# $file-ignore(5)

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## NAME

$file-ignore - File extensions to ignore

## SYNOPSIS

$file-ignore "string"; Default is ""

## DESCRIPTION

$file-ignore specifies a space separated list of file endings which the file completion is to ignore. This is used by any function which prompts the user for a file name, such as find-file(2). A file ending in this case is NOT the extension but the last n characters where n is the number of characters in the specified ignore file.

## EXAMPLE

To ignore all files which have the extension "`o`", using:

    set-variable $file-ignore "o"

would not only ignore "`foo.o`", but also "`foo.oo`", "`foo.po`" and "`foo`" as well as any file that ends in an "`o`". What is really required is

    set-variable $file-ignore ".o"

It is useful to ignore the "`./`" and "`../`" directories so that a directory containing one file will auto-complete to that one file. This is achieved by using:

    set-variable $file-ignore "./"

To ignore MicroEmacs 2009 backup files ("`~`"), C object files ("`.o`"), "`./`" and "`../`" directories try using:

    set-variable $file-ignore "~ .o ./"

## NOTES

The file completion only completes further than the first non-unique point in the current list of possibles if and only if it can ignore all but one file, so if the current directory contains:

    ./ ../ foo foo.c foo.c~ foo.o

using the above ignore list, completing with "" has no effect as "`foo`" and "`foo.c`" cannot be ignored; completing with "`foo.`" will however complete to "`foo.c`".

## SEE ALSO

find-file(2).

(c) Copyright JASSPA 2009
Last Modified: 2009/08/29
Generated On: 2009/10/12

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