8.1 KiB
Org-mode Frequently Asked Questions
- General
- Errors
- Setup and Structure
- Hyperlinks
- Export
- Tables
- Agenda
- COMMENT HTML style specifications
General
Use features in other modes
I would like to use editing features of org-mode in other modes, is this possible?
Not really. For tables there is orgtbl-mode which implements the
table editor as a minor mode. For other features you need to switch to
Org-mode temporarily, or prepare text in a different buffer.
Visibility cycling in Outline-mode and Outline-minor-mode
%Can I get the visibility-cycling features in outline-mode and outline-minor-mode?%
Yes, these functions are written in a way that they are independent of
the outline setup. The following setup provides standard Org-mode
functionality in outline-mode on TAB and S-TAB. For
outline-minor-mode, we use C-TAB instead of TAB,
because TAB usually has mode-specific tasks.
:(add-hook 'outline-minor-mode-hook
(lambda () (define-key outline-minor-mode-map [(control tab)] 'org-cycle) (define-key outline-minor-mode-map [(shift tab)] 'org-global-cycle)))
:(add-hook 'outline-mode-hook
(lambda () (define-key outline-mode-map [(tab)] 'org-cycle) (define-key outline-mode-map [(shift tab)] 'org-global-cycle)))
Or check out outline-magic.el, which does this and also provides promotion and demotion functionality. @file{outline-magic.el} is available at Outline Magic.
Errors
(wrong-type-argument keymapp nil)
When I try to use Org-mode, I always get the error message @code{(wrong-type-argument keymapp nil)} This is a conflict with an outdated version of the allout.el.
CUA mode does not work with Org-mode
%Org-mode takes over the S-cursor keys. I also want to use CUA-mode, is there a way to fix this conflict?%
Yes, see the Conflicts section of the manual.
Setup and Structure
Org-mode as default mode
%Org-mode seems to be a useful default mode for the various README files I have scattered through my directories%. %How do I turn it on for all README files?%
Add the following to your .emacs file:
(add-to-list 'auto-mode-alist '("README$" . org-mode))
Get rid of extra stars in outline
%All these stars are driving me mad, I just find the Emacs outlines unreadable. Can't you just put white space and a single star as a starter for headlines?%
See the section Clean outline view in the manual.
Two windows on same Org-mode file
%I would like to have two windows on the same Org-mode file, but with different outline visibility. Is that possible?%
In GNU Emacs, you may use indirect buffers which do exactly this.
See the documentation on the command make-indirect-buffer. In
XEmacs, this is currently not possible because of the different outline
implementation.
Hyperlinks
Broken links after Org-mode 4.20
%Some of my links stopped working after I upgraded to a version 4.20 or later. Why is this, and how can I fix it?%
These must be links in plain text, containing white space, such as
bbdb:Richard Stallman
You need to protect these links by putting double brackets around them, like
[[bbdb:Richard Stallman]]
Converting links to double-bracket format
%I see that Org-mode now creates links using the double bracket convention that hides the link part and the brackets, only showing the description part. How can I convert my old links to this new format?%
Execute once in each Org-mode file: M-x org-upgrade-old-links
This replaces angular brackets with the new link format.
Angular bracket links preference
%I don't care if you find the new bracket links great, I am attached to the old style using angular brackets and no hiding of the link text. Please give them back to me, don't tell me it is not possible!%
Would I let you down like that? If you must, you can do this
(setq org-link-style 'plain
org-link-format "<%s>")
Confirmation for shell and elips links
%When I am executing shell/elisp links I always get a confirmation
prompt and need to type yes RET, that's 4 key presses! Can I get
rid of this?%
The confirmation is there to protect you from unwantingly execute potentially dangerous commands. For example, imagine a link : Google Search
In an Org-mode buffer, this command would look like Google Search,
but really it would remove your home directory. If you wish, you can
make it easier to respond to the query by setting
org-confirm-shell-link-function and/or
org-confirm-elisp-link-function to y-or-n-p. Then a single yc
keypress will be enough to confirm those links. It is also possible
to turn off this check entirely, but I do not recommend to do this.
Be warned.
Export
Make TODO entries items, not headlines in HTML export
%When I export my TODO list, every TODO item becomes a separate section. How do I enforce these items to be exported as an itemized list?%
If you plan to use ASCII or HTML export, make sure things you want to be exported as item lists are level 4 at least, even if that does mean there is a level jump. For example:
* Todays top priorities **** TODO write a letter to xyz **** TODO Finish the paper **** Pick up kids at the school
Alternatively, if you need a specific value for the heading/item
transition in a particular file, use the #+OPTIONS line to
configure the H switch.
#+OPTIONS: H:2; ...
Export only a subtree
%I would like to export only a subtree of my file to HTML. How?%
If you want to export a subtree, mark the subtree as region and then
export. Marking can be done with C-c @@ C-x C-x, for example.
Tables
#ERROR fields in tables
%One of my table columns has started to fill up with #ERROR. What
is going on?%
Org-mode tried to compute the column from other fields using a
formula stored in the #+TBLFM: line just below the table, and
the evaluation of the formula fails. Fix the fields used in the
formula, or fix the formula, or remove it!
Unwanted new lines in table
%When I am in the last column of a table and just above a horizontal line in the table, pressing TAB creates a new table line before the horizontal line%. %How can I quickly move to the line below the horizontal line instead?%
Press down (to get on the separator line) and then TAB
Or configure the variable org-table-tab-jumps-over-hlines.
Change indentation of a table
%How can I change the indentation of an entire table without fixing every line by hand?%
The indentation of a table is set by the first line. So just fix the
indentation of the first line and realign with TAB.
Agenda
Include Org-mode agenda into Emacs diary
%Is it possible to include entries from org-mode files into my emacs diary?%
Since the org-mode agenda is much more powerful and can contain the diary, you should think twice before deciding to do this. Integrating Org-mode information into the diary is, however, possible. You need to turn on fancy diary display by setting in .emacs:
(add-hook 'diary-display-hook 'fancy-diary-display)
Then include the following line into your ~/diary file, in
order to get the entries from all files listed in the variable
org-agenda-files
&%%(org-diary)
You may also select specific files with
&%%(org-diary) ~/path/to/some/org-file.org &%%(org-diary) ~/path/to/another/org-file.org
If you now launch the calendar and press d to display a diary, the headlines of entries containing a timestamp, date range, schedule, or deadline referring to the selected date will be listed. Just like Org-mode's agenda view, the diary for @emph{today} contains additional entries for overdue deadlines and scheduled items. See also the documentation of the @command{org-diary} function. Under XEmacs, it is not possible to jump back from the diary to the org, this works only in the agenda buffer.