emacs "Find File:" default path

Question

I am using emacs on windows. I would like to know how to change the default "Find File:" path in emacs i.e. When we press "C-x C-f" I want the default file path to point to my Documents directory and not to "c:\emacs-**\bin/".

Oas

Answer 1

In a buffer that is visiting a file, the default path you see when you visit a new file (C-x C-f) is the directory that contains the current buffer's file.

In order to override the value "c:\emacs-**\bin/" with something more sensible, set the default-directory variable in your .emacs file:

(setq default-directory "/path/to/documents/directory/")

Note that the path value should end with a slash (or backslash on Windows).

However, you might also want to consider changing the value of your HOME environment variable, as by default, this is what the variable default-directory points at at startup (unless set to some other value like shown above).

Adobe

You should still generally use forward slashes in file paths in NTEmacs. It knows what to do. – Grandson

@phils: I suppose the reason to prefer slashes over backward slashes is that backslashs are also the escape character in strings, thus you always have to write path names like this: "c:\\foo\\bar\\" which becomes rather ugly. – Adobe

This answer does not work for me (and others). See the discussion under @loudandclear answer. – Sepoy

@styrofoamfly The answer does work depending on what exactly you're after. If you want C-x C-f to always look in a specific default directory first, I agree that it probably makes sense to bind that shortcut to your own custom function. If, however, you're happy with Emacs standard behavior except when you do C-x C-f for the first time after starting it (where it uses a directory you don't like), then my answer will help you. – Adobe

Answer 2

This shall do it:

(global-set-key (kbd "C-x C-f")  (lambda () (interactive)
                                     (cd "somePathHere")
                                     (call-interactively 'find-file)))

(replace somePathHere with the path to your documents directory)

Bukovina

@sabotero someone did -1 because this is a poor, inelegant solution. Emacs has mechanisms to address OPs question, default-directory. Remapping keys to a new function is NOT the way to address this simple task. – Platysma

This is a sensible answer. The OP presumably wants C-x C-f to always start in a certain directory. Setting default-directory will not do this, since it's buffer-local and will change as soon as you read from or write to a different directory. You'd have to add hooks to find-file, dired and anything else that sets it. And changing a setting in every buffer is hardly an "elegant" way to change the behaviour of one keybinding! If you want a keybinding to do something different, rebinding it to a custom wrapper is simple, foolproof and won't interfere with anything else. – Vernavernacular

Although, if you're binding a function to a key, you should at least give it a name. You can use defun inline if you like (it's better to define it at top-level, though, so the help system can find the definition). – Vernavernacular

the accepted answer doesn't work for me in windows. This answer works. – Kalong

Answer 3

Variable 'default-directory' is the "current" directory (for the current buffer). Command 'cd' changes directories, and visiting any file or directory (e.g. with Dired) changed the 'default-directory' for that buffer.

You can start Emacs in a given directory, by passing that directory on the command line. You can use a Windows shortcut to do this too. And you can have the shortcut visit that directory in Dired.

Example shortcut info:

Target: C:\Emacs\bin\runemacs.exe "C:\my\favorite\folder"

Start in: C:\my\favorite\folder

Sabadilla

Answer 4

You have to redefine the environment variable HOME to your new default directory.

Talky

No. HOME is used for a lot of things other than just your Emacs default directory. Messing with it will probably make many things behave unpredictably. -1 – Prisage

Valid comment. But since Emacs seems to use its own directory now, it means the HOME variable isn't defined yet. Defining it on 'My Documents' won't hurt. I wouldn't have say that if he was on Linux – Talky

Well, I'll admit that I don't know how things are on Windows. – Prisage