One more idea - better mode line indicator about isearch-mb

[astoff]

At some point I included this:

(defvar isearch-mb--lighter
  '(" Isearch:"
    (search-spaces-regexp "s" "-")
    (isearch-case-fold-search "c" "-")
    (isearch-wrapped (:eval (if (and (not isearch-wrap-function)
			             (if isearch-forward
				         (> (point) isearch-opoint)
			               (< (point) isearch-opoint)))
		                "W" "w"))
                     "-"))
  "Mode line indicator for `isearch-mode'.")

But then I removed it, since I'm not really convinced this is better than nothing.

[minad]

I would love to have some isearch indicators which somehow expose the current configuration of the isearch. I must admit I didn't really know for a long time that isearch offers all these different modi. I think it could be helpful for many users, at least the ones who use Emacs intuitively and don't read the full docs. I used Emacs for many years, but I guess never to its full extent and power since I didn't look deeply into the details. It worked okay, but it would have been neat if there were more visual clues. I am not advocating to not read the docs, but I believe there could be some small improvements to lower the barriers.

[minad]

If you say that this feature is out of scope for isearch-mb, that is okay since it is more of an orthogonal concern. I just thought I mention it, assuming that isearch-mb aims to be an "improved isearch" package.

[astoff]

Maybe something like this

(setf (cadr (assoc 'isearch-mode minor-mode-alist))
      '(""
        isearch-mode
        "/"
        (isearch-regexp
         "R"
         (isearch-regexp-function
          (:eval (upcase
                  (substring
                   (or (get isearch-regexp-function 'isearch-message-prefix) "?")
                   0 1)))
          "-"))
        (isearch-regexp (isearch-regexp-lax-whitespace "S" "-")
                        (isearch-lax-whitespace "S" "-"))
        (isearch-case-fold-search "C" "-")))

or like this?

(setf (cadr (assoc 'isearch-mode minor-mode-alist))
      '(""
        isearch-mode
        "/"        
        (isearch-regexp (isearch-regexp-lax-whitespace "S" "")
                        (isearch-lax-whitespace "S" ""))
        (isearch-case-fold-search "C" "")))

The first version would make the search mode info in the prompt technically redundant, but maybe removing the info from the prompt would be too much. What do you think?

[minad]

I like the first version showing more of the state at a single spot. Depends on preferences 🤷

[astoff]

This is a general isearch question, so I will close the issue. (Improving the mode line indicator in Emacs itself would also allow to declutter the isearch echo area message.)

If you arrived at a solution you find useful, feel free to add it to the wiki.