how can I call common helm specific actions on results from non-helm specific operations?

[capfredf]

Hi Thierry and Helm veterans,

If I understand correctly, after enabling helm via (helm-mode 1), helm takes over all the complete-read. The problem is that there is no actions other than the default identity action on the resulting candidates. For example, I call project-find-file and press tab on a candidate:

Screencast.from.2022-10-13.11-17-45.webm

Besides writing a helm extension for project-find-file, is there a simple way to allow helm to call file-related actions on the targets above?

[thierryvolpiatto]

Fred Fu ***@***.***> writes:

Hi Thierry and Helm veterans, If I understand correctly, after enabling helm via (helm-mode 1), helm takes over all the complete-read. The problem is that there is no actions other than the default identity action on the resulting candidates.

This is intended, see the helm-mode node in helm documentation.

Besides writing a helm extension for project-find-file,

If your project is managed by Git, you can install helm-ls-git and browse your project with helm-browse-project.

is there a simple way to allow helm to call file-related actions on the targets above?

No, not on generic helm functions, the goal of this functions is to behave exactly like the vanilla completing-read they actually replace. Example: Consider the following function: (defun foo () (interactive) (let ((str (completing-read "test: " '("foo" "bar" "baz")))) (do-something-on-str str))) What if we allow arbitrary actions on the completing-read? What the function do-something-on-str is now intended to do if you already did something different on the resulting string? And anyway the action you may run from the completing-read would be overrided by do-something-on-str. And same for marked candidates, if we return a list intead of a single element like emacs functions expect we end up with an error.

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-- Thierry