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1.17 ignore

When you specify a recursive search as part of a files, tidy or copy action, you would sometimes like to exclude certain directories from the list of sub directories. In most cases you will want to do this on a per-command basis (see the pages for these actions separately), but you can also make a global ignore list. This can be accomplished by adding the directory to the ignore-list. The syntax is

     
       ignore:
     
          wildcards/directories/filenames
     

For example:

     
     ignore:
     
        any::
     
           #
           # Prevent tidying .X11 directories in /tmp where
           # window managers write semaphores
           #
     
           .X11
     
           #
           # Don't tidy emacs locks
           #
     
           !*
           /local/lib/gnu/emacs/lock/
           /local/tmp
           /local/bin/top
           /local/lib/tex/fonts
           /local/etc
           /local/www
           /local/mutils/etc/finger.log
     
     

None of the above directories will be checked or entered during recursive descents unless a specific command is initiated to search those directories with their names as the top of the search tree. A handy tip if you are tidying /tmp recursively is to include the directory .X11 here. This directory is used by the X-windows system and deleting it while a window manager has an open session can cause the user some trouble.

Ignore refers to all recursive searches in tidy, files, copy and links.