Hi all,
The code and manual currently mix singular and plural noun modifiers
when referring to column view, for example "column view" alongside
"columns view", and "column format" alongside "columns format". The
attached patch makes these modifiers consistently singular, matching
the existing "content view" wording and normal English style for terms
such as "column view" and "column format".
No behavior changes -- this is a docstring, menu label, comment, and
manual wording cleanup only.
One point I would like feedback on
----------------------------------
In the "Using column view" section I rewrote
you get a compact table by switching to "contents" view
as
you get a compact table by switching to the =CONTENTS=
visibility state
The old "contents" view phrasing was informal and is otherwise unused
in the manual. CONTENTS is the canonical name of the global
visibility state (per the OVERVIEW -> CONTENTS -> SHOW ALL cycle
documented earlier in the manual).
I chose the =CONTENTS= verbatim markup because that is by far the
dominant style in the manual for named keyword/state tokens
(=TODO=, =DONE=, =WAITING=, =COLUMNS=, =STARTUP=, =OPTIONS=, ...).
However, this is the only place in the manual where a visibility
state name appears in prose with any formal markup, so I would
appreciate confirmation that =CONTENTS= is the preferred form here,
versus alternatives such as /CONTENTS/ (italic, the style used for
concepts like /column view/) or a bare CONTENTS.
Happy to adjust before this lands.
Thanks,
--
Slawomir Grochowski
>From a37841250612cafa2c4ccfceb1864077cb37bde8 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Slawomir Grochowski <[email protected]>
Date: Sun, 17 May 2026 18:08:04 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] org-colview: Use singular column view terminology
* lisp/org-colview.el (org-columns-content): Use singular content view
and column view terminology.
(org-columns--overlay-text, org-columns-get-format)
(org-columns-update, org-columns-store-format)
(org-columns-uncompile-format, org-dblock-write:columnview): Use
singular column view and column format terminology.
(org-columns-menu): Rename refresh entry to "Refresh column view".
(org-columns-flyspell-was-active, org-columns-org-num-was-active):
Refer to column view consistently.
(org-columns-redo): Use singular column format in comment.
* doc/org-manual.org (Column View): Refer to the CONTENTS visibility
state and use singular column view terminology.
(Defining columns, Using column view): Use singular column view
terminology.
(Using Column View in the Agenda, Summary of In-Buffer Settings): Use
singular column format and column view terminology.
The code and manual mixed singular and plural noun modifiers, for
example "column view" alongside "columns view", and "column format"
alongside "columns format". Use singular modifiers consistently,
matching the existing "content view" wording and normal English
style for terms such as "column view" and "column format".
---
doc/org-manual.org | 25 +++++++++++++------------
lisp/org-colview.el | 24 ++++++++++++------------
2 files changed, 25 insertions(+), 24 deletions(-)
diff --git a/doc/org-manual.org b/doc/org-manual.org
index 90a3880cf..dfc20b053 100644
--- a/doc/org-manual.org
+++ b/doc/org-manual.org
@@ -5629,7 +5629,7 @@ least for the special applications for which they are used:
[[*Column View]]). It is inherited in the sense that the level where
a =COLUMNS= property is defined is used as the starting point for
a column view table, independently of the location in the subtree
- from where columns view is turned on.
+ from where column view is turned on.
- ~CATEGORY~ ::
@@ -5661,10 +5661,11 @@ Columns in this table provide access to properties of the entries.
Org mode implements columns by overlaying a tabular structure over the
headline of each item. While the headlines have been turned into
a table row, you can still change the visibility of the outline tree.
-For example, you get a compact table by switching to "contents"
-view---{{{kbd(S-TAB)}}} {{{kbd(S-TAB)}}}, or simply {{{kbd(c)}}}
-while column view is active---but you can still open, read, and edit
-the entry below each headline. Or, you can switch to column view
+For example, you get a compact table by switching to the =CONTENTS=
+visibility state---{{{kbd(S-TAB)}}} {{{kbd(S-TAB)}}}, or simply
+{{{kbd(c)}}} while column view is active---but you can still open,
+read, and edit the entry below each headline. Or, you can switch to
+column view
after executing a sparse tree command and in this way get a table only
for the selected items. Column view also works in agenda buffers (see
[[*Agenda Views]]) where queries have collected selected items, possibly
@@ -5689,7 +5690,7 @@ To specify a format that only applies to a specific tree, add
a =COLUMNS= property to the top node of that tree, for example:
#+begin_example
-,** Top node for columns view
+,** Top node for column view
:PROPERTIES:
:COLUMNS: %25ITEM %TAGS %PRIORITY %TODO
:END:
@@ -5901,7 +5902,7 @@ is an example:
~org-columns-default-format~, and column view is established for the
current entry and its subtree.
-- {{{kbd(r)}}} or {{{kbd(g)}}} on a columns view line (~org-columns-redo~) ::
+- {{{kbd(r)}}} or {{{kbd(g)}}} on a column view line (~org-columns-redo~) ::
#+kindex: r
#+kindex: g
@@ -5909,7 +5910,7 @@ is an example:
Recreate the column view, to include recent changes made in the
buffer.
-- {{{kbd(C-c C-c)}}} or {{{kbd(q)}}} on a columns view line (~org-columns-quit~) ::
+- {{{kbd(C-c C-c)}}} or {{{kbd(q)}}} on a column view line (~org-columns-quit~) ::
#+kindex: q
#+kindex: C-c C-c
@@ -11247,9 +11248,9 @@ environment. This causes the following issues:
1.
#+vindex: org-columns-default-format-for-agenda
#+vindex: org-columns-default-format
- Org needs to make a decision which columns format to use. Since
+ Org needs to make a decision which column format to use. Since
the entries in the agenda are collected from different files, and
- different files may have different columns formats, this is a
+ different files may have different column formats, this is a
non-trivial problem. Org first checks if
~org-overriding-columns-format~ is currently set, and if so, takes
the format from there. You should set this variable only in the
@@ -21061,8 +21062,8 @@ changes.
- =#+COLUMNS: %25ITEM ...= ::
#+cindex: @samp{COLUMNS}, property
- Set the default format for columns view. This format applies when
- columns view is invoked in locations where no =COLUMNS= property
+ Set the default format for column view. This format applies when
+ column view is invoked in locations where no =COLUMNS= property
applies.
- =#+CONSTANTS: name1=value1 ...= ::
diff --git a/lisp/org-colview.el b/lisp/org-colview.el
index 8fe90dcde..4ed23133a 100644
--- a/lisp/org-colview.el
+++ b/lisp/org-colview.el
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ This is the compiled version of the format.")
;;;; Keymap and menu
(defun org-columns-content ()
- "Switch to contents view while in columns view."
+ "Switch to content view while in column view."
(interactive nil org-mode)
(org-cycle-overview)
(org-cycle-content))
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@ This is the compiled version of the format.")
"--"
["CONTENTS" org-columns-content t]
["OVERVIEW" org-overview t]
- ["Refresh columns display" org-columns-redo t]
+ ["Refresh column view" org-columns-redo t]
"--"
["Open link" org-columns-open-link t]
"--"
@@ -377,7 +377,7 @@ further column follows."
(format (if lastp "%%-%d.%ds |" "%%-%d.%ds | ") width width))
(defun org-columns--overlay-text (value fmt width property original)
- "Return decorated VALUE string for columns overlay display.
+ "Return decorated VALUE string for column overlay display.
FMT is a format string. WIDTH is the width of the column, as an
integer. PROPERTY is the property being displayed, as a string.
ORIGINAL is the real string, i.e., before it is modified by
@@ -540,11 +540,11 @@ substring whose `string-width' does not exceed WIDTH."
"Inhibit recomputing of columns on column view startup.")
(defvar org-columns-flyspell-was-active nil
"Remember the state of `flyspell-mode' before column view.
-Flyspell mode can cause problems in columns view, so it is turned off
+Flyspell mode can cause problems in column view, so it is turned off
for the duration of the command.")
(defvar org-columns-org-num-was-active nil
"Remember the state of `org-num-mode' before column view.
-Org-num mode can cause problems in columns view, so it is turned off
+Org-num mode can cause problems in column view, so it is turned off
for the duration of the command.")
(defvar org-colview-initial-truncate-line-value nil
"Remember the value of `truncate-lines' across colview.")
@@ -912,7 +912,7 @@ dynamic scoping for `org-overriding-columns-format'.")
(cdr (assoc "COLUMNS" (org-collect-keywords '("COLUMNS") '("COLUMNS")))))
(defun org-columns-get-format (&optional fmt-string)
- "Return columns format specifications.
+ "Return column format specifications.
When optional argument FMT-STRING is non-nil, use it as the
current specifications. This function also sets
`org-columns-current-fmt-compiled' and
@@ -1173,7 +1173,7 @@ With non-nil optional argument UP, move it up."
;;;; Display update
(defun org-columns-update (property)
- "Recompute PROPERTY, and update the columns display for it."
+ "Recompute PROPERTY, and update its display in column view."
(org-columns-compute property)
(org-with-wide-buffer
(let ((p (upcase property)))
@@ -1207,7 +1207,7 @@ With non-nil optional argument UP, move it up."
(org-with-point-at org-columns-begin-marker
(org-columns-remove-overlays)
(if (derived-mode-p 'org-mode)
- ;; Since we already know the columns format, provide it
+ ;; Since we already know the column format, provide it
;; instead of computing again.
(funcall-interactively #'org-columns org-columns-global org-columns-current-fmt)
(org-agenda-redo)
@@ -1240,8 +1240,8 @@ Return non-nil when a COLUMNS keyword was replaced."
(insert-before-markers "#+COLUMNS: " fmt "\n")))
(defun org-columns-store-format ()
- "Store the text version of the current columns format.
-The format is stored either in the COLUMNS property of the node
+ "Store the text version of the current column format.
+The format is stored either in the COLUMNS property of the entry
starting the current column display, or in a #+COLUMNS line of
the current buffer."
(let ((fmt (org-columns-uncompile-format org-columns-current-fmt-compiled)))
@@ -1258,7 +1258,7 @@ the current buffer."
;;;; Format compilation
(defun org-columns-uncompile-format (compiled)
- "Turn the compiled columns format back into a string representation.
+ "Turn the compiled column format back into a string representation.
COMPILED is an alist, as returned by `org-columns-compile-format'."
(mapconcat
@@ -1673,7 +1673,7 @@ PARAMS is a property list of parameters:
`:id' (mandatory)
- The ID property of the entry where the columns view should be
+ The ID property of the entry where column view should be
built. When the symbol `local', call locally. When `global'
call column view with the cursor at the beginning of the
buffer (usually this means that the whole buffer switches to
--
2.39.5
