***** DONE My Emacs and Org-mode Workshops at the GLT26                             :blog:emacs:pim:software:education:open:
CLOSED: [2026-03-26 Thu 15:56] SCHEDULED: <2026-04-10 Fri>
:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED:  [2026-04-10 Fri 22:00]
:ID:       2026-04-10-GLT26-Emacs-Workshops
:END:
:LOGBOOK:
- State "DONE"       from "STARTED"    [2026-04-10 Fri 22:00]
:END:

Here are the shownotes of my [[https://www.linuxtage.at/en/][GLT]] 2026 workshops to Emacs and Org-mode:

- [[https://pretalx.linuxtage.at/glt26/talk/ZDZNEX/][Einführung in die GNU Emacs Plattform]]
- [[https://pretalx.linuxtage.at/glt26/talk/BAGVK7/][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

****** Introduction to the GNU Emacs Platform

******* History and Basics

- 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
  - [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stallman][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 [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emacs_Lisp][Emacs Lisp]]
- does't use modes: https://www.nomodes.com/ → [[https://interactions.acm.org/archive/view/july-august-2012/a-personal-history-of-modeless-text-editing-and-cut-copy-paste][A personal history of
  modeless text editing and cut/copy-paste | ACM Interactions]]

- the other editor beneath [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vi_(text_editor)][vi]] (1976) or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vim_(text_editor)][Vim]] (1988) or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neovim][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 [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_User_Access][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 → [[https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/Frame][Frame]]
  - "File views" → [[https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/Window][Windows]] (displaying [[https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/Buffer][buffers]])
  - Menu Bar → Menu Bar :-)
  - Task bar? → [[https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/ModeLine][Mode Lines]]

- *Emacs is not comparable to (almost) anything I've come across* so
  far.
  - And this is also a very good thing!
    - [[https://karl-voit.at/2017/02/10/evolution-of-systems/][Evolutional Steps of Computer Systems]] → "Information-Centric Systems"

******* Start Emacs

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

: emacs --init-directory=. -q

******* Emacs Tutorial

- 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

******* Manual Customization

- 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

******* Init File

- 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

******* Packages

- package install: [[https://codeberg.org/martianh/mastodon.el][mastodon]] mpv

#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
(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")
  )
#+END_SRC

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

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

******* MISC

- [[https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Undo.html][Undo is special]]
  - Undo within region

- [[https://www.masteringemacs.org/article/keyboard-macros-are-misunderstood][Keyboard macros]]

- [[https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Rectangles.html][Rectangle editing]]

- [[https://www.masteringemacs.org/article/displaying-interacting-processes-proced][proced]] - process manager
- [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_Server_Protocol][Language Server Protocol - Wikipedia]]
  - [[https://github.com/emacs-lsp/lsp-mode][lsp-mode]]
  - [[https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_mono/eglot.html][Eglot]]
- [[https://magit.vc/][Magit]] - git made awesome
- =my-title-capitalization()=
- Emacs window management via [[https://depp.brause.cc/eyebrowse/][eyebrowse]]
- [[https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Shell.html][Emacs shell]]
- [[https://www.gnu.org/software/tramp/][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
- [[https://github.com/zk-phi/spray][Spray]] speed reading: =M-x spray-mode=
- [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELIZA][ELIZA - Wikipedia]] (1966!) → =M-x doctor=

- all sorts of LLM integration modes

******* File Management

- [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dired][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: [[https://linux.die.net/man/1/vidir][vidir]])
  - [[https://github.com/jojojames/dired-sidebar][Dired-sidebar]] — Dired in a persistent sidebar
    - Leverages all existing dired keybindings and extensions
    - Tree-explorer feel with full dired power underneath
  - [[https://github.com/Fuco1/dired-hacks][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
  - [[https://github.com/kickingvegas/casual-dired][Casual Dired]] — Discoverable transient menus for dired
    - Transient-based UI that surfaces dired operations via menus
    - Lowers learning curve for dired's extensive keybindings
- [[https://github.com/alexluigit/dirvish][Dirvish]] — Modern dired replacement
  - File preview, icons, and git integration out of the box
  - Extensible via dirvish extensions (fd-find, media preview)
- [[https://github.com/sunrise-commander/sunrise-commander][Sunrise Commander]] — Orthodox dual-pane file manager
  - Inspired by Midnight Commander with tabs and tree navigation
  - Background file operations and batch processing
- [[https://github.com/ralesi/ranger.el][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
- [[https://github.com/Alexander-Miller/treemacs][Treemacs]] — Project-focused tree sidebar
  - Workspace/project grouping with deep LSP and Magit integration
  - Supports icons, follow-mode, and file watching
- [[https://github.com/jaypei/emacs-neotree][Neotree]] — Simple sidebar tree browser
  - Lightweight toggleable display inspired by Vim's NERDTree
  - Icon support and minimal configuration needed

******* Web Browsers

- [[https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_mono/eww.html][EWW (Emacs Web Wowser)]] — built-in text-based browser; renders HTML without CSS or JS, tightly integrated with Emacs buffers.
- [[https://emacs-w3m.github.io][emacs-w3m]] — Emacs interface to the external =w3m= text browser; supports tabs, bookmarks, and async page loading.
- [[https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Embedded-WebKit-Widgets.html][xwidget-webkit]] — built-in full WebKit rendering embedded in a buffer; requires Emacs compiled =--with-xwidgets=.
- [[https://github.com/canatella/xwwp][xwwp]] — enhances =xwidget-webkit= with link-hinting (ace-jump style), smarter URL handling, and completion-framework integration.
- [[https://github.com/emacs-eaf/emacs-application-framework][EAF (Emacs Application Framework)]] — embeds a full Chromium-based browser (and other apps) via Python/Qt6; supports ad-blocking and JS.
- [[https://github.com/akirakyle/emacs-webkit][emacs-webkit]] — dynamic module approach to embedding WebKitGTK, with more control than xwidgets; now largely superseded by improved xwidgets in Emacs 29+.
- [[https://thelambdalab.xyz/elpher][Elpher]] — client for Gopher, Gemini, and Finger protocols; not the regular web, but covers the "small web" from within Emacs.
- [[https://www.gnu.org/software/w3][W3]] — the original Emacs browser written entirely in Elisp; largely obsolete but historically significant.
- Interesting: [[https://nyxt.atlas.engineer/][Nyxt]] — not within GNU Emacs but as an independent GUI application that follows Emacs patterns deeply!

******* Emails

- [[https://www.djcbsoftware.nl/code/mu/mu4e.html][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
- [[https://www.gnus.org][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
- [[https://notmuchmail.org][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
- [[http://www.gohome.org/wl/][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
- [[https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/rmail/][Rmail]]
  - Oldest MUA, ships with GNU Emacs
  - Simple and minimal; limited modern protocol support
  - Uses the BABYL/mbox format; mostly for local/legacy use
- [[https://mh-e.sourceforge.net][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
- [[https://www.mew.org][Mew]]
  - Secure email focus; built-in S/MIME and PGP support
  - Fast; designed around Emacs conventions
  - Less actively maintained than mu4e or notmuch
- [[https://launchpad.net/vm][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

******* Selected Resources

- my Emacs articles: https://karl-voit.at/tags/emacs/
  - [[https://karl-voit.at/2015/10/23/Emacs-is-not-just-an-editor][Emacs is Not Just An Editor]]
  - [[https://karl-voit.at/2017/06/03/emacs-history][My Personal Emacs History]]
  - [[https://karl-voit.at/2017/06/03/emacs-org][My Emacs Configuration In Org-mode]]

- https://emacsconf.org/ → yearly online Emacs conference
- https://www.masteringemacs.org/ → awesome book about Emacs → *recommended*

****** Introduction to GNU Emacs Org-mode
:PROPERTIES:
:END:

******* Org-mode History and Basics

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Org-mode
  - initial release 2003 by [[https://staff.science.uva.nl/c.dominik/][Carsten Dominik]] for Emacs → around the
    same time as Markdown and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightweight_markup_language#Comparison_of_language_features][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. [[https://gitlab.com/publicvoit/orgdown/-/blob/master/doc/Tool-Support.org][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!
  - [[https://karl-voit.at/2021/11/27/orgdown/][Orgdown - a New Lightweight Markup Standard for Text Documents]]

******* Orgdown - Syntax

- The syntax is supported by *many* tools outside of GNU Emacs
  - [[https://gitlab.com/publicvoit/orgdown/-/blob/master/doc/Tool-Support.org][selection]]: [[https://pandoc.org/][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

******* Org-mode - Features of the Elisp Implementation

- 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

******* Org-mode Demos
:PROPERTIES:
:END:

*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 [[https://karl-voit.at/2021/01/18/tool-choices/][adapt the computer to
your personal requirements]] yourself.

- [[https://orgmode.org/worg/orgcard.html][Org-Mode Reference Card]]

- Visibility cycling

- =fill-or-unfill()= → =ESC q=

- [[https://orgmode.org/manual/Properties-and-Columns.html][Properties]]
  - [[https://orgmode.org/manual/Column-View.html][Column View]]
    - =C-c C-x C-c= → =org-columns()=
    - =q= = quit
  - Contact mangement
    - =my-org-region-to-property()=

- [[https://orgmode.org/manual/Refile-and-Copy.html][refiling]]

- [[https://orgmode.org/manual/Capture.html][Capture]]

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

- [[https://orgmode.org/manual/Sparse-Trees.html][Sparse trees]]

- =my-add-description()= → =mymap u=

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

- Todo management
  - [[https://karl-voit.at/2021/03/06/task-lifecycle/][UOMF: My Current Life-Cycle of an Org Mode Task]]
  - =my-mark-as-project()=
  - =my-create-business-appointment-surrogate()=
  - progress indicators: [3/6] [50%]
  - [[https://orgmode.org/manual/Agenda-Views.html][Agenda]]

- [[https://orgmode.org/manual/Tags.html][Tags]]
  - [[https://karl-voit.at/2022/01/29/How-to-Use-Tags/][How to Use Tags]]
  - [[https://karl-voit.at/2019/09/25/categories-versus-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] [[https://chat.example.com/direct/5Y9if68XdLjkF6YDnCD2kwDBmNCyT?msg=DDSr03cnrhOJh][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: [[messageid:abcde12345@example.com][2026-04-07 08:45 First Last <First.Last@example.com>: Example subject]] from the clipboard snippet:

#+BEGIN_EXAMPLE
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>
#+END_EXAMPLE

- Tables with spreadsheets

- [[https://orgmode.org/manual/Org-Crypt.html][org-crypt]]

- =org-copy-as-visible()=

- [[https://orgmode.org/manual/Exporting.html][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)

- [[https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra][hydra]]

- [[https://github.com/joaotavora/yasnippet][yasnippet]] + [[https://github.com/Kungsgeten/yankpad][yankpad]]
  - [[https://plantuml.com/][PlantUML]]

- =my-convert-region-from-markdown-to-orgdown()=

- [[https://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/babel/][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: [[https://karl-voit.at/2020/07/22/org-super-links][UOMF: Linking Headings With org-super-links (Poor-Man's Zettelkasten)]]
  - [[https://karl-voit.at/2019/11/16/UOMF-Linking-Headings/][UOMF: Linking Headings]] → =my-id-get-or-generate()=
  - [[https://karl-voit.at/2021/01/23/org-linker-edna/][UOMF: Easy Dependency Creation With org-linker-edna]]
  - [[https://gitlab.com/publicvoit/orgmode-link-demo][Karl Voit / GNU Emacs Org mode - link demo · GitLab]]
  - =my-bidirectional-link-to-parent-heading()= → links current heading with parent (before potential refiling)

- [[https://karl-voit.at/2022/02/10/lfile][UOMF: Path-Independent Links to Local Files Via Locate]]

- Links to emails, instant messenger, ...

- [[https://karl-voit.at/tags/lazyblorg][lazyblorg]] → https://Karl-Voit.at as example page

- [[https://github.com/novoid/Memacs][Memacs]]

- [[https://github.com/novoid/org-contacts2vcard][org-contacts2vcard]]

- [[https://codeberg.org/publicvoit/orgheadingnetwork][visualize sub-heading]]

- mention only
  - file attachments
  - [[https://orgmode.org/manual/Embedded-LaTeX.html][embed LaTeX]]
  - [[https://orgmode.org/manual/Citation-handling.html][Citations]]
  - [[https://code.tecosaur.net/tec/emacs-everywhere][tec/emacs-everywhere: System-wide popup Emacs windows for quick edits - Code by TEC]]

******* Selected Resources

- Motivation:
  - [[https://karl-voit.at/orgmode][Organize Your Life With Org-Mode]]
- [[https://karl-voit.at/2019/09/25/using-orgmode][Blog Series: Using Org Mode Features (UOMF)]]
  - [[https://karl-voit.at/2020/01/20/start-using-orgmode][UOMF: How to Start With Emacs Org Mode]]
  - [[https://karl-voit.at/2021/08/30/the-org-mode-way][UOMF: The Right Way to Use Org Mode]]
  - [[https://karl-voit.at/2020/05/03/current-org-files/][UOMF: My Current Org Mode Files and Heading Structure]]
  - [[https://karl-voit.at/2017/01/15/org-clone-subtree-with-time-shift][UOMF: Recurring Events with Org Mode]]
- [[https://orgmode.org/worg/][Hello Worg, the Org-Mode Community!]]