FAQ(29) - find-file start location; where is it ?

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QUESTION (29)

find-file start location; where is it ?

ANSWER

The find-file(2) start location is defined as follows:

*scratch* is current buffer; the current working directory.
file is current buffer; the directory location containing file.

Running under Microsoft Windows or UNIX, using an icon launch, then it may become frustrating that the start location is always C:\Program Files\JASSPA\MicroEmacs (Microsoft windows) or /usr/local/bin (UNIX) this is simply resolved by starting the executable with the -c option, as defined by me(1). The -c option starts the editor with the last editing session, this is typically where a user will want to commence an editing session.

If the -c approach is not acceptable, then it is worth defining the environment variable $HOME within the start up script, or in the users environment. Using find-file with tilde (~) implies that the directory start path is $HOME.

[FAQ Index].

Ref: FAQ(29) - find-file start location; where is it ? File: faq.2 Date: 2026/03/05