jimb@GNU.AI.MIT.EDU (Jim Blandy) (05/06/91)
A user has asked us to change the meaning of the %p construct in
mode-line-format, and we would like to know what everyone else thinks
of his idea.
The %p construct puts a field in the mode line telling you where
top of the window is in the file. If the top of the file is visible,
it says "Top"; if the bottom of the file is visible, it says "Bot"; if
both, "All." If neither, it gives the percentage.
The proposal is to make this act more like the "more" program by
giving the position of the _bottom_ of the window. The user writes:
- It helps me decide whether I want to continue reading to see how
much more I have to go. On large screens/windows (e.g. 40-60
lines), the difference in % location between the top and bottom of
the displayed portion may be quite a bit, so the % above the top
is not a very good approximation of % seen so far, especially on
the first page.
- The mode line is at the bottom of a buffer-window, so I find it
natural to interpret figure shown as labeling the location of the
bottom of the displayed text.
When at the top of a file, it should probably say "<percentage> (Top)"
or something like that.
PLEASE SEND RESPONSES TO ME; DON'T POST THEM. Heh.