Fix node names and cross-references.
[bpt/emacs.git] / man / display.texi
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802b0ea7 1@c This is part of the Emacs manual.
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2@c Copyright (C) 1985, 86, 87, 93, 94, 95, 1997, 2000, 2001
3@c Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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4@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
5@node Display, Search, Registers, Top
6@chapter Controlling the Display
7
8 Since only part of a large buffer fits in the window, Emacs tries to
9show a part that is likely to be interesting. Display-control commands
10allow you to specify which part of the text you want to see, and how to
11display it.
12
13@menu
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14* Faces:: How to change the display style using faces.
15* Font Lock:: Minor mode for syntactic highlighting using faces.
16* Highlight Changes:: Using colors to show where you changed the buffer.
17* Highlight Interactively:: Tell Emacs what text to highlight.
18* Trailing Whitespace:: Showing possibly-spurious trailing whitespace.
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19* Scrolling:: Moving text up and down in a window.
20* Horizontal Scrolling:: Moving text left and right in a window.
21* Follow Mode:: Follow mode lets two windows scroll as one.
22* Selective Display:: Hiding lines with lots of indentation.
23* Optional Mode Line:: Optional mode line display features.
24* Text Display:: How text characters are normally displayed.
e598186c 25* Display Custom:: Information on variables for customizing display.
099bfef9 26* Cursor Display:: Features for displaying the cursor.
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27@end menu
28
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29@node Faces
30@section Using Multiple Typefaces
31@cindex faces
32
33 When using Emacs with a window system, you can set up multiple
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34styles of displaying characters. Each style is called a @dfn{face}.
35Each face can specify various attributes, such as the height, weight
36and slant of the characters, the foreground and background color, and
37underlining. But it does not have to specify all of them.
b8f3a9e3 38
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39 Features which rely on text in multiple faces (such as Font Lock mode)
40will also work on non-windowed terminals that can display more than one
41face, whether by colors or underlining and emboldening. This includes
42the console on GNU/Linux, an @code{xterm} which supports colors, the
43MS-DOS display (@pxref{MS-DOS}), and the MS-Windows version invoked with
44the @option{-nw} option. Emacs determines automatically whether the
45terminal has this capability.
b8f3a9e3 46
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47 You control the appearance of a part of the text in the buffer by
48specifying the face or faces to use for it. The style of display used
49for any given character is determined by combining the attributes of
50all the applicable faces specified for that character. Any attribute
0ec1f115 51that isn't specified by these faces is taken from the @code{default} face,
04d0b662 52whose attributes reflect the default settings of the frame itself.
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53
54 Enriched mode, the mode for editing formatted text, includes several
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55commands and menus for specifying faces for text in the buffer.
56@xref{Format Faces}, for how to specify the font for text in the
57buffer. @xref{Format Colors}, for how to specify the foreground and
58background color.
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59
60@cindex face colors, setting
61@findex set-face-foreground
62@findex set-face-background
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63 To alter the appearance of a face, use the customization buffer.
64@xref{Face Customization}. You can also use X resources to specify
65attributes of particular faces (@pxref{Resources X}). Alternatively,
66you can change the foreground and background colors of a specific face
67with @kbd{M-x set-face-foreground} and @kbd{M-x set-face-background}.
68These commands prompt in the minibuffer for a face name and a color
69name, with completion, and then set that face to use the specified
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70color. Changing the colors of the @code{default} face also changes
71the foreground and background colors on all frames, both existing and
72those to be created in the future. (You can also set foreground and
73background colors for the current frame only; see @ref{Frame
74Parameters}.)
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75
76 Emacs 21 can correctly display variable-width fonts, but Emacs
77commands that calculate width and indentation do not know how to
78calculate variable widths. This can sometimes lead to incorrect
79results when you use variable-width fonts. In particular, indentation
80commands can give inconsistent results, so we recommend you avoid
81variable-width fonts for editing program source code. Filling will
82sometimes make lines too long or too short. We plan to address these
83issues in future Emacs versions.
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84
85@findex list-faces-display
86 To see what faces are currently defined, and what they look like, type
87@kbd{M-x list-faces-display}. It's possible for a given face to look
88different in different frames; this command shows the appearance in the
04d0b662 89frame in which you type it. Here's a list of the standard defined
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90faces:
91
92@table @code
93@item default
94This face is used for ordinary text that doesn't specify any other face.
95@item mode-line
96This face is used for mode lines. By default, it's drawn with shadows
97for a ``raised'' effect on window systems, and drawn as the inverse of
98the default face on non-windowed terminals. @xref{Display Custom}.
99@item header-line
100Similar to @code{mode-line} for a window's header line. Most modes
101don't use the header line, but the Info mode does.
102@item highlight
103This face is used for highlighting portions of text, in various modes.
104For example, mouse-sensitive text is highlighted using this face.
105@item isearch
106This face is used for highlighting Isearch matches.
107@item isearch-lazy-highlight-face
108This face is used for lazy highlighting of Isearch matches other than
109the current one.
110@item region
111This face is used for displaying a selected region (when Transient Mark
112mode is enabled---see below).
113@item secondary-selection
114This face is used for displaying a secondary X selection (@pxref{Secondary
115Selection}).
116@item bold
117This face uses a bold variant of the default font, if it has one.
118@item italic
119This face uses an italic variant of the default font, if it has one.
120@item bold-italic
121This face uses a bold italic variant of the default font, if it has one.
122@item underline
123This face underlines text.
124@item fixed-pitch
125The basic fixed-pitch face.
126@item fringe
127@cindex fringe
128The face for the fringes to the left and right of windows on graphic
129displays. (The fringes are the narrow portions of the Emacs frame
940627fe 130between the text area and the window's right and left borders.)
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131@item scroll-bar
132This face determines the visual appearance of the scroll bar.
133@item border
134This face determines the color of the frame border.
135@item cursor
136This face determines the color of the cursor.
137@item mouse
138This face determines the color of the mouse pointer.
139@item tool-bar
140This is the basic tool-bar face. No text appears in the tool bar, but the
141colors of this face affect the appearance of tool bar icons.
142@item tooltip
143This face is used for tooltips.
144@item menu
145This face determines the colors and font of Emacs's menus. Setting the
146font of LessTif/Motif menus is currently not supported; attempts to set
147the font are ignored in this case.
148@item trailing-whitespace
149The face for highlighting trailing whitespace when
86354bc0 150@code{show-trailing-whitespace} is non-nil; see @ref{Trailing Whitespace}.
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151@item variable-pitch
152The basic variable-pitch face.
153@end table
154
155@cindex @code{region} face
156 When Transient Mark mode is enabled, the text of the region is
157highlighted when the mark is active. This uses the face named
158@code{region}; you can control the style of highlighting by changing the
159style of this face (@pxref{Face Customization}). @xref{Transient Mark},
160for more information about Transient Mark mode and activation and
161deactivation of the mark.
162
163 One easy way to use faces is to turn on Font Lock mode. This minor
164mode, which is always local to a particular buffer, arranges to
165choose faces according to the syntax of the text you are editing. It
166can recognize comments and strings in most languages; in several
167languages, it can also recognize and properly highlight various other
168important constructs. @xref{Font Lock}, for more information about
169Font Lock mode and syntactic highlighting.
170
171 You can print out the buffer with the highlighting that appears
172on your screen using the command @code{ps-print-buffer-with-faces}.
173@xref{PostScript}.
174
175@node Font Lock
176@section Font Lock mode
177@cindex Font Lock mode
178@cindex mode, Font Lock
179@cindex syntax highlighting and coloring
180
181 Font Lock mode is a minor mode, always local to a particular
182buffer, which highlights (or ``fontifies'') using various faces
183according to the syntax of the text you are editing. It can
184recognize comments and strings in most languages; in several
185languages, it can also recognize and properly highlight various other
186important constructs---for example, names of functions being defined
187or reserved keywords.
188
189@findex font-lock-mode
190@findex turn-on-font-lock
191 The command @kbd{M-x font-lock-mode} turns Font Lock mode on or off
192according to the argument, and toggles the mode when it has no argument.
193The function @code{turn-on-font-lock} unconditionally enables Font Lock
194mode. This is useful in mode-hook functions. For example, to enable
195Font Lock mode whenever you edit a C file, you can do this:
196
197@example
198(add-hook 'c-mode-hook 'turn-on-font-lock)
199@end example
200
201@findex global-font-lock-mode
202@vindex global-font-lock-mode
203 To turn on Font Lock mode automatically in all modes which support
204it, customize the user option @code{global-font-lock-mode} or use the
205function @code{global-font-lock-mode} in your @file{.emacs} file, like
206this:
207
208@example
209(global-font-lock-mode 1)
210@end example
211
212 Font Lock mode uses several specifically named faces to do its job,
213including @code{font-lock-string-face}, @code{font-lock-comment-face},
214and others. The easiest way to find them all is to use completion
215on the face name in @code{set-face-foreground}.
216
217 To change the colors or the fonts used by Font Lock mode to fontify
218different parts of text, just change these faces. There are
219two ways to do it:
220
221@itemize @bullet
222@item
223Invoke @kbd{M-x set-face-foreground} or @kbd{M-x set-face-background}
224to change the colors of a particular face used by Font Lock.
225@xref{Faces}. The command @kbd{M-x list-faces-display} displays all
226the faces currently known to Emacs, including those used by Font Lock.
227
228@item
229Customize the faces interactively with @kbd{M-x customize-face}, as
230described in @ref{Face Customization}.
231@end itemize
232
233 To get the full benefit of Font Lock mode, you need to choose a
234default font which has bold, italic, and bold-italic variants; or else
235you need to have a color or gray-scale screen.
236
237@vindex font-lock-maximum-decoration
238 The variable @code{font-lock-maximum-decoration} specifies the
239preferred level of fontification, for modes that provide multiple
240levels. Level 1 is the least amount of fontification; some modes
241support levels as high as 3. The normal default is ``as high as
242possible.'' You can specify an integer, which applies to all modes, or
243you can specify different numbers for particular major modes; for
244example, to use level 1 for C/C++ modes, and the default level
245otherwise, use this:
246
247@example
248(setq font-lock-maximum-decoration
249 '((c-mode . 1) (c++-mode . 1)))
250@end example
251
252@vindex font-lock-maximum-size
253 Fontification can be too slow for large buffers, so you can suppress
254it. The variable @code{font-lock-maximum-size} specifies a buffer size,
255beyond which buffer fontification is suppressed.
256
257@c @w is used below to prevent a bad page-break.
258@vindex font-lock-beginning-of-syntax-function
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259@cindex incorrect fontification
260@cindex parenthesis in column zero and fontification
261@cindex brace in column zero and fontification
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262 Comment and string fontification (or ``syntactic'' fontification)
263relies on analysis of the syntactic structure of the buffer text. For
0ec1f115 264the sake of speed, some modes, including C mode and Lisp mode,
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265rely on a special convention: an open-parenthesis or open-brace in the
266leftmost column always defines the @w{beginning} of a defun, and is
ee6038a6 267thus always outside any string or comment. (@xref{Left Margin
9048ad82 268Paren}.) If you don't follow this convention, Font Lock mode can
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269misfontify the text that follows an open-parenthesis or open-brace in
270the leftmost column that is inside a string or comment.
b8f3a9e3 271
6bb2ed9b 272@cindex slow display during scrolling
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273 The variable @code{font-lock-beginning-of-syntax-function} (always
274buffer-local) specifies how Font Lock mode can find a position
275guaranteed to be outside any comment or string. In modes which use the
276leftmost column parenthesis convention, the default value of the variable
277is @code{beginning-of-defun}---that tells Font Lock mode to use the
278convention. If you set this variable to @code{nil}, Font Lock no longer
279relies on the convention. This avoids incorrect results, but the price
280is that, in some cases, fontification for a changed text must rescan
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281buffer text from the beginning of the buffer. This can considerably
282slow down redisplay while scrolling, particularly if you are close to
283the end of a large buffer.
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284
285@findex font-lock-add-keywords
286 Font Lock highlighting patterns already exist for many modes, but you
287may want to fontify additional patterns. You can use the function
288@code{font-lock-add-keywords}, to add your own highlighting patterns for
289a particular mode. For example, to highlight @samp{FIXME:} words in C
290comments, use this:
291
292@example
293(font-lock-add-keywords
294 'c-mode
295 '(("\\<\\(FIXME\\):" 1 font-lock-warning-face t)))
296@end example
297
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298@findex font-lock-remove-keywords
299 To remove keywords from the font-lock highlighting patterns, use the
300function @code{font-lock-remove-keywords}.
301
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302@node Highlight Changes
303@section Highlight Changes Mode
304
305@findex highlight-changes-mode
306 Use @kbd{M-x highlight-changes-mode} to enable a minor mode
307that uses faces (colors, typically) to indicate which parts of
308the buffer were changed most recently.
309
310@node Highlight Interactively
311@section Interactive Highlighting by Matching
312@cindex highlighting by matching
313@cindex interactive highlighting
314
315 It is sometimes useful to highlight the strings that match a certain
316regular expression. For example, you might wish to see all the
317references to a certain variable in a program source file, or highlight
318certain parts in a voluminous output of some program, or make certain
319cliches stand out in an article.
320
321@findex hi-lock-mode
322 Use the @kbd{M-x hi-lock-mode} command to turn on a minor mode that
323allows you to specify regular expressions of the text to be
324highlighted. Hi-lock mode works like Font Lock (@pxref{Font Lock}),
325except that it lets you specify explicitly what parts of text to
326highlight. You control Hi-lock mode with these commands:
327
328@table @kbd
329@item C-x w h @var{regexp} @key{RET} @var{face} @key{RET}
330@kindex C-x w h
331@findex highlight-regexp
332Highlight text that matches
333@var{regexp} using face @var{face} (@code{highlight-regexp}).
334By using this command more than once, you can highlight various
335parts of the text in different ways.
336
337@item C-x w r @var{regexp} @key{RET}
338@kindex C-x w r
339@findex unhighlight-regexp
340Unhighlight @var{regexp} (@code{unhighlight-regexp}). You must enter
341one of the regular expressions currently specified for highlighting.
04d0b662 342(You can use completion, or choose from a menu, to enter one of them
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343conveniently.)
344
345@item C-x w l @var{regexp} @key{RET} @var{face} @key{RET}
346@kindex C-x w l
347@findex highlight-lines-matching-regexp
348@cindex lines, highlighting
349@cindex highlighting lines of text
04d0b662 350Highlight entire lines containing a match for @var{regexp}, using face
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351@var{face} (@code{highlight-lines-matching-regexp}).
352
353@item C-x w b
354@kindex C-x w b
355@findex hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns
356Insert all the current highlighting regexp/face pairs into the buffer
357at point, with comment delimiters to prevent them from changing your
358program. This key binding runs the
359@code{hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns} command.
360
361These patterns will be read the next time you visit the file while
362Hi-lock mode is enabled, or whenever you use the @kbd{M-x
363hi-lock-find-patterns} command.
364
365@item C-x w i
366@kindex C-x w i
367@findex hi-lock-find-patterns
368@vindex hi-lock-exclude-modes
369Re-read regexp/face pairs in the current buffer
370(@code{hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns}). The list of pairs is
371found no matter where in the buffer it may be.
372
373This command does nothing if the major mode is a member of the list
374@code{hi-lock-exclude-modes}.
375@end table
376
377@node Trailing Whitespace
378@section Trailing Whitespace
379
380@cindex trailing whitespace
381@cindex whitespace, trailing
382@vindex show-trailing-whitespace
383 It is easy to leave unnecessary spaces at the end of a line without
384realizing it. In most cases, this @dfn{trailing whitespace} has no
385effect, but there are special circumstances where it matters.
386
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387 You can make trailing whitespace visible on the screen by setting the
388buffer-local variable @code{show-trailing-whitespace} to @code{t}. Then
389Emacs displays trailing whitespace in the face
390@code{trailing-whitespace}.
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391
392 Trailing whitespace is defined as spaces or tabs at the end of a
393line. But trailing whitespace is not displayed specially if point is
394at the end of the line containing the whitespace. (Doing that looks
395ugly while you are typing in new text, and the location of point is
396enough in that case to show you that the spaces are present.)
397
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398@findex delete-trailing-whitespace
399 To delete all trailing whitespace within the current buffer's
400restriction (@pxref{Narrowing}), type @kbd{M-x
401delete-trailing-whitespace @key{RET}}. (This command does not remove
402the form-feed characters.)
403
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404@vindex indicate-empty-lines
405@vindex default-indicate-empty-lines
406@cindex empty lines
407 Emacs can indicate empty lines at the end of the buffer with a
408special bitmap on the left fringe of the window. To enable this
409feature, set the buffer-local variable @code{indicate-empty-lines} to
410a non-@code{nil} value. The default value of this variable is
411controlled by the variable @code{default-indicate-empty-lines};
412by setting that variable, you can enable or disable this feature
413for all new buffers.
414
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415@node Scrolling
416@section Scrolling
417
418 If a buffer contains text that is too large to fit entirely within a
419window that is displaying the buffer, Emacs shows a contiguous portion of
420the text. The portion shown always contains point.
421
422@cindex scrolling
423 @dfn{Scrolling} means moving text up or down in the window so that
424different parts of the text are visible. Scrolling forward means that text
425moves up, and new text appears at the bottom. Scrolling backward moves
426text down and new text appears at the top.
427
428 Scrolling happens automatically if you move point past the bottom or top
429of the window. You can also explicitly request scrolling with the commands
430in this section.
431
432@table @kbd
433@item C-l
434Clear screen and redisplay, scrolling the selected window to center
435point vertically within it (@code{recenter}).
436@item C-v
437Scroll forward (a windowful or a specified number of lines) (@code{scroll-up}).
438@item @key{NEXT}
04d0b662 439@itemx @key{PAGEDOWN}
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440Likewise, scroll forward.
441@item M-v
442Scroll backward (@code{scroll-down}).
443@item @key{PRIOR}
04d0b662 444@itemx @key{PAGEUP}
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445Likewise, scroll backward.
446@item @var{arg} C-l
447Scroll so point is on line @var{arg} (@code{recenter}).
448@item C-M-l
449Scroll heuristically to bring useful information onto the screen
450(@code{reposition-window}).
451@end table
452
453@kindex C-l
454@findex recenter
455 The most basic scrolling command is @kbd{C-l} (@code{recenter}) with
456no argument. It clears the entire screen and redisplays all windows.
457In addition, it scrolls the selected window so that point is halfway
458down from the top of the window.
459
460@kindex C-v
461@kindex M-v
462@kindex NEXT
463@kindex PRIOR
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464@kindex PAGEDOWN
465@kindex PAGEUP
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466@findex scroll-up
467@findex scroll-down
6bf7aab6 468@vindex next-screen-context-lines
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469 To read the buffer a windowful at a time, use @kbd{C-v}
470(@code{scroll-up}) with no argument. This scrolls forward by nearly
471the whole window height. The effect is to take the two lines at the
472bottom of the window and put them at the top, followed by nearly a
473whole windowful of lines that were not previously visible. If point
474was in the text that scrolled off the top, it ends up at the new top
475of the window.
476
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477 @kbd{M-v} (@code{scroll-down}) with no argument scrolls backward in
478a similar way, also with overlap. The number of lines of overlap
479across a @kbd{C-v} or @kbd{M-v} is controlled by the variable
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480@code{next-screen-context-lines}; by default, it is 2. The function
481keys @key{NEXT} and @key{PRIOR}, or @key{PAGEDOWN} and @key{PAGEUP},
482are equivalent to @kbd{C-v} and @kbd{M-v}.
483
484 The commands @kbd{C-v} and @kbd{M-v} with a numeric argument scroll
485the text in the selected window up or down a few lines. @kbd{C-v}
486with an argument moves the text and point up, together, that many
487lines; it brings the same number of new lines into view at the bottom
488of the window. @kbd{M-v} with numeric argument scrolls the text
489downward, bringing that many new lines into view at the top of the
490window. @kbd{C-v} with a negative argument is like @kbd{M-v} and vice
491versa.
492
493 The names of scroll commands are based on the direction that the
494text moves in the window. Thus, the command to scroll forward is
495called @code{scroll-up} because it moves the text upward on the
496screen. The keys @key{PAGEDOWN} and @key{PAGEUP} derive their names
497and customary meanings from a different convention that developed
498elsewhere; hence the strange result that @key{PAGEDOWN} runs
499@code{scroll-up}.
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500
501@vindex scroll-preserve-screen-position
502 Some users like the full-screen scroll commands to keep point at the
503same screen line. To enable this behavior, set the variable
504@code{scroll-preserve-screen-position} to a non-@code{nil} value. This
505mode is convenient for browsing through a file by scrolling by
506screenfuls; if you come back to the screen where you started, point goes
507back to the line where it started. However, this mode is inconvenient
508when you move to the next screen in order to move point to the text
509there.
510
511 Another way to do scrolling is with @kbd{C-l} with a numeric argument.
512@kbd{C-l} does not clear the screen when given an argument; it only scrolls
513the selected window. With a positive argument @var{n}, it repositions text
514to put point @var{n} lines down from the top. An argument of zero puts
515point on the very top line. Point does not move with respect to the text;
516rather, the text and point move rigidly on the screen. @kbd{C-l} with a
517negative argument puts point that many lines from the bottom of the window.
518For example, @kbd{C-u - 1 C-l} puts point on the bottom line, and @kbd{C-u
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519- 5 C-l} puts it five lines from the bottom. @kbd{C-u C-l} scrolls to put
520point at the center (vertically) of the selected window.
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521
522@kindex C-M-l
523@findex reposition-window
524 The @kbd{C-M-l} command (@code{reposition-window}) scrolls the current
525window heuristically in a way designed to get useful information onto
526the screen. For example, in a Lisp file, this command tries to get the
527entire current defun onto the screen if possible.
528
529@vindex scroll-conservatively
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530 Scrolling happens automatically when point moves out of the visible
531portion of the text. Normally, automatic scrolling centers point
532vertically within the window. However, if you set
533@code{scroll-conservatively} to a small number @var{n}, then if you
534move point just a little off the screen---less than @var{n}
535lines---then Emacs scrolls the text just far enough to bring point
536back on screen. By default, @code{scroll-conservatively} is 0.
6bf7aab6 537
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538@cindex aggressive scrolling
539@vindex scroll-up-aggressively
540@vindex scroll-down-aggressively
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541 When the window does scroll by a longer distance, you can control
542how aggressively it scrolls, by setting the variables
543@code{scroll-up-aggressively} and @code{scroll-down-aggressively}.
544The value of @code{scroll-up-aggressively} should be either
545@code{nil}, or a fraction @var{f} between 0 and 1. A fraction
546specifies where on the screen to put point when scrolling upward.
547More precisely, when a window scrolls up because point is above the
548window start, the new start position is chosen to put point @var{f}
549part of the window height from the top. The larger @var{f}, the more
550aggressive the scrolling.
551
552 @code{nil}, which is the default, scrolls to put point at the center.
553So it is equivalent to .5.
554
555 Likewise, @code{scroll-down-aggressively} is used for scrolling
556down. The value, @var{f}, specifies how far point should be placed
557from the bottom of the window; thus, as with
558@code{scroll-up-aggressively}, a larger value is more aggressive.
6dd5e8cc 559
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560@vindex scroll-margin
561 The variable @code{scroll-margin} restricts how close point can come
562to the top or bottom of a window. Its value is a number of screen
563lines; if point comes within that many lines of the top or bottom of the
564window, Emacs recenters the window. By default, @code{scroll-margin} is
5650.
566
567@node Horizontal Scrolling
568@section Horizontal Scrolling
569@cindex horizontal scrolling
570
571 @dfn{Horizontal scrolling} means shifting all the lines sideways
e598186c 572within a window---so that some of the text near the left margin is not
04d0b662 573displayed at all. Emacs does this automatically in any window that
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574uses line truncation rather than continuation: whenever point moves
575off the left or right edge of the screen, Emacs scrolls the buffer
576horizontally to make point visible.
577
578 When a window has been scrolled horizontally, text lines are truncated
579rather than continued (@pxref{Continuation Lines}), with a @samp{$}
580appearing in the first column when there is text truncated to the left,
581and in the last column when there is text truncated to the right.
582
583 You can use these commands to do explicit horizontal scrolling.
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584
585@table @kbd
586@item C-x <
587Scroll text in current window to the left (@code{scroll-left}).
588@item C-x >
589Scroll to the right (@code{scroll-right}).
590@end table
591
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592@kindex C-x <
593@kindex C-x >
594@findex scroll-left
595@findex scroll-right
596 The command @kbd{C-x <} (@code{scroll-left}) scrolls the selected
597window to the left by @var{n} columns with argument @var{n}. This moves
598part of the beginning of each line off the left edge of the window.
599With no argument, it scrolls by almost the full width of the window (two
600columns less, to be precise).
601
602 @kbd{C-x >} (@code{scroll-right}) scrolls similarly to the right. The
603window cannot be scrolled any farther to the right once it is displayed
604normally (with each line starting at the window's left margin);
605attempting to do so has no effect. This means that you don't have to
606calculate the argument precisely for @w{@kbd{C-x >}}; any sufficiently large
607argument will restore the normal display.
608
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609 If you scroll a window horizontally by hand, that sets a lower bound
610for automatic horizontal scrolling. Automatic scrolling will continue
97357fc9 611to scroll the window, but never farther to the right than the amount
e598186c 612you previously set by @code{scroll-left}.
6bf7aab6 613
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614@vindex automatic-hscrolling
615 To disable automatic horizontal scrolling, set the variable
616@code{automatic-hscrolling} to @code{nil}.
03ff8aab 617
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618@node Follow Mode
619@section Follow Mode
620@cindex Follow mode
621@cindex mode, Follow
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622@findex follow-mode
623@cindex windows, synchronizing
624@cindex synchronizing windows
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625
626 @dfn{Follow mode} is a minor mode that makes two windows showing the
627same buffer scroll as one tall ``virtual window.'' To use Follow mode,
628go to a frame with just one window, split it into two side-by-side
629windows using @kbd{C-x 3}, and then type @kbd{M-x follow-mode}. From
630then on, you can edit the buffer in either of the two windows, or scroll
631either one; the other window follows it.
632
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633 In Follow mode, if you move point outside the portion visible in one
634window and into the portion visible in the other window, that selects
635the other window---again, treating the two as if they were parts of
636one large window.
637
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638 To turn off Follow mode, type @kbd{M-x follow-mode} a second time.
639
640@node Selective Display
641@section Selective Display
4946337d 642@cindex selective display
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643@findex set-selective-display
644@kindex C-x $
645
646 Emacs has the ability to hide lines indented more than a certain number
647of columns (you specify how many columns). You can use this to get an
648overview of a part of a program.
649
650 To hide lines, type @kbd{C-x $} (@code{set-selective-display}) with a
651numeric argument @var{n}. Then lines with at least @var{n} columns of
652indentation disappear from the screen. The only indication of their
653presence is that three dots (@samp{@dots{}}) appear at the end of each
654visible line that is followed by one or more hidden ones.
655
656 The commands @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} move across the hidden lines as
657if they were not there.
658
659 The hidden lines are still present in the buffer, and most editing
660commands see them as usual, so you may find point in the middle of the
661hidden text. When this happens, the cursor appears at the end of the
662previous line, after the three dots. If point is at the end of the
663visible line, before the newline that ends it, the cursor appears before
664the three dots.
665
666 To make all lines visible again, type @kbd{C-x $} with no argument.
667
668@vindex selective-display-ellipses
669 If you set the variable @code{selective-display-ellipses} to
670@code{nil}, the three dots do not appear at the end of a line that
671precedes hidden lines. Then there is no visible indication of the
672hidden lines. This variable becomes local automatically when set.
673
674@node Optional Mode Line
675@section Optional Mode Line Features
676
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677@cindex line number display
678@cindex display of line number
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679@findex line-number-mode
680 The current line number of point appears in the mode line when Line
681Number mode is enabled. Use the command @kbd{M-x line-number-mode} to
682turn this mode on and off; normally it is on. The line number appears
683before the buffer percentage @var{pos}, with the letter @samp{L} to
684indicate what it is. @xref{Minor Modes}, for more information about
685minor modes and about how to use this command.
686
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687@cindex narrowing, and line number display
688 If you have narrowed the buffer (@pxref{Narrowing}), the displayed
689line number is relative to the accessible portion of the buffer.
690
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691@vindex line-number-display-limit
692 If the buffer is very large (larger than the value of
693@code{line-number-display-limit}), then the line number doesn't appear.
694Emacs doesn't compute the line number when the buffer is large, because
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695that would be too slow. Set it to @code{nil} to remove the limit.
696
697@vindex line-number-display-limit-width
698 Line-number computation can also be slow if the lines in the buffer
699are too long. For this reason, Emacs normally doesn't display line
700numbers if the average width, in characters, of lines near point is
701larger than the value of the variable
702@code{line-number-display-limit-width}. The default value is 200
703characters.
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704
705@cindex Column Number mode
706@cindex mode, Column Number
707@findex column-number-mode
708 You can also display the current column number by turning on Column
709Number mode. It displays the current column number preceded by the
710letter @samp{C}. Type @kbd{M-x column-number-mode} to toggle this mode.
711
712@findex display-time
713@cindex time (on mode line)
714 Emacs can optionally display the time and system load in all mode
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715lines. To enable this feature, type @kbd{M-x display-time} or customize
716the option @code{display-time-mode}. The information added to the mode
717line usually appears after the buffer name, before the mode names and
718their parentheses. It looks like this:
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719
720@example
721@var{hh}:@var{mm}pm @var{l.ll}
722@end example
723
724@noindent
725@vindex display-time-24hr-format
726Here @var{hh} and @var{mm} are the hour and minute, followed always by
727@samp{am} or @samp{pm}. @var{l.ll} is the average number of running
728processes in the whole system recently. (Some fields may be missing if
729your operating system cannot support them.) If you prefer time display
730in 24-hour format, set the variable @code{display-time-24hr-format}
731to @code{t}.
732
733@cindex mail (on mode line)
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734@vindex display-time-use-mail-icon
735@vindex display-time-mail-face
6bf7aab6 736 The word @samp{Mail} appears after the load level if there is mail
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737for you that you have not read yet. On a graphical display you can use
738an icon instead of @samp{Mail} by customizing
739@code{display-time-use-mail-icon}; this may save some space on the mode
740line. You can customize @code{display-time-mail-face} to make the mail
741indicator prominent.
6bf7aab6 742
47d7776c 743@cindex mode line, 3D appearance
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744@cindex attributes of mode line, changing
745@cindex non-integral number of lines in a window
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746 By default, the mode line is drawn on graphics displays with
7473D-style highlighting, like that of a button when it is not being
748pressed. If you don't like this effect, you can disable the 3D
749highlighting of the mode line, by customizing the attributes of the
750@code{mode-line} face in your @file{.emacs} init file, like this:
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751
752@example
04d0b662 753(set-face-attribute 'mode-line nil :box nil)
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754@end example
755
756@noindent
04d0b662 757Alternatively, you can turn off the box attribute in your
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758@file{.Xdefaults} file:
759
760@example
04d0b662 761Emacs.mode-line.AttributeBox: off
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762@end example
763
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764@node Text Display
765@section How Text Is Displayed
766@cindex characters (in text)
767
768 ASCII printing characters (octal codes 040 through 0176) in Emacs
13b9ee95 769buffers are displayed with their graphics, as are non-ASCII multibyte
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770printing characters (octal codes above 0400).
771
772 Some ASCII control characters are displayed in special ways. The
773newline character (octal code 012) is displayed by starting a new line.
774The tab character (octal code 011) is displayed by moving to the next
775tab stop column (normally every 8 columns).
776
777 Other ASCII control characters are normally displayed as a caret
778(@samp{^}) followed by the non-control version of the character; thus,
779control-A is displayed as @samp{^A}.
780
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781 Non-ASCII characters 0200 through 0237 (octal) are displayed with
782octal escape sequences; thus, character code 0230 (octal) is displayed
783as @samp{\230}. The display of character codes 0240 through 0377
784(octal) may be either as escape sequences or as graphics. They do not
04d0b662 785normally occur in multibyte buffers, but if they do, they are displayed
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786as Latin-1 graphics. In unibyte mode, if you enable European display
787they are displayed using their graphics (assuming your terminal supports
788them), otherwise as escape sequences. @xref{Single-Byte Character
789Support}.
6bf7aab6 790
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791@node Display Custom
792@section Customization of Display
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793
794 This section contains information for customization only. Beginning
795users should skip it.
796
797@vindex mode-line-inverse-video
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798 The variable @code{mode-line-inverse-video} is an obsolete way of
799controlling whether the mode line is displayed in inverse video; the
800preferred way of doing this is to change the @code{mode-line} face.
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801@xref{Mode Line}. However, if @code{mode-line-inverse-video} has a
802value of @code{nil}, then the @code{mode-line} face will be ignored,
803and mode-lines will be drawn using the default text face.
804@xref{Faces}.
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805
806@vindex inverse-video
807 If the variable @code{inverse-video} is non-@code{nil}, Emacs attempts
808to invert all the lines of the display from what they normally are.
809
810@vindex visible-bell
811 If the variable @code{visible-bell} is non-@code{nil}, Emacs attempts
812to make the whole screen blink when it would normally make an audible bell
813sound. This variable has no effect if your terminal does not have a way
814to make the screen blink.@refill
815
816@vindex no-redraw-on-reenter
817 When you reenter Emacs after suspending, Emacs normally clears the
818screen and redraws the entire display. On some terminals with more than
819one page of memory, it is possible to arrange the termcap entry so that
820the @samp{ti} and @samp{te} strings (output to the terminal when Emacs
821is entered and exited, respectively) switch between pages of memory so
822as to use one page for Emacs and another page for other output. Then
823you might want to set the variable @code{no-redraw-on-reenter}
824non-@code{nil}; this tells Emacs to assume, when resumed, that the
825screen page it is using still contains what Emacs last wrote there.
826
827@vindex echo-keystrokes
828 The variable @code{echo-keystrokes} controls the echoing of multi-character
829keys; its value is the number of seconds of pause required to cause echoing
830to start, or zero meaning don't echo at all. @xref{Echo Area}.
831
832@vindex ctl-arrow
13b9ee95 833 If the variable @code{ctl-arrow} is @code{nil}, all control characters in
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834the buffer are displayed with octal escape sequences, except for newline
835and tab. Altering the value of @code{ctl-arrow} makes it local to the
836current buffer; until that time, the default value is in effect. The
837default is initially @code{t}. @xref{Display Tables,, Display Tables,
838elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
839
840@vindex tab-width
841 Normally, a tab character in the buffer is displayed as whitespace which
842extends to the next display tab stop position, and display tab stops come
843at intervals equal to eight spaces. The number of spaces per tab is
844controlled by the variable @code{tab-width}, which is made local by
845changing it, just like @code{ctl-arrow}. Note that how the tab character
846in the buffer is displayed has nothing to do with the definition of
847@key{TAB} as a command. The variable @code{tab-width} must have an
848integer value between 1 and 1000, inclusive.
849
850@c @vindex truncate-lines @c No index entry here, because we have one
851@c in the continuation section.
852 If the variable @code{truncate-lines} is non-@code{nil}, then each
853line of text gets just one screen line for display; if the text line is
854too long, display shows only the part that fits. If
855@code{truncate-lines} is @code{nil}, then long text lines display as
856more than one screen line, enough to show the whole text of the line.
857@xref{Continuation Lines}. Altering the value of @code{truncate-lines}
858makes it local to the current buffer; until that time, the default value
859is in effect. The default is initially @code{nil}.
860
861@c @vindex truncate-partial-width-windows @c Idx entry is in Split Windows.
862 If the variable @code{truncate-partial-width-windows} is
863non-@code{nil}, it forces truncation rather than continuation in any
864window less than the full width of the screen or frame, regardless of
865the value of @code{truncate-lines}. For information about side-by-side
866windows, see @ref{Split Window}. See also @ref{Display,, Display,
867elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
868
869@vindex baud-rate
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870 The variable @code{baud-rate} holds the output speed of the
871terminal, as far as Emacs knows. Setting this variable does not
872change the speed of actual data transmission, but the value is used
873for calculations. On terminals, it affects padding, and decisions
874about whether to scroll part of the screen or redraw it instead.
c39937ea 875It also affects the behavior of incremental search.
860dab78 876
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877 On window-systems, @code{baud-rate} is only used to determine how
878frequently to look for pending input during display updating. A
879higher value of @code{baud-rate} means that check for pending input
880will be done less frequently.
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881
882 You can customize the way any particular character code is displayed
883by means of a display table. @xref{Display Tables,, Display Tables,
884elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
e598186c 885
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886@cindex hourglass pointer display
887@vindex hourglass-delay
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888 On a window system, Emacs can optionally display the mouse pointer
889in a special shape to say that Emacs is busy. To turn this feature on
890or off, customize the group @code{cursor}. You can also control the
891amount of time Emacs must remain busy before the busy indicator is
62095f01 892displayed, by setting the variable @code{hourglass-delay}.
099bfef9 893
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894@findex tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors
895 On some text-only terminals, bold face and inverse video together
896result in text that is hard to read. Call the function
897@code{tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors} with a non-@code{nil}
898argument to suppress the effect of bold-face in this case.
899
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900@node Cursor Display
901@section Displaying the Cursor
902
e598186c 903@findex hl-line-mode
843c16a5 904@cindex highlight current line
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905@findex blink-cursor-mode
906@cindex cursor, locating visually
907@cindex cursor, blinking
908 There are a number of ways to customize the display of the cursor.
777fcecf 909@kbd{M-x hl-line-mode} enables or disables a minor mode which
099bfef9 910highlights the line containing point. On window systems, the command
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911@kbd{M-x blink-cursor-mode} turns on or off the blinking of the
912cursor. (On terminals, the terminal itself blinks the cursor, and
87c8b5fd 913Emacs has no control over it.)
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914
915 You can customize the cursor's color, and whether it blinks, using
916the @code{cursor} Custom group (@pxref{Easy Customization}).
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917
918@vindex x-stretch-cursor
919@cindex wide block cursor
920 When displaying on a window system, Emacs can optionally draw the
921block cursor as wide as the character under the cursor---for example,
922if the cursor is on a tab character, it would cover the full width
923occupied by that tab character. To enable this feature, set the
924variable @code{x-stretch-cursor} to a non-@code{nil} value.
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925
926@cindex cursor in non-selected windows
927@vindex cursor-in-non-selected-windows
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928 Normally, the cursor in non-selected windows is shown as a hollow box.
929To turn off cursor display in non-selected windows, customize the option
5359ed91 930@code{cursor-in-non-selected-windows} to assign it a @code{nil} value.