Org-mode list of User-visible changes

Version 5.23

Incompatible changes

Details

New keyword search agenda view

`C-c a s' now invokes a special agenda view that can be used to search notes by keyword and regular expressions. The search knows the boundaries of an entry, can use simple Boolean logic and is reasonably fast. For example, the search string 

 +computer +wifi -ethernet -{8\.11[bg]}

will search for note entries that contain the keywords @code{computer} and @code{wifi}, but not the keyword @code{ethernet}, and which are also not matched by the regular expression @code{8\.11[bg]}, meaning to exclude both 8.11b and 8.11g. If the first character of the search string is an asteriks, the search will only look at headlines - otherwise it will look at the headine and the text below it, up to the next (possibly sub-) heading.

The command searches all agenda files, and in addition the files listed in `org-agenda-text-search-extra-files'.

I find it very useful to define a custom command to do such a search only in a limited number of files (my notes files), like this: 

 ("N" "Search notes" search ""
   ((org-agenda-files '("~/org/notes.org" "~/org/computer.org"))
    (org-agenda-text-search-extra-files nil)))

Many new extensions available in the CONTRIB directory

The new development model already starts to pay off, a number of interesting extensions are now part of the distribution. Check the file CONTRIB/README for a list.

Interesting for developers may be that there is a file org-id.el which implements global ID's for org-mode entries. These can be used in dependency implementations, for example.

Misc

  • M-RET can again be used to split a line so tha the rest of the line becomes the new heading. However, if you do this in a heading containing tags, the tags will stay in the old line.

    Customize the variable `org-M-RET-may-split-line' if you don't want this command to split a line in the middle. The same variable also influences line splitting in items and in tables.

  • `C-c -' has now more functions:
    • In a table, add a hline as before
    • In an item list, cycle bullet type as before
    • In a normal line, turn it into an item
    • In a headline, turn it into an item
    • If there is an active region, turn each line into an item. But if the first region line is already an item, remove item markers from all lines.

    Based on proposals by Bastien.

  • `C-c *' has now more functions
    • in a table, recompute, as before
    • in a normal line, convert it to a sub heading.
    • at an item, convert it into a subheading
    • if there is an active region, convert all lines in the region to headlines. However, if the first lie already is a heading, remove the stars from all lines int he region.

    Based on proposals by Bastien.

Version 5.22

Incompatible changes

Details

Changes to logging progress

There is now more control over which state changes are being logged in what way. Please read carefully the corresponding sections in the manual. Basically:

  • The variable `org-log-done' has been simplified, it no longer influences logging state changes and clocking out.
  • There is a new variable for triggering note-taking when clocking out an item: `org-log-note-clock-out'.
  • Logging of state changes now has to be configured on a pre-keyword basis, either in `org-todo-keywords' or in the #+TODO in-buffer setting.
  • These per-keyword settings allow more control. For example 

     WAIT(w@)    Record a note when entering this state.
 WAIT(w!)    Record a timestamp when entering this state.
 WAIT(w@/!)  Recore a note when entering and timestamp
             when leaving this state.  This is great for
             getting a record when switching *back* from
              WAIT to TODO.
 WAIT(/!)    Record a timestamp when leaving this state.
             Here we not even define a fast access
             character, but just the logging stuff.

This was triggered by requests from Wanrong Lin and Bernt Hansen.

Other

  • M-RET no longer brakes a line in the middle, it will make a new line after the current or (if cursor is at the beginning of the line) before the current line.
  • RET, when executed in a headline after the main text and before the tags will leave the tags in the current line and create a new line below the current one.

Version 5.21

Bug fixes, in particular the long-hunted bug about wrong window positions after pressing SPACE in the agenda. Hopefully this is really fixed.

Version 5.20

Overview

Remember/Refile/Goto

  • The use of prefix arguments for the commands `org-remember' and `org-refile' has been normalized.
  • The clock can now safely be used in a remember buffer.
  • The variable `org-remember-use-refile-when-interactive' introduced only in 5.19 is already obsolete. Please use `org-remember-interactive-interface' instead.
  • It is no longer necessary to update the refiling targets.
  • Automatic isearch in `org-goto'.
  • Outline-path-completion as alternative org-goto interface.

Misc

  • Checkboxes now work hierarchically.
  • `C-k' can now behave specially in headlines.
  • Repeater for tasks in plain timestamps.
  • All clock intervals of an item show in agenda/timeline.
  • New parameter :step for clocktable, to get daily reports.
  • Never loose a repeaded scheduled item from the agenda.
  • Archiving a subtree now stores the outline path in a property.
  • Links to messages in Apple Mail.
  • Bug fixes.

Incompatible Changes

Details

Remember/Refile/Goto

  • The use of prefix arguments for the commands `org-remember' and `org-refile' has been normalized:
    • when called without prefix argument, the command does its normal job, starting a remember note or refiling a tree.
    • when called with a single C-u prefix, these commands can be used to select a target location and to jump there. In the case of `org-remember', you will be prompted for a template and then Emacs jumps to the default target location or this template. In the case of `org-refile', you select a location from the refile target list and jump there.
    • when called with two prefixes (`C-u C-u'), the command jumps to the location last used for storing a note or a moved tree.
  • When the clock is running inside an remember buffer, storing the remember buffer with `C-c C-c' will automatically clock out. This was inspired by a request by Rainer Stengle.
  • The variable `org-remember-use-refile-when-interactive' introduced only in 5.19 is already obsolete. Please use `org-remember-interactive-interface' instead. This new variable does select the interface that is used to select the target for a remember note in an interactive way. Possible values are:
    • `outline': Use an outline of the document to select a location.
    • `outline-path-completion': Use completion of an outline path to select a location.
    • `refile': Offer the `org-refile-targets' as possible targets.
  • It is no longer necessary to update the refiling targets - they are always current.
  • In `org-goto', typing characters now automatically starts isearch from the beginning of the buffer. The isearch is special also because it only matches in headline. This goes some way toward saving org-goto from being removed from Org-mode. Thanks to Piotr Zielinski for the code, and sorry that it took me so long to put it in. If you prefer to use single letters n,p,f,b,u,q for navigation as before, configure the variable `org-goto-auto-isearch'.
  • Outline-path-completion is now available as an alternative interface in the command `org-goto'. Please select the default interface you'd like to use with the new variable `org-goto-interface'. You can then select the alternative interface with a prefix argument to `C-c C-j' (org-goto). I am considering to make outline-path-completion the default interface. Comments?

Misc

  • Checkboxes now work hierarchically. When a plain-list item with a checkbox has children with checkboxes, the status of the item's checkbox is calculated from the children, each time a checkbox is toggled with C-c C-c. Thanks to Miguel A. Figueroa-Villanueva for a patch to this effect.
  • There is a new variable `org-special-ctrl-k'. When set, `C-k' will behave specially in headlines:
    • When the cursor is at the beginning of a headline, kill the entire line and possible the folded subtree below the line.
    • When in the middle of the headline text, kill the headline up to the tags.
    • When after the headline text, kill the tags.

    This is following a proposal by Piotr Zielinski.

  • You can now also have a plain (as opposed to deadline or scheduled) repeater timestamp in a task. Switching the task to DONE will now also shift a plain time stamp. This was a request by Austin Frank.
  • If an entry is clocked multiple times, it will now show up several times in the agenda and timeline buffers, when log-mode is on. This was a proposal by Jurgen Defurne.
  • The clock table accepts a new parameter :step. This parameter can be `day' or `week' and will result in separate tables for each day or week in the requested time interval. This was triggered by a proposal by Sacha Chua in her blog.
  • A time-stamp with a repeater now no longer refers to the date closest to the current day. Instead, it means either today or the most recent match. This change makes sure that overdue scheduled or deadline items never disappear from the agenda. With the previous convention, an overdue scheduled item would disappear. For example, a weekly item scheduled for Sunday would appear as overdue until Wednesday, and the suddenly disappear until next Sunday. Now the item will show up as "Sched 7x" on Saturday. From Sunday on it will be in the list as "Scheduled", i.e. old sins will be forgiven. This follows a request by Warong, Dennis and Bernt.
  • Archiving a subtree now creates an additional property, ARCHIVE_OLPATH. This property contains the "path" in the outline tree to the archived entry, as it was in the original file. For example, archiving Fix the door in the following hierarchy 

     * Tasks
 ** HOME
 *** Garage
 **** Fix the door

    will file is with the following property 

     :ARCHIVE_PATH: Task/HOME/Garage

    Note that you can configure (i.e. limit) the information that gets stored upon archiving with the variable `org-archive-save-context-info'.

  • New file `org-mac-message.el' by John Wiegley to create links for messages in Apple Mail, and to follow these links.
  • Bug fixes.

Version 5.19

Overview

Details

Version 5.18

Minor fixes.

Version 5.17

Details

Whitespace

  • When cutting, pasting, or moving subtrees and items, the empty lines before the subtree/item now belong to the part and will be moved with it. There is one exception to this rule: If the first child is moved down (or, equivalently, the second is moved up), the amount of empty lines above the first child to be moved along with it is limited by the number of empty lines below it. This sounds complicated, but it allows to have extra empty space before the first child and still have good behavior of the subtree motion commands.
  • Plain lists items work the same.

I believe we have finally nailed this one. Thanks to Daniel Pittman for bring this up again and to Eric Schulte for pointing out that it is the empty lines before an entry that really count.

This change was non-trivial, please give it a good test and let me know about any problems.

Remember

  • The new command `org-remember-goto-last-stored' will jump to the location of the remember note stored most recently. If you have `org-remember' on a key like `C-c r', then you can go to the location with a double prefix arg: `C-u C-u C-c r'. This was a proposal by Rainer Stengele.
  • Template items that are being prompted for can now specify a default value and a completion table. Furthermore, previous inputs at a specific prompt are captured in a history variable. For example: 

     %^{Author|Roald Dahl|Thomas Mann|Larry Niven}

    will prompt for an author name. Pressing RET without typing anything will select "Roald Dahl". Completion will give you any of the three names. And a history will be kept, so you can use the arrow keys to get to previous input. The history is tied to the prompt. By using the same prompt in different templates, you can build a history across templates. The ideas for this came from proposals by Bastien and Adam.

  • When a remember template contains the string `%!', the note will be stored immediately after all template parts have been filled in, so you don't even have to press `C-c C-c'. The was a proposal by Adam Spiers.

Refile

  • `org-refile-targets' has a new parameter to specify a maximum level for target selection. Thanks to Wanrong Lin for this proposal.
  • When the new option `org-refile-use-outline-path' is set, refile targets will be presented like a file path to the completion interface: "level 1/level 2/level 3". This may be the fastest interface yet to get to a certain outline entry. Do we need to use this interface in other places? Thanks to Jose Ruiz for this proposal.

Version 5.16

Details

Restriction lock on agenda scope

You can now permanently lock the agenda construction to a certain scope, like a file or a subtree. So instead of pressing "<" for each command in the agenda dispatcher, you only once select a restriction scope. All subsequent agenda commands will than respect this restriction. For example, you can use this at work, to limit agendas to your work file or tree, and at home to limit to the home file or tree. Or you can use it during the day in order to focus in on certain projects.

You select a scope with the command `C-c C-x <', which restricts to the current subtree. When called with a `C-u' prefix, the restriction is to the current file. You can also make restrictions from the speedbar frame, see below.

When making a new restriction and an agenda window is currently visible, it will immediately be updated to reflect the new scope. TO if you like you can display an agenda view and then watch it change in various scopes.

To get rid of the restriction, use the command "C-c C-x >". Or press ">" in the agenda dispatcher. Also, and use of "<" in the dispatcher will disable the restriction lock and select a new restriction.

Thanks to Rick Moynihan for triggering this development.

Imenu and Speedbar support

  • Org-mode now supports Imenu. For example, with the setting 

     (add-hook 'org-mode-hook 
    (lambda () 'imenu-add-to-menubar "Imenu"))

    a menu will be created in each Org-mode buffer that provides access to all level 1 and level 2 headings. The depth of the menu can be set with the variable `org-imenu-depth'.

  • org-mode now supports Speedbar. This means that you can drill into the first and second level headlines of an Org-mode file right from the speedbar frame.
  • You can set a restriction lock for the Org-mode agenda to a file or a subtree directly from the speedbar frame. Just press "<" with the cursor on an Org-mode file or subtree to set the lock and immediately update the agenda if it is visible. Use ">" to get rid of the lock again.

Version 5.15

Details

Version 5.14

Overview

Incompatible changes

Details

Remember and related stuff

  • New command `org-refile' to quickly move a note to a different place. It is bound to `C-c C-w'. The foremost application might be to put a note or task captured with `remember' into the proper list or project. The command offers a list of possible refiling targets for completion. These are headings under which the entry will be inserted as a subitem. By default, this will offer all top-level headings in the current buffer, but you can configure the variable `org-refile-targets' to get more complex definitions. For example: 

     (setq org-refile-targets '((nil . (:level . 2))))

    selects all level 2 headlines in the current buffer as targets. And 

     (setq org-refile-targets
      '((org-agenda-files . (:tag . "refile"))))

    searches all agenda files and selects headlines that are explicitly marked with the tag :refile: . Note that the list of targets is built upon first use only, to rebuilt it, call the command `C-c C-w' with a double prefix argument.

    This is based on an idea and example implementation by Max Mikhanosha. Many thanks Max.

  • You can now use a C-u prefix on `org-remember' to jump to the location where a specific templates stores its notes. For example, if you have `org-remember' bound to `C-c r', then `C-u C-c r n' will get you to the file and headline given in the template associated with the letter "n".

    This was proposed by someone, but I have lost track who. Sorry, and thanks anyway.

  • New %-escapes in remember templates: 

     %c     insert the current clipboard, like C-y would do
 %(..)  evaluate Lisp expression and insert the result
 %[..]  include file

    Thanks to Adam Spiers and Tim O'Callaghan.

  • New function `org-remember-insinuate' that makes is easier to set Org-mode specific values for remember variables. Thanks to Michael Olson for this proposal. It is equivalent to: 

     (require 'remember)
 (setq remember-annotation-functions '(org-remember-annotation))
 (setq remember-handler-functions '(org-remember-handler))
 (add-hook 'remember-mode-hook 'org-remember-apply-template))

    You might still want to set `org-default-notes-file' to provide a default for templates without a file, and `org-directory' to show where to find other org files.

Emphasis and Font-lock stuff

  • Stacked emphasis like */bold italic/* is no longer allowed.
  • You may finally emphasize a single character like *a*.
  • Font-lock now can hide the emphasis markers, just like Muse does. Configure the variable `org-hide-emphasis-markers' if you want this. Showing the characters continues to be the default in Org-mode.
  • Text in the "=" emphasis is now exported verbatim, i.e. no further parsing and interpretation of this text takes place. So you can write =quoted *xxx* a_x = b=. This and the following point implement a request by Daniel Clemente.
  • There is a new emphasis marker "~" which marks text to be exported verbatim, without special formatting. Inside an org-mode file, this text is highlighted with the org-verbatim face. I am not happy with the face yet (currently is is like org-code, but underlined), please suggest a better one.
  • Whether an emphasis environment is verbatim or not is now an extra flag in the variable `org-emphasis-alist'. If you have configured this variable, do it again by first canceling your customization to revert to the default, and then adding it again.
  • New variable `org-highlight-latex-fragments-and-specials'. When turned on, Org-mode will highlight all strings that are treated in a special way by the exporters. This is great for export-oriented writing, but maybe a bit noisy for note taking, so this feature is off by default.

Properties and Column view

  • `org-use-property-inheritance' may now also be a list of property names that should be treated with inheritance during searches.
  • CATEGORY="work" can now be used in a tags/property search, even if the category is not specified as a property in the entry, but rather is inherited or derived from #+CATEGORY. Thanks to Adam, Tim, and Bastien for an interesting discussion around this issue.
  • Summary type improvements in column view.
    • The {+} summary type can specify a printf-style output format for computed values like this: {+;%5.2f} This was triggered by a report by Levin.
    • New currency summary type {$}, which so far is just a shorthand for {+;%.2f}. Do we need to have a currency symbol in front of each value. Scott Jaderholm asked for this, but I am not sure if this is already what he meant.

The date/time prompt

There have been several small but very useful additions to the date prompt.

  • While entering data at the date prompt, the current interpretation of your input is shown next to your input in the minibuffer. I find this great to understand how the input works. If you find the extra stuff in the minibuffer annoying, turn it off with `org-read-date-display-live'.
  • The date prompt now prefers to select the future. If you enter a date without a month, and the day number is before today (for example, on the 16th of the month you enter "9"), Org-mode will assume next month. Similarly, if you enter a month and no year, next year will be assumed if the entered month is before the current, for example if you enter "May" in September. Thanks to John Rakestraw for this great suggestion. If you find it confusing, turn it off with `org-read-date-prefer-future'.
  • When modifying an existing date using `C-c .' at the stamp, the time or time range in the stamp are now offered as default input at the prompt. This goes a long way to simplifying the modification of an existing date. Thanks to Adam Spiers for this proposal.

Export (all implemented by Bastien…)

  • You can now export special strings in HTML. Here is the list of newly performed conversions:
    OrgDescriptionHTML
    \\-double backslash followed by minus&shy;
    --two dashes (minuses)&ndash;
    ---three dashes (minuses)&mdash;
    ...three dots&hellip;

    You can turn this globally on or off with `org-export-with-special-strings' or locally with "-:t" or "-:nil" in the #+OPTIONS line. Thanks to Adam Spiers for starting the discussion, and thanks to Daniel Clemente and William Henney for relevant inputs.

  • Comma-separated emails in #+EMAIL: are correctly exported. Thanks to Raman for pointing out this omission.

Agenda

  • In the agenda, a few keys have changed 
     g  does now the same a "r", refresh current display,
    because "g" is the Emacs standard for "refresh"
 G  toggle the time grid, used to be "g"
 e  Execute another agenda command, pretty much the same as
    `C-c a', but shorter and keep the same agenda window.

Miscellaneous (much of it from Bastien)

  • You can now select the sectioning structure of your LaTeX export by setting it either globally (`org-export-latex-default-class') or locally in each Org file (with #+LaTeX_CLASS: myclass). You can also customize the list of available classes and their sectioning structures through the new `org-export-latex-classes' option. Thanks to Daniel for discussions and suggestion on this issue.
  • You can send and receive radio lists in HTML, LaTeX or TeXInfo, just as you send and receive radio tables. Check the documentation for details and examples.
  • The default for `org-ellipsis' is back to nil, some people seem to have had problems with the face as a default.
  • Support for pabbrev-mode, needs pabbrev version 1.1. Thanks to Phillip Lord for adapting his package to make this possible.
  • New variable `org-show-entry-below' to force context-showing commands to expose the body of a headline that is being shown. Thanks to Harald Weis for pointing out this omission.

Version 5.13i

Details

Version 5.13

Overview

Details

Bug fixes and improvements in column view

  • All the bugs described by Scott Jaderholm have been fixed (at least I hope so…).
  • You can now capture a column view into a dynamic block, for exporting or printing it. The column view can be
    • global, i.e. for the entire file
    • local, i.e. for the subtree where the dynamic block is
    • from an entry with a specific :ID: property.

    You can identify the entry whose column view you want to capture by assigning an :ID: property, and use that property in the dynamic block definition. For example: 

     * Planning
   :PROPERTIES:
     :ID: planning-overview
   :END:

 [...]

 * The column view
 #+BEGIN: columnview :hlines 1 :id "planning-overview"

 #+END:

    Use `C-c C-x r' to insert such a dynamic block, and you will be prompted for the ID.

  • When the current column format displays TODO keyword, priority or tags, these parts are stripped from the content of the ITEM column, making for more compact and readable entries. When any of these "properties" are not listed in the current column format, they are instead retained in the ITEM column.
  • You can now also edit the ITEM column with `e'.

The agenda dispatcher

  • Instead of pressing `1' to restrict an agenda command to the current buffer, or `0' to restrict it to the current subtree or region, you can now also press `<' once or twice, respectively. This frees up `1' and `0' for user commands, a request by Bastien. In fact, "<" cycles through different restriction states. "1" and "0" are still available for backward compatibility, until you bind them to custom commands.
  • The access code to custom agenda commands can now contain several characters, effectively allowing to bundle several similar commands into a sub-keymap. This follows an excellent proposal by Adam Spiers. For example: 

     (setq org-agenda-custom-commands
   '(("h" . "HOME + Name tag searches") ; describe prefix "h"
     ("hl" tags "+HOME+Lisa")
     ("hp" tags "+HOME+Peter")
     ("hk" tags "+HOME+Kim")))

  • The user function option in org-agenda-custom-commands may now also be a lambda expression, following a request by Adam Spiers.

Sorting improvements

We are using a new routine for sorting entries, courtesy of John Wiegley. Many thanks to John.

  • You can define your own function to extract a sorting key and in this way sort entries by anything you like.
  • Entries can now be sorted according to the value of a property.
  • Plain lists can be sorted.

HTML <div> structure

There is now a <div>-based structure in exported HTML.

  • The table of context is wrapped into a div with a class "table-of-contents".
  • The outline structure is embedded in <div> elements with classes "outline-1", "outline-2" etc.
  • The postamble, containing the author information and the date is wrapped into a div with class "postamble".

I am not sure if the class names are the best choice, let me know if there are more "canonical" choices.

Thanks to Mike Newman and Cezar for input, and in particular to Mike for his clearly formulated specification.

Other stuff

  • New variable `org-agenda-window-frame-fractions' to customize the size limits of the agenda window in the case that you display the agenda window by reorganizing the frame.
  • Drawers can be set on a per-file basis using 

     #+DRAWERS: HIDDEN STATE PROPERTIES

    This will define the drawers :HIDDEN: and :STATE:. The :PROPERTY: drawer should always be part of this list, or your properties will not be folded away. Thanks to Richard G. Riley for this proposal.

  • `org-agenda-fontify-priorities' may now also be an association list of priorities and faces, to specify the faces of priorities in the agenda individually.
  • The variable `org-export-with-property-drawer' no longer exists, please use `org-export-with-drawers' instead. Also, the corresponding switch in the #+OPTIONS line has changed from "p" to "d". Thanks to Bastien for pointing out that we needed to handle not only the property drawer.
  • M-up and M-down now move the current line up and down (if not at a headline, item or table). Among other things you can use this to re-order properties in the drawer. This was a proposal by Bastien.
  • New variable `org-agenda-todo-ignore-with-date', based on a request by Wanrong Lin.
  • Aborting remember template selection with C-g now kills the remember buffer and restores the old window configuration. This was a request by Nuutti Kotivuori.

Version 5.12

Overview

Incompatible Changes

Details

Version 5.11

Overview

Incompatible changes

Details

Version 5.10

Overview

Details

Version 5.09

Overview

Incompatible Changes

Details

Version 5.08

Incompatible changes

Details

Version 5.07

Overview

Incompatible changes

Details

Version 5.06

Overview

Details

Version 5.05

Overview

Details

Version 5.04

Details

Version 5.03

Incompatible Changes

Details

Version 5.02

Overview

Incompatible Changes

Details

Version 5.01

Overview

Incompatible changes

Details

Orgstruct minor mode

There is a new minor mode, orgstruct-mode. This modes works in a similar way as Orgtbl-mode. It can be used to export the Org-mode structure-editing commands into arbitrary major modes in Emacs. For example, you can use it in Mail-mode to easily create lists.

The functionality in Orgstruct mode is only active, if the cursor is in a line that looks either like a headline, or like the first line of a plain list item. Then the commands `TAB', `M-cursor', `M-S-cursor', `M-RET', `M-S-RET', `C-c ^', `C-c C-c', and `C-c -' will do structure-related editing just like in Org-mode. If the cursor is not in such a line, all these keys will do whatever the major mode or other active minor modes have assigned to them.

Orgstruct-mode is the result of a proposal by Raman, quite some time ago. It has taken a long time, but here is finally the promised implementation.

Drawers

The new concept of drawers allows to create sections that remain folded during visibility cycling. Drawers need to be configured using the variable `org-drawers'. A drawer starts with a line containing only the name of the drawer bracketed by colons. It ends with :END:. For example, after setting 

   (setq org-drawers '("PROPERTIES" "HIDDEN"))

you can then create drawers like this: 

   :HIDDEN:
     here is some stuff that remains hidden
     unless TAB is pressed directly in that line
   :END:

The PROPERTIES drawer has special meaning for ORG-mode, it contains properties of an entry (see below).

Properties and Column View

  • Entries in Org-mode can now have arbitrary properties associated with them. Org-mode handles some default properties like the TODO state, the priority, the local tags, and planning information like DEADLINE and SCHEDULED. In addition, you can assign arbitrary properties by creating a property drawer and inserting a line like 

       :PROPNAME: This is the value of the property

    Org-mode has an API for properties, if you want to write a program using properties, use the functions `org-entry-properties', `org-entry-get', `org-entry-put', and `org-entry-delete'.

  • Planning information like DEADLINE can be hidden in the properties drawer.

    If the PROPERTIES drawer starts in the first line after a headline, also the DEADLINE, SCHEDULED and CLOCK information will be inserted inside the drawer. If no PROPERTIES drawer is present, or if it does not start in the line right after the headline, this information remains in the lines directly after the headline, outside the drawer.

  • TAGS searches can now also query properties. For example, the search 

       LEVEL=3+BOSS+ASSIGNED="Hans"/WAITING

    will find entries that

    • are level 3
    • have the tag BOSS
    • have an ASSIGNED property with the value "Hans"
    • are TODO status WAITING.

      So here is an entry that will match: 

         *** WAITING Clean up the factory     :BOSS:
       :PROPERTIES:
       :ASSIGNED: Hans
       :END:

      You may also use a regular expression to match against a property value. For example, to find stuff assigned to Hans or Sarah, use 

         ASSIGNED={^\(Hans\|Sarah\)$}

  • Column View is a special way to look at property values in tabular form. Column View can be used in any org-mode file, and also in any agenda buffer. It works by placing an overlay over each headline (or agenda line) that shows a table of selected properties. You can look at and edit properties from this view. Which properties are shown in the table must be set up using the COLUMNS property. You can set up different property columns on different levels of an outline tree. For example: 

       * People
     :PROPERTIES:
     :COLUMNS: %25ITEM %Name
     :END:
   ** Family
      :PROPERTIES:
      :COLUMNS: %25ITEM %Name %3Age
      :END:
   *** Sam
       Info about Sam, including a property list with Name and Age.
   *** Sarah
       Info about Sarah, including a property list with Name and Age.
   ** Office
      :PROPERTIES:
      :COLUMNS: %25ITEM %Name %Function %Salary
      :END:
   *** Boss
       Info about the Boss, including a property list with Name,
       Function and Salary (if only we knew....).

    Now we have defined three different sets of columns. If you switch to column view in the Family section, you will get a different table than if you do it in the Office section. However, if you switch to column view with the cursor on the People section, the table will cover all entries, but contain only the Name.

    Column view does, for the time being, only work on Emacs. The XEmacs implementation needs a bit of work.

  • Properties can be used in table formulas. To access the value of the property :XYZ:, use $PROP_XYZ. The property needs to be defined in the hierarchy above the table, not necessarily in the same entry as the table. This was a request by Eddward. File-wide constants can be defined with #+CONSTANTS, see below.
  • Things that still need to be sorted out about drawers, properties and column view - comments and suggestions welcome!
    • How to deal with drawers and properties in HTML and ASCII export?
    • What key could be used to insert an empty property drawer into an entry?
    • Right now column view is invoked through the command C-c C-x C-c. It is too easy to type C-x C-c by mistake, and that causes Emacs to quit. Suggestions for a different key?
    • Fontification of drawers and properties is not good yet. Any suggestions for better defaults?
    • Mouse support for editing properties in column view would be nice - maybe Piotr is interested to add this to org-mouse.el?

Spreadsheet

  • In the spreadsheet, the evaluation of formulas has changed. Previously, first the column formulas would be evaluated everywhere, and then the field formulas would kick in, and in some cases overwrite the results of column formulas in the appropriate fields. This had the side effect that some formulas might always use the wrong, intermediate content of a field that is computed both by a column and a field formula.

    From now on, column formulas will no longer temporarily overwrite field formulas. This gives much more consistent results. For example you can now finally have a column of increasing numbers by setting the first field to a fixed number, and let the rest follow from a column formula.

    Here is an example 

       | 1 |
   | 2 |
   | 3 |
   #+TBLFM: $1=@-1+1::@1$1=1

  • Constants for formulas in spreadsheets are globally defined with the variable `org-table-formula-constants'. File-local constants can now be set with a line like: 

       #+CONSTANTS: c=299792458.  pi=3.14  eps=2.4e-6

Minor changes

  • When entries are archived, a timestamp for the moment of archiving is added to the line with planning information. It looks like this: 

     ARCHIVED: [2007-07-02 Mon 11:34]

    Thanks to J. David Boyd for constructive comments.

  • Bug fixes

    Many bugs are fixed, as usually all the ones where I replied "fixed" on emacs-orgmode. If you reported one of these bugs, please check if it really has disappeared in the new version, and complain if not. Thanks!

Version 4.79

Details

Version 4.78

Overview

Incompatible changes

Details

Version 4.77

Overview

Incompatible changes

Details

Version 4.76

Overview

Details

Version 4.75

Overview

Incompatible Changes

Details

2007-05-16 Wed 12:30 +1w

will apply to every Wednesday, starting from the date given. I believe this syntax was actually suggested by someone on the mailing list, but I cannot find the email back. To collect your credit, let me know!

%%(diary-float t 4 2)

Version 4.74

Overview

This release is about exporting agenda views, to HTML, to postscript for printing, and to a special format (CSV) for further processing in scripts.

Incompatible Changes

Details

Version 4.73

Minor bug fixes.

Version 4.72

Overview

Incompatible changes

Details

Version 4.71

Overview

Incompatible changes

Details

Version 4.70

Overview

Incompatible changes

Details

Version 4.69

Overview

This time the changes affect the following areas:

Incompatible changes

Details

Version 4.68

Overview

Details

Version 4.67

Version 4.66

Overview

Version 4.65

Overview

Detailed description of changes

Version 4.64

Overview

Detailed description of changes

Version 4.63

Version 4.62

Version 4.61

Version 4.60

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[…]

Version 4.00

Version 3.24

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Version 3.01

Version 3.00

Version 2.10

Version 2.6

Version 2.4

Version 2.0

Please re-read the manual section about links.

Version 1.4

Version 1.3

Author: Carsten Dominik <carsten at orgmode dot org>

Date: 2008/03/03 09:05:37