Emacs Virtual Comments

Intro

This package allows adding virtual comments to files in buffers. These comments don’t belong to the files so they don’t. They are saved in project root or a global file which can be viewed and searched. The file name is .evc.

Demo

Virtual comments

A virtual comment is an overlay and it is added above the line it comments on and has the same indentation. The virtual comment can be single line or multiline. Each line can have one comment.

Install

Spacemacs layer: https://github.com/thanhvg/spacemacs-eos

Melpa

(require 'virtual-comment)
(add-hook 'find-file-hook 'virtual-comment-mode)

Commands

• virtual-comment-make: create or edit a comment at current line
• virtual-comment-next: go to next comment in buffer
• virtual-comment-previous: go to previous comment in buffer
• virtual-comment-delete: remove the current comment
• virtual-comment-paste: paste the last removed comment to current line
• virtual-comment-realign: realign the comments if they are misplaced
• virtual-comment-persist: manually persist project comments
• virtual-comment-show: show all comments of current project in a derived mode

from outline-mode, press enter on a comment will call virtual-comment-go to go to the location of comment. C-c C-d (virtual-comment-show-delete-display-unit-at-point) will delete that comemt.

There are no default bindings at all for these commands.

Remarks

• It’s very hard to manage overlays. So this mode should be use in a sensible way. Only comments of files can be persisted.

Changes

0.5

• won’t create .evc if there is no comment for the project
• only save data if there is change
• if can’t parse the .evc file copy it to .evc.error

0.4

• a backup of current data will be made as .evc.bk when data is persisted

Test

cask install
cask exec ert-runner

Other similar packages and inspirations

https://github.com/blue0513/phantom-inline-comment https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/InPlaceAnnotations