Completion at the prompt

When imp asks you to pick something, such as a command, a file or a buffer, a menu of choices opens under the prompt. Type a few letters and the menu narrows to what matches. For completion while you type in a buffer, see Completion while typing.

Opening the menu

The help commands that describe a function, an option or a command use the same menu. See Live Scheme and help.

Narrowing and choosing

Type to narrow the menu. Split what you type with spaces, and every part must match, in any order.

A part matches as plain text, or else as letters in order with gaps, so ffl finds find-file. The best matches come first.

For example, in M-x, typing buf sw finds switch-buffer.

Running a command

M-x lists every command. Beside each one are its keys, in normal mode and under SPC, and a line saying what it does.

Finding a file

SPC f f lists the files in your project. Inside a git repository, the files .gitignore ignores are left out. A long path is shortened from the start, so the file name stays in view.

Press <tab> to complete the path you typed one part at a time, as Emacs does. When there's nothing to add, <tab> moves down the menu instead.

To look somewhere else, start the path with /, ~/, ./ or ../. The menu then lists that directory, matching on the part after the last /. Hidden files are left out.

Switching buffers

SPC b b lists your other buffers. The buffer you were in last comes first, so SPC b b then <ret> takes you back.

In init.scm

completing-read opens the same menu with your own choices. It takes a prompt, a list of strings, and what to do with the one chosen:

(completing-read "Open: " '("notes.org" "todo.org") open-file!)