  • Customization of org-attach-annex-auto-get needs to be renamed to org-attach-git-annex-auto-get.
  • Customization of org-attach-commit is no longer needed. Instead one need to require the org-attach-git module in the startup.

4.2. New features

4.2.1. New option to wrap source code lines in HTML export

When new option html-wrap-src-lines (with variable org-html-wrap-src-lines) is non-nil, HTML export wraps source code lines in HTML code elements.

4.2.2. New option to handle schedules and deadlines in iCalendar export

Export ignore done tasks with a deadline when org-icalendar-use-deadline contains event-if-todo-not-done. Likewise, scheduled done tasks are also ignored when org-icalendar-use-scheduled contains the same symbol.

4.2.3. Add split-window-right option for src block edit window placement

Given the increasing popularity of wide screen monitors, splitting horizontally may make more sense than splitting vertically. An option, split-window-right, to request horizontal splitting has been added to org-src-window-setup.

4.2.4. Org-Attach has been refactored and extended

Org attach has been refactored and the functionality extended. It should now be easier to understand how it works. A few improvements and extra options have been added as well.

From the initial comment in org-attach source-code:

  • Attachments are managed either by using a custom property DIR or by using property ID from org-id. When DIR is defined, a location in the filesystem is directly attached to the outline node. When org-id is used, attachments are stored in a folder named after the ID, in a location defined by org-attach-id-dir. DIR has precedence over ID when both parameters are defined for the current outline node (also when inherited parameters are taken into account).

From now on inheritance requires no extra property and will adhere to org-attach-use-inheritance by default. Inheritance can be customized to always be activated or never be activated in org-attach-use-inheritance.

The ATTACHDIR property is deprecated in favor of the shorter property DIR. Links to folders inside the DIR property can now be declared as relative links. This is not enabled by default, but can be set in org-attach-dir-relative.

When adding new attachment to the outline node the preferred way of doing so can be customized. Take a look at org-attach-preferred-new-method. It defaults to using ID since that was the behavior before this change.

If both DIR and ID properties are set on the same node, DIR has precedence and will be used.

One can now also choose to build attachment-directory-paths in a customized way. This is an advanced topic, but in some case it makes sense to parse an ID in a different way than the default one. Create your own function and add it to the beginning of org-attach-id-to-path-function~list if you want to customize the ID based folder structure.

If you've used ATTACHDIR properties to manage attachments, use the following code to rename that property to DIR which supports the same functionality. ATTACHDIRINHERIT is no longer supported and is removed.

(defun org-update-attach-properties ()
    "Change properties for Org-Attach."
    (interactive)
    (org-with-point-at 1
      (while (outline-next-heading)
        (let ((DIR (org--property-local-values "ATTACH_DIR" nil)))
          (when DIR
            (org-set-property "DIR" (car DIR))
            (org-delete-property "ATTACH_DIR"))))
      (org-delete-property-globally "ATTACH_DIR_INHERIT")))

For those who hate breaking changes, even though the changes are made to clean things up; fear not. ATTACHDIR will still continue to work. It's just not documented any longer. When you get the chance, run the code above to clean things up anyway!

  1. New hooks

    Two hooks are added to org-attach:

    • org-attach-after-change-hook
    • org-attach-open-hook

    They are added mostly for internal restructuring purposes, but can ofc. be used for other things as well.

4.2.5. New link-type: Attachment

Attachment-links are now first-class citizens. They mimic file-links in everything they do but use the existing attachment-folder as a base when expanding the links. Both DIR and ID properties are used to try to resolve the links, in exactly the same way as Org-Attach uses those properties.

4.2.6. Handle overlay specification for notes in Beamer export

This aligns Beamer notes with slide overlays.

4.2.7. Add support for lettered lists in Texinfo

Using :enum A or :enum a Texinfo attribute switches an otherwise numbered list to a lettered list.

4.2.8. Add a dispatcher command to insert dynamic blocks

You can add new dynamic blocks with function org-dynamic-block-define. All such dynamic blocks can be used by org-dynamic-block-insert-dblock command.

4.2.9. Babel

  1. ob-emacs-lisp sets lexical-binding in Org edit buffers

    When editing an Elisp src block, the editing buffer's lexical-binding is set according to the src block's :lexical parameter.

  2. Add LaTeX output support in PlantUML

4.2.10. New minor mode to display headline numbering

Use <M-x org-num-mode> to get a visual indication of the numbering in the outline. The numbering is also automatically updated upon changes in the buffer.

4.2.11. New property HTML_HEADLINE_CLASS in HTML export

The new property HTML_HEADLINE_CLASS assigns a class attribute to a headline.

4.2.12. Allow LaTeX attributes and captions for "table.el" tables

Supported LaTeX attributes are :float, :center, :font and :caption.

4.2.13. Attach buffer contents to headline

With <b> key from attachment dispatcher (<C-c C-a>), it is now possible to write the contents of a buffer to a file in the headline attachment directory.

4.2.14. iCalendar export respects a CLASS property

Set the CLASS property on an entry to specify a visibility class for that entry only during iCalendar export. The property can be set to anything the calendar server supports. The iCalendar standard defines the values PUBLIC, CONFIDENTIAL, PRIVATE, which can be interpreted as publicly visible, accessible to a specific group, and private respectively.

This property can be inherited during iCalendar export, depending on the value of org-use-property-inheritance.

4.2.15. New parameter for INCLUDE keyword

Add :coding CODING-SYSTEM to include files using a different coding system than the main Org document. For example:

#+INCLUDE: "myfile.cmd" src cmd :coding cp850-dos

4.2.16. New values in clock tables' step: month and year

4.2.17. ODT export handles numbers cookies in lists

4.2.18. New cell movement functions in tables

S-<UP>, S-<DOWN>, S-<RIGHT>, and S-<LEFT> now move cells in the corresponding direction by swapping with the adjacent cell.

4.2.19. New option to natively fontify LaTeX snippets and environments

A 'native option was added to org-highlight-latex-and-related. It matches the same structures than 'latex but it calls org-src-font-lock-fontify-block instead, thus bringing about full LaTeX font locking.

4.2.20. org-clone-subtree-with-time-shift learned to shift backward in time

<C-c C-x c> (org-clone-subtree-with-time-shift) now takes a negative value as a valid repeater to shift time stamps in backward in cloned subtrees. You can give, for example, ‘-3d’ to shift three days in the past.

4.2.21. Toggle display of all vs. undone scheduled habits conveniently

<C-u K> (org-habit-toggle-display-in-agenda) in an agenda toggles the display of all habits to those which are undone and scheduled. This is a function for convenience.

4.2.22. New parameter for SQL Babel blocks: :dbconnection

The new parameter :dbconnection allows to specify a connection name in a SQL block header: this name is used to look up connection parameters in sql-connection-alist.

4.2.23. New :scale attribute supported by LaTeX exporters

The builtin "latex" exporters now accept and use a :scale attribute, which scales an image by a given factor.

This attribute is wrapped around the scale parameter of LaTeX's \includegraphics (bitmap images) or a TiKZ's \scalebox. Therefore, its value should be some string palatable to LaTeX as a positive float Its default value is an empty string (i.e. disabled).

This attribute overrides the :width and :height attributes.

#+name: Beastie
#+caption: I think I saw this curious horse already, but where ?
#+LATEX_ATTR: :scale 2
[[https://orgmode.org/img/org-mode-unicorn-logo.png]]

4.2.24. Allow specifying the target for a table of contents

The +TOC keyword now accepts a :target: attribute that specifies the headline to use for making the table of contents.

* Target
  :PROPERTIES:
  :CUSTOM_ID: TargetSection
  :END:
** Heading A
** Heading B
* Another section
#+TOC: headlines 1 :target "#TargetSection"

4.3. New functions

4.3.1. org-dynamic-block-insert-dblock

Use default keybinding <C-c C-x x> to run command org-dynamic-block-insert-dblock. It will prompt user to select dynamic block in org-dynamic-block-alist.

4.3.2. org-table-cell-up

4.3.3. org-table-cell-down

4.3.4. org-table-cell-left

4.3.5. org-table-cell-right

4.3.6. org-habit-toggle-display-in-agenda

4.4. Removed functions and variables

4.4.1. Removed Org Drill

You can install it back from MELPA.

4.4.2. org-babel-set-current-result-hash

4.4.3. org-capture-insert-template-here

4.4.4. org-attach-directory

It has been deprecated in favor of org-attach-id-dir which is less ambiguous given the restructured org-attach.

4.4.5. org-enable-fixed-width-editor

This variable was not used through the code base.

4.5. Miscellaneous

4.5.1. Change signature for org-list-to-subtree

The function now accepts the level of the subtree as an optional argument. It no longer deduces it from the current level.

4.5.2. LaTeX preview is simplified

Function org-latex-preview, formerly known as org-toggle-latex-fragment, has a hopefully simpler and more predictable behavior. See its docstring for details.

4.5.3. org-table-copy-down supports patterns

When org-table-copy-increment is non-nil, it is now possible to increment fields like A1, or 0A, i.e., any string prefixed or suffixed with a whole number.

4.5.4. No more special indentation for description items

Descriptions items are indented like regular ones, i.e., text starts after the bullet. Special indentation used to introduce bugs when inserting sub-items in a description list.

4.5.5. New hook: org-todo-repeat-hook

This hook was actually introduced in Org 9.2.1, but wasn't advertised.

4.5.6. Org Table reads numbers starting with 0 as strings

4.5.7. Disable fast tag selection interface via prefix arg

A call of org-set-tags-command with prefix argument C-u C-u avoids the fast tag selection interface and instead offers the plain interface.

4.5.8. :mkdirp now supports create directory for :dir path

The :mkdirp header argument used to only work for :tangle tangle files. Now :mkdirp works for :dir too. This is more convenient for specify default directory and with :file header argument.

4.5.9. New variable: org-agenda-breadcrumbs-separator

If breadcrumbs are showed in org-agenda with the help of "%b" format in org-agenda-prefix-format, user can customize breadcrumbs's separator using org-agenda-breadcrumbs-separator.

4.5.10. New variable org-attach-commands

This variable makes it possible to customize the list of commands for the attachment dispatcher.

4.5.11. New ID method based on timestamp

If one chooses, it is now possible to create ID's based on timestamp (ISO8601) instead of UUID by changing org-id-method to ts.

For an improved folder structure when using timestamp as ID, make sure to promote org-attach-id-ts-folder-format to the first element of org-attach-id-to-path-function-list in your configuration at the same time.

4.5.12. New customization: org-id-locations-relative

New customization to make the persisting of org-id-locations between sessions to store links to files as relative instead of absolute. The links will be stored as relative to the path of org-id-locations-file.

4.5.13. org-ctrl-c-tab is functional before the first headline

I.e. treat the whole file as if it was a subtree.

Also fold everything below the chosen level. Former behavior was to leave unfolded subtrees unfolded.

4.5.14. org-kill-note-or-show-branches is functional before the first headline

I.e. treat the whole file as if it was a subtree.

4.5.15. Respect narrowing when agenda command is restricted to buffer

4.5.16. org-table-insert-column inserts the column at point position

Before, the new column was inserted to the right of the column at point position.

4.5.17. Table column deletion now consistent with row deletion

Point stays in the column at deletion, except when deleting the rightmost column.

5. Version 9.2

5.1. Incompatible changes

5.1.1. Removal of OrgStruct mode mode and radio lists

OrgStruct minor mode and radio lists mechanism (org-list-send-list and org-list-radio-lists-templates) are removed from the code base.

Note that only radio lists have been removed, not radio tables.

If you want to manipulate lists like in Org in other modes, we suggest to use orgalist.el, which you can install from GNU ELPA.

If you want to use Org folding outside of Org buffers, you can have a look at the outshine package in the MELPA repository.

5.1.2. Change in the structure template expansion

Org 9.2 comes with a new template expansion mechanism, combining org-insert-structure-template bound to C-c C-,.

If you customized the org-structure-template-alist option manually, you probably need to update it, see the docstring for accepted values.

If you prefer using previous patterns, e.g. <s, you can activate them again by requiring Org Tempo library:

(require 'org-tempo)

or add it to org-modules.

If you need complex templates, look at the tempo-define-template function or at solutions like Yasnippet.

5.1.3. Change to Noweb expansion

Expansion check :noweb-ref only if no matching named block is found in the buffer. As a consequence, any :noweb-ref value matching the name of a source block in the buffer is ignored. A simple fix is to give every concerned source-block, including the named one, a new, unique, Noweb reference.

#+NAME: foo
#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  1
#+END_SRC

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :noweb-ref foo
  2
#+END_SRC

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :noweb yes
  <<foo>>
#+END_SRC

should become

#+NAME: foo
#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :noweb-ref bar
  1
#+END_SRC

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :noweb-ref bar
  2
#+END_SRC

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :noweb yes
  <<bar>>
#+END_SRC

5.1.4. Default/accepted values of org-calendar-to-agenda-key

The default value and accepted value of org-calendar-to-agenda-key changed. This is an excerpt of the new docstring:

When set to ‘default’, bind the function to ‘c’, but only if it is
available in the Calendar keymap.  This is the default choice because
‘c’ can then be used to switch back and forth between agenda and calendar.

When nil, ‘org-calendar-goto-agenda’ is not bound to any key.

Check the full docstring for more.

5.1.5. Change the signature of the org-set-effort function

Here is the new docstring:

(org-set-effort &optional INCREMENT VALUE)

Set the effort property of the current entry.
If INCREMENT is non-nil, set the property to the next allowed
value.  Otherwise, if optional argument VALUE is provided, use
it.  Eventually, prompt for the new value if none of the previous
variables is set.

5.1.6. Placeholders in (eval ...) macros are always strings

Within (eval ...) macros, $1-like placeholders are always replaced with a string. As a consequence, they must not be enclosed within quotes. As an illustration, consider the following, now valid, examples:

#+macro: join (eval (concat $1 $2))
#+macro: sum (eval (+ (string-to-number $1) (string-to-number $2)))

{{{join(a,b)}}} => ab
{{{sum(1,2)}}}  => 3

However, there is no change in non-eval macros:

#+macro: disp argument: $1

{{{disp(text)}}} => argument: text

5.1.7. align STARTUP value no longer narrow table columns

Columns narrowing (or shrinking) is now dynamic. See 5.2.11 for details. In particular, it is decoupled from aligning.

If you need to automatically shrink columns upon opening an Org document, use shrink value instead, or in addition to align:

#+STARTUP: align shrink

5.1.8. org-get-tags meaning change

Function org-get-tags used to return local tags to the current headline. It now returns all the inherited tags in addition to the local tags. In order to get the old behavior back, you can use:

(org-get-tags nil t)

5.1.9. Alphabetic sorting in tables and lists

When sorting alphabetically, org-table-sort-lines and org-sort-list now sort according to the locale’s collation rules instead of by code-point.

5.1.10. Change the name of the :tags clocktable option to :match

The :match (renamed from :tags) option allows to limit clock entries to those matching a todo-tags matcher.

The old :tags option can be set to t to display a headline's tags in a dedicated column.

This is consistent with the naming of org-dblock-write:columnview options, where :match is also used as a headlines filter.

5.2. New features

5.2.1. Add :session support of ob-clojure for CIDER

You can initialize source block session with Babel default keybinding [C-c C-v C-z] to use sesman session manager to link current project, directory or buffer with specific Clojure session, or cider-jack-in a new CIDER REPL if no CIDER REPLs available. In older CIDER version which has not sesman integrated, only has cider-jack-in without Clojure project is supported.

(dissoc Clojure 'JVM)
(conj clojurists "stardiviner")

5.2.2. Add :results link support for Babel

With this output format, create a link to the file specified in :file header argument, without actually writing any result to it:

#+begin_src shell :dir "data/tmp" :results link :file "crackzor_1.0.c.gz"
wget -c "https://ben.akrin.com/crackzor/crackzor_1.0.c.gz"
#+end_src

#+results:
[[file:data/tmp/crackzor_1.0.c.gz]]

5.2.3. Add :session support of ob-js for js-comint

console.log("stardiviner")

5.2.4. Add :session support of ob-js for Indium

console.log("stardiviner")

5.2.5. Add :session support of ob-js for skewer-mode

console.log("stardiviner")

5.2.6. Add support for links to LaTeX equations in HTML export

Use MathJax links when enabled (by org-html-with-latex), otherwise add a label to the rendered equation.

5.2.7. Org Tempo may used for snippet expansion of structure template.

See manual and the commentary section in org-tempo.el for details.

5.2.8. Exclude unnumbered headlines from table of contents

Set their UNNUMBERED property to the special notoc value. See manual for details.

5.2.9. org-archive functions update status cookies

Archiving headers through org-archive-subtree and org-archive-to-archive-sibling such as the ones listed below:

* Top [1/2]
** DONE Completed
** TODO Working

Will update the status cookie in the top level header.

5.2.10. Disable org-agenda-overriding-header by setting to empty string

The org-agenda-overriding-header inserted into agenda views can now be disabled by setting it to an empty string.

5.2.11. Dynamically narrow table columns

With C-c TAB, it is now possible to narrow a column to the width specified by a width cookie in the column, or to 1 character if there is no such cookie. The same keybinding expands a narrowed column to its previous state.

Editing the column automatically expands the whole column to its full size.

5.2.12. org-columns-summary-types entries can take an optional COLLECT function

You can use this to make collection of a property from an entry conditional on another entry. E.g. given this configuration:

(defun custom/org-collect-confirmed (property)
  "Return `PROPERTY' for `CONFIRMED' entries"
  (let ((prop (org-entry-get nil property))
        (confirmed (org-entry-get nil "CONFIRMED")))
    (if (and prop (string= "[X]" confirmed))
        prop
      "0")))

(setq org-columns-summary-types
      '(("X+" org-columns--summary-sum
         custom/org-collect-confirmed)))

You can have a file bananas.org containing:

#+columns: %ITEM %CONFIRMED %Bananas{+} %Bananas(Confirmed Bananas){X+}

* All shipments
** Shipment 1
   :PROPERTIES:
   :CONFIRMED: [X]
   :Bananas:  4
   :END:

** Shipment 2
   :PROPERTIES:
   :CONFIRMED: [ ]
   :BANANAS:  7
   :END:

… and when going to the top of that file and entering column view you should expect to see something like:

ITEM CONFIRMED Bananas Confirmed Bananas
All shipments   11 4
Shipment 1 [X] 4 4
Shipment 2 [ ] 7 7
#+STARTUP: shrink

5.2.13. Allow to filter by tags/property when capturing colview

You can now use :match to filter entries using a todo/tags/properties matcher.

5.2.14. Add support for Oracle's database alias in Babel blocks

ob-sql library already support running SQL blocks against an Oracle database using sqlplus. Now it's possible to use alias names defined in TNSNAMES file instead of specifying full connection parameters. See example below.

you can use the previous full connection parameters
#+BEGIN_SRC sql :engine oracle :dbuser me :dbpassword my_insecure_password :database my_db_name :dbhost my_db_host :dbport 1521
select sysdate from dual;
#+END_SRC

or the alias defined in your TNSNAMES file
#+BEGIN_SRC sql :engine oracle :dbuser me :dbpassword my_insecure_password :database my_tns_alias
select sysdate from dual;
#+END_SRC

5.2.15. org-agenda-set-restriction-lock toggle agenda restriction at point

You can set an agenda restriction lock with C-x C-x < or with < at the beginning of a headline when using Org speed commands. Now, if there is already a restriction at point, hitting < again (or C-x C-x <) will remove it.

5.2.16. Headlines can now link to themselves in HTML export

When enabling org-html-self-link-headlines the headlines exported to HTML contain a hyperlink to themselves.

5.3. New commands and functions

5.3.1. org-insert-structure-template

This function can be used to wrap existing text of Org elements in a #+BEGINFOO/#+ENDFOO block. Bound to C-c C-x w by default.

5.3.2. org-export-excluded-from-toc-p

See docstring for details.

5.3.3. org-timestamp-to-time

5.3.4. org-timestamp-from-string

5.3.5. org-timestamp-from-time

5.3.6. org-attach-dired-to-subtree

See docstring for details.

5.3.7. org-toggle-narrow-to-subtree

Toggle the narrowing state of the buffer: when in a narrowed state, widen, otherwise call org-narrow-to-subtree to narrow.

This is attached to the "s" speed command, so that hitting "s" twice will go back to the widen state.

5.3.8. org-browse-news

Browse https://orgmode.org/Changes.html to let users read information about the last major release.

There is a new menu entry for this in the "Documentation" menu item.

5.3.9. org-info-find-node

From an Org file or an agenda switch to a suitable info page depending on the context.

The function is bound to C-c C-x I.

5.4. Removed commands and functions

5.4.1. org-outline-overlay-data

Use org-save-outline-visibility instead.

5.4.2. org-set-outline-overlay-data

Use org-save-outline-visibility instead.

5.4.3. org-get-string-indentation

It was not used throughout the code base.

5.4.4. org-fix-indentation

It was not used throughout code base.

5.4.5. org-context-p

Use org-element-at-point instead.

5.4.6. org-preserve-lc

It is no longer used in the code base.

5.4.7. org-try-structure-completion

Org Tempo may be used as a replacement. See details above.

5.5. Removed options

5.5.1. org-babel-use-quick-and-dirty-noweb-expansion

See Change to Noweb expansion for explanations.

5.6. Miscellaneous

5.6.1. New default value for org-texinfo-table-scientific-notation

It is now nil, which means numbers in scientific notation are not handled specially by default.

5.6.2. New default value for org-latex-table-scientific-notation

It is now nil, which means numbers in scientific notation are not handled specially by default.

5.6.3. New face: org-upcoming-distant-deadline

It is meant to be used as the face for distant deadlines, see org-agenda-deadline-faces

5.6.4. org-paste-subtree no longer breaks sections

Unless point is at the beginning of a headline, org-paste-subtree now pastes the tree before the next visible headline. If you need to break the section, use org-yank instead.

5.6.5. org-table-insert-column inserts a column to the right

It used to insert it on the left. With this change, org-table-insert-column and org-table-delete-column are reciprocal.

5.6.6. org-publish-resolve-external-link accepts a new optional argument.

5.6.7. org-irc.el now supports exporting irc: links properly

Previously, irc links were exported by ox-md and ox-html as normal file links, which lead to them being broken in web browsers. Now both of these exporters will properly export to irc: links, which will open properly in irc clients from web browsers.

5.6.8. org-comment-dwim (bound to M-;) now comments headings, if point is on a heading

5.6.9. Add support for open source block in window below

Set option org-src-window-setup to split-window-below.

5.6.10. Alphabetic sorting in headings and tags now uses the locale’s sorting rules

When sorting alphabetically, org-sort-entries and org-tags-sort-function now sort according to the locale’s collation rules instead of by code-point.

5.6.11. New speed command "k" to kill (cut) the subtree at point

6. Version 9.1

6.1. Incompatible changes

6.1.1. Variables relative to clocksum duration are obsolete

org-time-clocksum-format, org-time-clocksum-use-fractional and org-time-clocksum-fractional-format are obsolete. If you changed them, consider modifying org-duration-format instead.

Variable org-time-clocksum-use-effort-durations is also obsolete. Consider setting org-duration-units instead.

6.1.2. org-at-timestamp-p optional argument accepts different values

See docstrings for the allowed values. For backward compatibility, (org-at-timestamp-p t) is still supported, but should be updated accordingly.

6.1.3. org-capture-templates no longer accepts S-expressions as file names

Since functions are allowed there, a straightforward way to migrate is to turn, e.g.,

(file (sexp))

into

(file (lambda () (sexp)))

6.1.4. Deleted contributed packages

org-ebib.el, =org-bullets.el and org-mime.el have been deleted from the contrib/ directory.

You can now find them here :

6.1.5. Change org-texinfo-classes value

The value cannot support functions to create sectioning commands anymore. Also, the sectioning commands should include commands for appendices. See the docstring for more information.

6.1.6. Removal of :sitemap-sans-extension

The publishing property is no longer recognized, as a consequence of changes to site-map generation.

You can get the same functionality by setting :sitemap-format-entry to the following

(lambda (entry style project)
  (cond ((not (directory-name-p entry))
         (format "[[file:%s][%s]]"
                 (file-name-sans-extension entry)
                 (org-publish-find-title entry project)))
        ((eq style 'tree) (file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name entry)))
        (t entry)))

6.1.7. Change signature for :sitemap-function

:sitemap-function now expects to be called with two arguments. See org-publish-project-alist for details.

6.1.8. Change signature for some properties in org-list-to-generic

:istart, :icount, :iend and :isep now expect the type of the list as their first argument.

6.1.9. Change signature for org-get-repeater

The optional argument is now a string to extract the repeater from. See docstring for details.

6.1.10. Change signature for org-time-string-to-time

See docstring for changes.

6.1.11. Change order of items in org-agenda-time-grid

org-agenda-time-grid gained an extra item to allow users to customize the string displayed after times in the agenda. See docstring for details.

6.1.12. tags-todo custom searches now include DONE keywords

Use "/!" markup when filtering TODO keywords to get only not-done TODO keywords.

6.1.13. org-split-string returns ("") when called on an empty string

It used to return nil.

6.1.14. Removal of ob-scala.el

See this github issue.

You can use ob-scala.el as packaged in scala-mode, available from the MELPA repository.

6.2. New features

6.2.1. iCalendar export uses inheritance for TIMEZONE and LOCATION properties

Both these properties can be inherited during iCalendar export, depending on the value of org-use-property-inheritance.

6.2.2. iCalendar export respects a TIMEZONE property

Set the TIMEZONE property on an entry to specify a time zone for that entry only during iCalendar export. The property value should be specified as in "Europe/London".

6.2.3. org-attach can move directory contents

When setting a new directory for an entry, org-attach offers to move files over from the old directory. Using a prefix arg will reset the directory to old, ID based one.

6.2.4. New Org duration library

This new library implements tools to read and print time durations in various formats (e.g., "H:MM", or "1d 2h 3min"…).

See org-duration-to-minutes and org-duration-from-minutes docstrings.

6.2.5. Agenda

  1. New variable : org-agenda-show-future-repeats
  2. New variable : org-agenda-prefer-last-repeat
  3. New variable : org-deadline-past-days

    See docstring for details.

  4. Binding C-c C-x < for org-agenda-set-restriction-lock-from-agenda
  5. New auto-align default setting for org-agenda-tags-column

    org-agenda-tags-column can now be set to auto, which will automatically align tags to the right edge of the window. This is now the default setting.

6.2.6. New value for org-publish-sitemap-sort-folders

The new ignore value effectively allows toggling inclusion of directories in published site-maps.

6.2.7. Babel

  1. Scheme: support for tables
  2. Scheme: new variable: org-babel-scheme-null-to

    This new custom option allows you to use an empty list or null symbol to format the table output, initially assigned to hlines.

  3. Scheme: new header :prologue

    A new block code header has been created for Org Babel that enables developers to prepend code to the scheme block being processed.

    Multiple :prologue headers can be added each of them using a string with the content to be added.

    The scheme blocks are prepared by surrounding the code in the block with a let form. The content of the :prologue headers are prepended before this let form.

  4. Support for hledger accounting reports added
  5. Clojure: new setting org-babel-clojure-sync-nrepl-timeout

    Creation of a new setting to specify the Cider timeout. By setting the org-babel-clojure-sync-nrepl-timeout setting option. The value is in seconds and if set to nil then no timeout will occur.

  6. Clojure: new header :show-process

    A new block code header has been created for Org Babel that enables developers to output the process of an ongoing process into a new window/buffer.

    You can tell Org Babel to output the process of a running code block.

    To show that output you only have to specify the :show-process option in the code block's header like this:

    #+BEGIN_SRC clojure :results output :show-process t
      (dotimes [n 10]
        (println n ".")
        (Thread/sleep 500))
    #+END_SRC
    

    If :show-process is specified that way, then when you will run the code using C-c C-c a new window will open in Emacs. Everything that is output by the REPL will immediately be added to that new window.

    When the processing of the code is finished, then the window and its buffer will be closed and the results will be reported in the #+RESULTS section.

    Note that the :results parameter's behavior is not changed. If silent is specified, then no result will be displayed. If output is specified then all the output from the window will appears in the results section. If value is specified, then only the last returned value of the code will be displayed in the results section.

  7. Maxima: new headers :prologue and :epilogue

    Babel options :prologue and :epilogue have been implemented for Maxima source blocks which prepend and append, respectively, the given code strings. This can be useful for specifying formatting settings which would add clutter to exported code. For instance, you can use this :prologue "fpprintprec: 2; linel: 50;" for presenting Maxima results in a beamer presentation.

  8. PlantUML: add support for header arguments

    Plantuml source blocks now support the :prologue, :epilogue and :var header arguments.

  9. SQL: new engine added sqsh

    A new engine was added to support sqsh command line utility for use against Microsoft SQL Server or Sybase SQL server.

    More information on sqsh can be found here: sourceforge/sqsh

    To use sqsh in an sql SRC_BLK set the :engine like this:

    #+BEGIN_SRC sql :engine sqsh :dbhost my_host :dbuser master :dbpassword pass :database support
    Select * From Users
    Where clue > 0
    #+END_SRC
    
  10. SQL: new engine added vertica

    A new engine was added to support vsql command line utility for use against HP Vertica.

    More information on vsql can be found here: my.vertica.com

    To use vertica in an sql SRC_BLK set the :engine like this:

    #+BEGIN_SRC sql :engine vertica :dbhost my_host :dbuser dbadmin :dbpassword pw :database vmart
    SELECT * FROM nodes;
    #+END_SRC
    
  11. C++: New header :namespaces

    The new :namespaces export option can be used to specify namespaces to be used within a C++ org source block. Its usage is similar to :includes, in that it can accept multiple, space-separated namespaces to use. This header is equivalent to adding using namespace <name>; in the source block. Here is a "Hello World" in C++ using :namespaces:

    #+BEGIN_SRC C++ :results output :namespaces std :includes <iostream>
      cout << "Hello World" << endl;
    #+END_SRC
    
  12. Support for Vala language

    Vala language blocks support two special header arguments:

    • :flags passes arguments to the compiler
    • :cmdline passes commandline arguments to the generated executable

    Support for :var does not exist yet, also there is no :session support because Vala is a compiled language.

    The Vala compiler binary can be changed via the defcustom org-babel-vala-compiler.

6.2.8. New function scope argument for the Clock Table

Added a nullary function that returns a list of files as a possible argument for the scope of the clock table.

6.2.9. Export

  1. Implement vernacular table of contents in Markdown exporter

    Global table of contents are generated using vanilla Markdown syntax instead of HTML. Also #+TOC keyword, including local table of contents, are now supported.

  2. Add Slovenian translations
  3. Implement org-export-insert-image-links

    This new function is meant to be used in back-ends supporting images as descriptions of links, a.k.a. image links. See its docstring for details.

  4. New macro : {{{n}}}

    This macro creates and increment multiple counters in a document. See manual for details.

  5. Add global macros through org-export-global-macros

    With this variable, one can define macros available for all documents.

  6. New keyword #+EXPORT_FILE_NAME

    Similarly to :EXPORT_FILE_NAME: property, this keyword allows the user to specify the name of the output file upon exporting the document. This also has an effect on publishing.

  7. Horizontal rules are no longer ignored in LaTeX table math mode
  8. Use compilation-mode for compilation output
  9. Plain lists accept a new :separator attribute in Texinfo

    The new :separator attribute splits a tag from a description list item into multiple parts. This allows to have two-column tables with multiple entries in the first column. See manual for more details.

  10. latex-environment elements support caption keywords for LaTeX export

6.2.10. org-edit-special can edit LaTeX environments

Using C-c ' on a LaTeX environment opens a sub-editing buffer. By default, major mode in that buffer is latex-mode, but it can be changed by configuring org-src-lang-modes.

6.2.11. org-list-to-generic includes a new property: :ifmt

:ifmt is a function to be called on the body of each item. See org-list-to-generic documentation for details.

6.2.12. New variable : org-bibtex-headline-format-function

This allow to use a different title than entry title.

6.2.13. org-attach supports attaching files from URLs

Using C-c C-a u prompts for a URL pointing to a file to be attached to the document.

6.2.14. New option for org-refile-use-outline-path

org-refile-use-outline-path now supports the setting buffer-name, which causes refile targets to be prefixed with the buffer’s name. This is particularly useful when used in conjunction with uniquify.el.

6.2.15. org-file-contents now allows the FILE argument to be a URL.

This allows #+SETUPFILE: to accept a URL instead of a local file path. The URL contents are auto-downloaded and saved to a temporary cache org--file-cache. A new optional argument NOCACHE is added to org-file-contents.

6.2.16. org-mode-restart now resets the newly added org--file-cache.

Using C-c C-c on any keyword (like #+SETUPFILE) will reset the that file cache.

6.2.17. New option : org-table-duration-hour-zero-padding

This variable allow computed durations in tables to be zero-padded.

6.2.18. New mode switch for table formulas : U

This mode omits seconds in durations.

6.3. Removed functions

6.3.1. Org Timeline

This feature has been removed. Use a custom agenda view, possibly narrowed to current buffer to achieve a similar functionality.

6.3.2. org-agenda-skip-entry-when-regexp-matches is obsolete

Use org-agenda-skip-if instead.

6.3.3. org-agenda-skip-subtree-when-regexp-matches is obsolete

Use org-agenda-skip-if instead.

6.3.4. org-agenda-skip-entry-when-regexp-matches-in-subtree is obsolete

Use org-agenda-skip-if instead.

6.3.5. org-minutes-to-clocksum-string is obsolete

Use org-duration-from-minutes instead.

6.3.6. org-hh:mm-string-to-minutes is obsolete

Use org-duration-to-minutes instead.

6.3.7. org-duration-string-to-minutes is obsolete

Use org-duration-to-minutes instead.

6.3.8. org-gnus-nnimap-cached-article-number is removed.

This function relied on nnimap-group-overview-filename, which was removed from Gnus circa September 2010.

6.4. Removed options

6.4.1. org-agenda-repeating-timestamp-show-all is removed.

For an equivalent to a nil value, set org-agenda-show-future-repeats to nil and org-agenda-prefer-last-repeat to t.

6.4.2. org-gnus-nnimap-query-article-no-from-file is removed.

This variable has no effect, as it was relying on a function that was removed from Gnus circa September 2010.

6.4.3. org-usenet-links-prefer-google is obsolete.

Use org-gnus-prefer-web-links instead.

6.4.4. org-publish-sitemap-file-entry-format is deprecated

One can provide new :sitemap-format-entry property for a function equivalent to the removed format string.

6.4.5. org-enable-table-editor is removed.

Setting it to a nil value broke some other features (e.g., speed keys).

6.4.6. org-export-use-babel cannot be set to inline-only

The variable is now a boolean.

6.4.7. org-texinfo-def-table-markup is obsolete

Use org-texinfo-table-default-markup instead.

6.5. New functions

6.5.1. org-publish-find-property

This function can be used as a tool to format entries in a site-map, in addition to org-publish-find-title and org-publish-find-date.

6.5.2. org-list-to-org

It is the reciprocal of org-list-to-lisp, which see.

6.5.3. org-agenda-set-restriction-lock-from-agenda

Call org-agenda-set-restriction-lock from the agenda.

6.6. Miscellaneous

6.6.1. The Library of Babel now on Worg

The library-of-babel.org used to be accessible from the doc/ directory, distributed with Org’s core. It is now accessible from the Worg community-driven documentation here.

If you want to contribute to it, please see how to contribute.

6.6.2. Allow multiple columns view

Columns view is not limited to a single buffer anymore.

6.6.3. Org Attach obeys dired-dwim-target

When a Dired buffer is opened next to the Org document being edited, the prompt for file to attach can start in the Dired buffer's directory if `dired-dwim-target' in non-nil.

6.6.4. org-fill-paragraph can now fill a whole region

6.6.5. More specific anniversary descriptions

Anniversary descriptions (used in the agenda view, for instance) include the point in time, when the anniversary appears. This is, in its most general form, just the date of the anniversary. Or more specific terms, like "today", "tomorrow" or "in n days" are used to describe the time span.

This feature allows to automatically change the description of an anniversary, depending on if it occurs in the next few days or far away in the future.

6.6.6. Computed dates in tables appear as inactive time stamps

6.6.7. Save point before opening a file with an unknown search option

When following a file link with a search option (e.g., ::#custom-id) that doesn't exist in the target file, save position before raising an error. As a consequence, it is possible to jump back to the original document with org-mark-ring-goto (default binding C-c &).

6.6.8. org-get-heading accepts two more optional arguments

See docstring for details.

6.6.9. New option org-babel-uppercase-example-markers

This variable is a defcustom and replaces the variable org-babel-capitalize-example-region-markers, which is a defvar and is now obsolete.

6.6.10. INCLUDE keywords in commented trees are now ignored.

6.6.11. Default value for org-texinfo-text-markup-alist changed.

Now =...= markup uses @samp{} instead of @verb{}. You can use @verb{} again by customizing the variable.

6.6.12. Texinfo exports example blocks as @example

6.6.13. Texinfo exports inline source blocks as @code{}

6.6.14. Texinfo default table markup is @asis

It used to be @samp but @asis is neutral and, therefore, more suitable as a default value.

6.6.15. Texinfo default process includes --no-split option

6.6.16. New entities : \dollar and \USD

6.6.17. Support for date style URLs in org-protocol://open-source

URLs like https://cool-blog.com/2017/05/20/cool-post/ are covered by rewrite rules.

6.6.18. Add (C) COMMENT support to org-structure-template-alist

7. Version 9.0

7.1. Incompatible changes

7.1.1. Emacs 23 support has been dropped

From now on, Org expects at least Emacs 24.3, although Emacs 24.4 or above is suggested.

7.1.2. XEmacs support has been dropped

Incomplete compatibility layer with XEmacs has been removed. If you want to take over maintenance of this compatibility, please contact our mailing list.

7.1.3. New syntax for export blocks

Export blocks are explicitly marked as such at the syntax level to disambiguate their parsing from special blocks. The new syntax is

#+BEGIN_EXPORT backend
...
#+END_EXPORT

instead of

#+BEGIN_backend
...
#+END_backend

As a consequence, INCLUDE keywords syntax is modified, e.g.,

#+INCLUDE: "file.org" HTML

becomes

#+INCLUDE: "file.org" export html

The following function repairs export blocks and INCLUDE keywords using previous syntax:

(defun org-repair-export-blocks ()
  "Repair export blocks and INCLUDE keywords in current buffer."
  (interactive)
  (when (eq major-mode 'org-mode)
    (let ((case-fold-search t)
          (back-end-re (regexp-opt
                        '("HTML" "ASCII" "LATEX" "ODT" "MARKDOWN" "MD" "ORG"
                          "MAN" "BEAMER" "TEXINFO" "GROFF" "KOMA-LETTER")
                        t)))
      (org-with-wide-buffer
       (goto-char (point-min))
       (let ((block-re (concat "^[ \t]*#\\+BEGIN_" back-end-re)))
         (save-excursion
           (while (re-search-forward block-re nil t)
             (let ((element (save-match-data (org-element-at-point))))
               (when (eq (org-element-type element) 'special-block)
                 (save-excursion
                   (goto-char (org-element-property :end element))
                   (save-match-data (search-backward "_"))
                   (forward-char)
                   (insert "EXPORT")
                   (delete-region (point) (line-end-position)))
                 (replace-match "EXPORT \\1" nil nil nil 1))))))
       (let ((include-re
              (format "^[ \t]*#\\+INCLUDE: .*?%s[ \t]*$" back-end-re)))
         (while (re-search-forward include-re nil t)
           (let ((element (save-match-data (org-element-at-point))))
             (when (and (eq (org-element-type element) 'keyword)
                        (string= (org-element-property :key element) "INCLUDE"))
               (replace-match "EXPORT \\1" nil nil nil 1)))))))))

Moreover, :export-block keyword used in org-export-define-backend and org-export-define-derived-backend is no longer used and needs to be removed.

7.1.4. Footnotes changes

  1. [1]-like constructs are not valid footnotes

    Using [1] as a footnote was already discouraged in the manual, since it introduced too many false-positives in many Org documents. These constructs are now unsupported.

    If you used [N] in some of your documents, consider turning them into [fn:N].

  2. Org Footnote library doesn't handle non-Org buffers

    Commands for footnotes in an Org document no longer try to do something in non-Org ones. If you need to have footnotes there, consider using the footnote.el library, shipped with Emacs.

    In particular, org-footnote-tag-for-non-org-mode-files no longer exists.

7.1.5. org-file-apps no longer accepts S-expressions as commands

The variable now accepts functions of two arguments instead of plain S-expressions. Replacing an S-expression with an appropriate function is straightforward. For example

("pdf" . (foo))

becomes

("pdf" . (lambda (file link) (foo)))

7.1.6. The {{{modification-time}}} macro can get time via vc

The modification time will be determined via vc.el if the second argument is non-nil. See the manual for details.

7.1.7. Preparation and completion functions in publishing projects change signature

Preparation and completion functions are now called with an argument, which is the project property list. It used to be dynamically scoped through the project-plist variable.

7.1.8. Old Babel header properties are no longer supported

Using header arguments as property names is no longer possible. As such, the following

* Headline
:PROPERTIES:
:exports: code
:var: a=1 b=2
:var+: c=3
:END:

should be written instead

* Headline
:PROPERTIES:
:header-args: :exports code
:header-args+: :var a=1 b=2
:header-args+: :var c=3
:END:

Please note that, however, old properties were defined at the source block definition. Current ones are defined where the block is called.

7.2. New features

7.2.1. org-eww has been moved into core

7.2.2. New org-protocol key=value syntax

Org-protocol can now handle query-style parameters such as:

org-protocol://store-link?url=http:%2F%2Flocalhost%2Findex.html&title=The%20title
org-protocol://capture?template=x&title=Hello&body=World&url=http:%2F%2Fexample.com

Old-style links such as

org-protocol://store-link:/http:%2F%2Flocalhost%2Findex.html/The%20title

continue to be supported.

If you have defined your own handler functions for org-protocol-protocol-alist, change them to accept either a property list (for new-style links) or a string (for old-style links). Use org-protocol-parse-parameters to convert old-style links into property lists.

7.2.3. New Org linter library

org-lint can check syntax and report common issues in Org documents.

7.2.4. New option date-tree-last for org-agenda-insert-diary-strategy

When org-agenda-insert-diary-strategy is set to date-tree-last, diary entries are added to last in the date tree.

7.2.5. New vbar entity

\vbar or \vbar{} will be exported unconditionally as a |, unlike to existing \vert, which is expanded as &vert; when using a HTML derived export back-end.

7.2.6. Export

  1. New #+latex_compiler keyword to set LaTeX compiler.

    PDFLaTeX, XeLaTeX, and LuaLaTeX are supported. See the manual for details.

  2. New option org-export-with-broken-links

    This option tells the export process how to behave when encountering a broken internal link. See its docstring for more information.

  3. Attributes support in custom language environments for LaTeX export

    Custom language environments for LaTeX export can now define the string to be inserted during export, using attributes to indicate the position of the elements. See variable org-latex-custom-lang-environments for more details.

  4. New Texinfo options attribute on special blocks

    Using :options as a Texinfo attribute, it is possible to add information to custom environments. See manual for details.

  5. New HTML id attributes on special, example and quote blocks

    If the block has a #+NAME: attribute assigned, then the HTML element will have an id attribute with that name in the HTML export. This enables one to create links to these elements in other places, e.g., <a href="#name">text</a>.

  6. Listings with captions are now numbered in HTML export

    The class associated to the numbering is "listing-number". If you don't want these blocks to be numbered, as it was the case until now, You may want to add .listing-number { display: none; } to the CSS used.

  7. Line Numbering in SRC/EXAMPLE blocks support arbitrary start number

    The -n option to SRC and EXAMPLE blocks can now take a numeric argument to specify the staring line number for the source or example block. The +n option can now take a numeric argument that will be added to the last line number from the previous block as the starting point for the SRC/EXAMPLE block.

    #+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp -n 20
    ;; this will export with line number 20
    (message "This is line 21")
    #+END_SRC
    #+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp +n 10
    ;; This will be listed as line 31
    (message "This is line 32")
    #+END_SRC
    
  8. Allow toggling center for images in LaTeX export

    With the global variable org-latex-images-centered or the local attribute :center it is now possible to center an image in LaTeX export.

  9. Default CSS class org-svg for SVG images in HTML export

    SVG images exported in HTML are now by default assigned a CSS class org-svg if no CSS class is specified with the :class attribute. By default, the CSS styling of class org-svg specifies an image width of 90 % of the container the image.

  10. Markdown footnote export customization

    Variables org-md-footnotes-section and org-md-footnote-format introduced for ox-md.el. Both new variables define template strings which can be used to customize the format of the exported footnotes section and individual footnotes, respectively.

7.2.7. Babel

  1. Blocks with coderefs labels can now be evaluated

    The labels are removed prior to evaluating the block.

  2. Support for Lua language
  3. Support for SLY in Lisp blocks

    See org-babel-lisp-eval-fn to activate it.

  4. Support for Stan language

    New ob-stan.el library.

    Evaluating a Stan block can produce two different results.

    1. Dump the source code contents to a file.

      This file can then be used as a variable in other blocks, which allows interfaces like RStan to use the model.

    2. Compile the contents to a model file.

      This provides access to the CmdStan interface. To use this, set org-babel-stan-cmdstan-directory and provide a :file argument that does not end in ".stan".

    For more information and usage examples, visit https://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/babel/languages/ob-doc-stan.html

  5. Support for Oracle databases via sqlplus

    ob-sql library supports running SQL blocks against an Oracle database using sqlplus. Use with properties like this (all mandatory):

    :engine oracle
    :dbhost <host.com>
    :dbport <1521>
    :dbuser <username>
    :database <database>
    :dbpassword <secret>
    
  6. Improved support to Microsoft SQL Server via sqlcmd

    ob-sql library removes support to the msosql engine which uses the deprecated osql command line tool, and replaces it with mssql engine which uses the sqlcmd command line tool. Use with properties like this:

    :engine mssql
    :dbhost <host.com>
    :dbuser <username>
    :dbpassword <secret>
    :database <database>
    

    If you want to use the trusted connection feature, omit both the dbuser and dbpassword properties and add cmdline -E to the properties.

    If your Emacs is running in a Cygwin environment, the ob-sql library can pass the converted path to the sqlcmd tool.

  7. Improved support of header arguments for postgresql

    The postgresql engine in a sql code block now supports :dbport and :dbpassword as header arguments.

  8. Support for additional plantuml output formats

    The support for output formats of plantuml has been extended to now include:

    All Diagrams:

    png
    svg
    eps
    pdf
    vdx
    txt
    ASCII art
    utxt
    ASCII art using unicode characters

    Class Diagrams:

    xmi
    html

    State Diagrams:

    scxml

    The output formats are determined by the file extension specified using the :file property, e.g.:

    Please note that pdf does not work out of the box and needs additional setup in addition to plantuml. See https://plantuml.com/pdf.html for details and setup information.

7.2.8. Rewrite of radio lists

Radio lists, i.e, Org plain lists in foreign buffers, have been rewritten to be on par with Radio tables. You can use a large set of parameters to control how a given list should be rendered. See manual for details.

7.2.9. org-bbdb-anniversaries-future

Used like org-bbdb-anniversaries, it provides a few days warning for upcoming anniversaries (default: 7 days).

7.2.10. Clear non-repeated SCHEDULED upon repeating a task

If the task is repeated, and therefore done at least one, scheduling information is no longer relevant. It is therefore removed.

See commit message for more information.

7.2.11. Support for ISO week trees

ISO week trees are an alternative date tree format that orders entries by ISO week and not by month.

For example:

* 2015
** 2015-W35
** 2015-W36
*** 2015-08-31 Monday

They are supported in org-capture via file+weektree and file+weektree+prompt target specifications.

7.2.12. Accept :indent parameter when capturing column view

When defining a "columnview" dynamic block, it is now possible to add an :indent parameter, much like the one in the clock table.

On the other hand, stars no longer appear in an ITEM field.

7.2.13. Columns view

  1. org-columns accepts a prefix argument

    When called with a prefix argument, org-columns apply to the whole buffer unconditionally.

  2. New variable : org-agenda-view-columns-initially

    The variable used to be a defvar, it is now a defcustom.

  3. Allow custom summaries

    It is now possible to add new summary types, or override those provided by Org by customizing org-columns-summary-types, which see.

  4. Allow multiple summaries for any property

    Columns can now summarize the same property using different summary types.

7.2.14. Preview LaTeX snippets in buffers not visiting files

7.2.15. New option org-attach-commit

When non-nil, commit attachments with git, assuming the document is in a git repository.

7.2.16. Allow conditional case-fold searches in org-occur

When set to smart, the new variable org-occur-case-fold-search allows to mimic isearch.el: if the regexp searched contains any upper case character (or character class), the search is case sensitive. Otherwise, it is case insensitive.

7.2.17. More robust repeated ox-latex footnote handling

Repeated footnotes are now numbered by referring to a label in the first footnote.

7.2.18. The org-block face is inherited by src-blocks

This works also when org-src-fontify-natively is non-nil. It is also possible to specify per-languages faces. See org-src-block-faces and the manual for details.

7.2.19. Links are now customizable

Links can now have custom colors, tooltips, keymaps, display behavior, etc. Links are now centralized in org-link-parameters.

7.3. New functions

7.3.1. org-next-line-empty-p

It replaces the deprecated next argument to org-previous-line-empty-p.

7.3.2. org-show-children

It is a faster implementation of outline-show-children.

7.4. Removed functions

7.4.1. org-agenda-filter-by-tag-refine has been removed.

Use org-agenda-filter-by-tag instead.

7.4.2. org-agenda-todayp is deprecated.

Use org-agenda-today-p instead.

7.4.3. org-babel-get-header is removed.

Use org-babel--get-vars or assq instead, as applicable.

7.4.4. org-babel-trim is deprecated.

Use org-trim instead.

7.4.5. org-element-remove-indentation is deprecated.

Use org-remove-indentation instead.

7.4.6. org-image-file-name-regexp is deprecated

Use image-file-name-regexp instead. The never-used-in-core extensions argument has been dropped.

7.4.7. org-list-parse-list is deprecated

Use org-list-to-lisp instead.

7.4.8. org-on-heading-p is deprecated

A comment to this effect was in the source code since 7.8.03, but now a byte-compiler warning will be generated as well.

7.4.9. org-table-p is deprecated

Use org-at-table-p instead.

7.4.10. org-table-recognize-table.el is deprecated

It was not called by any org code since 2010.

7.4.11. Various reimplementations of cl-lib functions are deprecated

The affected functions are:

  • org-count
  • org-remove-if
  • org-remove-if-not
  • org-reduce
  • org-every
  • org-some

Additionally, org-sublist is deprecated in favor of cl-subseq. Note the differences in indexing conventions: org-sublist is 1-based and end-inclusive; cl-subseq is 0-based and end-exclusive.

7.5. Removed options

7.5.1. Remove all options related to ido or iswitchb

This includes org-completion-use-iswitchb and org-completion-use-ido. Instead Org uses regular functions, e.g., completion-read so as to let those libraries operate.

7.5.2. Remove org-list-empty-line-terminates-plain-lists

Two consecutive blank lines always terminate all levels of current plain list.

7.5.3. fixltx2e is removed from org-latex-default-packages-alist

fixltx2e is obsolete, see LaTeX News 22.

7.6. Miscellaneous

7.6.1. Add Icelandic smart quotes

7.6.2. Allow multiple receiver locations in radio tables and lists

7.6.3. Allow angular links within link descriptions

It is now allowed to write, e.g., [[http:orgmode.org][<file:unicorn.png>]] as an equivalent to [[http:orgmode.org][file:unicorn.png]]. The advantage of the former is that spaces are allowed within the path.

7.6.4. Beamer export back-ends uses org-latex-prefer-user-labels

7.6.5. :preparation-function called earlier during publishing

Functions in this list are called before any file is associated to the current project. Thus, they can be used to generate to be published Org files.

7.6.6. Function org-remove-indentation changes.

The new algorithm doesn't remove TAB characters not used for indentation.

7.6.7. Secure placeholders in capture templates

Placeholders in capture templates are no longer expanded recursively. However, %(...) constructs are expanded very late, so you can fill the contents of the S-exp with the replacement text of non-interactive placeholders. As before, interactive ones are still expanded as the very last step, so the previous statement doesn't apply to them.

Note that only %(...) placeholders initially present in the template, or introduced using a file placeholder, i.e., %[...] are expanded. This prevents evaluating potentially malicious code when another placeholder, e.g., %i expands to a S-exp.

7.6.8. Links stored by org-gnus-store-link in nnir groups

Since gnus nnir groups are temporary, org-gnus-store-link now refers to the article's original group.

7.6.9. org-babel-check-confirm-evaluate is now a function instead of a macro

The calling convention has changed.

7.6.10. HTML export table row customization changes

Variable org-html-table-row-tags has been split into org-html-table-row-open-tag and org-html-table-row-close-tag. Both new variables can be either a string or a function which will be called with 6 parameters.

7.6.11. ITEM special property returns headline without stars

7.6.12. Rename org-insert-columns-dblock into org-columns-insert-dblock

The previous name is, for the time being, kept as an obsolete alias.

7.6.13. org-trim can preserve leading indentation.

When setting a new optional argument to a non-nil value, org-trim preserves leading indentation while removing blank lines at the beginning of the string. The behavior is identical for white space at the end of the string.

7.6.14. Function org-info-export changes.

HTML links created from certain info links now point to gnu.org URL's rather than just to local files. For example info links such as info:emacs#List Buffers used to be converted to HTML links like this:

<a href="emacs.html#List-Buffers">emacs#List Buffers</a>

where local file emacs.html is referenced. For most folks this file does not exist. Thus the new behavior is to generate this HTML link instead:

<a href="https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_mono/emacs.html#List-Buffers">emacs#List Buffers</a>

All emacs related info links are similarly translated plus few other gnu.org manuals.

7.6.15. Repeaters with a ++ interval and a time can be shifted to later today

Previously, if a recurring task had a timestamp of <2016-01-01 Fri 20:00 ++1d> and was completed on 2016-01-02 at 08:00, the task would skip 2016-01-02 and would be rescheduled for 2016-01-03. Timestamps with ++ cookies and a specific time will now shift to the first possible future occurrence, even if the occurrence is later the same day the task is completed. (Timestamps already in the future are still shifted one time further into the future.)

7.6.16. org-mobile-action-alist is now a defconst

It used to be a defcustom, with a warning that it shouldn't be modified anyway.

7.6.17. file+emacs and file+sys link types are deprecated

They are still supported in Org 9.0 but will eventually be removed in a later release. Use file link type along with universal arguments to force opening it in either Emacs or with system application.

7.6.18. New defcustom org-babel-J-command stores the j command

7.6.19. New defalias org-babel-execute:j

Allows J source blocks be indicated by letter j. Previously the indication letter was solely J.

7.6.20. org-open-line ignores tables at the very beginning of the buffer

When org-special-ctrl-o is non-nil, it is impractical to create a blank line above a table at the beginning of the document. Now, as a special case, org-open-line behaves normally in this situation.

7.6.21. org-babel-hash-show-time is now customizable

The experimental variable used to be more or less confidential, as a defvar.

7.6.22. New :format property to parsed links

It defines the format of the original link. Possible values are: plain, bracket and angle.

8. Version 8.3

8.1. Incompatible changes

8.1.1. Properties drawers syntax changes

Properties drawers are now required to be located right after a headline and its planning line, when applicable.

It will break some documents as TODO states changes were sometimes logged before the property drawer.

The following function will repair them:

(defun org-repair-property-drawers ()
  "Fix properties drawers in current buffer.
Ignore non Org buffers."
  (when (eq major-mode 'org-mode)
    (org-with-wide-buffer
     (goto-char (point-min))
     (let ((case-fold-search t)
           (inline-re (and (featurep 'org-inlinetask)
                           (concat (org-inlinetask-outline-regexp)
                                   "END[ \t]*$"))))
       (org-map-entries
        (lambda ()
          (unless (and inline-re (org-looking-at-p inline-re))
            (save-excursion
              (let ((end (save-excursion (outline-next-heading) (point))))
                (forward-line)
                (when (org-looking-at-p org-planning-line-re) (forward-line))
                (when (and (< (point) end)
                           (not (org-looking-at-p org-property-drawer-re))
                           (save-excursion
                             (and (re-search-forward org-property-drawer-re end t)
                                  (eq (org-element-type
                                       (save-match-data (org-element-at-point)))
                                      'drawer))))
                  (insert (delete-and-extract-region
                           (match-beginning 0)
                           (min (1+ (match-end 0)) end)))
                  (unless (bolp) (insert "\n"))))))))))))

8.1.2. Using "COMMENT" is now equivalent to commenting with "#"

If you used "COMMENT" in headlines to prevent a subtree from being exported, you can still do it but all information within the subtree is now commented out, i.e. no #+OPTIONS line will be parsed or taken into account when exporting.

If you want to exclude a headline from export while using its contents for setting options, use :noexport: (see org-export-exclude-tags.)

8.1.3. #+CATEGORY keywords no longer apply partially to document

It was possible to use several such keywords and have them apply to the text below until the next one, but strongly deprecated since Org 5.14 (2008).

#+CATEGORY keywords are now global to the document. You can use node properties to set category for a subtree, e.g.,

* Headline
   :PROPERTIES:
   :CATEGORY: some category
   :END:

8.1.4. New variable to control visibility when revealing a location

org-show-following-heading, org-show-siblings, org-show-entry-below and org-show-hierarchy-above no longer exist. Instead, visibility is controlled through a single variable: org-show-context-detail, which see.

8.1.5. Replace disputed keys again when reading a date

org-replace-disputed-keys has been ignored when reading date since version 8.1, but the former behavior is restored again.

Keybinding for reading date can be customized with a new variable org-read-date-minibuffer-local-map.

8.1.6. No default title is provided when TITLE keyword is missing

Skipping TITLE keyword no longer provides the current file name, or buffer name, as the title. Instead, simply ignore the title.

8.1.7. Default bindings of C-c C-n and C-c C-p changed

The key sequences C-c C-n and C-c C-p are now bound to org-next-visible-heading and org-previous-visible-heading respectively, rather than the outline-mode versions of these functions. The Org version of these functions skips over inline tasks (and even-level headlines when org-odd-levels-only is set).

8.1.8. org-element-context no longer return objects in keywords

org-element-context used to return objects on some keywords, i.e., TITLE, DATE and AUTHOR. It now returns only the keyword.

8.1.9. org-timer-default-timer type changed from number to string

If you have, in your configuration, something like (setq org-timer-default-timer 10) replace it with (setq org-timer-default-timer "10").

8.1.10. Functions signature changes

The following functions require an additional argument. See their docstring for more information.

  • org-export-collect-footnote-definitions
  • org-html-format-headline-function
  • org-html-format-inlinetask-function
  • org-latex-format-headline-function
  • org-latex-format-inlinetask-function
  • org-link-search

8.2. New features

8.2.1. Default lexical evaluation of emacs-lisp source blocks

Emacs-lisp source blocks in Babel are now evaluated using lexical scoping. There is a new header to control this behavior.

The default results in an eval with lexical scoping. :lexical yes

This turns lexical scoping off in the eval (the former behavior). :lexical no

This uses the lexical environment with x=42 in the eval. :lexical '((x . 42))

8.2.2. Behavior of org-return changed

If point is before or after the headline title, insert a new line without changing the headline.

8.2.3. Hierarchies of tags

The functionality of nesting tags in hierarchies is added to Org mode. This is the generalization of what was previously called "Tag groups" in the manual. That term is now changed to "Tag hierarchy".

The following in-buffer definition:

#+TAGS: [ Group : SubOne SubTwo ]
#+TAGS: [ SubOne : SubOne1 SubOne2 ]
#+TAGS: [ SubTwo : SubTwo1 SubTwo2 ]

Should be seen as the following tree of tags:

  • Group
    • SubOne
      • SubOne1
      • SubOne2
    • SubTwo
      • SubTwo1
      • SubTwo2

Searching for "Group" should return all tags defined above. Filtering on SubOne filters also it's sub-tags. Etc.

There is no limit on the depth for the tag hierarchy.

8.2.4. Additional syntax for non-unique grouptags

Additional syntax is defined for grouptags if the tags in the group don't have to be distinct on a heading.

Grouptags had to previously be defined with { }. This syntax is already used for exclusive tags and Grouptags need their own, non-exclusive syntax. This behavior is achieved with [ ]. Note: { } can still be used also for Grouptags but then only one of the given tags can be used on the headline at the same time. Example:

[ group : sub1 sub2 ]

* Test                                                            :sub1:sub2:

This is a more general case than the already existing syntax for grouptags; { }.

8.2.5. Define regular expression patterns as tags

Tags can be defined as grouptags with regular expressions as "sub-tags".

The regular expressions in the group must be marked up within { }. Example use:

#+TAGS: [ Project : {P@.+} ]

Searching for the tag Project will now list all tags also including regular expression matches for P@.+. This is good for example for projects tagged with a common identifier, i.e. P@2014OrgTags.

8.2.6. Filtering in the agenda on grouptags (Tag hierarchies)

Filtering in the agenda on grouptags filters all of the related tags. Except if a filter is applied with a (double) prefix-argument.

Filtering in the agenda on subcategories does not filter the "above" levels anymore.

If a grouptag contains a regular expression the regular expression is also used as a filter.

8.2.7. Minor refactoring of org-agenda-filter-by-tag

Now uses the argument ARG and optional argument exclude instead of strip and narrow. ARG because the argument has multiple purposes and makes more sense than strip now. The term "narrowing" is changed to exclude.

The main purpose is for the function to make more logical sense when filtering on tags now when tags can be structured in hierarchies.

8.2.8. Babel: support for sed scripts

Thanks to Bjarte Johansen for this feature.

8.2.9. Babel: support for Processing language

New ob-processing.el library.

This library implements necessary functions for implementing editing of Processing code blocks, viewing the resulting sketches in an external viewer, and HTML export of the sketches.

Check the documentation for more details.

Thanks to Jarmo Hurri for this feature.

8.2.10. New behavior for org-toggle-latex-fragment

The new behavior is the following:

  • With a double prefix argument or with a single prefix argument when point is before the first headline, toggle overlays in the whole buffer;
  • With a single prefix argument, toggle overlays in the current subtree;
  • On latex code, toggle overlay at point;
  • Otherwise, toggle overlays in the current section.

8.2.11. Additional markup with #+INCLUDE keyword

The content of the included file can now be optionally marked up, for instance as HTML. See the documentation for details.

8.2.12. File links with #+INCLUDE keyword

Objects can be extracted via #+INCLUDE using file links. It is possible to include only the contents of the object. See manual for more information.

8.2.13. Drawers do not need anymore to be referenced in #+DRAWERS

One can use a drawer without listing it in the #+DRAWERS keyword, which is now obsolete. As a consequence, this change also deprecates org-drawers variable.

8.2.14. org-edit-special can edit export blocks

Using C-c ' on an export block now opens a sub-editing buffer. Major mode in that buffer is determined by export backend name (e.g., "latex" → "latex-mode"). You can define exceptions to this rule by configuring org-src-lang-modes, which see.

8.2.15. Additional :hline processing to ob-shell

If the argument :hlines yes is present in a babel call, an optional argument :hlines-string can be used to define a string to use as a representation for the lisp symbol 'hline in the shell program. The default is hline.

8.2.16. Markdown export supports switches in source blocks

For example, it is now possible to number lines using the -n switch in a source block.

8.2.17. New option in ASCII export

Plain lists can have an extra margin by setting org-ascii-list-margin variable to an appropriate integer.

8.2.18. New blocks in ASCII export

ASCII export now supports #+BEGIN_JUSTIFYRIGHT and #+BEGIN_JUSTIFYLEFT blocks. See documentation for details.

8.2.19. More back-end specific publishing options

The number of publishing options specific to each back-end has been increased. See manual for details.

8.2.20. Export inline source blocks

Inline source code was used to be removed upon exporting. They are now handled as standard code blocks, i.e., the source code can appear in the output, depending on the parameters.

8.2.21. Extend org-export-first-sibling-p and org-export-last-sibling-p

These functions now support any element or object, not only headlines.

8.2.22. New function: org-export-table-row-in-header-p

8.2.23. New function: org-export-get-reference

8.2.24. New function: org-element-lineage

This function deprecates org-export-get-genealogy. It also provides more features. See docstring for details.

8.2.25. New function: org-element-copy

8.2.26. New filter: org-export-filter-body-functions

Functions in this filter are applied on the body of the exported document, before wrapping it within the template.

8.2.27. New :environment parameter when exporting example blocks to LaTeX

#+ATTR_LATEX: :environment myverbatim
#+BEGIN_EXAMPLE
This sentence is false.
#+END_EXAMPLE

will be exported using @samp(myverbatim) instead of @samp(verbatim).

8.2.28. Various improvements on radio tables

Radio tables feature now relies on Org's export framework ("ox.el"). :no-escape parameter no longer exists, but additional global parameters are now supported: :raw, :backend. Moreover, there are new parameters specific to some pre-defined translators, e.g., :environment and :booktabs for orgtbl-to-latex. See translators docstrings (including orgtbl-to-generic) for details.

8.2.29. Non-floating minted listings in LaTeX export

It is not possible to specify #+attr_latex: :float nil in conjunction with source blocks exported by the minted package.

8.2.30. Field formulas can now create columns as needed

Previously, evaluating formulas that referenced out-of-bounds columns would throw an error. A new variable org-table-formula-create-columns was added to adjust this behavior. It is now possible to silently add new columns, to do so with a warning or to explicitly ask the user each time.

8.2.31. ASCII plot

Ability to plot values in a column through ASCII-art bars. See manual for details.

8.2.32. New hook: org-archive-hook

This hook is called after successfully archiving a subtree, with point on the original subtree, not yet deleted.

8.2.33. New option: org-attach-archive-delete

When non-nil, attachments from archived subtrees are removed.

8.2.34. New option: org-latex-caption-above

This variable generalizes org-latex-table-caption-above, which is now deprecated. In addition to tables, it applies to source blocks, special blocks and images. See docstring for more information.

8.2.35. New option: org-latex-prefer-user-labels

See the docstring for more information.

8.2.36. Export unnumbered headlines

Headlines, for which the property UNNUMBERED is non-nil, are now exported without section numbers irrespective of their levels. The property is inherited by children.

8.2.37. Tables can be sorted with an arbitrary function

It is now possible to specify a function, both programmatically, through a new optional argument, and interactively with f or F keys, to sort a table.

8.2.38. Table of contents can be local to a section

The TOC keywords now accepts an optional local parameter. See manual for details.

8.2.39. Countdown timers can now be paused

org-timer-pause-time now pauses and restarts both relative and countdown timers.

8.2.40. New option only-window for org-agenda-window-setup

When org-agenda-window-setup is set to only-window, the agenda is displayed as the sole window of the current frame.

8.2.41. {{{date}}} macro supports optional formatting argument

It is now possible to supply and optional formatting argument to {{{date}}}. See manual for details.

8.2.42. {{{property}}} macro supports optional search argument

It is now possible to supply an optional search option to {{{property}}} in order to retrieve remote properties optional. See manual for details.

8.2.43. New option org-export-with-title

It is possible to suppress the title insertion with #+OPTIONS: title:nil or globally using the variable org-export-with-title.

8.2.44. New entities family: " "

" " are used to insert up to 20 contiguous spaces in various back-ends. In particular, this family can be used to introduce leading spaces within table cells.

8.2.45. New MathJax configuration options

Org uses the MathJax CDN by default. See the manual and the docstring of org-html-mathjax-options for details.

8.2.46. New behavior in `org-export-options-alist'

When defining a back-end, it is now possible to specify to give `parse' behavior on a keyword. It is equivalent to call `org-element-parse-secondary-string' on the value.

However, parsed KEYWORD is automatically associated to an :EXPORT_KEYWORD: property, which can be used to override the keyword value during a subtree export. Moreover, macros are expanded in such keywords and properties.

8.2.47. Viewport support in html export

Viewport for mobile-optimized website is now automatically inserted when exporting to html. See org-html-viewport for details.

8.2.48. New #+SUBTITLE export keyword

Org can typeset a subtitle in some export backends. See the manual for details.

8.2.49. Remotely edit a footnote definition

Calling org-edit-footnote-reference (C-c ') on a footnote reference allows to edit its definition, as long as it is not anonymous, in a dedicated buffer. It works even if buffer is currently narrowed.

8.2.50. New function org-delete-indentation bound to M-^

Work as delete-indentation unless at heading, in which case text is added to headline text.

8.2.51. Support for images in Texinfo export

Texinfo back-end now handles images. See the manual for details.

8.2.52. Support for captions in Texinfo export

Tables and source blocks can now have captions. Additionally, lists of tables and lists of listings can be inserted in the document with #+TOC keyword.

8.2.53. Countdown timer support hh:mm:ss format

In addition to setting countdown timers in minutes, they can also be set using the hh:mm:ss format.

8.2.54. Extend org-clone-subtree-with-time-shift

org-clone-subtree-with-time-shift now accepts 0 as an argument for the number of clones, which removes the repeater from the original subtree and creates one shifted, repeating clone.

8.2.55. New time block for clock tables: untilnow

It encompasses all past closed clocks.

8.2.56. Support for the polyglossia LaTeX package

See the docstring of org-latex-classes and org-latex-guess-polyglossia-language for details.

8.2.57. None-floating tables, graphics and blocks can have captions

8.2.58. `org-insert-heading' can be forced to insert top-level headline

8.3. Removed functions

8.3.1. Removed function org-translate-time

Use org-timestamp-translate instead.

8.3.2. Removed function org-beamer-insert-options-template

This function inserted a Beamer specific template at point or in current subtree. Use org-export-insert-default-template instead, as it provides more features and covers all export back-ends. It is also accessible from the export dispatcher.

8.3.3. Removed function org-timer-cancel-timer

org-timer-stop now stops both relative and countdown timers.

8.3.4. Removed function org-export-solidify-link-text

This function, being non-bijective, introduced bug in internal references. Use org-export-get-reference instead.

8.3.5. Removed function org-end-of-meta-data-and-drawers

The function is superseded by org-end-of-meta-data, called with an optional argument.

8.3.6. Removed functions org-table-colgroup-line-p, org-table-cookie-line-p

These functions were left-over from pre 8.0 era. They are not correct anymore. Since they are not needed, they have no replacement.

8.4. Removed options

8.4.1. org-list-empty-line-terminates-plain-lists is deprecated

It will be kept in code base until next release, for backward compatibility.

If you need to separate consecutive lists with blank lines, always use two of them, as if this option was nil (default value).

8.4.2. org-export-with-creator is a boolean

Special comment value is no longer allowed. It is possible to use a body filter to add comments about the creator at the end of the document instead.

8.4.3. Removed option org-html-use-unicode-chars

Setting this to non-nil was problematic as it converted characters everywhere in the buffer, possibly corrupting URLs.

8.4.4. Removed option org-babel-sh-command

This undocumented option defaulted to the value of shell-file-name at the time of loading ob-shell. The new behavior is to use the value of shell-file-name directly when the shell language is shell. To chose a different shell, either customize shell-file-name or bind this variable locally.

8.4.5. Removed option org-babel-sh-var-quote-fmt

This undocumented option was supposed to provide different quoting styles when changing the shell type. Changing the shell type can now be done directly from the source block and the quoting style has to be compatible across all shells, so a customization doesn't make sense anymore. The chosen hard coded quoting style conforms to POSIX.

8.4.6. Removed option org-insert-labeled-timestamps-at-point

Setting this option to anything else that the default value (nil) would create invalid planning info. This dangerous option is now removed.

8.4.7. Removed option org-koma-letter-use-title

Use org-export-with-title instead. See also below.

8.4.8. Removed option org-entities-ascii-explanatory

This variable has no effect since Org 8.0.

8.4.9. Removed option org-table-error-on-row-ref-crossing-hline

This variable has no effect since August 2009.

8.4.10. Removed MathML-related options from org-html-mathjax-options

MathJax automatically chooses the best display technology based on the end-users browser. You may force initial usage of MathML via org-html-mathjax-template or by setting the path property of org-html-mathjax-options.

8.4.11. Removed comment-related filters

org-export-filter-comment-functions and org-export-filter-comment-block-functions variables do not exist anymore.

8.5. Miscellaneous

8.5.1. Strip all meta data from ITEM special property

ITEM special property does not contain TODO, priority or tags anymore.

8.5.2. File names in links accept are now compatible with URI syntax

Absolute file names can now start with /// in addition to /. E.g., [[file:///home/me/unicorn.jpg]].

8.5.3. Footnotes in included files are now local to the file

As a consequence, it is possible to include multiple Org files with footnotes in a master document without being concerned about footnote labels colliding.

8.5.4. Mailto links now use regular URI syntax

This change deprecates old Org syntax for mailto links: mailto:user@domain::Subject.

8.5.5. QUOTE keywords do not exist anymore

QUOTE keywords have been deprecated since Org 8.2.

8.5.6. Select tests to perform with the build system

The build system has been enhanced to allow test selection with a regular expression by defining BTEST_RE during the test invocation. This is especially useful during bisection to find just when a particular test failure was introduced.

8.5.7. Exact heading search for external links ignore spaces and cookies

Exact heading search for links now ignore spaces and cookies. This is the case for links of the form file:projects.org::*task title, as well as links of the form file:projects.org::some words when org-link-search-must-match-exact-headline is not nil.

8.5.8. org-latex-hyperref-template, org-latex-title-command formatting

New formatting keys are supported. See the respective docstrings. Note, org-latex-hyperref-template has a new default value.

8.5.9. float, wasysym, marvosym are removed from org-latex-default-packages-alist

If you require any of these package add them to your preamble via org-latex-packages-alist. Org also uses default LaTeX \tolerance now.

8.5.10. When exporting, throw an error on unresolved id/fuzzy links and code refs

This helps spotting wrong links.

9. Version 8.2

9.1. Incompatible changes

9.1.1. ob-sh.el renamed to ob-shell

This may require two changes in user config.

  1. In org-babel-do-load-languages, change (sh . t) to (shell . t).
  2. Edit local.mk files to change the value of BTEST_OB_LANGUAGES to remove "sh" and include "shell".

9.1.2. Combine org-mac-message.el and org-mac-link-grabber into org-mac-link.el

Please remove calls to (require 'org-mac-message) and (require 'org-mac-link-grabber) in your .emacs initialization file. All you need now is (require 'org-mac-link).

Additionally, replace any calls to ogml-grab-link to org-mac-grab-link. For example, replace this line:

(define-key org-mode-map (kbd "C-c g") 'omgl-grab-link)

with this:

(define-key org-mode-map (kbd "C-c g") 'org-mac-grab-link)

9.1.3. HTML export: Replace HTML_HTML5_FANCY by :html-html5-fancy (…)

Some of the HTML specific export options in Org <8.1 are either nil or t, like #+HTML_INCLUDE_STYLE. We replaced these binary options with option keywords like :html-include-style.

So you need to replace

#+HTML_INCLUDE_STYLE: t

by

#+OPTIONS: :html-include-style t

Options affected by this change: HTML5_FANCY, HTML_INCLUDE_SCRIPTS and HTML_INCLUDE_STYLE.

9.1.4. Add an argument to org-export-to-file and org-export-to-buffer

org-export-to-file and org-export-to-file can run in a different process when provided a non-nil ASYNC optional argument, without relying on org-export-async-start macro.

Since ASYNC is the first of optional arguments, you have to shift the other optional arguments accordingly.

9.1.5. Export back-ends are now structures

Export back-ends are now structures, and stored as such in the communication channel during an export process. In other words, from now on, (plist-get info :back-end) will return a structure instead of a symbol.

Arguments in hooks and in filters are still symbols, though.

9.2. Important bugfixes

9.2.1. org-insert-heading has been rewritten and bugs are now fixed

9.2.2. The replacement of disputed keys is now turned of when reading a date

9.2.3. Match string for sparse trees can now contain a slash in a property value

You can now have searches like SOMEPROP="aaa/bbb". Until now, this would break because the slash would be interpreted as the separator starting a TOTO match string.

9.3. New features

9.3.1. C-c ^ x will now sort checklist items by their checked status

See org-sort-list: hitting C-c ^ x will put checked items at the end of the list.

9.3.2. Various LaTeX export enhancements

  • Support SVG images
  • Support for .pgf files
  • LaTeX Babel blocks can now be exported as .tikz files
  • Allow latexmk as an option for org-latex-pdf-process
  • When using \usepackage[AUTO]{babel}, AUTO will automatically be replaced with a value compatible with org-export-default-language or LANGUAGE keyword.
  • The dependency on the latexsym LaTeX package has been removed, we now use amssymb symbols by default instead.

9.3.3. New functions for paragraph motion

The commands C-down and C-up now invoke special commands that use knowledge from the org-elements parser to move the cursor in a paragraph-like way.

9.3.4. New entities in org-entities.el

Add support for ell, imath, jmath, varphi, varpi, aleph, gimel, beth, dalet, cdots, S (§), dag, ddag, colon, therefore, because, triangleq, leq, geq, lessgtr, lesseqgtr, ll, lll, gg, ggg, prec, preceq, preccurlyeq, succ, succeq, succurlyeq, setminus, nexist(s), mho, check, frown, diamond. Changes loz, vert, checkmark, smile and tilde.

9.3.5. Anonymous export back-ends

org-export-create-backend can create anonymous export back-ends, which can then be passed to export functions like org-export-to-file, org-export-to-buffer or org-export-as.

It allows for quick translation of Org syntax without the overhead of registering a new back-end.

9.3.6. New agenda fortnight view

The agenda has not, in addition to day, week, month, and year views, also a fortnight view covering 14 days.

9.4. New options

9.4.1. New option org-bookmark-names-plist

This allows to specify the names of automatic bookmarks.

9.4.2. New option org-agenda-ignore-drawer-properties

This allows more flexibility when optimizing the agenda generation. See https://orgmode.org/worg/agenda-optimization.html for details.

9.4.3. New option: org-html-link-use-abs-url to force using absolute URLs

This is an export/publishing option, and should be used either within the #+OPTIONS line(s) or within a org-publish-project-alist.

Setting this option to t is needed when the HTML output does not allow relative URLs. For example, the contrib/lisp/ox-rss.el library produces a RSS feed, and RSS feeds need to use absolute URLs, so a combination of :html-link-home "..." and :html-link-use-abs-url t is required—see the configuration example in the comment section of ox-rss.el.

9.4.4. New option org-babel-ditaa-java-cmd

This makes java executable configurable for ditaa blocks.

9.4.5. New options org-babel-latex-htlatex and org-babel-latex-htlatex-packages

This enables SVG generation from latex code blocks.

9.4.6. New option: org-habit-show-done-always-green

See this message from Max Mikhanosha.

9.4.7. New option: org-babel-inline-result-wrap

If you set this to the following

(setq org-babel-inline-result-wrap "$%s$")

then inline code snippets will be wrapped into the formatting string.

9.4.8. New option: org-special-ctrl-o

This variable can be used to turn off the special behavior of C-o in tables.

9.5. New contributed packages

ox-bibtex.el by Nicolas Goaziou
an utility to handle BibTeX export to both LaTeX and HTML exports. It uses the bibtex2html software.
org-screenshot.el by Max Mikhanosha
an utility to handle screenshots easily from Org, using the external tool scrot.

9.6. Miscellaneous

9.6.1. "QUOTE" keywords in headlines are deprecated

"QUOTE" keywords are an undocumented feature in Org. When a headline starts with the keyword "QUOTE", its contents are parsed as a quote-section and treated as an example block. You can achieve the same with example blocks.

This feature is deprecated and will be removed in the next Org release.

10. Version 8.0.1

10.1. Installation

Installation instructions have been updated and simplified.

If you have troubles installing or updating Org, focus on these instructions:

  • when updating via a .zip/.tar.gz file, you only need to set the load-path in your .emacs. Set it before any other Org customization that would call autoloaded Org functions.
  • when updating by pulling Org's Git repository, make sure to create the correct autoloads. You can do this by running ~$ make autoloads (to only create the autoloads) or by running ~$ make (to also compile the Emacs lisp files.) ~$ make help and ~$ make helpall gives you detailed explanations.
  • when updating through ELPA (either from GNU ELPA or from Org ELPA), you have to install Org's ELPA package in a session where no Org function has been called already.

When in doubt, run M-x org-version RET and see if you have a mixed-up installation.

See https://orgmode.org/org.html#Installation for details.

10.2. Incompatible changes

Org 8.0 is the most disruptive major version of Org.

If you configured export options, you will have to update some of them.

If you used #+ATTR_* keywords, the syntax of the attributes changed and you will have to update them.

Below is a list of changes for which you need to take action.

See https://orgmode.org/worg/org-8.0.html for the most recent version of this list and for detailed instructions on how to migrate.

  1. New export engine

    Org 8.0 comes with a new export engine written by Nicolas Goaziou. This export engine relies on org-element.el (Org's syntax parser), which was already in Org's core. This new export engine triggered the rewriting of all export back-ends.

    The most visible change is the export dispatcher, accessible through the keybinding C-c C-e. By default, this menu only shows some of the built-in export formats, but you can add more formats by loading them directly (e.g., (require 'ox-texinfo) or by configuring the option org-export-backends.

    More contributed back-ends are available from the contrib/ directory, the corresponding files start with the ox- prefix.

    If you customized an export back-end (like HTML or LaTeX), you will need to rename some options so that your customization is not lost. Typically, an option starting with org-export-html- is now named org-html-. See the manual for details and check this Worg page for directions.

  2. New syntax for #+ATTRHTML/LaTeX/… options
    #+ATTR_HTML width="200px"
    

    should now be written

    #+ATTR_HTML :width 200px
    

    Keywords like #+ATTR_HTML and #+ATTR_LaTeX are defined in their respective back-ends, and the list of supported parameters depends on each backend. See Org's manual for details.

  3. org-remember.el has been removed

    You cannot use remember.el anymore to capture notes.

    Support for remember templates has been obsoleted since long, it is now fully removed.

    Use M-x org-capture-import-remember-templates RET to import your remember templates into capture templates.

  4. org-jsinfo.el has been merged into ox-html.el

    If you were requiring ox-jsinfo.el in your .emacs.el file, you will have to remove this requirement from your initialization file.

  5. Note for third-party developers

    The name of the files for export back-end have changed: we now use the prefix ox- for those files (like we use the ob- prefix for Babel files.) For example org-html.el is now ox-html.el.

    If your code relies on these files, please update the names in your code.

  6. Packages moved from core to contrib

    Since packages in Org's core are meant to be part of GNU Emacs, we try to be minimalist when it comes to adding files into core. For 8.0, we moved some contributions into the contrib/ directory.

    The rationale for deciding that these files should live in contrib/ is either because they rely on third-party software that is not included in Emacs, or because they are not targeting a significant user-base.

    • org-colview-xemacs.el
    • org-mac-message.el
    • org-mew.el
    • org-wl.el
    • ox-freedmind.el
    • ox-taskjuggler.el

    Note that ox-freedmind.el has been rewritten by Jambunathan, org-mew.el has been enhanced by Tokuya Kameshima and ox-taskjuggler.el by Nicolas Goaziou and others.

    Also, the Taskjuggler exporter now uses TJ3 by default. John Hendy wrote a tutorial on Worg for the TJ3 export.

10.3. New packages in core

10.3.1. ob-makefile.el by Eric Schulte and Thomas S. Dye

ob-makefile.el implements Org Babel support for Makefile tangling.

10.3.2. ox-man.el by Luis Anaya

ox-man.el allows you to export Org files to man pages.

10.3.3. ox-md.el by Nicolas Goaziou

ox-md.el allows you to export Org files to Markdown files, using the vanilla Markdown syntax.

10.3.4. ox-texinfo.el by Jonathan Leech-Pepin

ox-texinfo.el allows you to export Org files to Texinfo files.

10.4. New packages in contrib

10.4.1. ob-julia.el by G. Jay Kerns

Julia is a new programming language.

ob-julia.el provides Org Babel support for evaluating Julia source code.

10.4.2. ob-mathomatic.el by Luis Anaya

mathomatic a portable, command-line, educational CAS and calculator software, written entirely in the C programming language.

ob-mathomatic.el provides Org Babel support for evaluating mathomatic entries.

10.4.3. ob-tcl.el by Luis Anaya

ob-tcl.el provides Org Babel support for evaluating Tcl source code.

10.4.4. org-bullets.el by Evgeni Sabof

Display bullets instead of stars for headlines.

Also see this updated FAQ on how to display another character than "*" for starting headlines.

10.4.5. org-favtable.el by Marc-Oliver Ihm

org-favtable.el helps you to create and update a table of favorite locations in org, keeping the most frequently visited lines right at the top. This table is called "favtable". See the documentation on Worg.

10.4.6. ox-confluence.el by Sébastien Delafond

ox-confluence.el lets you convert Org files to Confluence Wiki files.

10.4.7. ox-deck.el and ox-s5.el by Rick Frankel

deck.js is a javascript library for displaying HTML ages as presentations. ox-deck.el exports Org files to HTML presentations using deck.js.

s5 is a set of scripts which also allows to display HTML pages as presentations. ox-s5.el exports Org files to HTML presentations using s5.

10.4.8. ox-groff.el by Luis Anaya and Nicolas Goaziou

The groff (GNU troff) software is a typesetting package which reads plain text mixed with formatting commands and produces formatted output.

Luis Anaya and Nicolas Goaziou implemented ox-groff.el to allow conversion from Org files to groff.

10.4.9. ox-koma-letter.el by Nicolas Goaziou and Alan Schmitt

This back-end allow to export Org pages to the KOMA Scrlttr2 format.

10.4.10. ox-rss.el by Bastien

This back-end lets you export Org pages to RSS 2.0 feeds. Combined with the HTML publishing feature, this allows you to build a blog entirely with Org.

10.5. New features

10.5.1. Export

  1. New export generic options

    If you use Org exporter, we advise you to re-read the manual section about it. It has been updated and includes new options.

    Among the new/updated export options, three are of particular importance:

    org-export-allow-bind-keywords
    This option replaces the old option org-export-allow-BIND and the default value is nil, not confirm. You will need to explicitly set this to t in your initialization file if you want to allow #+BIND keywords.
    org-export-with-planning
    This new option controls the export of SCHEDULED:, DEADLINE:, CLOSED: lines, and planning information is now skipped by default during export. This use to be the job of org-export-with-timestamps, but this latter option has been given a new role: it controls the export of standalone time-stamps. When set to nil, Org will not export active and inactive time-stamps standing on a line by themselves or within a paragraph that only contains time-stamps.

    To check if an option has been introduced or its default value changed in Org 8.0, do C-h v [option] RET and check if the documentation says that the variable has been introduced (or changed) in version 24.4 of Emacs.

  2. Enhanced default stylesheet for the HTML exporter

    See the new default value of org-html-style-default.

  3. New tags, classes and ids for the HTML exporter

    See the new default value of org-html-divs.

  4. Support for tikz pictures in LaTeX export
  5. org-man.el: New export function for "man" links
  6. org-docview.el: New export function for docview links

10.5.2. Structure editing

  1. C-u C-u M-RET inserts a heading at the end of the parent subtree
  2. Cycling to the CONTENTS view keeps inline tasks folded

    org-cycle-hook as a new function org-cycle-hide-inline-tasks which prevents the display of inline tasks when showing the content of a subtree.

  3. C-c - in a region makes a list item for each line

    This is the opposite of the previous behavior, where C-c - on a region would create one item for the whole region, and where C-u C-c - would create an item for each line. Now C-c - on the selected region creates an item per line, and C-u C-c - creates a single item for the whole region.

  4. When transposing words, markup characters are now part of the words

    In Emacs, you can transpose words with M-t. Transposing *these* _words__ will preserve markup.

  5. New command org-set-property-and-value bound to C-c C-x P

    This command allows you to quickly add both the property and its value. It is useful in buffers where there are many properties and where C-c C-x p can slow down the flow of editing too much.

  6. New commands org-next-block and org-previous-block

    These commands allow you to go to the previous block (C-c M-b or the speedy key B) or to the next block (C-c M-f or the speedy key F.)

  7. New commands org-drag-line-forward and org-drag-line-backward

    These commands emulate the old behavior of M-<down> and M-<up> but are now bound to S-M-<down> and S-M-<up> respectively, since M-<down> and M-<up> now drag the whole element at point (a paragraph, a table, etc.) forward and backward.

  8. When a list item has a checkbox, inserting a new item uses a checkbox too
  9. When sorting entries/items, only the description of links is considered

    Now Org will sort this list

    - [[https://abc.org][B]]
    - [[https://def.org][A]]
    

    like this:

    - [[https://def.org][A]]
    - [[https://abc.org][B]]
    

    by comparing the descriptions, not the links. Same when sorting headlines instead of list items.

  10. New option orgstruct-heading-prefix-regexp

    For example, setting this option to "^;;; " in Emacs lisp files and using orgstruct-mode in those files will allow you to cycle through visibility states as if lines starting with ";;; *…" where headlines.

    In general, you want to set orgstruct-heading-prefix-regexp as a file local variable.

  11. New behavior of org-clone-subtree-with-time-shift

    The default is now to ask for a time-shift only when there is a time-stamp. When called with a universal prefix argument C-u, it will not ask for a time-shift even if there is a time-stamp.

  12. New option org-agenda-restriction-lock-highlight-subtree

    This defaults to t so that the whole subtree is highlighted when you restrict the agenda view to it with C-c C-x < (or the speed command <). The default setting helps ensuring that you are not adding tasks after the restricted region. If you find this highlighting too intrusive, set this option to nil.

  13. New option org-closed-keep-when-no-todo

    When switching back from a DONE keyword to a TODO keyword, Org now removes the CLOSED planning information, if any. It also removes this information when going back to a non-TODO state (e.g., with C-c C-t SPC). If you want to keep the CLOSED planning information when removing the TODO keyword, set org-closed-keep-when-no-todo to t.

  14. New option org-image-actual-width

    This option allows you to change the width of in-buffer displayed images. The default is to use the actual width of the image, but you can use a fixed value for all images, or fall back on an attribute like

    #+attr_html: :width 300px
    

10.5.3. Scheduled/deadline

  1. Implement "delay" cookies for scheduled items

    If you want to delay the display of a scheduled task in the agenda, you can now use a delay cookie like this: SCHEDULED: <2004-12-25 Sat -2d>. The task is still scheduled on the 25th but will appear in your agenda starting from two days later (i.e. from March 27th.)

    Imagine for example that your co-workers are not done in due time and tell you "we need two more days". In that case, you may want to delay the display of the task in your agenda by two days, but you still want the task to appear as scheduled on March 25th.

    In case the task contains a repeater, the delay is considered to affect all occurrences; if you want the delay to only affect the first scheduled occurrence of the task, use --2d instead. See org-scheduled-delay-days and org-agenda-skip-scheduled-delay-if-deadline for details on how to control this globally or per agenda.

  2. Use C-u C-u C-c C-s will insert a delay cookie for scheduled tasks

    See the previous section for why delay cookies may be useful.

  3. Use C-u C-u C-c C-d will insert a warning delay for deadline tasks

    C-u C-u C-c C-d now inserts a warning delay to deadlines.

10.5.4. Calendar, diary and appts

  1. New variable org-read-date-minibuffer-local-map

    By default, this new local map uses "." to go to today's date, like in the normal M-x calendar RET. If you want to deactivate this and to reassign the "@" key to calendar-goto-today, use this:

    ;; Unbind "." in Org's calendar:
    (define-key org-read-date-minibuffer-local-map (kbd ".") nil)
    
    ;; Bind "@" to `calendar-goto-today':
    (define-key org-read-date-minibuffer-local-map
                (kbd "@")
                (lambda () (interactive) (org-eval-in-calendar '(calendar-goto-today))))
    
  2. In Org's calendar, ! displays diary entries of the date at point

    This is useful when you want to check if you don't already have an appointment when setting new ones with C-c . or C-c s. ! will call diary-view-entries and display the diary in a separate buffer.

  3. org-diary: only keep the descriptions of links

    org-diary returns diary information from Org files, but it returns it in a diary buffer, not in an Org mode buffer. When links are displayed, only show their description, not the full links.

10.5.5. Agenda

  1. New agenda type agenda* and entry types :scheduled* :deadline*

    When defining agenda custom commands, you can now use agenda*: this will list entries that have both a date and a time. This is useful when you want to build a list of appointments.

    You can also set org-agenda-entry-types either globally or locally in each agenda custom command and use :timestamp* and/or :deadline* there.

    Another place where this is useful is your .diary file:

    %%(org-diary :scheduled*) ~/org/rdv.org
    

    This will list only entries from ~/org/rdv.org that are scheduled with a time value (i.e. appointments).

  2. New agenda sorting strategies

    org-agenda-sorting-strategy allows these new sorting strategies:

    Strategy Explanations
    timestamp-up Sort by any timestamp, early first
    timestamp-down Sort by any timestamp, late first
    scheduled-up Sort by scheduled timestamp, early first
    scheduled-down Sort by scheduled timestamp, late first
    deadline-up Sort by deadline timestamp, early first
    deadline-down Sort by deadline timestamp, late first
    ts-up Sort by active timestamp, early first
    ts-down Sort by active timestamp, late first
    tsia-up Sort by inactive timestamp, early first
    tsia-down Sort by inactive timestamp, late first
  3. New options to limit the number of agenda entries

    You can now limit the number of entries in an agenda view. This is different from filters: filters only hide the entries in the agenda, while limits are set while generating the list of agenda entries.

    These new options are available:

    org-agenda-max-entries
    limit by number of entries.
    org-agenda-max-todos
    limit by number of TODOs.
    org-agenda-max-tags
    limit by number of tagged entries.
    org-agenda-max-effort
    limit by effort (minutes).

    For example, if you locally set org-agenda-max-todos to 3 in an agenda view, the agenda will be limited to the first three todos. Other entries without a TODO keyword or beyond the third TODO headline will be ignored.

    When setting a limit (e.g. about an effort's sum), the default behavior is to exclude entries that cannot be checked against (e.g. entries that have no effort property.) To include other entries too, you can set the limit to a negative number. For example (setq org-agenda-max-tags -3) will not show the fourth tagged headline (and beyond), but it will also show non-tagged headlines.

  4. ~ in agenda view sets temporary limits

    You can hit ~ in the agenda to temporarily set limits: this will regenerate the agenda as if the limits were set. This is useful for example when you want to only see a list of N tasks, or a list of tasks that take only N minutes.

  5. "=" in agenda view filters by regular expressions

    You can now filter agenda entries by regular expressions using =. C-u = will filter entries out. Regexp filters are cumulative. You can set org-agenda-regexp-filter-preset to suit your needs in each agenda view.

  6. | in agenda view resets all filters

    Since it's common to combine tag filters, category filters, and now regexp filters, there is a new command | to reset all filters at once.

  7. Allow writing an agenda to an .org file

    You can now write an agenda view to an .org file. It copies the headlines and their content (but not subheadings) into the new file.

    This is useful when you want to quickly share an agenda containing the full list of notes.

  8. New commands to drag an agenda line forward (M-<down>) or backward (M-<up>)

    It sometimes handy to move agenda lines around, just to quickly reorganize your tasks, or maybe before saving the agenda to a file. Now you can use M-<down> and M-<up> to move the line forward or backward.

    This does not persist after a refresh of the agenda, and this does not change the .org files who contribute to the agenda.

  9. Use %b for displaying "breadcrumbs" in the agenda view

    org-agenda-prefix-format now allows to use a %b formatter to tell Org to display "breadcrumbs" in the agenda view.

    This is useful when you want to display the task hierarchy in your agenda.

  10. Use %l for displaying the headline's level in the agenda view

    org-agenda-prefix-format allows to use a %l formatter to tell Org to display entries with additional spaces corresponding to their level in the outline tree.

  11. org-agenda-write will ask before overwriting an existing file

    M-x org-agenda-write RET (or C-c C-w from an agenda buffer) used to overwrite preexisting file with the same name without confirmation. It now asks for a confirmation.

  12. New commands M-m and M-* to toggle (all) mark(s) for bulk action
    org-agenda-bulk-toggle
    this command is bound to M-m and toggles the mark of the entry at point.
    org-agenda-bulk-toggle-all
    this command is bound to M-* and toggles all the marks in the current agenda.
  13. New option org-agenda-search-view-max-outline-level

    This option sets the maximum outline level to display in search view. E.g. when this is set to 1, the search view will only show headlines of level 1.

  14. New option org-agenda-todo-ignore-time-comparison-use-seconds

    This allows to compare times using seconds instead of days when honoring options like org-agenda-todo-ignore-* in the agenda display.

  15. New option org-agenda-entry-text-leaders

    This allows you to get rid of the ">" character that gets added in front of entries excerpts when hitting E in the agenda view.

  16. New formatting string for past deadlines in org-agenda-deadline-leaders

    The default formatting for past deadlines is "%2d d. ago: ", which makes it explicit that the deadline is in the past. You can configure this via org-agenda-deadline-leaders. Note that the width of the formatting string is important to keep the agenda alignment clean.

  17. New allowed value repeated-after-deadline for org-agenda-skip-scheduled-if-deadline-is-shown

    When org-agenda-skip-scheduled-if-deadline-is-shown is set to repeated-after-deadline, the agenda will skip scheduled items if they are repeated beyond the current deadline.

  18. New option for org-agenda-skip-deadline-prewarning-if-scheduled

    This variable may be set to nil, t, the symbol `pre-scheduled', or a number which will then give the number of days before the actual deadline when the prewarnings should resume. The symbol `pre-scheduled' eliminates the deadline prewarning only prior to the scheduled date.

    Read the full docstring for details.

  19. org-class now supports holiday strings in the skip-weeks parameter

    For example, this task will now be skipped only on new year's day:

    * Task
      <%%(org-class 2012 1 1 2013 12 12 2 "New Year's Day")>
    

10.5.6. Capture

  1. Allow C-1 as a prefix for org-agenda-capture and org-capture

    With a C-1 prefix, the capture mechanism will use the HH:MM value at point (if any) or the current HH:MM time as the default time for the capture template.

  2. Expand keywords within %(sexp) placeholder in capture templates

    If you use a %:keyword construct within a %(sexp) construct, Org will expand the keywords before expanding the %(sexp).

  3. Allow to contextualize capture (and agenda) commands by checking the name of the buffer

    org-capture-templates-contexts and org-agenda-custom-commands-contexts allow you to define what capture templates and what agenda commands should be available in various contexts. It is now possible for the context to check against the name of the buffer.

10.5.7. Tag groups

Using #+TAGS: { Tag1 : Tag2 Tag3 } will define Tag1 as a group tag (note the colon after Tag1). If you search for Tag1, it will return headlines containing either Tag1, Tag2 or Tag3 (or any combination of those tags.)

You can use group tags for sparse tree in an Org buffer, for creating agenda views, and for filtering.

See https://orgmode.org/org.html#Tag-groups for details.

10.5.8. Links

  1. C-u C-u M-x org-store-link RET will ignore non-core link functions

    Org knows how to store links from Org buffers, from info files and from other Emacs buffers. Org can be taught how to store links from any buffer through new link protocols (see "Adding hyperlink types" in the manual.)

    Sometimes you want Org to ignore added link protocols and store the link as if the protocol was not known.

    You can now do this with C-u C-u M-x org-store-link RET.

  2. C-u C-u C-u M-x org-store-link RET on an active region will store links for each lines

    Imagine for example that you want to store a link for every message in a Gnus summary buffer. In that case C-x h C-u C-u C-u M-x org-store-link RET will store a link for every line (i.e. message) if the region is active.

  3. C-c C-M-l will add a default description for links which don't have one

    C-c C-M-l inserts all stored links. If a link does not have a description, this command now adds a default one, so that we are not mixing with-description and without-description links when inserting them.

  4. No curly braces to bracket links within internal links

    When storing a link to a headline like

    * See [[https://orgmode.org][Org website]]
    

    org-store-link used to convert the square brackets into curly brackets. It does not anymore, taking the link description or the link path, when there is no description.

10.5.9. Table

  1. Switching between #+TBLFM lines

    If you have several #+TBLFM lines below a table, C-c C-c on a line will apply the formulas from this line, and C-c C-c on another line will apply those other formulas.

  2. You now use "nan" for empty fields in Calc formulas

    If empty fields are of interest, it is recommended to reread the section 3.5.2 Formula syntax for Calc of the manual because the description for the mode strings has been clarified and new examples have been added towards the end.

  3. Handle localized time-stamps in formulas evaluation

    If your LOCALE is set so that Org time-stamps use another language than english, and if you make time computations in Org's table, it now works by internally converting the time-stamps with a temporary LOCALE=C before doing computation.

  4. New lookup functions

    There are now three lookup functions:

    See the manual for details.

10.5.10. Startup keywords

These new startup keywords are now available:

Startup keyword Option
#+STARTUP: logdrawer (setq org-log-into-drawer t)
#+STARTUP: nologdrawer (setq org-log-into-drawer nil)
#+STARTUP: logstatesreversed (setq org-log-states-order-reversed t)
#+STARTUP: nologstatesreversed (setq org-log-states-order-reversed nil)
#+STARTUP: latexpreview (setq org-startup-with-latex-preview t)
#+STARTUP: nolatexpreview (setq org-startup-with-latex-preview nil)

10.5.11. Clocking

  1. New option org-clock-rounding-minutes

    E.g. if org-clock-rounding-minutes is set to 5, time is 14:47 and you clock in: then the clock starts at 14:45. If you clock out within the next 5 minutes, the clock line will be removed; if you clock out 8 minutes after your clocked in, the clock out time will be 14:50.

  2. New option org-time-clocksum-use-effort-durations

    When non-nil, C-c C-x C-d uses effort durations. E.g., by default, one day is considered to be a 8 hours effort, so a task that has been clocked for 16 hours will be displayed as during 2 days in the clock display or in the clocktable.

    See org-effort-durations on how to set effort durations and org-time-clocksum-format for more on time clock formats.

  3. New option org-clock-x11idle-program-name

    This allows to set the name of the program which prints X11 idle time in milliseconds. The default is to use x11idle.

  4. New option org-use-last-clock-out-time-as-effective-time

    When non-nil, use the last clock out time for org-todo. Note that this option has precedence over the combined use of org-use-effective-time and org-extend-today-until.

  5. S-<left/right> on a clocksum column will update the sum by updating the last clock
  6. C-u 3 C-S-<up/down> will update clock timestamps synchronously by 3 units
  7. New parameter :wstart for clocktables to define the week start day
  8. New parameter :mstart to state the starting day of the month
  9. Allow relative times in clocktable tstart and tend options
  10. The clocktable summary is now a caption
  11. :tstart and :tend and friends allow relative times like "<-1w>" or "<now>"

10.5.12. Babel

  1. You can now use C-c C-k for org-edit-src-abort

    This allows you to quickly cancel editing a source block.

  2. C-u C-u M-x org-babel-tangle RET tangles by the target file of the block at point

    This is handy if you want to tangle all source code blocks that have the same target than the block at point.

  3. New options for auto-saving the base buffer or the source block editing buffer

    When org-edit-src-turn-on-auto-save is set to t, editing a source block in a new window will turn on auto-save-mode and save the code in a new file under the same directory than the base Org file.

    When org-edit-src-auto-save-idle-delay is set to a number of minutes N, the base Org buffer will be saved after this number of minutes of idle time.

  4. New :post header argument post-processes results

    This header argument may be used to pass the results of the current code block through another code block for post-processing. See the manual for a usage example.

  5. Commented out heading are ignored when collecting blocks for tangling

    If you comment out a heading (with C-c ; anywhere on the heading or in the subtree), code blocks from within this heading are now ignored when collecting blocks for tangling.

  6. New option org-babel-hash-show-time to show a time-stamp in the result hash
  7. Do not ask for confirmation if cached value is current

    Do not run org-babel-confirm-evaluate if source block has a cache and the cache value is current as there is no evaluation involved in this case.

  8. ob-sql.el and ob-python.el have been improved.
  9. New Babel files only need to (require 'ob)

    When writing a new Babel file, you now only need to use (require 'ob) instead of requiring each Babel library one by one.

10.5.13. Faces

  • Org now fontifies radio link targets by default
  • In the agenda, use org-todo-keyword-faces to highlight selected TODO keywords
  • New face org-priority, enhanced fontification of priority cookies in agenda
  • New face org-tag-group for group tags

10.6. Miscellaneous

10.7. Outside Org

10.7.1. Spanish translation of the Org guide by David Arroyo Menéndez

David (and others) translated the Org compact guide in spanish:

You can read the PDF guide.

10.7.2. poporg.el and outorg.el

Two new libraries (poporg.el by François Pinard and outorg.el by Thorsten Jolitz) now enable editing of comment-sections from source-code buffers in temporary Org-mode buffers, making the full editing power of Org-mode available. outorg.el comes together with outshine.el and navi-mode.el, two more libraries by Thorsten Jolitz with the goal to give source-code buffers the look & feel of Org-mode buffers while greatly improving navigation and structure editing. A detailed description can be found here: https://orgmode.org/worg/org-tutorials/org-outside-org.html

Here are two screencasts demonstrating Thorsten's tools:

10.7.3. MobileOrg for iOS

MobileOrg for iOS back in the App Store The 1.6.0 release was focused on the new Dropbox API and minor bug fixes but also includes a new ability to launch in Capture mode. Track development and contribute on github.

11. Version 7.9.3

11.1. New option org-agenda-use-tag-inheritance

org-use-tag-inheritance controls whether tags are inherited when org-tags-view is called (either in tags, tags-tree or tags-todo agenda views.)

When generating other agenda types such as agenda, todo and todo-tree, tags inheritance is not used when selecting the entries to display. Still, you might want to have all tag information correct in the agenda buffer, e.g. for tag filtering. In that case, add the agenda type to this variable.

Setting this variable to nil should considerably speeds up the agenda generation.

Note that the default was to display inherited tags in the agenda lines even if `org-use-tag-inheritance' was nil. The default is now to never display inherited tags in agenda lines, but to know about them when the agenda type is listed in org-agenda-use-tag-inheritance.

11.2. New default value nil for org-agenda-dim-blocked-tasks

Using `nil' as the default value speeds up the agenda generation. You can hit `#' (or `C-u #') in agenda buffers to temporarily dim (or turn invisible) blocked tasks.

11.3. New speedy keys for org-speed-commands-default

You can now use `:' (instead of `;') for setting tags—this is consistent with using the `:' key in agenda view.

You can now use `=' for org-columns.

11.4. org-float is now obsolete, use diary-float instead

11.5. No GPL manual anymore

There used to be a GPL version of the Org manual, but this is not the case anymore, the Free Software Foundation does not permit this.

The GNU FDL license is now included in the manual directly.

11.6. Enhanced compatibility with Emacs 22 and XEmacs

Thanks to Achim for his work on enhancing Org's compatibility with various Emacsen. Things may not be perfect, but Org should work okay in most environments.

12. Version 7.9.2

12.1. New ELPA repository for Org packages

You can now add the Org ELPA repository like this:

(add-to-list 'package-archives '("org" . "https://orgmode.org/elpa/") t)

It contains both the org-*.tar package (the core Org distribution, also available through https://elpa.gnu.org) and the org-plus*.tar package (the extended Org distribution, with non-GNU packages from the contrib/ directory.)

See https://orgmode.org/elpa/

12.2. Overview of the new keybindings

Keybinding Speedy Command
C-c C-x C-z   org-clock-resolve
C-c C-x C-q   org-clock-cancel
C-c C-x C-x   org-clock-in-last
M-h   org-mark-element
*   org-agenda-bulk-mark-all
C-c C-M-l   org-insert-all-links
C-c C-x C-M-v   org-redisplay-inline-images
C-c C-x E E org-inc-effort
  # org-toggle-comment
  : org-columns
  W Set APPT_WARNTIME
k   org-agenda-capture
C-c , , org-priority

12.3. New package and Babel language

12.3.1. org-eshell.el by Konrad Hinsen is now in Org

org-eshell.el allows you to create links from Eshell.

12.3.2. Support for execution of Scala code blocks (see ob-scala.el)

12.3.3. Support for execution of IO code blocks (see ob-io.el)

12.4. Incompatible changes

  • If your code relies on org-write-agenda, please use org-agenda-write from now on.
  • If your code relies on org-make-link, please use concat instead.
  • org-link-to-org-use-id has been renamed to org-id-link-to-org-use-id and its default value is nil. The previous default was create-if-interactive-and-no-custom-id.

12.5. New features and user-visible changes

12.5.1. Org Element

org-element.el is a toolbox for parsing and analyzing "elements" in an Org-mode buffer. This has been written by Nicolas Goaziou and has been tested for quite some time. It is now part of Org's core and many core functions rely on this package.

Two functions might be particularly handy for users: org-element-at-point and org-element-context.

See the docstrings for more details.

Below is a list of editing and navigating commands that now rely on org-element.el.

  1. org-fill-paragraph has been completely rewritten

    The filling mechanisms now rely on org-element, trying to do the right thing on each element in various contexts. E.g. filling in a list item will preserve indentation; filling in message-mode will fall back on the relevant filling functions; etc.

  2. org-metaup and org-metadown will drag the element backward/forward

    If you want to get the old behavior (i.e. moving a line up and down), you can first select the line as an active region, then org-metaup or org-metadown to move the region backward or forward. This also works with regions bigger than just one line.

  3. org-up-element and org-down-element (respectively C-c C-^ and C-c C-_)

    This will move the point up/down in the hierarchy of elements.

  4. org-backward-element and org-forward-element (respectively M-{ and M-})

    This will move the point backward/forward in the hierarchy of elements.

  5. org-narrow-to-element will narrow to the element at point
  6. org-mark-element will mark the element at point

    This command is bound to M-h and will mark the element at point. If the point is at a paragraph, it will mark the paragraph. If the point is at a list item, it will mark the list item. Etc.

    Note that if point is at the beginning of a list, it will mark the whole list.

    To mark a subtree, you can either use M-h on the headline (since there is no ambiguity about the element you're at) or org-mark-subtree (C-c @) anywhere in the subtree.

    Invoking org-mark-element repeatedly will try to mark the next element on top of the previous one(s). E.g. hitting M-h twice on a headline will mark the current subtree and the next one on the same level.

12.5.2. Org Agenda

  1. New option org-agenda-sticky

    There is a new option org-agenda-sticky which enables "sticky" agendas. Sticky agendas remain opened in the background so that you don't need to regenerate them each time you hit the corresponding keystroke. This is a big time saver.

    When org-agenda-sticky is non-nil, the agenda buffer will be named using the agenda key and its description. In sticky agendas, the q key will just bury the agenda buffers and further agenda commands will show existing buffer instead of generating new ones.

    If org-agenda-sticky is set to nil, q will kill the single agenda buffer.

  2. New option org-agenda-custom-commands-contexts

    Setting this option allows you to define specific context where agenda commands should be available from. For example, when set to this value

    (setq org-agenda-custom-commands-contexts
          '(("p" (in-file . "\\.txt"))))
    

    then the p agenda command will only be available from buffers visiting *.txt files. See the docstring and the manual for more details on how to use this.

  3. Changes in bulk actions

    The set of commands starting with k ... as been deleted and the features have been merged into the "bulk action" feature.

    After you marked some entries in the agenda, if you call B s, the agenda entries will be rescheduled using the date at point if on a date header. If you are on an entry with a timestamp, you will be prompted for a date to reschedule your marked entries to, using the timestamp at point as the default prompt.

    You can now use k to capture the marked entry and use the date at point as an overriding date for the capture template.

    To bind this behavior to M-x org-capture RET (or its keybinding), set the new option org-capture-use-agenda-date to t.

  4. N and P in the agenda will move to the next/previous item
  5. New command org-agenda-bulk-mark-all to mark all items

    This new command is bound to * in agenda mode.

    There is also a new option org-agenda-bulk-mark-char to set the character to use as a mark for bulk actions.

  6. New option org-agenda-persistent-marks

    When set to non-nil, marks will remain visible after a bulk action. You can temporarily toggle this by pressing p when invoking org-agenda-bulk-action. Marks are deleted if your rebuild the agenda buffer or move to another date/span (e.g. with f or w).

  7. New option org-agenda-skip-timestamp-if-deadline-is-shown

    Non-nil means skip timestamp line if same entry shows because of deadline.

    In the agenda of today, an entry can show up multiple times because it has both a plain timestamp and has a nearby deadline. When this variable is t, then only the deadline is shown and the fact that the entry has a timestamp for or including today is not shown. When this variable is nil, the entry will be shown several times.

  8. New todo-unblocked and nottodo-unblocked skip conditions

    See the git commit for more explanations.

  9. Allow category filtering in the agenda

    You can now filter the agenda by category. Pressing "<" will filter by the category of the item on the current line, and pressing "<" again will remove the filter. You can combine tag filters and category filters.

    You can use org-agenda-category-filter in your custom agenda views and org-agenda-category-filter-preset in your main configuration.

    See also the new command org-agenda-filter-by-top-category: hitting ^ will filter by "Top" category: only show entries that are of the same category than the Top category of the entry at point.

12.5.3. Org Links

  1. Inserting links

    When inserting links through org-insert-link, the description is now displayed first, followed by the literal link, as the description is often more useful when you look for the link you want to insert.

    Completion now complete both literal links and description. If you complete a description, the literal link and its description will be inserted directly, whereas when you complete the literal link, you will be prompted for a description (as with Org 7.8.)

    In the completion buffer, links to the current buffer are now highlighted.

  2. New templates %h and %(sexp) for abbreviated links

    On top of %s template, which is replaced by the link tag in abbreviated links, you can now use %h (which does the same than %s but does not hexify the tag) and %(sexp) (which can run a function that takes the tag as its own argument.)

  3. New link type help

    You can now create links from help buffers.

    For example, if you request help for the command org-agenda with C-h f org-agenda RET, creating a link from this buffer will let you go back to the same buffer.

  4. New command org-insert-all-links

    This will insert all links as list items. With a universal prefix argument, links will not be deleted from the variable org-stored-links.

    This new command is bound to C-c C-M-l.

  5. New option org-url-hexify-p

    When set to nil, the URL part of a link will not be hexified.

  6. Org can now open multiple shell links
  7. New option org-doi-server-url to specify an alternate DOI server
  8. RET now follows time stamps links

12.5.4. Org Editing

  1. org-todo and org-archive-* can now loop in the active region

    When org-loop-over-headlines-in-active-region is non-nil, using org-todo or org-archive-* commands in the active region will loop over headlines. This is handy if you want to set the TODO keyword for several items, or archive them quickly.

  2. You can now set tags for headlines in a region

    If org-loop-over-headlines-in-active-region is non-nil, then selecting the region and hitting C-c C-q will set the tags for all headlines in the region.

  3. New command org-insert-drawer to insert a drawer interactively
  4. Comments start with "^[ \t]*# " anywhere on a line

    Note that the space after the hashtag is mandatory. Comments with "^#+" are not supported anymore.

  5. New speed key # to toggle the COMMENT cookie on a headline
  6. indent-region-function is now set to org-indent-region

    C-M-\ should now produce useful results.

    You can unindent the buffer with org-unindent-buffer.

  7. New option org-allow-promoting-top-level-subtree

    When non-nil, S-M-<left> will promote level-1 subtrees containing other subtrees. The level-1 headline will be commented out. You can revert to the previous state with M-x undo RET.

12.5.5. Org Clock

  1. New keybinding C-c C-x C-z for org-clock-resolve
  2. New keybinding C-c C-x C-q for org-clock-cancel
  3. New command org-clock-in-last to clock in the last clocked item

    This command is bound to C-c C-x C-x and will clock in the last clocked entry, if any.

  4. C-u M-x org-clock-out RET now prompts for a state to switch to
  5. S-M-<up/down> on a clock timestamps adjusts the previous/next clock
  6. New option org-clock-continuously

    When set to nil, clocking in a task will first try to find the last clocked out task and restart from when that task was clocked out.

    You can temporarily activate continuous clocking with C-u C-u C-u M-x org-clock-in RET (three universal prefix arguments) and C-u C-u M-x org-clock-in-last RET (two universal prefix arguments).

  7. New option org-clock-frame-title-format

    This option sets the value of frame-title-format when clocking in.

  8. New options for controlling the clockreport display

    org-clock-file-time-cell-format: Format string for the file time cells in clockreport.

    org-clock-total-time-cell-format: Format string for the total time cells in clockreport.

  9. New options for controlling the clock/timer display

    org-clock-clocked-in-display: control whether the current clock is displayed in the mode line and/or frame title.

    org-timer-display: control whether the current timer is displayed in the mode line and/or frame title.

    This allows the clock and timer to be displayed in the frame title instead of, or as well as, the mode line. This is useful for people with limited space in the mode line but with ample space in the frame title.

12.5.6. Org Appearance

  1. New option org-custom-properties

    The visibility of properties listed in this options can be turn on/off with org-toggle-custom-properties-visibility. This might be useful for properties used by third-part tools or that you don't want to see temporarily.

  2. New command org-redisplay-inline-images

    This will redisplay all images. It is bound to C-c C-x C-M-v.

  3. New entities in org-entities.el

    There are these new entities:

    ("tilde" "\\~{}" nil "&tilde;" "~" "~" "~")
    ("slash" "/" nil "/" "/" "/" "/")
    ("plus" "+" nil "+" "+" "+" "+")
    ("under" "\\_" nil "_" "_" "_" "_")
    ("equal" "=" nil "=" "=" "=" "=")
    ("asciicirc" "\\textasciicircum{}" nil "^" "^" "^" "^")
    
  4. New face org-list-dt for definition terms
  5. New face org-date-selected for the selected calendar day
  6. New face value for org-document-title

    The face is back to a normal height.

12.5.7. Org Columns

  1. New speed command : to activate the column view
  2. New special property CLOCKSUM_T to display today's clocked time

    You can use CLOCKSUM_T the same way you use CLOCKSUM. It will display the time spent on tasks for today only.

  3. Use the :COLUMNS: property in columnview dynamic blocks

    If the :COLUMNS: is set in a subtree, the columnview dynamic block will use its value as the column format.

  4. Consider inline tasks when computing a sum

12.5.8. Org Dates and Time Stamps

  1. Enhanced org-sparse-tree

    C-c / can now check for time ranges.

    When checking for dates with C-c / it is useful to change the type of dates that you are interested in. You can now do this interactively with c after C-c / and/or by setting org-sparse-tree-default-date-type to the default value you want.

  2. Support for hourly repeat cookies

    You can now use

    SCHEDULED: <2012-08-20 lun. 08:00 +1h>
    

    if you want to add an hourly repeater to an entry.

  3. C-u C-u C-c . inserts a time-stamp with no prompt
  4. When (setq org-read-date-prefer-future 'time), accept days in the prompt

    "8am Wed" and "Wed 8am" are now acceptable values when entering a date from the prompt. If org-read-date-prefer-future is set to time, this will produce the expected prompt indication.

  5. New option org-datetree-add-timestamp

    When set to non-nil, datetree entries will also have a timestamp. This is useful if you want to see these entries in a sparse tree with C-c /.

12.5.9. Org Capture

  1. New command org-capture-string

    M-x org-capture-string RET will prompt for a string and a capture template. The string will be used as an annotation for the template. This is useful when capturing in batch mode as it lets you define the content of the template without being in Emacs.

  2. New option org-capture-templates-contexts

    Setting this option allows you to define specific context where capture templates should be available from. For example, when set to this value

    (setq org-capture-templates-contexts
          '(("c" (in-mode . "message-mode"))))
    

    then the c capture template will only be available from message-mode buffers. See the docstring and the manual for more details on how to use this.

  3. New %l template to insert the literal link
  4. New option org-capture-bookmark

    Org used to automatically add a bookmark with capture a note. You can now turn this on by setting org-capture-bookmark to nil.

  5. Expand %<num> escape sequences into text entered for <num>'th %^{PROMPT} escape

    See the manual for more explanations.

  6. More control over empty lines

    You can use :empty-lines-before and :empty-lines-after to control the insertion of empty lines. Check the manual for more explanations.

  7. New hook org-capture-prepare-finalize-hook

    This new hook runs before the finalization process starts.

12.5.10. Org Export

  1. New functions orgtbl-to-table.el and orgtbl-to-unicode

    orgtbl-to-table.el convert the table to a table.el table, and orgtbl-to-unicode will use ascii-art-to-unicode.el (when available) to print beautiful tables.

  2. org-table-export now a bit clever about the target format

    When you specify a file name like table.csv, org-table-export will now suggest orgtbl-to-csv the default method for exporting the table.

  3. New option org-export-date-timestamp-format

    The option allows to set a time string format for Org timestamps in the #+DATE option.

  4. LaTeX: New options for exporting table rules :tstart, :hline and :tend
  5. LaTeX: You can now set :hfmt from #+ATTR_LaTeX
  6. Beamer: Add support and keybinding for the exampleblock environment

    Add support for these languages in org-export-language-setup. More languages are always welcome.

  7. Beamer: New option org-beamer-inherited-properties

    This option allows Beamer export to inherit some properties. Thanks to Carsten for implementing this.

  8. ODT: Add support for ODT export in org-bbdb.el
  9. ODT: Add support for indented tables (see this commit for details)
  10. ODT: Improve the conversion from ODT to other formats
  11. ASCII: Swap the level-1/level-2 characters to underline the headlines
  12. Support for Chinese, simplified Chinese, Russian, Ukrainian and Japanese
  13. HTML: New option org-export-html-date-format-string

    Format string to format the date and time in HTML export. Thanks to Sébastien Vauban for this patch.

12.5.11. Org Babel

  1. New :results drawer parameter

    :results drawer replaces :results wrap, which is deprecated but still supported.

  2. :results org now put results in a #+BEGIN_SRC org block

    :results org used to put results in a #+BEGIN_ORG block but it now puts results in a #+BEGIN_SRC org block, with comma-escaped lines.

    #+BEGIN_ORG blocks are obsolete.

  3. Exporting #+BEGIN_SRC org blocks exports the code

    It used to exports the results of the code.

12.5.12. Miscellaneous

  1. New menu entry for org-refile
  2. Allow capturing to encrypted entries

    If you capture to an encrypted entry, it will be decrypted before inserting the template then re-encrypted after finalizing the capture.

  3. Inactive timestamps are now handled in tables

    Calc can do computation on active time-stamps like <2012-09-29 Sat>. Inactive time-stamps in a table's cell are now internally deactivated so that Calc formulas can operate on them.

  4. org-table-number-regexp can now accept comma as decimal mark
  5. Org allows a new property APPT_WARNTIME

    You can set it with the W speedy key or set it manually. When set, exporting to iCalendar and org-agenda-to-appt will use the value of this property as the number of minutes for the warning alarm.

  6. New command org-inc-effort

    This will increment the effort value.

    It is bound to C-c C-x E and to E as a speedy command.

  7. Attach: Add support for creating symbolic links

    org-attach-method now supports a new method lns, allowing to attach symbolic links.

  8. Archive: you can now archive to a datetree
  9. New option org-inlinetask-show-first-star

    Non-nil means display the first star of an inline task as additional marker. When nil, the first star is not shown.

  10. New option org-latex-preview-ltxpng-directory

    This lets you define the path for the ltxpng/ directory.

  11. You can now use imagemagick instead of dvipng to preview LaTeX fragments
  12. You can now turn off orgstruct++-mode safely
  13. C-u C-c C-c on list items to add check boxes

    C-u C-c C-c will add an empty check box on a list item.

    When hit from the top of the list, it will add check boxes for all top level list items.

  14. org-list-ending-method and org-list-end-regexp are now obsolete

    Fall back on using org-list-end-re only, which see.

  15. org-feed.el now expands %(sexp) templates
  16. New option org-protocol-data-separator
  17. New option org-ditaa-jar-option to specify the ditaa jar file
  18. New possible value for org-loop-over-headlines-in-active-region

    When org-loop-over-headlines-in-active-region is set to start-level, the command will loop over the active region but will only act upon entries that are of the same level than the first headline in the region.

  19. New option org-habit-show-all-today

    When set to t, show all (even unscheduled) habits on today's agenda.

12.6. Important bug fixes

12.6.1. M-TAB on options keywords perform completion correctly again

If you hit M-TAB on keywords like #+TITLE, Org will try to perform completion with meaningful values.

12.6.2. Add licenses to javascript embedded and external code snippets

Embedded javascript code produced when exporting an Org file to HTML is now licensed under GPLv3 (or later), and the copyright is owned by the Free Software Foundation, Inc.

The javascript code for embedding MathJax in the browser mentions the MathJax copyright and the Apache 2.0 license.

The javascript code for embedding org-injo.js in the browser mentions the copyright of Sebastian Rose and the GPLv3 (or later) license.

org-export-html-scripts is now a variable, so that you can adapt the code and the license to your needs.

See https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/javascript-trap.html for explanations on why these changes were necessary.

13. Version 7.8.11

13.1. Incompatible changes

13.1.1. Emacs 21 support has been dropped

Do not use Org mode 7.xx with Emacs 21, use version 6.36c instead.

13.1.2. XEmacs support requires the XEmacs development version

To use Org mode 7.xx with XEmacs, you need to run the developer version of XEmacs. We were about to drop XEmacs support entirely, but Michael Sperber stepped in and made changes to XEmacs that made it easier to keep the support. Thanks to Michael for this last-minute save.

13.1.3. New keys for TODO sparse trees

The key C-c C-v is now reserved for Org Babel action. TODO sparse trees can still be made with C-c / t (all not-done states) and C-c / T (specific states).

13.1.4. The Agenda org-agenda-ndays is now obsolete

The variable org-agenda-ndays is obsolete - please use org-agenda-span instead.

Thanks to Julien Danjou for this.

13.1.5. Changes to the intended use of org-export-latex-classes

So far this variable has been used to specify the complete header of the LaTeX document, including all the \usepackage calls necessary for the document. This setup makes it difficult to maintain the list of packages that Org itself would like to call, for example for the special symbol support it needs.

First of all, you can opt out of this change in the following way: You can say: I want to have full control over headers, and I will take responsibility to include the packages Org needs. If that is what you want, add this to your configuration and skip the rest of this section (except maybe for the description of the [EXTRA] place holder):

(setq org-export-latex-default-packages-alist nil
      org-export-latex-packages-alist nil)

Continue to read here if you want to go along with the modified setup.

There are now two variables that should be used to list the LaTeX packages that need to be included in all classes. The header definition in org-export-latex-classes should then not contain the corresponding \usepackage calls (see below).

The two new variables are:

  1. org-export-latex-default-packages-alist :: This is the variable where Org-mode itself puts the packages it needs. Normally you should not change this variable. The only reason to change it anyway is when one of these packages causes a conflict with another package you want to use. Then you can remove that packages and hope that you are not using Org-mode functionality that needs it.
  2. org-export-latex-packages-alist :: This is the variable where you can put the packages that you'd like to use across all classes.

The sequence how these customizations will show up in the LaTeX document are:

  1. Header from org-export-latex-classes
  2. org-export-latex-default-packages-alist
  3. org-export-latex-packages-alist
  4. Buffer-specific things set with #+LaTeX_HEADER:

If you want more control about which segment is placed where, or if you want, for a specific class, have full control over the header and exclude some of the automatic building blocks, you can put the following macro-like place holders into the header:

[DEFAULT-PACKAGES]      \usepackage statements for default packages
[NO-DEFAULT-PACKAGES]   do not include any of the default packages
[PACKAGES]              \usepackage statements for packages
[NO-PACKAGES]           do not include the packages
[EXTRA]                 the stuff from #+LaTeX_HEADER
[NO-EXTRA]              do not include #+LaTeX_HEADER stuff

If you have currently customized org-export-latex-classes, you should revise that customization and remove any package calls that are covered by org-export-latex-default-packages-alist. This applies to the following packages:

  • inputenc
  • fontenc
  • fixltx2e
  • graphicx
  • longtable
  • float
  • wrapfig
  • soul
  • t1enc
  • textcomp
  • marvosym
  • wasysym
  • latexsym
  • amssymb
  • hyperref

If one of these packages creates a conflict with another package you are using, you can remove it from org-export-latex-default-packages-alist. But then you risk that some of the advertised export features of Org will not work properly.

You can also consider moving packages that you use in all classes to org-export-latex-packages-alist. If necessary, put the place holders so that the packages get loaded in the right sequence. As said above, for backward compatibility, if you omit the place holders, all the variables will dump their content at the end of the header.

13.1.6. The constant org-html-entities is obsolete

Its content is now part of the new constant org-entities, which is defined in the file org-entities.el. org-html-entities was an internal variable, but it is possible that some users did write code using it.

13.1.7. org-bbdb-anniversary-format-alist has changed

Please check the docstring and update your settings accordingly.

13.1.8. Deleted org-mode-p

This function has been deleted: please update your code.

13.2. Important new features

13.2.1. New Org to ODT exporter

Jambunathan's Org to ODT exporter is now part of Org.

To use it, it `C-c C-e o' in an Org file. See the documentation for more information on how to customize it.

13.2.2. org-capture.el is now the default capture system

This replaces the earlier system org-remember. The manual only describes org-capture, but for people who prefer to continue to use org-remember, we keep a static copy of the former manual section chapter about remember.

The new system has a technically cleaner implementation and more possibilities for capturing different types of data. See Carsten's announcement for more details.

To switch over to the new system:

  1. Run

    M-x org-capture-import-remember-templates RET
    

    to get a translated version of your remember templates into the new variable org-capture-templates. This will "mostly" work, but maybe not for all cases. At least it will give you a good place to modify your templates. After running this command, enter the customize buffer for this variable with

    M-x customize-variable RET org-capture-templates RET
    

    and convince yourself that everything is OK. Then save the customization.

  2. Bind the command org-capture to a key, similar to what you did with org-remember:

    (define-key global-map "\C-cc" 'org-capture)
    

    If your fingers prefer C-c r, you can also use this key once you have decided to move over completely to the new implementation. During a test time, there is nothing wrong with using both system in parallel.

13.3. New libraries

13.3.1. New Org libraries

  1. org-eshell.el (Konrad Hinsen)

    Implement links to eshell buffers.

  2. org-special-blocks (Carsten Dominik)

    This package generalizes the #+beginfoo and #+endfoo tokens.

    To use, put the following in your init file:

    (require 'org-special-blocks)
    

    The tokens #+begincenter, #+beginverse, etc. existed previously. This package generalizes them (at least for the LaTeX and html exporters). When a #+beginfoo token is encountered by the LaTeX exporter, it is expanded into \begin{foo}. The text inside the environment is not protected, as text inside environments generally is. When #+beginfoo is encountered by the html exporter, a div with class foo is inserted into the HTML file. It is up to the user to add this class to his or her stylesheet if this div is to mean anything.

  3. org-taskjuggler.el (Christian Egli)

    Christian Egli's org-taskjuggler.el module is now part of Org. He also wrote a tutorial for it.

  4. org-ctags.el (Paul Sexton)

    Targets like <<my target>> can now be found by Emacs's etag functionality, and Org-mode links can be used to link to etags, also in non-Org-mode files. For details, see the file org-ctags.el.

    This feature uses a new hook org-open-link-functions which will call function to do something special with text links.

    Thanks to Paul Sexton for this contribution.

  5. org-docview.el (Jan Böcker)

    This new module allows links to various file types using docview, where Emacs displays images of document pages. Docview link types can point to a specific page in a document, for example to page 131 of the Org-mode manual:

    [[docview:~/.elisp/org/doc/org.pdf::131][Org-Mode Manual]]
    

    Thanks to Jan Böcker for this contribution.

13.3.2. New Babel libraries

  • ob-picolisp.el (Thorsten Jolitz)
  • ob-fortran.el (Sergey Litvinov)
  • ob-shen.el (Eric Schulte)
  • ob-maxima.el (Eric S Fraga)
  • ob-java.el (Eric Schulte)
  • ob-lilypond.el (Martyn Jago)
  • ob-awk.el (Eric Schulte)

13.4. Other new features and various enhancements

13.4.1. Hyperlinks

  1. Org-BibTeX – major improvements

    Provides support for managing bibtex bibliographical references data in headline properties. Each headline corresponds to a single reference and the relevant bibliographic meta-data is stored in headline properties, leaving the body of the headline free to hold notes and comments. Org-bibtex is aware of all standard bibtex reference types and fields.

    The key new functions are

    org-bibtex-check
    queries the user to flesh out all required (and with prefix argument optional) bibtex fields available for the specific reference type of the current headline.
    org-bibtex-create
    Create a new entry at the given level, using org-bibtex-check to flesh out the relevant fields.
    org-bibtex-yank
    Yank a bibtex entry on the kill ring as a formatted Org-mode headline into the current buffer
    org-bibtex-export-to-kill-ring
    Export the current headline to the kill ring as a formatted bibtex entry.
  2. org-gnus.el now allows link creation from messages

    You can now create links from messages. This is particularly useful when the user wants to stored messages that he sends, for later check. Thanks to Ulf Stegemann for the patch.

  3. Modified link escaping

    David Maus worked on `org-link-escape'. See his message:

    Percent escaping is used in Org mode to escape certain characters
    in links that would either break the parser (e.g. square brackets
    in link target or description) or are not allowed to appear in
    a particular link type (e.g. non-ascii characters in a http:
    link).
    
    With this change in place Org will apply percent escaping and
    unescaping more consistently especially for non-ascii characters.
    Additionally some of the outstanding bugs or glitches concerning
    percent escaped links are solved.
    

    Thanks a lot to David for this work.

  4. Make org-store-link point to directory in a dired buffer

    When, in a dired buffer, the cursor is not in a line listing a file, `org-store-link' will store a link to the directory.

    Patch by Stephen Eglen.

  5. Allow regexps in org-file-apps to capture link parameters

    The way extension regexps in org-file-apps are handled has changed. Instead of matching against the file name, the regexps are now matched against the whole link, and you can use grouping to extract link parameters which you can then use in a command string to be executed.

    For example, to allow linking to PDF files using the syntax file:/doc.pdf::<page number>, you can add the following entry to org-file-apps:

    Extension: \.pdf::\([0-9]+\)\'
    Command:   evince "%s" -p %1
    

    Thanks to Jan Böcker for a patch to this effect.

13.4.2. Dates and time

  1. Allow relative time when scheduling/adding a deadline

    You can now use relative duration strings like "-2d" or "++3w" when calling org-schedule or org-deadline: it will schedule (or set the deadline for) the item respectively two days before today and three weeks after the current timestamp, if any.

    You can use this programmatically: (org-schedule nil "+2d") will work on the current entry.

    You can also use this while (bulk-)rescheduling and (bulk-)resetting the deadline of (several) items from the agenda.

    Thanks to Memnon Anon for a heads up about this!

  2. American-style dates are now understood by org-read-date

    So when you are prompted for a date, you can now answer like this

    2/5/3         --> 2003-02-05
    2/5           --> <CURRENT-YEAR>-02-05
    

13.4.3. Agenda

  1. org-agenda-custom-commands has a default value

    This option used to be `nil' by default. This now has a default value, displaying an agenda and all TODOs. See the docstring for details. Thanks to Carsten for this.

  2. Improved filtering through org-agenda-to-appt

    The new function allows the user to refine the scope of entries to pass to org-agenda-get-day-entries and allows to filter out entries using a function.

    Thanks to Peter Münster for raising a related issue and to Tassilo Horn for this idea. Also thanks to Peter Münster for fixing a small bug in the final implementation.

  3. Allow ap/pm times in agenda time grid

    Times in the agenda can now be displayed in am/pm format. See the new variable org-agenda-timegrid-use-ampm. Thanks to C. A. Webber for a patch to this effect.

  4. Agenda: Added a bulk "scattering" command

    B S in the agenda buffer will cause tasks to be rescheduled a random number of days into the future, with 7 as the default. This is useful if you've got a ton of tasks scheduled for today, you realize you'll never deal with them all, and you just want them to be distributed across the next N days. When called with a prefix arg, rescheduling will avoid weekend days.

    Thanks to John Wiegley for this.

13.4.4. Exporting

  1. Simplification of org-export-html-preamble/postamble

    When set to `t', export the preamble/postamble as usual, honoring the org-export-email/author/creator-info variables.

    When set to a formatting string, insert this string. See the docstring of these variable for details about available %-sequences.

    You can set :html-preamble in publishing project in the same way: `t' means to honor :email/creator/author-info, and a formatting string will insert a string.

  2. New exporters to Latin-1 and UTF-8

    While Ulf Stegemann was going through the entities list to improve the LaTeX export, he had the great idea to provide representations for many of the entities in Latin-1, and for all of them in UTF-8. This means that we can now export files rich in special symbols to Latin-1 and to UTF-8 files. These new exporters can be reached with the commands C-c C-e n and C-c C-e u, respectively.

    When there is no representation for a given symbol in the targeted coding system, you can choose to keep the TeX-macro-like representation, or to get an "explanatory" representation. For example, \simeq could be represented as "[approx. equal to]". Please use the variable org-entities-ascii-explanatory to state your preference.

  3. HTML export: Add class to outline containers using property

    The HTML_CONTAINER_CLASS property can now be used to add a class name to the outline container of a node in HTML export.

  4. Throw an error when creating an image from a LaTeX snippet fails

    This behavior can be configured with the new option variable org-format-latex-signal-error.

  5. Support for creating BEAMER presentations from Org-mode documents

    Org-mode documents or subtrees can now be converted directly in to BEAMER presentation. Turning a tree into a simple presentations is straight forward, and there is also quite some support to make richer presentations as well. See the BEAMER section in the manual for more details.

    Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the discussion about BEAMER support and how it should work. This was a great example for how this community can achieve a much better result than any individual could.

13.4.5. Refiling

  1. Refile targets can now be cached

    You can turn on caching of refile targets by setting the variable org-refile-use-cache. This should speed up refiling if you have many eligible targets in many files. If you need to update the cache because Org misses a newly created entry or still offers a deleted one, press C-0 C-c C-w.

  2. New logging support for refiling

    Whenever you refile an item, a time stamp and even a note can be added to this entry. For details, see the new option org-log-refile.

    Thanks to Charles Cave for this idea.

13.4.6. Completion

  1. In-buffer completion is now done using John Wiegley's pcomplete.el

    Thanks to John Wiegley for much of this code.

13.4.7. Tables

  1. New command org-table-transpose-table-at-point

    See the docstring. This hack from Juan Pechiar is now part of Org's core. Thanks to Juan!

  2. Display field's coordinates when editing it with C-c `

    When editing a field with C-c `, the field's coordinate will the displayed in the buffer.

    Thanks to Michael Brand for a patch to this effect.

  3. Spreadsheet computation of durations and time values

    If you want to compute time values use the T flag, either in Calc formulas or Elisp formulas:

    Task 1 Task 2 Total
    35:00 35:00 1:10:00

    Values must be of the form [HH:]MM:SS, where hours are optional.

    Thanks to Martin Halder, Eric Schulte and Carsten for code and feedback on this.

  4. Implement formulas applying to field ranges

    Carsten implemented this field-ranges formulas.

    A frequently requested feature for tables has been to be able to define
    row formulas in a way similar to column formulas.  The patch below allows
    things like
    
    @3=
    @2$2..@5$7=
    @I$2..@II$4=
    
    as the left hand side for table formulas in order to write a formula that
    is valid for an entire column or for a rectangular section in a
    table.
    

    Thanks a lot to Carsten for this.

  5. Sending radio tables from org buffers is now allowed

    Org radio tables can no also be sent inside Org buffers. Also, there is a new hook which get called after a table has been sent.

    Thanks to Seweryn Kokot.

13.4.8. Lists

  1. Improved handling of lists

    Nicolas Goaziou extended and improved the way Org handles lists.

    1. Indentation of text determines again end of items in lists. So, some text less indented than the previous item doesn't close the whole list anymore, only all items more indented than it.
    2. Alphabetical bullets are implemented, through the use of the variable `org-alphabetical-lists'. This also adds alphabetical counters like [@c] or [@W].
    3. Lists can now safely contain drawers, inline tasks, or various blocks, themselves containing lists. Two variables are controlling this: `org-list-forbidden-blocks', and `org-list-export-context'.
    4. Improve `newline-and-indent' (C-j): used in an item, it will keep text from moving at column 0. This allows to split text and make paragraphs and still not break the list.
    5. Improve `org-toggle-item' (C-c -): used on a region with standard text, it will change the region into one item. With a prefix argument, it will fallback to the previous behavior and make every line in region an item. It permits to easily integrate paragraphs inside a list.
    6. `fill-paragraph' (M-q) now understands lists. It can freely be used inside items, or on text just after a list, even with no blank line around, without breaking list structure.

    Thanks a lot to Nicolas for all this!

13.4.9. Inline display of linked images

Images can now be displayed inline. The key C-c C-x C-v does toggle the display of such images. Note that only image links that have no description part will be inlined.

13.4.10. Implement offsets for ordered lists

If you want to start an ordered plain list with a number different from 1, you can now do it like this:

1. [@start:12] will star a lit a number 12

13.4.11. Babel: code block body expansion for table and preview

In org-babel, code is "expanded" prior to evaluation. I.e. the code that is actually evaluated comprises the code block contents, augmented with the extra code which assigns the referenced data to variables. It is now possible to preview expanded contents, and also to expand code during tangling. This expansion takes into account all header arguments, and variables.

A new keybinding `C-c M-b p' bound to `org-babel-expand-src-block' can be used from inside of a source code block to preview its expanded contents (which can be very useful for debugging). tangling

The expanded body can now be tangled, this includes variable values which may be the results of other source-code blocks, or stored in headline properties or tables. One possible use for this is to allow those using org-babel for their emacs initialization to store values (e.g. usernames, passwords, etc…) in headline properties or in tables.

Org-babel now supports three new header arguments, and new default behavior for handling horizontal lines in tables (hlines), column names, and rownames across all languages.

13.4.12. Editing Convenience and Appearance

  1. New command org-copy-visible (C-c C-x v)

    This command will copy the visible text in the region into the kill ring. Thanks to Florian Beck for this function and to Carsten for adding it to org.el and documenting it!

  2. Make it possible to protect hidden subtrees from being killed by C-k

    See the new variable org-ctrl-k-protect-subtree. This was a request by Scott Otterson.

  3. Implement pretty display of entities, sub-, and superscripts.

    The command C-c C-x \ toggles the display of Org's special entities like \alpha as pretty unicode characters. Also, sub and superscripts are displayed in a pretty way (raised/lower display, in a smaller font). If you want to exclude sub- and superscripts, see the variable org-pretty-entities-include-sub-superscripts.

    Thanks to Eric Schulte and Ulf Stegeman for making this possible.

  4. New faces for title, date, author and email address lines

    The keywords in these lines are now dimmed out, and the title is displayed in a larger font, and a special font is also used for author, date, and email information. This is implemented by the following new faces:

    org-document-title org-document-info org-document-info-keyword

    In addition, the variable org-hidden-keywords can be used to make the corresponding keywords disappear.

    Thanks to Dan Davison for this feature.

  5. Simpler way to specify faces for tags and todo keywords

    The variables org-todo-keyword-faces, org-tag-faces, and org-priority-faces now accept simple color names as specifications. The colors will be used as either foreground or background color for the corresponding keyword. See also the variable org-faces-easy-properties, which governs which face property is affected by this setting.

    This is really a great simplification for setting keyword faces. The change is based on an idea and patch by Ryan Thompson.

  6. <N> in tables now means fixed width, not maximum width

    Requested by Michael Brand.

  7. Better level cycling function

    TAB in an empty headline cycles the level of that headline through likely states. Ryan Thompson implemented an improved version of this function, which does not depend upon when exactly this command is used. Thanks to Ryan for this improvement.

  8. Adaptive filling

    For paragraph text, org-adaptive-fill-function did not handle the base case of regular text which needed to be filled. This is now fixed. Among other things, it allows email-style ">" comments to be filled correctly.

    Thanks to Dan Hackney for this patch.

  9. `org-reveal' (C-c C-r) also decrypts encrypted entries (org-crypt.el)

    Thanks to Richard Riley for triggering this change.

  10. Better automatic letter selection for TODO keywords

    When all first letters of keywords have been used, Org now assigns more meaningful characters based on the keywords.

    Thanks to Mikael Fornius for this patch.

13.4.13. Clocking

  1. Clock: Allow synchronous update of timestamps in CLOCK log

    Using S-M-<up/down> on CLOCK log timestamps will increase/decrease the two timestamps on this line so that duration will keep the same. Note that duration can still be slightly modified in case a timestamp needs some rounding.

    Thanks to Rainer Stengele for this idea.

  2. Localized clock tables

    Clock tables now support a new :lang parameter, allowing the user to customize the localization of the table headers. See the variable org-clock-clocktable-language-setup which controls available translated strings.

  3. Show clock overruns in mode line

    When clocking an item with a planned effort, overrunning the planned time is now made visible in the mode line, for example using the new face org-mode-line-clock-overrun, or by adding an extra string given by org-task-overrun-text.

    Thanks to Richard Riley for a patch to this effect.

  4. Clock reports can now include the running, incomplete clock

    If you have a clock running, and the entry being clocked falls into the scope when creating a clock table, the time so far spent can be added to the total. This behavior depends on the setting of org-clock-report-include-clocking-task. The default is nil.

    Thanks to Bernt Hansen for this useful addition.

13.4.14. Misc

  1. Improvements with inline tasks and indentation

    There is now a configurable way on how to export inline tasks. See the new variable org-inlinetask-export-templates.

    Thanks to Nicolas Goaziou for coding these changes.

  2. A property value of nil now means to unset a property

    This can be useful in particular with property inheritance, if some upper level has the property, and some grandchild of it would like to have the default settings (i.e. not overruled by a property) back.

    Thanks to Robert Goldman and Bernt Hansen for suggesting this change.

  3. New helper functions in org-table.el

    There are new functions to access and write to a specific table field. This is for hackers, and maybe for the org-babel people.

    org-table-get
    org-table-put
    org-table-current-line
    org-table-goto-line
    
  4. Archiving: Allow to reverse order in target node

    The new option org-archive-reversed-order allows to have archived entries inserted in a last-on-top fashion in the target node.

    This was requested by Tom.

  5. Org-reveal: Double prefix arg shows the entire subtree of the parent

    This can help to get out of an inconsistent state produced for example by viewing from the agenda.

    This was a request by Matt Lundin.

14. Version 7.8

14.1. Summary

  • Jambunathan's ODT exporter is now part of Org's core.
  • Nicolas' new export engine is now part of contrib/
  • Standard code block keywords
  • 10 new committers
  • Many bugfixes

See below for details.

14.2. New committers who signed the FSF copyright assigment

Here is the list of new contributors who signed the FSF papers since Org 7.7 - welcome, and thanks for your contributions!

  • Andreas Leha
  • Christian Moe
  • Julian Gehring
  • Max Mikhanosha
  • Michael Brand
  • Niels Giessen
  • Pieter Praet
  • Sergey Litvinov
  • Thomas Holst
  • Thorsten Jolitz

14.3. The ODT exporter is now part of Org's core

  • Full refresh of the OpenDocument Text section in the manual. All new features listed below are fully-documented.
  • Associate custom styles on per-file basis using #+ODT_STYLES_FILE: directive.
  • Fontify code listings using an enhanced version of htmlfontify.el and generate line numbers natively.
  • Embed MathML and OpenDocument formula files.
  • Use LaTeX to MathML converter – say MathToWeb (http://www.mathtoweb.com/) – for handling LaTeX Math fragments.
  • In tables, use column width cookies to control relative width of columns.
  • Also for tables, you can specify custom styles using #+ATTR_ODT: lines.
  • Lots of bug fixes.

Experimental

The following features are experimental. These features are specific to the ODT export engine and their implementation and usage could change considerably in future versions.

Special thanks to Jambunathan for his work and his patience through the process of integrating this vital contribution into Org's core.

14.4. New export engine by Nicolas

See the comment sections in org-element.el and in org-export.el (in contrib/lisp/). Also check the experimental LaTeX exporter using in EXPERIMENTAL/org-e-latex.el.

Check Nicolas' announcement on the list and hack around!

Thanks a lot to Nicolas for this great and promising achievement.

14.5. Incompatible changes

14.5.1. Standardized code block keywords

Following a round of on-list discussion, many code block synonyms have been removed. You can safely move forward the following syntax:

  • call lines are specified with #+call:
  • code blocks are named with #+name:
  • results are named with #+name:, however results generated by a code block may still be labeled with #+results:, and tables named with #+tblname: will be considered to be named results

The following function may be used to update an existing Org mode buffer to the new syntax:

(defun update-org-buffer ()
  "Update an Org mode buffer to the new data, code block and call line syntax."
  (interactive)
  (save-excursion
    (flet ((to-re (lst) (concat "^[ \t]*#\\+" (regexp-opt lst t)
                                "\\(\\[\\([[:alnum:]]+\\)\\]\\)?\\:[ \t]*"))
           (update (re new)
                   (goto-char (point-min))
                   (while (re-search-forward re nil t)
                     (replace-match new nil nil nil 1))))
      (let ((old-re (to-re '("RESULTS" "DATA" "SRCNAME" "SOURCE")))
            (lob-re (to-re '("LOB")))
            (case-fold-search t))
        (update old-re "name")
        (update lob-re "call")))))

Note: If an old version of Org mode (e.g., the one shipped with Emacs) is installed on your system, many of the important variables will be pre-defined with a defvar and will not have their values automatically updated – these include the following:

  • org-babel-data-names
  • org-babel-result-regexp
  • org-babel-src-block-regexp
  • org-babel-src-name-regexp
  • org-babel-src-name-w-name-regexp

It may be necessary to either remove the source code of older versions of Org mode or to explicitly evaluate the ob.el file.

14.5.2. Removed the #+BABEL: keyword

Code block header arguments may now be specified using the standard #+Property: keyword. See Property names ending in + accumulate for more information on the extended property syntax.

14.5.3. Deleted org-mode-p (git)

This function has been deleted: please update your hacks if you relied on it.

14.6. New features and user-visible improvements

14.6.1. Day names are optional when you type timestamps manually (git)

You can type "<2011-12-12 Mon>" or [2011-12-12 Mon] and modify this timestamps with S-<right> like other timestamps. Thanks to Carsten for implementing this.

14.6.2. Improved filtering through org-agenda-to-appt (git)

The new function allows the user to refine the scope of entries to pass to org-agenda-get-day-entries and allows to filter out entries using a function.

Thanks to Peter Münster for raising a related issue and to Tassilo Horn for this idea. Also thanks to Peter Münster for fixing a small bug in the final implementation.

14.6.3. org-agenda-date-later jumps to today when modifying past date (git)

The command org-agenda-date-later (<S-right> in the Agenda Mode) directly jumps to today. Thanks to Carsten for implementing this.

14.6.4. Use prefix arg 0 to inhibit note taking for TODO change (git)

See Carsten's comment: "Sometimes I want to quickly make a few TODOs done in the agenda and I want to bypass the note taking I have normally set up. With this change, I can press `0 t d' in the agenda to do this."

Thanks to Carsten for implementing this.

14.6.5. Various improvements to org-indent.el

Nicolas Goaziou worked on refactoring and improving org-indent.el, which should now be faster. It also better combines with visual-line-mode.

14.6.6. Property names ending in + accumulate

This results in the following behavior.

  #+property: var  foo=1
  #+property: var+ bar=2

  #+begin_src emacs-lisp
     (+ foo bar)
  #+end_src

  #+results:
   : 3

  #+begin_src emacs-lisp
     (org-entry-get (point) "var" t)
  #+end_src

  #+results:
   : foo=1 bar=2

* overwriting a file-wide property
     :PROPERTIES:
     :var:      foo=7
     :END:

  #+begin_src emacs-lisp
     foo
  #+end_src

  #+results:
   : 7

  #+begin_src emacs-lisp
     (org-entry-get (point) "var" t)
  #+end_src

  #+results:
   : foo=7

* appending to a file-wide property
     :PROPERTIES:
     :var+:      baz=3
     :END:

  #+begin_src emacs-lisp
     (+ foo bar baz)
  #+end_src

  #+results:
   : 6

  #+begin_src emacs-lisp
     (org-entry-get (point) "var" t)
  #+end_src

  #+results:
   : foo=1 bar=2 baz=3

14.6.7. org-agenda-custom-commands has a default value (git)

This option used to be `nil' by default. This now has a default value, displaying an agenda and all TODOs. See the docstring for details. Thanks to Carsten for this.

14.6.8. outline-demote/promote points to org-demote/promote-subtree

Users who use this outline commands in outline-mode will want them to behave the Org way in Org. Thanks to Michael Brand for the suggestion.

14.6.9. New escape characters for org-log-note-headings (git)

The option org-log-note-headings now supports %d and %D for inactive and active timestamps. This affect the behavior of the command org-store-log-note. Thanks to John J Foerch for a patch for this.

14.6.10. New command org-table-transpose-table-at-point (git)

See the docstring. This hack from Juan Pechiar is now part of Org's core. Thanks to Juan!

14.6.11. Allow recursive edit of minibuffer (git)

You can now use the command C-c ! (org-time-stamp-inactive) when prompted e.g. for a link name. This is because the central function org-completing-read now support recursive edit. Only C-c ! is available at the moment, but if you can think of a useful command to use, please let me know.

Thanks to Skip Collins for the idea and to Nick Dokos for the implementation.

14.6.12. Allow dynamic construction of the publishing destination (git)

Thanks to Kai Tetzlaff for adding this.

14.6.13. Set the capture default time to the prompt time (git)

In the file+datetree+promt target type, the user is being asked for a date, where to file an entry. In the template, he can use the escape placeholders for active and inactive time stamps. So far, these were filled with todays date. This behavior changed so that, also at %t and %u, the date to use is the one entered at the prompt.

Reported by Erik Hetzner and fixed by Carsten.

14.6.14. org-agenda-skip-additional-timestamps-same-entry defaults to `nil' (git)

14.6.15. org-sudoku.el – small sudoku solver

Carsten wrote org-sudoku.el, a little sudoku solver, which lives in the contrib/ directory.

From his message: "my daughter got stuck with a couple of SUDOKU puzzles during the vacation (where wh had no internet connection), so I hacked a small SUDOKU solver that reads a 9x9 Org table and solves it as a sudoku puzzle. A little silly, but maybe fun for someone - I have pushed it into the contrib/lisp directory."

14.7. Code Block related features and improvements

14.7.1. Added tikzDevice support to ob-R.el

14.7.2. Support for Pico Lisp code blocks

Thanks to Thorsten Jolitz Pico Lisp code blocks are now supported. See ob-picolisp.el for more information.

14.7.3. Extension to the eval code block header argument

The eval code block header argument now accepts four (six) possible values the meaning of which is shown in the table below.

never or no The code block will not be evaluated under any
  circumstances.
query Evaluation of the code block will require a query.
never-export or no-export The code block will not be evaluated during export
  but may still be called
query-export Evaluation of the code block during export will
  require a query.

14.7.4. Update of intermediate results during code block evaluation

When set to t, the new org-babel-update-intermediate variable will update in-buffer results for code blocks which are evaluated in the resolution of a variable reference. This can be used to ensure that the latest returned results are always shown in buffer.

14.7.5. Support for Fortran code block is now in the core

Thanks to Sergey Litvinov for contributing this support.

14.7.6. The sbe function allows header argument specification

If first variable is a string and not a cons cell, then interpret it as a string of header arguments to be passed to the code block.

14.7.7. Support for Shen code blocks

See http://www.shenlanguage.org/ for information on Shen.

A major mode for shen code blocks is available through the GNU ELPA.

14.8. New options and faces

14.8.1. New option org-export-html-headline-anchor-format (git)

Format for anchors in HTML headlines.

It requires to %s: both will be replaced by the anchor referring to the headline (e.g. "sec-2"). When set to `nil', don't insert HTML anchors in headlines.

This was requested by Alan L Tyree.

14.8.2. New option org-table-formula-field-format (git)

Format for fields which contain the result of a formula. For example, using \"%s\" will display the result within tilde characters. Beware that modifying the display can prevent the field from being used in another formula.

Thanks to Dov Grobgeld for this idea.

14.8.3. New option org-loop-over-headlines-in-active-region (git)

When set to `t', some commands will loop over the active region. Currently, org-schedule and org-deadline uses this option: pressing C-c C-s or C-c C-d when the region is active will let you schedule/deadline all the visible headlines in the region.

Thanks a lot to David Maus for implementing this.

14.8.4. New option org-catch-invisible-edits (git)

This option makes it possible to check what is the right thing to do before editing invisible regions. Here are the possible values of this option:

+nil              Do not check, so just do invisible edits.
+error            Throw an error and do nothing.
+show             Make point visible, and do the requested edit.
+show-and-error   Make point visible, then throw an error and abort the edit.
+smart            Make point visible, and do insertion/deletion if it is
                  adjacent to visible text and the change feels predictable.

See the docstring for more details.

Thanks to Carsten for implementing this.

14.8.5. New option org-export-latex-table-caption-above

Let the user place a caption above its table in LaTeX. Thanks to Thomas Dye for a patch to this effect.

14.8.6. New option org-agenda-follow-indirect (git)

By setting `org-agenda-follow-indirect' to a non-nil value, `org-agenda-follow-mode' will use an indirect buffer to display only the current item, rather than the whole agenda file in which it lives.

Thanks to Dave Abrahams for implementing this.

14.8.7. New option org-refile-active-region-within-subtree (git)

Non-nil means also refile active region within a subtree.

By default org-refile doesn't allow refiling regions if they don't contain a set of subtrees, but it might be convenient to do so sometimes: in that case, the first line of the region is converted to a headline before refiling.

Thanks to Jeff Horn for raising the issue of refiling a list item, and to Nicolas Goaziou, Nick Dokos and Suvayu Ali for discussing them patiently.

14.8.8. New option org-latex-to-mathml-convert-command

This option lets you specify a way to convert LaTeX fragments to MathML. See also org-latex-to-mathml-jar-file and the docstring of org-create-math-formula.

Thanks to Jambunathan K for implementing this.

14.8.9. New option org-properties-postprocess-alist (git)

See its docstring:

Alist of properties and functions to adjust inserted values.
Elements of this alist must be of the form

  ([string] [function])

where [string] must be a property name and [function] must be a
lambda expression: this lambda expression must take one argument,
the value to adjust, and return the new value as a string.

For example, this element will allow the property "Remaining"
to be updated wrt the relation between the "Effort" property
and the clock summary:

 (("Remaining" 
     (lambda(value)
       (let ((clocksum (org-clock-sum-current-item))
             (effort (org-duration-string-to-minutes
                     (org-entry-get (point) "Effort"))))
         (org-minutes-to-hh:mm-string (- effort clocksum))))))

This is inspired by a request from Pascal Mattia.

14.8.10. New options org-habit-today-glyph and org-habit-completed-glyph (git)

This gives you control over the character used for displaying today (default is `!') and days on which a task has been completed (default is `*'). Thanks to John Wiegley for this.

14.8.11. New option org-bibtex-type-property-name (git)

Configurable property name for bibtex entry types. Thanks to Eric Schulte for this.

14.8.12. New face org-agenda-filter-tags (git)

This face is used for highlighting the tag(s) filter in the modeline. Thanks to Sébastien Vauban for this idea and its implementation.

14.8.13. New faces org-agenda-calendar-event and org-agenda-calendar-sexp (git)

org-agenda-calendar-event is the face used to show events and appointments in the agenda, and org-agenda-calendar-sexp the one used to show events computed from a S-expression.

Thanks to Sébastien Vauban for this addition.

14.9. Important bugfixes

14.9.1. Respect org-export-with-tags when exporting a subtree (git)

Thanks to Suvayu Ali for spotting this problem and fixing it.

14.9.2. Fix XEmacs compatibility issue when creating an indirect buffer (git)

Thanks to Michael Sperber for this fix.

14.10. Testing

14.10.1. New test function org-test-with-temp-text-in-file (https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/emacs/org-mode.git/commit/?id=1f206ed4)

15. Version 7.7

15.1. New features and user-visible improvements

15.1.1. New command org-copy-visible (C-c C-x v)

This command will copy the visible text in the region into the kill ring.

Thanks to Florian Beck for this function and to Carsten for adding it to org.el and documenting it!

15.1.2. New hook org-ctrl-c-ctrl-c-final-hook

This hook will be called when nothing special can be performed by the busy C-c C-c key. Thanks to Paul Sexton for this idea!

(git commit)

15.1.3. Allow relative time when scheduling/adding a deadline

You can now use relative duration strings like "-2d" or "++3w" when calling org-schedule or org-deadline: it will schedule (or set the deadline for) the item respectively two days before today and three weeks after the current timestamp, if any.

You can use this programmatically: (org-schedule nil "+2d") will work on the current entry.

You can also use this while (bulk-)rescheduling and (bulk-)resetting the deadline of (several) items from the agenda.

Thanks to Memnon Anon for a heads up about this!

(git commit)

15.1.4. New functions: org-todo-yesterday and org-agenda-todo-yesterday

This is useful when you need to mark things done yesterday.

Thanks to Max Mikhanosha for this patch.

(git commit)

15.1.5. org-set-property defaults to the last interactively modified property

When setting a property with C-c C-x p, it will offered the last interactively modified property as a default choice. If this command is called on a property line, the property in this line will take precedence over the last set property.

(git commit)

15.1.6. Clock: Allow synchronous update of timestamps in CLOCK log

Using S-M-<up/down> on CLOCK log timestamps will increase/decrease the two timestamps on this line so that duration will keep the same. Note that duration can still be slightly modified in case a timestamp needs some rounding.

Thanks to Rainer Stengele for this idea.

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15.1.7. Clock: New function org-clock-remove-empty-clock-drawer

This function removes empty CLOCK drawers and has been added to org-clock-out-hook: when clocking out, if no CLOCK log has been inserted and the drawer is empty, the drawer will be removed.

(git commit)

15.1.8. Capture: new escape sequence %F for templates

Using %F in capture templates will insert the full path of the file or the directory the capture mechanism was called from (whereas %f only insert the filename.)

Thanks to Nicolas Goaziou for this change.

(git commit)

15.1.9. Agenda: new variable org-agenda-bulk-custom-functions for custom bulk functions

When using org-agenda-bulk-action in agenda view, the user could already call custom functions by pressing f and entering the function's name.

This variable lets the user add custom choices and reach them more quickly. Set the variable to an alist of keys (chars) and functions, and these keys will be accessible through the org-agenda-bulk-action interface.

If there is a conflict between custom keys and hardcoded choices, the latter ones take precedence.

Thanks to Julien Cubizolles for triggering this idea.

(git commit)

15.1.10. Refile: exclude irrelevant headings

When refiling from an org-mode buffer, the current heading and its subheadings will be excluded from the list of possible targets.

This only works when org-refile-use-cache is nil and in org-mode buffers, not in agenda buffers.

Thanks to Jason Dunsmore for this idea!

15.1.11. Lists: new variable org-list-use-circular-motion

This variable allows some commands to consider lists as cyclic structures. For example, when non-nil, moving past the last item of a list with S-down will bring you back to the first one.

15.1.12. Lists: New variable org-list-indent-offset

This variable helps improving readability of sub-items by increasing their indentation. E.g., if org-list-indent-offset is set to 2, you may see the following list:

- First item
	  - Sub-item 1
	  - Sub-item 2
- Second item

15.1.13. Table: New flag ";t" to tailor the display of computed durations

See the new variable org-table-duration-custom-format and the updated example from the manual:

Task 1 Task 2 Total
3:02:20 -2:07:00 0.92

In this example, 0.92 is a fraction of hour, the default for org-table-duration-custom-format.

Thanks to Daniel E. Doherty for discussions about this.

(git commit)

15.1.14. Table: display field's coordinates when editing it with C-c `

When editing a field with C-c `, the field's coordinate will the displayed in the buffer.

Thanks to Michael Brand for a patch to this effect.

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15.1.15. Babel: support for java code blocks

Evaluation of blocks of Java code is now possible. Currently only external evaluation of Java code is supported (i.e., no session evaluation) and only the :results output results are collected. Code blocks are compiled to a Java class file which are then evaluated and the values printed to STDOUT are returned.

Java code blocks required a :classname header argument which is used by the compiler to name .java and .class files.

Example Java code block:

#+begin_src java :classname myfirstjavaprog
   class myfirstjavaprog
   {
       public static void main(String args[])
       {
           System.out.println("Hello World!");
       }
   }
#+end_src

#+results:
 : Hello World!

15.1.16. Babel: support for fortran code blocks by Sergey Litvinov

The contrib/babel/langs/ contains the new library ob-fortran.el by Sergey Litvinov.

Thanks to him for this addition.

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15.1.17. Babel: support for the fomus language by Torsten Anders

ob-fomus.el has been added to contrib/babel/langs/.

Thanks to Torsten Anders for contributing this functionality.

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15.1.18. Publish: hide .orgx files and use theindex.org directly

When :makeindex is `non-nil' in the publishing options, Org will export an index. It populates the directory with .orgx files: those files are now hidden (.file.orgx). Also the index is directly stored in the file theindex.org, not in the file theindex.inc (which you can delete).

Thanks to Nathan Neff and Carsten for pointing at the problems and solutions.

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15.1.19. Export: new variable org-export-html-divs to allow custom divs

The default value of org-export-html-divs is ("preamble" "content" "postamble") and is used to define the <div "%s"> for the main structure of the exported HTML file.

Note that modifying the default value will break compatibility with the org-info.js script.

Also note that the variable org-export-html-content-div will still be checked for compatibility reasons but is not a custom variable anymore.

Thanks to Sébastian Vauban for a preliminary version of this patch.

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15.1.20. Export: new variable org-export-latex-quotes to customize quotes in LaTeX export

This allows users to define what quotes they want to use as a replacement of english double-quotes while exporting to LaTeX.

In particular, if you use the csquote package, you can configure Org to output something like \endquote{some quoted text} instead of "some quoted text".

Thanks to Frederik for bringing this issue up, and to Thomas S. Dye, Nick Dokos and Stefan Nobis for elaborating this solution.

(git commit)

15.2. Important bugfixes

15.2.1. Duration computations now work for complex ranges in tables

Thanks to Christian Moe for signaling this problem.

15.2.2. Handle recursive setup files correctly

Thanks to Stefan Vollmar for mentioning this problem.

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15.3. Details

15.3.1. org-map-entries can now have 'region as its scope

Thanks to David Maus for suggesting related improvements to org-map-entries. This one prepares the possibility of letting some commands to loop over the active region.

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15.3.2. org-depend.el: new chain-find-next trigger option

See the updated docstring of this file.

Thanks a lot to Max Mikhanosha for this!

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15.3.3. Export: new experimental exporter to MoinMoin by Puneeth Chaganti.

The EXPERIMENTAL/ directory contains a new file org-mm.el that allows you to export an Org file to a MoinMoin file.

Thanks to Puneeth Chaganti for this addition.

(git commit)

15.3.4. Export: new default for org-export-html-preamble

The default value included the title. It now defaults to the empty string, as the title is hardcoded and included in the "content" div. Including the title here is necessary to let org-info.js find it and display the page properly.

15.3.5. Export: new variable org-lparse-use-flashy-warning defaulting to nil

Flashy and verbose warnings while exporting to ODT have been disabled. Set this to t if you want it back.

15.3.6. Export: new default value for org-export-latex-image-default-option

This used to be width=10em and this is now width=.9\linewidth, which makes more sense.

Thanks to Sebastien Vauban for this suggestion.

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15.3.7. Export: allow org-export-latex-href-format to have only one "%s"

This is useful when you want to use \url{link} instead of the default \href{link}{path}.

Thanks to Henri-Paul Indiogine for bringing this up.

15.4. Known issues

15.4.1. The ODT exporter will choke when using some Org-defined strings

For example, using the hungarian version of the table of contents, as defined in org-export-language-setup, the ODT exporter will complain about a problem with the translated string.

The workaround is to customize org-export-language-setup and to use accents directly.

16. Version 7.6

16.1. Incompatible changes

16.2. New features and user-visible improvements

16.2.1. Integration of Jambunathan's OpenDocumentText Exporter

  1. Activation

    Org mode 7.6 supports exporting to OpenDocument Text (odt) format using org-odt.el. Depending on how you installed Org, this module can be enabled in one of the following ways:

    1. If you have downloaded the Org from the Web, either as a distribution .zip or .tar.gz file, or as a Git archive, enable the odt option in the variable org-modules.
    2. If you are using Org mode 7.6 that comes bundled with Emacs-24.0.50 (or future Emacs-24.1), then you can install the OpenDocumentText exporter using the package manager. Check the list of available packages with M-x list-packages and install the org-odt package.

    Thanks a lot to Jambunathan K for this great contribution.

  2. Keybindings

    The following interactive commands are provided:

    1. C-c C-e o (org-export-as-odt): Export as an odt file.
    2. C-c C-e O (org-export-as-odt-and-open): Export as an odt file and open the resulting file.

    See the contrib/odt/README.org file for further details; you may check in particular the commands M-x org-lparse and M-x org-export-convert.

16.2.2. Ob-Lilypond – new Babel language to allow score generation

ob-lilypond - an org-babel language, provided to allow LilyPond music score generation, complete with optional auditioning via midi, whilst leveraging the full power of org mode, and literate programming. See https://github.com/mjago/ob-lilypond for more documentation.

Thanks to Martyn Jago for this addition.

16.2.3. Org-Bibtex – major improvements

Provides support for managing bibtex bibliographical references data in headline properties. Each headline corresponds to a single reference and the relevant bibliographic meta-data is stored in headline properties, leaving the body of the headline free to hold notes and comments. Org-bibtex is aware of all standard bibtex reference types and fields.

The key new functions are

org-bibtex-check
queries the user to flesh out all required (and with prefix argument optional) bibtex fields available for the specific reference type of the current headline.
org-bibtex-create
Create a new entry at the given level, using org-bibtex-check to flesh out the relevant fields.
org-bibtex-yank
Yank a bibtex entry on the kill ring as a formatted Org mode headline into the current buffer
org-bibtex-export-to-kill-ring
Export the current headline to the kill ring as a formatted bibtex entry.

16.2.4. Spreadsheet computation of durations and time values

If you want to compute time values use the T flag, either in Calc formulas or Elisp formulas:

Task 1 Task 2 Total
35:00 35:00 1:10:00

Values must be of the form [HH:]MM:SS, where hours are optional.

Thanks to Martin Halder, Eric Schulte and Carsten for code and feedback on this.

16.2.5. Links within inlined footnotes.

It as also possible to have footnotes side-by-side correctly exported. New variables org-export-latex-footnote-separator, org-export-html-footnote-separator and org-export-docbook-footnote-separator are used to separate them in that case.

Fontification of footnotes is also more accurate.

16.2.6. New variable org-export-with-tasks

Non-nil means include TODO items for export.

This may have the following values:

  • t include tasks independent of state.
  • todo include only tasks that are not yet done.
  • done include only tasks that are already done.
  • nil remove all tasks before export
  • list of TODO kwds keep only tasks with these keywords

Thanks to Carsten for implementing this!

16.2.7. New variable org-export-latex-timestamp-inactive-markup

This variable allows the user to define the LaTeX markup for inactive timestamps. It defaults to the same markup than active timestamps. Thanks to Eric S Fraga for this patch.

16.2.8. New org-default face

M-x customize-face RET org-default RET will let you define the default face for org-mode buffers.

16.2.9. Babel improvements

  1. In line code block call syntax

    It is now possible to call code blocks from within blocks of prose.

    The new syntax is exactly analogous to the existing #+call: line syntax, only it may be present embedded in a block of prose for example call_double(num=8) would call the double code block assigning the num variable to the value 8.

  2. Optional variable names in code block calls

    Variable names are now optional when passing variables to a code block reference. Un-named variables will be assigned in order as shown below.

    #+source: minus
    #+begin_src emacs-lisp :var a=0 :var b=0
      (- a b)
    #+end_src
    
    #+call: minus(a=8, b=4)
    
    #+call: minus(8,4)
    
  3. Sub-tree ID as valid code block variable reference

    It is now possible to assign the textual contents of an Org mode subtree to a code block variable using the ID of the subtree. Both custom IDs and Org mode IDs may be used. For example;

    #+begin_src sh :var text=foo
       echo "$text"|wc
    #+end_src
    
    #+results:
     : 8      58     415
    
    * example foo
       :PROPERTIES:
       :CUSTOM_ID: foo
       :END:
    
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Donec
    hendrerit tempor tellus. Donec pretium posuere tellus. Proin quam
    nisl, tincidunt et, mattis eget, convallis nec, purus. Cum sociis
    natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus
    mus. Nulla posuere. Donec vitae dolor. Nullam tristique diam non
    turpis. Cras placerat accumsan nulla. Nullam rutrum. Nam vestibulum
    accumsan nisl.
    
  4. org-babel-tangle-body-hook for reprocessing code block bodies during tangling
  5. padline header argument controls newline padding during tangling
  6. Maxima code blocks are now supported

    Thanks to Eric Fraga for contributing this support.

  7. awk code blocks are now supported
  8. Added xmpfilter to Ruby code blocks for annotated code output
  9. New noweb-ref header argument

    This header argument may be used to concatenate the bodies of many code blocks into a single noweb reference. This brings Org mode's tangling functionality in line with traditional noweb tangling.

    A no web reference like the following

    #+begin_src sh
      <<the-ref>>
    #+end_src
    

    will now expand to include the bodies of all code blocks which are named the-ref, as well as all code blocks which have a :noweb-ref header argument set to the value the-ref.

16.2.10. New tests

The tests/ directory has been extensively updated.

16.3. Important bugfixes

16.3.1. Org-exp-blocks — proper handling of recursively nested blocks

During export pre-processing org-exp-blocks will now ensure that all matched blocks contain a proper balanced number of recursively nested blocks.

Before this fix nested blocks such as the following would break during export.

#+begin_src org
,  ,#+begin_example
,  ,  nested example
,  ,#+end_example
#+end_src

16.3.2. List handling

Fix an infinite loop when a list has an end of block string without the corresponding beginning.

Auto-filling cannot happen at a location where it would otherwise insert a new item.

16.4. Details

16.4.1. Footnotes have gone through some bug-fixing:

  • properly ignore footnotes in comments,
  • export calls to previously defined footnotes in LaTeX using \footnotemark,
  • export footnotes before first heading (LaTeX),
  • export footnotes when selecting a subtree not holding their definition (LaTeX).

16.4.2. Many small bug fixes have been applied to list handling

  • fix `org-timer-item',
  • fix insertion of a new item with a non-nil `indent-tabs-mode',
  • fix use of `fill-region' in an item,
  • correct export lists within footnotes and footnotes within lists,
  • correctly export lists containing macros,
  • don't ignore with-case specification when sorting a list,
  • better indentation handling when changing an item to an headline or the other way,
  • fix check-boxes' cookies updating.

17. Version 7.5

17.1. Incompatible changes

17.1.1. Code block variable initialized with Emacs Lisp code in tables and lists

It is no longer possible to assign code block variables using executable Emacs Lisp statements contained in tables or lists. As per the following example.

(a b c)
$data

Thanks to Vladimir Alexiev for raising this issue.

17.1.2. `org-bbdb-anniversary-format-alist' has changed

Please check the docstring and update your settings accordingly.

17.2. New features and user-visible improvements

17.2.1. Implement formulas applying to field ranges

Carsten implemented this field-ranges formulas.

A frequently requested feature for tables has been to be able to define
row formulas in a way similar to column formulas.  The patch below allows
things like

@3=
@2$2..@5$7=
@I$2..@II$4=

as the left hand side for table formulas in order to write a formula that
is valid for an entire column or for a rectangular section in a
table.

Thanks a lot to Carsten for this.

17.2.2. Improved handling of lists

Nicolas Goaziou extended and improved the way Org handles lists.

  1. Indentation of text determines again end of items in lists. So, some text less indented than the previous item doesn't close the whole list anymore, only all items more indented than it.
  2. Alphabetical bullets are implemented, through the use of the variable `org-alphabetical-lists'. This also adds alphabetical counters like [@c] or [@W].
  3. Lists can now safely contain drawers, inline tasks, or various blocks, themselves containing lists. Two variables are controlling this: `org-list-forbidden-blocks', and `org-list-export-context'.
  4. Improve `newline-and-indent' (C-j): used in an item, it will keep text from moving at column 0. This allows to split text and make paragraphs and still not break the list.
  5. Improve `org-toggle-item' (C-c -): used on a region with standard text, it will change the region into one item. With a prefix argument, it will fallback to the previous behavior and make every line in region an item. It permits to easily integrate paragraphs inside a list.
  6. `fill-paragraph' (M-q) now understands lists. It can freely be used inside items, or on text just after a list, even with no blank line around, without breaking list structure.

Thanks a lot to Nicolas for all this!

17.2.3. Modified link escaping

David Maus worked on `org-link-escape'. See his message:

Percent escaping is used in Org mode to escape certain characters
in links that would either break the parser (e.g. square brackets
in link target oder description) or are not allowed to appear in
a particular link type (e.g. non-ascii characters in a http:
link).

With this change in place Org will apply percent escaping and
unescaping more consistently especially for non-ascii characters.
Additionally some of the outstanding bugs or glitches concerning
percent escaped links are solved.

Thanks a lot to David for this work.

17.2.4. Simplification of org-export-html-preamble/postamble

When set to `t', export the preamble/postamble as usual, honoring the org-export-email/author/creator-info variables.

When set to a formatting string, insert this string. See the docstring of these variable for details about available %-sequences.

You can set :html-preamble in publishing project in the same way: `t' means to honor :email/creator/author-info, and a formatting string will insert a string.

17.2.5. New command `org-agenda-append-agenda'

You can now use `org-agenda-append-agenda' to dynamically add new agendas views to the current one. It is particularily useful to compare multiple small agendas.

17.2.6. Localized clock tables

Clock tables now support a new new :lang parameter, allowing the user to customize the localization of the table headers. See the variable org-clock-clocktable-language-setup which controls available translated strings.

17.2.7. New sorting options when publishing projects

The :sitemap-sort-file option now allows sorting the sitemap file (anti-)alphabetically and (anti-)chronogically. Thanks a lot to Manuel Giraud for a patch to this effet.

17.2.8. Testing with ERT

Martyn Jago added new tests to testing/ - thanks to him!

17.2.9. New file in contrib/: org-notmuch.el

Org is now distributed with org-notmuch.el, by Matthieu Lemerre. See explanations in the header of org-notmuch.el:

=org-notmuch.el= implements links to notmuch messages and
"searchs". A search is a query to be performed by notmuch; it is
the equivalent to folders in other mail clients. Similarly, mails
are refered to by a query, so both a link can refer to several
mails.

17.2.10. org-gnus.el now allows link creation from messages

You can now create links from messages. This is particularily useful when the user wants to stored messages that he sends, for later check. Thanks to Ulf Stegemann for the patch.

17.3. Important bug fixes

17.3.1. Capturing to narrowed buffers

You can now safely capture entries to narrowed buffers. Thanks a lot to Memnon Anon for bringing this up.

17.3.2. Better handling of the new `org-agenda-span' variable

Agendas were a bit confused by the introduction of this variable, in particular block agendas. This is now fixed.

Thanks to Julien and Carsten for helping find the right fix for this issue, and to Michael Brand and Matt Lundin for their patient testing and reporting.

17.3.3. Security warning: using org-crypt with auto-save

To prevent Emacs from auto-saving encrypted entries in clear text, the user should not use auto-save with org-crypt.el. We now send a warning when users are both using auto-saving and org-crypt.el. Thanks to Peter Jones for bringing this up.

17.4. Details

17.4.1. Babel

  1. :file argument causes results to be written to file for all languages

    :file <filename> should be understood as saying "write the result to <filename> and return a link to <filename>".

    This works for all languages. For graphics languages (e.g. ditaa, dot, gnuplot) there is no change in behavior: "result" in the above is the graphics, and a link to the image is placed in the org buffer. For general-purpose languages (e.g. emacs-lisp, python, R, ruby, shell), the "result" written to file is the normal org-babel result (string, number, table).

    In order to return a file link from a src block without telling babel to save any results to that file, use :results <filename> and do not use :file. The code block can of course write arbitrary content to <filename>.

    Some examples:

    Save the output of ls -l as a .csv file (recall that :results value is the default):

    ls -l
    

    Send the text output of ls -l directly to file:

    ls -l
    
  2. R requires :results graphics :file filename when generating graphics

    ":results graphics" is now required in addition to ":file filename" in order for graphical output to be sent automatically to file. If :file is supplied, but not ":results graphics", then non-graphical, "value" or "output" results are written to file, depending on which of those options is in effect.

  3. Calc code blocks can now accept vectors

    For example;

    3 y
    

    Thanks to Eric S. Fraga for raising this issue

  4. Code blocks with empty bodies are now acceptable

    Previously these caused errors on export. Thanks to Martyn Jago for this patch.

  5. Emacs Lisp variable assignments which don't eval cleanly passed literally

    This makes it possible to easily pass through non-elisp variable assignments which may initially look like valid elisp.

  6. Unified naming of c++ functions to C++

    Thanks to Martyn Jago for this patch.

  7. `org-babel-execute-buffer' and `org-babel-execute-subtree' now eval inline code blocks as well
  8. New :mkdirp header argument creates parent dirs of tangle targets
  9. New ":comments noweb" option for wrapping noweb references in comment links

    This can be useful to allow backward linking from tangle code files to the original code block holding noweb-expanded content.

  10. Allow detangling of text containing '\'s – Thanks to Seth Burleigh
  11. :sep specifies table separator when opening or writing tabular results
  12. `org-edit-src-content-indentation' can now be a buffer-local variable

17.4.2. All export configuration variables can now be buffer-local variables

17.4.3. org-complete.el has been renamed to org-pcomplete.el

In case you were manually loading org-complete.el (which is not necessary anyway), please be aware that the name of this library was changed to org-pcomplete.el.

17.4.4. New user options for LaTeX source code export via minted and listings packages

New variables `org-export-latex-listings-options' and `org-export-latex-minted-options' allow package options to be controlled; `org-export-latex-custom-lang-environments' allows arbitrary configuration on a per-language basis.

17.4.5. Effort durations now support 2d, 2m, etc.

Effort duration can now be set as 2h (for 2 hours), etc. This will be converted to minutes automatically when clocking in an entry with an effort property. See the org-effort-durations variable.

Thanks a lot to Lawrence Mitchell for this patch.

17.4.6. New option :clock-keep for capture templates

A capture template with :clock-keep t will prevent the refiling process from clocking out the entry. If :clock-resume is also `t', :clock-keep will take precedence and :clock-resume will be ignored.

So now :immediate-finish t :clock-in t :clock-keep t makes sense: it will capture a new task and clock it.

17.4.7. Misc

  1. New command `org-agenda-bulk-mark-regexp'

    M-x org-agenda-bulk-mark-regexp RET will mark agenda entries which headings match against a regular expression. You can call this command with the `%' key from an agenda buffer.

  2. New command `org-agenda-reset-view'

    Julien Danjou implemented this:

    This new command lets you switch to day/week/month/year view.
    
    When switching to day or week view, this setting becomes the default for
    subsequent agenda refreshes.  Since month and year views are slow to
    create, they do not become the default.  A numeric prefix argument may be
    used to jump directly to a specific day of the year, ISO week, month, or
    year, respectively.  For example, `32 d' jumps to February 1st, `9 w' to
    ISO week number 9.  When setting day, week, or month view, a year may be
    encoded in the prefix argument as well.  For example, `200712 w' will jump
    to week 12 in 2007.  If such a year specification has only one or two
    digits, it will be mapped to the interval 1938-2037. `v SPC'' will reset to
    what is set in `org-agenda-span'.
    

    Thanks a lot to Julien for this.

  3. New options for ignoring past or future items in the global todo list

    This patch gives users greater control over which past or future items they would like to ignore in the global todo list. By setting org-agenda-todo-ignore-scheduled to 7, for instance, a user can ignore all items scheduled 7 or more days in the future. Similarly, by setting org-agenda-todo-ignore-scheduled to -1, a user can ignore all items that are truly in the past (unlike the 'past setting, which ignores items scheduled today).

    See the docstrings of these variables:

    • org-agenda-todo-ignore-deadlines
    • org-agenda-todo-ignore-scheduled
    • org-agenda-todo-ignore-timestamp

    Thanks a lot to Matt Lundin for implementing this and to Paul Sexton for the idea.

  4. New variable `org-export-table-remove-empty-lines'

    When set to `nil', don't remove empty tables when exporting tables. This was requested by Eric S Fraga.

  5. New variable `org-table-fix-formulas-confirm'

    Sometime, editing the structure of a table should not edit the corresponding formulas. This new variable lets the user decide whether he wants to confirm formula fixes or not.

  6. New variable `org-export-initial-scope'

    This variable controls the initial scope when exporting with `org-export'. It can be set to 'buffer or 'subtree. If there is an active region, tell it when prompting the user for an export command.

  7. Show and use the default refile location

    M-x org-refile RET now shows the default refile location. Thanks to Tassilo Horn for a patch to this effect.

  8. New variable `org-archive-subtree-add-inherited-tags'

    Non-nil means append inherited tags when archiving a subtree.

  9. New variable `org-export-current-backend'

    This variable is dynamically set by exporters. You can check against its value anytime in your code to see if you are exporting to HTML, LaTeX, etc. Possible values are 'html, 'latex, 'ascii, 'docbook. Thanks to Eric Schulte and Dan Davison for ideas and patches in this area.

  10. New hook `org-clock-before-select-task-hook'

    Hook called in task selection just before prompting the user.

    Thanks to Benjamin Drieu for the patch.

  11. = = emphasis now uses \protectedtexttt
  12. Author's email now included in the LaTeX title

    When `org-export-email-info' is non-nil, the LaTeX title will also include the author's email. Thanks to Lawrence Mitchell for the patch.

  13. Update contrib/scripts/ditaa.jar to ditaa v0.9 of 2009-11-24
  14. New variable `org-mobile-files-exclude-regexp'

    This variable lets you exclude files that you don't want in org-mobile-files.

  15. New variable `org-confirm-elisp-link-not-regexp'

    Set this to a regexp if you want to skip the confirmation step for Elisp/Shell code matching this regexp.

  16. New variable `org-attach-store-link-p'

    When set to `t', store link to the attached file, at its original location.

  17. `org-table-use-standard-references' now defaults to 'from
  18. Better `org-agenda-repeating-timestamp-show-all'

    When this is set to a list of TODO keywords, the agenda will only show occurrences of repeating stamps for these TODO keywords.

  19. New command `org-narrow-to-block'

    This command (`C-x n b') will narrow the buffer to the current block.

18. Version 7.4

18.1. Incompatible changes

18.1.1. Agenda: rework ndays and span handling

The variable org-agenda-ndays is obsolete - please use org-agenda-span instead.

Thanks to Julien Danjou for this.

18.2. Details

18.2.1. Improvements with inline tasks and indentation

There is now a configurable way on how to export inline tasks. See the new variable org-inlinetask-export-templates.

Thanks to Nicolas Goaziou for coding these changes.

18.2.2. Agenda: Added a bulk "scattering" command

B S in the agenda buffer will cause tasks to be rescheduled a random number of days into the future, with 7 as the default. This is useful if you've got a ton of tasks scheduled for today, you realize you'll never deal with them all, and you just want them to be distributed across the next N days. When called with a prefix arg, rescheduling will avoid weekend days.

Thanks to John Wiegley for this.

18.2.3. In-buffer completion is now done using John Wiegleys pcomplete.el

Thanks to John Wiegley for much of this code.

18.2.4. Sending radio tables from org buffers is now allowed

Org radio tables can no also be sent inside Org buffers. Also, there is a new hook which get called after a table has been sent.

Thanks to Seweryn Kokot.

18.2.5. Command names shown in manual

The reference manual now lists command names for most commands. Thanks to Andreas Röhler who started this project.

18.2.6. Allow ap/pm times in agenda time grid

Times in the agenda can now be displayed in am/pm format. See the new variable org-agenda-timegrid-use-ampm. Thanks to C. A. Webber for a patch to this effect.

18.2.7. Rewriten clock table code

The entire clocktable code has been rewritten to add more options and to make hacking time reports easier.

Thanks to Erwin Vrolijk for a patch introducing clock tables for quarters.

18.2.8. Babel

  1. Add msosql engine to sql code blocks

    SQL code blocks can now be executed using the myosql engine using the osql command (from MS SQL Server) on Windows systems.

    Thanks to Sébastien Vauban for this contribution.

  2. Python code blocks now accept a preamble header argument

    This allows specification of coding declarations and library imports which must take place in the beginning of a file of executed python code (note this header argument is used during code block evaluation unlike the shebang header argument which is used during tangling). For example

    #+begin_src python :preamble # -*- coding: utf-8 -*- :return s
    s = "é"
    #+end_src
    

    Thanks to Vincent Beffara for this idea.

  3. Code block name is shown during evaluation query

    When the user is queried about the evaluation of a named code block the name of the code block is now displayed.

    Thanks to Tom Dye for this suggestion.

  4. Clojure code blocks results insertion

    The results of Clojure code blocks have been improved in two ways.

    1. lazy sequences are now expanded for insertion into the Org mode buffer
    2. pretty printing of results is now possible with both "code" and "data" pretty print formats

    Thanks to Rick Moynihan for suggesting these changes.

  5. Python code blocks now accept a :return header argument

    This alleviates the need to explicitly insert return statements into the bode of Python code blocks. This change both

    • allows the same python code blocks to be run both in sessions and externally
    • removes the floating return statements which violated python syntax

    Thanks to Darlan Cavalcante for proposing this feature.

  6. :results wrap header argument wraps code block results

    The new :results wrap wraps code blocks results in a custom environment making it possible to offset their contents during export. For example

    #+begin_src emacs-lisp :results wrap
      "code block results"
    #+end_src
    
    #+results:
    #+BEGIN_RESULT
    : code block results
    #+END_RESULT
    

    Thanks to Sébastien Vauban for persistently suggesting this enhancement.

  7. Code block error buffer wiped clean between executions

    Previously the code block error buffer accumulated errors making it difficult to distinguish between previous and current errors. This buffer is now cleaned before every interactive code block evaluation.

  8. Lists now recognized by code blocks

    It is now possible for code blocks to both read and write list contents from and to Org mode buffers. For example

    #+results: a-list
    - babel
    - and
    - org-mode
    
    #+source: a-list
    #+begin_src emacs-lisp :var lst=a-list :results list
      (reverse lst)
    #+end_src
    
  9. Calc added as a supported code block language

    The Emacs Calc package can be used through calc code blocks allowing both regular arithmetic operations as well as stack based calculation. For example

    #+source: calc-stack
    #+begin_src calc
      8
      1
      '+
      9
      '*
    #+end_src
    
    #+results: calc-stack
    : 81
    
    #+source: calc-arithmetic
    #+begin_src calc :var in=calc-stack
      in / 9
    #+end_src
    
    #+results: calc-arithmetic
    : 9
    
  10. "org-babel-detangle" propagates change to source code files into code blocks

    `org-babel-detangle' can be used to propagate changes to pure source code files tangled from embedded code blocks in Org mode files back to the original code blocks in the Org mode file. This can be used on collaborative projects to keep embedded code blocks up to date with edits made in pure source code files.

19. Version 7.02

:CUSTOMID: v7.02

19.1. Incompatible Changes

19.1.1. Code block hashes

Due to changes in the code resolving code block header arguments hashing of code block results should now re-run a code block when an argument to the code block has changed. As a result of this change all code blocks with cached results will be re-run after upgrading to the latest version.

19.1.2. Testing update

Anyone using the org-mode test suite will need to update the jump repository for test navigation by executing the following from the root of the org-mode repository.

git submodule update

Failure to update this repository will cause loading of org-test.el to throw errors.

19.2. Details

19.2.1. Org-babel speed commands

All Org-babel commands (behind the C-c C-v key prefix) are now available as speed commands when the point is on the first line of a code block. This uses the existing Org mode speed key mechanisms.

Thanks to Jambunathan K for implementation this new feature.

19.2.2. Fontify code in code blocks.

Source code in code blocks can now be fontified. Please customize the varable org-src-fontify-natively. For very large blocks (several hundreds of lines) there can be delays in editing such fontified blocks, in which case C-c ' should be used to bring up a dedicated edit buffer.

Thanks to Dan Davison for this.

19.2.3. Language-mode commands are available in the Org-buffer

The most general machinery for doing this is the macro `org-babel-do-in-edit-buffer'. There is also the convenience function `org-babel-do-key-sequence-in-edit-buffer' which makes use of this macro, and is bound to C-c C-v C-x and C-c C-v x. If there is an active region contained within the code block, then this is inherited by the edit buffer. Some examples of the sorts of usage this permits are

C-c C-v C-x M-; comment region according to language C-c C-v C-x C-M-\ indent region according to language

Users can make these more convenient, e.g.

(defun my/org-comment-dwim (&optional arg) (interactive "P") (or (org-babel-do-key-sequence-in-edit-buffer "\M-;") (comment-dwim arg)))

(define-key org-mode-map "\M-;" 'my/org-comment-dwim)

A common instance of this general pattern is built in to Org mode, controlled by the variable `org-src-tab-acts-natively': if this variable is set, then TAB in a code block has the effect that it would have in the language major mode buffer.

19.2.4. Org-babel commands are available in language-mode edit buffer

Mirroring the language-native commands in Org buffers above, a new macro `org-src-do-at-code-block' and convenience function `org-src-do-key-sequence-at-code-block' provide the converse. When used in a language major-mode edit buffer (i.e. a buffer generated by C-c '), `org-src-do-key-sequence-at-code-block' executes a key sequence at the code block in the source Org buffer. The command bound to the key sequence in the Org-babel key map is executed remotely with point temporarily at the start of the code block in the Org buffer.

The command is not bound to a key by default, to avoid conflicts with language major mode bindings. To bind it to C-c @ in all language major modes, you could use

(add-hook 'org-src-mode-hook (lambda () (define-key org-src-mode-map "\C-c@" 'org-src-do-key-sequence-at-code-block)))

In that case, for example, C-c @ t issued in code edit buffers would tangle the current Org code block, C-c @ e would execute the block and C-c @ h would display the other available Org-babel commands.

19.2.5. Multi-line header arguments to code blocks

Code block header arguments can now span multiple lines using the new #+header: or #+headers: lines preceding a code block or nested in between the name and body of a named code block. Examples are given below.

  • multi-line header arguments on an un-named code block

    #+headers: :var data1=1
    #+begin_src emacs-lisp :var data2=2
      (message "data1:%S, data2:%S" data1 data2)
    #+end_src
    
    #+results:
    : data1:1, data2:2
    
  • multi-line header arguments on a named code block

    #+source: named-block
    #+header: :var data=2
    #+begin_src emacs-lisp
      (message "data:%S" data)
    #+end_src
    
    #+results: named-block
    : data:2
    

19.2.6. Unified handling of variable expansion for code blocks

The code used to resolve variable references in code block header arguments has now been consolidated. This both simplifies the code base (especially the language-specific files), and ensures that the arguments to a code block will not be evaluated multiple times. This change should not be externally visible to the Org mode user.

19.2.7. Improved Caching

Code block caches now notice if the value of a variable argument to the code block has changed, if this is the case the cache is invalidated and the code block is re-run. The following example can provide intuition for the new behavior.

#+srcname: random
#+begin_src R :cache yes
runif(1)
#+end_src

#+results[a2a72cd647ad44515fab62e144796432793d68e1]: random
: 0.4659510825295

#+srcname: caller
#+begin_src emacs-lisp :var x=random :cache yes
x
#+end_src

#+results[bec9c8724e397d5df3b696502df3ed7892fc4f5f]: caller
: 0.254227238707244

19.2.8. Added :headers header argument for LaTeX code blocks

This makes it possible to set LaTeX options which must take place in the document pre-amble for LaTeX code blocks. This header argument accepts either a single string or a list, e.g.

#+begin_src latex :headers \usepackage{lmodern} :file name1.pdf
  latex body
#+end_src

#+begin_src latex :headers '("\\usepackage{mathpazo}" "\\usepackage{fullpage}") :file name2.pdf
  latex body
#+end_src

19.2.9. New function `org-export-string'

Allows exporting directly from a string to the specified export format.

19.2.10. Code block header argument ":noweb tangle"

Only expands syntax references when tangling, not during export (weaving).

19.2.11. New function `org-babel-switch-to-session-with-code'

C-c C-v z (`org-babel-switch-to-session-with-code') is a variant of C-c C-v C-z (`org-babel-switch-to-session'): instead of switching to the session buffer, it splits the window between (a) the session buffer and (b) a language major-mode edit buffer for the code block in question. This can be convenient for using language major mode for interacting with the session buffer.

19.2.12. Improvements to R sessions

R now uses standard ESS code evaluation machinery in the :results value case, which avoids unnecessary output to the comint buffer. In addition, the R command responsible for writing the result to file is hidden from the user. Finally, the R code edit buffer generated by C-c ' is automatically linked to the ESS session if the current code block is using :session.

19.2.13. Temporary file directory

All babel temporary files are now kept in a single sub-directory in the /tmp directory and are cleaned up when Emacs exits.

19.2.14. Function for demarcating blocks `org-babel-demarcate-block'

Can be called to wrap the region in a block, or to split the block around point, bound to (C-c C-v d).

19.2.15. Function for marking code block contents `org-babel-mark-block'

Bound to C-M-h in the babel key map (i.e. C-c C-v C-M-h by default). This can be useful in conjunction with `org-babel-do-in-edit-buffer', for example for language-native commenting or indenting of the whole block.

19.2.16. Lists of anniversaries are now handeled better

When several anniversaries are defined in the bbdb anniversaries field (separated by semicolon), this is now handled nicely by the agenda.

Thanks to Łukasz Stelmach for a patch to this effect.

19.2.17. Table fields are now aligned better, new <c> cookie.

In HTML export, table fields are now properly aligned in accord with automatic alignment in org, or as set by the <r>, <l>, and <c> cookies. The <c> cookie is new and has no effect in Org, but it does do the right thing in HTML export. A LaTeX export implementation will follow, but is currently still missing.

19.2.18. Update freemind converter to include body text

The freemind exporter now incorporates body text into the mind map.

Thanks to Lennard Borgman for this patch.

19.2.19. Make footnotes work correctly in message-mode

The footnotes code now searches for message-signature-separator (which is "– " by default) in order to place footnotes before the signature. Thanks to Tassilo Horn for this patch.

19.2.20. Improve XEmacs compatibility

Org mode 7.02 now runs again in 21.4.22 if the new XEmacs base package is installed.

Thanks to Uwe Bauer, Volker Ziegler, Michael Sperber and others for a discussion that lead to this nice result.

19.2.21. Make it configurable wether agenda jumping prefers the future

When jumping to a date from the agenda using the j key, you may or may not like the property of Org's date reader to prefer the future when you enter incomplete dates. This can now be configured using the variable =org-agenda-jump-prefer-future'.

19.2.22. Add publishing functions for ASCII, Latin-1 and UTF-8

There are now publishing functions org-publish-org-to-ascii, org-publish-org-to-latin1, and org-publish-org-to-utf8.

Thanks to Matthias Danzl for showing how to do this.

19.2.23. Indentation and headline insertion after inline tasks

Indentation in inline tasks, and headline insertion after inline tasks now behave as expected.

19.2.24. Encryption in MobileOrg finally works

As soon as MobilOrg 1.5 hits the Apple's AppStore, you can encrypt your org files on public servers. Please see the documentation of MobileOrg and Appendix B of the manual for more details.

19.2.25. MobileOrg: Do not force to insert IDs

If you dislike the property of MobileOrg to insert ID properties for in all entries being part of an agenda view, you can now turn this off using the variable org-mobile-force-id-on-agenda-items. When this variable is set to nil, MobileOrg will use outline paths to identify entries. Note that this may fail if several entries have identical outline paths.

19.2.26. LaTeX minted package for fontified source code export

Patch by Dan Davison.

A non-nil value of `org-export-latex-minted' means to export source code using the minted package, which will fontify source code with color. If you want to use this, you need to make LaTeX use the minted package. Add minted to `org-export-latex-packages-alist', for example using customize, or with something like

(require 'org-latex) (add-to-list 'org-export-latex-packages-alist '("" "minted"))

In addition, it is neccessary to install pygments (http://pygments.org), and to configure `org-latex-to-pdf-process' so that the -shell-escape option is passed to pdflatex.

19.2.27. Allow to use texi2dvi or rubber for processing LaTeX to pdf

Please see the variable org-export-latex-to-pdf-process for more information.

Thanks to Olivier Schwander for the rubber part.

19.2.28. New STARTUP keywords to turn on inline images

If you want to inline images whenever you visit an Org file, use

#+STARTUP: inlineimages

19.2.29. Support for user-extensible speed commands.

There is a new hook org-speed-command-hook. Thanks to Jambunathan for a patch to this effect.

19.2.30. Add macro to insert property values into exported text

you can use {{{property{NAME}}}} to insert the value of a property upon export.

Thanks to David Maus for a patch to this effect.

19.2.31. LaTeX package fixes

We updated the list of default packages loaded by LaTeX exported files.

19.2.32. Allow "#" and "%" in tags

Tags can now also contain the characters # and %, in addition to @ and letters.

19.2.33. Show command names in manual

Andreas Röhler is adding command names to keys in the manual. This will take a while to complete, but a start has been made.

19.2.34. Make backslash escape "-" in property matches

When entering a tags/property query, "-" is a logical operator. However, "-" is also allowed in property names. So you can now write "SOME­NAME" to work around this issue.

This was a request by Ilya Shlyakhter.

19.2.35. Document quick insertion of empty structural elements

Org mode has a built-in template mechanism for inserting block templates. This was undocumented until now.

Thanks to Jambunathan K for the patch.

19.2.36. Implement MathJax support

Org mode now uses MathJax to display math on web pages. We serve MathJax from the orgmode.org server, at least for the time being (thanks Bastien!). If you are going to use this for pages which are viewed often, please install MathJax on your own webserver.

To return to the old way of creating images and inserting them into web pages, you would have to set

(setq org-export-with-LaTeX-fragments 'dvipng)

or on a per-file basis

#+OPTIONS: LaTeX:dvipng

19.2.37. Agenda: Allow compact two-column display in agenda dispatcher

If you have many custom agenda commands, you can have the display in the dispatcher use two columns with the following settings

(setq org-agenda-menu-show-match nil
      org-agenda-menu-two-column t)

This was a request by John Wiegley.

19.2.38. Add org-wikinodes.el as a contributed package

One frequent request has been to be able to use CamelCase words for automatic cross links in a Wiki created by Org. THis is now possible with org-wikinodes.el, which is available in the contrib directory. We also have some documentation for this feature up on Worg.

19.2.39. Timer/clock enhancements

org-timer-set-timer displays a countdown timer in the modeline. From the agenda, `J' invokes org-agenda-clock-goto.

20. Version 7.01

20.1. Incompatible Changes

20.1.1. Emacs 21 support has been dropped

Do not use Org mode 7.xx with Emacs 21, use version 6.36c instead.

20.1.2. XEmacs support requires the XEmacs development version

To use Org mode 7.xx with XEmacs, you need to run the developer version of XEmacs. I was about to drop XEmacs support entirely, but Michael Sperber stepped in and made changes to XEmacs that made it easier to keep the support. Thanks to Michael for this last-minute save. I had hoped to be able to remove xemacs/noutline.el from release 7 by moving it into XEmacs, but this is not yet done.

20.1.3. Org-babel configuration changes

Babel took the integration into Org mode as an opportunity to do some much needed house cleaning. Most importantly we have simplified the enabling of language support, and cleared out unnecessary configuration variables – which is great unless you already have a working configuration under the old model.

The most important changes regard the location and enabling of Babel (both core functionality and language specific support).

Babel

Babel is now part of the core of Org mode, so it is now loaded along with the rest of Org mode. That means that there is no configuration required to enable the main Babel functionality. For current users, this means that statements like

(require 'org-babel)

or

(require 'org-babel-init)

that may by lying around in your configuration must now be removed.

load path
Babel (including all language specific files – aside from those which are located in the contrib/ directory for reasons of licencing) now lives in the base of the Org mode lisp directory, so no additional directories need to be added to your load path to use babel. For Babel users this means that statements adding babel-specific directories to your load-path should now be removed from your config.
language support

It is no longer necessary to require language specific support on a language-by-language basis. Specific language support should now be managed through the `org-babel-load-languages' variable. This variable can be customized using the Emacs customization interface, or through the addition of something like the following to your configuration (note: any language not mentioned will not be enabled, aside from emacs-lisp which is enabled by default)

(org-babel-do-load-languages
 'org-babel-load-languages
 '((R . t)
   (ditaa . t)
   (dot . t)
   (emacs-lisp . t)
   (gnuplot . t)
   (haskell . nil)
   (ocaml . nil)
   (python . t)
   (ruby . t)
   (screen . nil)
   (sh . t)
   (sql . nil)
   (sqlite . t)))

Despite this change it is still possible to add language support through the use of require statements, however to conform to Emacs file-name regulations all Babel language files have changed prefix from org-babel-* to ob-*, so the require lines must also change e.g.

(require 'org-babel-R)

should be changed to

(require 'ob-R)

We have eliminated the org-babel-tangle-w-comments variable as well as the two main internal lists of languages, namely

  • org-babel-interpreters and
  • org-babel-tangle-langs

so any config lines which mention those variables, can/should be stripped out in their entirety. This includes any calls to the org-babel-add-interpreter function, whose sole purpose was to add languages to the org-babel-interpreters variable.

With those calls stripped out, we may still in some cases want to associate a file name extension with certain languages, for example we want all of our emacs-lisp files to end in a .el, we can do this will the org-babel-tangle-lang-exts variable. In general you shouldn't need to touch this as it already has defaults for most common languages, and if a language is not present in org-babel-tangle-langs, then babel will just use the language name, so for example a file of c code will have a .c extension by default, shell-scripts (identified with sh) will have a .sh extension etc…

The configuration of shebang lines now lives in header arguments. So the shebang for a single file can be set at the code block level, e.g.

#+begin_src clojure :shebang #!/usr/bin/env clj
  (println "with a shebang line, I can be run as a script!")
#+end_src

Note that whenever a file is tangled which includes a shebang line, Babel will make the file executable, so there is good reason to only add shebangs at the source-code block level. However if you're sure that you want all of your code in some language (say shell scripts) to tangle out with shebang lines, then you can customize the default header arguments for that language, e.g.

;; ensure this variable is defined defined
(unless (boundp 'org-babel-default-header-args:sh)
  (setq org-babel-default-header-args:sh '()))

;; add a default shebang header argument
(add-to-list 'org-babel-default-header-args:sh
             '(:shebang . "#!/bin/bash"))

The final important change included in this release is the addition of new security measures into Babel. These measures are in place to protect users from the accidental or uninformed execution of code. Along these lines every execution of a code block will now require an explicit confirmation from the user. These confirmations can be stifled through customization of the `org-confirm-babel-evaluate' variable, e.g.

;; I don't want to be prompted on every code block evaluation
(setq org-confirm-babel-evaluate nil)

In addition, it is now possible to remove code block evaluation form the C-c C-c keybinding. This can be done by setting the org-babel-no-eval-on-ctrl-c-ctrl-c variable to a non-nil value, e.g.

;; I don't want to execute code blocks with C-c C-c
(setq org-babel-no-eval-on-ctrl-c-ctrl-c t)

An additional keybinding has been added for code block evaluation, namely C-c C-v e.

Whew! that seems like a lot of effort for a simplification of configuration.

20.1.4. New keys for TODO sparse trees

The key C-c C-v is now reserved for Org Babel action. TODO sparse trees can still be made with C-c / t (all not-done states) and C-c / T (specific states).

20.1.5. Customizable variable changes for DocBook exporter

To make it more flexible for users to provide DocBook exporter related commands, we start to use format-spec to format the commands in this release. If you use DocBook exporter and use it to export Org files to PDF and/or FO format, the settings of the following two customizable variables need to be changed:

  • org-export-docbook-xslt-proc-command
  • org-export-docbook-xsl-fo-proc-command

Instead of using %s in the format control string for all arguments, now we use three different format spec characters:

  • %i: input file argument
  • %o: output file argument
  • %s: XSLT stylesheet argument

For example, if you set org-export-docbook-xslt-proc-command to

java com.icl.saxon.StyleSheet -o %s %s /path/to/docbook.xsl

in the past, now you need to change it to

java com.icl.saxon.StyleSheet -o %o %i %s

and set a new customizable variable called org-export-docbook-xslt-stylesheet to /path/to/docbook.xsl.

Please check the documentation of these two variables for more details and other examples.

Along with the introduction of variable org-export-docbook-xslt-stylesheet, we also added a new in-buffer setting called #+XSLT:. You can use this setting to specify the XSLT stylesheet that you want to use on a per-file basis. This setting overrides org-export-docbook-xslt-stylesheet.

20.2. Details

20.2.1. Org Babel is now part of the Org core

See Org-babel configuration changes for instructions on how to update your babel configuration.

The most significant result of this change is that Babel now has documentation! It is part of Org mode's documentation, see Chapter 14 Working With Source Code. The Babel keybindings are now listed in the refcard, and can be viewed from any Org mode buffer by pressing C-c C-v h. In addition this integration has included a number of bug fixes, and a significant amount of internal code cleanup.

20.2.2. The default capture system for Org mode is now called org-capture

This replaces the earlier system org-remember. The manual only describes org-capture, but for people who prefer to continue to use org-remember, we keep a static copy of the former manual section chapter about remember.

The new system has a technically cleaner implementation and more possibilities for capturing different types of data. See Carsten's announcement for more details.

To switch over to the new system:

  1. Run

    M-x org-capture-import-remember-templates RET
    

    to get a translated version of your remember templates into the new variable org-capture-templates. This will "mostly" work, but maybe not for all cases. At least it will give you a good place to modify your templates. After running this command, enter the customize buffer for this variable with

    M-x customize-variable RET org-capture-templates RET
    

    and convince yourself that everything is OK. Then save the customization.

  2. Bind the command org-capture to a key, similar to what you did with org-remember:

    (define-key global-map "\C-cc" 'org-capture)
    

    If your fingers prefer C-c r, you can also use this key once you have decided to move over completely to the new implementation. During a test time, there is nothing wrong with using both system in parallel.

20.2.3. Implement pretty display of entities, sub-, and superscripts.

The command C-c C-x \ toggles the display of Org's special entities like \alpha as pretty unicode characters. Also, sub and superscripts are displayed in a pretty way (raised/lower display, in a smaller font). If you want to exclude sub- and superscripts, see the variable org-pretty-entities-include-sub-superscripts.

Thanks to Eric Schulte and Ulf Stegeman for making this possible.

20.2.4. Help system for finding entities

The new command M-x org-entities-help creates a structured buffer that lists all entities available in Org. Thanks to Ulf Stegeman for adding the necessary structure to the internal entity list.

20.2.5. New module to create Gantt charts

Christian Egli's org-taskjuggler.el module is now part of Org. He also wrote a tutorial for it.

20.2.6. Refile targets can now be cached

You can turn on caching of refile targets by setting the variable org-refile-use-cache. This should speed up refiling if you have many eligible targets in many files. If you need to update the cache because Org misses a newly created entry or still offers a deleted one, press C-0 C-c C-w.

20.2.7. Enhanced functionality of the clock resolver

Here are the new options for the clock resolver:

i/q/C-g  Ignore this question; the same as keeping all the idle time.

k/K      Keep X minutes of the idle time (default is all).  If this
         amount is less than the default, you will be clocked out
         that many minutes after the time that idling began, and then
         clocked back in at the present time.
g/G      Indicate that you \"got back\" X minutes ago.  This is quite
         different from 'k': it clocks you out from the beginning of
         the idle period and clock you back in X minutes ago.
s/S      Subtract the idle time from the current clock.  This is the
         same as keeping 0 minutes.
C        Cancel the open timer altogether.  It will be as though you
         never clocked in.
j/J      Jump to the current clock, to make manual adjustments.

For all these options, using uppercase makes your final state to be CLOCKED OUT. Thanks to John Wiegley for making these changes.

20.2.8. A property value of "nil" now means to unset a property

This can be useful in particular with property inheritance, if some upper level has the property, and some grandchild of it would like to have the default settings (i.e. not overruled by a property) back.

Thanks to Robert Goldman and Bernt Hansen for suggesting this change.

20.2.9. The problem with comment syntax has finally been fixed

Thanks to Leo who has been on a year-long quest to get this fixed and finally found the right way to do it.

20.2.10. Make it possible to protect hidden subtrees from being killed by C-k

This was a request by Scott Otterson. See the new variable org-ctrl-k-protect-subtree.

20.2.11. New module org-mac-link-grabber.el

This module allows to grab links to all kinds of applications on a mac. It is available in the contrib directory.

Thanks to Anthony Lander for this contribution.

20.2.12. LaTeX export: Implement table* environment for wide tables

Thanks to Chris Gray for a patch to this effect.

20.2.13. When cloning entries, remove or renew ID property

Thanks to David Maus for this change.

21. Version 6.36

:CUSTOMID: v6.36

21.1. Details

21.1.1. Inline display of linked images

Images can now be displayed inline. The key C-c C-x C-v does toggle the display of such images. Note that only image links that have no description part will be inlined.

21.1.2. Implement offsets for ordered lists

If you want to start an ordered plain list with a number different from 1, you can now do it like this:

1. [@start:12] will star a lit a number 12

21.1.3. Extensions to storing and opening links to Wanderlust messages

  • Remove filter conditions for messages in a filter folder

    If customization variable `org-wl-link-remove-filter' is non-nil, filter conditions are stripped of the folder name.

  • Create web links for messages in a Shimbun folder

    If customization variable `org-wl-shimbun-prefer-web-links' is non-nil, calling `org-store-link' on a Shimbun message creates a web link to the messages source, indicated in the Xref: header field.

  • Create web links for messages in a nntp folder

    If customization variable `org-wl-nntp-prefer-web-links' is non-nil, calling `org-store-link' on a nntp message creates a web link either to gmane.org if the group can be read trough gmane or to googlegroups otherwise. In both cases the message-id is used as reference.

  • Open links in namazu search folder

    If `org-wl-open' is called with one prefix, WL opens a namazu search folder for message's message-id using `org-wl-namazu-default-index' as search index. If this variable is nil or `org-wl-open' is called with two prefixes Org asks for the search index to use.

Thanks to David Maus for these changes.

21.1.4. Org-babel: code block body expansion for table and preview

In org-babel, code is "expanded" prior to evaluation. I.e. the code that is actually evaluated comprises the code block contents, augmented with the extra code which assigns the referenced data to variables. It is now possible to preview expanded contents, and also to expand code during during tangling. This expansion takes into account all header arguments, and variables.

A new key-binding C-c M-b p bound to `org-babel-expand-src-block' can be used from inside of a source code block to preview its expanded contents (which can be very useful for debugging). tangling

The expanded body can now be tangled, this includes variable values which may be the results of other source-code blocks, or stored in headline properties or tables. One possible use for this is to allow those using org-babel for their emacs initialization to store values (e.g. usernames, passwords, etc…) in headline properties or in tables.

Org-babel now supports three new header arguments, and new default behavior for handling horizontal lines in tables (hlines), column names, and rownames across all languages.

22. Version 6.35

22.1. Incompatible Changes

22.1.1. Changes to the intended use of org-export-latex-classes

So far this variable has been used to specify the complete header of the LaTeX document, including all the \usepackage calls necessary for the document. This setup makes it difficult to maintain the list of packages that Org itself would like to call, for example for the special symbol support it needs. Each time I have to add a package, I have to ask people to revise the configuration of this variable. In this release, I have tried to fix this.

First of all, you can opt out of this change in the following way: You can say: I want to have full control over headers, and I will take responsibility to include the packages Org needs. If that is what you want, add this to your configuration and skip the rest of this section (except maybe for the description of the [EXTRA] place holder):

(setq org-export-latex-default-packages-alist nil
      org-export-latex-packages-alist nil)

Continue to read here if you want to go along with the modified setup.

There are now two variables that should be used to list the LaTeX packages that need to be included in all classes. The header definition in org-export-latex-classes should then not contain the corresponding \usepackage calls (see below).

The two new variables are:

  1. org-export-latex-default-packages-alist :: This is the variable where Org mode itself puts the packages it needs. Normally you should not change this variable. The only reason to change it anyway is when one of these packages causes a conflict with another package you want to use. Then you can remove that packages and hope that you are not using Org mode functionality that needs it.
  2. org-export-latex-packages-alist :: This is the variable where you can put the packages that you'd like to use across all classes. For example, I am putting amsmath and tikz here, because I always want to have them.

The sequence how these customizations will show up in the LaTeX document are:

  1. Header from org-export-latex-classes
  2. org-export-latex-default-packages-alist
  3. org-export-latex-packages-alist
  4. Buffer-specific things set with #+LaTeX_HEADER:

If you want more control about which segment is placed where, or if you want, for a specific class, have full control over the header and exclude some of the automatic building blocks, you can put the following macro-like place holders into the header:

[DEFAULT-PACKAGES]      \usepackage statements for default packages
[NO-DEFAULT-PACKAGES]   do not include any of the default packages
[PACKAGES]              \usepackage statements for packages
[NO-PACKAGES]           do not include the packages
[EXTRA]                 the stuff from #+LaTeX_HEADER
[NO-EXTRA]              do not include #+LaTeX_HEADER stuff

If you have currently customized org-export-latex-classes, you should revise that customization and remove any package calls that are covered by org-export-latex-default-packages-alist. This applies to the following packages:

  • inputenc
  • fontenc
  • fixltx2e
  • graphicx
  • longtable
  • float
  • wrapfig
  • soul
  • t1enc
  • textcomp
  • marvosym
  • wasysym
  • latexsym
  • amssymb
  • hyperref

If one of these packages creates a conflict with another package you are using, you can remove it from org-export-latex-default-packages-alist. But then you risk that some of the advertised export features of Org will not work properly.

You can also consider moving packages that you use in all classes to org-export-latex-packages-alist. If necessary, put the place holders so that the packages get loaded in the right sequence. As said above, for backward compatibility, if you omit the place holders, all the variables will dump their content at the end of the header.

Damn, this has become more complex than I wanted it to be. I hope that in practice, this will not be complicated at all.

22.1.2. The constant org-html-entities is obsolete

Its content is now part of the new constant org-entities, which is defined in the file org-entities.el. org-html-entities was an internal variable, but it is possible that some users did write code using it - this is why I am mentioning it here.

22.2. Editing Convenience and Appearance

22.2.1. New faces for title, date, author and email address lines.

The keywords in these lines are now dimmed out, and the title is displayed in a larger font, and a special font is also used for author, date, and email information. This is implemented by the following new faces:

org-document-title org-document-info org-document-info-keyword

In addition, the variable org-hidden-keywords can be used to make the corresponding keywords disappear.

Thanks to Dan Davison for this feature.

22.2.2. Simpler way to specify faces for tags and todo keywords

The variables org-todo-keyword-faces, org-tag-faces, and org-priority-faces now accept simple color names as specifications. The colors will be used as either foreground or background color for the corresponding keyword. See also the variable org-faces-easy-properties, which governs which face property is affected by this setting.

This is really a great simplification for setting keyword faces. The change is based on an idea and patch by Ryan Thompson.

22.2.3. <N> in tables now means fixed width, not maximum width

Requested by Michael Brand.

22.2.4. Better level cycling function

TAB in an empty headline cycles the level of that headline through likely states. Ryan Thompson implemented an improved version of this function, which does not depend upon when exactly this command is used. Thanks to Ryan for this improvement.

22.2.5. Adaptive filling

For paragraph text, org-adaptive-fill-function did not handle the base case of regular text which needed to be filled. This is now fixed. Among other things, it allows email-style ">" comments to be filled correctly.

Thanks to Dan Hackney for this patch.

22.2.6. `org-reveal' (C-c C-r) also decrypts encrypted entries (org-crypt.el)

Thanks to Richard Riley for triggering this change.

22.2.7. Better automatic letter selection for TODO keywords

When all first letters of keywords have been used, Org now assigns more meaningful characters based on the keywords.

Thanks to Mikael Fornius for this patch.

22.3. Export

22.3.1. Much better handling of entities for LaTeX export

Special entities like \therefore and \alpha now know if they need to be in LaTeX math mode and are formatted accordingly.

Thanks to Ulf Stegemann for the tedious work to make this possible.

22.3.2. LaTeX export: Set coding system automatically

The coding system of the LaTeX class will now be set to the value corresponding to the buffer's file coding system. This happens if your setup sets up the file to have a line \usepackage[AUTO]{inputenc} (the default setup does this).

22.3.3. New exporters to Latin-1 and UTF-8

While Ulf Stegemann was going through the entities list to improve the LaTeX export, he had the great idea to provide representations for many of the entities in Latin-1, and for all of them in UTF-8. This means that we can now export files rich in special symbols to Latin-1 and to UTF-8 files. These new exporters can be reached with the commands C-c C-e n and C-c C-e u, respectively.

When there is no representation for a given symbol in the targeted coding system, you can choose to keep the TeX-macro-like representation, or to get an "explanatory" representation. For example, \simeq could be represented as "[approx. equal to]". Please use the variable org-entities-ascii-explanatory to state your preference.

22.3.4. Full label/reference support in HTML, Docbook, and LaTeX backends

#+LABEL definitions for tables and figures are now fully implemented in the LaTeX, Docbook, and HTML interfaces. \ref{xxx} is expanded to a valid link in all backends.

22.3.5. BEAMER export: Title of the outline frame is now customizable

The new option org-outline-frame-title allows to set the title for outline frames in Beamer presentations.

Patch by Łukasz Stelmach.

22.3.6. BEAMER export: fragile frames are better recognized

A lstlisting environment now also triggers the fragile option in a beamer frame, just like verbatim environments do.

Thanks to Eric Schulte for this patch.

22.3.7. BEAMER export: Protect <…> macro arguments

Macros for the BEAMER package can have arguments in angular brackets. These are now protected just like normal arguments.

Requested by Bill Jackson.

22.3.8. HTML export: Add class to outline containers using property

The HTML_CONTAINER_CLASS property can now be used to add a class name to the outline container of a node in HTML export.

22.3.9. New option org-export-email-info to turn off export of the email address

Default is actually off now.

22.3.10. Throw an error when creating an image from a LaTeX snippet fails

This behavior can be configured with the new option variable org-format-latex-signal-error.

22.4. Index generation

Org mode can now produce a 2-level subject index spanning an entire publishing project. Write index entries in your files as

* What is org-mode?
#+index: Org mode
#+index: Definitions!Org mode

where the first line will produce an index entry Org mode, while the second line will create Definitions with a sub-item Org mode. Three-level entries are not supported.

To produce the index, set

:makeindex t

in the project definition in org-publish-project-alist. You may have to force re-export of all files to get the index by using a C-u prefix to the publishing command:

C-u M-x org-publish-all

Whenever an Org file is published in this project, a new file with the extension "orgx" will be written. It contains the index entries and corresponding jump target names. When all project files are published, Org will produce a new file "theindex.inc" containing the index as a to-level tree. This file can be included into any project file using

#+include: "theindex.inc"

Org mode will also create a file "theindex.org" with this include statement, and you can build a more complex structure (for example style definitions, top and home links, etc) around this statement. When this file already exists, it will not be overwritten by Org.

Thanks to Stefan Vollmar for initiating and driving this feature.

22.4.1. TODO Still need to do the LaTeX portion

22.5. MobileOrg

22.5.1. Encrypting stage files for MobileOrg

Since the use of (often pubic) servers is needed for MobileOrg, it is now possible to encrypt the files to be staged for MobileOrg. Version 1.2 of MobileOrg will be needed for this feature, and Richard Moreland will show instructions on his website once that is available. Basically, on the Org-side this will require the following settings:

(setq org-mobile-use-encryption t
      org-mobile-encryption-password "My_MobileOrg_Password")

So the password will be visible in your local setup, but since the encryption is only for the public server, this seems acceptable.

22.6. Agenda

22.6.1. Specify entry types as an option

Custom Agenda commands can now limit the sets of entry types considered for this command by binding org-agenda-entry-types temporarily in the options section of the command. This can lead to significant speedups, because instead of laboriously finding entries and then rejecting them, a whole search cycle is skipped. For more information see this worg page.

Thanks to Matt Lundin for this feature.

22.6.2. Speed up multiple calls to org-diary by only doing buffer prep once

Also a patch by Matt Lundin.

22.6.3. Show and hide deadlines in the agenda

You can now hide all deadline entries in the agenda by pressing !.

Thanks to John Wiegley for this feature.

22.6.4. Agenda: Allow to suppress deadline warnings for entries also scheduled

The the docstring of the variable org-agenda-skip-deadline-prewarning-if-scheduled.

22.6.5. Expand file names in org-agenda-files (external file case)

If you are using a file to manage the list of agenda files, the names in this file can now contain environment variables and "~" to write them more compactly and portable.

Thanks to Mikael Fornius for a patch to this effect.

22.6.6. Agenda: Allow TODO conditions in the skip functions

The agenda skip function has now special support for skipping based on the TODO state. Here are just two examples, see the manual for more information.

(org-agenda-skip-entry-if 'todo '(\"TODO\" \"WAITING\"))
(org-agenda-skip-entry-if 'nottodo 'done)

Thanks to Łukasz Stelmach for this patch.

22.6.7. Extracting the time-of-day when adding diary entries

The time of day can now be extracted from new diary entries made from the agenda with (for example) i d. When org-agenda-insert-diary-extract-time is set, this is done, and the time is moved into the time stamp.

Thanks to Stephen Eglen for this feature.

22.6.8. The customization group org-font-lock has been renamed

The new name is `org-appearance'.

Thanks to Dan Davison for a patch to this effect.

22.6.9. The TODO list: Allow skipping scheduled or deadlined entries

Skipping TODO entries in the global TODO list based on whether they are scheduled or have a deadline can now be controlled in more detail. Please see the docstrings of org-agenda-todo-ignore-scheduled and org-agenda-todo-ignore-deadline.

Thanks to Łukasz Stelmach for patches to this effect.

22.7. Hyperlinks

22.7.1. Make org-store-link point to directory in a dired buffer

When, in a dired buffer, the cursor is not in a line listing a file, `org-store-link' will store a link to the directory.

Patch by Stephen Eglen.

22.7.2. Allow regexps in org-file-apps to capture link parameters

The way extension regexps in org-file-apps are handled has changed. Instead of matching against the file name, the regexps are now matched against the whole link, and you can use grouping to extract link parameters which you can then use in a command string to be executed.

For example, to allow linking to PDF files using the syntax file:/doc.pdf::<page number>, you can add the following entry to org-file-apps:

Extension: \.pdf::\([0-9]+\)\'
Command:   evince "%s" -p %1

Thanks to Jan Böcker for a patch to this effect.

22.8. Clocking

22.8.1. Show clock overruns in mode line

When clocking an item with a planned effort, overrunning the planned time is now made visible in the mode line, for example using the new face org-mode-line-clock-overrun, or by adding an extra string given by org-task-overrun-text.

Thanks to Richard Riley for a patch to this effect.

22.9. Tables

22.9.1. Repair the broken support for table.el tables again.

Tables created with the table.el package now finally work again in Org mode. While you cannot edit the table directly in the buffer, you can use C-c ' to edit it nicely in a temporary buffer.

Export of these tables to HTML seem to work without problems. Export to LaTeX is imperfect. If fails if the table contains special characters that will be replaced by the exporter before formatting the table. The replacement operation changes the length of some lines, breaking the alignment of the table fields. Unfortunately this is not easy to fix. It is also not an option to not do these replacements. The table.el LaTeX exporter will for example not escape "&" in table fields, causing the exported tables to be broken.

22.10. Misc

22.10.1. New logging support for refiling

Whenever you refile an item, a time stamp and even a note can be added to this entry. For details, see the new option org-log-refile.

Thanks to Charles Cave for this idea.

22.10.2. New helper functions in org-table.el

There are new functions to access and write to a specific table field. This is for hackers, and maybe for the org-babel people.

org-table-get
org-table-put
org-table-current-line
org-table-goto-line

22.10.3. Tables: Field coordinates for formulas, and improved docs

Calc and Emacs-Lisp formulas for tables can access the current field coordinates with @# and $# for row and column, respectively. These can be useful in some formulas. For example, to sequentially number the fields in a column, use =@# as column equation.

One application is to copy a column from a different table. See the manual for details.

Thanks to Michael Brand for this feature.

22.10.4. Archiving: Allow to reverse order in target node

The new option org-archive-reversed-order allows to have archived entries inserted in a last-on-top fashion in the target node.

Requested by Tom.

22.10.5. Better documentation on calc accuracy in tables

Thanks to Michael Brand for this fix.

22.10.6. Clock reports can now include the running, incomplete clock

If you have a clock running, and the entry being clocked falls into the scope when creating a clock table, the time so far spent can be added to the total. This behavior depends on the setting of org-clock-report-include-clocking-task. The default is nil.

Thanks to Bernt Hansen for this useful addition.

22.10.7. American-style dates are now understood by org-read-date

So when you are prompted for a date, you can now answer like this

2/5/3         --> 2003-02-05
2/5           --> <CURRENT-YEAR>-02-05

22.10.8. org-timer.el now allows just one timer

There is now only a single free timer supported by org-timer.el. Thanks to Bastien for cleaning this up, after a bug report in this area by Frédéric Couchet.

22.10.9. Remember: Allow to file as sibling of current clock

C-3 C-c C-c will file the remember entry as a sibling of the last filed entry.

Patch by Łukasz Stelmach.

22.10.10. Org-reveal: Double prefix arg shows the entire subtree of the parent

This can help to get out of an inconsistent state produced for example by viewing from the agenda.

This was a request by Matt Lundin.

22.10.11. Add org-secretary.el by Juan Reyero to the contrib directory

org-secretary.el is a possible setup for group work using Org mode.

Thanks to Juan Reyero for this contribution.

22.11. Babel

Eric and Dan have compiled the following list of changes in and around org-babel.

  • Added support for Matlab and Octave.
  • Added support for C and C++ code blocks.
  • Added support for the Oz programming language. Thanks to Torsten Anders for this contribution
  • Can now force literal interpretation of table cell contents with extra "$" in table formula. Thanks to Maurizio Vitale for this suggestion.
  • Variable references which look like lisp forms are now evaluated.
  • No longer adding extension during tangling when filename is provided. Thanks to Martin G. Skjæveland and Nicolas Girard for prompting this.
  • Added `org-babel-execute-hook' which runs after code block execution.
  • Working directories and remote execution

    This introduces a new header argument :dir. For the duration of source block execution, default-directory is set to the value of this header argument. Consequences include:

    • external interpreter processes run in that directory
    • new session processes run in that directory (but existing ones are unaffected)
    • relative paths for file output are relative to that directory

    The name of a directory on a remote machine may be specified with tramp syntax (/user@host:path), in which case the interpreter executable will be sought in tramp-remote-path, and if found will execute on the remote machine in the specified remote directory.

  • Tramp syntax can be used to tangle to remote files. Thanks to Maurizio Vitale and Rémi Vanicat.
  • org-R removed from contrib.
  • gnuplot can now return it's string output – when session is set to "none".
  • Now including source code block arguments w/source name on export.
  • Now able to reference file links as results.
  • Allow pdf/png generation directly from latex source blocks with :file header argument.

23. Version 6.34

23.1. Incompatible changes

23.1.1. Tags in org-agenda-auto-exclude-function must be lower case.

When defining an org-agenda-auto-exclude-function, you need to be aware that tag that is being passed into the function is always lower case - even if it was defined in upper case originally.

23.2. Details

23.2.1. Support for creating BEAMER presentations from Org mode documents

Org mode documents or subtrees can now be converted directly in to BEAMER presentation. Turning a tree into a simple presentations is straight forward, and there is also quite some support to make richer presentations as well. See the BEAMER section in the manual for more details.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the discussion about BEAMER support and how it should work. This was a great example for how this community can achieve a much better result than any individual could.

23.2.2. Hyperlinks

  1. Add Paul Sexton's org-ctags.el

    Targets like <<my target>> can now be found by Emacs' etag functionality, and Org mode links can be used to to link to etags, also in non-Org mode files. For details, see the file org-ctags.el.

    This feature uses a new hook org-open-link-functions which will call function to do something special with text links.

    Thanks to Paul Sexton for this contribution.

  2. Add Jan Böcker's org-docview.el

    This new module allows links to various file types using docview, where Emacs displays images of document pages. Docview link types can point to a specific page in a document, for example to page 131 of the Org mode manual:

    [[docview:~/.elisp/org/doc/org.pdf::131][Org mode Manual]]
    

    Thanks to Jan Böcker for this contribution.

  3. New link types that force special ways of opening the file
    • file+sys:/path/to/file will use the system to open the file, like double-clicking would.
    • file:///path/to/file will force opening the linked file with Emacs.

    This was a request by John Wiegley.

  4. Open all links in a node

    When using C-c C-o on a headline to get a list of links in the entry, pressing RET will open all links. This allows something like projects to be defined, with a number of files that have to be opened by different applications.

    This was a request by John Wiegley.

23.2.3. Agenda Views

  1. Improve the logic of the search view.

    The logic of search views is changed a bit. See the docstring of the function or-search-view.

    These changes resulted from a discussion with Matt Lundin.

  2. New face for entries from the Emacs diary

    Entries that enter the Agenda through the Emacs diary now get the face org-agenda-diary.

    This was a request by Thierry Volpiatto.

  3. New function `org-diary-class' to schedule classes with skipped weeks.

    This was a request by Daniel Martins.

  4. Empty matcher means prompt in agenda custom commands

    When an agenda custom command has an empty string as MATCH element, so far this would lead to a meaningless search using an empty matcher. Now an empty (or white) string will be interpreted just like a nil matcher, i.e. the user will be prompted for the match.

  5. Agenda: Selectively remove some tags from agenda display

    If you use tags very extensively, you might want to exclude some from being displayed in the agenda, in order to keep the display compact. See the new option org-agenda-hide-tags-regexp for details.

    This was largely a patch by Martin Pohlack.

23.2.4. Export

  1. Direct export of only the current subtree

    Pressing 1 after C-c C-e and before the key that selects the export backend, only the current subtree will be exported, exactly as it you had selected it first with C-c @. So for example, C-c C-e 1 b will export the current subtree to HTML and open the result in the browser.

  2. Direct export of enclosing node

    Pressing SPC after C-c C-e and before the key that selects the export backend, the enclosing subree that is set up for subtree export will be exported, exactly as it you had selected it first with C-c @. So for example, C-c C-e SPC d will find the enclosing node with a LaTeXCLASS property or an EXPORTFILENAME property and export that.

  3. Caching export images

    Images that are created for example using LaTeX or ditaa for inclusion into exported files are now cached. This works by adding a hash to the image name, that reflects the source code and all relevant settings. So as long as the hash does not change, the image does not have to be made again. His can lead to a substantial reduction in export/publishing times.

    Thanks to Eric Schulte for a patch to this effect.

  4. Preserving line breaks for export no longer works

    ASCII export always preserves them - no other export format does. We had attempted to use \obeylines for this in LaTeX, but that does create too many problems.

  5. New symbols \EUR and \checkmark

    \EUR symbols from Marvosym package, and \checkmark are now supported symbols in Org mode, i.e. they will be exported properly to the various backends.

  6. Allow LaTeXCLASSOPTIONS to set options, also from a property

    You can set the options to the \documentclass command on a per-file basis, using

    #+LaTeX_CLASS_OPTIONS: [11pt]
    

    or on a per-tree basis using the corresponding property. The defined string will replace the default options entirely.

  7. The encoding of LaTeX files is now handled property

    Org now makes sure that the encoding used by the file created through the export mechanism is reflected correctly in the

    \usepackage[CODINGSYSTEM]{inputenc}
    

    command. So as long as the org-export-latex-classes definition contains an \usepackage[utf8]{inputenc} statement, that statement will be modified so that the correct option is used.

    If you wan to use special encodings, for example utf8x instead of utf8, see the variable org-export-latex-inputenc-alist.

    This was a request by Francesco Pizzolante.

23.2.5. Property API enhancements

  1. Make a new special property BLOCKED, indicating if entry is blocked

    A new special property BLOCKED returns "t" when the entry is blocked from switching the TODO state to a DONE state.

    This was a request by John Wiegley.

  2. New hooks for external support for allowed property values

    It is now possible to hook into Org in order to provide the allowed values for any property with a lisp function. See the docstring of the variable org-property-allowed-value-functions

  3. Allow unrestricted completion on properties

    When listing the allowed values for a property, for example with a :name_ALL: property, completion on these values enforces that one of the values will be chosen. Now, if you add ":ETC" to the list of allowed values, it will be interpreted as a switch, and the completion will be non-restrictive, so you can also choose to type a new value.

23.2.6. Changes to Org-babel

  • The documentation for Org-babel has been drastically improved and is available on Worg at https://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/babel/
  • Source-code block names are now exported to HTML and LaTeX
  • Org-babel functions are now bound to keys behind a common key prefix (see https://orgmode.org/manual/Working-with-source-code.html)
  • Results are now foldable with TAB
  • Header argument values can now be lisp forms
  • Readable aliases for #+srcname: and #+resname:
  • Sha1 hash based caching of results in buffer
  • Can now index into variable values
  • org-babel-clojure now supports multiple named sessions

23.2.7. Miscellaneous changes

  1. Make C-c r C customize remember templates

    C-c r C is now a shortcut for

    M-x customize-variable RET org-remember-templates RET
    

    This was a proposal by Adam Spiers.

  2. Use John Gruber's regular expression for URL's

    We now use a better regexp to spot plain links in text. This regexp is adopted from John Gruber's blogpost.

    Thanks to William Henney for the pointer.

  3. Implement tag completion of all tags in all agenda files

    The new option org-complete-tags-always-offer-all-agenda-tags makes Org complete all tags from all agenda files if non-nil. Usually, setting it locally to t in org-remember buffers is the most useful application of this new feature.

    Thanks to Tassilo Horn for a patch to this effect.

24. Version 6.33

24.1. Incompatible changes

24.1.1. Reorganize key bindings for archiving

The following keys now do archiving

C-c C-x C-a
archive using the command specified in org-archive-default-command. This variable is by default set to org-archive-subtree, which means arching to the archive file.

The three specific archiving commands are available through

C-c C-x C-s
archive to archive file
C-c C-x a
toggle the archive tag
C-c C-x A
move to archive sibling

These bindings work the same in an Org file, and in the agenda.

In addition:

  • In the agenda you can also use a to call the default archiving command, but you need to confirm the command with y so that this cannot easily happen by accident.
  • For backward compatibility, C-c $ in an org-mode file, and $ in the agenda buffer continue to archive to archive file.

24.2. Details

24.2.1. Level indentation cycling new empty entries and plain list items

To speed up data entry, TAB now behaves special in an empty headline, i.e. if the current line only contains the headline starter stars, maybe a TOD keyword, but no further content. This is usually the situation just after creating a new headline with M-RET or M-S-RET.

Then, TAB will first make the current entry a child of the entry above, then a parent, then a grand parent etc until it reaches top level. Yet another TAB and you will be back at the initial level at which the headline was created.

New plain list items behave in just the same way.

Sounds strange? Try it, it is insanely fast when entering data. If you still don't like it, turn it off by customizing org-cycle-level-after-item/entry-creation.

Thanks to Samuel Wales and John Wiegley for ideas that contributed to this new feature.

24.2.2. Speed commands at the start of a headline

If you set the variable org-use-speed-commands, the cursor position at the beginning of a headline (i.e. before the first star) becomes special. Single keys execute special commands in this place, for example outline navigation with f, b, n, and p, equivalent to the corresponding C-c C-f, C-c C-b, C-c C-n, and C-c C-f commands. The full list of commands can be seen by pressing ? at the special location. More commands can be added and existing ones modified by configuring the variable org-speed-commands-user.

This was a request by John Wiegley, based on similar speed navigation in allout.el.

24.2.3. Logging changes in scheduling and deadline time stamps

Setting the variables org-log-reschedule and org-log-redeadline to either time or note will arrange for recording a logbook entry whenever a scheduling date or deadline is changed.

This was a request by Rick Moynihan.

24.2.4. File remember notes into a date tree

Remember notes can now be filed to a location in a date tree. A date tree is an outline tree with years as top levels, months as level 2 headings, and days as level three headings. These are great for journals and for recording appointments and other loose dates because it will be easy to find all entries referencing a particular date, and it will be easy to archive all such entry from last year, for example.

To select date tree filing, set the HEADLINE part of the remember template to the symbol date-tree. The date tree will be build in the file on top level. However, if the file contains an entry with a non-nil DATE_TREE property, then the tree will be build under that headline.

24.2.5. New commands to create entries from agenda and calendar

If you make the variable org-agenda-diary-file point to an org-mode file, the i key in both the agenda buffer and in the Emacs calendar will be made to insert entries into that Org file. The dates at the cursor and the mark are being used when making entries for specific dates or blocks. In the new file, anniversaries will be collected under a special headline, and day/block entries will be filed into a date tree (see previous section).

This was a request by Stephen Eglen.

24.2.6. A new freemind exporter has been integrated with Org mode

org-freemind.el has a number of entry points (for details, see the source code), but you can also use Org's C-c C-e m to export a file or a selected subtree.

Thanks to Lennart Borgman for this contribution. An earlier version of this file was part of the nxhtml package, under the name freemind.el.

24.2.7. Drawers are now exported properly

Drawers are now exported when the configuration requires it, i.e. if the variable `org-export-with-drawers' is t or a list containing the drawers to export.

24.2.8. Min/Max/Mean age operators in Column View.

This lets you see how much time has passed since the specified timestamp property each entry. The three operators (@min, @max, @mean) show either the age of the youngest or oldest entry or the average age of the children.

Thanks to James TD Smith for a patch to this effect.

24.2.9. Allow source code block indentation to be preserved

If org-src-preserve-indentation is non-nil, or if a block has a -i switch, then the behavior of org-exp-blocks is altered as follows:

  1. Indentation is not removed before passing the block contents to the block-transforming plugin.
  2. The result returned by the plugin is not re-indented.
  3. Editing the source code block with C-c ' preserves it's indentation.

Thanks to Dan Davison for this feature.

24.2.10. Frame/window control when switching to source code edit buffer.

When switching to a source code editing buffer with C-c ', you can now control the frame / window setup using the new variable org-src-window-setup.

Thanks to Dan Davison for this feature.

24.2.11. Refile an entry to the current clock

You can now quickly refile an entry to become a child of the entry currently being clocked. The keys for doing this are C-2 C-c C-w.

This was a request by Bernt Hansen.

24.2.12. Make C-c C-o open the attachment directory is there are no links

If there is no link in an entry, C-c C-o will now open the attachment directory instead.

This was a request/patch by John Wiegley.

24.2.13. org-mac-iCal.el: work with calendar "groups"

Some calendar systems (Google, Zimbra) handle subscriptions to multiple calendars (or to an account) by grouping them under a single caldav directory in the calendar tree. org-mac-iCal used to assumes there is only one ics file created per caldav directory, so while it creates all of the needed merged ics files, it only copies one of them to ~/Library/Calendar before importing the contents into the diary.

Thanks to Doug Hellmann for a patch to fix this.

24.2.14. New module org-learn.el in the contrib directory

The file implements the learning algorithm described at http://supermemo.com/english/ol/sm5.htm, which is a system for reading material according to "spaced repetition". See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaced_repetition for more details.

Thanks to John Wiegley for this contribution.

24.2.15. New contributed package org-git-link.el

org-git-link.el defines two new link types. The git link type is meant to be used in the typical scenario and mimics the file link syntax as closely as possible. The gitbare link type exists mostly for debugging reasons, but also allows e.g. linking to files in a bare git repository for the experts.

Thanks to Raimar Finken for this contribution.

24.2.16. org-annotation-helper.el and org-browser-url.e. have been removed

Please switch to org-protocol.el, into which contains the same functionality in a more general framework.

24.2.17. The contributed org-export-freemind package has been removed.

Org now contains a new freemind exporter, org-freemind.el.

24.3. Org-babel Changes

  • Clojure is supported [Thanks to Joel Boehland]
  • Perl is supported
  • Ruby and Python now respond to the :file header argument
  • Added :resultsswitches header argument for passing switches through to raw src blocks
  • Preserve indentation in source blocks on export and tangle
  • Possible to evaluate noweb reference on tangling or code block evaluation
  • Allowing multiple noweb references on a single line
  • Cleaned up the passing of parameter values from Org-babel to language specific functions

25. Version 6.32

25.1. Rewrite of org-mobile.org, for MobileOrg 1.0 (build 20)

MobileOrg is currently under review at the iPhone App Store. You will need Org mode version 6.32 to interact with it.

25.2. Added support for habit consistency tracking

org-habit.el contains new code to track habits. Please configure the variable org-modules to activate it. When active, habits (a special TODO entry) will be displayed in the agenda together with a "consistency graph". Habit tracking is described in a new manual section.

Thanks to John Wiegley for this contribution.

25.3. New context-aware tag auto-exclusion

After writing a function relating to location and context information, you will be able to press / RET in the agenda to exclude tasks that cannot be done in the current context. For details, see the information about filtering in the manual.

Thanks to John Wiegley for a patch to this effect.

25.4. New clock resolving tools

When clocking into a new task while no clock is running, Org now checks for orphaned CLOCK lines and offers to repair these before starting the clock. You can also configure this feature to check for idle time and prompt you to subtract that time from the running timer.

See the new manual section for more details.

Thanks to John Wiegley for a patch to this effect.

25.5. Mutually exclusive tag groups can now have a name in the tags interface

The customize interface allows to optionally add a string to the beginning or end of such a group.

Thanks to James TD Smith for a patch to this effect.

25.6. Agenda Search view: Search for substrings

The default in search view (C-c a s)is now that the search expression is searched for as a substring, i.e. the different words must occur in direct sequence, and it may be only part of a word. If you want to look for a number of separate keywords with Boolean logic, all words must be preceded by + or -.

This was, more-or-less, requested by John Wiegley.

25.7. Make space and backspace scroll the show window in the agenda

Pressing SPC again after using it to show an agenda item in another window will make the entire subtree visible, and show scroll it. Backspace and DEL will scroll back.

This was a request by Eric Fraga.

25.8. File tags are now offered for completion during a tag prompts

Requested by Matt Lundin.

25.9. Make `- SPC' an agenda filter that selects entries without any tags

Request by John Wiegley.

25.10. Better way to edit multi-line macro definitions

The editing tool key C-c ' now also edits #+MACRO definitions, including multiline macros.

25.11. Restructured Manual

The manual has been slightly reorganized. The archiving stuff, which was - somewhat obscurely - hidden in the Document Structure chapter, has been moved into the new chapter Capture-Refile-Archive. Also, there is a new chapter Markup which contains both the markup rules (moved there from the Export chapter) and the documentation for embedded LaTeX.

25.12. Improved figure placement in LaTeX and HTML export

Text can now be wrapped around figures. See the manual for details.

25.13. Allow date to be shifted into the future if time given is earlier than now

By setting

(setq org-read-date-prefer-future 'time)

you indicate to Org that, if you only give a time at the date/time prompt, and if this time is earlier then the current time, then the date of tomorrow will be assumed to be valid for this event. A similar mechanism was already in place for dates, but now you can make it work for times as well.

25.14. Collected changes in org-babel

  • Source blocks can now reference source-blocks in other files using filepath:srcname syntax.
  • Inline code blocks like src_python{2+2} are now exported
  • Remote source block calls using the #+lob: srcname(arg=val) syntax can now be exported.
  • When :file is supplied with an R block, graphics are automatically sent to file and linked from the org buffer, thus appearing on export. The image format is obtained from the filename extension. Possible values are .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .tiff, .bmp, .pdf, .ps, .postscript, defaulting to png.
  • Results can be returned as parseable code using :results code, and as pretty-printed code using :results pp (emacs-lisp, python, ruby). Thanks to Benny Andresen for the idea and patch for emacs-lisp.
  • When :file filename is supplied, :exports file is unnecessary
  • Header args are taken from org-file-properties in addition to properties active in the subtree.
  • :noweb header argument now expands noweb references before source-block evaluation.
  • Tangling honours the new org variable org-src-preserve-indentation, so that correct code is output for a language like python that depends on indentation.

25.15. Changes in org-exp-blocks.el

  • Interblocks export has been simplified.
  • Support for R code (begin_R blocks and inline \R{}) has been removed. Please use org-babel instead.

26. Version 6.31

26.1. Org-babel is now part of the Org distribution

Org-babel provides the ability to execute source code in many different languages within org-mode documents. The results of code execution – text, tables and graphics – can be integrated into Org mode documents and can be automatically updated during publishing. Since Org-babel allows execution of arbitrary code, the range of tasks that can be addressed from within an Org mode file becomes very large. Examples of ways in which Org-babel might be used include

  • Documenting a task that involves some programming so that it is automatically repeatable
  • Creating dynamic (executable) reports that respond to changes in the underlying data (Reproducible Research)
  • Exportation of code contained in an Org mode document into regular source code files (Literate Programming)

Additionally, Org-babel provides a programming environment within Org files, in which data can be transmitted between parameterised source code blocks in different languages, as well as between source code blocks and Org mode tables.

A simple API is defined so that users can add support for new "languages" (broadly construed). Languages currently supported are:

  • asymptote
  • css
  • ditaa
  • dot
  • emacs-lisp
  • gnuplot
  • haskell
  • ocaml
  • python
  • R
  • ruby
  • sass
  • sh
  • sql

Org-babel was designed and implemented Eric Schulte with continued significant help on both accounts from Dan Davison.

26.2. MobileOrg support

Richard Morelands iPhone/iPod Touch program MobileOrg can view Org files, mark entries as DONE, flag entries for later attention, and capture new entries on the road. Org mode has now support to produce a staging area where MobileOrg can download its files, and to integrate changes done on the phone in a half automatic, half interactive way. See the new appendix B in the manual for more information.

26.3. Indented lines starting with "#+ " are treated as comments

To allow comments in plain lists without breaking the list structure, you can now have indented comment lines that start with "#+ ".

26.4. New STARTUP keyword `showeverything'

This will make even drawer contents visible upon startup. Requested by Jeff Kowalczyk.

26.5. New contributed package org-invoice.el

This package collects clocking information for billing customers.

Thanks to Peter Jones for this contribution.

26.6. Encrypting subtrees

org-crypt.el by John Wiegley and Peter Jones allows encryption of individual subtrees in Org mode outlines. Thanks to John and Peter for this contribution.

26.7. Agenda: Support for including a link in the category string

The category (as specified by an #+CATEGORY line or CATEGORY property can contain a bracket link. While this sort-of worked in the past, it now is officially supported and should cause no problems in agenda display or update. The link can be followed by clicking on it, or with C-c C-o 0.

This was a request by Peter Westlake.

27. Version 6.30

27.1. Inconsistent changes

27.1.1. Agenda now uses f and b to move through time

Up to now, the Org mode agenda used the cursor keys left and right to switch the agenda view forward an backward through time. However, many people found this confusing, and others wanted to be able to do cursor motion in the agenda, for example to select text. Therefore, after an extensive discussion on emacs-orgmode@gnu.org, it was decided to use the b and f keys instead, and to let the cursor keys do cursor motion again.

27.1.2. Agenda follow mode is now on the F key

This was necessary to free up the f key, see above.

27.2. Details

27.2.1. Maintenance

  1. New command to submit a bug report

    There is now a special command M-x org-submit-bug-report. This command will create a mail buffer with lots of useful details. In particular, it contains complete version information for Emacs and Org mode. It will also (if you agree to it) contain all non-standard settings of org-mode and outline-mode related variables. Even if you do not sent your emails from within Emacs, please still use this command to generate the information and then copy it into your mail program.

    The command will not generate and include a *Backtrace* buffer, please do this yourself if you have hit an error. For more information, see the feedback section of the manual.

  2. New contributed package org-track.el

    This package allows to keep up-to-date with current Org development, using only Emacs on-board means. So if you don't want or cannot use git, but still want to run the latest and hottest Org mode, this is for you.

    Thanks to Sebastian Rose for this contribution.

27.2.2. Agenda

  1. Agenda now uses f and b to move through time

    Up to now, the Org mode agenda used the cursor keys left and right to switch the agenda view forward an backward through time. However, many people found this confusing, and others wanted to be able to do cursor motion in the agenda, for example to select text. Therefore, after an extensive discussion on emacs-orgmode@gnu.org, it was decided to use the b and f keys instead, and to let the cursor keys do cursor motion again.

  2. Agenda follow mode is now on the F key

    This was necessary to free up the f key, see above.

  3. The agenda can be put into a dedicated frame

    When the variable org-agenda-window-setup has the value other-frame, then the new frame created to show the agenda will now have the window marked as dedicated. As a consequence, exiting the agenda while the agenda is the only window on the frame will kill that frame.

    This was a request by Henry Atting.

  4. New mode to show some entry body text in the agenda

    There is now a new agenda sub-mode called org-agenda-entry-text-mode. It is toggled with the E key. When active, all entries in the agenda will be accompanied by a few lines from the outline entry. The amount of text can be customized with the variable org-agenda-entry-text-maxlines.

    This was a request by Anthony Fairchild, Manish, and others.

  5. Improve following links from the agenda

    C-c C-o in the agenda will now offer all links in the headline and text of an entry. If there is only a single link, it will be followed immediately.

  6. Avoid some duplicate entries

    There is a new variable that can be used to avoid some duplicate agenda entries: org-agenda-skip-scheduled-if-deadline-is-shown If that is set, it avoids that an entry shows up in the agenda for today for both a scheduling and a deadline entry. See the docstring of the variables for more details.

    This partially addresses a request by Samuel Wales.

  7. Mark the running clock in the agenda.

    If the entry currently being clocked is present in the agenda, it will be highlighted with the face org-agenda-clocking.

    This was a request by Rainer Stengele.

27.2.3. Export

  1. Allow LaTeX export to use the listings package

    The LaTeX listings package can now be used for formatting fontified source code in many programming languages. For more information, see https://list.orgmode.org/m2prb6t9lw.fsf@gmail.com and https://orgmode.org/worg/org-faq.php#fontified_source_code_w_latex

    Thanks to Eric Schulte for this patch.

  2. Remove table rows that only contain width and alignment markers

    The width and alignment in table columns can be set with a cookie like "<10>" or "<r>" or "<r10>". In order to keep Org from exporting such lines, the first column of a line should contain only "". However, for convenience, there is now a special case: If the entire row contains only such markers, the line will automatically be discarded during export, even is the first column is not "".

  3. Allow Macro calls to span several lines.

    Macro calls may now span several lines, to write several arguments in a cleaner way. The result of a macro call can also span several lines, by inserting the string "\n" (backslash followed by n) into the value in the macro definition.

    These were requests by Stefan Vollmar.

27.2.4. Misc

  1. Quick access to all links in an entry

    If C-c C-o is called while the cursor is in a headline, but not directly on a link, then all links in the entry will be offered in a small menu. If there is only a single link, it will be followed without a prompt.

  2. Visibility Cycling: Allow to show all empty lines after a headline

    org-cycle-separator-lines can now be set to a negative value, to indicate that, if the number of empty lines before a visible entry is greater than the specified number, then all empty lines should be shown.

    This was a request by "PT" whatever this means.

  3. Allow language names to replace some strange major mode names

    Sometimes a language uses a major mode which can't be guessed from it's name. There is now a new variable org-src-lang-modes which can be used to map language names to major modes when this is the case. This is used when editing a source-code block, or when exporting fontified source-code with htmlize.

    Thanks to Eric Schulte for a patch to this effect.

  4. iswitchb support for many completion prompts

    This is enabled using org-completion-use-iswitchb, and follows the same model of usage as for ido users.

    Thanks to John Wiegley for a patch to this effect.

  5. New commands to set the effort property of an entry

    There is now a special command, C-c C-x e to set the Effort property of an entry. From the agenda you can even use e. If you have set up allowed values for the Effort property, then using a prefix argument will directly select the nth allowed value. For example, in the agenda, 5 e will select the 5th allowed value.

    This was a request by Michael Gilbert

  6. Edit src works now better with killing buffer

    Thanks to Dan Davison for a patch to this effect

28. Version 6.29

28.1. Structure editing and cycling

28.1.1. New minor mode org-indent-mode

This mode implements outline indentation similar to clean view, but in a dynamic and virtual way, at display time. I have wanted this functionality for years and tried several implementations, all unworkable. Emacs 23 has finally made it possible. So this solution is for Emacs 23 only, and I am not sure yet how stable it really is. Time will tell.

Currently I do not recommend to turn it on globally using the variable org-startup-indented. But you can turn it on for a particular buffer using

#+STARTUP: indent

Turning on this minor mode automatically turns on org-hide-leading-stars, and it turns off org-adapt-indentation.

28.1.2. Skip CHILDREN state if there are no children

When a subtree does not have any children, visibility cycling now skips the CHILDREN state. You can customize this behavior with the variable org-cycle-skip-children-state-if-no-children.

28.1.3. Nodes without keyword can now be counted for statistics

See the variable org-provide-todo-statistics for details. It can be the symbol all-headings, or a list of TODO states to consider.

This was requested by David A. Gershman.

28.1.4. New function org-list-make-subtree

This function converts the plain list at point into a subtree, preserving the list structure. The key for this command is C-c C-*. Thanks to Ilya Shlyakhter for this suggestion.

28.1.5. Headlines can be fontified to the right window border

Use the variable org-fontify-whole-heading-line to turn this on. Then headline fontification will include the final newline. If your setup for headline faces includes a background different from the default background, this setup creates a visual line across the window.

28.1.6. Inline tasks have become better citizens

The new key C-c C-x t inserts an inline task including an END line. Inline tasks play along with (i,e, are ignored by) link creation and footnotes. Inline tasks with an END line can be refiled and archived. During the refile/archive operation, the tasks become normal tasks and the END line disappears.

These improvements reflect reports and requests by Peter Westlake and Matt Lundin.

28.1.7. Archive subtree and move to next visible task

When archiving a task, the cursor now ends up on the next headline, so the repeated application of the archiving command will archive successive tasks.

Thanks to Bernt Hansen for a patch to this effect.

28.1.8. Renumbering the fn:N-like footnotes

The new footnote action r will renumber simple fn:N footnotes in the current document. The action S will first do the renumbering and then sort the footnotes (the s action).

This was a request by Andreas Röhler.

28.1.9. Automatic sorting and renumbering

Customize the new variable org-footnote-auto-adjust or use the #+STARTUP option fnadjust to get automatic renumbering and sorting of footnotes after each insertion/deletion.

This was a request by Andreas Röhler.

28.1.10. Improvements to plain-list-cycling with TAB.

TAB now by default cycles visibility in plain lists if the cursor is at a plain list item. This corresponds to the new default value t of org-cycle-include-plain-lists. If you want to treat plain list items as part of the outline hierarchy during cycling of outline headings (this is what a t value used to mean), set this variable to integrate.

28.1.11. Force bullet type changes during plain list demotion

We now have a mechanism to force a particular bullet type when demoting a plain list item. See the variable org-list-demote-modify-bullet for details.

This was a request by Rainer Stengele.

28.2. Tables

28.2.1. Relative row references may now cross hlines

A relative row reference like @-1 in a table may now reach across a horizontal separator line. I hope this will not break any important tables out there, but I think it is the right thing to do.

The sole original reason for not allowing such crossing was to implement running averages of one column in the next. This can now be done using field formulas near the beginning and end of the column, and a column formula for the central part.

See the variable org-table-relative-ref-may-cross-hline for more details.

28.2.2. Cut or copy single fields

C-c C-x C-w and C-c C-x M-w now act on single table fields if there is no active region defined.

28.3. Links

28.3.1. Find agenda files linking to the current location

The new command org-occur-link-in-agenda-files creates a link like org=store-link would, and then searches all agenda files for this link. So for example, you could be in a GNUS message, trying to find tasks that have links to this message.

28.3.2. Include stored links into link completion

When inserting a link with C-c C-l, TAB completion will now not only access link prefixes, but also the stored links.

28.4. Agenda

28.4.1. Bulk commands: Add Schedule and Deadline processing

Agenda bulk commands on marked entries now can also set the scheduling date or a deadline. Normally, all entries will be set to the specified date. However, when writing the change as "++5d" or "++2w", then each time stamp will independently be shifted by that amount.

28.4.2. Tags-todo searches: No longer force to list sublevels

For historic reasons, org-tags-match-list-sublevels was forced to t in tags-todo agenda searches. Now we no longer do this and accept the user setting of this variable.

Thanks to Patrick Bahr for bringing this up.

28.5. Export

28.5.1. Use file-source.org format instead of file.org-source

When publishing the source Org file to the source directory (i.e. if the publishing directory is the same as the source directory), then the file name will now look like file-source.org and file-source.org.html. Note that if you do use this kind of setup, you probably want to specify

:exclude "-source\.org"

in your publishing project, to avoid that a new generation of -source files is created each time you publish the project.

28.5.2. LaTeX export: Skip title command when there is no title

Using #+TITLE: without a value makes the LaTeX export ignore the value of org-export-latex-title-command.

28.5.3. New option org-export-html-footnote-format

This defines the format for footnote references. This string must contain %s which will be replaced by the footnote label.

28.5.4. More export options for source code examples

Allow whitespace in code references. Allow the -r switch to remove the references in the source code even when the lines are not numbered: the labels can be explicit enough. Note that -r -k is the same as no switch at all.

Thanks to Ulf Stegemann for bring this up.

28.5.5. LaTeX export: Allow more environment for low-level headings

The user can now define a non-standard environment or macro to handle export of low-level headings to LaTeX.

For details, see the variable org-export-latex-low-levels.

28.5.6. LaTeX export: Add postscript file extensions for images

Some people process LaTeX files not directly to pdf, but go through dvi and then to ps or pdf. In that case, allowed images are ps and eps files, not pdf and jpg.

This commit adds the two extensions, so that export using that alternative path can be supported better. However, it is up to the user to make sure that the images are actually compatible with the backend.

28.5.7. HTML export: Show UP and HOME links

org-export-html-link-up and org-export-html-link-home are now also inserted into normal HTML export, above the page title.

28.5.8. General mechanism for local variable settings

Many different people want to set many different variables in a buffer-local way for export. This cannot be done with file variables, because the Org buffer is not current while the exporter is running.

Lots of variables can be set with the #+OPTIONS lines, but finding abbreviations goes only so far.

Therefore we have now a general mechanism that can be used to bind variables during export operations.

A line like:

#+BIND: variable value

will bind the variable to value. For example, the line

#+OPTIONS: toc:nil

can now equivalently be written as

#+BIND: org-export-with-toc nil

28.5.9. Clean out publishing timestamp directory

When changing the publishing setup, old timestamp files can be left behind. Forcing publishing of all projects with C-u C-c C-e E will remove all existing timestamp files.

28.6. Miscellaneous

28.6.1. Calendar for reading a date forced into current frame.

Separate-frame setup for calendar had caused problems in AquaEmacs.

28.6.2. Set timers for headlines

You can now set a timer related to any headline, like an alarm clock. Three new commands have been defined:

org-timer-set-timer
bound to C-c C-x ; in Org buffers and to ; in Org agenda buffers. This function sets a timer for the headline the cursor is currently it. Up to three timers can be used at any time.
org-timer-show-remaining-time
Show the remaining time for the last timer set.
org-timer-cancel-timers
Cancel all timers.

This functionality was requested by Samuel Wales and emulates that of tea-time.el – see the emacswiki doc at http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/tea-time

28.6.3. Clock reports may include a time stamp

Using :timetamp t as an option in a clock report now allows insertion of the timestamp for the clocked entry. Timestamps are searched for in this order: SCHEDULING, TIMESTAMP, DEADLINE and TIMESTAMP_IA.

28.6.4. New option org-id-uuid-program

On some systems, uuidgen is named uuid.

28.6.5. Clock notification handler made configurable

See the variable org-show-notification-handler.

28.6.6. New option org-tags-sort-function.

This allows tags to be sorted by string<, string>, or a custom function.

Thanks to James TD Smith for a patch to this effect.

28.6.7. Improvements for org-feed.el

But fixes, and allowing to choose between wget and curl.

Thanks to Christopher League for a patch to this effect.

29. Version 6.28

29.1. Agenda changes

29.1.1. Refiling now works from the agenda

The command C-c C-w can be executed to refile an entry shown in the agenda. After the command, the entry will no longer be shown in the agenda. It it is still in an agenda file, refresh the agenda to bring it up from it's new context.

29.1.2. Bulk action

You can now use the m key to mark entries in the agenda. u will unmark the etry at point, and U will unmark everything. When one or more entries have been selected, the B key will execute an action on all selected entries. I believe this bulk action makes mainly sense for the commands that require answering interactive prompts. So far the supported actions are

  • Refile all selected entries to a single destination
  • Archive all selected entries
  • Set the TODO state of all selected entries, bypassing any blocking or note-taking.
  • Add or remove a tag to/from all selected entries

We can add more actions, if you convince me they make sense.

29.1.3. Modified keys

To make room for the new Bulk action commands, some keys in the agenda buffer had to move:

There is a new command bound to the v key, it dispatches various view mode changes. Month and year view are now only available as v m and v y, respectively. Turning on inclusion of archive trees and files (unsed to be on v) is now on v a and v A.

29.2. Improvements related to #+begin blocks

29.2.1. Indented blocks

#+begin_ ... +#end_... blocks may now be indented along with the structure of your document. So the #+ lines no longer need to start in column 0, these lines can be, along with the block contents, indented arbitrarily. Org supports this during editing with "C-c '", and now finally treats them consistently during export across all backends. This makes these blocks work much better with plain list structure editing, and it also looks better if you like to indent text under outline headings. For example:

*** This is some headline
      #+begin_example
      here we have an example
      #+end_example

      - a plain list
        - a sublist item
          - a second sublist item

            #+begin_center
             centering within the plain list item
            #+end_center

        #+begin_example
         This example does terminate the sublist,
         the indentation of the #+begin line counts.
        #+end_example

      - but the top level plain lists continues here

From now on, the indentation of such a block decides whether it is part of a plain list item or if it is actually terminating the list. This was so far inconsistent between editing behavior and export, now it is consistent.

The content of the block, i.e. the text between the #+ lines gets an extra indentation of two space characters, which I find visually pleasing. You can change the amount of extra indentation using the variable org-src-content-indentation.

This was a pretty complex change, achieved in many small steps over the last couple of weeks. It cleans up one of the more annoying inconsistencies in Org. I hope it will work, but I am sure you will let me know if not.

29.2.2. Indented tables

Also tables can be fully indented now. What is new here is that the #+TBLFM line, and also things like #+caption, #+label, #+attr_... etc can be indented along with the table. Again, this makes the look of the document better and allows for proper plain list structure editing.

29.2.3. Protected blocks

Some #+begin_ ... +#end_... blocks contain text that should not be processed like normal Org mode text. example and src block fall into this class, and so do ditaa blocks, for example. The content in such blocks is now properly fontified in a single face (called org-block). This was a frequently requested feature. The list of blocks that should be protected from normal Org mode fontification is defined in the variable org-protecting-blocks. Modules defining new blocks should add to this variable when needed. org-exp-blocks.el does this already.

29.2.4. Hide and show the contents of blocks

Blocks can now be folded and unfolded with TAB. If you want to have all blocks folded on startup, customize org-hide-block-startup or use the #+STARTUP options hideblocks or showblocks to overrule this variable on a per-file basis.

Thanks to Eric Schulte for a patch to this effect.

29.2.5. Moved Eric Schulte's org-exp-blocks.el into the core

This seems to be getting a lot of use now, so it is now part of the core and loaded automatically. This package can now also be used to define new blocks. Customize the variable org-export-blocks or use the function org-export-blocks-add-block.

29.3. New and updated contributed modules

29.3.1. org-export-generic.el is now a contributed package.

This new module allows users to export an Org page to any type of output by constructing the output using a list of prefixes, format specifications and suffixes for the various types of org data (headlines, paragraphs, list bullets, etc). Use the org-set-generic-type function to define your own export types and have them bound to a key (use an upper-case letter for user export definitions).

Thanks to Wes Hardaker for this contribution with a lot of potential.

29.3.2. New contributed modules org-mac-iCal.el by Christopher Suckling

29.3.3. org-jira.el: New file, by Jonathan Arkell

Links to Jira tickets.

29.3.4. org-R.el: Updated.

org-R.el has been updated, thanks to Dan Davison for this.

29.3.5. [ TABLE-OF-CONTENTS] is now also used for LaTeX export

This cookie will mark the location of the \tableofcontents macro. Triggered by a report by Yuva.

29.4. Changes to the clocking system

29.4.1. New option `org-clock-out-switch-to-state'.

Clocking out can now switch the task to a particular state.

This was a request by Manish.

29.4.2. More control about what time is shown in mode line while clocking

  • If you have an Effort property defined, its value is also shown in the mode line, and you can configure org-clock-sound to get an alert when your planned time for a particular item is over.
  • When an entry has been clocked earlier, the time shown in the mode line while the item is being clocked is now the sum of all previous, and the current clock.
  • The exception to the previous rule are repeating entries: There the clock time will only be clocking instances recorded since the last time the entry when through a repeat event. The time of that event is now recorded in the LAST_REPEAT property
  • You can use the property CLOCKMODELINETOTAL to get control over what times are displayed in the mode line, see the manual for more information.
  • The new command C-c C-x C-e can be used to change the Effort estimate and therefore to change the moment when the clock sound will go off.
  • The clock string in the modeline now has a special font, org-mode-line-clock. This was a proposal by Samuel Wales.
  • Clicking on the mode line display of the clock now offers a menu with important clock functions like clocking out, or switching the clock to a different task.

Thanks to Konstantin Antipin for part of the implementation, and thanks to Bernt Hansen for helping to iron out the issues related to repeated tasks.

29.5. Miscellaneous changes

29.5.1. Allow to specify the alignment in table columns by hand

Similar to the <20> cookies that allow to specify a maximum width for a table column, you can now also specify the alignment in order to overrule the automatic alignment choice based on the dominance of number or non-number fields in a column. The corresponding cookies are <l> and <r> for left and right side alignment, respectively. These can be combined with maximum width specification like this: <r15>.

This was a proposal by Michael Brand.

29.5.2. Stop logging and blocking when selecting a TODO state

Sometimes you want to quickly select or change a TODO state of an item, without being bothered by your setup for blocking state changes and logging entries. So in this case, you don't want the change be seen as a true state change.

You can now set the variable org-treat-S-cursor-todo-selection-as-state-change to nil. Then, when you use S-left and S-right to quickly flip through states, blocking and logging will be temporarily disabled.

29.5.3. Export BBDB anniversaries to iCalendar

See the variable `org-icalendar-include-bbdb-anniversaries'.

This was a request by Richard Riley, thanks to Thomas Baumann for the prompt implementation.

29.5.4. Macro definitions can be collected in an #+SETUPFILE

If you want to use many macros in different files, collect the #+macro lines into a file and link to them with

#+SETUPFILE: path/to-file

29.5.5. Subtree cloning now also shifts inactive dates

When using the command org-clone-subtree-with-time-shift, time stamps will be shifted for each clone. So far, this applied only to active timestamps, but now it does apply to inactive ones as well.

29.5.6. HTML table export: Assign alternating classes to rows

The new variable org-export-table-row-tags can now be set up in a way so that different table lines get special CSS classes assigned. This can be used for example to choose different background colors for odd and even lines, respectively. The docstring of the variable contains this example:

(setq org-export-table-row-tags
      (cons '(if head
             "<tr>"
           (if (= (mod nline 2) 1)
               "<tr class=\"tr-odd\">"
             "<tr class=\"tr-even\">"))
        "</tr>"))

It makes use of the local variables head and nline which are used to check whether the current line is a header line, and whether it is an odd or an even line. Since this is fully programmable, you can do other things as well.

This was a request by Xin Shi.

29.5.7. Remember: target headline may be a function

When setting up remember templates, the target headline may now be a function, similarly to what is allowed for the target file. The functions needs to return the headline that should be used.

29.5.8. Remove flyspell overlays in places where they are not wanted

We now keep flyspell from highlighting non-words in links.

29.5.9. Update targets in the Makefile

Some new targets in the default Makefile make it easier to update through git to the latest version: update and up2. Here are the definitions.

update:
        git pull
        ${MAKE} clean
        ${MAKE} all

up2:	update
        sudo ${MAKE} install

This was a request by Konstantin Antipin.

30. Version 6.27

30.1. Details

30.1.1. Macros for export

Macro processing for export has been enhanced:

  • You can use arguments in a macro, for example

    #+macro hello Greet the $1: Hello $1
    

    which would turn {{{hello(world)}}} into Greet the world: Hello world

  • The macro value can be an emacs-lisp for to be evaluated at the time of export:

    #+macro: datetime (eval (format-time-string "$1"))
    
  • More built-in default macros:

    date(FORMATTIMESTRING)
    Time/Date of export
    time(FORMATTIMESTRING)
    Same as date
    modification-time(FORMATTIMESTRING)
    Last modification of file
    input-file
    Name of the input file

    The new built-in macros have been requested by Daniel Clemente.

30.1.2. Link completion for files and bbdb names

Org now has a general mechanism how modules can provide enhanced support (for example through completion) when adding a link. For example, when inserting a link with C-c C-l, you can now type file: followed by RET to get completion support for inserting a file. After entering bbdb: and RET, a completion interface will allow to complete names in the BBDB database. These are the only ones implemented right now, but modules that add a link type xyz: can simple define org-xyz-complete-link that should return the full link with prefix after aiding the used to create the link. For example, if you have http links that you have to insert very often, you could define a function org-http-complete-link to help selecting the most common ones.

30.1.3. Source file publishing

It is now easy to publish the Org sources along with, for example, HTML files. In your publishing project, replace

:publishing-function org-publish-org-to-html

with

:publishing-function (org-publish-org-to-html org-publish-org-to-org)
:plain-source t
:htmlized-source t

to get both the plain org file and an htmlized version that looks like your editing buffer published along with the HTML exported version.

30.1.4. Push exported stuff to kill ring

All exporters now push the produced material onto the kill-ring in Emacs, and also to the external clipboard and the primary selection to make it easy to paste this under many circumstances.

30.1.5. Tables in LaTeX without centering

Set the variable `org-export-latex-tables-centered' to nil if you prefer tables not to be horizontally centered. Note that longtable tables are always centered.

30.1.6. LaTeX export: TODO markup configurable

The markup for TODO keywords in LaTeX export is now configurable using the variable org-export-latex-todo-keyword-markup.

30.1.7. ASCII export to buffer

ASCII export has now the same command variations as the other export backends, for example exporting to a temporary buffer instead of a file.

The was a request by Samuel Wales.

30.1.8. Accessibility improvements for HTTP tables

When exporting tables to HTML, Org now adds scope attributes to all header fields, in order to support screen readers. Setting the variable org-export-html-table-use-header-tags-for-first-column will request using <th> instead of <td> also in the entire first column, so that also row information can be scoped. This was triggered by a request by Jan Buchal, and as usually Sebastian Rose came up with the right implementation.

30.1.9. Timezone information in iCalendar files

The timezone information in iCalendar files is now written in the correct format, and can be set in the variable org-ical-timezone. This variable is initialized from the TZ environment variable.

30.1.10. New contributed package org-special-blocks.el

The package turns any "undefined" #+begin_... blocks into LaTeX environments for LaTeX export, and into <div> tags for HTML export.

Thanks to Chris Gray for this contribution.

30.1.11. More flexibility about placing logging notes.

Logging into a drawer can now also be set for individual subtrees using the LOG_INTO_DRAWER property.

Requested by Daniel J. Sinder.

30.1.12. New reload key

Reloading Org has moved to a new key, C-c C-x !, and is now also available in the agenda.

30.1.13. Start Agenda with log mode active

Set the new option org-agenda-start-with-log-mode to have log mode turned on from the start. Or set this option for specific custom commands.

Thanks to Benjamin Andresen for a patch to this effect.

30.1.14. Agenda speed optimizations

Depending on circumstances, construction the agenda has become a lot faster.

Triggered by Eric S Fraga's reports about using Org on a slow computer like a netbook.

30.1.15. New face for today in agenda

The date that is today can now be highlighted in the agenda by customizing the face org-agenda-date-today.

Thanks to Dmitri Minaev for a patch to this effect.

30.1.16. Properties to disambiguate statistics

When an entry has both check boxes and TODO children, it is not clear what kind of statistics a cookie should show You can now use the COOKIE_DATA property to disambiguate, by giving it a value "todo" or "checkbox".

Thanks to Ulf Stegeman, who was persistent enough to push this change past my initial resistance.

30.1.17. Checkboxes and TODO items: recursive statistics

nil will make statistics cookies count all checkboxes in the Setting the variable org-hierarchical-checkbox-statistics to lit hierarchy below it.

Setting the variable org-hierarchical-todo-statistics to nil will do the same for TODO items.

To turn on recursive statistics only for a single subtree, add the word "recursive" to the COOKIE_DATA property. Note that you can have such a property containing both "todo" or "checkbox" for disambiguation, and the word "recursive", separated by a space character.

The change for checkboxes was a patch by Richard Klinda.

30.1.18. New operators for column view

Column view has new operators for computing the minimum, maximum, and mean of property values.

Thanks to Mikael Fornius for a patch to this effect.

31. Version 6.26

31.1. Details

31.1.1. custom IDs

Entries can now define a CUSTOM_ID property. This property must be a valid ID according to HTML rules, and it will be used in HTML export as the main target ID for this entry. That means, both the table of conents and other internal links will automatically point to this ID instead of the automatic ID like sec-1.1. This is useful to create humar-readable permanent links to these location in a document.

The user is responsible to make sure that custom IDs are unique within a file.

Links written like [[#my-target-name] ] can be used to target a custom ID.

When using C-c l to store a link to a headline that has a custom ID, Org will now create two links at the same time. One link will be to the custom ID. The other will be to the globaly unique ID property. When inserting the line with C-c C-l, you need to decide which one you want to use. Use the ID links for entries that are expected to move from one file to the next. Use custom ID links publishing projects, when you are sure that te entry will stay in that file. See also the variable org-link-to-org-use-id.

31.1.2. Remember to non-org files

If the target headline part of a remember template definition entry is top or bottom, the target file may now be a non-Org mode file. In this case, the content of the remember buffer will be added to that file without enforcing an Org-like headline. Sorry, Russel, that this took so long.

31.1.3. New property to turn off todo dependencies locally

Setting the property NOBLOCKING will turn off TODO dependency checking for this entry.

31.1.4. Refile verify

A new function is called to verify tasks that are about to be selected as remember targets. See the new variable org-refile-target-verify-function.

31.1.5. New version org ditaa.jar

Thanks to Stathis Sideris.

31.1.6. htmlize.el is now in the contrib directory

The latest version of htmlize.el is now the in the contrib directory of Org. Thanks to Hrvoje Niksic for allowing this.

32. Version 6.25

32.1. Major new features

32.1.1. DocBook export

We now do have a fully functional DocBook exporter, contributed by Baoqiu Cui. Simple press C-c e D to export the current file to DocBook format. You can also get direct conversion to PDF if you have made the correct setup, please see the manual for details.

Kudos to Baoqiu for this fantastic addition, and my personal thanks for doing this in a such a smooth way that I did not have to do anything myself.

32.1.2. Protocols for external access to Emacs and Org

org-protocol.el is a new module that supersedes both org-annotation-helper.el and org-browser.el and replaces them with a more abstracted interface. org-protocol intercepts calls from emacsclient to trigger custom actions without external dependencies. Only one protocol has to be configured with your external applications or the operating system, to trigger an arbitrary number of custom actions. Just register your custom sub-protocol and handler with the new variable org-protocol-protocol-alist.

org-protocol comes the with three standard protocol handlers (in parenthesis the name of the sub-protocol):

org-protocol-remember (remember)
Trigger remember
org-protocol-store-link (store-link)
Store a link
org-protocol-open-source (open-source)
Find the local source of a remote web page.

Passing data to emacs is now as easy as calling

emacsclient org-protocol://sub-protocol://data

For more information see the online documentation.

Thanks to Sebastian Rose for this really beautiful module.

32.1.3. Inline tasks

Inline tasks are tasks that have all the properties of normal outline nodes, including the ability to store meta data like scheduling dates, TODO state, tags and properties. But these tasks are not meant to introduce additional outline structure, at least as far as visibility cycling and export is concerned. They are useful for adding tasks in extensive pieces of text where interruption of the flow or restructuring is unwanted.

This feature is not turned on by default, you need to configure org-modules to turn it on, or simply add to you .emacs file:

(require 'org-inlinetask)

After that, tasks with level 15 (30 stars when using org-odd-levels-only) will be treated as inline tasks, and fontification will make obvious which tasks are treated in this way.

32.1.4. Input from RSS feeds

Org can now collect tasks from an RSS feed, a great method to get stuff from online call and note-taking services into your trusted system. You need to configure the feeds in the variable org-feed-alist. The manual contains a short description, more detailed information is available on Worg.

Full credit goes to Brad Bozarth who really paved the way for this exciting new feature.

32.2. Export

32.2.1. Allow modification of table attributes in HTML export

The #+ATTRHTML line can now be used to set attributes for a table. Attributes listed in that line will replace existing attributes in org-export-html-table-tag, or will add new ones. For example

#+ATTR_HTML: border="2" rules="all" frame="all"
#+CAPTION: Finally a table with lines!
| a | b |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2 |

32.2.2. LaTeX low levels are now exported as itemize lists

LaTeX export now treats hierarchy levels 4,5, etc as itemize lists, not as description lists as before. This is more consistent with the behavior of HTML export. You can configure this behavior using the variable org-export-latex-low-levels.

32.2.3. Markup for centering.

Text can be exported centered with

#+BEGIN_CENTER
Everything should be made as simple as possible, \\
but not any simpler
#+END_CENTER

32.2.4. Sitemap file is now sitemap.org

Org-publish can produce a list of all files in a project. Previously the file containing this list was called "index.org", really a brain-dead default because during publication it would overwrite the "index.html" file of the website.

The default file name is now "sitemap.org".

32.2.5. Protect explicit target links in HTML export

If a link is [[#name] [desc]], the href produced when exporting the file will be exactly href="#name". So starting a link target with # will indicate that there will be an explicit target for this.

32.2.6. HTML export: Allow "- _" to explicitly terminate a list

If a list contains "- _" (three underscores) as an item, this terminates the list, ignoring this item. This is an experimental feature, it may disappear again if we find other ways to deal with literal examples right after lists.

See this mailing list thread for context.

32.3. Agenda

32.3.1. Changing the time of an entry from the agenda

We now have a way to change not only the date, but also the start time of an entry from the agenda. The date is normally changed with S-right/left. Now, if you add a C-u prefix, the hour will be changed. If you immediately press S-right/left again, hours will continue to be changed. A double prefix will do the same for minutes. If the entry has a time range like 14:40-16:00, then both times will change, preserving the length of the appointment.

32.3.2. Show saved PDF agenda view with prefix arg

When writing an agenda view to a PDF file, supplying a a prefix argument (C-u C-x C-w) will get the new file displayed immediately.

This was a request by Alan E Davis.

32.3.3. Filter for entries with no effort defined

During secondary agenda filtering, pressing "?" now will install a filter that selects entries which do not have an effort defined.

This new model was necessary because we needed to stop interpreting entries with no effort defines as 0 effort. This was inconsistent, because for normal agenda sorting, the treatment of these entries depends on the variable org-sort-agenda-noeffort-is-high. Now this variable is also respected during filtering.

This new feature resulted from a discussion with Matt Lundin and Bernt Hansen.

32.3.4. Introduce user-defined sorting operators

The new variable org-agenda-cmp-user-defined can contain a function to test how two entries should be compared during sorting. The symbols user-defined-up and user-defined-down can then be part of any sorting strategy.

This was a request by Samuel Wales.

32.3.5. Indentation of subitems in the agenda

When a tags/property match does match an entry and it's sublevels, the sublevels used to be indented by dots, to indicate that the matches likely result from tag inheritance. This is now no longer the default, so the subitems will not get special indentation. You can get this behavior back with

(setq org-tags-match-list-sublevels 'indented)

32.3.6. Stuck projects search now searches subtrees of unstuck projects

When, during a stuck-project search, a project tree is identified as not stuck, so far the search would continue after the end of the project tree. From now on, the search continues in the subtree, so that stuck subprojects can still be identified.

32.4. Miscellaneous

32.4.1. Citations: Use RefTeX to insert citations

RefTeX can now be used to create a citation in Org mode buffers. Setup the buffer with

#+BIBLIOGRAPHY: bibbase style

and create citations with C-c C-x [.

Together with org-exp-bibtex.el by Taru Karttunen (available as a contributed package), this provides a great environment for including citations into HTML and LaTeX documents.

32.4.2. Changing time ranges as a block

When using the S-cursor keys to change the first time in a time range like

<2009-04-01 Wed 14:40-16:40>

then the end time will change along, so that the duration of the event will stay the same.

This was a request by Anupam Sengupta.

32.4.3. New sparse tree command

A new sparse tree command shows entries with times after a certain date. Keys are C-c / a, this command is for symmetry with C-c / b.

32.4.4. Cloning tasks

A new command allows to create clone copies of the current entry, with shifted dates in all stamps in the entry. This is useful to create, for example, a series of entries for a limited time period. I am using it to prepare lectures, for example.

32.4.5. New face for checkboxes

Checkboxes now have their own face, org-checkbox. This can be used for nice effects, for example choosing a face with a box around it:

(custom-set-faces
 (org-checkbox ((t (:background "#444444" :foreground "white"
                                :box (:line-width 1 :style released-button)))))

32.4.6. M-a and M-e for navigation in a table field

In tables fields, the sentence commands M-a and M-e are redefined to jump to the beginning or end of the field.

This was a request by Bastien Guerry.

32.4.7. Backup files for remember buffers

Sometimes users report that they lost data when not immediately storing a new remember note, and then later exiting Emacs or starting a new remember process.

Now you can set the variable org-remember-backup-directory. Each remember buffer created will then get its own unique file name in that directory, and the file will be removed only if the storing of the note to an Org files was successful.

32.4.8. org-mac-message.el: New functions to access flagged mail

Christopher Suckling has added functionality to org-mac-message.el. In particular, you can now select a number of messages and easily get links to all of them with a single command. For details, see the online documentation.

32.4.9. Read-date: New hook

Setting up the minibuffer for reading a date. If can be used to The new hook org-read-date-minibuffer-setup-hook is called when install new keys into the temporary keymap used there.

33. Version 6.24

33.1. Incompatible changes

33.1.1. Tag searches are now case-sensitive

From this release on, tag searches will be case sensitive. While I still think it would be nice to have them case-insensitive, this was both an inconsistency (TODO keyword searches have always been case-sensitive), and trouble for coding some efficient algorithms. So please make sure that you give the tags with correct casing when prompted for a match expression.

33.1.2. New key for creating tags/property sparse trees

The key to produce a sparse tree matching tags and properties is now C-c / m instead of C-c a T. This is also more consistent with the C-c a m key for the corresponding agenda view. C-c / T will still work for now, but it is no longer advertised in the documentation and may go away at any time in the future.

33.1.3. IDs in HTML have "ID-" prefix when generated by uuidgen

uuidgen generates IDs that often start with a number, not a latter. However, IDs and names in XHTML must start with a letter. Therefore, IDs in HTML files will now get an "ID-" prefix if they have been generated by uuidgen. This means that id links from one file to another may stop working until all files have been exported again.

33.1.4. In agenda, only priority cookies get the special face

So far, an entire task would get a special face when org-agenda-fontify-priorities was set. Now, the default value for this variable is the symbol cookies, which means that on the cookie is fontified. Set it to t if you want the entire task headline to be fontified.

33.2. Details

33.2.1. PDF export of agenda views

Agenda views can now be exported to PDF files by writing them to a file with extension ".pdf". Internally this works by first producing the postscript version and then converting that to PDF using the ghostview utility ps2pdf. Make sure that this utility is installed on your system.

The postscript version will not be removed, it will stay around.

33.2.2. Inline some entry text for Agenda View export

When exporting an agenda view to HTML or PDF for printing or remote access, one of the problems can be that information stored in entries below the headline is not accessible in that format.

You can now copy some of that information to the agenda view before exporting it. For this you need to set the variable org-agenda-add-entry-text-maxlines to a number greater than 0.

(setq org-agenda-add-entry-text-maxlines 20)

Or you can do this with the settings in a custom agenda view, for example:

("A" "" agenda ""
 ((org-agenda-ndays 1)
  (org-agenda-add-entry-text-maxlines 5))
 ("agenda-today.pdf"))

33.2.3. Improved ASCII export of links

ASCII export of links works now much better. If a link has a link and a description part which are different, then the description will remain in the text while the link part will be moved to the end of the current section, before the next heading, as a footnote-like construct.

Configure the variable org-export-ascii-links-to-notes if you prefer the links to be shown in the text. In this case, Org will make an attempt to wrap the line which may have become significantly longer by showing the link.

Thanks to Samuel Wales for pointing out the bad state of ASCII link export.

33.2.4. Custom agenda commands can specify a filter preset

If a custom agenda command specifies a value for org-agenda-filter-preset in its options, the initial view of the agenda will be filterd by the specified tags. Applying a filter with / will then always add to that preset filter, clearing the filter with / / will set it back to the preset. Here is an example of a custom agenda view that will display the agenda, but hide all entries with tags FLUFF or BLUFF:

("A" "" agenda ""
 ((org-agenda-filter-preset '("-FLUFF" "-BLUFF"))))

This is in response to a thread on the mailing list, started by Daniel Clemente and with great contributions by Bernt Hansen and Matt Lundin.

33.2.5. Exporting of citations to LaTeX and HTML, using BibTeX

Citations can now me made using BibTeX, and will be exported to LaTeX and HTML. This is implemented in a contributed package by Taru Karttunen, org-exp-bibtex.el. Kudos to Taru for this really nice addition.

33.2.6. Finally a way to specify keywords and description for HTML export

Use something like

#+DESCRIPTION: This page is all about ....
#+KEYWORDS: org-mode, indexing, publishing

To specify the content of the description and keywords meta tags for HTML output.

33.2.7. org-collector.el is now a contributed package

org-collector.el provides functions to create tables by collecting and processing properties from entries in a specific scope like the current tree or file, or even from all agenda files. General lisp expressions can be used to manipulate the property values before they are inserted into an org-mode table, for example as a dynamic block that is easy to update.

Thanks to Eric Schulte for yet another great contribution to Org.

33.2.8. Update of org2rem.el

org2rem.el has been updated significantly and now does a more comprehensive job of exporting Org events to remind.

Thanks to Sharad Pratap for this update.

33.2.9. New div around the entire page in HTMP export

A new <div id=content> is wrapped around the entire page, everything that is inside <body>.

This means that you need to update org-info.js (if you have a local copy). It will be safe todo so, because the new org-info.js still handles older pages correctly. Thanks to Sebastian Rose for making these changes so quicky.

33.2.10. Clustering characters for undo

When typing in Org mode, undo will now remove up to 20 characters at a time with a single undo command. This is how things work normally in Emacs, but the special binding of characters in Org mode made this impossible until now.

Thanks to Martin Pohlack for a patch which mimicks the behavior of the Emacs command loop for the Org version of self-insert-command. Note that this will not work in headlines and tables because typing there will do a lot of extra work.

There might be a small typing performance hit resulting from this change - please report in the mailing list if this is noticeable and annoying.

33.2.11. Separate settings for special C-a and C-e

The variable org-special-ctrl-a/e now allows separate settings for C-a and C-e. For example

(setq org-special-ctrl-a/e '(reversed . t))

Thanks to Alan Davis for this proposal.

33.2.12. orgstruct++-mode improvements

In addition to orgstruct-mode which allows to use some Org mode structure commands in other major modes, there is a more invasive version of this mode: orgstruct++-mode. This mode will import all paragraph and line wrapping variables into the major mode, so that, for example, during typing the auto-fill wrapping of items will work just like in Org mode. This change is not reversible, so turning off orgstruct++-mode will not remove these settings again. orgstruct++-mode is most useful in text modes like message-mode or magit-log-edit-mode. Furthermore, orgstruct++-mode will recognize plain list context not only in the first line of an item, but also further down, so that M-RET will correctly insert new items.

Thanks to Austin Frank for requesting some of these changes.

33.2.13. Promotion and demotion works for regions now

M-right and M-left now do demote and promote all headlines in an active region.

33.2.14. Match syntax for tags/properties is now described in a single place

The manual chapters about tags and about properties now only refer to the section about agenda views, where the general syntax of tag/property matches is described.

33.2.15. Macro replacement

A string like {{{ title }}} will be replaced by the title of the document, {{{ email }}} by the email setting of the author and similarly for other export settings given in #+... lines. In addition to that, you can define an arbitrary number of macros, for example:

#+MACRO: myaddress 41 Onestreet, 12345 New York, NY
...
my address is {{{myaddress}}}, see you there.

Macro replacement is the very first thing that happens during export, and macros will be replaced even in source code and other protected regions.

33.2.16. New reload command, with keyboard access

There is now a special command to reload all Org Lisp files, so that you can stay in your Emacs session while pulling and compiling changes to Org. The command to reload the compiled files (if available) is C-c C-x r. If no compiled files are found, uncompiled ones will be loaded. If you want to force loading of uncompiled code (great for producing backtraces), use a prefix arg: C-u C-c C-x r. Both commands are available in the menu as well.

This new command was inspired by one written earlier by Bernt Hansen.

33.2.17. Faces for priority cookies can now be set freely

The new variable org-priority-faces can be used to set faces for each priority.

33.2.18. New key for creating tags/property sparse trees

The key to produce a sparse tree matching tags and properties is now C-c / m instead of C-c a T. This is more consistent with the C-c a m key for the corresponding agenda view. C-c / T will still work for now, but it is no longer advertised in the documentation and may go away at any time in the future.

33.2.19. IDs in HTML have "ID-" prefix when generated by uuidgen

uuidgen generates IDs that often start with a number, not a letter. However, IDs and names in XHTML must start with a letter. Therefore, IDs in HTML files will now get an "ID-" prefix if they have been generated by uuidgen. This means that id links from one file to another may stop working until all files have been exported again, so that both links and targets have the new prefix.

33.2.20. In agenda, only priority cookies get the special face

So far, an entire task would get a special face when org-agenda-fontify-priorities was set. Now, the default value for this variable is the symbol cookies, which means that on the cookie is fontified. Set it to t if you want the entire task headline to be fontified.

33.2.21. Turning off time-of-day search in headline

Some people like to put a creation time stamp into a headline and then get confused if the time-of-day found in there shows up as the time-of-day of the deadline/scheduling entry for this headline. The reason for this is that Org searches the headline for a free-format time when trying to sort the entry into the agenda, and that search accidentally finds the time in the creation time stamp or something else that happens to look like a time. If this is more painful than useful for you, configure the new variable org-agenda-search-headline-for-time.

34. Version 6.23

34.1. Overview

  • Capture state change notes into a drawer
  • Clock lines are now captured into the LOGBOOK drawer as well
  • Added org-R.el to contrib directory
  • Allow individual formatting of each TODO keyword in HTML export
  • New hooks for add-ons to tap into context-sensitive commands
  • Publishing files irrespective of extension
  • New variable index in the manual
  • The ORDERED property also influences checkboxes
  • The ORDERED property can be tracked with a tag
  • You may now specify line breaks in the fast tags interface
  • When a TODO is blocked by checkboxes, keep it visible in agenda
  • LaTeX can import Org's in-buffer definitions for TITLE, EMAIL etc.

34.2. Incompatible changes

  • CLOCK lines will now be captured into the LOGBOOK drawer. See below for details.

34.3. Details

34.3.1. Capture state change notes into a drawer

State change notes can now be captured into a drawer LOGBOOK, to keep the entry tidy. If this is what you want, you will need this configuration:

(setq org-log-into-drawer "LOGBOOK")

Thanks to Wanrong Lin for this proposal.

34.3.2. Clock lines are now captured into the LOGBOOK drawer as well

The CLOCK drawer will be abandoned, clock lines will now also end up in a drawer LOGBOOK. The reason for this is that it's a bit useless to have two different drawers for state change notes and clock lines. If you wish to keep the old way, use

(setq org-clock-into-drawer "CLOCK")

34.3.3. Added org-R.el to contrib directory

Dan Davison has contributed org-R.el which is now in the contrib directory. Org-R performs numerical computations and generates graphics. Data can come from org tables, or from csv files; numerical output can be stored in the org buffer as org tables, and links are created to files containing graphical output. Although, behind the scenes, it uses R, you do not need to know anything about R. Common operations, such as tabulating discrete values in a column of an org table, are available "off the shelf" by specifying options on lines starting with #+R:. However, you can also provide raw R code to be evaluated. The documentation is currently the worg tutorial at https://orgmode.org/worg/org-tutorials/org-R/org-R.php

Thanks to Dan for this great contribution.

34.3.4. Allow individual formatting of TODO keyword and tags in HTML export

TODO keywords in HTML export have the CSS class todo or done. Tags have the CSS class tag. In addition to this, each keyword has now itself as class, so you could do this in your CSS file:

.todo { font-weight:bold; }
.done { font-weight:bold; }
.TODO { color:red; }
.WAITING { color:orange; }
.DONE { color:green; }

If any of your keywords causes conflicts with CSS classes used for different purposes (for example a tag "title" would cause a conflict with the class used for formatting the document title), then you can use the variables org-export-html-tag-class-prefix and org-export-html-todo-kwd-class-prefix to define prefixes for the class names for keywords, for example "kwd-".

Thanks to Wanrong Lin for this request, and to Sebastian Rose for help with the implementation.

34.3.5. New hooks for add-ons to tap into context-sensitive commands

Some commands in Org are context-sensitive, they will execute different functions depending on context. The most important example is of course C-c C-c, but also the M-cursor keys fall into this category.

Org has now a system of hooks that can be used by add-on packages to install their own functionality into these keys. See the docstring of org-ctrl-c-ctrl-c-hook for details. The other hooks are named like org-metaleft-hook or org-shiftmetaright-hook.

34.3.6. Publishing files irrespective of extension

If you set the :base-extension property for a publishing project to the symbol any, all files in the directory will be published, irrespective of extension.

Thanks to Richard Klinda for a patch to this effect.

34.3.7. New variable index in the manual

A new index in the manual lists all variables mentioned in the manual, about 200 variables in total.

34.3.8. The ORDERED property also influences checkboxes

When an entry has the ORDERED property set, checkboxes in the entry must be completed in order. This was already the case for children TODO items, now it also applies for checkboxes.

Thanks to Rainer Stengele for this proposal.

34.3.9. The ORDERED property can be tracked with a tag

The ORDERED property is used to flag an entry so that subtasks (both children TODO items and checkboxes) must be completed in order. This property is most easily toggled with the command C-c C-x o. A property was chosen for this functionality, because this should be a behavior local to the current task, not inherited like tags. However, properties are normally invisible. If you would like visual feedback on the state of this property, configure the variable org-track-ordered-property-with-tag. If you then use C-c C-x o to toggle the property, a tag will be toggled as well, for visual feedback.

Note that the tag itself has no meaning for the behavior of TODO items and checkboxes, and that changing the tag with the usual tag commands will not influence the property and therefore the behavior of TODO and checkbox commands.

34.3.10. You may now specify line breaks in the fast tags interface

Up to now, the fast tags interface tried to lump as many tags as possible into a single line, with the exception that groups would always be on a line by themselves.

Now, if you use several lines to define your tags, like

#+TAGS: aa(a) bb(b) cc(c)
#+TAGS: dd(d) ee(e) ff(f)

then there will also be a line break after the "cc" tag in the fast tag selection interface. You may also write

#+TAGS: aa(a) bb(b) cc(c) \n dd(d) ee(e) ff(f)

to achieve the same effect, and you can use \n several times in order to produce empty lines. In org-tag-alist, newlines are represented as (:newline).

Thanks to Christopher Suckling for a patch to this effect.

34.3.11. When a TODO is blocked by checkboxes, keep it visible in agenda

When the variable org-agenda-dim-blocked-tasks is set to invisible, tasks that are blocked will not be visible in the agenda. If the blocking is due to child TODO entries, this does make sense because the children themselves will show up in the TODO list.

However, as John Rakestraw has pointed out, if the blocking is done by checkboxes, no trace of these subtasks is left. Therefore, when the blocking is done by checkboxes, we now overrule the invisible setting and replace it with mere dimming of the task.

34.3.12. LaTeX can import Org's in-buffer definitions for TITLE, EMAIL etc.

If you configure org-export-latex-import-inbuffer-stuff, in-buffer definitions like #+TITLE will be made available in the LaTeX file as \orgTITLE.

This was a request by Russel Adams.

35. Version 6.22

35.1. Details

35.1.1. org-choose.el by Tom Breton is now included

Org-choose helps documenting a decision-making process by using TODO keywords for different degrees of chosenness, and by automatically keeping a set of alternatives in a consistent state.

Documentation for org-choose.el is available here.

This package inserts itself into Org using hooks, so if other people would like to do interesting stuff with TODO keywords for special purposes, looking at Tom's code might be a good way to start.

Thanks to Tom for this interesting contribution!

35.1.2. orgmode.org and Worg css works now better on IE

Thanks to Sebastian Rose for making these changes.

35.1.3. When exporting a subtree, headline levels are now relative to parent

This was reported as a bug by William Henney and is fixed now.

35.1.4. Inactive dates in tables can be used for sorting.

When sorting table fields or entries by date, Org first tries to find an active date, and, if none exist, uses a passive date if present.

This was a request by Hsui-Khuen Tang

35.1.5. The default for org-return-follows-link is back to nil

Setting it to t violates Emacs rules to some extent. The internal implementation of this has been improved, so setting it to t should now be pretty stable.

35.1.6. Automatic scheduling of siblings with org-depend.el

The sibling of a DONE task can now automatically be scheduled.

This was a patch by Andrew Hyatt.

35.1.7. New skipping conditions

The functions org-agenda-skip-entry-if and org-agenda-skip-subtree-if now accept timestamp and nottimestamp as additional conditions.

This was in response to a request by Saurabh Agrawal.

36. Version 6.21

36.1. Details

36.1.1. Changes to some default values of variables:

Here are the new default values:

(setq org-return-follows-link t)

(setq org-use-fast-todo-selection t)

(setq org-yank-adjusted-subtrees nil)

(setq org-tags-column -77)

(setq org-agenda-sorting-strategy
     '((agenda time-up priority-down category-keep)
        (todo time-up priority-down category-keep)
        (tags time-up priority-down category-keep)
        (search category-keep)))

36.1.2. Final cleanup for Emacs 21.1 pretest

37. Version 6.20

37.1. Details

37.1.1. Support for simple TODO dependencies

John Wiegley's code for enforcing simple TODO dependencies has been integrated into Org mode. Thanks John!

The structure of Org files (hierarchy and lists) makes it easy to define TODO dependencies. A parent TODO task should not be marked DONE until all subtasks (defined as children tasks) are marked as DONE. And sometimes there is a logical sequence to a number of (sub)tasks, so that one task cannot be acted upon before all siblings above it are done. If you customize the variable org-enforce-todo-dependencies, Org will block entries from changing state while they have children that are not DONE. Furthermore, if an entry has a property ORDERED, each of its children will be blocked until all earlier siblings are marked DONE. Here is an example:

* TODO Blocked until (two) is done
** DONE one
** TODO two

* Parent
  :PROPERTIES:
  :ORDERED: t
  :END:
** TODO a
** TODO b, needs to wait for (a)
** TODO c, needs to wait for (a) and (b)

The command C-c C-x o toggles the value of the ORDERED property.

The variable org-agenda-dim-blocked-tasks controls how blocked entries should appear in the agenda, where they can be dimmed or even made invisible.

Furthermore, you can use the variable org-enforce-todo-checkbox-dependencies to block TODO entries from switching to DONE while any checkboxes are unchecked in the entry.

37.1.2. Support for shift-selection in Emacs 23

Customize the variable org-support-shift-select to use S-cursor key for selecting text. Make sure that you carefully read the docstring of that variable first.

37.1.3. Adding and removing checkboxes from many lines

The command C-c C-x C-b normally toggles checkbox status in the current line, or in all lines in the region. With prefix argument it now either adds or removes the checkbox.

This was a requested by Daniel Clemente.

38. Version 6.19

38.1. Overview

  • Improved behavior of conversion commands C-c - and C-c *
  • Table formulas may now reference fields in other tables
  • A final hline is imagined in each table, for the sake of references
  • A tags-todo search can now ignore timestamped items
  • \par can be used to force a paragraph break, also in footnotes

38.2. Details

38.2.1. Improved behavior of conversion commands C-c - and C-c *

The conversion commands C-c - and C-c * are now better behaved and therefore more useful, I hope.

If there is an active region, these commands will act on the region, otherwise on the current line.

C-c -
This command turns headings or normal lines into items, or items into normal lines. When there is a region, everything depends on the first line of the region:
  • if it is a item, turn all items in the region into normal lines.
  • if it is a headline, turn all headlines in the region into items.
  • if it is a normal line, turn all lines into items.
  • special case: if there is no active region and the current line is an item, cycle the bullet type of the current list.
C-c *
This command turns items and normal lines into headings, or headings into normal lines. When there is a region, everything depends on the first line of the region:
  • if it is a item, turn all items in the region into headlines.
  • if it is a headline, turn all headlines in the region into normal lines.
  • if it is a normal line, turn all lines into headlines.

38.2.2. Table formulas may now reference fields in other tables

You may now reference constants, fields and ranges from a different table, either in the current file or even in a different file. The syntax is

remote(NAME-OR-ID,REF)

where NAME can be the name of a table in the current file as set by a #+TBLNAME: NAME line before the table. It can also be the ID of an entry, even in a different file, and the reference then refers to the first table in that entry. REF is an absolute field or range reference, valid in the referenced table. Note that since there is no "current filed" for the remote table, all row and column references must be absolute, not relative.

38.2.3. A final hline is imagined in each table, for the sake of references

Even if a table does not end with a hline (mine never do because I think it is not pretty), for the sake of references you can assume there is one. So in the following table

| a | b |
|---+---|
| 1 | 2 |
| 3 | 4 |

a reference like @I$1..@II$2 will now work.

38.2.4. A tags-todo search can now ignore timestamped items

The variables org-agenda-todo-ignore-with-date, org-agenda-todo-ignore-with-date, and org-agenda-todo-ignore-with-date make it possible to exclude TODO entries which have this kind of planning info associated with them. This is most useful for people who schedule everything, and who use the TODO list mainly to find things that are not yet scheduled. Thomas Morgan pointed out that also the tags-todo search may serve exactly this purpose, and that it might be good to have a way to make these variables also apply to the tags-todo search. I can see that, but could not convince myself to make this the default. A new variable must be set to make this happen: org-agenda-tags-todo-honor-ignore-options.

38.2.5. \par can be used to force a paragraph break, also in footnotes

The LaTeX idiom \par will insert a paragraph break at that location. Normally you would simply leave an empty line to get such a break, but this is useful for footnotes whose definitions may not contain empty lines.

39. Version 6.18

39.1. Incompatible changes

39.1.1. Short examples must have a space after the colon

Short literal examples can be created by preceding lines with a colon. Such lines must now have a space after the colon. I believe this is already general practice, but now it must be like this. The only exception are lines that are empty except for the colon.

39.2. Details

39.2.1. Include files can now also process switches

The example and src switches like -n can now also be added to include file statements:

#+INCLUDE "~/.emacs" src emacs-lisp -n -r

Thanks to Manish for pointing out that this was not yet supported.

39.2.2. Examples can be exported to HTML as text areas

You can now specify a -t switch to an example or src block, to make it export to HTML as a text area. To change the defaults for height (number of lines in the example) and width of this area (80), use the -h and -w switches.

Thanks to Ulf Stegemann for driving this development.

39.2.3. LaTeXCLASS can be given as a property

When exporting a single subtree by selecting it as a region before export, the LaTeX class for the export will be taken from the LaTeX_CLASS property of the entry if present.

Thanks to Robert Goldman for this request.

39.2.4. Better handling of inlined images in different backends

Two new variables govern which kind of files can be inlined during export. These are org-export-html-inline-image-extensions and org-export-latex-inline-image-extensions. Remember that links are turned into an inline image if they are a pure link with no description. HTML files can inline .png, .jpg, and .gif files, while LaTeX files, when processed with pdflatex, can inline .png, .jpg, and .pdf files. These also represent the default settings for the new variables. Note that this means that pure links to .pdf files will be inlined - to avoid this for a particular link, make sure that the link has a description part which is not equal to the link part.

39.2.5. Links by ID now continue to work in HTML exported files

If you make links by ID, these links will now still work in HTML exported files, provided that you keep the relative path from link to target file the same.

Thanks to Friedrich Delgado Friedrichs for pushing this over the line.

39.2.6. The relative timer can be paused

The new command `C-c C-x ,' will pause the relative timer. When the relative timer is running, its value will be shown in the mode line. To get rid of this display, you need to really stop the timer with `C-u C-c C-x ,'.

Thanks to Alan Davis for driving this change.

39.2.7. The attachment directory may now be chosen by the user

Instead of using the automatic, unique directory related to the entry ID, you can also use a chosen directory for the attachments of an entry. This directory is specified by the ATTACHDIR property. You can use `C-c C-a s' to set this property.

Thanks to Jason Jackson for this proposal.

39.2.8. You can use a single attachment directory for a subtree

By setting the property ATTACHDIRINHERIT, you can now tell Org that children of the entry should use the same directory for attachments, unless a child explicitly defines its own directory with the ATTACHDIR property. You can use the command `C-c C-a i' to set this property in an entry.

40. Version 6.17

40.1. Overview

  • Footnote support
  • Line numbers and references in literal examples
  • New hooks for export preprocessing
  • Capture column view into a different file

40.2. Details

40.2.1. Footnote support

Org mode now directly supports the creation of footnotes. In contrast to the footnote.el package, Org mode's footnotes are designed for work on a larger document, not only for one-off documents like emails. The basic syntax is similar to the one used by footnote.el, i.e. a footnote is defined in a paragraph that is started by a footnote marker in square brackets in column 0, no indentation allowed. The footnote reference is simply the marker in square brackets inside text. For example:

The Org homepage[fn:1] now looks a lot better than it used to.
...
[fn:1] The link is: https://orgmode.org

Org mode extends the number-based syntax to named footnotes and optional inline definition. Using plain numbers as markers is supported for backward compatibility, but not encouraged because of possible conflicts with LaTeX syntax. Here are the valid references:

[1]
A plain numeric footnote marker.
[fn:name]
A named footnote reference, where `name' is a unique label word or, for simplicity of automatic creation, a number.
[fn:: This is the inline definition of this footnote]
A LaTeX-like anonymous footnote where the definition is given directly at the reference point.
[fn:name: a definition]
An inline definition of a footnote, which also specifies a name for the note. Since Org allows multiple references to the same note, you can then use use [fn:name] to create additional references.

Footnote labels can be created automatically, or you create names yourself. This is handled by the variable org-footnote-auto-label and its corresponding #+STARTUP keywords, see the docstring of that variable for details.

The following command handles footnotes:

C-c C-x f
The footnote action command. When the cursor is on a footnote reference, jump to the definition. When it is at a definition, jump to the (first) reference. Otherwise, create a new footnote. Depending on the variable `org-footnote-define-inline' (with associated #+STARTUP options fninline and nofninline), the definitions will be placed right into the text as part of the reference, or separately into the location determined by the variable org-footnote-section. When this command is called with a prefix argument, a menu of additional options is offered:
s
Sort the footnote definitions by reference sequence. During editing, Org makes no effort to sort footnote definitions into a particular sequence. If you want them sorted, use this command, which will also move entries according to org-footnote-section.
n
Normalize the footnotes by collecting all definitions (including inline definitions) into a special section, and then numbering them in sequence. The references will then also be numbers. This is meant to be the final step before finishing a document (e.g. sending off an email). The exporters do this automatically, and so could something like `message-send-hook'.
d
Delete the footnote at point, and all references to it.
C-c C-c
If the cursor is on a footnote reference, jump to the definition. If it is a the definition, jump back to the reference. When called with a prefix argument at either location, offer the same menu as `C-u C-c C-x f'.
C-c C-o or mouse-1/2
Footnote labels are also links to the corresponding definition/reference, and you can use the usual commands to follow these links.

Org mode's footnote support is designed so that it should also work in buffers that are not in Org mode, for example in email messages. Just bind org-footnote-action to a global key like C-c f.

The main trigger for this development came from a hook function written by Paul Rivier, to implement named footnotes and to convert them to numbered ones before export. Thanks, Paul!

Thanks also to Scot Becker for a thoughtful post bringing this subject back onto the discussion table, and to Matt Lundin for the idea of named footnotes and his prompt testing of the new features.

40.2.2. Line numbers and references in literal examples

Literal examples introduced with #+BEGIN_EXAMPLE or #+BEGIN_SRC do now allow optional line numbering in the example. Furthermore, links to specific code lines are supported, greatly increasing Org mode's utility for writing tutorials and other similar documents.

Code references use special labels embedded directly into the source code. Such labels look like "(ref:name)" and must be unique within a document. Org mode links with "(name)" in the link part will be correctly interpreted, both while working with an Org file (internal links), and while exporting to the different backends. Line numbering and code references are supported for all three major backends, HTML, LaTeX, and ASCII. In the HTML backend, hovering the mouse over a link to a source line will remote-highlight the referenced code line.

The options for the BEGIN lines are:

-n
Number the lines in the example
+n
Like -n, but continue numbering from where the previous example left off.
-r
Remove the coderef cookies from the example, and replace links to this reference with line numbers. This option takes only effect if either -n or +n are given as well. If -r is not given, coderefs simply use the label name.
-l "fmt"
Define a local format for coderef labels, see the variable org-coderef-label-format for details. Use this of the default syntax causes conflicts with the code in the code snippet you are using.

Here is an example:

#+begin_src emacs-lisp -n -r
(defmacro org-unmodified (&rest body) (def)
  "Execute body without changing `buffer-modified-p'."
  `(set-buffer-modified-p (back)
    (prog1 (buffer-modified-p) ,@body)))
#+end_src

[[(def)][Line (def)]] contains the macro name.  Later at line
[[(back)]], backquoting is used.

When exported, this is translated to:

1: (defmacro org-unmodified (&rest body)
2:   "Execute body without changing `buffer-modified-p'."
3:   `(set-buffer-modified-p
4:     (prog1 (buffer-modified-p) ,@body)))

Line 2 contains the macro name. Later at line 4, backquoting is used.

Thanks to Ilya Shlyakhter for proposing this feature set. Thanks to Sebastian Rose for the key Javascript element that made the remote highlighting possible.

40.2.3. New hooks for export preprocessing

The export preprocessor now runs more hooks, to allow better-timed tweaking by user functions:

org-export-preprocess-hook
Pretty much the first thing in the preprocessor. But org-mode is already active in the preprocessing buffer.
org-export-preprocess-after-include-files-hook
This is run after the contents of included files have been inserted.
org-export-preprocess-after-tree-selection-hook
This is run after selection of trees to be exported has happened. This selection includes tags-based selection, as well as removal of commented and archived trees.
org-export-preprocess-before-backend-specifics-hook
Hook run before backend-specific functions are called during preprocessing.
org-export-preprocess-final-hook
Hook for preprocessing an export buffer. This is run as the last thing in the preprocessing buffer, just before returning the buffer string to the backend.

40.2.4. Capture column view into a different file

The :id parameter for the dynamic block capturing column view can now truly be an ID that will also be found in a different file. Also, it can be like file:path/to/file, to capture the global column view from a different file.

Thanks to Francois Lagarde for his report that IDs outside the current file would not work.

41. Version 6.16

Cleanup of many small bugs, and one new feature.

41.1. Details

41.1.1. References to last table row with special names

Fields in the last row of a table can now be referenced with $LR1, $LR2, etc. These references can appear both on the left hand side and right hand side of a formula.

42. Version 6.15f

This version reverses the introduction of @0 as a reference to the last rwo in a table, because of a conflict with the use of @0 for the current row.

43. Version 6.15

43.1. Overview

  • All known LaTeX export issues fixed
  • Captions and attributes for figures and tables.
  • Better implementation for entry IDs
  • Spreadsheet references to the last table line.
  • Old syntax for link attributes abandoned

43.2. Incompatible changes

43.2.1. Old syntax for link attributes abandoned

There used to be a syntax for setting link attributes for HTML export by enclosing the attributes into double braces and adding them to the link itself, like

[[./resources/img/a.jpg{{alt="an image"}}]]

This syntax is not longer supported, use instead

#+ATTR_HTML: alt="an image"
[[./resources/img/a.jpg]]

43.3. Details

43.3.1. All known LaTeX export issues fixed

All the remaining issues with the LaTeX exporter have hopefully been addressed in this release. In particular, this covers quoting of special characters in tables and problems with exporting files where the headline is in the first line, or with an active region.

43.3.2. Captions and attributes for figures and tables.

Tables, and Hyperlinks that represent inlined images, can now be equipped with additional information that will be used during export. The information will be taken from the following special lines in the buffer and apply to the first following table or link.

#+CAPTION:
The caption of the image or table. This string should be processed according to the export backend, but this is not yet done.
#+LABEL:
A label to identify the figure/table for cross references. For HTML export, this string will become the ID for the <div class="figure"> element that encapsulates the image tag and the caption. For LaTeX export, this string will be used as the argument of a \label{...} macro. These labels will be available for internal links like [[label][Table] ].
#+ATTRHTML:
Attributes for HTML export of image, to be added as attributes into the <img...> tag. This string will not be processed, so it should have immediately the right format.
#+ATTRLaTeX:
Attributes for LaTeX export of images and tables.
For images, this string is directly inserted into the optional argument of the \includegraphics[...]{file} command, to specify scaling, clipping and other options. This string will not be processed, so it should have immediately the right format, like width=5cm,angle=90.\\ For tables, this can currently contain the keyword longtable, to request typesetting of the table using the longtable package, which automatically distributes the table over several pages if needed. Also, the attributes line may contain an alignment string for the tabular environment, like longtable,align=l|lrl

For LaTeX export, if either a caption or a label is given, the element will be exported as a float, i.e. wrapped into a figure or table environment.

43.3.3. Better implementation for entry IDs

Unique identifiers for entries can now be used more efficiently. Internally, a hash array has replaced the alist used so far to keep track of the files in which an ID is defined. This makes it quite fast to find an entry by ID.

There is a new link type which looks like this:

id:GLOBALLY-UNIQUE-IDENTIFIER

This link points to a specific entry. When you move the entry to a different file, for example if you move it to an archive file, the link will continue to work.

The file org-id.el contains an API that can be used to write code using these identifiers, including creating IDs and finding them wherever they are.

Org has its own method to create unique identifiers, but if the system has uuidgen command installed (Mac's and Linux systems generally do), it will be used by default (a change compared to the earlier implmentation, where you explicitdly had to opt for uuidgen). You can also select the method by hand, using the variable org-id-method.

If the ID system ever gets confused about where a certain ID is, it initiates a global scan of all agenda files with associated archives, all files previously known containing any IDs, and all currently visited Org mode files to rebuild the hash. You can also initiate this by hand: M-x org-id-update-id-locations. Running this command will also dump into the *Messages* buffer information about any duplicate IDs. These should not exist, and Org will never make the same ID twice, but if you copy an entry with its properties, duplicate IDs will inevitably be produced. Unfortunately, this is unavoidable in a plain text system that allows you to edit the text in arbitrary ways, and a portion of care on your side is needed to keep this system clean.

The hash is stored in the file ~/.emacs.d/.org-id-locations. This is also a change from previous versions where the file was ~/.org=id-locations. Therefore, you can remove this old file if you have it. I am not sure what will happen if the .emacs.d directory does not exists in your setup, but in modern Emacsen, I believe it should exist. If you do not want to use IDs across files, you can avoid the overhead with tracking IDs by customizing the variable org-id-track-globally. IDs can then still be used for links inside a single file.

IDs will also be used when you create a new link to an Org mode buffer. If you use org-store-link (normally at C-c l) inside en entry in an Org mode buffer, and ID property will be created if it does not exist, and the stored link will be an id: link. If you prefer the much less secure linking to headline text, you can configure the variable org-link-to-org-use-id. The default setting for this variable is create-if-interactive, meaning that an ID will be created when you store a link interactively, but not if you happen to be in an Org mode file while you create a remember note (which usually has a link to the place where you were when starting remember).

43.3.4. Spreadsheet references to the last table line.

You may now use @0 to reference the last dataline in a table in a stable way. This is useful in particular for automatically generated tables like the ones using org-collector.el by Eric Schulte.

44. Version 6.14

44.1. Overview

  • New relative timer to support timed notes
  • Special faces can be set for individual tags
  • The agenda shows now all tags, including inherited ones.
  • Exclude some tags from inheritance.
  • More special values for time comparisons in property searches
  • Control for exporting meta data
  • Cut and Paste with hot links from w3m to Org
  • LOCATION can be inherited for iCalendar export
  • Relative row references crossing hlines now throw an error

44.2. Incompatible Changes

44.2.1. Relative row references crossing hlines now throw an error

Relative row references in tables look like this: "@-4" which means the forth row above this one. These row references are not allowed to cross horizontal separator lines (hlines). So far, when a row reference violates this policy, Org would silently choose the field just next to the hline.

Tassilo Horn pointed out that this kind of hidden magic is actually confusing and may cause incorrect formulas, and I do agree. Therefore, trying to cross a hline with a relative reference will now throw an error.

If you need the old behavior, customize the variable org-table-error-on-row-ref-crossing-hline.

44.3. Details

44.3.1. New relative timer to support timed notes

Org now supports taking timed notes, useful for example while watching a video, or during a meeting which is also recorded.

C-c C-x .
Insert a relative time into the buffer. The first time you use this, the timer will be started. When called with a prefix argument, the timer is reset to 0.
C-c C-x -
Insert a description list item with the current relative time. With a prefix argument, first reset the timer to 0.
M-RET
Once the time list has been initiated, you can also use the normal item-creating command to insert the next timer item.
C-c C-x 0
Reset the timer without inserting anything into the buffer. By default, the timer is reset to 0. When called with a C-u prefix, reset the timer to specific starting offset. The user is prompted for the offset, with a default taken from a timer string at point, if any, So this can be used to restart taking notes after a break in the process. When called with a double prefix argument C-c C-u, change all timer strings in the active region by a certain amount. This can be used to fix timer strings if the timer was not started at exactly the right moment.

Thanks to Alan Dove, Adam Spiers, and Alan Davis for contributions to this idea.

44.3.2. Special faces can be set for individual tags

You may now use the variable org-tag-faces to define the face used for specific tags, much in the same way as you can do for TODO keywords.

Thanks to Samuel Wales for this proposal.

44.3.3. The agenda shows now all tags, including inherited ones.

This request has come up often, most recently it was formulated by Tassilo Horn.

If you prefer the old behavior of only showing the local tags, customize the variable org-agenda-show-inherited-tags.

44.3.4. Exclude some tags from inheritance.

So far, the only way to select tags for inheritance was to allow it for all tags, or to do a positive selection using one of the more complex settings for `org-use-tag-inheritance'. It may actually be better to allow inheritance for all but a few tags, which was difficult to achieve with this methodology.

A new option, `org-tags-exclude-from-inheritance', allows to specify an exclusion list for inherited tags.

44.3.5. More special values for time comparisons in property searches

In addition to <now>, <today>, <yesterday>, and <tomorrow>, there are more special values accepted now in time comparisons in property searches: You may use strings like <+3d> or <-2w>, with units d, w, m, and y for day, week, month, and year, respectively

Thanks to Linday Todd for this proposal.

44.3.6. Control for exporting meta data

All the metadata in a headline, i.e. the TODO keyword, the priority cookie, and the tags, can now be excluded from export with appropriate options:

Variable Publishing property OPTIONS switch
org-export-with-todo-keywords :todo-keywords todo:
org-export-with-tags :tags tags:
org-export-with-priority :priority pri:

44.3.7. Cut and Paste with hot links from w3m to Org

You can now use the key C-c C-x M-w in a w3m buffer with HTML content to copy either the region or the entire file in a special way. When you yank this text back into an Org mode buffer, all links from the w3m buffer will continue to work under Org mode.

For this to work you need to load the new file org-w3m.el. Please check your org-modules variable to make sure that this is turned on.

Thanks for Richard Riley for the idea and to Andy Stewart for the implementation.

44.3.8. LOCATION can be inherited for iCalendar export

The LOCATION property can now be inherited during iCalendar export if you configure org-use-property-inheritance like this:

(setq org-use-property-inheritance '("LOCATION"))

45. Version 6.13

45.1. Overview

  • Keybindings in Remember buffers can be configured
  • Support for ido completion
  • New face for date lines in agenda column view
  • Invisible targets become now anchors in headlines.
  • New contributed file org-exp-blocks.el
  • New contributed file org-eval-light.el
  • Link translation
  • BBDB links may use regular expressions.
  • Link abbreviations can use %h to insert a url-encoded target value
  • Improved XHTML compliance

45.2. Details

45.2.1. Keybindings in Remember buffers can be configured

The remember buffers created with Org's extensions are in Org mode, which is nice to prepare snippets that will actually be stored in Org mode files. However, this makes it hard to configure key bindings without modifying the Org mode keymap. There is now a minor mode active in these buffers, `org-remember-mode', and its keymap org-remember-mode-map can be used for key bindings. By default, this map only contains the bindings for C-c C-c to store the note, and C-c C-k to abort it. Use `org-remember-mode-hook' to define your own bindings like

(add-hook
 'org-remember-mode-hook
 (lambda ()
   (define-key org-remember-mode-map
     "\C-x\C-s" 'org-remember-finalize)))

If you wish, you can also use this to free the C-c C-c binding (by binding this key to nil in the minor mode map), so that you can use C-c C-c again to set tags.

This modification is based on a request by Tim O'Callaghan.

45.2.2. Support for ido completion

You can now get the completion interface from ido.el for many of Org's internal completion commands by turning on the variable org-completion-use-ido. ido-mode must also be active before you can use this.

This change is based upon a request by Samuel Wales.

45.2.3. New face for date lines in agenda column view

When column view is active in the agenda, and when you have summarizing properties, the date lines become normal column lines and the separation between different days becomes harder to see. If this bothers you, you can now customize the face org-agenda-column-dateline.

This is based on a request by George Pearson.

45.2.4. Invisible targets become now anchors in headlines.

These anchors can be used to jump to a directly with an HTML link, just like the sec-xxx IDs. For example, the following will make a http link //domain/path-to-my-file.html#dummy work:

# <<dummy>>
*** a headline

This is based on a request by Matt Lundin.

45.2.5. New contributed file org-exp-blocks.el

This new file implements special export behavior of user-defined blocks. The currently supported blocks are

comment
Comment blocks with author-specific markup
ditaa
conversion of ASCII art into pretty png files using Stathis Sideris' ditaa.jar program
dot
creation of graphs in the dot language
R
Sweave type exporting using the R program

For more details and examples, see the file commentary in org-exp-blocks.el.

Kudos to Eric Schulte for this new functionality, after org-plot.el already his second major contribution. Thanks to Stathis for this excellent program, and for allowing us to bundle it with Org mode.

45.2.6. New contributed file org-eval-light.el

This module gives control over execution Emacs Lisp code blocks included in a file.

Thanks to Eric Schulte also for this file.

45.2.7. Link translation

You can now configure Org to understand many links created with the Emacs Planner package, so you can cut text from planner pages and paste them into Org mode files without having to re-write the links. Among other things, this means that the command org-open-at-point-global which follows links not only in Org mode, but in arbitrary files like source code files etc, will work also with links created by planner. The following customization is needed to make all of this work

(setq org-link-translation-function
      'org-translate-link-from-planner)

I guess an inverse translator could be written and integrated into Planner.

45.2.8. BBDB links may use regular expressions.

This did work all along, but only now I have documented it.

45.2.9. yank-pop works again after yanking an outline tree

Samuel Wales had noticed that org-yank did mess up this functionality. Now you can use yank-pop again, the only restriction is that the so-yanked text will not be pro/demoted or folded.

45.2.10. Link abbreviations can use %h to insert a url-encoded target value

Thanks to Steve Purcell for a patch to this effect.

45.2.11. Improved XHTML compliance

Thanks to Sebastian Rose for pushing this.

45.2.12. Many bug fixes again.

46. Version 6.12

46.1. Overview

  • A region of entries can now be refiled with a single command
  • Fine-tuning the behavior of `org-yank'
  • Formulas for clocktables
  • Better implementation of footnotes for HTML export
  • More languages for HTML export.

46.2. Details

46.2.1. A region of entries can now be refiled with a single command

With transient-make-mode active (zmacs-regions under XEmacs), you can now select a region of entries and refile them all with a single C-c C-w command.

Thanks to Samuel Wales for this useful proposal.

46.2.2. Fine-tuning the behavior of org-yank

The behavior of Org's yanking command has been further fine-tuned in order to avoid some of the small annoyances this command caused.

  • Calling org-yank with a prefix arg will stop any special treatment and directly pass through to the normal yank command. Therefore, you can now force a normal yank with C-u C-y.
  • Subtrees will only be folded after a yank if doing so will now swallow any non-white characters after the yanked text. This is, I think a really important change to make the command work more sanely.

46.2.3. Formulas for clocktables

You can now add formulas to a clock table, either by hand, or with a :formula parameter. These formulas can be used to create additional columns with further analysis of the measured times.

Thanks to Jurgen Defurne for triggering this addition.

46.2.4. Better implementation of footnotes for HTML export

The footnote export in 6.11 really was not good enough. Now it works fine. If you have customized footnote-section-tag, make sure that your customization is matched by footnote-section-tag-regexp.

Thanks to Sebastian Rose for pushing this change.

46.2.5. More languages for HTML export.

More languages are supported during HTML export. This is only relevant for the few special words Org inserts, like "Table of Contents", or "Footnotes". Also the encoding issues with this feature seem to be solved now.

Thanks to Sebastian Rose for pushing me to fix the encoding problems.

47. Version 6.11

47.1. Overview

  • Yanking subtree with C-y now adjusts the tree level
  • State changes can now be shown in the log mode in the agenda
  • Footnote in HTML export are now collected at the end of the document
  • HTML export now validates again as XHTML
  • The clock can now be resumed after exiting and re-starting Emacs
  • Clock-related data can be saved and resumed across Emacs sessions
  • Following file links can now use C-u C-u to force use of an external app
  • Inserting absolute files names now abbreviates links with "~"
  • Links to attachment files
  • Completed repeated tasks listed briefly in agenda
  • Remove buffers created during publishing are removed

47.2. Details

47.2.1. Yanking subtree with C-y now adjusts the tree level

When yanking a cut/copied subtree or a series of trees, the normal yank key C-y now adjusts the level of the tree to make it fit into the current outline position, without losing its identity, and without swallowing other subtrees.

This uses the command org-past-subtree. An additional change in that command has been implemented: Normally, this command picks the right outline level from the surrounding visible headlines, and uses the smaller one. So if the cursor is between a level 4 and a level 3 headline, the tree will be pasted as level 3. If the cursor is actually at the beginning of a headline, the level of that headline will be used. For example, lets say you have a tree like this:

* Level one
** Level two
(1)
(2)* Level one again

with (1) and (2) indicating possible cursor positions for the insertion. When at (1), the tree will be pasted as level 2. When at (2), it will be pasted as level 1.

If you do not want C-y to behave like this, configure the variable org-yank-adjusted-subtrees.

Thanks to Samuel Wales for this idea and a partial implementation.

47.2.2. State changes can now be shown in the log mode in the agenda

If you configure the variable org-agenda-log-mode-items, you can now request that all logged state changes be included in the agenda when log mode is active. If you find this too much for normal applications, you can also temporarily request the inclusion of state changes by pressing C-u l in the agenda.

This was a request by Hsiu-Khuern Tang.

You can also press `C-u C-u l' to get only log items in the agenda, withour any timestamps/deadlines etc.

47.2.3. Footnote in HTML export are now collected at the end of the document

Previously, footnotes would be left in the document where they are defined, now they are all collected and put into a special <div> at the end of the document.

Thanks to Sebastian Rose for this request.

47.2.4. HTML export now validates again as XHTML.

Thanks to Sebastian Rose for pushing this cleanup.

47.2.5. The clock can now be resumed after exiting and re-starting Emacs

If the option org-clock-in-resume is t, and the first clock line in an entry is unclosed, clocking into that task resumes the clock from that time.

Thanks to James TD Smith for a patch to this effect.

47.2.6. Clock-related data can be saved and resumed across Emacs sessions

The data saved include the contents of org-clock-history, and the running clock, if there is one.

To use this, you will need to add to your .emacs

(setq org-clock-persist t)
(setq org-clock-in-resume t)
(org-clock-persistence-insinuate)

Thanks to James TD Smith for a patch to this effect.

47.2.7. Following file links can now use C-u C-u to force use of an external app.

So far you could only bypass your setup in `org-file-apps' and force opening a file link in Emacs by using a C-u prefix arg with C-c C-o. Now you can call C-u C-u C-c C-o to force an external application. Which external application depends on your system. On Mac OS X and Windows, open is used. On a GNU/Linux system, the mailcap settings are used.

This was a proposal by Samuel Wales.

47.2.8. Inserting absolute files names now abbreviates links with "~".

Inserting file links with C-u C-c C-l was buggy if the setting of `org-link-file-path-type' was `adaptive' (the default). Absolute file paths were not abbreviated relative to the users home directory. This bug has been fixed.

Thanks to Matt Lundin for the report.

47.2.9. Links to attachment files

Even though one of the purposes of entry attachments was to reduce the number of links in an entry, one might still want to have the occasional link to one of those files. You can now use link abbreviations to set up a special link type that points to attachments in the current entry. Note that such links will only work from within the same entry that has the attachment, because the directory path is entry specific. Here is the setup you need:

(setq org-link-abbrev-alist '(("att" . org-attach-expand-link)))

After this, a link like this will work

[[att:some-attached-file.txt]]

This was a proposal by Lindsay Todd.

47.2.10. Completed repeated tasks listed briefly in agenda

When a repeating task, listed in the daily/weekly agenda under today's date, is completed from the agenda, it is listed as DONE in the agenda until the next update happens. After the next update, the task will have disappeared, of course, because the new date is no longer today.

47.2.11. Remove buffers created during publishing are removed

Buffers that are created during publishing are now deleted when the publishing is over. At least I hope it works like this.

48. Version 6.10

48.1. Overview

  • Secondary agenda filtering is becoming a killer feature
  • Setting tags has now its own binding, C-c C-q
  • Todo state changes can trigger tag changes
  • C-RET will now always insert a new headline, never an item.
  • Customize org-mouse.el feature set to free up mouse events
  • New commands for export all the way to PDF (through LaTeX)
  • Some bug fixed for LaTeX export, more bugs remain.

48.2. Details

48.2.1. Enhancements to secondary agenda filtering

This is, I believe, becoming a killer feature. It allows you to define fewer and more general custom agenda commands, and then to do the final narrowing to specific tasks you are looking for very quickly, much faster than calling a new agenda command.

If you have not tries this yet, you should!

  1. You can now refining the current filter by an additional criterion

    When filtering an existing agenda view with /, you can now narrow down the existing selection by an additional condition. Do do this, use \ instead of / to add the additional criterion. You can also press + or - after / to add a positive or negative condition. A condition can be a TAG, or an effort estimate limit, see below.

  2. It is now possible to filter for effort estimates

    This means to filter the agenda for the value of the Effort property. For this you should best set up global allowed values for effort estimates, with

    (setq org-global-properties
          '(("Effort_ALL" . "0 0:10 0:30 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00")))  
    

    You may then select effort limits with single keys in the filter. It works like this: After / or \, first select the operator which you want to use to compare effort estimates:

    <   Select entries with effort smaller than or equal to the limit
    >   Select entries with effort larger than or equal to the limit
    =   Select entries with effort equal to the limit
    

    After that, you can press a single digit number which is used as an index to the allowed effort estimates.

    If you do not use digits to fast-select tags, you can even skip the operator, which will then default to `org-agenda-filter-effort-default-operator', which is by default <.

    Thanks to Manish for the great idea to include fast effort filtering into the agenda filtering process.

  3. The mode line will show the active filter

    For example, if there is a filter in place that does select for HOME tags, against EMAIL tags, and for tasks with an estimated effort smaller than 30 minutes, the mode-line with show +HOME-EMAIL+<0:30

  4. The filter now persists when the agenda view is refreshed

    All normal refresh commands, including those that move the weekly agenda from one week to the next, now keep the current filter in place.

    You need to press / / to turn off the filter. However, when you run a new agenda command, for example going from the weekly agenda to the TODO list, the filter will be switched off.

48.2.2. Setting tags has now its own binding, C-c C-q

You can still use C-c C-c on a headline, but the new binding should be considered as the main binding for this command. The reasons for this change are:

  • Using C-c C-c for tags is really out of line with other uses of C-c C-c.
  • I hate it in Remember buffers when I try to set tags and I cannot, because C-c C-c exits the buffer :-(
  • C-c C-q will also work when the cursor is somewhere down in the entry, it does not have to be on the headline.

48.2.3. Todo state changes can trigger tag changes

The new option org-todo-state-tags-triggers can be used to define automatic changes to tags when a TODO state changes. For example, the setting

(setq org-todo-state-tags-triggers
      '((done ("Today" . nil) ("NEXT" . nil))
        ("WAITING" ("Today" . t))))

will make sure that any change to any of the DONE states will remove tags "Today" and "NEXT", while switching to the "WAITING" state will trigger the tag "Today" to be added.

I use this mostly to get rid of TODAY and NEXT tags which I apply to select an entry for execution in the near future, which I often prefer to specific time scheduling.

48.2.4. C-RET will now always insert a new headline, never an item.

The new headline is inserted after the current subtree.

Thanks to Peter Jones for patches to fine-tune this behavior.

48.2.5. Customize org-mouse.el feature set

There is a new variable org-mouse-features which gives you some control about what features of org-mouse you want to use. Turning off some of the feature will free up the corresponding mouse events, or will avoid activating special regions for mouse clicks. By default I have urned off the feature to use drag mouse events to move or promote/demote entries. You can of course turn them back on if you wish.

This variable may still change in the future, allowing more fine-grained control.

48.2.6. New commands for export to PDF

This is using LaTeX export, and then processes it to PDF using pdflatex.

C-c C-e p     process to PDF.
C-c C-e d     process to PDF, and open the file.

48.2.7. LaTeX export

  • \usepackage{graphicx} is now part of the standard class definitions.
  • Several bugs fixed, but definitely not all of them :-(

48.2.8. New option `org-log-state-notes-insert-after-drawers'

Set this to t if you want state change notes to be inserted after any initial drawers, i.e drawers the immediately follow the headline and the planning line (the one with DEADLINE/SCHEDULED/CLOSED information).

49. Version 6.09

49.1. Incompatible

49.1.1. org-file-apps now uses regular expressions, see below

49.2. Details

49.2.1. org-file-apps now uses regular repressions instead of extensions

Just like in auto-mode-alist, car's in the variable org-file-apps that are strings are now interpreted as regular expressions that are matched against a file name. So instead of "txt", you should now write "\\.txt\\'" to make sure the matching is done correctly (even though "txt" will be recognized and still be interpreted as an extension).

There is now a shortcut to get many file types visited by Emacs. If org-file-apps contains `(auto-mode . emacs)', then any files that are matched by `auto-mode-alist' will be visited in emacs.

49.2.2. Changes to the attachment system

  • The default method to attach a file is now to copy it instead of moving it.
  • You can modify the default method using the variable `org-attach-method'. I believe that most Unix people want to set it to `ln' to create hard links.
  • The keys c, m, and l specifically select copy, move, or link, respectively, as the attachment method for a file, overruling `org-attach-method'.
  • To create a new attachment as an Emacs buffer, you have not now use n instead of c.
  • The file list is now always retrieved from the directory itself, not from the "Attachments" property. We still keep this property by default, but you can turn it off, by customizing the variable org-attach-file-list-property.

50. Version 6.08

50.1. Incompatible changes

  • Changes in the structure of IDs, see here for details
  • C-c C-a has been redefined, see here for details.

50.2. Details

50.2.1. The default structure of IDs has changed

IDs created by Org have changed a bit:

  • By default, there is no prefix on the ID. There used to be an "Org" prefix, but I now think this is not necessary.
  • IDs use only lower-case letters, no upper-case letters anymore. The reason for this is that IDs are now also used as directory names for org-attach, and some systems do not distinguish upper and lower case in the file system.
  • The ID string derived from the current time is now reversed to become an ID. This assures that the first two letters of the ID change fast, so hat it makes sense to split them off to create subdirectories to balance load.
  • You can now set the `org-id-method' to `uuidgen' on systems which support it.

50.2.2. C-c C-a no longer calls `show-all'

The reason for this is that C-c C-a is now used for the attachment system. On the rare occasions that this command is needed, use M-x show-all, or C-u C-u C-u TAB.

50.2.3. New attachment system

You can now attach files to each node in the outline tree. This works by creating special directories based on the ID of an entry, and storing files in these directories. Org can keep track of changes to the attachments by automatically committing changes to git. See the manual for more information.

Thanks to John Wiegley who contributed this fantastic new concept and wrote org-attach.el to implement it.

50.2.4. New remember template escapes

%^{prop}p   to insert a property
%k          the heading of the item currently being clocked
%K          a link to the heading of the item currently being clocked

Also, when you exit remember with C-2 C-c C-c, the item will be filed as a child of the item currently being clocked. So the idea is, if you are working on something and think of a new task related to this or a new note to be added, you can use this to quickly add information to that task.

Thanks to James TD Smith for a patch to this effect.

50.2.5. Clicking with mouse-2 on clock info in mode-line visits the clock.

Thanks to James TD Smith for a patch to this effect.

50.2.6. New file in contrib: lisp/org-checklist.el

This module deals with repeated tasks that have checkbox lists below them.

Thanks to James TD Smith for this contribution.

50.2.7. New in-buffer setting #+STYLE

It can be used to locally set the variable `org-export-html-style-extra'. Several such lines are allowed-, they will all be concatenated. For an example on how to use it, see the publishing tutorial.

51. Version 6.07

51.1. Overview

  • Filtering existing agenda views with respect to a tag
  • Editing fixed-width regions with picture or artist mode
  • org-plot.el is now part of Org
  • Tags can be used to select the export part of a document
  • Prefix interpretation when storing remember notes
  • Yanking inserts folded subtrees
  • Column view capture tables can have formulas, plotting info
  • In column view, date stamps can be changed with S-cursor keys
  • The note buffer for clocking out now mentions the task
  • Sorting entries alphabetically ignores TODO keyword and priority
  • Agenda views can sort entries by TODO state
  • New face org-scheduled for entries scheduled in the future.
  • Remember templates for gnus links can use the :to escape.
  • The file specification in a remember template may be a function
  • Categories in iCalendar export include local tags
  • It is possible to define filters for column view
  • Disabling integer increment during table Field copy
  • Capturing column view is on `C-c C-x i'
  • And tons of bugs fixed.

51.2. Incompatible changes

51.2.1. Prefix interpretation when storing remember notes has changed

The prefix argument to the `C-c C-c' command that finishes a remember process is now interpreted differently:

C-c C-c       Store the note to predefined file and headline
C-u C-c C-c   Like C-c C-c, but immediately visit the note
              in its new location.
C-1 C-c C-c   Select the storage location interactively
C-0 C-c C-c   Re-use the last used location

This was requested by John Wiegley.

51.2.2. Capturing column view is now on `C-c C-x i'

The reason for this change was that `C-c C-x r' is also used as a tty key replacement.

51.2.3. Categories in iCalendar export now include local tags

The locally defined tags are now listed as categories when exporting to iCalendar format. Org's traditional file/tree category is now the last category in this list. Configure the variable org-icalendar-categories to modify or revert this behavior.

This was a request by Charles Philip Chan.

51.3. Details

51.3.1. Secondary filtering of agenda views.

You can now easily and interactively filter an existing agenda view with respect to a tag. This command is executed with the / key in the agenda. You will be prompted for a tag selection key, and all entries that do not contain or inherit the corresponding tag will be hidden. With a prefix argument, the opposite filter is applied: entries that do have the tag will be hidden.

This operation only hides lines in the agenda buffer, it does not remove them. Changing the secondary filtering does not require a new search and is very fast.

If you press TAB at the tag selection prompt, you will be switched to a completion interface to select a tag. This is useful when you want to select a tag that does not have a direct access character.

A double / / will restore the original agenda view by unhiding any hidden lines.

This functionality was John Wiegley's idea. It is a simpler implementation of some of the query-editing features proposed and implemented some time ago by Christopher League (see the file contrib/lisp/org-interactive-query.el).

51.3.2. Editing fixed-width regions with picture or artist mode

The command @<code>C-c '@</code> (that is C-c followed by a single quote) can now also be used to switch to a special editing mode for fixed-width sections. The default mode is artist-mode which allows you to create ASCII drawings.

It works like this: Enter the editing mode with @<code>C-c '@</code>. An indirect buffer will be created and narrowed to the fixed-width region. Edit the drawing, and press @<code>C-c '@</code> again to exit.

Lines in a fixed-width region should be preceded by a colon followed by at least one space. These will be removed during editing, and then added back when you exit the editing mode.

Using the command in an empty line will create a new fixed-width region.

This new feature arose from a discussion involving Scott Otterson, Sebastian Rose and Will Henney.

51.3.3. org-plot.el is now part of Org.

You can run it by simple calling org-plot/gnuplot. Documentation is not yet included with Org, please refer to http://github.com/eschulte/org-plot/tree/master until we have moved the docs into Org or Worg.

Thanks to Eric Schulte for this great contribution.

51.3.4. Tags can be used to select the export part of a document

You may now use tags to select parts of a document for inclusion into the export, and to exclude other parts. This behavior is governed by two new variables: org-export-select-tags and org-export-exclude-tags. These default to ("export") and ("noexport"), but can be changed, even to include a list of several tags.

Org first checks if any of the select tags is present in the buffer. If yes, all trees that do not carry one of these tags will be excluded. If a selected tree is a subtree, the heading hierarchy above it will also be selected for export, but not the text below those headings. If none of the select tags is found anywhere in the buffer, the whole buffer will be selected for export. Finally, all subtrees that are marked by any of the exclude tags will be removed from the export buffer.

You may set these tags with in-buffer options EXPORT_SELECT_TAGS and EXPORT_EXCLUDE_TAGS.

I love this feature. Thanks to Richard G Riley for coming up with the idea.

51.3.5. Prefix interpretation when storing remember notes

The prefix argument to the `C-c C-c' command that finishes a remember process is now interpreted differently:

C-c C-c       Store the note to predefined file and headline
C-u C-c C-c   Like C-c C-c, but immediately visit the note
              in its new location.
C-1 C-c C-c   Select the storage location interactively
C-0 C-c C-c   Re-use the last used location

This was requested by John Wiegley.

51.3.6. Yanking inserts folded subtrees

If the kill is a subtree or a sequence of subtrees, yanking them with C-y will leave all the subtrees in a folded state. This basically means, that kill and yank are now much more useful in moving stuff around in your outline. If you do not like this, customize the variable org-yank-folded-subtrees.

Right now, I am only binding C-y to this new function, should I modify all bindings of yank? Do we need to amend yank-pop as well?

This feature was requested by John Wiegley.

51.3.7. Column view capture tables can have formulas, plotting info

If you attach formulas and plotting instructions to a table capturing column view, these extra lines will now survive an update of the column view capture, and any formulas will be re-applied to the captured table. This works by keeping any continuous block of comments before and after the actual table.

51.3.8. In column view, date stamps can be changed with S-cursor keys

If a property value is a time stamp, S-left and S-right can now be used to shift this date around while in column view.

This was a request by Chris Randle.

51.3.9. The note buffer for clocking out now mentions the task

This was a request by Peter Frings.

51.3.10. Sorting entries alphabetically ignores TODO keyword and priority

Numerical and alphanumerical sorting now skips any TODO keyword or priority cookie when constructing the comparison string. This was a request by Wanrong Lin.

51.3.11. Agenda views can sort entries by TODO state

You can now define a sorting strategy for agenda entries that does look at the TODO state of the entries. Sorting by TODO entry does first separate the non-done from the done states. Within each class, the entries are sorted not alphabetically, but in definition order. So if you have a sequence of TODO entries defined, the entries will be sorted according to the position of the keyword in this sequence.

This follows an idea and sample implementation by Christian Egli.

51.3.12. New face org-scheduled for entries scheduled in the future.

This was a request by Richard G Riley.

51.3.13. Remember templates for gnus links can now use the :to escape.

Thanks to Tommy Lindgren for a patch to this effect.

51.3.14. The file specification in a remember template may now be a function

Thanks to Gregory Sullivan for a patch to this effect.

51.3.15. Categories in iCalendar export now include local tags

The locally defined tags are now listed as categories when exporting to iCalendar format. Org's traditional file/tree category is now the last category in this list. Configure the variable org-icalendar-categories to modify or revert this behavior.

This was a request by Charles Philip Chan.

51.3.16. It is now possible to define filters for column view

The filter can modify the value that will be displayed in a column, for example it can cut out a part of a time stamp. For more information, look at the variable org-columns-modify-value-for-display-function.

51.3.17. Disabling integer increment during table field copy

Prefix arg 0 to S-RET does the trick.

This was a request by Chris Randle.

52. Version 6.06

52.1. Overview

  • New, more CSS-like setup for HTML style information
  • Attributes in hyperlinks, for example alt and title for images
  • Simplified way to specify file links
  • Modified behavior of time stamps in iCalendar export
  • New way to compare times during a property search
  • New option `org-open-directory-means-index'
  • New parameters :prefix and :prefix1 for include files
  • New option :index-style for org-publish
  • New structure for the timestamp directory for org-publish.

52.2. Incompatible changes

52.2.1. New structure for the timestamp directory for org-publish.

The timestamp directory now uses SHA1 hashed versions of the path to each publishing file. This should be a consistent and system-independent way to handle things. The change means that your next publishing command will publish each and every file again, but just once, until new time stamps are in place.

52.3. Details

52.3.1. New setup for HTML style information

In order to create a more CSS-like setup of the HTML style information, the following changes have been made:

  • The default style has moved to a constant, org-export-html-style-default and should not be changed anymore.
  • The default of the variable org-export-html-style is now just the empty string. This variable should receive settings that are Org-wide. When using org-publish, this variable is associated with the :style property and can be used to establish project-wide settings.
  • There is a new variable org-export-html-style-extra that should be used for file-local settings. Org-publish can, if necessary, access this variable with the :style-extra property.
  • When a file is published, the values of

    • org-export-html-style-default
    • org-export-html-style
    • org-export-html-style-extra

    are all inserted into the HTML header, in the given sequence.

This follows a proposal by Rustom Mody.

52.3.2. Attributes in hyperlinks

You can now set attributes in hyperlinks that will be used when publishing to HTML. For example, if you want to use the ALT and TITLE attributes of an inlined image, here is who to do this:

[[./resources/img/a.jpg{{alt="This is image A" title="Image with no action"}}]]

Thanks to Charles Chen for this idea.

52.3.3. Simplified way to specify file links

In a link, you can now leave out the "file:" prefix if you write an absolute file name like /Users/dominik/.emacs or ~/.emacs, or if you write a relative file name by using ./ or ../ to start the file path. You cannot write a plain file name, because plain text is interpreted as an internal link.

So for example, a link to an image A.jpg with a thumbnail B.jpg can now be written like

[[./A.jpg][./B.jpg] ]

52.3.4. Changes in iCalendar export

Deadline and scheduling time stamps are now treated differently in iCalendar export. The default behavior is now the following:

  • a DEADLINE that appears in an entry that is a TODO item is used as the item's DUE date. Therefore, such a deadline will no longer show up in the calendar.
  • a DEADLINE that appears in an item that is not a TODO item is exported as an EVENT and will show up in the calendar.
  • a SCHEDULED timestamp in a TODO item will be used as the items DTSTART. Therefore, such a timestamp will not show up in the calendar.
  • a SCHEDULED timestamp in an item that is not a TODO has no effect on iCalendar export at all. It will be ignored.

Of course this would not be Emacs if you could not configure exactly what you want. Take a look at the variables org-icalendar-use-deadlines and org-icalendar-use-scheduled if you want to go back to the old behavior or even do something completely different.

Thanks to Karen Cooke for triggering this change.

52.3.5. New way to compare times during a property search

If the comparison value in a property search is a string that is enclosed in angular brackets, a time comparison will be done. For example

+DEADLINE>="<2008-12-24 15:20>"

looks for entries with a deadline on or after that time. Special allowed values are "<now>" (with time) and "<today>" (date only).

This is based on a request by Manish.

52.3.6. New option `org-open-directory-means-index'

When set, a link pointing to a directory will actually open the index.org file in that directory. This is a good setting inside a publishing project. When not set, you get a finder/explorer window for that directory, or dired, depending on system and setup.

This follows a request by Richard Riley.

52.3.7. New parameters :prefix and :prefix1 for include files

These parameters specify prefixes for each line of included text. :prefix1 is only for the first line, :prefix for all other lines.

This follows a proposal by Richard Riley.

52.3.8. New option :index-style for org-publish

This option can be used to switch the style of the index produced by org-publish. Can be `list' (index is just an itemized list of the titles of the files involved) or `tree' (the directory structure of the source files is reflected in the index). The default is `tree'.

Thanks to Manuel Hermenegildo for the patch.

52.3.9. In the Agenda, inclusion of archives can now be toggled

  • Pressing v will toggle inclusion of trees with the ARCHIVE tag, this includes obviously the archive sibling.
  • Pressing `C-u v' will include trees with ARCHIVE tag, and will also include all archive files that are currently associated with your agenda files.

This was triggered by a proposal by Manuel Hermenegildo.

53. Version 6.05

If I were to name my releases, this one would be called "Adam". Adam, you definitely owe me a beer :-). And I owe you one, too - thanks for all the great ideas.

53.1. Overview

  • Use cursor position in agenda for remember, scheduling and deadlines
  • New API for mapping a function over all or selected entries
  • Remember templates can be filed to beginning/end of a file
  • Visiting a filed remember buffer immediately
  • BBDB anniversaries are now links
  • Column view in the agenda now cleans the ITEM field
  • The format of section numbers in exported files is configurable
  • Direct, single key access to allowed values in column view
  • New hook to hack exported iCalendar files
  • Log mode in agenda now shows end time for CLOCK line

53.2. Incompatible changes

53.2.1. `C-c C-x C-k' now calls `org-mark-entry-for-agenda-action'

It used to call org-cut-special, but that is also at bound to the key C-c C-x C-w.

53.3. Details

53.3.1. Making use of the cursor position in the agenda

The date at the cursor in the agenda (and also in the calendar) can now be used to schedule entries, or to set the date in a remember template correctly. It is also designed to make it easier to move an entry to a date picked in the agenda. Thanks to Thomas Baumann for starting the thread that led to this development.

  1. Calling remember with the cursor date in the agenda

    If you want to use the date at the agenda cursor in a remember template, start remember from the agenda with the keys k r. While the template is being filled in, the default date for all time stamps, and also for all interactive escapes like %^t is now the date at the cursor in the agenda. The exact same command can also be used from the calendar if you prefer that.

  2. Picking a date for scheduling/deadline in the agenda

    You may now pick the date for scheduling an item or for setting a deadline in the agenda, where you have the best overview over free time slots. This is a two step process.

    1. First you pick the entry that should be acted upon. In the agenda, you use the keys k m. In an org-mode file, this is on C-c C-x C-k.
    2. Then you find the agenda date you want to apply. When the cursor is anywhere in the block belonging to that date, press k s to schedule, or k d to put a deadline. The agenda is not updated immediately, press r if you want it to show the affected entry in the right place.

53.3.2. New API for mapping a function over all or selected entries

Org has sophisticated mapping capabilities to find all entries satisfying certain criteria. Internally, this functionality is used to produce agenda views, but there is also an API that can be used to execute arbitrary functions for each or selected entries. The main entry point for this API is:

-- Function: org-map-entries func &optional match scope &rest skip
     Call FUNC at each headline selected by MATCH in SCOPE.

     FUNC is a function or a lisp form.  The function will be
     called without arguments, with the cursor positioned at
     the beginning of the headline.  The return values of all
     calls to the function will be collected and returned as
     a list.

     MATCH is a tags/property/todo match as it is used in the
     agenda tags view.  Only headlines that are matched by
     this query will be considered during the iteration.
     When MATCH is nil or t, all headlines will be visited by
     the iteration.

     SCOPE determines the scope of this command, it can
     specify a file, all agenda files, the current tree and
     much more.
 
     The remaining args are treated as settings for the
     skipping facilities of the scanner.

The function given to that mapping routine can really do anything you like. Here is a simple example that will turn all entries in the current file with a tag TOMORROW into TODO entries with the keyword UPCOMING. Entries in comment trees and in archive trees will be ignored.

(org-map-entries
   '(org-todo "UPCOMING")
   "+TOMORROW" 'file 'archive 'comment)

The following example counts the number of entries with TODO keyword WAITING, in all agenda files.

(length (org-map-entries t "/+WAITING" nil 'agenda))

53.3.3. Changes in Remember templates

  1. Remember templates can now use the cursor date in the agenda

    Use k r to start remember from the agenda, with enforcing the cursor date as default for any time stamps created by the template.

  2. Filing remember templates to the beginning or end of a file

    You may now set the heading part of a remember template definition to `top' or `bottom'. The template will then be filed as a level 1 entry to the beginning or end of the target file, respectively. Thanks to Adam Spiers for this proposal.

  3. You can jump to the location of a note immediately after filing it

    Just include the %& escape anywhere in the template. An interesting combination now is to use %!%&, which will immediately file and visit the note, which is equivalent to generating the note directly in the target location. Thanks to Adam Spiers for this proposal.

53.3.4. BBDB anniversaries are now links.

If you are using %%(bbdb-anniversaries) to list anniversaries in the agenda, you can now directly access the entry that triggered a listed anniversary from the agenda. Just click the anniversary - it is a link now. Thanks to Thomas Baumann for a patch to this effect.

53.3.5. Column view in the agenda now cleans the ITEM field

See the new variable org-agenda-columns-remove-prefix-from-item. Thanks to Adam Spiers for this proposal.

53.3.6. The format of section number in exported files is configurable

See the new variable `org-export-section-number-format'. Thanks to Adam Spiers for this proposal.

53.3.7. Direct access to allowed values in column view

In column view, if you press a key 1-9 or 0, the corresponding values from the list of allowed values for that field at point will be directly selected. Thanks to Levin Du for this proposal and a patch to this effect.

53.3.8. New hook to hack exported iCalendar files

The new hook `org-before-save-iCalendar-file-hook' runs just before the buffer with a created iCalendar export is saved. This is what I settled for after a long discussion with Adam Spiers about doing some special filtering automatically.

53.3.9. Log mode in agenda now shows end time for CLOCK lines

When turning on log mode in the agenda with l, clock lines will now also list the end time, not only the starting time. Thanks to Tian Qiu for bringing this up again.

53.3.10. Fixes and additions for org-publish

  • The :include and :index-title properties in org-publish work now as advertized
  • the #+TITLE of a page will be used in the index
  • new :completion-function property can define a hook to be run after publishing a file.

Thanks to Manuel Hermenegildo for a patch to this effect.

54. Version 6.04

54.1. Overview

  • Statistics cookies [/] and [%] for TODO entries
  • Editing source code example in the proper mode
  • iCalendar now defines proper UIDs for entries
  • New properties for customizing subtree export

54.2. Incompatible changes

  • The default of the variable `org-tags-match-list-sublevels' is now `t'. The main reason for this is that it is easier to explain in the manual and will lead to fewer surprises.
  • The former CONTRIB directory is now called "contrib". This was already the case in the git distribution, but the tar and zip archives still did this wrong.

54.3. Details

54.3.1. Statistics for TODO entries

The [/] and [%] cookies have already provided statistics for checkboxes. Now they do the same also for TODO entries. If a headline contains either cookie, changing the TODO state of any direct child will trigger an update of this cookie. Children that are neither TODO nor DONE are ignored.

There have already been requests to automatically switch the parent headline to DONE when all children are done. I am not making this a default feature, because one needs to make many decisions about which keyword to use, etc. Instead of a complex customization variable, I am providing a hook that can be used. This hook will be called each time a TODO statistics cookie is updated, with the cursor in the corresponding line. Each function in the hook will receive two arguments, the number of done entries, and the number of not-done entries, and you can use the hook to change the state of the headline. Here is an example implementation:

(defun org-summary-todo (n-done n-not-done)
  "Switch entry to DONE when all sub-entries are done, to TODO otherwise."
  (let (org-log-done org-log-states)   ; turn off logging
    (org-todo (if (= n-not-done 0) "DONE" "TODO"))))

(add-hook 'org-after-todo-statistics-hook 'org-summary-todo)

54.3.2. Editing source code example in the proper mode

If you are writing a document with source code examples, you can include these examples into a #+BEGIN_SRC lang ... #+END_SRC or (with the org-mtags module loaded) a <src... structure. lang stands for the Emacs mode used for editing the language, this could be emacs-lisp for Emacs Lisp mode examples, or org for Org mode examples. You can now use the key "C-c '" (that is C-c followed by the single quote) to edit the example in its native mode. This works by creating an indirect buffer, narrowing it to the example and setting the appropriate mode. You need to exit editing by pressing "C-c '" again. This is important, because lines that have syntactic meaning in Org will be quoted by calling this command.

"C-c '" also edits include files, the setupfile in a #+setufile line, and all those little foreign snippets like:

#+HTML: this code can be edited in html-mode

#+BEGIN_HTML
Same here
#+BEGIN_HTML

#+LaTeX: this code can be edited in latex-mode

#+BEGIN_LaTeX
Same here
#+BEGIN_LaTeX

#+BEGIN_SRC fortran
Here we can edit in fortran-mode
#+END_SRC

54.3.3. iCalendar now defines proper UIDs for entries

This is necessary for synchronization services. The UIDs are created using the the org-id.el module which is now part of the Org core. If you set the variable

(setq org-icalendar-store-UID t)

then all created UIDs will be stored in the entry as an :ID: property. This is off by default because it creates lots of property drawers even if you only play with iCalendar export. But if you plan to use synchronization, you really need to turn this on.

Diary sexp entries do not yet receive proper persistent UIDs, because they are transformed to iCalendar format by icalendar.el which creates fresh UIDs each time, based on the current time.

An interesting aspect of Org is that a single outline node can give rise to multiple iCalendar entries (as a timestamp, a deadline, a scheduled item, and as a TODO item). Therefore, Org adds prefixes "TS-", "DL-" "CS-", and "TD-" to the UID during iCalendar export, depending on what triggered the inclusion of the entry. In this way the UID remains unique, but a synchronization program can still figure out from which entry all the different instances originate.

54.3.4. New properties for customizing subtree export.

When exporting a subtree by selecting it before calling the export command, you can now use the properties EXPORT_TITLE, EXPORT_TEXT, and EXPORT_OPTIONS to overrule the global #+TITLE, #+TEXT, and #+OPTIONS settings. You can also set an export file name with EXPORT_FILE_NAME that will overrule the file name derived from the buffer's file name. As far as the options are concerned, the global #+OPTIONS will still be read, and only the options you give in the property will be overwritten. For example:

#+OPTIONS: skip:nil
* Computer Tricks
  :PROPERTIES:
  :EXPORT_FILE_NAME: ct.html
  :EXPORT_TITLE: Steve's collected computer tricks
  :EXPORT_OPTIONS: h:2 toc:nil
  :END:

54.3.5. New way to define tags for an entire file.

Tags that are defined in a line like

#+FILETAGS: work urgent

are inherited by all entries in the file.

Thanks to Manuel Hermenegildo for this proposal.

55. Version 6.03

55.1. Overview

  • Description lists are now supported natively
  • Block quotes for export
  • Fontified code examples in HTML export
  • Include files for export
  • Text before the first headline is now exported by default
  • In-buffer options may now be collected in an external file
  • The in-buffer settings keywords may now be lower case
  • Completion of structure elements
  • Startup visibility can now be influenced by properties
  • Clock task history, moving entries with the running clock
  • BBDB anniversaries much faster
  • New contrib files: org-eval.el and org-mtags.el

55.2. Incompatible changes

  • The text before the first headline is now exported by default

    Previously, the default was to not include text in an org-mode buffer before the first headline. From now on, the default it to include it. If you like the old default better, customize the variable org-export-skip-text-before-1st-heading or set the value on a per-file basis with

#+OPTIONS: skip:t

55.3. Details

55.3.1. Description lists are now supported natively

A plain list will be exported as a description list if the first item in the list has a term and the description, separated by " :: ". For example

Emacs software by Carsten Dominik
- RefTeX    :: Support for LaTeX Labels, References, Citations
- CDLaTeX   :: more LaTeX functionality for Emacs
- TeXmathp  :: checking LaTeX buffers for Math mode.
- ORG       :: An Emacs mode for notes and projet planning.
- CONSTANTS :: An Emacs package for inserting the definition of
               natural constants and units into a buffer.
- IDLWAVE   :: The Emacs modes for editing and
               running IDL and WAVE CL files.

will be rendered as

Emacs software by Carsten Dominik

RefTeX
Support for LaTeX Labels, References, Citations
CDLaTeX
more LaTeX functionality for Emacs
TeXmathp
checking LaTeX buffers for Math mode.
ORG
An Emacs mode for notes and projet planning.
CONSTANTS
An Emacs package for inserting the definition of natural constants and units into a buffer.
IDLWAVE
The Emacs modes for editing and running IDL and WAVE CL files.

This works now in the HTML exporter, we still need to supoort it with the LaTeX and ASCII exporters.

55.3.2. Block quotes for export

For quoting an entire paragraph as a citation, use

#+BEGIN_QUOTE:
Everything should be made as simple as possible,
but not any simpler -- Albert Einstein
#+BEGIN_QUOTE:

which will render as

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not any simpler – Albert Einstein

55.3.3. Fontified code examples in HTML export

You can now get code examples fontified like they would be fontified in an Emacs Buffer, and export the result to HTML. To do so, wrap the code examples into the following structure:

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
  (defun org-xor (a b)
    "Exclusive or."
    (if a (not b) b))
#+END_SRC

In the export, this will then look like this (if you are now looking at the ASCII export and do not see anything interesting, go and check out the HTML version at https://orgmode.org/Changes.html).

(defun org-xor (a b)
  "Exclusive or."
  (if a (not b) b))

The string after the BEGIN_SRC is the name of the major emacs mode that should be used to fontify the code example, without the "-mode" at the end of the mode name. For example, if you are writing an Org tutorial with Org examples included, you would use "org" as the language identifier - in fact, I have used just that in the example above.

Currently this works only for HTML export, and requires the htmlize.el package, version 1.34 or later. For other backends, such structures are simply exported as EXAMPLE.

55.3.4. Include files for export

A line like

#+INCLUDE "file" markup lang

will lead to the inclusion of the contents of FILE at the moment of publishing. FILE should be surrounded by double quotes, this is obligatory if it contains space characters. The parameters MARKUP and LANG are optional. MARKUP can be "example", "quote", or "src". If it is "src", LANG should be the name of the Emacs mode to be used for fontifying the code. For example:

Here is my /.emacs/ file:
#+INCLUDE "~/.emacs" src emacs-lisp

55.3.5. The text before the first headline is now exported by default

Previously, the default was to not include text in an org-mode buffer before the first headline. From now on, the default it to include it. If you like the old default better, customize the variable org-export-skip-text-before-1st-heading or set the value on a per-file basis with

#+OPTIONS: skip:t

55.3.6. In-buffer options may now be collected in an external file

If you would like to share the Org setup between a number of files, you can now store in-buffer setup in a file and simply point to that file from each file that should read it. If you write in a buffer

#+SETUPFILE: "path/to/setup.org"

then this file will be scanned for in-buffer options like #+STARTUP, #+TITLE, or #+OPTIONS.

55.3.7. The in-buffer settings keywords may now be upper or lower case

From now on, it makes no difference is you write #+STARTUP or #+startup, to make these lines less imposing. Similarly for all other in-buffer keywords.

55.3.8. Completion of structure elements

As a new experimental feature, Org now supports completion of structural elements like #+BEGIN_EXAMPLE in a special way. It work by typing, for example "<e" and then pressing TAB, on an otherwise empty line. "<e" will expand into a complete EXAMPLE template, with the cursor positioned in the middle. Currently supported templates are:

<s   #+begin_src
<e   #+begin_example
<q   #+begin_quote
<v   #+begin_verse
<l   #+begin_latex
<L   #+latex:
<h   #+begin_html
<H   #+html:
<a   #+begin_ascii
<i   #+include

This is an experimental feature, please comment! See also below under org-mtags.el.

55.3.9. Startup visibility can now be influenced by properties

When Emacs opens an Org mode buffer, the outline visibility is set to a startup value that is taken from the variable org-startup-folded, or from a #+STARTUP setting in the buffer. After this has happened, the buffer will now also be scanned for entries with a VISIBILITY property. Wherever such a property is found, the corresponding subtree will get its visibility adjusted. Allowed values for the property are:

folded
Fold the subtree
children
Show the text after the headline, and the headlines of all direct children
content
Show all headlines in the tree, but no text below any headline
all
Show the entire subtree

For example, I am using this for the huge Changes.org file that is the source for the list of visible changes you are reading right now. The top-most entry in this file always describes the changes in my current working version. The start of this section currently looks like this:

* Version 6.03
  :PROPERTIES:
  :VISIBILITY: content
  :END:
** Overview

This was a proposal by Ben Alexander.

The command C-u C-u TAB will switch back to the startup visibility of the buffer.

55.3.10. Clock task history, and moving entries with the running clock

Org now remembers the last 5 tasks that you clocked into, to make it easier to clock back into a task after interrupting it for another task.

  • C-u C-u C-c C-x C-i (or C-u C-u I from the agenda) will clock into that task and mark it as current default task.
  • C-u C-c C-x C-i (or C-u I from the agenda) will offer a list of recently clocked tasks, including the default task, for selection. d selects the default task, i selects the task that was interrupted by the task that is currently being clocked. 1,… selects a recent task. When you select a task, you will be clocked into it.
  • You can use C-u C-c C-x C-j to jump to any of these tasks.

When moving an entry using structure editing commands, archiving commands, or the special subtree cut-and-paste commands C-c C-x C-w and C-c C-x C-y, the running clock marker and all clock history markers will be moved with the subtree. Now you can start a clock in a remember buffer and keep the clock running while filing the note away. See also the variable `org-remember-clock-out-on-exit'.

55.3.11. BBDB anniversaries much faster

bbdb-anniversaries is now much faster, thanks to a new approach using a hash for birthdays. Thanks to Thomas Baumann for a patch to this effect.

55.3.12. New files in the contrib directory

Do people think any of these should become core?

org-eval.el
This new module allows to include the result of the evaluation of Lisp code (and other scripting languages) into the buffer, similar to the <lisp> tag of Emacs Wiki and Muse.
org-mtags.el

This new modules allows you to use Muse-like tags for some structure definitions in Org. For example, instead of

#+BEGIN_EXAMPLE
...
#+END_EXAMPLE

you can write

<example>
...
</example>

In fact, I myself find these easier to type and to look at. Also, it will allow you to more easily move text and files back and forth between Org and Muse. For a list of supported structure elements, see the commentary in the org-mtags.el file.

If you load this module and use the "<i" etc completion described above, the Muse form will automatically be inserted.

55.3.13. Bug fixes

Many bug fixes again. Will this ever stop?

56. Version 6.02

56.1. Overview

  • Column view (mostly) works now in XEmacs
  • Summaries for columns in the agenda
  • The special property Effort can be used for effort estimates
  • New operators for property searches
  • Search commands can now include archive files.
  • Clock tables can include the archive files
  • Orgtbl radio tables generalized.

56.2. Details

56.2.1. Column view works now in XEmacs

I had already given up on this, but Greg Chernev (who implemented noutline.el for XEmacs and in this way kept Org alive on XEmacs) has done it again and provided the patches to make column view work under XEmacs. There are still some problems, but the basics work and we will iron out the remaining issues, hopefully soon.

56.2.2. Summaries for columns in the agenda

If any of the columns has a summary type defined, turning on column view in the agenda will show summaries for these columns. Org will first visit all relevant agenda files and make sure that the computations of this property are up to date. This is also true for the special CLOCKSUM property. Org will then sum the values displayed in the agenda. In the daily/weekly agenda, the sums will cover a single day, in all other views they cover the entire block. It is vital to realize that the agenda may show the same entry multiple times (for example as scheduled and as a deadline), and it may show two entries from the same hierarchy (for example a parent and it's child). In these cases, the summation in the agenda will lead to incorrect results because some values will count double.

56.2.3. The special property Effort can be used for effort estimates

If you want to plan your work in a very detailed way, or if you need to produce offers with quotations of the estimated work effort, you may want to assign effort estimates to entries. If you are also clocking your work, you may later want to compare the planned effort with the actual working time. Effort estimates can now be stored in a special property Effort, displayed side-to-side with clock sums, and also be summed over a day, in order to show the planned work load of a day. See the manual for more details.

56.2.4. New operators for property searches

Property searches can now choose a number of different operators for comparing values. These operators are `=', `<>', `<', `<=', `>', and `>='.

When the search term uses the operator with plain number like +Effort>=2.7, then the property value is converted to a number and a numerical comparison takes place.

When the search term uses a string on the right hand side of the operator, a string comparison is done: +PRIORITY<"C".

Finally, if the right hand side is enclosed in curly braces, a regexp match is done: aaa={regexp}. In this case you should use only the `=' or `<>' operators, meaning "does match" or "does not match", respectively.

This was a triggered with a request by Dan Davison.

56.2.5. Search commands can now include archive files.

If the value of the customization variable org-agenda-text-search-extra-files contains the symbol agenda-archives as the first element in the list, all archive files of all agenda files will be added to the list of files to search. This is relevant for the search view C-c a s, as well as for the agenda files multi-occur command C-c a /.

56.2.6. Clock tables can include the archive files

There are new values for the :scope parameter of a clock table. This can now be file-with-archives and agenda-with-archives, in order to collect information not only from the current file or all agenda files, but also from all archive files that are currently used by these files.

56.2.7. Orgtbl radio tables generalized.

The options available for radio tables using orgtbl-mode have been expanded. You may use several reception points and formats for the same table, you may have special formatting in the last line of the table, and many table parameters may be functions, so that more general transformations are possible. Jason Riedy provided a patch for this, and he will hopefully come up with some examples. Thanks!

57. Version 6.01

This is a new major release, mostly because of structural changes in Org. However, since this took a while, there is also a long list of small improvements and some new significant features.

57.1. Overview

  • The Org distribution has a new structure
  • New system for selecting modules to load
  • New archiving mechanism: The Archive Sibling
  • Support for Sebastian Rose's JavaScript org-info.js.
  • Internal links work now better in HTML export
  • Export commands can be done in the background
  • Flexible setting of the time block shown by the clock table
  • Clock table can be included in the agenda
  • Support for ISO week dates (ISO 6801)
  • Tag inheritance can be limited to a subset of all tags
  • Entries can be sorted by TODO keyword
  • And some more small fixes and improvements

57.2. Incompatible changes

57.2.1. The Org distribution has a new structure

In the distribution files as well as in the GIT repository, the lisp files are now located in a subdirectory "lisp", and the documentation files are located in a subdirectory "doc". If you are running Org directly from the unpacked distribution archive (zip or tar file, or GIT repository), you need to modify your settings for load-path accordingly.

57.3. Details

57.3.1. The Org distribution has a new structure

In the distribution files as well as in the GIT repository, the lisp files are now located in a subdirectory "lisp", and the documentation files are located in a subdirectory "doc". If you are running Org directly from the unpacked distribution archive (zip or tar file, or GIT repository), you need to modify your settings for load-path accordingly.

57.3.2. Loading modules

Org mode has now a system for loading modules by simply configuring an option that lists all the modules you want to use. Customize the variable `org-modules'. That variable lists both modules that are part of the Org mode core (and in this way part of Emacs), and modules that are contributed packages. Contributed modules will only be available when you have installed them properly (most likely by downloading the distribution and adding /path/to/orgdir/contrib/lisp to your load path).

57.3.3. New archiving mechanism: The Archive Sibling

There is a new method to archive entries in the current file: By moving it to a sibling called the Archive Sibling. That sibling has the heading "Archive" and also carries the ARCHIVE tag. This can be a great way to do archiving inside a project, to get parts of the project out of the way and to wait with true archiving (moving to another file) until the entire project is done. Archiving to a sibling keeps much of the context, for example inherited tags and approximate tree position in tact.

The key binding for the is "C-c C-x A", and from the agenda buffer you can simply use "A".

Thanks to Ilya Shlyakhter for this rather clever idea.

57.3.4. Support for Sebastian Rose's JavaScript org-info.js.

This fascinating program allows a completely new viewing experience for web pages created from Org files. The same document can be viewed in different ways, and switching between the views as well as navigation uses single-key commands.

One of the view types is an Info-like interface where you can jump through the sections of the document with the `n' and `p' keys (and others). There is also a folding interface where you can fold the document much like you can fold it in org-mode in Emacs, and cycle through the visibility both locally and globally.

To set this up, all you need to do is to make sure that org-infojs.el gets loaded (customize the variable org-modules to check). Then add this line to the buffer:

#+INFOJS_OPT: view:info

In that line, you can configure the initial view and other settings. Available views are info for the info-like interface, and overview, content, and showall for the folding interface. See the manual for more details. The JavaScript program is served from https://orgmode.org/org-info.js, and your exported HTML files will automatically get it from there. However, you may want to be independent of the existence and stability of orgmode.org and install a copy locally. Then you need to change the path from which the script is loaded, either by using something like

#+INFOJS_OPT: view:info path:../scripts/org-info.js

or by configuring the variable org-infojs-options.

For details see the documentation provided by Sebastian Rose together with org-info.js.

57.3.5. Export improvements

  • The export of internal links to HTML now works a lot better. Most internal links that work while editing an Org file inside Emacs will now also work the the corresponding HTML file.
  • You can run many of the export commands in the background by using `C-c C-u C-c C-e' in order to start the process. RIght now this will only work if "emacs" is the right command to get to your Emacs executable - I hope to make this less system dependent in the future.

Both these are based on requests by Ilya Shlyakhter.

57.3.6. Improvements to clocktable

  • The clocktable is now much more flexible and user friendly when trying to specify the time block that should be considered when constructing the table.

    The :block parameter to the table can now look like any of these:

    :block meaning
    2008 The entire year 2008
    2008-04 The month April 2008
    2008-04-02 The day April 2, 2008
    2008-W14 ISO-Week 14 in 2008
    today Today
    today-5 The day five days ago
    thisweek The current week
    thisweek-2 Two weeks ago
    thismonth The current month
    thismonth-12 Same month, last year
    lastmonth Same as thismonth-1

What is more, you can now use the S-left and S-right keys to shift the time block around. The cursor needs to be in the #+BEGIN: clocktable line for this to work. If the current block is today, S-left with switch to yesterday. If the current block is 2008-W14, S-right will switch to the following week.

  • When the clocktable is collecting from several files, the total time for each file will now also be listed. This was a request from Bernt Hansen.
  • If you turn on the new clock report mode with the "R" key in the agenda, a clock table will be attached to the agenda, showing the clock report for the file scope and time interval of the agenda view. To turn this on permanently, configure the variable org-agenda-start-with-clock report-mode. To modify the properties of the table, in particular the :maxlevel depth, configure org-agenda-clockreport-parameter-plist.

57.3.7. Support for ISO week dates (ISO 6801)

The agenda now shows the ISO week for the displayed dates, in the form W08 for week 8.

The keys d, w, m, and y in the agenda view now accept prefix arguments. Remember that in the agenda, you can directly type a prefix argument by typing a number, no need to press C-u first. The prefix argument may be used to jump directly to a specific day of the year, ISO week, month, or year, respectively. For example, 32 d jumps to February 1st, 9 w to ISO week number 9. When setting day, week, or month view, a year may be encoded in the prefix argument as well. For example, 200712 w will jump to week 12 in the year 2007. If such a year specification has only one or two digits, it will be mapped to the interval 1938-2037.

When entering a date at the date prompt, you may now also specify an ISO week. For example

w4              Monday of week 4
fri w4          Friday of week 4
w4-5            Same as above
2012 w4 fri     Friday of week 4 in 2012.
2012-W04-5      Same as above

So far I have not implemented the effect of `org-read-date-prefer-future' on this functionality, because it seemed too magic for me. I'd appreciate comments on this issue: Should `org-read-date-prefer-future' also push dates into the next year if the week you are entering has already passed in the current year? For consistency I guess this should be the case, but I cannot quite wrap my head around it.

I hope but am not entirely convinced that this will behave sanely also during the first/last week of a year. Please test extensively and report back.

This was a request by Thomas Baumann.

57.3.8. Improvements in Search View

  • Calling search view with a C-u prefix will make it match only in TODO entries.
  • The single quote is no longer considered a word character during search, so that searching for the word "Nasim" will also match in "Nasim's".

57.3.9. Misc

  • Inheritance of tags can now be limited to a subset of all tags, using the variable org-use-tag-inheritance. This variable may now be a regular expression or a list to select the inherited tags. Thanks to Michael Ekstrand for this excellent proposal.

    The regexp option is also implemented for org-use-property-inheritance, so that you can now select properties for inheritance my name.

  • The INHERIT flag to the function org-entry-get can be set to the symbol selective. If this is the case, then the value of the property will be retrieved using inheritance if and only if the setting in org-use-property-inheritance selects the property for inheritance.
  • There are now special faces for the date lines in the agenda/timeline buffers, and another special face for days that fall on a weekend: org-agenda-date and org-agenda-date-weekend. Both these faces are initially similar to the org-agenda-structure face, but you can customize them freely.
  • When an entry already has a scheduling or deadline time stamp, calling `C-c C-s' or `C-c C-d', respectively, will now use that old date as the default, and you can can use the "++4d" syntax to invoke shifts relative to that default date. Simply pressing RET at the prompt will keep the default date, not switch to today.

    This was an omission in the earlier implementation, spotted by Wanrong Lin. Thanks!

  • File names in remember templates can be relative, if they are, they will be interpreted relative to org-directory.
  • The handling of the clipboard when inserting into remember templates is now much better, and gives more control on what should be inserted with new %-escapes:

    • %c - Now always insert the head of the kill ring, never the X clipboard.
    • %x - Insert the content of the X clipboard. This is the first non-empty value from the PRIMARY, SECONDARY and CLIPBOARD X clipboards.
    • %^C - This allows the user to choose between any of the clipboard values available, the kill ring head, and the initial region if set.
    • %^L - Like %^C, but this inserts an org link using the selected value.

    Thanks to James TD Smith for this patch.

  • Table export to an internal file can now use a format specification, similar to the formats that are used by orgtbl radio tables. The default format is in the variable org-table-export-default-format. You can use properties TABLE_EXPORT_FILE and TABLE_EXPORT_FORMAT to specify the file name to which the export should go, and a local format. For example:

    :PROPERTIES:
    :TABLE_EXPORT_FILE: ~/xx.txt
    :TABLE_EXPORT_FORMAT: orgtbl-to-generic :splice t :sep "\t"
    :END:
    

    Thanks to James TD Smith for this patch.

  • Entries can be sorted by TODO keyword, and the order is given by the definition sequence of the TODO keywords in the variable org-todo-keywords, or in the #+TODO line. Use the "o" key when sorting with C-c ^.

    Thanks to James TD Smith for this patch.

58. Version 5.23

58.1. Overview

  • New keyword search agenda view
  • Many new extensions available in the CONTRIB directory
  • New remember template option: pre-selection contexts
  • Modifying list/headline status of a line
  • Granularity while editing time stamps
  • New repeaters mechanisms
  • New parameters for dynamic blocks ad the clock table
  • Limiting iCalendar export to fewer entries
  • M-RET splits lines again
  • New hooks

58.2. Incompatible changes

  • The variable `org-time-stamp-rounding-minutes' is now a list of two values - if you have configured this variable before, please do it again.

58.3. Details

58.3.1. New keyword search agenda view

`C-c a s' now invokes a special agenda view that can be used to search notes by keyword and regular expressions. In particular, it does not require a single regular expression or string to search for, but it can search for a number keywords or regexps that can occur in arbitrary sequence in the entry. The search knows the boundaries of an entry, can use simple Boolean logic and is reasonably fast. For example, the search string

+computer +wifi -ethernet -{8\.11[bg]}

will search for note entries that contain the keywords computer and wifi, but not the keyword ethernet, and which are also not matched by the regular expression "8\.11[bg]", meaning to exclude both 8.11b and 8.11g. If the first character of the search string is an asterisk, the search will only look at headlines - otherwise it will look at the headine and the text below it, up to the next (possibly sub-) heading.

The command searches all agenda files, and in addition the files listed in org-agenda-text-search-extra-files.

I find it very useful to define a custom command to do such a search only in a limited number of files (my notes files), like this:

("N" "Search notes" search ""
  ((org-agenda-files '("~/org/notes.org" "~/org/computer.org"))
   (org-agenda-text-search-extra-files nil)))

58.3.2. Many new extensions available in the CONTRIB directory

  • Phil Jackson's org-irc.el is now part of the Org mode core, which means it will become part of Emacs soon.
  • The new development model already starts to pay off, a number of interesting extensions are now part of the distribution. Check the file CONTRIB/README for a list.
  • There is a new variable `org-default-extensions'. Configuring this variable makes it very easy to load these default extensions - eventually this will be expanded to cover contributed extensions as well.

58.3.3. New remember template option: pre-selection contexts

  • Remember template definitions now allow six elements. The last element defines the contexts in which the template should be offered. It can be a list of major modes, a function, t or nil. If it is a list of major-mode, the template will be available only when org-remember is called from a buffer in one of these modes. If it is a function, the template will be offered only if the function returns `t' when called in the current buffer. A value of t or nil for this element means select this template in any context.

    One possible application for this would be to have several templates all using the same selection letter, and choosing the right one based on context. For example, think of tasks describing a bug in a source code file. With the following configuration we make sure that the bug reports are filed into the appropriate sections of the target file.

    (setq org-remember-templates
     '(("Elisp" ?b "* %a\n\n%i%?" "~/bugs.org" "Elisp bugs" (emacs-lisp-mode))
       ("C Bugs" ?b "* %a\n\n%i%?" "~/bugs.org" "C bugs" (cc-mode))))
    

    See (info "(org)Remember templates") for details.

58.3.4. Modifying list/headline status of a line

  • `C-c -' has now more functions:

    • In a table, add a hline as before
    • In an item list, cycle bullet type as before
    • In a normal line, turn it into an item
    • In a headline, turn it into an item
    • If there is an active region, turn each line into an item. But if the first region line is already an item, remove item markers from all lines.

    Based on proposals by Bastien.

  • `C-c *' has now more functions

    • in a table, recompute, as before
    • in a normal line, convert it to a sub heading.
    • at an item, convert it into a subheading
    • if there is an active region, convert all lines in the region to headlines. However, if the first lie already is a heading, remove the stars from all lines int he region.

    Based on proposals by Bastien.

58.3.5. Changes related to time stamps

  • The value variable org-time-stamp-rounding-minutes is now a list of two values. The first applies when creating a new time stamp. The second applies when modifying a timestamp with S-up/down. The default for this new task is 5 minutes, but 15 may also be a very good value for many people. If S-up/down is used on a time stamp where the minute part is not compatible with this granularity it will be made so. You can bypass this by using a prefix argument to exactly specify the number of minutes to shift.

    This was a proposal by Adam Spiers.

  • New repeaters that shift a date relative to today, or that make sure that the next date is in the future. For example:

    ** TODO Call Father
       DEADLINE: <2008-02-10 Sun ++1w>
       Marking this DONE will shift the date by at least one week,
       but also by as many weeks as it takes to get this date into
       the future.  However, it stays on a Sunday, even if you called
       and marked it done on Saturday.
    ** TODO Check the batteries in the smoke detectors
       DEADLINE: <2005-11-01 Tue .+1m>
       Marking this DONE will shift the date to one month after
       today.
    

    Proposed by Wanrong Lin and Rainer Stengle.

58.3.6. New parameters for dynamic blocks ad the clock table

  • There is a new :link parameter for the clocktable. When set, the headlines listed in the table will be links to the original headlines.
  • There is a new :content parameter that is passed to the writer function of the dynamic block. Use this parameter to pass the previous content of the block to the writer function, in case you want to make the outcome dependent on the previous content.

58.3.7. Limiting iCalendar export to fewer entries

  • New way to limit iCalendar export to the entries captured in an agenda view. This is done by "writing" the agenda view using `C-x C-w' to a file with extension .ics.

    This was a request by Kyle Sexton.

58.3.8. Misc

  • Due to a popular revolt shortly after the 5.22 release, M-RET can again be used to split a line so that the rest of the line becomes the new heading. However, if you do this in a heading containing tags, the tags will stay in the old line.

    Customize the variable org-M-RET-may-split-line if you don't want this command to split a line in the middle. The same variable also influences line splitting in items and in tables.

  • There are three new hooks:

    org-follow-link-hook: runs after following a link org-publish-before-export-hook: runs before export org-publish-after-export-hook: runs after export

59. Version 5.22

59.1. Incompatible changes

  • The variable `org-log-done' is now less complex.
  • The in-buffer settings for logging have changed. Some options no longer exists, some new ones have been added.

59.2. Details

59.2.1. Changes to logging progress

There is now more control over which state changes are being logged in what way. Please read carefully the corresponding sections in the manual. Basically:

  • The variable `org-log-done' has been simplified, it no longer influences logging state changes and clocking out.
  • There is a new variable for triggering note-taking when clocking out an item: `org-log-note-clock-out'.
  • Logging of state changes now has to be configured on a pre-keyword basis, either in `org-todo-keywords' or in the #+TODO in-buffer setting.
  • These per-keyword settings allow more control. For example

    WAIT(w@)    Record a note when entering this state.
    WAIT(w!)    Record a timestamp when entering this state.
    WAIT(w@/!)  Recore a note when entering and timestamp
                when leaving this state.  This is great for
                getting a record when switching *back* from
                 WAIT to TODO.
    WAIT(/!)    Record a timestamp when leaving this state.
                Here we not even define a fast access
                character, but just the logging stuff.
    

This was triggered by requests from Wanrong Lin and Bernt Hansen.

59.2.2. Other

  • M-RET no longer brakes a line in the middle, it will make a new line after the current or (if cursor is at the beginning of the line) before the current line.
  • RET, when executed in a headline after the main text and before the tags will leave the tags in the current line and create a new line below the current one.

60. Version 5.21

Bug fixes, in particular the long-hunted bug about wrong window positions after pressing SPACE in the agenda. Hopefully this is really fixed.

61. Version 5.20

61.1. Overview

61.1.1. Remember/Refile/Goto

  • The use of prefix arguments for the commands `org-remember' and `org-refile' has been normalized.
  • The clock can now safely be used in a remember buffer.
  • The variable `org-remember-use-refile-when-interactive' introduced only in 5.19 is already obsolete. Please use `org-remember-interactive-interface' instead.
  • It is no longer necessary to update the refiling targets.
  • Automatic isearch in `org-goto'.
  • Outline-path-completion as alternative org-goto interface.

61.1.2. Misc

  • Checkboxes now work hierarchically.
  • `C-k' can now behave specially in headlines.
  • Repeater for tasks in plain timestamps.
  • All clock intervals of an item show in agenda/timeline.
  • New parameter :step for clocktable, to get daily reports.
  • Never loose a repeaded scheduled item from the agenda.
  • Archiving a subtree now stores the outline path in a property.
  • Links to messages in Apple Mail.
  • Bug fixes.

61.2. Incompatible Changes

  • The variable `org-remember-use-refile-when-interactive' introduced only in 5.19 is already obsolete. Please use `org-remember-interactive-interface' instead.

61.3. Details

61.3.1. Remember/Refile/Goto

  • The use of prefix arguments for the commands `org-remember' and `org-refile' has been normalized:
    • when called without prefix argument, the command does its normal job, starting a remember note or refiling a tree.
    • when called with a single C-u prefix, these commands can be used to select a target location and to jump there. In the case of `org-remember', you will be prompted for a template and then Emacs jumps to the default target location or this template. In the case of `org-refile', you select a location from the refile target list and jump there.
    • when called with two prefixes (`C-u C-u'), the command jumps to the location last used for storing a note or a moved tree.
  • When the clock is running inside an remember buffer, storing the remember buffer with `C-c C-c' will automatically clock out. This was inspired by a request by Rainer Stengle.
  • The variable `org-remember-use-refile-when-interactive' introduced only in 5.19 is already obsolete. Please use `org-remember-interactive-interface' instead. This new variable does select the interface that is used to select the target for a remember note in an interactive way. Possible values are:
    • `outline': Use an outline of the document to select a location.
    • `outline-path-completion': Use completion of an outline path to select a location.
    • `refile': Offer the `org-refile-targets' as possible targets.
  • It is no longer necessary to update the refiling targets - they are always current.
  • In `org-goto', typing characters now automatically starts isearch from the beginning of the buffer. The isearch is special also because it only matches in headline. This goes some way toward saving org-goto from being removed from Org mode. Thanks to Piotr Zielinski for the code, and sorry that it took me so long to put it in. If you prefer to use single letters n,p,f,b,u,q for navigation as before, configure the variable `org-goto-auto-isearch'.
  • Outline-path-completion is now available as an alternative interface in the command `org-goto'. Please select the default interface you'd like to use with the new variable `org-goto-interface'. You can then select the alternative interface with a prefix argument to `C-c C-j' (org-goto). I am considering to make outline-path-completion the default interface. Comments?

61.3.2. Misc

  • Checkboxes now work hierarchically. When a plain-list item with a checkbox has children with checkboxes, the status of the item's checkbox is calculated from the children, each time a checkbox is toggled with C-c C-c. Thanks to Miguel A. Figueroa-Villanueva for a patch to this effect.
  • There is a new variable `org-special-ctrl-k'. When set, `C-k' will behave specially in headlines:

    • When the cursor is at the beginning of a headline, kill the entire line and possible the folded subtree below the line.
    • When in the middle of the headline text, kill the headline up to the tags.
    • When after the headline text, kill the tags.

    This is following a proposal by Piotr Zielinski.

  • You can now also have a plain (as opposed to deadline or scheduled) repeater timestamp in a task. Switching the task to DONE will now also shift a plain time stamp. This was a request by Austin Frank.
  • If an entry is clocked multiple times, it will now show up several times in the agenda and timeline buffers, when log-mode is on. This was a proposal by Jurgen Defurne.
  • The clock table accepts a new parameter :step. This parameter can be `day' or `week' and will result in separate tables for each day or week in the requested time interval. This was triggered by a proposal by Sacha Chua in her blog.
  • A time-stamp with a repeater now no longer refers to the date closest to the current day. Instead, it means either today or the most recent match. This change makes sure that overdue scheduled or deadline items never disappear from the agenda. With the previous convention, an overdue scheduled item would disappear. For example, a weekly item scheduled for Sunday would appear as overdue until Wednesday, and the suddenly disappear until next Sunday. Now the item will show up as "Sched 7x" on Saturday. From Sunday on it will be in the list as "Scheduled", i.e. old sins will be forgiven. This follows a request by Warong, Dennis and Bernt.
  • Archiving a subtree now creates an additional property, ARCHIVE_OLPATH. This property contains the "path" in the outline tree to the archived entry, as it was in the original file. For example, archiving Fix the door in the following hierarchy

    * Tasks
    ** HOME
    *** Garage
    **** Fix the door
    

    will file is with the following property

    :ARCHIVE_PATH: Task/HOME/Garage
    

    Note that you can configure (i.e. limit) the information that gets stored upon archiving with the variable `org-archive-save-context-info'.

  • New file `org-mac-message.el' by John Wiegley to create links for messages in Apple Mail, and to follow these links.
  • Bug fixes.

62. Version 5.19

62.1. Overview

  • Column view can list the clocked times of a subtree.
  • Storing remember notes can use the `org-refile' interface.
  • Storing remember notes no longer produced empty lines.
  • Moving subtrees now folds all siblings of the subtree.
  • New variable `org-agenda-todo-keyword-format'.
  • Hack to allow brackets in link descriptions.
  • Clocking into an entry can enforce a specific TODO state.
  • EXPORTFILENAME may be an absolute file name with "~".
  • Bug fixes, lots of them.

62.2. Details

  • A new special column definition lists the sum of all CLOCK entries in a subtree. For example

    #+COLUMNS: %20ITEM %10Time_Estimate{:} %CLOCKSUM
    

    will allow you to compare estimated times (as given in the TimeEstimate property) with the clocked times. This was a request by Bernt Hansen.

  • Storing remember notes can now use the `org-refile' interface instead of the `org-goto' interface (see the variable `org-remember-use-refile-when-interactive'). Nothing will change if the note is stored immediately after pressing `C-c C-c' in the *Remember* buffer. But if you have chosen (e.g. by pressing `C-u C-c C-c') to interactively select the filing location (file and headline), the refile interface will be used instead. I am excited about this change, because the `org-goto' interface is basically a failure, at least for this application. Note that in any case the refile interface has to be configured first by customizing `org-refile-targets'.
  • Notes inserted with remember now remove any whitespace before and after the note before being pasted, so that there will be no empty lines inserted together with the note. We could invent special syntax in remember templates to allow creating empty lines before a note - is there anyone who'd want this?
  • Moving subtrees now folds all siblings of the subtree. This is the only reasonably simple way I could find to avoid the reported inconsistencies in the folding state of the outline tree after moving entries. There are reasons to like this new behavior, because it easily visualizes where the tree is located after the move. Still, not everyone might be happy with this. Massive complaining would be needed to make me fix this.
  • New variable `org-agenda-todo-keyword-format' to specify the width of the TODO keyword field in the agenda display. Use it to get things to line up better. This was a proposal by Rainer Stengele.
  • If a link description inserted with `C-c C-l' contains brackets, the brackets will now be converted into curly braces. This looks similar enough. Supporting brackets in link descriptions is, for technical reasons too long to explain here, complex.
  • The new option `org-clock-in-switch-to-state' can be set to a TODO state that will be enforced when the clock is started on an entry. This follows an idea by Sacha Chua.
  • The EXPORTFILENAME property may now also be an absolute file name, and it may contain abbreviations like "~" for the users home directory. This was requested by Adam Spiers.
  • Bug fixes, lots of them.

63. Version 5.18

Minor fixes.

64. Version 5.17

64.1. Details

64.1.1. Whitespace

  • When cutting, pasting, or moving subtrees and items, the empty lines before the subtree/item now belong to the part and will be moved with it. There is one exception to this rule: If the first child is moved down (or, equivalently, the second is moved up), the amount of empty lines above the first child to be moved along with it is limited by the number of empty lines below it. This sounds complicated, but it allows to have extra empty space before the first child and still have good behavior of the subtree motion commands.
  • Plain lists items work the same.

I believe we have finally nailed this one. Thanks to Daniel Pittman for bring this up again and to Eric Schulte for pointing out that it is the empty lines before an entry that really count.

This change was non-trivial, please give it a good test and let me know about any problems.

64.1.2. Remember

  • The new command `org-remember-goto-last-stored' will jump to the location of the remember note stored most recently. If you have `org-remember' on a key like `C-c r', then you can go to the location with a double prefix arg: `C-u C-u C-c r'. This was a proposal by Rainer Stengele.
  • Template items that are being prompted for can now specify a default value and a completion table. Furthermore, previous inputs at a specific prompt are captured in a history variable. For example:

    %^{Author|Roald Dahl|Thomas Mann|Larry Niven}
    

    will prompt for an author name. Pressing RET without typing anything will select "Roald Dahl". Completion will give you any of the three names. And a history will be kept, so you can use the arrow keys to get to previous input. The history is tied to the prompt. By using the same prompt in different templates, you can build a history across templates. The ideas for this came from proposals by Bastien and Adam.

  • When a remember template contains the string `%!', the note will be stored immediately after all template parts have been filled in, so you don't even have to press `C-c C-c'. The was a proposal by Adam Spiers.

64.1.3. Refile

  • `org-refile-targets' has a new parameter to specify a maximum level for target selection. Thanks to Wanrong Lin for this proposal.
  • When the new option `org-refile-use-outline-path' is set, refile targets will be presented like a file path to the completion interface: "level 1/level 2/level 3". This may be the fastest interface yet to get to a certain outline entry. Do we need to use this interface in other places? Thanks to Jose Ruiz for this proposal.

65. Version 5.16

65.1. Details

65.1.1. Restriction lock on agenda scope

You can now permanently lock the agenda construction to a certain scope, like a file or a subtree. So instead of pressing "<" for each command in the agenda dispatcher, you only once select a restriction scope. All subsequent agenda commands will than respect this restriction. For example, you can use this at work, to limit agendas to your work file or tree, and at home to limit to the home file or tree. Or you can use it during the day in order to focus in on certain projects.

You select a scope with the command `C-c C-x <', which restricts to the current subtree. When called with a `C-u' prefix, the restriction is to the current file. You can also make restrictions from the speedbar frame, see below.

When making a new restriction and an agenda window is currently visible, it will immediately be updated to reflect the new scope. If you like you can display an agenda view and then watch it change in various scopes.

To get rid of the restriction, use the command "C-c C-x >". Or press ">" in the agenda dispatcher. Also, and use of "<" in the dispatcher will disable the restriction lock and select a new restriction.

Thanks to Rick Moynihan for triggering this development.

65.1.2. Imenu and Speedbar support

  • Org mode now supports Imenu. For example, with the setting

    (add-hook 'org-mode-hook 
       (lambda () 'imenu-add-to-menubar "Imenu"))
    

    a menu will be created in each Org mode buffer that provides access to all level 1 and level 2 headings. The depth of the menu can be set with the variable `org-imenu-depth'.

  • org-mode now supports Speedbar. This means that you can drill into the first and second level headlines of an Org mode file right from the speedbar frame.
  • You can set a restriction lock for the Org mode agenda to a file or a subtree directly from the speedbar frame. Just press "<" with the cursor on an Org mode file or subtree to set the lock and immediately update the agenda if it is visible. Use ">" to get rid of the lock again.

66. Version 5.15

66.1. Details

  • There are new special properties TIMESTAMP and TIMESTAMPIA. These can be used to access the first keyword-less active and inactive timestamp in an entry, respectively.
  • New variable `org-clock-heading-function'. It can be set to a function that creates the string shown in the mode line when a clock is running. Thanks to Tom Weissmann for this idea.
  • Bug fixes.

67. Version 5.14

67.1. Overview

  • Remember and related stuff
    • New command `org-refile' to quickly move a note.
    • Easy way to jump to the target location of remember template.
    • New %-escapes in remember templates: %c %(…) and %[…]
    • `org-remember-insinuate' simplifies remember setup
  • Emphasis and Font-lock stuff
    • Stacked emphasis is no longer allowed.
    • You may finally emphasize a single character like *a*.
    • Font-lock now can hide the emphasis markers
    • Text in the "=" emphasis is exported verbatim
    • There is a new emphasis marker "~" for verbatim text
    • Constructs treated specially by the exporters can be highlighted
  • Properties and Column view
    • More control over which properties use inheritance
    • CATEGORY="work" can now be used in a tags/property search
    • the {+} summary type can specify a printf-style output format
    • New currency summary type {$}
  • The date/time prompt
    • While entering data, watch live the current interpretation.
    • The date prompt now prefers to select the future
    • Easier modification of time in an existing time stamp.
  • Export
    • You can now export some special strings in HTML, like "…"
    • #+EMAIL: may contain several email addresses
  • Agenda
    • In the agenda, a few keys have changed: `g', `G', and `e'.
  • Miscellaneous
    • Class-dependent sectioning structures in LaTeX export.
    • Radio-lists modeled after the radio tables.
    • The default for `org-ellipsis' is back to nil
    • Support for pabbrev-mode
    • New variable `org-show-entry-below'.

67.2. Incompatible changes

  • If you have customized the variable `org-emphasis-alist' or org-export-emphasis-alist', you need to do it again by first canceling your customization and then adding it again.
  • I know that some people have defined their own private helper functions to select a specific remember template, without being prompted, like this:

    (defun my-remember-template-n ()
       (interactive)
       (org-remember ?n))
    

    You need to modify this. The character selecting the template must now be the second argument to `org-remember':

    (defun my-remember-template-n ()
       (interactive)
       (org-remember nil ?n))
    
  • `C-c C-w' now refiles an entry. To get a sparse tree of deadlines, use `C-c / d' instead.

67.3. Details

67.3.1. Remember and related stuff

  • New command `org-refile' to quickly move a note to a different place. It is bound to `C-c C-w'. The foremost application might be to put a note or task captured with `remember' into the proper list or project. The command offers a list of possible refiling targets for completion. These are headings under which the entry will be inserted as a subitem. By default, this will offer all top-level headings in the current buffer, but you can configure the variable `org-refile-targets' to get more complex definitions. For example:

    (setq org-refile-targets '((nil . (:level . 2))))
    

    selects all level 2 headlines in the current buffer as targets. And

    (setq org-refile-targets
         '((org-agenda-files . (:tag . "refile"))))
    

    searches all agenda files and selects headlines that are explicitly marked with the tag :refile: . Note that the list of targets is built upon first use only, to rebuilt it, call the command `C-c C-w' with a double prefix argument.

    This is based on an idea and example implementation by Max Mikhanosha. Many thanks Max.

  • You can now use a C-u prefix on `org-remember' to jump to the location where a specific templates stores its notes. For example, if you have `org-remember' bound to `C-c r', then `C-u C-c r n' will get you to the file and headline given in the template associated with the letter "n".

    This was proposed by someone, but I have lost track who. Sorry, and thanks anyway.

  • New %-escapes in remember templates:

    %c     insert the current clipboard, like C-y would do
    %(..)  evaluate Lisp expression and insert the result
    %[..]  include file
    

    Thanks to Adam Spiers and Tim O'Callaghan.

  • New function `org-remember-insinuate' that makes is easier to set Org mode specific values for remember variables. Thanks to Michael Olson for this proposal. It is equivalent to:

    (require 'remember)
    (setq remember-annotation-functions '(org-remember-annotation))
    (setq remember-handler-functions '(org-remember-handler))
    (add-hook 'remember-mode-hook 'org-remember-apply-template))
    

    You might still want to set `org-default-notes-file' to provide a default for templates without a file, and `org-directory' to show where to find other org files.

67.3.2. Emphasis and Font-lock stuff

  • Stacked emphasis like */bold italic/* is no longer allowed.
  • You may finally emphasize a single character like *a*.
  • Font-lock now can hide the emphasis markers, just like Muse does. Configure the variable `org-hide-emphasis-markers' if you want this. Showing the characters continues to be the default in Org mode.
  • Text in the "=" emphasis is now exported verbatim, i.e. no further parsing and interpretation of this text takes place. So you can write =quoted *xxx* a_x = b=. This and the following point implement a request by Daniel Clemente.
  • There is a new emphasis marker "~" which marks text to be exported verbatim, without special formatting. Inside an org-mode file, this text is highlighted with the org-verbatim face. I am not happy with the face yet (currently is is like org-code, but underlined), please suggest a better one.
  • Whether an emphasis environment is verbatim or not is now an extra flag in the variable `org-emphasis-alist'. If you have configured this variable, do it again by first canceling your customization to revert to the default, and then adding it again.
  • New variable `org-highlight-latex-fragments-and-specials'. When turned on, Org mode will highlight all strings that are treated in a special way by the exporters. This is great for export-oriented writing, but maybe a bit noisy for note taking, so this feature is off by default.

67.3.3. Properties and Column view

  • `org-use-property-inheritance' may now also be a list of property names that should be treated with inheritance during searches.
  • CATEGORY="work" can now be used in a tags/property search, even if the category is not specified as a property in the entry, but rather is inherited or derived from #+CATEGORY. Thanks to Adam, Tim, and Bastien for an interesting discussion around this issue.
  • Summary type improvements in column view.
    • The {+} summary type can specify a printf-style output format for computed values like this: {+;%5.2f} This was triggered by a report by Levin.
    • New currency summary type {$}, which so far is just a shorthand for {+;%.2f}. Do we need to have a currency symbol in front of each value. Scott Jaderholm asked for this, but I am not sure if this is already what he meant.

67.3.4. The date/time prompt

There have been several small but very useful additions to the date prompt.

  • While entering data at the date prompt, the current interpretation of your input is shown next to your input in the minibuffer. I find this great to understand how the input works. If you find the extra stuff in the minibuffer annoying, turn it off with `org-read-date-display-live'.
  • The date prompt now prefers to select the future. If you enter a date without a month, and the day number is before today (for example, on the 16th of the month you enter "9"), Org mode will assume next month. Similarly, if you enter a month and no year, next year will be assumed if the entered month is before the current, for example if you enter "May" in September. Thanks to John Rakestraw for this great suggestion. If you find it confusing, turn it off with `org-read-date-prefer-future'.
  • When modifying an existing date using `C-c .' at the stamp, the time or time range in the stamp are now offered as default input at the prompt. This goes a long way to simplifying the modification of an existing date. Thanks to Adam Spiers for this proposal.

67.3.5. Export (all implemented by Bastien…)

  • You can now export special strings in HTML. Here is the list of newly performed conversions:

    Org Description HTML
    \\ double backslash followed by minus &shy;
    -- two dashes (minuses) &ndash;
    --- three dashes (minuses) &mdash;
    ... three dots &hellip;

    You can turn this globally on or off with `org-export-with-special-strings' or locally with "-:t" or "-:nil" in the #+OPTIONS line. Thanks to Adam Spiers for starting the discussion, and thanks to Daniel Clemente and William Henney for relevant inputs.

  • Comma-separated emails in #+EMAIL: are correctly exported. Thanks to Raman for pointing out this omission.

67.3.6. Agenda

  • In the agenda, a few keys have changed

    g  does now the same a "r", refresh current display,
       because "g" is the Emacs standard for "refresh"
    G  toggle the time grid, used to be "g"
    e  Execute another agenda command, pretty much the same as
       `C-c a', but shorter and keep the same agenda window.
    

67.3.7. Miscellaneous (much of it from Bastien)

  • You can now select the sectioning structure of your LaTeX export by setting it either globally (`org-export-latex-default-class') or locally in each Org file (with #+LaTeXCLASS: myclass). You can also customize the list of available classes and their sectioning structures through the new `org-export-latex-classes' option. Thanks to Daniel for discussions and suggestion on this issue.
  • You can send and receive radio lists in HTML, LaTeX or TeXInfo, just as you send and receive radio tables. Check the documentation for details and examples.
  • The default for `org-ellipsis' is back to nil, some people seem to have had problems with the face as a default.
  • Support for pabbrev-mode, needs pabbrev version 1.1. Thanks to Phillip Lord for adapting his package to make this possible.
  • New variable `org-show-entry-below' to force context-showing commands to expose the body of a headline that is being shown. Thanks to Harald Weis for pointing out this omission.

68. Version 5.13i

68.1. Details

  • On the date/time prompt, you can now also answer with something like +2tue to pick the second tuesday from today. This was a proposal by Sacha Chua.
  • When interpopating into Lisp formulas in the spreadsheet, the values of constants and properties are no longer enclosed into parenthesis. When interpolating for calc, this still happens in order to allow expressions in constants. This problem was reported by Eddward DeVilla.
  • When a directory is listed in `org-agenda-files', all files with extension matched by the new variable `org-agenda-file-regexp' in that directory will be agenda files.
  • Bug fixes.

69. Version 5.13

69.1. Overview

  • Bug fixes and improvements in column view
    • All known bugs fixed.
    • A Column view can be captured into a dynamic block.
    • The ITEM column is formatted core compactly.
    • Also ITEM can be edited with `e'
  • The agenda dispatcher
    • `<' cycles through restriction states.
    • Multi-character access codes to commands (= sub-keymaps).
  • Sorting improvements
    • User-defined sorting keys.
    • Sorting by properties.
    • Sorting of plain lists.
  • HTML <div> structure
  • Other stuff
    • New variables, several of them.
    • Drawers can be set on a per-file basis.
    • Better control over priority fontification in agenda.
    • M-up and M-down now move the current line up and down.
    • Abort remember template selection with C-g.

69.2. Details

69.2.1. Bug fixes and improvements in column view

  • All the bugs described by Scott Jaderholm have been fixed (at least I hope so…).
  • You can now capture a column view into a dynamic block, for exporting or printing it. The column view can be

    • global, i.e. for the entire file
    • local, i.e. for the subtree where the dynamic block is
    • from an entry with a specific :ID: property.

    You can identify the entry whose column view you want to capture by assigning an :ID: property, and use that property in the dynamic block definition. For example:

    * Planning
      :PROPERTIES:
        :ID: planning-overview
      :END:
    
    [...]
    
    * The column view
    #+BEGIN: columnview :hlines 1 :id "planning-overview"
    
    #+END:
    

    Use `C-c C-x r' to insert such a dynamic block, and you will be prompted for the ID.

  • When the current column format displays TODO keyword, priority or tags, these parts are stripped from the content of the ITEM column, making for more compact and readable entries. When any of these "properties" are not listed in the current column format, they are instead retained in the ITEM column.
  • You can now also edit the ITEM column with `e'.

69.2.2. The agenda dispatcher

  • Instead of pressing `1' to restrict an agenda command to the current buffer, or `0' to restrict it to the current subtree or region, you can now also press `<' once or twice, respectively. This frees up `1' and `0' for user commands, a request by Bastien. In fact, "<" cycles through different restriction states. "1" and "0" are still available for backward compatibility, until you bind them to custom commands.
  • The access code to custom agenda commands can now contain several characters, effectively allowing to bundle several similar commands into a sub-keymap. This follows an excellent proposal by Adam Spiers. For example:

    (setq org-agenda-custom-commands
      '(("h" . "HOME + Name tag searches") ; describe prefix "h"
        ("hl" tags "+HOME+Lisa")
        ("hp" tags "+HOME+Peter")
        ("hk" tags "+HOME+Kim")))
    
  • The user function option in org-agenda-custom-commands may now also be a lambda expression, following a request by Adam Spiers.

69.2.3. Sorting improvements

We are using a new routine for sorting entries, courtesy of John Wiegley. Many thanks to John.

  • You can define your own function to extract a sorting key and in this way sort entries by anything you like.
  • Entries can now be sorted according to the value of a property.
  • Plain lists can be sorted.

69.2.4. HTML <div> structure

There is now a <div>-based structure in exported HTML.

  • The table of context is wrapped into a div with a class "table-of-contents".
  • The outline structure is embedded in <div> elements with classes "outline-1", "outline-2" etc.
  • The postamble, containing the author information and the date is wrapped into a div with class "postamble".

I am not sure if the class names are the best choice, let me know if there are more "canonical" choices.

Thanks to Mike Newman and Cezar for input, and in particular to Mike for his clearly formulated specification.

69.2.5. Other stuff

  • New variable `org-agenda-window-frame-fractions' to customize the size limits of the agenda window in the case that you display the agenda window by reorganizing the frame.
  • Drawers can be set on a per-file basis using

    #+DRAWERS: HIDDEN STATE PROPERTIES
    

    This will define the drawers :HIDDEN: and :STATE:. The :PROPERTY: drawer should always be part of this list, or your properties will not be folded away. Thanks to Richard G. Riley for this proposal.

  • `org-agenda-fontify-priorities' may now also be an association list of priorities and faces, to specify the faces of priorities in the agenda individually.
  • The variable `org-export-with-property-drawer' no longer exists, please use `org-export-with-drawers' instead. Also, the corresponding switch in the #+OPTIONS line has changed from "p" to "d". Thanks to Bastien for pointing out that we needed to handle not only the property drawer.
  • M-up and M-down now move the current line up and down (if not at a headline, item or table). Among other things you can use this to re-order properties in the drawer. This was a proposal by Bastien.
  • New variable `org-agenda-todo-ignore-with-date', based on a request by Wanrong Lin.
  • Aborting remember template selection with C-g now kills the remember buffer and restores the old window configuration. This was a request by Nuutti Kotivuori.

70. Version 5.12

70.1. Overview

  • Remember templates can now have name.
  • `C-c C-k' will abort taking a note (remember of log)
  • `C-c C-x C-w' and `C-c C-x M-w' now accept a prefix arg.
  • Lines in the agenda can be fontified according to priority.
  • New variable `org-scheduled-past-days'.
  • New variables `org-agenda-deadline-leaders' and `org-agenda-scheduled-leaders'.
  • New sparse tree function `org-sparse-tree'.
  • The variable `org-ellipsis' now defaults to `org-link'.
  • The #+OPTIONS line has a new option "tags".
  • New variable `org-use-property-inheritance'.

70.2. Incompatible Changes

  • `C-c /' now calls `org-sparse-tree'.

70.3. Details

  • Remember templates can now have a template name as the first element. The name will be listed along with the selection character when prompting for a template. It is best to have the name start with the selection character, for example if you use ("Note" "n"), you will be prompted like "[n]ote". Thanks to Matiyam for this proposal.
  • `C-c C-k' will abort taking a note. You can use this in remember buffers and when taking a logging note (e.g. for a state change). Thanks to Bastien.
  • `C-c C-x C-w' and `C-c C-x M-w' now accept a prefix arg to cut N sequential subtrees. This was a proposal by John.
  • Lines in the agenda are now bold if they have priority A and italic if they have priority C. You can turn this off using the variable `org-agenda-fontify-priorities'. Thanks to John Wiegley for the idea and code.
  • New variable `org-scheduled-past-days' to set the number a scheduled item will be listed after its date has passed. Default is 10000, i.e. indefinitely.
  • New variables `org-agenda-deadline-leaders' and `org-agenda-scheduled-leaders' to adjust the leading text o scheduled items and deadline in the agenda. Thanks to John Wiegley for a patch.
  • New sparse tree function `org-sparse-tree'. This is now the default binding for `C-c /'. It requires one additional keypress to select a command, but in return is provides a single interface to all the different sparse tree commands, with full completion support.
  • The variable `org-ellipsis' now defaults to the face `org-link' because the visibility of the dots is really bad and I have found this change very useful indeed.
  • The #+OPTIONS line has a new option "tags" which can be used to set `org-export-with-tags'. Thanks to Wanrong Lin for this proposal.
  • New variable `org-use-property-inheritance'. Configure it to `t' if you want that searching for entries with certain properties always should assume inheritance. This is not well tested yet, please check it out.
  • Bug fixes

71. Version 5.11

71.1. Overview

  • SUMMARY, DESCRIPTION, LOCATION properties for iCalendar
  • Command to jump to the running clock
  • Clock entries can now have their own drawer
  • `C-c C-x C-r' only updates a clocktable at point
  • New way to assign a remember template to a single key
  • `C-n' and `C-p' are back to their default binding
  • `C-x C-s' in agenda buffer saves all org-mode buffers
  • Schedule/deadline leaves note in agenda buffer
  • Prefix argument for `C-c C-d/s' will remove date
  • New variable to make block aranda more compact
  • Better tag alignment in agenda

71.2. Incompatible changes

  • If you have customized `org-drawers', you need to add "CLOCK" to the list of drawers.
  • The variable `org-agenda-align-tags-to-column' has been renamed to `org-agenda-tags-column'. The old name is still an alias, in Emacs 22 and in XEmacs, but not in Emacs 21.
  • The default value for both `org-tags-column' and `org-agenda-tags-column' is now -80.
  • The variable `org-insert-labeled-timestamps-before-properties-drawer' is now obsolete.

71.3. Details

  • The LOGGING property allows to modify the settings for progress logging for a single entry. For example:

    :PROPERTIES:
      :LOGGING: nologging nologrepeat
    :END:
    

    turns off all progress logging for the current entry and its children.

  • The properties SUMMARY, DESCRIPTION and LOCATION have special meaning during iCalendar export, when they translate to the corresponding VEVENT and VTODO fields. If not given, Org-ode continues to use cleaned-up version of the headline and body as the summary and the description, respectively.
  • New function to go to the entry with the currently running clock. Bound to `C-c C-x C-j', in agenda also to "J". If you use this often, you might even want to assign a global key. Thanks to Bernt and Bastien.
  • Clock entries can now have their own drawer, the :CLOCK: drawer. Check out the variable `org-clock-into-drawer' for configuration of this feature. The default is to create a drawer when the second clocking line gets added to an entry. Note that "CLOCK" has been added to the default value of `org-drawers', but if you have configured that variable, you must go back and add "CLOCK" yourself to get this drawer folded away. Thanks to Tom Weissman for pointing out that too many clock entries are visually annoying.
  • `C-c C-x C-r' no longer tries to find the first clocktable in a buffer and then updates it. Instead, it will update the clocktable at point if there is one (same as C-c C-c will do if the cursor is in the "#+BEGIN" line of the table). If there is none at point, a new one will be inserted. This change was necessary because the new :scope parameter allows to have several clocktables in a buffer. Thanks to Bastien for pointing this out. To update all dynamic blocks in a file, use `C-u C-c C-x C-u'.
  • The function `org-remember' can now be called with a template selection key as argument. This helps to make key bindings that go directly to a specific template without being prompted for a template, like this:

    (global-set-key [f5] (lambda () (interactive) (org-remember "j")))
    

    Thanks to Richard G Riley for bringing this up.

  • `C-n' and `C-p' are back to their default binding (next/previous line) in the agenda buffer. Enough people, including recently Denis Bueno, have complained about this, and I agree it is not good to break habits like that.
  • `C-x C-s' in an agenda buffer now saves all org-mode buffers (also `s' does this).
  • Setting schedule or deadline dates from the agenda now produces a note in the agenda, similarly to what happens with S-left/right.
  • Using a prefix argument for `C-c C-d' or `C-c C-s' will remove the deadline or scheduling date from an item. Thanks to Wanrong Lin for this proposal.
  • New variable `org-agenda-compact-blocks'. When set, the space between blocks in a block agenda is reduced as much as possible, to show more items on a single screen.
  • The variable `org-agenda-tags-column' (renamed from `org-agenda-align-tags-to-column') can now also be negative, to mean alignment to the left. The new default is -80, just like it is now for `org-tags-column'.
  • Bug fixes

72. Version 5.10

72.1. Overview

  • Category and the archive location can be properties.
  • The clocktable has a new :scope parameter.
  • CSV support when importing a table.
  • Better defaults when modifying a time stamp.
  • New way to specify the duration of an appointment.
  • More aggressive version of orgstruct-mode improved wrapping.
  • Modifications to priority cycling.
  • Modifications to computations in column view.
  • New command `org-occur-in-agenda-files'.
  • Bug fixes.

72.2. Details

  • Both the category and the archive location in a (sub)tree of the buffer can now be specified using a property, for example:

    * Tree with special properties
      :PROPERTIES:
        :CATEGORY: Examples
        :ARCHIVE:  /some/special/file::
      :END:
    

    This is a much cleaner way of dealing with multiple categories and archives in a single file. The preferred use of the #+CATEGORY and #+ARCHIVE lines is now to set a single default for the file which is then locally overruled by properties. This was a proposal from Bastien if I remember correctly. Multiple #+ lines still work and I don't plan to remove this support soon, but I encourage you to stop using them.

  • The clocktable has a new :scope parameter that determines the range in the file from which clock entries should be taken. This can be anything from the local subtree to the entire buffer to even the full list of agenda files. Legal values are:

    value scope
    nil the current buffer or narrowed region
    file the full current buffer
    subtree the subtree where the clocktable is located
    treeN the surrounding level N tree, for example tree3
    tree the surrounding level 1 tree
    agenda all agenda files

    Thanks to Jason F. McBrayer and Bernt Hansen for inspiration. Thanks to cranreuch (what is you full name?) for mentioning, at the right moment, that the clocktable is not so bad - that remark made it seem worthwhile to add features.

  • The commands to import a table and to convert a region to a table can now handle comma-separated values (CSV). The algorithm does not yet treat quoting correctly, but for basic input it works.
  • When modifying an existing time stamp, or when entering the second stamp of a range, the date prompt will now consistently default to the date/time in the existing stamp. This was triggered by Nuutti Kotivuori's request.
  • At the date/time prompt, there is a new way to specify a range of hours, by using "+DURATION" after the time. For example:

    14:00+2  means 14:00-16:00
    2pm+2:30 means 14:00-16:30
    

    Again, Nuutti Kotivuori's request.

  • When you use the function `turn-on-orgstruct++' to turn on orgstruct-mode, the special org-mode settings for auto-filling, indentation and paragraphs are exported into the buffer, so that typing list items with indentation works better. This was Bastien's idea and request.
  • New variable `org-priority-start-cycle-with-default'. When t (the default), priority cycling will initially set the default priority and then increase or decrease. When nil, the first priority set by cycling is already 1 different from the default priority. This was mostly driven by Bastien.
  • In column view: When an entry has a property for a summary column defined, its value is normally overwritten by the sum of all the children's values each time you enter column view. Now there is an exception to this rule: If none of the children has that particular property defined, the parent's value stays. In this way you can still place TODO items under such an entry without getting the property value changed. Thanks to Russel Adams for pointing out that this is a better way of doing things.
  • In column view, computed values are now bold face, and trying to edit them is an error. I think this works, but testing is appreciated.
  • New command `org-occur-in-agenda-files', this is basically the quick command John Wiegley proposed the other day, but it also works when the agenda files are not yet in buffers. The key is `C-c C-x /', any better proposals?
  • Links containing a space will now be handled correctly when calling the browser. Note that you need to enclose such links in square or angular brackets.
  • Bug fixes.

73. Version 5.09

73.1. Overview

  • Taking a note upon TODO state changes can be restricted to selected states.
  • The format in which dates are shown in the daily/weekly agenda can be configured.
  • The default for `org-remember-store-without-prompt' is now t.
  • `org-goto' has been made into a general lookup command.
  • Priority cycling goes back to the nil state.
  • You can store a remember note to the last used location.
  • On Emacs 23, the headline faces for org-mode are now inherited from the outline faces.

73.2. Incompatible Changes

  • The default for `org-remember-store-without-prompt' is now t, in order to better match the original intent of remember.el (storing a note with minimum interruption of work flow). I expect that many people will be hit by this incompatible change - nevertheless I believe it is the right thing to do.

73.3. Details

  • You can now select specific states for recording a note when switching to that state. With the setting

    #+SEQ_TODO: TODO(t) ORDERED(o@) INVOICE(i@) PAYED(p) | RECEIVED(r)
    #+STARTUP: lognotestate
    

    only the states ORDERED and INVOICE will record a timestamp and a note.

  • You can now set the format of the string for each day in the agenda and timeline buffers. You can use a format string interpreted by `format-time-string', or you can write your own function. Configure the new variable `org-agenda-format-date'. Thanks to Levin for triggering this development with a patch.
  • The default for `org-remember-store-without-prompt' is now t, in order to better match the original intent of remember.el (storing a note with minimum interruption of work flow). Since we can assign files and headlines to templates, I guess this takes care of selecting a filing location in most cases. For interactive filing, you now need a prefix command when exiting `remember'.
  • `org-goto' (bound to `C-c C-j') now uses an indirect buffer and has additional commands enabled: Org-occur with `C-c ' or even faster with `', and the commands needed to select and copy a region. This make `org-goto' a more general lookup command instead of only a jumping command. Remember that you can exit with `Q' to go back to the original location. Thanks to William Henney for this idea.
  • Setting the priority with S-up/down now cycles back to a state where no priority is specified. This was requested by Rick Moynihan.
  • You can store a remember note to the last used location. So if you select a location interactively once, you can re-use it without having to find it again. For this, exit the remember buffer with `C-u C-u C-c C-c'. The leading comment in the remember buffer will tell exactly where the note goes if you exit with a particular command. Thanks to Maxim Loginov for this idea.
  • On Emacs 23, the headline faces for org-mode are now inherited from the outline faces. This is just a convenience, so that you only have to configure one set of faces, and that will then be outline-1 .. outline-8. You will actually not see any difference in org-mode, because Stefan Monnier has made the outline faces in Emacs 23 to match the current org-mode faces.

    This change does not effect XEmacs, nor Emacs 21 and 22.

74. Version 5.08

74.1. Incompatible changes

  • The default for `org-deadline-warning-days' is now 14.

74.2. Details

  • There is now a separate interface for fast and directly setting a TODO keyword. This interface kicks in when you have configured keys for TODO keywords like

    #+SEQ_TODO: TODO(t) WAITING(w) | DONE(d) CANCELED(c)
    

    C-c C-t still does the cycling thing, you need to use a prefix argument to get to the fast interface. Or configure the variable `org-use-fast-todo-selection' to t, then this will be the default and the prefix argument will make the command fall back to cycling.

    The tag selection no longer does include TODO keywords - Leo's arguments have convinced me that this is not a good idea. If you'd like to see the TODO keywords in the tags interface anyway, set the variable `org-fast-tag-selection-include-todo'. Thanks to Leo and others for input on this issue.

  • New variable `org-edit-timestamp-down-means-later'. When set, `S-down' on a timestamp will change the timestamp to later. Thanks to Raman for this idea.
  • Property names can now contain non-ascii word characters. This follows a request from Daniel Clemente.
  • For export, the date that should be given in the exported file can now be set to a specific value with a line like

    #+DATE: 15 November 2003
    

    If you want to use the date/time when the file was created, use a format string that will be interpreted by `format-time-string', for example:

    #+DATE: %Y/%m/%d %X
    
  • The default of `org-deadline-warning-days' has changed to 14 days. 30 was really too much, I suspect most people (me included) have changed this.
  • When a deadline has an individual lead time, this lead time obviously overrules `org-deadline-warning-days'. However, if you bind `org-deadline-warning-days' to a number <=0, for example during a custom agenda command, then the absolute value of this number will be enforced also when a different lead time has been specified. This is useful to get a list of all deadlines coming up in the next N days.

75. Version 5.07

75.1. Overview

  • Different faces for different TODO keywords.
  • Setting TODO states through the TAG setting interface.
  • Context information is stored when moving a tree to the archive.
  • Sorting can be done by priority.
  • `Org-ellipsis' can now also be a face.
  • Scheduling info is no longer removed entry is marked CLOSED.
  • Unavailable files in `org-agenda-files' can be skipped.

75.2. Incompatible changes

  • The time of archiving is now stored as a property. ARCHIVED is no longer a special time keyword.
  • Scheduling info is no longer removed entry is marked CLOSED.

75.3. Details

  • You can now define different faces for different TODO keywords. This request has come up frequently, so here it is: Use the variable `org-todo-keyword-faces'.

    A Here is a configuration example:

    (setq org-todo-keyword-faces
      '(("TODO"      . org-warning)
        ("DEFERRED"  . shadow)
        ("CANCELED"  . (:foreground "blue" :weight bold
                       :underline t))))
    

    Org mode continue still use `org-todo' and `org-done' for keywords that have no specific face assigned.

  • Some People use TODO states more like tags. For them the TODO keywords mark special states and they like to quickly switch between states in arbitrary sequence. The standard TODO interface is not perfect for this, because it assumes that the states are reached in sequence. However, the fast tag setting interface is in fact perfect for this. You can now "misuse" the TAG selection interface to also set TODO states. All you need to do is to assign keys to the TODO states, just like you also do for tags.

    #+SEQ_TODO: TODO(t) WAITING(w) | CANCELED(c) DONE(d)
    #+TAGS: @HOME(h) @OFFICE(o) @SHOP(s)
    

    Next time you try to set tags with C-c C-c, the todo states will be offered as well, and the corresponding key will switch the entry to that state.

  • New variable `org-archive-save-context-info' governs if information that would be lost by moving a subtree to the archive file, should be stored as special properties. For example,

    (setq org-archive-save-context-info '(itags category))
    

    will store the inherited tags and the category in properties ARCHIVEITAGS and ARCHIVECATEGORY, respectively. The default setting for this variable is to save everything that could be lost. This was a proposal by John Wiegley.

  • Sorting (`C-c ^') can use the use the priority to sort. Use the "p" and "P" keys at the prompt. John Wiegley, again.
  • `Org-ellipsis' can now also be a face to make the folding ellipsis more visible. This is based on a post by Tassilo Horn. Since `org-ellipsis' only works in Org mode, you might want to use Tassilo Horn's hack directly in order to affect the folding ellipsis globally.
  • Scheduling info is no longer removed when an entry is marked CLOSED. This was a request by Brian van den Broek. Let me know if this breaks anything for you - then it will become an option.
  • New option `org-agenda-skip-unavailable-files'. Currently, if a file does not exist, it will be removed from `org-agenda-files' after a query. When this option is set, the file will simply be skipped.
  • Bug fixes.

76. Version 5.06

76.1. Overview

76.2. Details

  • When exporting only a region and this region is a single (sub)tree (for example selected with `C-c @'), the title for the exported document is taken to be the heading of the subtree. The sublevels become top-level entries in the export. Furthermore, if the head entry of the tree has or inherits an EXPORTFILENAME property, that file name (with appropriately substituted extension) will be used for the exported tree. Thanks to Patrick Drechsler and Jost Burkart for these ideas.
  • org-special-ctrl-a/e has a third allowed value, `reversed'. When it is set to this value, the first C-a or C-e command behaves normally, i.e. it goes to the true beginning or end of the line. Only when you press C-a or C-e immediately again, the the "special" position will be found. Additional presses of the same key jump between the two positions. I like this a lot better than the `t' setting, because now the keys behave more predictable and still give easy access to the special locations.
  • New command to set or remove a tag from all headlines in a region.
  • When Org mode visits a file, it will initially hide all drawers.
  • The default of the variable `org-cycle-global-at-bob' is now nil, meaning that TAB no longer does global visibility cycling at the beginning of the buffer.
  • Bug fixes, in particular the problems with scheduling and deadlines introduced in 5.05. Please check carefully if this works correctly again, and complain if not.

77. Version 5.05

77.1. Overview

  • LaTeX export, finally, thanks to Bastien.
  • Extension mechanism for the hyperlink system.
  • Global access to commands inserting and following links.
  • Individual lead-times for deadlines.
  • Option to show only the next instance of repeating timestamp.
  • Store remember notes with only 2 keys: C-c C-c
  • Appointment reminders from Org mode.
  • Global values for selected properties.
  • Bug fixes.

77.2. Details

  • Bastien's `org-export-latex.el' is now part of the org-mode distribution. You can export an Org mode document to a LaTeX file with `C-c C-e l'. For more options, see the manual, and the commentary in the Lisp file. Kudos to Bastien for contributing this frequently requested feature. I am sure this has been tough because of the many different ways I have been allowing LaTeX snippets and environments to be incorporated in lazy free-format ways.
  • Org mode has now an extension mechanism for the hyperlink system. This should clear the road for all those mairix and other ideas that have been floating around. Now it is on you to write and share new link types for Org mode. The interface for adding a new link type is described in the appendix of the manual, section A2. The unsolved problem is currently how to handle the new link types for export/publishing.
  • New global commands `org-open-at-point-global' and `org-insert-link-global'. You can bind these commands to global keys and use them to insert and follow Org mode-like links anywhere in Emacs. Thanks to Adam Spiers for this excellent idea.
  • Each deadline timestamp may now specify its own interval of lead-time display, given in days, weeks, months or years. The syntax is like this

    DEADLINE: <2007-08-13 Mon -5d>
    

    When combined with a repeater, the repeater has to come first:

    DEADLINE: <2007-08-13 Mon +2w -5d>
    

    You may now also customize the faces that are used in the agenda to indicate the distance of an approaching deadline. See the new option `org-agenda-deadline-faces'.

    Thanks to Pavel Chalmoviansky and John Wiegley proposals in this direction.

  • New option `org-agenda-repeating-timestamp-show-all'. When set to nil, repeating time stamps will only show up once in the agenda, either today or in the near future. Other matches will be ignored. Thanks to John Wiegley for this proposal.
  • New variable `org-remember-store-without-prompt'. When set, exiting the remember buffer with C-c C-c will store the note without further prompts to the default location, and `C-u C-c C-c' will get the prompts for file and location. So this variable reverses the prefix-argument functionality for storing remember notes. This follows a request from John Wiegley.
  • A new function `org-agenda-to-appt' activates all appointments for the current day so that Emacs will display reminders. This uses appt.el. Thanks to Bastien for this function.
  • You can now set default values for properties that can be inherited by all entries in a buffer, or by all entries globally. Global properties are set in the variable `org-global-properties', like this:

    (setq org-global-properties '(("NAME" "This is the value")))

    Buffer-local values are set like this:

    #+PROPERTY: NAME This is the value
    

    When using org-entry-get to get the value of a property with the `inherit' flag and the hierarchy above the entry does not contain this property, the buffer-local and global lists are checked as well. This is mostly useful (I think) to set the list of allowed values for a property. Thanks to Bernt Hansen and Bastien for these ideas.

  • Bug fixes.

78. Version 5.04

78.1. Details

  • New variables `org-export-author-info' and `org-export-time-stamp-file' to turn off inclusion of author and time information into exported files. Thank to Patrick Drechsler for pointing out that this would be useful.
  • New variable to avoid moving DEADLINE and SCHEDULED info into the property drawer. The default is now to not move this stuff into the drawer. `org-insert-labeled-timestamps-before-properties-drawer'
  • `org-archive-mark-done' can be a string now, to select a specific keyword that should be used for archived entries.
  • New command "j" in agenda to jump to an arbitrary date. Thanks to Bernt Hansen for the patch.
  • Lots of minor fixes.

79. Version 5.03

79.1. Incompatible Changes

  • The variable `org-special-ctrl-a' has been renamed to `org-special-ctrl-a/e'. The old one is still an alias (but not on Emacs 21 where variable aliases cannot be defined).

79.2. Details

  • When the variable `org-special-ctrl-a/e' is set, C-e in a headline first goes to the end of the headline ignoring the tags. A second C-e then goes to after the tags.
  • Typing and removing single characters in a headline now keeps the tags in the headline aligned. This could have a little impact on performance while deleting stuff - let me know if we need to make this customizable.
  • New option `org-n-level-faces' can be used to set the number of different faces that are used for headlines. Default is all 8 faces Org mode defines for this purpose, level 9 uses again the level-1 face. However, you can use fewer, and then the level-1 face will be reused already for level N+1, etc.
  • Column View and hidestars now work together.
  • Bug fixes.

80. Version 5.02

80.1. Overview

  • The interfaces for properties and column view are finished now and work well.
  • Properties can be summaries, i.e. the parent nodes can compute their value from the children's values.
  • Headlines finally require a space ofter the star(s). The conflict with bold text at the beginning of the line is no longer there.

80.2. Incompatible Changes

  • Bad news. It looks like it is going to be really hard to make column view work on XEmacs and on Emacs 21. Emacs 22 is currently the only Emacs where this works. If you are using Emacs 21 or XEmacs, you can still use properties, but not column view.

80.3. Details

  • Improvements for properties:
    • There are interactive commands to insert and delete properties. Read the manual chapter 7 for details.
    • You can define allowed values for a property. When these are defined, you can change the value of a property with S-left and S-right. And you may use completion when inserting the property. This goes a long way to prevent typos when entering properties.
  • Improvements for column view.

    • In column view, you may use the keys S-left/right (and also the keys `n' and `p') to switch from one allowed value to the next.
    • You can define summaries for columns. For example, parents can contain the sum of all children values of a property, or the parent node can have a check box property that is automatically checked when all children's boxes are checked.
    • There are interactive commands to add and remove columns, and to change the attributes of a column like the summary type.

    These additions lead to the exciting fact that the example from omni outliner posted by Scott Jaderholm can now be accurately reproduced by Org mode.

  • The space after the stars is now required in a headline, in order to remove the conflict with bold words at the beginning of a line. So

    * This is a level 1 headline
    *this is bold text*
    
  • S-up and S-down to navigate plain item lists are now also available in orgstruct-mode.

81. Version 5.01

81.1. Overview

  • A new minor mode, orgstruct-mode, exports the Org mode structure editing commands into any other mode.
  • DRAWERS are a new level off folding for special sections that should stay closed during visibility cycling and only open if explicitly asked.
  • Entries can now have PROPERTIES.
  • A COLUMN VIEW implementation allows to easily view and edit the properties of a hierarchy of entries (Emacs only, for now).
  • Formula evaluation in the spreadsheet is more consistent now. Properties and per-file constants can be used during evaluation.
  • Bug fixes and minor changes.

81.2. Incompatible changes

  • When using LEVEL=N in a tags search, things have changed if you are also using `org-odd-levels-only'. If you are using only odd levels (i.e. 1 or 3 or 5… stars), LEVEL=2 will now refer to 3 stars, LEVEL=3 to 5 stars etc. Many thanks to Leo (or blame on him if you must) who has convinced me that this is the better convention.

81.3. Details

81.3.1. Orgstruct minor mode

There is a new minor mode, orgstruct-mode. This modes works in a similar way as Orgtbl-mode. It can be used to export the Org mode structure-editing commands into arbitrary major modes in Emacs. For example, you can use it in Mail-mode to easily create lists.

The functionality in Orgstruct mode is only active, if the cursor is in a line that looks either like a headline, or like the first line of a plain list item. Then the commands `TAB', `M-cursor', `M-S-cursor', `M-RET', `M-S-RET', `C-c ^', `C-c C-c', and `C-c -' will do structure-related editing just like in Org mode. If the cursor is not in such a line, all these keys will do whatever the major mode or other active minor modes have assigned to them.

Orgstruct-mode is the result of a proposal by Raman, quite some time ago. It has taken a long time, but here is finally the promised implementation.

81.3.2. Drawers

The new concept of drawers allows to create sections that remain folded during visibility cycling. Drawers need to be configured using the variable `org-drawers'. A drawer starts with a line containing only the name of the drawer bracketed by colons. It ends with :END:. For example, after setting

(setq org-drawers '("PROPERTIES" "HIDDEN"))

you can then create drawers like this:

:HIDDEN:
  here is some stuff that remains hidden
  unless TAB is pressed directly in that line
:END:

The PROPERTIES drawer has special meaning for ORG-mode, it contains properties of an entry (see below).

81.3.3. Properties and Column View

  • Entries in Org mode can now have arbitrary properties associated with them. Org mode handles some default properties like the TODO state, the priority, the local tags, and planning information like DEADLINE and SCHEDULED. In addition, you can assign arbitrary properties by creating a property drawer and inserting a line like

    :PROPNAME: This is the value of the property
    

    Org mode has an API for properties, if you want to write a program using properties, use the functions `org-entry-properties', `org-entry-get', `org-entry-put', and `org-entry-delete'.

  • Planning information like DEADLINE can be hidden in the properties drawer.

    If the PROPERTIES drawer starts in the first line after a headline, also the DEADLINE, SCHEDULED and CLOCK information will be inserted inside the drawer. If no PROPERTIES drawer is present, or if it does not start in the line right after the headline, this information remains in the lines directly after the headline, outside the drawer.

  • TAGS searches can now also query properties. For example, the search

    LEVEL=3+BOSS+ASSIGNED="Hans"/WAITING
    

    will find entries that

    • are level 3
    • have the tag BOSS
    • have an ASSIGNED property with the value "Hans"
    • are TODO status WAITING.

      So here is an entry that will match:

      *** WAITING Clean up the factory     :BOSS:
          :PROPERTIES:
          :ASSIGNED: Hans
          :END:
      

      You may also use a regular expression to match against a property value. For example, to find stuff assigned to Hans or Sarah, use

      ASSIGNED={^\(Hans\|Sarah\)$}
      
  • Column View is a special way to look at property values in tabular form. Column View can be used in any org-mode file, and also in any agenda buffer. It works by placing an overlay over each headline (or agenda line) that shows a table of selected properties. You can look at and edit properties from this view. Which properties are shown in the table must be set up using the COLUMNS property. You can set up different property columns on different levels of an outline tree. For example:

    * People
      :PROPERTIES:
      :COLUMNS: %25ITEM %Name
      :END:
    ** Family
       :PROPERTIES:
       :COLUMNS: %25ITEM %Name %3Age
       :END:
    *** Sam
        Info about Sam, including a property list with Name and Age.
    *** Sarah
        Info about Sarah, including a property list with Name and Age.
    ** Office
       :PROPERTIES:
       :COLUMNS: %25ITEM %Name %Function %Salary
       :END:
    *** Boss
        Info about the Boss, including a property list with Name,
        Function and Salary (if only we knew....).
    

    Now we have defined three different sets of columns. If you switch to column view in the Family section, you will get a different table than if you do it in the Office section. However, if you switch to column view with the cursor on the People section, the table will cover all entries, but contain only the Name.

    Column view does, for the time being, only work on Emacs. The XEmacs implementation needs a bit of work.

  • Properties can be used in table formulas. To access the value of the property :XYZ:, use $PROPXYZ. The property needs to be defined in the hierarchy above the table, not necessarily in the same entry as the table. This was a request by Eddward. File-wide constants can be defined with #+CONSTANTS, see below.
  • Things that still need to be sorted out about drawers, properties and column view - comments and suggestions welcome!
    • How to deal with drawers and properties in HTML and ASCII export?
    • What key could be used to insert an empty property drawer into an entry?
    • Right now column view is invoked through the command C-c C-x C-c. It is too easy to type C-x C-c by mistake, and that causes Emacs to quit. Suggestions for a different key?
    • Fontification of drawers and properties is not good yet. Any suggestions for better defaults?
    • Mouse support for editing properties in column view would be nice - maybe Piotr is interested to add this to org-mouse.el?

81.3.4. Spreadsheet

  • In the spreadsheet, the evaluation of formulas has changed. Previously, first the column formulas would be evaluated everywhere, and then the field formulas would kick in, and in some cases overwrite the results of column formulas in the appropriate fields. This had the side effect that some formulas might always use the wrong, intermediate content of a field that is computed both by a column and a field formula.

    From now on, column formulas will no longer temporarily overwrite field formulas. This gives much more consistent results. For example you can now finally have a column of increasing numbers by setting the first field to a fixed number, and let the rest follow from a column formula.

    Here is an example

    | 1 |
    | 2 |
    | 3 |
    #+TBLFM: $1=@-1+1::@1$1=1
    
  • Constants for formulas in spreadsheets are globally defined with the variable `org-table-formula-constants'. File-local constants can now be set with a line like:

    #+CONSTANTS: c=299792458.  pi=3.14  eps=2.4e-6
    

81.3.5. Minor changes

  • When entries are archived, a timestamp for the moment of archiving is added to the line with planning information. It looks like this:

    ARCHIVED: [2007-07-02 Mon 11:34]
    

    Thanks to J. David Boyd for constructive comments.

  • Bug fixes

    Many bugs are fixed, as usually all the ones where I replied "fixed" on emacs-orgmode. If you reported one of these bugs, please check if it really has disappeared in the new version, and complain if not. Thanks!

82. Version 4.79

82.1. Details

  • We are back to a single file org.el that works both on Emacs and on XEmacs. Merging comes at a speed penalty for you as an XEmacs user, but only if you do not compile org.el. Compilation completely removes the penalty.
  • New L flag for literal interpolation in Lisp formulas. See manual section 3.5.3.
  • New options for turning off footnotes. This was a request from Ignotus. See the option `org-export-with-footnotes'.
  • Default length for Agenda entries, but this is off by default. This was a request from Micheal. See the option `org-agenda-default-appointment-duration'.
  • Bug fixes:
    • org-agenda-date-later (Juraj Kubelka)
    • letters off margin in orgcard.ps (Charles Cave)
    • TODO export problems on XEmacs (ignotus@freemail.hu)
    • args-out-of-range with table formulas (Cecil Westerhof)
    • problem with org-file without a heading (Tim O'Callaghan)

83. Version 4.78

83.1. Overview

  • Time stamps with a time range included, like

    <2007-06-18 Mon 17:33-18:23>
    
  • Clock times without clocking in/out: CLOCK: => 2:00
  • Language-specific characters allowed in TAGS (Emacs only).
  • Promotion and demotion of items gets the indentation right.
  • Indenting lines with TAB is more intelligent.

83.2. Incompatible changes

  • There is now a special version of `org.el' for XEmacs. Before installation, as an XEmacs user you must rename the file orgxemacs.el to org.el, i.e. you must overwrite org.el with the xemacs version. For example:

    mv org_xemacs.el org.el
    

    This is necessary so that I can make use of some features that would be cumbersome to support in a single file. The XEmacs version is derived from the Emacs version with a program, so no reason to fear that I might be dropping XEmacs support any time soon. Sorry for the trouble.

83.3. Details

  • A time stamp may now contain a range of times. So you no longer need to use two separate stamps to indicate a time interval on a single day. For example

    <2007-06-18 Mon 17:30-18:20>
    

    This is now fully supported, including changing the time with S-up/down while the cursor is on the end time. Also, da the date/time prompt, you can simply write your time like 12:00-14:00 and the range will be inserted.

    This was proposed by Leo some time ago, and recently by Michael.

  • You may specify clocking times by hand (i.e. without clocking in and out) using this syntax.

    CLOCK: => 2:00
    

    Thanks to Scott Jaderholm for this proposal.

  • TAGS may now contain language-specific word characters, as long as they are matched by the "[:alnum:]" regexp syntax. This is for Emacs only, the XEmacs version continues to use the character class "a-zA-Z0-9_@" for tag names. Thanks to David Smith for a patch to this effect (a modified version of that patch was applied). I am considering to make the same change for TODO keywords, but not yet. Note that files using localization features may not work correctly in the Emacs configuration of another user, so if you are sharing org-mode files with other users, it might still be best to stick to the ASCII characters.
  • Promotion and demotion of plain list items (commands M-left, M-right) no longer changes the indentation by just one space. Instead, it uses intelligence gathered from the surrounding list structure to do the right thing. Thanks to William Henney for starting the discussion about this.
  • TAB does now a better job of indenting lines.
    • After tables and code segments (lines starting with ":"), indentation goes back to what it was before (thanks to William Henney for suggesting this behavior).
    • When plain lists items are involved, we had a long discussion on emacs-orgmode where I tried to show that a too-sophisticated implementation will still be easily fooled. Here is what I have implemented now - lets see if we can agree on this:

      Indentation will flatten lists with the same bullet type, but indent another bullet type further. The time when this fails is in a nested list, when you want to get back out to a previous level. For example

      - item 1
      - item 2
      + item 2a
      + item 2b
      - item 3
      

      When using TAB on every line in this list, the structure will change to

      - item 1
      - item 2
        + item 2a
        + item 2b
          - item 3
      

      So you need to change the level of the last line by hand, using promotion and demotion functions.

84. Version 4.77

84.1. Overview

  • Vertical lines in exported tables.
  • New default for `org-show-following-heading'.

84.2. Incompatible changes

  • The default for `org-show-following-heading' is now nil.

84.3. Details

  • You can now specify column groups in tables, to the effect that the groups will be separated by vertical lines in HTML and ASCII output. Column groups are specified by the characters "<" and ">" in a special table row. "<" starts a group, ">" ends a group (in each case including the the column where the character is specified). You may also use "<>" to make a group a single column wide. For example:

    |   |  N | N^2 | N^3 | N^4 | sqrt(n) | sqrt[4](N) |
    |---+----+-----+-----+-----+---------+------------|
    | / | <> |   < |     |   > |       < |          > |
    | # |  1 |   1 |   1 |   1 |       1 |          1 |
    | # |  2 |   4 |   8 |  16 |  1.4142 |     1.1892 |
    | # |  3 |   9 |  27 |  81 |  1.7321 |     1.3161 |
    #+TBLFM: $3=$2^2::$4=$2^3::$5=$2^4::$6=sqrt($2)::$7=sqrt(sqrt(($2))
    

    A table row with with nothing but "/" in the first field is never exported, but can be used to place column group information into the table. In this table, we create a group for column 2, one for columns 3-5 and one for columns 6-7. HTML export will render a vertical line between these groups.

    Because HTML does not require closing <colgroup> tags with </colgroup>), you can also simply start a new column wherever you want a vertical line:

    | N | N^2 | N^3 | N^4 | sqrt(n) | sqrt[4](N0 |
    |---+-----+-----+-----+---------+------------|
    | / | <   | <   |     | <       |            |
    
  • Vertical lines are now also omitted in ASCII export, unless grouping explicitly requests these lines.
  • The default for `org-show-following-heading' is now nil, meaning that sparse trees will be more compact. This has become possible due to in important remark by Jason Dunsmore who pointed out that TAB should behave differently in the inconsistent trees produced by the sparse tree commands. TAB does now make sure that the heading after a freshly unfolded tree is made visible at all, removing the confusing behavior we had before.
  • Several bugs fixed. In particular:
    • Strings produced by agenda batch processing with `org-batch-agenda' and `org-batch-agenda-csv' are now properly encoded, so that you should be able to use special characters in other languages as along as your post-processing program handles them correctly. At least for Emacs this should work now, but have not yet figured out how to do this in XEmacs.

85. Version 4.76

85.1. Overview

  • Exporting Footnotes to HTML

85.2. Details

  • Footnotes like here[1] are now exported to HTML

    [1]This is a footnote
    

    Thanks to Scott Jaderholm for this proposal and a detailed HTML example on how the exported text should look like.

  • Special version of the reference card, for letter paper.
  • Switching to OVERVIEW with S-TAB no loner moves the cursor, so after three `S-TAB' commands, you will be back where you started.
  • Bug fixes, lots of them again.

86. Version 4.75

86.1. Overview

  • Cyclic time stamps that repeat after an interval.
  • Special timestamps for appointments like "every 2nd Thursday in a month".
  • Completion of link abbreviation prefixes inside `C-c C-l'.
  • Replacing a region of org-mode syntax with HTML.
  • iCalendar export now honors ARCHIVE etc.
  • New command to add/change emphasis markers.

86.2. Incompatible Changes

  • The REPEAT(…) cookie is no longer supported, the repeater interval now goes directly into the time stamp.

86.3. Details

  • Time stamps can contain a repeater code, like +1w for once every week, +2d for every two days, etc. For example,

    <2007-05-16 Wed 12:30 +1w>

    will apply to every Wednesday, starting from the date given. I believe this syntax was actually suggested by someone on the mailing list, but I cannot find the email back. To collect your credit, let me know!

  • You can use an sexp diary entry (with the syntax used by the Emacs calendar/diary) in a time stamp, like this:

    *** The nerd club meets on 2nd Thursday of every month
        <%%(diary-float t 4 2)>
    
  • You can put diary-style sexp entries directly into an org-mode file, where they will be interpreted just like they would in the diary. For example

    * Birthdays and similar stuff
    #+CATEGORY: Holiday
    %%(org-calendar-holiday) ; special function for holiday names
    #+CATEGORY: Ann
    %%(diary-anniversary 14  5 1956) Artur Dent %d is years old
    %%(diary-anniversary  2 10 1869) Mahatma Gandhi
    

    These entries must start at column 0 to be evaluated.

    It turns out that evaluating the entries in an org-mode file is actually faster than in the diary itself, because using the diary has some overhead (creating fancy diary display, then reading and re-interpreting the entries). I have moved all the sexp entries from my diary into an org-mode file, put in a few categories, and then turned off `org-agenda-include-diary'. This has led to a noticeably faster agenda display.

  • New command `org-replace-region-by-html' that converts the current region from org-mode syntax into HTML. For example, you might write an itemized list in plain text in an HTML buffer, and then invoke this command to convert it. Thanks to Raman for this idea.
  • When inserting a link with `C-c C-l', completion will now fill in all valid link prefixes, like http or ftp, but also link abbreviation prefixes. This is based on an idea by Bastien.
  • Highest, lowest, and default priority can be set on a per-file basis with #+PRIORITIES: H L D For example, to use priorities from 1 to 9, you could use

    #+PRIORITIES: 1 9 9
    

    Thanks to Dmitri Minaev for a patch to this effect.

  • iCalendar export now honors (i.e. skips) subtrees marked as ARCHIVE, COMMENT, or QUOTE.
  • There is a new command to add or change the emphasis (like bold or italic) of a piece of text. For lack of better available keys the command is at `C-c C-x C-f', but you may well want to choose a more convenient key like `C-c f' in your private setup:

    (add-hook 'org-load-hook
     (lambda () (define-key org-mode-map "\C-cf" 'org-emphasize)))
    

    The command will prompt for an emphasis type, and you may reply either with the marker that triggers the emphasis, or with the first letter of the corresponding HTML tag. For example, to select italic, press either "/" or "i".

    If there is an active region, the emphasis of this region will be set or changed. If there is no region, only the emphasis markers will be inserted and the cursor positioned between them. Thanks to Bastien for proposing this feature.

  • Bug fixes, everything where I have replied "fixed" on the mailing list. Thanks to all of you for keeping these reports coming.

87. Version 4.74

87.1. Overview

This release is about exporting agenda views, to HTML, to postscript for printing, and to a special format (CSV) for further processing in scripts.

87.2. Incompatible Changes

  • The variable `org-agenda-remove-tags-when-in-prefix' has been renamed to `org-agenda-remove-tags'.

87.3. Details

  • Agenda views can be exported as plain text, as HTML, and as Postscript(R). This can simply be done from the agenda buffer with `C-x C-w' and then specifying a filename like `myagenda.html' or `myagenda.ps'. See section 8.6.4 of the manual.
  • Each custom agenda view can specify a list of associated files names. The command `C-c a e' then creates all views that have associated file names and exports the views to these files. This is great for producing paper versions of your views, to take with you when you don't have your computer. The manual has an example on how to do this, and in particular on how to customize the format of the printed version. See section 8.6.4 of the manual.
  • You can produce a CSV format of agenda information with an Emacs batch command. This is greate for further processing in scipts. Thanks to Jason F. McBrayer for this idea. See section 8.6.5 of the manual.
  • New variable `org-agenda-skip-deadline-if-done'. When set, a deadline associated with a DONE item will not be shown in the agenda. This is based upon a report by Denis Bueno.
  • Quite a few bug fixes.

88. Version 4.73

Minor bug fixes.

89. Version 4.72

89.1. Overview

  • Control over blank lines between trees in collapsed view.
  • Info about the running clock is shown in the modeline.
  • C-a can behave specially in headlines.
  • Better color and scaling defaults for LaTeX fragments.
  • Customizable list of keys in org-mode to be replaced.
  • Stuck project descriptions have been extended.
  • Emphasis code has been modified to fix some issues.
  • Bug fixes.

89.2. Incompatible changes

  • The option `org-format-latex-options' has changed. If you have customized it, please revert to default and then redo your customization.
  • `org-CUA-compatible' no longer modifies S-RET by default, because newer versions of CUA don't use this key anymore. If you need this replacement, customize the variable `org-disputed-keys'.
  • The variable `org-CUA-compatible' is obsolete, please use `org-replace-disputed-keys' instead. `org-CUA-compatible' is still an alias for this new variable, though.

89.3. Details

  • Better control over blank lines between trees in collapsed view. This has come up several times in the past and most recently by Scott Jaderholm. There is now a new variable `org-cycle-separator-lines' with default value 2. It says how many empty lines there need to be after the end of a subtree to get an empty line in collapsed view. So with the default, if you leave only one empty line it will disappear in collapsed view. If you leave two, one empty line will remain so that you can use double empty lines to structure the collapsed views of a file. I love it, so many thanks to Scott fro bringing this up again.

    One property of the new setup is that you will never get more than one blank line in collapsed view. We could do something special to allow several empty lines in collapsed view, but I think this is counter-productive.

    In Emacs 22, if you want to make full use of this, make sure that you have not set `outline-blank-line'.

  • When the clock is running, Org mode will put info about it into the modeline. The info consists of the elapsed time and the heading of the clocked item. This was a proposal from Bastien who got the idea from Muse.
  • C-a can behave specially in headlines when you set the variable `org-special-ctrl-a'. It will bring the cursor first back only to the beginning of the headline text, i.e. after the stars and the TODO keyword, if any. A second C-a will then move the cursor to the beginning of the line. If the cursor is already at the beginning of the line, C-a will spring forward to the headline text. This was a proposal from Leo, based on a request from Scott Jaderholm.

    I have not turned this turned this on by default, should I?

  • When LaTeX fragments are processed into images, there is now more control and (hopefully) betters defaults for colors and scaling. Special values can be set for HTML export, so that these values can differ from what is used for display in an emacs buffer. The default foreground and background colors for images embedded in emacs are now taken from the default emacs face. Thanks to Xiao-Yong Jin for proposing these changes.
  • There is now a much better mechanism to change some keys in org-mode if these keys clash with other modes you use. Turn this on by setting `org-replace-disputed-keys' (aliased to `org-CUA-compatible'). The list of keys to replace is now fully customizable, see the option `org-disputed-keys'. Many thanks to Meciej Katafiasz for a patch implementing this.
  • Stuck project descriptions have been extended. You can now use "" as a TODO keyword or tag to say that *any TODO keyword or TAG marks a project as non-stuck. You also can give an arbitrary regular expression that, if it matches, indicates a non-stuck project.
  • The code for emphasis like bold, italic etc has been modified - I might have broken something in the process, please let me know if you find problems.
  • A number of bugs have been fixed - those where I have replied "Fixed" on the mailing list.

90. Version 4.71

90.1. Overview

90.2. Incompatible changes

90.3. Details

  • New variables to customize the header and data tags in exported HTML. These are the variables `org-export-table-header-tags' and `org-export-table-data-tags'. This follows a request from Scott Otterson.
  • New option `org-format-latex-header' for customizing the header of the LaTeX file used to convert embedded LaTeX to images. Thanks to `Matthieu Lemerre' for the suggestion.
  • The prefix version of `org-todo-list' works again. This means that `C-1 C-c a t' produces the list of TODO entries for the first TODO keyword. If you use different TODO setups in different agenda files, be careful: This number now refers to the list of all todo keywords used in files that are scanned for the agenda.
  • Many bug fixes.

91. Version 4.70

91.1. Overview

  • Dust settles after revamp of TODO keyword system.
  • The export title can be taken from the first text line.
  • TTY replacement keys have changed.

91.2. Incompatible changes

  • Some TTY replacement keys are changed, see below.

91.3. Details

  • Further development concerning TODO keywords.
    • You can now have several DONE states in a sequence, like

      #+SEQ_TODO: TODO VERIFY | DONE DELEGATED
      

      The difference to the proposal discussed on the mailing list (and which is also works!)

      #+SEQ_TODO: TODO VERIFY | DONE
      #+SEQ_TODO: | CANCELED
      

      is that in the first case, the extra DONE states will be reached with `C-c C-t' (or with `t' from the agenda), while in the second case you need S-<right> to get to the special states. I guess both ideas can be useful - I am leaning toward using the latter.

    • Setting up TODO keywords in Lisp previously used two separate variables: `org-todo-keywords' and `org-todo-interpretation'. The preferred way is now to use only `org-todo-keywords', with a new structure:

      (setq org-todo-keywords
        '((sequence "TODO" "|" "DONE")
          (sequence "BUG" "KNOWNCAUSE" "|" "FIXED" "IGNORED")
          (type "Fred" "Lisa" "Peter" "|" "DONE")
          (sequence "CANCELED")    ; for things we decide to not do.
          ))
      

      If your setting has this new structure, `org-todo-interpretation' will be ignored. This change does not break backward compatibility. The old way of using a flat list in `org-todo-keywords' and taking the interpretation from the other variable still works.

    • When listing specific TODO entries via a sparse tree (`C-u C-c C-v') or via the agenda (`C-c a T' or `C-u C-c a t'), you can now specify several keywords to be selected, like "TODO|VERIFY|WAITING". This also works for custom agenda commands. Thanks to Jason F. McBrayer for pointing out this omission.
  • If you have configured Org mode to export also the text before the first headline (this is done by setting the variable `org-export-skip-text-before-1st-heading' to nil), then the first normal text line in the buffer becomes the title of the exported document. A title set with #+TITLE overules this default, and the first line then belongs to the normal text. Thanks to David House for this proposal.
  • TTY replacement keys. Some of the key bindings used by Org mode do not work on a tty, so replacement key sequences are provided on ttys. In version 4.70, there are some changes in the tty replacements. Thanks to Jason F. McBrayer for coming up with the idea to use C-c <cursor> keys.

    Command   Old TTY New TTY
    org-….. Main Key Replacement Replacement
    shiftleft S-left C-c C-x left C-c left
    shiftright S-right C-c C-x right C-c right
    shiftup S-up C-c C-x up C-c up
    shiftdown S-down C-c C-x down C-c down
    shiftcontrolleft C-S-left   C-c C-x left
    shiftcontrolright C-s-right   C-c C-x right

92. Version 4.69

92.1. Overview

This time the changes affect the following areas:

  • TODO keywords: Multiple sequences in a single file.
  • Export: More control over text before the first heading.
  • Export: More control over sub/superscript interpretation.
  • Plain lists: Option to let empty lines terminate lists.
  • Tables: New command to insert hline and move into line below.
  • REPEATing items: Turn of note taking.
  • Bug fixes.

92.2. Incompatible changes

  • It used to be possible to spread the list of TODO keywords over several lines, like

    #+SEQ_TODO: TODO
    #+SEQ_TODO: PROGRESS
    #+SEQ_TODO: DONE
    

    This is no longer possible. Each such line now specifies an independent set of TODO keywords, with its own DONE state. See below for details.

  • The #+TEXT construct has been used to insert unchanged HTML into an exported file. This is no longer possible, the TEXT lines will be processed like any other lines. However, there are now much better ways of getting quoted HTML into the exported file.

92.3. Details

  • You can now use multiple sets of TODO keywords in the same buffer. For example, you may put the following three lines into a file:

    #+SEQ_TODO: TODO DONE
    #+SEQ_TODO: REPORT BUG KNOWNCAUSE RESOLVED
    #+TYP_TODO: Fred Laura Peter Me OK
    

    Each sub-sequence has its own DONE state. It is best to use different keywords in all sequences, to make sure Org mode does not loose track in which specific sequence it is working. You could use the same word for all DONE states, but then cycling through to a TODO state might not bring you where you want to be.

    After initially setting a keyword, `C-c C-t' cycles through a sublist, i.e. is cycles from TODO to DONE or from KNOWNCAUSE to RESOLVED and further to (nothing) and back to REPORT.

    S-right and S-left allow to select any keyword, so they move from DONE to REPORT and from RESOLVED to Fred.

    C-S-right and C-S-left jump from one sub-sequence to the next, for example from TODO or DONE to REPORT to Fred.

    Thanks to Rick Moynihan for triggering this development.

  • Text before the first headline can now be exported if you configure Org mode accordingly. Either set the variable `org-export-skip-text-before-1st-heading' to nil, or use the new in-buffer option

    #+OPTION: skip:nil
    
  • Export content specified via the #+TEXT construct is now fully processed, i.e. links, emphasis etc. are all interpreted. #+TEXT lines may include #+BEGINHTML… #+ENDHTML sections to embed literal HTML.
  • During HTML export, you can request to have ab interpreted as a subscript, but to leave ab as it is. This can be done by setting the variable org-export-sub-superscript to the symbol `{}' with

    (setq org-export-sub-superscript '{})
    

    or by using

    #+OPTIONS: ^:{}
    

    Thanks to Eddward DeVilla for this idea.

  • New variable `org-empty-line-terminates-plain-lists'. Default is nil, meaning that empty lines are part of the previous list item, and that you can have several paragraphs in one such item. Set this to t if you want an empty line terminate all levels of plain list items.

    Thanks to Mike Newman for triggering this development.

  • C-c RET does insert a horizontal separator line and move the cursor into the table line below it. Thanks to Bastien for this proposal.
  • Org mode always offers you to record a note when a TODO item automatically repeats, even if you are not logging state changes. The new variable `org-log-repeat' allows to turn this off, so that notes are really only been taken if you are logging all state changes.
  • Various Bug fixes, thanks to everyone who reported.

93. Version 4.68

93.1. Overview

  • Priority handling in the tags view
  • Date/time prompt follows the popup calender, and accepts AM/PM times.
  • Standard references like B4 in the spreadsheet.
  • Improvements to the formula editor.
  • C-j does better indentation.
  • Bug fixes

93.2. Details

  • Priority handling in the tags view
    • Agenda lists selected by tag are now sorted by priority. Thanks to Andrew Korty for reporting this omission.
  • Improvements to the date/time prompt.
    • When you move (using S-cursor keys) the cursor in the pop-up calendar window while responding to a date/time prompt, the prompt is updated with the new default date (Emacs only).
    • You can now enter AM/PM times at this prompt.
  • Changes in the spreadsheet
    • You can now also write B4 instead of @4$2 as a reference in formulas. The column references without specified row can be written as C& instead of $3. Such references make formulas easier to read and are now the default way how references are shown when you edit existing formulas. To get the old behavior back (i.e. only @row$col references), set the variable `org-table-use-standard-references' to nil.

      Relative references like @-3$-2 or @II..III continue to use the internal format.

  • Changes in the formula editor (the one you get with "C-c '")
    • The formulas are organized in a more logical way.
    • There is now a menu with commands.
    • When starting the formula editor with "C-c '", the cursor immediately moves to the formula for the current field.
    • With the cursor on a reference in the formula, you can use S-cursor keys to change the field being referenced.
  • C-j indents the following line correctly whe used in a headline or in aplain list item. Thanks to Leo for this suggestion.
  • Bug fixes
    • Flyspell now knows about special org-mode commands. Thanks to Vinod Valsalam for reporting this problem, and to Andrew Korty for showing how to fix it.
    • Most other bugs discussed recently on emacs-orgmode@gnu.org should be fixed, except the problem with non-ASCII characters in tags….

94. Version 4.67

  • Expert mode for fast tag selection. When org-fast-tag-selection-single-key is `expert', not even the selection window is shown, only the prompt. One more C-c gets you the window, another one goes to multiple selection mode.
  • Synchronized with Emacs once more: Emacs CVS has now org-mode 4.67. At least until it causes a problem, then the Emacs people will switch back to 4.56. Lets hope there will be no problem.
  • Code cleanup
  • Bug fixes

95. Version 4.66

95.1. Overview

  • Sorting of top-level entries works now if the region contains top-level entries, or if the cursor is before the first headline. Thanks to "redblue" for reporting this bug.
  • When entering date and time at the prompt, you can now mix entering text and selecting something in the calendar. For example, enter 22:15 at the prompt without pressing RET, and then click on a date in the calendar. Both pieces of information will be included in the resulting time stamp. You can also use S-curser to move the cursor in the calendar to the desired date and then enter 22:15 and press RET at the prompt.
  • When setting a deadline or a schedule, entering a time now automatically selects the time stamp format that includes the time. Bug report (by means of a question) from Bastre.
  • C-c C-l can be used to convert a plain link into a bracket link.
  • Internal links now match inside (the visible part of) other links. Thanks to Scott Otterson for reporting this bug.
  • iCalendar export of TODO items fixed, see also the variable `org-icalendar-include-todo'. Thanks to Philipp Raschdorf.
  • The number of levels in the table of contents of an exported document can now be set independently of the number of headline levels. For example:

    #+OPTIONS: H:4 toc:2
    
  • The command `C-c }' toggles the display of row and column numbers the the current table, to aid constructing formulas. To try it, move the cursor to a table and press `C-c }', or use the menu entry.
  • Orgtbl translation functions (introduced in 4.65) have been simplified using a generic function `orgtbl-to-generic' that can be used for very general languanges. Writing your own translator should be very easy now. More info in the manual.
  • CONTENTS visibility can be limited to a certain level. The command `C-3 S-TAB' will switch to CONTENTS view and show the first 3 levels.
  • Bug fixes.

96. Version 4.65

96.1. Overview

  • Orgtbl can be used to maintain tables in LaTeX, and in any other mode
  • Editing Lisp formulas for tables improved.
  • Better structure for HTML exported tables.
  • New "calculation" marker "/" to mark lines that should not be exported.

96.2. Detailed description of changes

  • You can use orgtbl mode to maintain a LaTeX table, or pretty much any table in any mode.

    This does not work by making Orgtbl aware of LaTeX syntax. That would be a box of Pandora I am not willing to open. Instead, you use a normal Orgtbl-mode table, and a converter program to automatically place a LaTeX version of the table into the correct spot in the LaTeX file. The orgtbl-mode table can be maintained inside the same file, in a block comment.

    I am providing translators for LaTeX, HTML, and TeXInfo. For other applications, you need to write one yourself - but that is not hard if you start from the LaTeX version and just modify it. Thanks to Thomas Baumann for triggering this development through a request for a table-to-LaTeX converter.

  • In the special buffer to edit the formulas of a table (created with "C-c '"), there is now better support for editing Lisp formulas. TAB and M-TAB work like in an Emacs Lisp buffer, indenting lines and completing lisp symbols. With the cursor on a line defining a complex Lisp formula, a first press on TAB will convert the formula into a pretty-printed version with proper linebreaks and indentation. A second TAB folds the line back to the compact form.
  • Tables in HTML export have now additional structure elements defined. The header (before the first hline) is wrapped into <thead>..</thead>, and each part of the body (as separated in org-mode by hlines) is wrapped into <tbody>..</tbody> tags. I have also changed the CSS style for <td> fields and the value of `org-export-html-table-tag' to get cleaner tables. Basically, tables now have horizontal lines only where needed, and no vertical lines at all, as generally recommended for tables in printed text. I like the new look, but I am not sure if this change will find general approval, please throw in your view if you like. Thanks to Scott for driving this, and to goud-H for pointing me to the row grouping in tables.
  • In a table with calculation markers in the first column, you can now also put "/" into the first column. It indicates that this line should not be exported. The foremost application for this are lines containing only "<N>" markers for narrowing columns.

97. Version 4.64

97.1. Overview

  • Email links get better, configurable descriptions
  • When inserting a link, selected text becomes the description
  • Easier access to the list of stored links.
  • Horizontal lines in HTML export.
  • Remember templates and storing of notes improved.

97.2. Detailed description of changes

  • The descriptive part of links to email messages can be configured using the variable `org-email-link-description-format'. The new default is "Email %c: %.30s" and leads to

    Email from NAME: SUBJECT
    

    If you configure the variable `org-from-is-user-regexp' correctly, then for email you sent this will actually change to

    Email to NAME: SUBJECT
    

    The subject is limited to 30 characters. If you have become attached to the previous default (look twice, the new one is better), use "%f on: %s" as your format.

  • Selecting text before entering a new link with C-c C-l now really works, the selected text becomes the description part of the link. Requested by Scott, buggy 4.62 implementation is now fixed.
  • Stored links are part of the history list for C-c C-l, so to reach them, you can use up/down rather than completion. Thanks to Raman for this excellent idea.
  • A line consisting only of "-", and at least 5 of them, is exported into HTML as <hr/>, as proposed by Giovanni Ridolfi.
  • Several changes to org <-> remember integration
    • You can use `org-remember' as your default command to start remember. It will automatically detect if there is an active region and use it as initial content (we will probably make remember.el work like this as well). Also, when calling `org-remember' in a remember buffer that was created with a template, you will again be asked to select a template. The buffer is then re-created with the new template, but the old context information. This is useful if you change your mind about the template to use (Leo's idea).
    • Besides specifying a default target file for a note, you can also give a default heading of which the note should become a subitem. In many cases this avoids or speeds up navigating to the right location. Both file and heading can be different for each template. Both are non-binding, you can change them while storing the note. However, when you exit remember with C-u C-c C-c, these defaults will be used without interaction.
    • Templates can specify interactive fields. During expansion of the template, you will be prompted for the information in that field. For example %t will pop up a calendar and ask you to select a date. This new feature follows a proposal from Leo, who in the mean time has said he does not need it anymore. But I liked it, so here it is :-)
    • Templates can access information specific to the link type created, for example the author and subject of an email. Syntax is %:fromname, %:fromaddress, %:subject etc, details in the manual. Proposed by Peder O. Klingenberg.
    • I have been considering to move, at some stage, the template functionality into remember.el itself - which would of course require consent of the remember.el maintainers. I am not sure how well this would work though, since some things like the interactive time stamps are org.el specific, so treating them would require special hooks. Comments?

98. Version 4.63

  • Bug fixes

99. Version 4.62

  • Many changes to the spreadsheet functions in the table editor. For details, please re-read the manual section 3.4.
    • New Features
      • It is much easier to assign formulas to individual fields.
      • References to arbitrary fields and ranges.
      • Absolute references are modified in row-editing commands.
      • Formula editor that highlights referenced fields.
    • Incompatible changes
      • Empty fields are excluded in range references, see "E" mode flag.
      • &… ranges no longer supported, use new @… ranges.
      • Variable insertion into Lisp formulas work differently.
  • Selected text becomes the default description for C-c C-l links.(Scott)
  • The date format in the agenda/timeline views is now customizable. See the new option `org-agenda-date-format'. (request by Victor)
  • Link abbreviations no longer need a double colon, single colon is fine.
  • Bug fixes.

100. Version 4.61

  • Avoiding keybinding clashes with flyspell
    • Archiving is now also on `C-C C-x C-s' (was just `C-c $')
    • Cycling through agenda files is now also on "C-'" (was just "C-,")
  • Colon is considered part of number, to align times in clock tables.
  • Fixed bug for list of stuck projects.
  • Fixed several bugs/problems concerning linking to gnus.
  • Block agendas can contain the list of stuck projects.
  • #+ARCHIVE may now appear several times in the buffer.
  • More bug fixes.

101. Version 4.60

  • HTML export: inlining images, clickable images (manual 10.2.4).
  • Incremental search now shows proper context when exiting.
  • Tables calculation and Calc package.
    • Calc is no longer needed when using only elisp formulas.
    • Proper error messages when calc is needed and not available.
  • Tracking TODO state changes with time stamps and notes.
  • Empty entries go full circle.
  • Links in iCalendar export cleaned up.
  • Bug fixes.

102. Version 4.59

  • Cleanup code, bug fixes.

103. Version 4.58

  • Full undo support in the agenda buffer.
  • Listing stuck GTD projects (projects without any NEXT ACTIONS). Configure `org-stuck-projects' before using it.
  • C-c C-x b shows the current subtree in an indirect buffer, in another, dedicated frame.
  • Custom agenda commands take precedence over builtin commands.
  • auto-fill for comments works on the Emacs side, XEmacs not yet.

104. Version 4.57

  • Sorting of outline items on same level.
  • Sorting tables automatically selects line range between hlines.
  • Changes in Agenda buffer
    • `C-c C-o' follows a link in the current line.
    • `C-c $' archives the subtree corresponding to the line.
    • Changing dates with S-left and S-right show new date in agenda, but still do not move the entry to the new date.
    • new option `org-agenda-skip-scheduled-if-done'.
  • Agenda and sparse tree construction using tag matches can now use regular expressions.
  • When prompted for a date/time, entering "+7" indicates a date 7 days from now - but only this is the only thing you give.
  • Custom time formats also apply to exported html and ascii.
  • Bug fixes.

105. Version 4.56

  • `C-k' in agenda kills current line and corresponding subtree in file.
  • XEmacs compatibility issues fixed, in particular tag alignment.
  • M-left/right now in/outdents plain list items, no Shift needed.
  • Bug fixes.

106. Version 4.55

  • Bug fixes.

107. Version 4.54

  • Improvements to fast tag selection
    • show status also in target line.
    • option to auto-exit after first change to tags list (see manual).
  • Tags sparse trees now also respect the settings in `org-show-hierarchy-above' and `org-show-following-heading'.
  • Bug fixes.

108. Version 4.53

  • Custom time formats can be overlayed over time stamps.
  • New option `org-agenda-todo-ignore-deadlines'.
  • Work-around for flyspell bug (CVS Emacs has this fixed in flyspell.el).
  • Work-around for session.el problem with circular data structures.
  • Bug fixes.

109. Version 4.52

  • TAG matches can also specify conditions on TODO keywords.
  • The fast tag interface allows setting tags that are not in the predefined list.
  • Bug fixes.

110. Version 4.51

  • Link abbreviations (manual section 4.5).
  • More control over how agenda is displayed. See the new variables `org-agenda-window-setup', `org-agenda-restore-windows-after-quit'.
  • Bug fixes.

111. Version 4.50

  • Closing a TODO item can record an additional note. See variables `org-log-done' and `org-log-note-headings'.
  • Inserting headlines and bullets can leave an extra blank line. See variable `org-blank-before-new-entry'. (Ed Hirgelt patch)
  • [[bracket links]] in the agenda are active just as in org-mode buffers.
  • C-c C-o on a date range displays the agenda for exactly this range.
  • The default for `org-cycle-include-plain-lists' is back to nil.
  • Calls to `org-occur' can be stacked by using a prefix argument.
  • The options `org-show-hierarchy-above' and `org-show-following-heading' now always default to `t', but can be customized differently for different types of sparse trees or jump commands.
  • Bug fixes.

112. Version 4.49

  • Agenda views can be made in batch mode from the command line.
  • `org-store-link' does the right thing in dired-mode.
  • File links can contain environment variables.
  • Full Emacs 21 compatibility has been restored.
  • Bug fixes.

113. Version 4.47

  • Custom commands may produce an agenda which contains several blocks, each block created by a different agenda command.
  • Agenda commands can be restricted to the current file, region, subtree.
  • The timeline command must now be called through the agenda dispatcher (C-c a L). `C-c C-r' no longer works.
  • Agenda items can be sorted by tag. The last tag is used for this.
  • The prefix and the sorting strategy for agenda items can depend upon the agenda type.
  • The handling of `mailto:' links can be customized, see the new variable `org-link-mailto-program'.
  • `mailto' links can specify a subject after a double colon, like mailto:dominik@xxx.uva.nl::Org mode is buggy.
  • In the #+STARTUP line, M-TAB completes valid keywords.
  • In the #+TAGS: line, M-TAB after ":" inserts all currently used tags.
  • Again full Emacs 21 support: Checkboxes and publishing are fixed.
  • More minor bug fixes.

114. Version 4.45

  • Checkbox lists can show statistics about checked items.
  • C-TAB will cycle the visibility of archived subtrees.
  • Documentation about checkboxes has been moved to chapter 5.
  • Bux fixes.

115. Version 4.44

  • Clock table can be done for a limited time interval.
  • Obsolete support for the old outline mode has been removed.
  • Bug fixes and code cleaning.

116. Version 4.43

  • Bug fixes
  • `s' key in the agenda saves all org-mode buffers.

117. Version 4.41

  • Shift-curser keys can modify inactive time stamps (inactive time stamps are the ones in […] brackets.
  • Toggle all checkboxes in a region/below a headline.
  • Bug fixes.

118. Version 4.40

  • Bug fixes.

119. Version 4.39

  • Special tag ARCHIVE keeps a subtree closed and away from agenda lists.
  • LaTeX code in Org mode files can be converted to images for HTML.
  • Bug fixes.
  • CDLaTeX-mode features can be used in Org mode to help inserting LaTeX environment and math.

120. Version 4.38

  • noutline.el is now required (important for XEmacs users only).
  • Dynamic blocks.
  • Archiving of all level 1 trees without open TODO items.
  • Clock reports can be inserted into the file in a special section.
  • FAQ removed from the manual, now only on the web.
  • Bug fixes.

121. Version 4.37

  • Clock-feature for measuring time spent on specific items.
  • Improved emphasizing allows configuration and stacking.

122. Version 4.36

  • Improved indentation of ASCII export, when headlines become items.
  • Handling of 12am and 12pm fixed. Times beyond 24:00 can be used and will not lead to conflicts.
  • Support for mutually exclusive TAGS with the fast tags interface.
  • Bug fixes.

123. Version 4.35

  • HTML export is now valid XHTML.
  • Timeline can also show dates without entries. See new option `org-timeline-show-empty-dates'.
  • The bullets created by the ASCII exporter can now be configured. See the new option `org-export-ascii-bullets'.
  • New face `org-upcoming-deadline' (was `org-scheduled-previously').
  • New function `org-context' to allow testing for local context.

124. Version 4.34

  • Bug fixes.

125. Version 4.33

  • New commands to move through plain lists: S-up and S-down.
  • Bug fixes and documentation update.

126. Version 4.32

  • Fast (single-key-per-tag) interface for setting TAGS.
  • The list of legal tags can be configured globally and locally.
  • Elisp and Info links (thanks to Todd Neal).
  • `org-export-publishing-directory' can be an alist, with different directories for different export types.
  • All context-sensitive commands use `call-interactively' to dispatch.
  • `org-confirm-shell-links' renamed to `org-confirm-shell-link-function'.
  • Bug fixes.

127. Version 4.31

  • Bug fixes.

128. Version 4.30

  • Modified installation: Autoloads have been collected in org-install.el.
  • Logging (org-log-done) is now a #+STARTUP option.
  • Checkboxes in plain list items, following up on Frank Ruell's idea.
  • File links inserted with C-c C-l will use relative paths if the linked file is in the current directory or a subdirectory of it.
  • New variable `org-link-file-path-type' to specify preference for relative and absolute paths.
  • New CSS classes for tags, timestamps, timestamp keywords.
  • Bug and typo fixes.

129. Version 4.29

  • Inlining images in HTML export now depends on wheather the link contains a description or not.
  • TODO items can be scheduled from the global TODO list using C-c C-s.
  • TODO items already scheduled can be made to disappear from the global todo list, see `org-agenda-todo-ignore-scheduled'.
  • In Tables, formulas may also be Lisp forms.
  • Exporting the visible part of an outline with `C-c C-x v' works now for all available exporters.
  • Bug fixes, lots of them :-(

130. Version 4.28

  • Bug fixes.

131. Version 4.27

  • HTML exporter generalized to receive external options. As part of the process, author, email and date have been moved to the end of the HTML file.
  • Support for customizable file search in file links.
  • BibTeX database links as first application of the above.
  • New option `org-agenda-todo-list-sublevels' to turn off listing TODO entries that are sublevels of another TODO entry.

132. Version 4.26

  • Bug fixes.

133. Version 4.25

  • Revision of the font-lock faces section, with better tty support.
  • TODO keywords in Agenda buffer are fontified.
  • Export converts links between .org files to links between .html files.
  • Better support for bold/italic/underline emphasis.

134. Version 4.24

  • Bug fixes.

135. Version 4.23

  • Bug fixes.

136. Version 4.22

  • Bug fixes.
  • In agenda buffer, mouse-1 no longer follows link. See `org-agenda-mouse-1-follows-link' and `org-mouse-1-follows-link'.

137. Version 4.20

  • Links use now the [[link][description]] format by default. When inserting links, the user is prompted for a description.
  • If a link has a description, only the description is displayed the link part is hidden. Use C-c C-l to edit the link part.
  • TAGS are now bold, but in the same color as the headline.
  • The width of a table column can be limited by using a field "<N>".
  • New structure for the customization tree.
  • Bug fixes.

138. Version 4.13

  • The list of agenda files can be maintainted in an external file.
  • Bug fixes.

139. Version 4.12

  • Templates for remember buffer. Note that the remember setup changes. To set up templates, see `org-remember-templates'.
  • The time in new time stamps can be rounded, see new option `org-time-stamp-rounding-minutes'.
  • Bug fixes (there are always more bugs).

[…]

Version 4.00

  • Headlines can contain TAGS, and Org mode can produced a list of matching headlines based on a TAG search expression.
  • `org-agenda' has now become a dispatcher that will produce the agenda and other views on org-mode data with an additional keypress.

140. Version 3.24

  • Switching and item to DONE records a time stamp when the variable `org-log-done' is turned on. Default is off.

141. Version 3.23

  • M-RET makes new items as well as new headings.
  • Various small bug fixes

142. Version 3.22

  • CamelCase words link to other locations in the same file.
  • File links accept search options, to link to specific locations.
  • Plain list items can be folded with `org-cycle'. See new option `org-cycle-include-plain-lists'.
  • Sparse trees for specific TODO keywords through numeric prefix argument to `C-c C-v'.
  • Global TODO list, also for specific keywords.
  • Matches in sparse trees are highlighted (highlights disappear with next buffer change due to editing).

143. Version 3.21

  • Improved CSS support for the HTML export. Thanks to Christian Egli.
  • Editing support for hand-formatted lists
    • M-S-cursor keys handle plain list items
    • C-c C-c renumbers ordered plain lists

144. Version 3.20

  • There is finally an option to make TAB jump over horizontal lines in tables instead of creating a new line before that line. The option is `org-table-tab-jumps-over-hlines', default nil.
  • New command for sorting tables, on `C-c ^'.
  • Changes to the HTML exporter
    • hand-formatted lists are exported correctly, similar to markdown lists. Nested lists are possible. See the docstring of the variable `org-export-plain-list-max-depth'.
    • cleaned up to produce valid HTML 4.0 (transitional).
    • support for cascading style sheets.
  • New command to cycle through all agenda files, on C-,
  • C-c [ can now also be used to change the sequence of agenda files.

145. Version 3.19

  • Bug fixes

146. Version 3.18

  • Export of calendar information in the standard iCalendar format.
  • Some bug fixes.

147. Version 3.17

  • HTML export specifies character set depending on coding-system.

148. Version 3.16

  • In tables, directly after the field motion commands like TAB and RET, typing a character will blank the field. Can be turned off with variable `org-table-auto-blank-field'.
  • Inactive timestamps with `C-c !'. These do not trigger the agenda and are not linked to the calendar.
  • Additional key bindings to allow Org mode to function on a tty emacs.
  • `C-c C-h' prefix key replaced by `C-c C-x', and `C-c C-x C-h' replaced by `C-c C-x b' (b=Browser). This was necessary to recover the standard meaning of C-h after a prefix key (show prefix bindings).

149. Version 3.15

  • QUOTE keyword at the beginning of an entry causes fixed-width export of unmodified entry text. `C-c :' toggles this keyword.
  • New face `org-special-keyword' which is used for COMMENT, QUOTE, DEADLINE and SCHEDULED, and priority cookies. Default is only a weak color, to reduce the amount of aggressive color in the buffer.

150. Version 3.14

  • Formulas for individual fields in table.
  • Automatic recalculation in calculating tables.
  • Named fields and columns in tables.
  • Fixed bug with calling `org-archive' several times in a row.

151. Version 3.13

  • Efficiency improvements: Fewer table re-alignments needed.
  • New special lines in tables, for defining names for individual cells.

152. Version 3.12

  • Tables can store formulas (one per column) and compute fields. Not quite like a full spreadsheet, but very powerful.
  • table.el keybinding is now `C-c ~'.
  • Numeric argument to org-cycle does `show-subtree' above on level ARG.
  • Small changes to keys in agenda buffer. Affected keys: [w] weekly view; [d] daily view; [D] toggle diary inclusion.
  • Bug fixes.

153. Version 3.11

  • Links inserted with C-c C-l are now by default enclosed in angle brackets. See the new variable `org-link-format'.
  • ">" terminates a link, this is a way to have several links in a line. Both "<" and ">" are no longer allowed as characters in a link.
  • Archiving of finished tasks.
  • C-<up>/<down> bindings removed, to allow access to paragraph commands.
  • Compatibility with CUA-mode (see variable `org-CUA-compatible').
  • Compatibility problems with viper-mode fixed.
  • Improved html export of tables.
  • Various clean-up changes.

154. Version 3.10

  • Using `define-derived-mode' to derive `org-mode' from `outline-mode'.

155. Version 3.09

  • Time-of-day specifications in agenda are extracted and placed into the prefix. Timed entries can be placed into a time grid for day.

156. Version 3.08

  • "|" no longer allowed as part of a link, to allow links in tables.
  • The prefix of items in the agenda buffer can be configured.
  • Cleanup.

157. Version 3.07

  • Some folding inconsistencies removed.
  • BBDB links to company-only entries.
  • Bug fixes and global cleanup.

158. Version 3.06

  • M-S-RET inserts a new TODO heading.
  • New startup option `content'.
  • Better visual response when TODO items in agenda change status.
  • Window positioning after visibility state changes optimized and made configurable. See `org-cycle-hook' and `org-occur-hook'.

159. Version 3.05

  • Agenda entries from the diary are linked to the diary file, so adding and editing diary entries can be done directly from the agenda.
  • Many calendar/diary commands available directly from agenda.
  • Field copying in tables with S-RET does increment.
  • C-c C-x C-v extracts the visible part of the buffer for printing.
  • Moving subtrees up and down preserves the whitespace at the tree end.

160. Version 3.04

  • Table editor optimized to need fewer realignments, and to keep table shape when typing in fields.
  • A new minor mode, orgtbl-mode, introduces the Org mode table editor into arbitrary major modes.
  • Fixed bug with realignment in XEmacs.
  • Startup options can be set with special #+STARTUP line.
  • Heading following a match in org-occur can be suppressed.

161. Version 3.03

  • Copyright transfer to the FSF.
  • Effect of C-u and C-u C-u in org-timeline swapped.
  • Timeline now always contains today, and `.' jumps to it.
  • Table editor:
    • cut and paste of rectangular regions in tables
    • command to convert org-mode table to table.el table and back
    • command to treat several cells like a paragraph and fill it
    • command to convert a buffer region to a table
    • import/export tables as tab-separated files (exchange with Excel)
  • Agenda:
    • Sorting mechanism for agenda items rewritten from scratch.
    • Sorting fully configurable.
    • Entries specifying a time are sorted together.
  • Completion also covers option keywords after `#-'.
  • Bug fixes.

162. Version 3.01

  • New reference card, thanks to Philip Rooke for creating it.
  • Single file agenda renamed to "Timeline". It no longer shows warnings about upcoming deadlines/overdue scheduled items. That functionality is now limited to the (multifile) agenda.
  • When reading a date, the calendar can be manipulated with keys.
  • Link support for RMAIL and Wanderlust (from planner.el, untested).
  • Minor bug fixes and documentation improvements.

163. Version 3.00

  • Multifile Agenda shows current entries from many different files.
  • TeXInfo documentation (thanks to Christian Egli for the conversion).
  • Additional applications for TODO keywords, see documentation. Different files may have different TODO keywords etc.
  • Priorities for TODO items.
  • The browser mode used by `org-remember-handler' is improved.
  • Images get inlined in HTML export (thanks to Carsten Wimmer).
  • File links can contain line numbers, like file:///usr/etc/config:255
  • Minor bug fixes.

164. Version 2.10

  • TODO entries can have additional states besides TODO and DONE. See new variable `org-todo-keywords'.
  • TODO keywords can be interpreted as categories. See variable `org-todo-interpretation'.
  • M-TAB completion on TODO keywords, TeX symbols, and normal words.
  • All keywords (like TODO, DEADLINE etc) are configurable.
  • Cursor positioning optimized after pro/demotion and TODO cycling.
  • Emphasizing in HTML works now for bold, italic and underline.
  • New commands to kill, copy and yank entire subtrees. Yanking modifies the level of the tree before insertion.
  • New command `org-goto' (C-c C-j) to quickly move to other locations in the buffer without affecting outline visibility.
  • Hooks for John Wiegley's remember.el.
  • `org-read-date' pops up calendar for date selection with the mouse. See variable `org-popup-calendar-for-date-prompt'.

165. Version 2.6

  • TODO items can be SCHEDULED to a certain date.
  • Expired DEADLINEs are ignored if in an entry marked DONE.
  • From the diary or time-sorted view (C-c C-r), C-c C-t can be used to change the TODO state of an item remotely.
  • Horizontal computations in table editor. See `org-table-eval-formula'.
  • Fixed bug with summing tables (command `org-table-sum', `C-c +').
  • Calendar window follows the timestamp when a timestamp is changed. New variable `org-calendar-follow-timestamp-change'.
  • Time-sorted view (`org-diary-view', C-c C-r) now uses the prefix argument to force inclusion of unscheduled TODO items.
  • New variable `org-confirm-shell-links' to turn of safety query.
  • New variable `org-open-non-existing-files'.

166. Version 2.4

  • A time-sorted view on all time stamps can be created with C-c C-r.
  • Timestamps and Deadlines can be shown in the Emacs diary.
  • Date ranges introduced.
  • Time-string formats are no longer configurable.
  • Vertical lines in tables can be made invisible with `C-c |'.
  • New "link" type to execute shell commands, like "shell:ls *.org"
  • Upon export, "myfile.org" becomes "myfile.html" or "myfile.txt", instead of "myfile.org.html" or "myfile.org.txt".
  • When the cursor is in the white space at the beginning of a line, TAB removes the whitespace before indenting again.

167. Version 2.0

  • Windows (NT/2000) support.
  • Works with both Emacs and XEmacs.
  • Fully automatic table editor.
  • New link types into Gnus, VM and BBDB.
  • Other link system changes
    • Time stamps are treated as links to the calendar.
    • Easy creation of links with global command `org-store-link'.
    • Insertion of links with `C-c C-l' works differently now.
    • Space characters allowed as part of a link.
    • Options in `org-file-apps' extended. The command may now be symbol 'emacs', or a lisp form.

Please re-read the manual section about links.

  • Timestamp changes
    • `org-deadline' now prompts for a date.
    • A line can now contain several timestamps. Updating of a timestamp only happens if the cursor is at the timestamp.
    • Changed the time-stamp-format to ISO, to make sure it will always work (non-English month names had caused problems with `parse-time-string'.). Changing the time stamp format is not recommended.
  • Picture mode enhancements have been removed from org.el

168. Version 1.4

  • Some option name changes, not backward compatible.
  • ASCII exporter upgrade: Table of contents.
  • HTML exporter upgrade: fixed-width regions, better sub/superscripts, many TeX symbols supported.
  • Calendar support.

169. Version 1.3

  • HTML exporter upgrade, in particular table of contents

Documentation from the orgmode.org/worg/ website (either in its HTML format or in its Org format) is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License version 1.3 or later. The code examples and css stylesheets are licensed under the GNU General Public License v3 or later.