Protesilaos

Emacs: tmr version 1.4.0

TMR provides facilities for setting timers using a convenient notation. Lots of commands are available to operate on timers, while there also exists a tabulated view to display all timers in a nice grid.

Below are the release notes.

Version 1.4.0 on 2026-07-31

TMR is an efficient package that has been stable for years. This new version introduces some nice new features as well as several smaller internal refinements.

Create a timer that repeats

The command tmr-repeat prompts for a duration, like the standard tmr command but also asks for a number of times to repeat the given timer. When called with a prefix argument (C-u with default keybindings), tmr-repeat will also ask for a description for the new timer and whether it should be acknowledged or not after all repetitions have elapsed.

Thanks to Ă“scar Fuentes for contributing the original implementation of tmr-repeat (with many extra changes/features by me). This was done in pull request 16: https://github.com/protesilaos/tmr/pull/16. Ă“scar has assigned copyright to the Free Software Foundation.

Modify the repeat count of an existing timer

The command tmr-edit-repeat-count prompts for an existing timer and updates its repeat count. If the repeat count is set to 0, then the timer is no longer considered repeatable.

As with all commands that operate on existing timers, tmr-edit-repeat-count automatically applies to the timer at point when called from inside the tabulated list of timers (per tmr-tabulated-view).

Modifying a timer’s repeat count does not start a new timer. It simply updates the relevant data. Use the command tmr-clone to start a new timer using the data of an existing timer.

The tabulated view has more columns and all of them can be adjusted

The tabulated list of timers, which is typically produced by the command tmr-tabulated-view, now has extra columns for the data that pertains to repeatable timers.

Users who want to control which columns are displayed, and in what order, can modify the user option tmr-tabulated-columns. Its documentation covers the technicalities. The default value is to display all columns.

Completion metadata for the prompt that selects a timer

Advanced users can now modify all the completion-metadata associated with the prompt that reads/selects one among the existing timer objects (the function is tmr-read-timer). The relevant variable is tmr-completion-metadata. I am not providing this as a user option, because regular users will anyway not be able to do much with it as it involves custom functions.

Timers in the completion prompt are sorted by end time

The prompt for selecting a timer now sorts candidates by their end time. The closest end time appears at the top.

This affects all commands that operate on a timer, such as tmr-edit-repeat-count, tmr-cancel, and more.

In the past, there was no sorting whatsoever. Users who prefer that style can add the following to their configuration:

(setq tmr-completion-metadata
      (list
       (cons 'category 'tmr-timer)
       (cons 'display-sort-function #'identity) ; THIS IS THE RELEVANT PART
       (cons 'annotation-function #'tmr-completion-annotate)))

Miscellaneous

  • The manual is easier to read. I have rewritten it to group commands and user options under appropriate headings.

  • Lots of internal refinements to the code. I tweaks things to make the code easier to maintain and contribute to.

  • Thanks to Pavlo Lysov for adding a small example to the manual about using TMR hooks to send a custom notification on the macOS. This was done in pull request 25: https://github.com/protesilaos/tmr/pull/25. Pavlo does not need to assign copyright to the Free Software Foundation.

  • Thanks to Carlos Pajuelo Rojo for refining an earlier version of the function that produces a message about the repeat count of a given timer (I have since made lots of changes on this and other fronts). Carlos’ contribution is in pull request 20: https://github.com/protesilaos/tmr/pull/20. The change is small, meaning that Carlos does not need to assign copyright to the Free Software Foundation.

  • Thanks to f6p for use the appropriate face for the paused indicator in the tabulated view. This was done in pull request 17: https://github.com/protesilaos/tmr/pull/17. The change is small, meaning that the author does not need to assign copyright to the Free Software Foundation.

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