consult--source-tab

[ezemtsov]

Hi @minad,
Thanks a lot for your tremendous effort on consult and keeping exwm alive!

At some point I switched to consult-buffer as a single control interface for tabs (which I use instead of workspaces), buffers and exwm windows. It also replaced my linux application launcher:

  (consult-buffer-sources
   '((:name "Tabs"
      :category 'tab
      :items (lambda () (mapcar #'(lambda (tab) (alist-get 'name tab)) (tab-bar-tabs)))
      :action (lambda (cand) (tab-switch cand)))
     consult--source-hidden-buffer
     consult--source-modified-buffer
     consult--source-buffer
     consult--source-recent-file
     (:name "Apps"
      :category app
      :items executable-list
      :action (lambda (cand) (start-process cand nil cand)))))

While this works really good already, I was wondering how hard would it be to implement preview functionality for the Tabs source?

[minad]

While this works really good already, I was wondering how hard would it be to implement preview functionality for the Tabs source?

Certainly not easy, and I think it is also unnecessary, at least in my workflow. With EXWM I use tab-bar-mode which shows me a list of tabs (dedicated separate desktops). The tab bar also shows my global system statusbar. In this setting, preview would not help me much - it would be rather confusing, since I try to isolate buffers for each tab. See also #1009. Maybe these ideas are helpful for you?

I wonder which work flow do you use? Why do you want tab preview in the context of EXWM?

[minad]

Thanks. I see. Right now I use a two step switching, first select the tab and then switch. This way I get faster local buffer switching in the current tab. But my workflow is certainly not yet optimal and from time to time, I accidentally move buffers between tabs.

I am not sure if Consult should offer tab switching functionality yet, or something like #1009. The problem is that there are too many alternative workflows and buffer isolation techniques. However if we figure out sufficiently general building blocks usable in multiple scenarios, that would be worth a consideration.

[minad]

@ezemtsov I've added some support for tabs. Preview will happen in the current tab, but the tab buffer list is restored afterwards: 0a5af92

[ezemtsov]

@minad I ended up writing a custom source for tabs that supports preview. In case if it's useful for anyone:

;;; -*- lexical-binding: t -*-
(require 'consult)

(consult--define-state tab)

(defun consult--tab-preview ()
  "Tab preview function"
  (let ((orig-tab (alist-get 'name (tab-bar--current-tab))))
    (lambda (action cand)
      (pcase action
        ('return
         (tab-bar-switch-to-tab orig-tab))
        ('exit
         (tab-bar-switch-to-tab orig-tab))
        ('preview
         (if cand (tab-bar-switch-to-tab cand)
           (tab-bar-switch-to-tab orig-tab)))))))

(defun consult--tab-action (cand)
  (tab-bar-switch-to-tab cand))

(defun consult--tab-items ()
  "List of tabs available in the current frame.
   Note, that current tab is always listed first, so that live
   preview wouldn't randomly switch to the first index."
  (let ((tabs (mapcar #'(lambda (tab) (alist-get 'name tab)) (tab-bar-tabs)))
        (current (alist-get 'name (tab-bar--current-tab))))
    (cons current (remove current tabs))))

(defvar consult--source-tab
  `( :name          "Tabs"
     :narrow        ?t
     :category      tab
     :require-match t
     :state         ,#'consult--tab-state
     :enabled       ,(lambda () (if tab-bar-mode t nil))
     :items         ,#'consult--tab-items
     "Tab candidate source for `consult-buffer'."))

(provide 'consult-ext)

[minad]

Can you please put this in the wiki? Iirc there is already a tab source but it helps to offer multiple variants.

[ezemtsov]

After using it for few days, I'm not confident to recommend this to anyone yet.
The issue is that sometimes it changes the screen content so quickly and dramatically that it's hard to follow what exactly happened.
So I end up spending few seconds on checking the state of the tab bar just to understand where I ended up.

I'll spend a bit more time tinkering until it works the way I want.