My Emacs and Org-mode Workshops at the GLT26

Here are the shownotes of my GLT 2026 workshops to Emacs and Org-mode:

• Einführung in die GNU Emacs Plattform
• Einführung in GNU Emacs Org-mode

There is no recording of this four hour session.

• Surveys
  • Who is using Emacs already? a third
  • Who is totally new to Emacs? the rest

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emacs

  • Emacs development began during the 1970s at the MIT AI Lab
  • Text Editor and Corrector (TECO)
  • E editor, written by Fred Wright
  • Richard Stallman added a macro feature to the TECO display-editing mode
  • Steele and Stallman's finished implementation
  • The new version of TECO quickly became popular at the AI Lab and soon accumulated a large collection of custom macros whose names often ended in MAC or MACS, which stood for macro.
  • 1976: The resulting system was called EMACS, which stood for Editing MACroS or, alternatively, E with MACroS. Later, the use of EMACS as a recursive acronym for "EMACS Makes All Computing Simple" became popular; this fit in with the growing use of recursive acronyms for other versions of EMACS.
  • later: GNU Emacs, XEmacs, Aquamacs, Meadow, JOVE, edwin, …

• based on Emacs Lisp

• does't use modes: https://www.nomodes.com/ → A personal history of modeless text editing and cut/copy-paste | ACM Interactions

• the other editor beneath vi (1976) or Vim (1988) or Neovim (2015) → that's really just an editor

• Emacs = Emacs + modes → minor and major

• Emacs is old. Therefore: it contains usage patterns that precedes Ctrl-X, Ctrl-V, Alt-F4, … or IBM Common User Access (F1 for help, F5 for refresh, Menu with F10, ESC for Cancel, …)

• Different names for "Window", "File", … → https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/Window#window

  • Window → Frame
  • "File views" → Windows (displaying buffers)
  • Menu Bar → Menu Bar :-)
  • Task bar? → Mode Lines

• Emacs is not comparable to (almost) anything I've come across so far.

  • And this is also a very good thing!
    • Evolutional Steps of Computer Systems → "Information-Centric Systems"

• file:~/share/sting/2026-04-10 Emacs Workshops

 emacs --init-directory=. -q	  

• provided on the Emacs startup screen or M-x help-with-tutorial or C-h t

• quick references
  • https://quickref.me/emacs.html
  • https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/refcards/pdf/refcard.pdf → a classic

• start of the week

  1. M-x customize → browse in menu: Parent groups: Environment Editing …

  2. M-x customize → search for "week"

  3. C-h v calendar-week-start-day

  4. in init.el

     (setq-default calendar-week-start-day 1)
     

• outdated double space after each sentence

  (setq-default sentence-end-double-space nil)
  

• Options → Customize Emacs → Custom Themes

• C-h k C-x s → "save-some-buffers"
  • access code
  • copy code
  • add (message "Hello GLT")
  • evaluate and execute

• create init file:

  (find-file (expand-file-name "init.el" user-emacs-directory))
  

• open init file:

  (find-file emacs-init-file)
  

• learning Elisp

  • https://www.emacswiki.org/ official resource
  • https://bzg.fr/en/learn-emacs-lisp-in-15-minutes/
  • Tips for the learning process: https://sachachua.com/blog/2013/03/learn-emacs-lisp-by-reading-emacs-lisp/

• M-x functionname → call defined Elisp functions

• M-: (message "Hi!") → evaluate Elisp code

• help on variables: C-h v foobar
• help on functions: C-h f foobar

• activate Elisp code/settings

  • mark region + M-x eval-region
  • M-x eval-buffer for whole buffer
  • restart Emacs ;-)

• debugging issues in init.el:

  emacs --debug-init
  

• my configuration: https://github.com/novoid/dot-emacs/blob/master/config.org

• package install: mastodon mpv

(require 'package)
(add-to-list 'package-archives
             '("melpa" . "http://melpa.org/packages/") t)

(use-package mastodon
  :ensure t
  :config
  (setq mastodon-instance-url "https://graz.social"
        mastodon-active-user "graz_social_demo")
  )	  

• start Mastodon demo (PW for encrypting the demo key in session = foobar9472!)

• update all packages: M-x list-packages + U x

• Undo is special
  • Undo within region
• Keyboard macros

• Rectangle editing

• proced - process manager
• Language Server Protocol - Wikipedia
  • lsp-mode
  • Eglot
• Magit - git made awesome
• my-title-capitalization()
• Emacs window management via eyebrowse
• Emacs shell
• TRAMP (“Transparent Remote (file) Access, Multiple Protocol”)
  • Seamless SSH, SCP, sudo, and Docker file access within dired
  • Edit and manage remote files as if local
• Spray speed reading: M-x spray-mode
• ELIZA - Wikipedia (1966!) → M-x doctor

• all sorts of LLM integration modes

• Dired - the very first file manager!
  • editing names as text: C-x C-q and confirm changes with C-c C-c
  • Deep integration with Emacs buffers and shell commands
  • (similar: vidir)
  • Dired-sidebar — Dired in a persistent sidebar
    • Leverages all existing dired keybindings and extensions
    • Tree-explorer feel with full dired power underneath
  • Dired-hacks — Modular dired extension collection
    • dired-subtree for inline subdirectory expansion, dired-filter for dynamic filtering
    • dired-narrow for live fuzzy/regex narrowing of listings
  • Casual Dired — Discoverable transient menus for dired
    • Transient-based UI that surfaces dired operations via menus
    • Lowers learning curve for dired's extensive keybindings
• Dirvish — Modern dired replacement
  • File preview, icons, and git integration out of the box
  • Extensible via dirvish extensions (fd-find, media preview)
• Sunrise Commander — Orthodox dual-pane file manager
  • Inspired by Midnight Commander with tabs and tree navigation
  • Background file operations and batch processing
• Ranger.el — Miller-columns file navigation
  • Multi-pane parent/current/preview layout modeled after terminal ranger
  • Integrates with dired as a minor mode; includes minimal deer picker
• Treemacs — Project-focused tree sidebar
  • Workspace/project grouping with deep LSP and Magit integration
  • Supports icons, follow-mode, and file watching
• Neotree — Simple sidebar tree browser
  • Lightweight toggleable display inspired by Vim's NERDTree
  • Icon support and minimal configuration needed

• EWW (Emacs Web Wowser) — built-in text-based browser; renders HTML without CSS or JS, tightly integrated with Emacs buffers.
• emacs-w3m — Emacs interface to the external w3m text browser; supports tabs, bookmarks, and async page loading.
• xwidget-webkit — built-in full WebKit rendering embedded in a buffer; requires Emacs compiled --with-xwidgets.
• xwwp — enhances xwidget-webkit with link-hinting (ace-jump style), smarter URL handling, and completion-framework integration.
• EAF (Emacs Application Framework) — embeds a full Chromium-based browser (and other apps) via Python/Qt6; supports ad-blocking and JS.
• emacs-webkit — dynamic module approach to embedding WebKitGTK, with more control than xwidgets; now largely superseded by improved xwidgets in Emacs 29+.
• Elpher — client for Gopher, Gemini, and Finger protocols; not the regular web, but covers the "small web" from within Emacs.
• W3 — the original Emacs browser written entirely in Elisp; largely obsolete but historically significant.
• Interesting: Nyxt — not within GNU Emacs but as an independent GUI application that follows Emacs patterns deeply!

• mu4e
  • Search-based frontend to the mu indexer; fast, polished UI
  • Strong org-mode integration; composes HTML emails via org
  • Requires external sync tool (e.g. mbsync/offlineimap) + msmtp for sending
• Gnus
  • Built into Emacs; handles both email and newsgroups (NNTP)
  • Monolithic or split-MUA capable; highly configurable
  • Steeper learning curve; can back notmuch as a search engine
• Notmuch (notmuch.el)
  • Tag-based, search-oriented; conversation/thread view
  • Does not send or move mail itself — pairs with msmtp/afew
  • Inspired by Gmail's philosophy; fast global search
• Wanderlust
  • Pure Elisp; native IMAP support without external sync tools
  • Good for Windows users where mbsync is unavailable
  • Considered powerful but notoriously tricky to configure
• Rmail
  • Oldest MUA, ships with GNU Emacs
  • Simple and minimal; limited modern protocol support
  • Uses the BABYL/mbox format; mostly for local/legacy use
• MH-E
  • Emacs frontend to the MH and nmh message-handling systems
  • Folder-based; each message is a separate file
  • Mature but niche; requires MH/nmh installed separately
• Mew
  • Secure email focus; built-in S/MIME and PGP support
  • Fast; designed around Emacs conventions
  • Less actively maintained than mu4e or notmuch
• VM (View Mail)
  • Emacs-native; supports IMAP, POP, and local spool
  • Folder-based with threading; predates most alternatives
  • Development is slow; mostly legacy use today

• my Emacs articles: https://karl-voit.at/tags/emacs/
  • Emacs is Not Just An Editor
  • My Personal Emacs History
  • My Emacs Configuration In Org-mode
• https://emacsconf.org/ → yearly online Emacs conference
• https://www.masteringemacs.org/ → awesome book about Emacs → recommended

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Org-mode
  • initial release 2003 by Carsten Dominik for Emacs → around the same time as Markdown and other LMLs were introduced
• https://orgmode.org/
  • Current maintainer: Ihor Radchenko
    • social media: https://fosstodon.org/@yantar92
    • his Emacs config: https://github.com/yantar92/emacs-config/blob/master/config.org
    • Ihor donations: https://liberapay.com/yantar92/
  • Org-mode donations: https://liberapay.com/org-mode
• Consists of two different things:
  1. Orgdown: a lightweight markup language
  2. Org-mode: Elisp code within GNU Emacs to work with Orgdown information
• it's important to differ between those two things!
  • Orgdown - a New Lightweight Markup Standard for Text Documents

• The syntax is supported by many tools outside of GNU Emacs
  • selection: pandoc being the most important one
• https://gitlab.com/publicvoit/orgdown/
  • https://gitlab.com/publicvoit/orgdown/-/blob/master/doc/Orgdown1-Syntax-Examples.org
    • file:/home/shared/shares/src/orgdown/doc/Orgdown1-Syntax-Examples.org

• https://github.com/novoid/org-mode-workshop/blob/master/featureshow/org-mode-teaser.org
  • file:/home/shared/shares/src/org-mode-workshop/featureshow/org-mode-teaser.org

Disclaimer: I've invested many years into my personal PIM setup. Most demos here are not considered to teach how it's done. Instead, they should teach you how to get creative to adapt the computer to your personal requirements yourself.

• Org-Mode Reference Card

• Visibility cycling

• fill-or-unfill() → ESC q

• Properties
  • Column View
    • C-c C-x C-c → org-columns()
    • q = quit
  • Contact mangement
    • my-org-region-to-property()
• refiling

• Capture

• org-tree-to-indirect-buffer() → C-c C-x b

• Sparse trees

• my-add-description() → mymap u

• Firefox: https://github.com/kuanyui/copy-as-org-mode

• Todo management
  • UOMF: My Current Life-Cycle of an Org Mode Task
  • my-mark-as-project()
  • my-create-business-appointment-surrogate()
  • progress indicators: [3/6] [50%]
  • Agenda
• Tags
  • How to Use Tags
  • UOMF: Using Org Mode Categories Versus Tags
• my-dwim-insert-stuff()
  • my-rocketchat-insert-message-from-url()
    • Example: I copy the link of the message to the system clipboard, invoke my Emacs shortcut and then it inserts:
      • [2026-03-26 Thu 09:06] Message from firstname.lastname: This is the body of the mesasge in our Rocket.Chat.
  • my-mastodon-insert-message-from-url() → the process is similar to Rocket.Chat
  • same for email headers
    • Example: 2026-04-07 08:45 First Last <First.Last@example.com>: Example subject from the clipboard snippet:

From:	First Last <First.Last@example.com>
To:	me@example.com
Subject:	Example subject
Date:	Tue, 7 Apr 2026 10:45:31 +0200
Message-Id:	<abcde12345@example.com>	  

• Tables with spreadsheets

• org-crypt

• org-copy-as-visible()

• Exporting
  • PDF export
  • pandoc
• slides export with reveal: file:/home/shared/shares/src/pim-lv/pim-slides.org
  • example chapter: "Basics of PIM 3 • Choosing A Tool"
  • Export → R B (in my setup)
• hydra

• yasnippet + yankpad
  • PlantUML
• my-convert-region-from-markdown-to-orgdown()

• Org-babel
  • https://orgmode.org/manual/Working-with-Source-Code.html
• Template: tbrief → LaTeX letter template via Org-mode template and babel
  1. create new Org-mode file
  2. insert yankpad template "tbrief"
  3. provide letter data
  4. make pdf in shell generates PDF of letter
• Template of lecture

• Bi-directional links between headings: UOMF: Linking Headings With org-super-links (Poor-Man's Zettelkasten)
  • UOMF: Linking Headings → my-id-get-or-generate()
  • UOMF: Easy Dependency Creation With org-linker-edna
  • Karl Voit / GNU Emacs Org mode - link demo · GitLab
  • my-bidirectional-link-to-parent-heading() → links current heading with parent (before potential refiling)
• UOMF: Path-Independent Links to Local Files Via Locate

• Links to emails, instant messenger, …

• lazyblorg → https://Karl-Voit.at as example page

• Memacs

• org-contacts2vcard

• visualize sub-heading

• mention only
  • file attachments
  • embed LaTeX
  • Citations
  • tec/emacs-everywhere: System-wide popup Emacs windows for quick edits - Code by TEC

• Motivation:
  • Organize Your Life With Org-Mode
• Blog Series: Using Org Mode Features (UOMF)
  • UOMF: How to Start With Emacs Org Mode
  • UOMF: The Right Way to Use Org Mode
  • UOMF: My Current Org Mode Files and Heading Structure
  • UOMF: Recurring Events with Org Mode
• Hello Worg, the Org-Mode Community!