lesson-2.org

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* What we have learned so far
** About Emacs
We got some basic commands that allows us to do all of the things
that can be accomplished in any other editor. What may have been
a bit new, is the fact we got the mini-buffer and basically no use
for mouse. I know that this can be clunky at the start, but trust
me that just like in most other cases, effort you put into learning
yields great increase in the productivity. It is not to say that
other text-editors are bad or could not be used just as easily, but
there is one difference: under Emacs making well formatted lists
(org-mode), own dictionaries, small programs (that work from under
the text-editor itself!) and similar content requires much more
work.
I hope you enjoy it so far. If not, I can only admire your spirit.
** About org-mode
This particular tool is not just for making lists. Like most parts
of Emacs, this is more like a toolbox that encourages experiments
and learning some of its internal workings so that you can make it
as personalised and fitting your needs as possible. Most common use
of org-mode is making TODO lists. But it is not all. With next parts
of this tutorial you will learn how to interlink your files, make
your notes more organised and providing you with some (not only)
org-mode based tools that will make GMing more expedious.
* What we will learn today
** Work with org-mode
Pretty self-explanatory. One of the reasons I made this lesson
with org-mode is to let you practice a bit more with this (likely)
new format. Remember that at any point you can ask for help at the
/r/rpgprograms submission for this lesson or send me a PM if the
topic will be sent to archive (this means you are reading it quite
some time into the future. Good to know :D). Not much for now, but
I feel that some more Emacs fundamentals are in order.
*** Wait, really? This is it?!
Actually, no. I want you to complete points below and with newly
acquired knowledge and skills make your first adventure in with
org-mode.
*** What if I need help?
I have provided you with most of the needed tools in previous
lesson and this file itself is (IMHO) a pretty good example that
shows how to use it. But, I understand the different needs.

In that case, look for the org-mode manual I have linked in the
last lesson and try using auto-completion trick I provided within
next points.
** Check spelling
Yes, this part. I made a lot of fuss about installing spell-check
software and it didn't come up until this point. Now it is your
chance to learn it with a perfect example: my off-head spelling in
this document. To make it more of a learning experience, next point
on the list will contain some deliberate mistakes as well as ones
that I simply did on account on being a sloppy foreigner.
Read next sub-point fully before doing the exercise!
*** How do I do this thing?
Go into the mini-buffer (M-x, I hope this hint is not needed at
this point, or rekwired if you will) and type

ispell-buffer

you will see a new interface on top of the standard Emacs buffer.
This is where you will proceed with the changes. Hit C-h or ?,
your choice, and remember the help you will be provided. You can
invoke it at any point, end the ispell by hitting standard C-g
combination that will make ispell go away (but changes will stay).
If you want to undo something, remember that you can undo changes
commited in reverse order by hitting C-/
** Emacs split-screens
This is actually insanely usefull feature for GM (and programmer for
that matter) that will allow to browse more documents simultaneously.
*** How do I make vertically splited screen?
C-x 3

Yes, it is all. You will likely see duplicate of file you have had
open while executing the command listed above. You can switch the
current buffer by hitting

C-x o

that will result in cursor jumping from one screen to another.
*** How do I make horizontally splitted screen?
C-x 2

As above. Same with jumping between screens. Try using them in
a nested way. To state it explicitly, split screen vertically
and then split one of them horizontally. You can go as deep as some
internal Emacs setting allows, likely the one about minimal size
of screens. For GMing purposes you will likely don't need more then
3 screens anyway. One for notes, one to swap character sheets and
the last one where you will keep some programs that we will learn
how to write in the later parts of the tutorial.
*** How can I close screens?
C-x 0

This will result in closing currently selected screen.

C-x 1

This will close ALL screens other then currently selected.
** How can I work on many files?
Previous part about splitting screen will become more usefull now,
when you will start working on multiple files with multiple buffers.
When you will open all of the files you want, you might want to start
adjusting screens.
*** Open/create a file
C-x C-f

Followed by locating a file you want to open. If the file does not
exist, it will be created, provided you have typed a valid name.
*** Saving files
C-x C-s

Yes, it is all.
*** I did not split screen. How do I browse opened files?
Good question. You will have to use

C-x b

and either confirm default (last file you were working with),
start writing a name of file you want to open (if default selection
is not what you want) or hit TAB and select buffer you wish to
switch to.

It is worth to note, that you can hit TAB at any point, to signalise
to Emacs (and command line in Cygwin, Linux or plain Windows!) that
you want it to list all options that apply. Try it out.
** About the files, how do I move?
If you went through the tutorial you would know. But I am not
a dick and will give you now a quick list.
*** Going down
C-v
*** Going up
M-v
*** How can I center screen on the cursor?
C-l
*** Is it all?
Mostly. For nearly all of the non-programming stuff you will
do this is all you will need.
*** What about PgDn and PgUp?
They work in the same way as anywhere else. But they are so
far from other keys (at least at the most keyboards I ever
used). Take it or leave it.
** How can I switch Emacs OFF!?
Oh, good point. Never mentioned it before.

C-x C-c

And it will quit unless you have some unsaved work.
Then you will get prompted about what to do.
* What do I know now?
** Honestly?
A lot. Really. With practice you will get fluent and the stuff
you just learned is about 90% of the combinations of keys and
commands I use on a daily basis.
** Not so honestly?
Still a lot. But you have only scratched the surface by this
point. Practice, curiosity and experimenting/reading on your
own will provide you with more of the stuff you need.

Having said that, you know about as much as nothing about the
meat of the Emacs: its own programming language. Emacs Lisp.

Even for most Emacs users it is not as obligatory as it seems,
but without knowing it you know only the mundane parts. Think
of it in that way: now you have learned cantrips. Real magic
is built upon knowing them.
*** Did you lie to me?
No. I will teach you about it, provided you actually want to
learn.
**** Trade secret
Generally speaking, if you are still interested by this
point and you are willing to train both fundamentals and
new things, you are ready. Fact that you are still reading
is a good sign.
* What we will learn in the upcomming lessons?
** More details about org-mode
Like I said, there is much more. I will show you how I am making
my own scenarios with use of org-mode and how I am making notes
so that all the things I want to find easily can be accessed in
a fast way.
** Searching through files and buffers
No matter how awesome your notes are, you have to know how to
access the information. I will give a short tutorial about the
basics of regular expressions, searching and obtaining result.
** Emacs Lisp
While it is perfectly understandable that your players will want
to roll for themselves, I don't know if you would like to do so
for your larger groups of NPCs. This will take a lot of parts, but
I will show you how you can make a full program in Emacs Lisp that
will allow you to track state of all of the minions you would in
any other situation had to manage yourself.

To avoid licensing problems and overly elaborate example, I will
show you how to do it on basic d20 system.
* The end?
** I don't want to continue!
No-one forces you to continue. I hope you will respect the fact
that I will continue with making further parts of the tutorial.

All I want is you to be respectfull of people who will want to
proceed.
** I want to continue!
Good to know. I hope I will resume the tutorial in the next two
or three days. It would be awesome of you to post the 'homework'
I assigned at the beginning (your own adventure).