2 #+STARTUP: overview align
3 #+TYP_TODO: TODO IDEA WISH QUESTION DECLINED INCONSISTENCY BUG DONE
4 #+OPTIONS: H:2 num:t toc:t \n:nil @:t ::t |:t ^:t *:t TeX:t
5 #+EMAIL: carsten.dominik@gmail.com
6 #+TITLE: Org-mode Frequently Asked Questions
9 ** Use features in other modes
10 *I would like to use editing features of org-mode in other modes, is this possible?*
12 Not really. For tables there is =orgtbl-mode= which implements the
13 table editor as a minor mode. For other features you need to switch to
14 Org-mode temporarily, or prepare text in a different buffer.
17 ** Visibility cycling in Outline-mode and Outline-minor-mode
19 %Can I get the visibility-cycling features in outline-mode and
22 Yes, these functions are written in a way that they are independent of
23 the outline setup. The following setup provides standard Org-mode
24 functionality in outline-mode on =TAB= and =S-TAB=. For
25 outline-minor-mode, we use =C-TAB= instead of =TAB=,
26 because =TAB= usually has mode-specific tasks.
28 :(add-hook 'outline-minor-mode-hook
30 : (define-key outline-minor-mode-map [(control tab)] 'org-cycle)
31 : (define-key outline-minor-mode-map [(shift tab)] 'org-global-cycle)))
32 :(add-hook 'outline-mode-hook
34 : (define-key outline-mode-map [(tab)] 'org-cycle)
35 : (define-key outline-mode-map [(shift tab)] 'org-global-cycle)))
37 Or check out /outline-magic.el/, which does this and also provides
38 promotion and demotion functionality. @file{outline-magic.el} is
39 available at [[http://www.astro.uva.nl/~dominik/Tools/OutlineMagic][Outline Magic]].
42 ** =(wrong-type-argument keymapp nil)=
43 When I try to use Org-mode, I always get the error message
44 @code{(wrong-type-argument keymapp nil)} This is a conflict with an
45 outdated version of the /allout.el/.
47 ** CUA mode does not work with Org-mode
49 %Org-mode takes over the S-cursor keys. I also want to use CUA-mode,
50 is there a way to fix this conflict?%
52 Yes, see the /Conflicts/ section of the manual.
55 ** Org-mode as default mode
57 %Org-mode seems to be a useful default mode for the various README
58 files I have scattered through my directories%. %How do I turn it on
59 for all README files?%
61 Add the following to your .emacs file:
63 : (add-to-list 'auto-mode-alist '("README$" . org-mode))
66 ** Get rid of extra stars in outline
68 %All these stars are driving me mad, I just find the Emacs outlines
69 unreadable. Can't you just put white space and a single star as a
70 starter for headlines?%
72 See the section /Clean outline view/ in the manual.
74 ** Two windows on same Org-mode file
75 %I would like to have two windows on the same Org-mode file, but with
76 different outline visibility. Is that possible?%
78 In GNU Emacs, you may use /indirect buffers/ which do exactly this.
79 See the documentation on the command =make-indirect-buffer=. In
80 XEmacs, this is currently not possible because of the different outline
84 ** Broken links after Org-mode 4.20
86 %Some of my links stopped working after I upgraded to a version 4.20
87 or later. Why is this, and how can I fix it?%
89 These must be links in plain text, containing white space, such as
91 : bbdb:Richard Stallman
93 You need to protect these links by putting double brackets around
96 : [[bbdb:Richard Stallman]]
98 ** Converting links to double-bracket format
100 %I see that Org-mode now creates links using the double bracket
101 convention that hides the link part and the brackets, only showing the
102 description part. How can I convert my old links to this new format?%
104 Execute once in each Org-mode file: =M-x org-upgrade-old-links=
105 This replaces angular brackets with the new link format.
107 ** Angular bracket links preference
109 %I don't care if you find the new bracket links great, I am attached
110 to the old style using angular brackets and no hiding of the link
111 text. Please give them back to me, don't tell me it is not possible!%
113 Would I let you down like that? If you must, you can do this
115 : (setq org-link-style 'plain
116 : org-link-format "<%s>")
118 ** Confirmation for shell and elips links
119 %When I am executing shell/elisp links I always get a confirmation
120 prompt and need to type =yes RET=, that's 4 key presses! Can I get
123 The confirmation is there to protect you from unwantingly execute
124 potentially dangerous commands. For example, imagine a link
125 :[[shell:rm -rf ~/*][ Google Search]]
127 In an Org-mode buffer, this command would look like /Google Search/,
128 but really it would remove your home directory. If you wish, you can
129 make it easier to respond to the query by setting
130 =org-confirm-shell-link-function= and/or
131 =org-confirm-elisp-link-function= to =y-or-n-p=. Then a single yc
132 keypress will be enough to confirm those links. It is also possible
133 to turn off this check entirely, but I do not recommend to do this.
139 ** Make TODO entries items, not headlines in HTML export
141 %When I export my TODO list, every TODO item becomes a separate
142 section. How do I enforce these items to be exported as an itemized
145 If you plan to use ASCII or HTML export, make sure things you want to
146 be exported as item lists are level 4 at least, even if that does mean
147 there is a level jump. For example:
149 : * Todays top priorities
150 : **** TODO write a letter to xyz
151 : **** TODO Finish the paper
152 : **** Pick up kids at the school
154 Alternatively, if you need a specific value for the heading/item
155 transition in a particular file, use the =#+OPTIONS= line to
156 configure the H switch.
158 : #+OPTIONS: H:2; ...
160 ** Export only a subtree
162 %I would like to export only a subtree of my file to HTML. How?%
164 If you want to export a subtree, mark the subtree as region and then
165 export. Marking can be done with =C-c @@ C-x C-x=, for example.
168 ** #ERROR fields in tables
170 %One of my table columns has started to fill up with =#ERROR=. What
173 Org-mode tried to compute the column from other fields using a
174 formula stored in the =#+TBLFM:= line just below the table, and
175 the evaluation of the formula fails. Fix the fields used in the
176 formula, or fix the formula, or remove it!
178 ** Unwanted new lines in table
180 %When I am in the last column of a table and just above a horizontal
181 line in the table, pressing TAB creates a new table line before the
182 horizontal line%. %How can I quickly move to the line below the
183 horizontal line instead?%
185 Press =down= (to get on the separator line) and then =TAB=
186 Or configure the variable =org-table-tab-jumps-over-hlines=.
188 ** Change indentation of a table
189 %How can I change the indentation of an entire table without fixing
192 The indentation of a table is set by the first line. So just fix the
193 indentation of the first line and realign with =TAB=.
196 ** Include Org-mode agenda into Emacs diary
197 %Is it possible to include entries from org-mode files into my emacs
200 Since the org-mode agenda is much more powerful and can contain the
201 diary, you should think twice
202 before deciding to do this. Integrating Org-mode information into the
203 diary is, however, possible. You need to turn on /fancy diary
204 display/ by setting in .emacs:
206 : (add-hook 'diary-display-hook 'fancy-diary-display)
208 Then include the following line into your ~/diary file, in
209 order to get the entries from all files listed in the variable
213 You may also select specific files with
215 : &%%(org-diary) ~/path/to/some/org-file.org
216 : &%%(org-diary) ~/path/to/another/org-file.org
218 If you now launch the calendar and press d to display a diary, the
219 headlines of entries containing a timestamp, date range, schedule, or
220 deadline referring to the selected date will be listed. Just like
221 Org-mode's agenda view, the diary for @emph{today} contains additional
222 entries for overdue deadlines and scheduled items. See also the
223 documentation of the @command{org-diary} function. Under XEmacs, it is
224 not possible to jump back from the diary to the org, this works only in
227 * COMMENT HTML style specifications
230 # org-export-html-style: "<link rel=stylesheet href=\"freeshell2.css\" type=\"text/css\"> <style type=\"text/css\"> .tag { color: red; font-weight:bold}</style>"