Protesilaos Stavrou

Emacs: Denote can now automatically rename its buffers

I am working towards the next major release of denote. There already are lots of goodies in the works. A new one among them is the global minor mode denote-rename-buffer-mode. It automatically renames the buffer of a Denote file upon visiting the file. A buffer is renamed only when visiting the underlying file. This means that existing buffers are not renamed until they are visited again in a new buffer (files are visited with the command find-file or related).

For example, I enable the mode and then visit a file whose name is 20230507T084817--software-freedom-and-accessibility__linux_politics.txt. Normally, that would also be the name of the buffer. Whereas now the buffer is called Software freedom and accessibility.

[ If you are unfamiliar with Denote, consult the comprehensive manual or at least watch the video demo I did of its original version. Links below. ]

Customize the user option denote-rename-buffer-function to affect how buffers are renamed. Its value must be the symbol of a function. The default is the denote-rename-buffer-with-title, with an alternative of denote-rename-buffer-with-identifier.

The user option also accepts an arbitrary function. Refer to the implementation details of denote-rename-buffer-with-title or denote-rename-buffer-with-identifier for guidance on how to write a custom function.

Note that renaming a buffer is not the same as renaming a file (Denote can do both). The former is just for ease-of-use inside of Emacs. Whereas the latter is for writing changes to disk, making them available to all programs.

I don’t know when I will be able to release version 2.0.0. Hopefully soon.

Denote is a simple note-taking tool for Emacs. It is based on the idea that notes should follow a predictable and descriptive file-naming scheme. The file name must offer a clear indication of what the note is about, without reference to any other metadata. Denote basically streamlines the creation of such files while providing facilities to link between them.

Denote’s file-naming scheme is not limited to “notes”. It can be used for all types of file, including those that are not editable in Emacs, such as videos. Naming files in a consistent way makes their filtering and retrieval considerably easier. Denote provides relevant facilities to rename files, regardless of file type.

Next:
Previous:
See all: Code blog entries