I think the gist here is interest in 'sugar' to ease Leo's learning curve.
To implement this stuff in core is a lot of work, Edward has other concerns.

There seems to be a theme of creating more structure for the data which
provides configuration, currently it exists as strings in trees which Leo
understands, involves users learning to think like Leo.

Instead of core Leo learning to translate to natural language, might a tool
provide translation layers like:
Leo source tree -> leo.cfg

and:
Leofile.leo -> leobridge -> leo.cfg

which would scan and extract mentions of config(xxx), and current values,
putting them into well known structure, like json.

leo.cfg could provide a source of documentation, and a lingua franca
configuration format which, once edited, would be written out to the
leoSettings.leo format.

It seems doable. If so, it could mitigate the current learning curve without
impacting flexibility, and without needing to touch core Leo.

Thanks,
Kent




On Mon, Sep 16, 2013 at 1:12 PM, Edward K. Ream <email address hidden> wrote:
> Thanks for the details report.  I have made just a few changes to
> leoDocs.leo as a result.
>
> I disagree with your analysis or your suggestions for the following
> items:
>
>>  For me, the open-with command (That is, Alt-x, open-with, CR) always
> fails:
>
> It works for me.
>
>> The xemacs.py does exist. It may work for some people, but it does not
> work for me because I use emacs--not xemacs, not gnuclient, not
> emacsclient.
>
> You can can change the program using @string xemacs_exe.  Not sure
> whether that is a complete fix.
>
>> I think plugin xemacs.py should be dropped in favor of the more
> flexible @openwith facility.
>
> Many people use the xemacs plugin.  It won't go away.
>
>> Existing:
>
>> New format for @openwith settings nodes. See leoSettings.leo for
> details.
>
>> Suggested Improvement:
>
>> This pointer to leoSettings.leo is crucial. A new user should be able to
> find it in the current documentation--or the documentation in
> leoSettings.leo should be repeated in the current documentation. Such
> crucial documentation should not be exclusively in release notes and
> leoSettings.leo.
>
> The place to look for settings is leoSettings.leo.  No amount of
> documentation is going to change this.
>
>> "Communicating with external editors" is a sub-section of Section "File
> Commands." This is misleading. So far as I know, the open-with command
> deals with only the current node---not the current file. Internally,
> open-with creates a temporary file for the external editor to edit, but
> that is an internal implementation detail. So far as the user is concerned,
> the facility is a "node edit" not a "file edit."
>
> Imo, the open with command belongs in the File menu, so the location of
> the documentation is appropriate.
>
>> Existing in leoSettings.leo in the node with headline "Open With menu":
> ...
>>The string values should NOT be enclosed in quotations.
>
> There is no possible way to avoid confusion between so-called "uses" and
> "mentions" of strings using quotation marks.  Instead, the user can
> (must) look at the example nodes for templates.
>
> EKR
>
>
> ** Changed in: leo-editor
>        Status: Confirmed => Fix Released
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are a member of The Leo
> editor team, which is subscribed to leo-editor.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1159302
>
> Title:
>   Correcting and improving the "Open with" documentation
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
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