9

In org-mode I use block quotes.

#+BEGIN_QUOTE
Foo.
#+END_QUOTE

However, when I do org-edit-special inside a block quote, I get No special environment to edit here. How can I direct org-mode to treat block quotes (and verse quotes etc) as special environments, so that when I do C-c ' I can edit the quotation in its own buffer the same way I can with other code blocks?

Dan
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incandescentman
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    Just out of curiosity, why do you want this behavior? Do you want to use editing commands specific to a certain mode in this block, or do you just want to see it in an isolated buffer? – elethan Nov 21 '15 at 14:40
  • I want the block quote in its own buffer so I can use commands like `beginning-of-buffer`, `end-of-buffer`, and `mark-whole-buffer`. – incandescentman Nov 21 '15 at 23:54
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    There isn't any way to change the behavior of org-edit-special. If you just want to treat the block as a buffer, select it and narrow the region with `C-x n n`. – user2699 Nov 22 '15 at 01:20

2 Answers2

5

After reading the comments, it appears you're really looking for this:

  • org-narrow-to-block to narrow the buffer to the current block

    1. Place cursor within the boundary of a block, e.g. quote block

      #+BEGIN_VERSE
Verse Block
#+END_VERSE

#+BEGIN_VERBATIM
Verbatim Block
#+END_VERBATIM

#+BEGIN_QUOTE
Quote Block
#+END_QUOTE

    2. Type C-x n b

      The buffer will narrow to just the quote block.

      #+BEGIN_QUOTE
Quote Block
#+END_QUOTE

      Note: If you want your buffer to look more like org-edit-special,
      then type C-x n e instead.

      The buffer will look similar to the example below: 

       Quote Block

  • widen to remove narrowing from current buffer

    1. Type C-x n w

      #+BEGIN_VERSE
Verse Block
#+END_VERSE

#+BEGIN_VERBATIM
Verbatim Block
#+END_VERBATIM

#+BEGIN_QUOTE
Quote Block
#+END_QUOTE

This was answer was tested using

GNU Emacs 24.5.1 (x86_64-unknown-cygwin, GTK+ Version 3.14.13)
org-mode version: 9.0

Melioratus
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    The shortcut should be C-x n b. – user2699 Dec 02 '15 at 00:10
  • @user2699 Thanks for catching typo! I'll fix it! – Melioratus Dec 02 '15 at 18:01
  • Yes that's it! Is there a way to define a function like `org-edit-special-or-narrrow-to-block` that would detect which is appropriate and do one or the other? That way I could use the same key binding for both since in my mind it's the same operation, even if not in the mind of Emacs. – incandescentman Dec 03 '15 at 02:50
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    @incandescentman - I believe so but I don't have the elisp skills to do it yet. I imagine the implementation could be similar to `org-metaup`, `org-metadown` or `org-ctrl-c-ctrl-c`. – Melioratus Nov 12 '16 at 21:50
-3

Use instead: 

#+begin_example
  Foo.
#+end_example

Then you would be able to do org-edit-special inside the block.

Feiming Chen
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