I would prefer to have the *compilation* buffer always stay in its own frame. However, currently if I run M-x compile from another frame/window, the buffer pops up in a new window there as well. How can I cause emacs to instead only raise the existing frame which is displaying the *compilation* buffer?
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ajp
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I believe this is the answer to your question, which I wrote up 3 years ago at the beginning of my Emacs quest: http://stackoverflow.com/a/19415289/2112489 The applicable sections of code in `compile.el` may have changed, and I have since made many changes/improvements to my custom functions that target certain frames for buffer display: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/18346785/how-to-intercept-a-file-before-it-opens-and-decide-which-frame Take a look and see if the first link is approximately what you are seeking -- who knows, it may even still work without making changes. – lawlist Apr 02 '16 at 21:32
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Normally, Emacs considers the selected frame the only reusable frame. In other words, normally Emacs only searches the current ("selected") frame for windows that already contain the buffer-to-display ("reusable windows"). What you need is for Emacs to consider the compilation buffer's frame as a reusable frame:
(push '("\\*compilation\\*" . (nil (reusable-frames . t))) display-buffer-alist)
The above snippet will make all the frames reusable when display-buffer displays the *compilation* buffer. Look at the documentation of display-buffer-reuse-window to learn what other values reusable-frames can receive.
However, this doesn't take care of the other direction - opening a code buffer from the compilation window. For example, if you open a buffer by pressing a link in the compilation buffer, Emacs will open the buffer in the same frame as the compilation window. Changing that is another matter. I don't know how the behavior compares with the special-display-buffer-names solution.
bmag
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Make buffer compilation always have a dedicated window. One way to do this is to customize option special-display-buffer-names, to include "*compilation*". Another is to customize option special-display-regexps, to include a regexp that matches that buffer name. (I include the regexp "[ ]?[*][^*]+[*]", which matches all buffers whose names are *...*.)
(See also option special-display-frame-alist, which you can use to specify the behavior and characteristics of the frame used for such special-display buffers.)
Emacs will tell you that these "special-display buffer" options are "obsolete", but thank goodness they are still supported. They offer a simple way to do what you want.
If you want to suffer through what Emacs prefers you do now, then customize option display-buffer-alist instead. The idea is essentially the same (it's just an uglier and more complicated user option).
Drew
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Care to explain the downvotes? Is there something incorrect in this answer? – Drew Apr 03 '16 at 15:59
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1This works very well, and except for the feature being obsolete it exactly solves OP's (and my ;) ) requirement. Selecting an error line in the *compilation* buffer correctly displays the source file in another frame, not in the special *compilation* frame. Really a shame, especially since the "official" way described in the other answer doesn't have a solution for this aspect, and also references to `special-display-buffer...`. – AnoE Jan 20 '21 at 16:34
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@user227: Nothing snarky about that *"suffer"*. If you use `display-buffer-alist` then you'll know what I mean. I think most, if not all, users lament how complicated it is. I think even its designer does, but nothing simpler yet just as flexible has been uncovered yet. Special-display is great (IMHO) for the simple cases it handles - it does that well. I don't think that feature should be obsolete just because we *also* need something general like `display-buffer-alist`. – Drew Jan 21 '21 at 05:07