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[bpt/emacs.git] / admin / nt / README.W32
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72d40630 1 Emacs for Windows NT and Windows 95/98/2000/XP
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31098a38 3 This README file describes how to set up and run a precompiled version
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4 of GNU Emacs for Windows NT and Windows 95/98/2000/XP. This
5 distribution can be found on the ftp.gnu.org server and its mirrors:
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72d40630 7 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/windows/emacs/latest/
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8
9 This server contains other distributions, including the full Emacs
10 source distribution and the lisp source distribution, as well as older
11 releases of Emacs for Windows.
12
13 Answers to frequently asked questions, and further information about
14 this port of GNU Emacs and related software packages can be found via
15 http or ftp:
16
17 http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/windows/ntemacs.html
18 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/windows/emacs/docs/ntemacs.html
19
20* Preliminaries
21
22 Along with this file should be six subdirectories (bin, etc, info,
23 lisp, lock, site-lisp). Depending on which distribution you have
24 installed, the lisp subdirectory might contain both the lisp source
25 (*.el) and compiled lisp files (*.elc), or just the compiled lisp
26 files. If you don't have the lisp source files, you can obtain them
27 by downloading the lisp source distribution or the full source
28 distribution from the ftp site mentioned above.
29
30* Setting up Emacs
31
32 To install Emacs, simply unpack all the files into a directory of your
33 choice, but note that you might encounter minor problems if there is a
34 space anywhere in the directory name. To complete the installation
35 process, you can optionally run the program addpm.exe in the bin
36 subdirectory. This will add some entries to the registry that tell
37 Emacs where to find its support files, and put an icon for Emacs in
38 the Start Menu under "Start -> Programs -> Gnu Emacs -> Emacs".
39
40 Some users have reported that the Start Menu item is not created for
41 them. If this happens, just create your own shortcut to runemacs.exe,
42 eg. by dragging it on to the desktop or the Start button.
43
44 Note that running addpm is now an optional step; Emacs is able to
45 locate all of its files without needing the information to be set in
46 the environment or the registry, although such settings will still be
47 obeyed if present. This is convenient for running Emacs on a machine
48 which disallows registry changes, or on which software should not be
49 installed. For instance, you can now run Emacs directly from a CD
50 without copying or installing anything on the machine itself.
51
52* Starting Emacs
53
54 To run Emacs, simply select Emacs from the Start Menu, or invoke
55 runemacs.exe directly from Explorer or a command prompt. This will
56 start Emacs in its default GUI mode, ready to use. If you have never
57 used Emacs before, you should follow the tutorial at this point
58 (select Emacs Tutorial from the Help menu), since Emacs is quite
59 different from ordinary Windows applications in many respects.
60
61 If you want to use Emacs in tty or character mode within a command
62 window, you can start it by typing "emacs -nw" at the command prompt.
63 (Obviously, you need to ensure that the Emacs bin subdirectory is in
64 your PATH first, or specify the path to emacs.exe.) The -nw
65 (non-windowed) mode of operation is most useful if you have a telnet
66 server on your machine, allowing you to run Emacs remotely.
67
68* Uninstalling Emacs
69
70 If you should need to uninstall Emacs, simply delete all the files and
71 subdirectories from the directory where it was unpacked (Emacs does
72 not install or update any files in system directories or anywhere
73 else). If you ran the addpm.exe program to create the registry
74 entries and the Start menu icon, then you can remove the registry
75 entries using regedit. All of the settings are written under the
76 Software\GNU\Emacs key in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, or if you didn't have
77 administrator privileges, the same key in HKEY_CURRENT_USER. Just
78 delete the Software\GNU\Emacs key.
79
80 The Start menu entry can be removed by right-clicking on the Task bar
81 and selecting Properties, then using the Remove option on the Start
82 Menu Programs page. (If you installed under an account with
83 administrator privileges, then you need to click the Advanced button
84 and look for the Gnu Emacs menu item under All Users.)
85
86* Troubleshooting
87
88 Unpacking the distributions
89
90 If you encounter trouble trying to run Emacs, there are a number of
91 possible causes. If you didn't use the versions of tar and gunzip (or
92 djtarnt) on the above ftp site, it is possible that the distribution
93 became corrupted while it was being unpacked. Check the following for
94 indications that the distribution was not corrupted:
95
96 * Be sure to disable the CR/LF translation or the executables will
97 be unusable. Older versions of WinZipNT would enable this
98 translation by default. If you are using WinZipNT, disable it.
99 (I don't have WinZipNT myself, and I do not know the specific
100 commands necessary to disable it.)
101
102 * Check that filenames were not truncated to 8.3. For example,
103 there should be a file lisp\abbrevlist.elc; if this has been
104 truncated to abbrevli.elc, your distribution has been corrupted
105 while unpacking and Emacs will not start.
106
107 * Users have said that some utilities (WinZip again?) don't create
108 the lock subdirectory. You can create the lock directory by hand
109 (it is normally empty).
110
111 * Users have also reported that the gnu-win32 tar corrupts the
112 executables. Use the version of tar or djtarnt on the ftp.gnu.org
113 site instead.
114
115 If you believe you have unpacked the distributions correctly and are
116 still encountering problems, see the section on Further Information
117 below.
118
119 Virus scanners
120
121 Some virus scanners interfere with Emacs' use of subprocesses. If you
122 are unable to use subprocesses and you use Dr. Solomon's WinGuard or
123 McAfee's Vshield, turn off "Scan all files" (WinGuard) or "boot sector
124 scanning" (McAfee exclusion properties).
125
126* Further information
127
128 If you have access to the World Wide Web, I would recommend pointing
129 your favorite web browser to following the document (if you haven't
130 already):
131
132 http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/windows/ntemacs.html
133
134 This document serves as an FAQ and a source for further information
135 about the Windows port and related software packages.
136
137 In addition to the FAQ, there is a mailing list for discussing issues
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138 related to the Windows port of Emacs. For information about the
139 list, see this Web page:
140
141 http://mail.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/help-emacs-windows
142
143 To ask questions on the mailing list, send email to
144 help-emacs-windows@gnu.org. (You don't need to subscribe for that.)
145 To subscribe to the list or unsubscribe from it, fill the form you
146 find at http://mail.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/help-emacs-windows as
147 explained there.
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148
149 Another valuable source of information and help which should not be
150 overlooked is the various Usenet news groups dedicated to Emacs.
151 These are particuarly good for help with general issues which aren't
152 specific to the Windows port of Emacs. The main news groups to use
153 for seeking help are:
154
155 gnu.emacs.help
156 comp.emacs
157
158 There are also fairly regular postings and announcements of new or
159 updated Emacs packages on this group:
160
161 gnu.emacs.sources
162
163* Reporting bugs
164
165 If you encounter a bug in this port of Emacs, we would like to hear
166 about it. First check the FAQ on the web page above to see if the bug
167 is already known and if there are any workarounds. Then check whether
168 the bug has something to do with code in your .emacs file, e.g. by
169 invoking Emacs with the "-q --no-site-file" options.
170
171 If you decide that it is a bug in Emacs that might be specific to the
172 Windows port, send a message to the ntemacs-users@cs.washington.edu
173 mailing list describing the bug, the version of Emacs that you are
174 using, and the operating system that you are running on (Windows NT,
175 2000, 95 or 98 including service pack level if known). If the bug is
176 related to subprocesses, also specify which shell you are using (e.g.,
177 include the values of `shell-file-name' and `shell-explicit-file-name'
178 in your message).
179
180 If you think the bug is not specific to the Windows port of Emacs,
181 then it is better to mail the bug report to bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org so
182 that it will be seen by the right people. If Emacs has been set up to
183 send mail, you can use the command M-x report-emacs-bug to create and
184 send the bug report, but in some cases there is a function to report
185 bugs in a specific package; e.g. M-x gnus-bug for Gnus, M-x
186 c-submit-bug-report for C/C++/Java mode, etc.
187
678c6e62 188 Enjoy!