Insert-link and keyboard map

Troubleshooting
1

Hello everyone.

I’m very new to org-roam (and a bit to emacs too) and still reading a lot of documentation before really plunging in, although I’m eager to take the jump. :slight_smile:

A small detail (just to warm up these sharing space for which I’m very grateful) that called my attention is that org-roam-insert has a default keybinding (C-c n i) that is different than the default org-insert-link (C-c C-l).

However, if both actions are basically the same (although they have different underlying mechanism or function because one is in org-mode and the other in org-roam-mode), couldn’t they be the same, but just re-map it when in roam-mode to the more specific org-roam-insert instead of the default org-insert-link?

Of course, we may say that org-roam may have it’s own keymap, but since we already have org-insert-link C-c C-l in our finger memory… I’m talking here as a UX guy (which I am), not as a coder (which I’m not), so please forgive me if it doesn’t make sense.

In any case, thanks a lot for org-roam. :smiley:

Best regards, and stay safe…

PD: edited typo.

2

I personally org-roam-insert from my org files, so that would not be great for me. To be a little more clear, I add entry points to my org-roam from org files while creating the org-roam file. I like that personally. Plus I think org-roam is a minor mode and org is a major mode, so I think the distinction makes sense.

3

Ok. Just to understand better: you prefer to have them as different actions then, because one is a general org link and another a specific roam link?

I’m sorry if it’s obvious to you, but since I’m still new I lack practice… :slight_smile:

Thanks a lot…

4

yes, there is more behavior in the insert org roam link. i am just coming back to emacs after 15yrs away, so i am fairly rusty here. but i like having the org roam insert behavior available in my org specific files. smarter ppl than me probably have a better way to explain whether it should or shouldn’t be.

i do resonate with your ux point on consistent actions for similar behavior.

5

The two actions are very different in nature, and there are still uses to both of them.

  1. org-insert-link works tandem with org-store-link which you can call in multiple places. For example, in an email buffer in notmuch, to store a link to the thread, or at an org heading, to store a link to the org-heading. Calling org-insert-link lets you insert these links with ease, after org-store-link is called.

  2. org-roam-insert only prompts you for org-roam files. It also goes beyond just inserting a link: it when the file doesn’t yet exist, it prompts you for a templated file creation.

Hope that provides some clarity.

6

Ok, got it: even if they are “insert link” they are really different functions.
Then it makes sense to have different keybindings.

Thanks a lot for your explanations. :smiley:

Best regards…