How to stop auto-complete from overwriting a file that is similarly named

Question

I am a new user to Emacs and have gotten a .emacs file from someone in my field that introduced me to this programming platform. However, I have been having some issues while trying to save or create new files that are named similar to those that already exist. If I attempt to create a new file that has a name that is relatively similar to one that exists, even if it is in a different directory, the existing file will be opened. When attempting to save a file with a shorter or similar name to an already existing file, Emacs attempts to overwrite the file instead of creating a new one.

For example, I am attempting to save the file growth_loglike.tpl but I already have the file growth_loglike_ADMB2_End.tpl in the directory. When I go to save and write in growth_loglike.tpl it shows [growth_loglike_ADMB2_End.tpl] in green to the right. When I hit enter it asks me if I want to overwrite growth_loglike_ADMB2_End.tpl. I think this is an issue with the auto-complete plugin. Is there a way to temporarily turn off the auto-complete? Looking at the auto-complete.el file my guess is that I need to change this variable but I'm not sure to what (or if that is even correct). Any help with this would be extremely helpful.

(defcustom ac-use-overriding-local-map nil
"Non-nil means `overriding-local-map' will be used to hack for overriding key events on auto-copletion."
  :type 'boolean
  :group 'auto-complete)

Below is the .emacs file that I am using.

    ;; This emacs configuration file will activate common packages 

and 
;; functionality used in the QFC Reproducable Reseach Workshop.
;; change this path to point to emacs directory in workshop on your computer:
;; (don't forget to include a trailing slash!)
(defvar workshop-root "C:/Users/vince151/Documents/workshop/")

(defvar emacs-root (concat (file-name-as-directory workshop-root) "emacs/"))

;;=============================================================================
;;=============================================================================
;; 1. Misc Plug-ins
;; here are some paths to look for additional scripts and functions:
(add-to-list 'load-path (concat emacs-root "plugins/"))


;;=============================================================================
;; 2. YASnippet
(add-to-list 'load-path  (concat emacs-root "plugins/yasnippet"))
(require 'yasnippet) ;; not yasnippet-bundle
(setq yas-snippet-dirs (concat emacs-root "plugins/yasnippet/snippets"))
(yas-global-mode 1)

;; timestamp used in some yasnippets
(defun now ()
  "Insert string for the current time formatted like '2:34 PM'."
  (interactive)                 ; permit invocation in minibuffer
  (insert (format-time-string "%D %-I:%M %p")))

;;=============================================================================
;; 3. Swap Slashes
;; swap slashes and backslashes in current line -- useful for converting paths to be Windows-readable
;;http://www.xsteve.at/prg/emacs/.emacs.txt
(defun xsteve-exchange-slash-and-backslash ()
  "Exchanges / with \ and in the current line or in the region when a region-mark is active."
  (interactive)
  (save-match-data
    (save-excursion
      (let ((replace-count 0)
            (eol-pos (if mark-active (region-end) (progn (end-of-line) (point))))
            (bol-pos (if mark-active (region-beginning) (progn (beginning-of-line) (point)))))
        (goto-char bol-pos)
        (while (re-search-forward "/\\|\\\\" eol-pos t)
          (setq replace-count (+ replace-count 1))
          (cond ((string-equal (match-string 0) "/") (replace-match "\\\\" nil nil))
                ((string-equal (match-string 0) "\\") (replace-match "/" nil nil)))
          (message (format "%d changes made." replace-count)))))))

(global-set-key (kbd "M-\\") 'xsteve-exchange-slash-and-backslash)


;;==============================================================================
;; 4. Parenthesis highlighting

(require 'highlight-parentheses)
(setq hl-paren-colors '("DodgerBlue1" "IndianRed" "cyan" "ForestGreen" "magenta" "SlateGrey"))
(defun hpm-on ()
 (highlight-parentheses-mode t))
(add-hook 'admb-mode-hook 'hpm-on)
(add-hook 'ess-mode-hook 'hpm-on)
(add-hook 'inferior-ess-mode-hook 'hpm-on)
(add-hook 'latex-mode-hook 'hpm-on)
(add-hook 'LaTeX-mode-hook 'hpm-on)

;;=============================================================================
;; 5. ESS
;; path to current version of R:  (This shouldn't be needed if PATH is correct)
;;(setq-default 
;;   inferior-R-program-name 
;;   "C:/R/R-2.15.0/bin/i386/Rterm.exe")

(load (concat emacs-root "ESS/ess-13.09/lisp/ess-site"))
(setq ess-fancy-comments nil) 
;; make pdflatex the default sweave compiler (removes texi2pdf)
(setq ess-swv-pdflatex-commands '("pdflatex" "xelatex" "make"))


;;=============================================================================
;; 6. ADMB-ide
;; don't forget to edit setADMBpaths.bat to point to your admb installation
(setq admb-init (concat emacs-root "setADMBpaths & "))
;; these commands were cut from admb.el
(load (concat emacs-root "plugins/admb"))
;;  Edit .emacs so that `admb-mode' is autoloaded and assigned to *.tpl files:
(autoload 'admb-mode "admb" "Edit ADMB code." t)
(add-to-list 'auto-mode-alist '("\\.tpl$" . admb-mode))
;;  If you're running Emacs in MS Windows, add a line so *.tpl files are not treated as binary:
(setq file-name-buffer-file-type-alist nil)
;;  You may want to assign a mode that recognizes #comments in *.dat files (perl-mode, conf-space-mode, or R-mode):
(add-to-list 'auto-mode-alist '("\\.dat$" . perl-mode))
;;(add-to-list 'auto-mode-alist '("\\.dat$" . admb-mode))
;;(add-to-list 'auto-mode-alist '("\\.dat$" . easy-admb-hook))

;;added Monday, March 29, 2010 so that we can run models from within dat files
(add-hook 'perl-mode-hook
    (lambda()
    (define-key perl-mode-map [f9] 'admb-run)))

;;these commands were taken from Arni Magnusen's emacs file distributed with ADMB-IDE
(defun easy-admb-hook ()
  (local-set-key [f1]    'admb-help                 ) ; prefix
  (local-set-key [f2]    'admb-mode                 ) ; prefix
  ;;(global-set-key [f3] 'conf-space-mode           ) ; kmacro-start-macro-or-insert-counter
  (local-set-key [f4]    'admb-toggle-window        ) ; kmacro-end-or-call-macro
  (local-set-key [f7]    'admb-tpl2cpp        )
  (local-set-key [f8]    'admb-build          )
  (local-set-key [f9]    'admb-run            )
  (local-set-key [S-f9]  'admb-run-args       )
  (local-set-key [f10]   'admb-rep            ) ; menu-bar-open
  (local-set-key [S-f10] 'admb-cor            )
  (local-set-key [?\C-.] 'admb-toggle-section))
(add-hook 'admb-mode-hook 'easy-admb-hook)
;;----------
;;   C++
;;----------
(defun easy-gdb-hook ()
  (message nil)
  (setq indent-line-function 'gud-gdb-complete-command)
  ;;(setq gdb-show-main t)
  (local-set-key [f5]          'gdb-restore-windows)
  (local-set-key [M-up]        'gdb-io-buffer-off  )
  (local-set-key [M-down]      'gdb-io-buffer-on   )
  (local-set-key [?\C-c ?\C-q] 'comint-quit-subjob )
  (defun gdb-io-buffer-off () "Enable separate IO buffer." (interactive)(gdb-use-separate-io-buffer nil))
  (defun gdb-io-buffer-on () "Disable separate IO buffer." (interactive)(gdb-use-separate-io-buffer t)))
(add-hook 'gdb-mode-hook 'easy-gdb-hook)

;;=================
;; enable YASnippet 
(add-hook 'admb-mode-hook 'yas/minor-mode-on)
(add-hook 'admb-mode-hook
          (let ((original-command (lookup-key admb-mode-map [tab])))
            `(lambda ()
               (setq yas/fallback-behavior '(apply ,original-command))
               (local-set-key [tab] 'yas/expand))))

;;==============================================================================
;; 7. Git
;; path to git executable:  (This shouldn't be needed if PATH is correct)
;; (setq-default 
;;    magit-git-executable
;;    "C:/gnu/git/bin/git.exe")

;;(require 'git)
(add-to-list 'load-path (concat emacs-root "plugins/git/magit"))
(load (concat emacs-root "plugins/git/magit/magit.el"))
(require 'magit)
;; use Ctrl-C G to start Git:
(global-set-key "\C-c\C-g" 'magit-status)

;; from: http://readystate4.com/2011/02/22/emacs-changing-magits-default-diff-colors/
;; change magit diff colors
(eval-after-load 'magit
  '(progn
     (set-face-foreground 'magit-diff-add "green3")
     (set-face-foreground 'magit-diff-del "red3")
     (when (not window-system)
       (set-face-background 'magit-item-highlight "black"))))

;;==============================================================================
;; 8. autocomplete
(require 'auto-complete)
(add-to-list 'ac-dictionary-directories (concat emacs-root "plugins/ac-dict"))
(require 'auto-complete-config)
(ac-config-default)

;;========================================
;; 9. Bibtex database:
(setq reftex-default-bibliography
      '("C:/Users/vince151/Documents/workshop/utils/references.bib"))

(setq reftex-default-bibliography
      (concat workshop-root "utils/references.bib"))

 (defvar reftex-file 
   (concat 
    (file-name-as-directory workshop-root) "utils/references.bib"))
 (setq reftex-default-bibliography reftex-file)


;; Make TeX and RefTex aware of Snw and Rnw files
(setq reftex-file-extensions
      '(("snw" "rnw" "Snw" "Rnw" "nw" "tex" ".tex" ".ltx") ("bib" ".bib")))
(setq TeX-file-extensions
      '("snw" "rnw" "Snw" "Rnw" "nw" "tex" "sty" "cls" "ltx" "texi" "texinfo"))

(add-hook 'latex-mode-hook 'turn-on-reftex)

;;========================================
;; 10. Some functions to run bibtex and latex

(defun ac-run-bibtex ()
   "Run BibTex on the current file."
   (interactive)
   (save-excursion
     (let* ((latex-filename (file-name-sans-extension (buffer-file-name)))
            (tex-buf (get-buffer-create " *ESS-bibtex-output*")))
       (message "Running BibTex on '%s' ..." latex-filename)
       (switch-to-buffer tex-buf)
       (call-process "bibtex" nil tex-buf 1 latex-filename)
       (switch-to-buffer (buffer-name))
       (display-buffer tex-buf)
       (message "Finished running BibTeX" ))))

(defun ac-run-pdflatex ()
   "Run pdflatex on the current file."
   (interactive)
   (save-excursion
       (let* ((namestem (file-name-sans-extension (buffer-file-name)))
            (latex-filename (concat namestem ".tex"))
            (tex-buf (get-buffer-create " *pdflatex-output*")))
       (message "Running pdflatex on '%s' ..." latex-filename)
       (switch-to-buffer tex-buf)
       (call-process "pdflatex" nil tex-buf 1 latex-filename)
       (switch-to-buffer (buffer-name))
       (display-buffer tex-buf)
       (message "Finished running pdflatex" ))))

;; terms associated with base name were added to create index files using makeindex
;; this function impliments the following sequence of calls:
;;  pdflatex -> bibtex -> pdflatex -> makeindex -> pdflatex
(defun ac-run-lbll ()
   "Run LaTeX-BibTex-Latex-Latex on the current file."
   (interactive)
   (save-excursion
       (let* ((namestem (file-name-sans-extension (buffer-file-name)))
            (latex-filename (concat namestem ".tex"))
            (basename (file-name-nondirectory namestem))
            (tex-buf (get-buffer-create " *lbll-output*")))
       (message "Running LaTeX-BibTex-Latex-Latex on '%s' ..." latex-filename)
       (switch-to-buffer tex-buf)
       (call-process "pdflatex" nil tex-buf 1 latex-filename)
       (call-process "bibtex" nil tex-buf 1 namestem)
       (call-process "pdflatex" nil tex-buf 1 latex-filename)
       (call-process "makeindex" nil tex-buf 1 basename)
       (call-process "pdflatex" nil tex-buf 1 latex-filename)
       (switch-to-buffer (buffer-name))
       (display-buffer tex-buf)
       (message "Finished running LaTeX-BibTex-Latex-Latex" ))))


(add-hook 'latex-mode-hook
 (lambda ()
   (define-key latex-mode-map [f9] 'ac-run-pdflatex)
 )
)


;;========================================
;; 10. Other useful functions below this point

;;ispell - super cool spell checker for emacs
(setq-default ispell-program-name (concat emacs-root "aspell/bin/aspell.exe"))
;; get itspell to skip sweave chunks:
(add-to-list 'ispell-skip-region-alist '("^<<.*>>=" . "^@"))

;;=============================================================================
;; use string rectangle for indentng blocks/regions of code
(global-set-key (kbd "C->") 'string-insert-rectangle)

;;=============================================================================
;;ido  (from: http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/InteractivelyDoThings)
(require 'ido)
(ido-mode t)
(setq ido-enable-flex-matching t) ;; enable fuzzy matching

;;=============================================================================
;; use ibuffer anytime we would have use buffer-list
(defalias 'list-buffers 'ibuffer)

; get rid of prompt that forces you to type full "yes" or "no".
; y or n is enough
(defalias 'yes-or-no-p 'y-or-n-p)

;;==============================================================================
;; from http://www.joegrossberg.com/archives/000182.html
;; enable recent file list - bound to C-x C-r
(require 'recentf)
(recentf-mode 1)
(setq recentf-max-menu-items 25)
(global-set-key "\C-x\ \C-r" 'recentf-open-files)

;;==============================================================================
;; from http://www.stokebloke.com/wordpress/2008/04/17/emacs-refresh-f5-key/
;; use f3 to refresh file in current buffer
;;(defun refresh-file ()
;;  (interactive)
;;  (revert-buffer t t t)
;;  )
;;(global-set-key [f3] 'refresh-file)
;;
;;==============================================================================
;; copy path of current buffer to kill ring
;; from:http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3669511/
(defun copy-full-path-to-kill-ring ()
  "copy buffer's full path to kill ring"
  (interactive)
  (when buffer-file-name
    (kill-new (file-truename buffer-file-name))))
(global-set-key  "\C-cz" 'copy-full-path-to-kill-ring)

;;==============================================================================
;; keep emacs from cluttering working directories with tilde files by
;; placing them here:(concat emacs-root "tildes") instead of
;; wherever we're working.
(defvar user-temporary-file-directory
  (concat emacs-root   "tildes/"))
(make-directory user-temporary-file-directory t)
(setq backup-by-copying t)
(setq backup-directory-alist
      `(("." . ,user-temporary-file-directory)
        (,tramp-file-name-regexp nil)))
(setq auto-save-list-file-prefix
      (concat user-temporary-file-directory ".auto-saves-"))
(setq auto-save-file-name-transforms
      `((".*" ,user-temporary-file-directory t)))

;;;============================================================================


; try to improve slow performance on windows.
;;Got this from a website that said this would help.
(setq w32-get-true-file-attributes nil)

Answer 1

This is the default behaviour of ido-mode. There are two things you can do about it:

• Once you've typed the filename you want, hit C-j instead of RET. This makes ido-mode use the filename exactly as you typed it.
• You can temporarily switch back to the "normal" minibuffer behaviour by hitting C-f. Then you can tab-complete the old filename, and edit it as needed.