RE: [External] : Re: Adding a "quick-help" menu

[Drew Adams]

> I remember when I started using Emacs, I had
> difficulties orienting myself around the menu bar,
> considering how many menus and submenus there were.

Is this specific to Emacs or in the nature of menus?

Particularly mouse driven access, which gives
you only a local view of the menu hierarchy.
It's not easy to find something inside some menu
somewhere (which menu? which submenu(s)? what
might the menus be called?).

With keyboard access to the same menu hierarchy
things can change.  La Carte demonstrates this.

It gives you both a local view and a global view.
You can match multiple menu levels the same way
you can match multiple directory levels, with a
level-separator string (">" by default).

And especially if you also have progressive
completion, which lets you show any given level 
immediately, then show another given level
immediately, go back, up, down, sideways.
Icicles demonstrates this.

Maybe other completion frameworks offer something
similar now; dunno.  But vanilla Emacs doesn't,
to my knowledge.  `completion-styles' don't help
here.

`C-h f':

lacarte-execute-menu-command is an interactive
 compiled Lisp function in 'lacarte.el'.

(lacarte-execute-menu-command MAPS)

Execute a menu-bar menu command.
Type a menu item.  Completion is available.

A prefix argument controls which menus are available:

* None: current major mode, global, and minor-mode keymaps.
* Positive (including plain `C-u'): current major mode keymap.
* Zero (e.g., `C-0'): current global keymap.
* Negative (e.g., `C--'): current minor mode keymaps.

> Sure, you can find those items you expect to be in a
> familiar place coming from other CUA software
> (File -> Save, Edit -> Undo)

Being able to match alternative names using
progressive completion or regexp completion
helps.  Emacs has generally tried to use more
common terminology (e.g. "Paste") in menus, but
it still helps to match synonyms.

https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/LaCarte

https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/Icicles_-_Nutshell_View#ProgressiveCompletion