(Font Lookup): Remove obsolete function
[bpt/emacs.git] / doc / lispref / display.texi
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1@c -*-texinfo-*-
2@c This is part of the GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual.
3@c Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
6ed161e1 4@c 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
b8d4c8d0 5@c See the file elisp.texi for copying conditions.
6336d8c3 6@setfilename ../../info/display
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7@node Display, System Interface, Processes, Top
8@chapter Emacs Display
9
10 This chapter describes a number of features related to the display
11that Emacs presents to the user.
12
13@menu
14* Refresh Screen:: Clearing the screen and redrawing everything on it.
15* Forcing Redisplay:: Forcing redisplay.
16* Truncation:: Folding or wrapping long text lines.
17* The Echo Area:: Displaying messages at the bottom of the screen.
18* Warnings:: Displaying warning messages for the user.
19* Invisible Text:: Hiding part of the buffer text.
20* Selective Display:: Hiding part of the buffer text (the old way).
21* Temporary Displays:: Displays that go away automatically.
22* Overlays:: Use overlays to highlight parts of the buffer.
23* Width:: How wide a character or string is on the screen.
24* Line Height:: Controlling the height of lines.
25* Faces:: A face defines a graphics style for text characters:
26 font, colors, etc.
27* Fringes:: Controlling window fringes.
28* Scroll Bars:: Controlling vertical scroll bars.
29* Display Property:: Enabling special display features.
30* Images:: Displaying images in Emacs buffers.
31* Buttons:: Adding clickable buttons to Emacs buffers.
32* Abstract Display:: Emacs' Widget for Object Collections.
33* Blinking:: How Emacs shows the matching open parenthesis.
34* Usual Display:: The usual conventions for displaying nonprinting chars.
35* Display Tables:: How to specify other conventions.
36* Beeping:: Audible signal to the user.
37* Window Systems:: Which window system is being used.
38@end menu
39
40@node Refresh Screen
41@section Refreshing the Screen
42
43 The function @code{redraw-frame} clears and redisplays the entire
44contents of a given frame (@pxref{Frames}). This is useful if the
45screen is corrupted.
46
47@c Emacs 19 feature
48@defun redraw-frame frame
49This function clears and redisplays frame @var{frame}.
50@end defun
51
52 Even more powerful is @code{redraw-display}:
53
54@deffn Command redraw-display
55This function clears and redisplays all visible frames.
56@end deffn
57
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58 In Emacs, processing user input takes priority over redisplay. If
59you call these functions when input is available, they don't redisplay
60immediately, but the requested redisplay does happen
61eventually---after all the input has been processed.
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62
63 Normally, suspending and resuming Emacs also refreshes the screen.
64Some terminal emulators record separate contents for display-oriented
65programs such as Emacs and for ordinary sequential display. If you are
66using such a terminal, you might want to inhibit the redisplay on
67resumption.
68
69@defvar no-redraw-on-reenter
70@cindex suspend (cf. @code{no-redraw-on-reenter})
71@cindex resume (cf. @code{no-redraw-on-reenter})
72This variable controls whether Emacs redraws the entire screen after it
73has been suspended and resumed. Non-@code{nil} means there is no need
74to redraw, @code{nil} means redrawing is needed. The default is @code{nil}.
75@end defvar
76
77@node Forcing Redisplay
78@section Forcing Redisplay
79@cindex forcing redisplay
80
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81 Emacs normally tries to redisplay the screen whenever it waits for
82input. With this function you can request an immediate attempt to
83redisplay, in the middle of Lisp code, without actually waiting for
84input.
85
86@defun redisplay &optional force
87This function tries immediately to redisplay, provided there are no
88pending input events. It is equivalent to @code{(sit-for 0)}.
89
90If the optional argument @var{force} is non-@code{nil}, it does all
91pending redisplay work even if input is available, with no
92pre-emption.
93
94The function returns @code{t} if it actually tried to redisplay, and
95@code{nil} otherwise. A value of @code{t} does not mean that
96redisplay proceeded to completion; it could have been pre-empted by
97newly arriving terminal input.
98@end defun
99
100 @code{redisplay} with no argument tries immediately to redisplay,
101but has no effect on the usual rules for what parts of the screen to
102redisplay. By contrast, the following function adds certain windows
103to the pending redisplay work (as if their contents had completely
104changed), but doesn't immediately try to do any redisplay work.
105
106@defun force-window-update &optional object
107This function forces some or all windows to be updated on next
108redisplay. If @var{object} is a window, it requires eventual
109redisplay of that window. If @var{object} is a buffer or buffer name,
110it requires eventual redisplay of all windows displaying that buffer.
111If @var{object} is @code{nil} (or omitted), it requires eventual
112redisplay of all windows.
113@end defun
114
115 @code{force-window-update} does not do a redisplay immediately.
116(Emacs will do that when it waits for input.) Rather, its effect is
117to put more work on the queue to be done by redisplay whenever there
118is a chance.
119
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120 Emacs redisplay normally stops if input arrives, and does not happen
121at all if input is available before it starts. Most of the time, this
122is exactly what you want. However, you can prevent preemption by
123binding @code{redisplay-dont-pause} to a non-@code{nil} value.
124
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125@defvar redisplay-dont-pause
126If this variable is non-@code{nil}, pending input does not
127prevent or halt redisplay; redisplay occurs, and finishes,
128regardless of whether input is available.
129@end defvar
130
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131@defvar redisplay-preemption-period
132This variable specifies how many seconds Emacs waits between checks
133for new input during redisplay. (The default is 0.1 seconds.) If
134input has arrived when Emacs checks, it pre-empts redisplay and
135processes the available input before trying again to redisplay.
136
137If this variable is @code{nil}, Emacs does not check for input during
138redisplay, and redisplay cannot be preempted by input.
139
140This variable is only obeyed on graphical terminals. For
141text terminals, see @ref{Terminal Output}.
142@end defvar
143
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144@node Truncation
145@section Truncation
146@cindex line wrapping
147@cindex line truncation
148@cindex continuation lines
149@cindex @samp{$} in display
150@cindex @samp{\} in display
151
152 When a line of text extends beyond the right edge of a window, Emacs
153can @dfn{continue} the line (make it ``wrap'' to the next screen
154line), or @dfn{truncate} the line (limit it to one screen line). The
155additional screen lines used to display a long text line are called
156@dfn{continuation} lines. Continuation is not the same as filling;
157continuation happens on the screen only, not in the buffer contents,
158and it breaks a line precisely at the right margin, not at a word
159boundary. @xref{Filling}.
160
161 On a graphical display, tiny arrow images in the window fringes
162indicate truncated and continued lines (@pxref{Fringes}). On a text
163terminal, a @samp{$} in the rightmost column of the window indicates
164truncation; a @samp{\} on the rightmost column indicates a line that
165``wraps.'' (The display table can specify alternate characters to use
166for this; @pxref{Display Tables}).
167
168@defopt truncate-lines
169This buffer-local variable controls how Emacs displays lines that extend
170beyond the right edge of the window. The default is @code{nil}, which
171specifies continuation. If the value is non-@code{nil}, then these
172lines are truncated.
173
174If the variable @code{truncate-partial-width-windows} is non-@code{nil},
175then truncation is always used for side-by-side windows (within one
176frame) regardless of the value of @code{truncate-lines}.
177@end defopt
178
179@defopt default-truncate-lines
180This variable is the default value for @code{truncate-lines}, for
181buffers that do not have buffer-local values for it.
182@end defopt
183
184@defopt truncate-partial-width-windows
185This variable controls display of lines that extend beyond the right
186edge of the window, in side-by-side windows (@pxref{Splitting Windows}).
187If it is non-@code{nil}, these lines are truncated; otherwise,
188@code{truncate-lines} says what to do with them.
189@end defopt
190
191 When horizontal scrolling (@pxref{Horizontal Scrolling}) is in use in
192a window, that forces truncation.
193
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194@defvar wrap-prefix
195If this buffer-local variable is non-@code{nil}, the prefix it defines
196will be added at display-time to the beginning of every continuation
197line due to text wrapping (so if lines are truncated, the wrap-prefix
198is never used). It may be a string, an image, or a stretch-glyph such
199as used by the `display' text-property. @xref{Display Property}.
200
201A wrap-prefix may also be specified for regions of text using the
202@code{wrap-prefix} text-property (which takes precedence over the
203value of the @code{wrap-prefix} variable). @xref{Special Properties}.
204@end defvar
205
206@defvar line-prefix
207If this buffer-local variable is non-@code{nil}, the prefix it defines
208will be added at display-time to the beginning of every
209non-continuation line It may be a string, an image, or a stretch-glyph
210such as used by the `display' text-property. @xref{Display Property}.
211
212A line-prefix may also be specified for regions of text using the
213@code{line-prefix} text-property (which takes precedence over the
214value of the @code{line-prefix} variable). @xref{Special Properties}.
215@end defvar
216
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217 If your buffer contains @emph{very} long lines, and you use
218continuation to display them, just thinking about them can make Emacs
219redisplay slow. The column computation and indentation functions also
220become slow. Then you might find it advisable to set
221@code{cache-long-line-scans} to @code{t}.
222
223@defvar cache-long-line-scans
224If this variable is non-@code{nil}, various indentation and motion
225functions, and Emacs redisplay, cache the results of scanning the
226buffer, and consult the cache to avoid rescanning regions of the buffer
227unless they are modified.
228
229Turning on the cache slows down processing of short lines somewhat.
230
231This variable is automatically buffer-local in every buffer.
232@end defvar
233
234@node The Echo Area
235@section The Echo Area
236@cindex error display
237@cindex echo area
238
239 The @dfn{echo area} is used for displaying error messages
240(@pxref{Errors}), for messages made with the @code{message} primitive,
241and for echoing keystrokes. It is not the same as the minibuffer,
242despite the fact that the minibuffer appears (when active) in the same
243place on the screen as the echo area. The @cite{GNU Emacs Manual}
244specifies the rules for resolving conflicts between the echo area and
245the minibuffer for use of that screen space (@pxref{Minibuffer,, The
246Minibuffer, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}).
247
248 You can write output in the echo area by using the Lisp printing
249functions with @code{t} as the stream (@pxref{Output Functions}), or
250explicitly.
251
252@menu
253* Displaying Messages:: Explicitly displaying text in the echo area.
254* Progress:: Informing user about progress of a long operation.
255* Logging Messages:: Echo area messages are logged for the user.
256* Echo Area Customization:: Controlling the echo area.
257@end menu
258
259@node Displaying Messages
260@subsection Displaying Messages in the Echo Area
261@cindex display message in echo area
262
263 This section describes the functions for explicitly producing echo
264area messages. Many other Emacs features display messages there, too.
265
266@defun message format-string &rest arguments
267This function displays a message in the echo area. The argument
268@var{format-string} is similar to a C language @code{printf} format
269string. See @code{format} in @ref{Formatting Strings}, for the details
270on the conversion specifications. @code{message} returns the
271constructed string.
272
273In batch mode, @code{message} prints the message text on the standard
274error stream, followed by a newline.
275
276If @var{format-string}, or strings among the @var{arguments}, have
277@code{face} text properties, these affect the way the message is displayed.
278
279@c Emacs 19 feature
280If @var{format-string} is @code{nil} or the empty string,
281@code{message} clears the echo area; if the echo area has been
282expanded automatically, this brings it back to its normal size.
283If the minibuffer is active, this brings the minibuffer contents back
284onto the screen immediately.
285
286@example
287@group
288(message "Minibuffer depth is %d."
289 (minibuffer-depth))
290 @print{} Minibuffer depth is 0.
291@result{} "Minibuffer depth is 0."
292@end group
293
294@group
295---------- Echo Area ----------
296Minibuffer depth is 0.
297---------- Echo Area ----------
298@end group
299@end example
300
301To automatically display a message in the echo area or in a pop-buffer,
302depending on its size, use @code{display-message-or-buffer} (see below).
303@end defun
304
305@defmac with-temp-message message &rest body
306This construct displays a message in the echo area temporarily, during
307the execution of @var{body}. It displays @var{message}, executes
308@var{body}, then returns the value of the last body form while restoring
309the previous echo area contents.
310@end defmac
311
312@defun message-or-box format-string &rest arguments
313This function displays a message like @code{message}, but may display it
314in a dialog box instead of the echo area. If this function is called in
315a command that was invoked using the mouse---more precisely, if
316@code{last-nonmenu-event} (@pxref{Command Loop Info}) is either
317@code{nil} or a list---then it uses a dialog box or pop-up menu to
318display the message. Otherwise, it uses the echo area. (This is the
319same criterion that @code{y-or-n-p} uses to make a similar decision; see
320@ref{Yes-or-No Queries}.)
321
322You can force use of the mouse or of the echo area by binding
323@code{last-nonmenu-event} to a suitable value around the call.
324@end defun
325
326@defun message-box format-string &rest arguments
327@anchor{message-box}
328This function displays a message like @code{message}, but uses a dialog
329box (or a pop-up menu) whenever that is possible. If it is impossible
330to use a dialog box or pop-up menu, because the terminal does not
331support them, then @code{message-box} uses the echo area, like
332@code{message}.
333@end defun
334
335@defun display-message-or-buffer message &optional buffer-name not-this-window frame
336This function displays the message @var{message}, which may be either a
337string or a buffer. If it is shorter than the maximum height of the
338echo area, as defined by @code{max-mini-window-height}, it is displayed
339in the echo area, using @code{message}. Otherwise,
340@code{display-buffer} is used to show it in a pop-up buffer.
341
342Returns either the string shown in the echo area, or when a pop-up
343buffer is used, the window used to display it.
344
345If @var{message} is a string, then the optional argument
346@var{buffer-name} is the name of the buffer used to display it when a
347pop-up buffer is used, defaulting to @samp{*Message*}. In the case
348where @var{message} is a string and displayed in the echo area, it is
349not specified whether the contents are inserted into the buffer anyway.
350
351The optional arguments @var{not-this-window} and @var{frame} are as for
352@code{display-buffer}, and only used if a buffer is displayed.
353@end defun
354
355@defun current-message
356This function returns the message currently being displayed in the
357echo area, or @code{nil} if there is none.
358@end defun
359
360@node Progress
361@subsection Reporting Operation Progress
362@cindex progress reporting
363
364 When an operation can take a while to finish, you should inform the
365user about the progress it makes. This way the user can estimate
366remaining time and clearly see that Emacs is busy working, not hung.
367
368 Functions listed in this section provide simple and efficient way of
369reporting operation progress. Here is a working example that does
370nothing useful:
371
372@smallexample
373(let ((progress-reporter
374 (make-progress-reporter "Collecting mana for Emacs..."
375 0 500)))
376 (dotimes (k 500)
377 (sit-for 0.01)
378 (progress-reporter-update progress-reporter k))
379 (progress-reporter-done progress-reporter))
380@end smallexample
381
382@defun make-progress-reporter message min-value max-value &optional current-value min-change min-time
383This function creates and returns a @dfn{progress reporter}---an
384object you will use as an argument for all other functions listed
385here. The idea is to precompute as much data as possible to make
386progress reporting very fast.
387
388When this progress reporter is subsequently used, it will display
389@var{message} in the echo area, followed by progress percentage.
390@var{message} is treated as a simple string. If you need it to depend
391on a filename, for instance, use @code{format} before calling this
392function.
393
394@var{min-value} and @var{max-value} arguments stand for starting and
395final states of your operation. For instance, if you scan a buffer,
396they should be the results of @code{point-min} and @code{point-max}
397correspondingly. It is required that @var{max-value} is greater than
398@var{min-value}. If you create progress reporter when some part of
399the operation has already been completed, then specify
400@var{current-value} argument. But normally you should omit it or set
401it to @code{nil}---it will default to @var{min-value} then.
402
403Remaining arguments control the rate of echo area updates. Progress
404reporter will wait for at least @var{min-change} more percents of the
405operation to be completed before printing next message.
406@var{min-time} specifies the minimum time in seconds to pass between
407successive prints. It can be fractional. Depending on Emacs and
408system capabilities, progress reporter may or may not respect this
409last argument or do it with varying precision. Default value for
410@var{min-change} is 1 (one percent), for @var{min-time}---0.2
411(seconds.)
412
413This function calls @code{progress-reporter-update}, so the first
414message is printed immediately.
415@end defun
416
417@defun progress-reporter-update reporter value
418This function does the main work of reporting progress of your
419operation. It displays the message of @var{reporter}, followed by
420progress percentage determined by @var{value}. If percentage is zero,
421or close enough according to the @var{min-change} and @var{min-time}
422arguments, then it is omitted from the output.
423
424@var{reporter} must be the result of a call to
425@code{make-progress-reporter}. @var{value} specifies the current
426state of your operation and must be between @var{min-value} and
427@var{max-value} (inclusive) as passed to
428@code{make-progress-reporter}. For instance, if you scan a buffer,
429then @var{value} should be the result of a call to @code{point}.
430
431This function respects @var{min-change} and @var{min-time} as passed
432to @code{make-progress-reporter} and so does not output new messages
433on every invocation. It is thus very fast and normally you should not
434try to reduce the number of calls to it: resulting overhead will most
435likely negate your effort.
436@end defun
437
438@defun progress-reporter-force-update reporter value &optional new-message
439This function is similar to @code{progress-reporter-update} except
440that it prints a message in the echo area unconditionally.
441
442The first two arguments have the same meaning as for
443@code{progress-reporter-update}. Optional @var{new-message} allows
444you to change the message of the @var{reporter}. Since this functions
445always updates the echo area, such a change will be immediately
446presented to the user.
447@end defun
448
449@defun progress-reporter-done reporter
450This function should be called when the operation is finished. It
451prints the message of @var{reporter} followed by word ``done'' in the
452echo area.
453
454You should always call this function and not hope for
455@code{progress-reporter-update} to print ``100%.'' Firstly, it may
456never print it, there are many good reasons for this not to happen.
457Secondly, ``done'' is more explicit.
458@end defun
459
460@defmac dotimes-with-progress-reporter (var count [result]) message body@dots{}
461This is a convenience macro that works the same way as @code{dotimes}
462does, but also reports loop progress using the functions described
463above. It allows you to save some typing.
464
465You can rewrite the example in the beginning of this node using
466this macro this way:
467
468@example
469(dotimes-with-progress-reporter
470 (k 500)
471 "Collecting some mana for Emacs..."
472 (sit-for 0.01))
473@end example
474@end defmac
475
476@node Logging Messages
477@subsection Logging Messages in @samp{*Messages*}
478@cindex logging echo-area messages
479
480 Almost all the messages displayed in the echo area are also recorded
481in the @samp{*Messages*} buffer so that the user can refer back to
482them. This includes all the messages that are output with
483@code{message}.
484
485@defopt message-log-max
486This variable specifies how many lines to keep in the @samp{*Messages*}
487buffer. The value @code{t} means there is no limit on how many lines to
488keep. The value @code{nil} disables message logging entirely. Here's
489how to display a message and prevent it from being logged:
490
491@example
492(let (message-log-max)
493 (message @dots{}))
494@end example
495@end defopt
496
497 To make @samp{*Messages*} more convenient for the user, the logging
498facility combines successive identical messages. It also combines
499successive related messages for the sake of two cases: question
500followed by answer, and a series of progress messages.
501
502 A ``question followed by an answer'' means two messages like the
503ones produced by @code{y-or-n-p}: the first is @samp{@var{question}},
504and the second is @samp{@var{question}...@var{answer}}. The first
505message conveys no additional information beyond what's in the second,
506so logging the second message discards the first from the log.
507
508 A ``series of progress messages'' means successive messages like
509those produced by @code{make-progress-reporter}. They have the form
510@samp{@var{base}...@var{how-far}}, where @var{base} is the same each
511time, while @var{how-far} varies. Logging each message in the series
512discards the previous one, provided they are consecutive.
513
514 The functions @code{make-progress-reporter} and @code{y-or-n-p}
515don't have to do anything special to activate the message log
516combination feature. It operates whenever two consecutive messages
517are logged that share a common prefix ending in @samp{...}.
518
519@node Echo Area Customization
520@subsection Echo Area Customization
521
522 These variables control details of how the echo area works.
523
524@defvar cursor-in-echo-area
525This variable controls where the cursor appears when a message is
526displayed in the echo area. If it is non-@code{nil}, then the cursor
527appears at the end of the message. Otherwise, the cursor appears at
528point---not in the echo area at all.
529
530The value is normally @code{nil}; Lisp programs bind it to @code{t}
531for brief periods of time.
532@end defvar
533
534@defvar echo-area-clear-hook
535This normal hook is run whenever the echo area is cleared---either by
536@code{(message nil)} or for any other reason.
537@end defvar
538
539@defvar echo-keystrokes
540This variable determines how much time should elapse before command
541characters echo. Its value must be an integer or floating point number,
542which specifies the
543number of seconds to wait before echoing. If the user types a prefix
544key (such as @kbd{C-x}) and then delays this many seconds before
545continuing, the prefix key is echoed in the echo area. (Once echoing
546begins in a key sequence, all subsequent characters in the same key
547sequence are echoed immediately.)
548
549If the value is zero, then command input is not echoed.
550@end defvar
551
552@defvar message-truncate-lines
553Normally, displaying a long message resizes the echo area to display
554the entire message. But if the variable @code{message-truncate-lines}
555is non-@code{nil}, the echo area does not resize, and the message is
556truncated to fit it, as in Emacs 20 and before.
557@end defvar
558
559 The variable @code{max-mini-window-height}, which specifies the
560maximum height for resizing minibuffer windows, also applies to the
561echo area (which is really a special use of the minibuffer window.
35539065 562@xref{Minibuffer Misc}.).
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563
564@node Warnings
565@section Reporting Warnings
566@cindex warnings
567
568 @dfn{Warnings} are a facility for a program to inform the user of a
569possible problem, but continue running.
570
571@menu
572* Warning Basics:: Warnings concepts and functions to report them.
573* Warning Variables:: Variables programs bind to customize their warnings.
574* Warning Options:: Variables users set to control display of warnings.
575@end menu
576
577@node Warning Basics
578@subsection Warning Basics
579@cindex severity level
580
581 Every warning has a textual message, which explains the problem for
582the user, and a @dfn{severity level} which is a symbol. Here are the
583possible severity levels, in order of decreasing severity, and their
584meanings:
585
586@table @code
587@item :emergency
588A problem that will seriously impair Emacs operation soon
589if you do not attend to it promptly.
590@item :error
591A report of data or circumstances that are inherently wrong.
592@item :warning
593A report of data or circumstances that are not inherently wrong, but
594raise suspicion of a possible problem.
595@item :debug
596A report of information that may be useful if you are debugging.
597@end table
598
599 When your program encounters invalid input data, it can either
600signal a Lisp error by calling @code{error} or @code{signal} or report
601a warning with severity @code{:error}. Signaling a Lisp error is the
602easiest thing to do, but it means the program cannot continue
603processing. If you want to take the trouble to implement a way to
604continue processing despite the bad data, then reporting a warning of
605severity @code{:error} is the right way to inform the user of the
606problem. For instance, the Emacs Lisp byte compiler can report an
607error that way and continue compiling other functions. (If the
608program signals a Lisp error and then handles it with
609@code{condition-case}, the user won't see the error message; it could
610show the message to the user by reporting it as a warning.)
611
612@cindex warning type
613 Each warning has a @dfn{warning type} to classify it. The type is a
614list of symbols. The first symbol should be the custom group that you
615use for the program's user options. For example, byte compiler
616warnings use the warning type @code{(bytecomp)}. You can also
617subcategorize the warnings, if you wish, by using more symbols in the
618list.
619
620@defun display-warning type message &optional level buffer-name
621This function reports a warning, using @var{message} as the message
622and @var{type} as the warning type. @var{level} should be the
623severity level, with @code{:warning} being the default.
624
625@var{buffer-name}, if non-@code{nil}, specifies the name of the buffer
626for logging the warning. By default, it is @samp{*Warnings*}.
627@end defun
628
629@defun lwarn type level message &rest args
630This function reports a warning using the value of @code{(format
631@var{message} @var{args}...)} as the message. In other respects it is
632equivalent to @code{display-warning}.
633@end defun
634
635@defun warn message &rest args
636This function reports a warning using the value of @code{(format
637@var{message} @var{args}...)} as the message, @code{(emacs)} as the
638type, and @code{:warning} as the severity level. It exists for
639compatibility only; we recommend not using it, because you should
640specify a specific warning type.
641@end defun
642
643@node Warning Variables
644@subsection Warning Variables
645
646 Programs can customize how their warnings appear by binding
647the variables described in this section.
648
649@defvar warning-levels
650This list defines the meaning and severity order of the warning
651severity levels. Each element defines one severity level,
652and they are arranged in order of decreasing severity.
653
654Each element has the form @code{(@var{level} @var{string}
655@var{function})}, where @var{level} is the severity level it defines.
656@var{string} specifies the textual description of this level.
657@var{string} should use @samp{%s} to specify where to put the warning
658type information, or it can omit the @samp{%s} so as not to include
659that information.
660
661The optional @var{function}, if non-@code{nil}, is a function to call
662with no arguments, to get the user's attention.
663
664Normally you should not change the value of this variable.
665@end defvar
666
667@defvar warning-prefix-function
668If non-@code{nil}, the value is a function to generate prefix text for
669warnings. Programs can bind the variable to a suitable function.
670@code{display-warning} calls this function with the warnings buffer
671current, and the function can insert text in it. That text becomes
672the beginning of the warning message.
673
674The function is called with two arguments, the severity level and its
675entry in @code{warning-levels}. It should return a list to use as the
676entry (this value need not be an actual member of
677@code{warning-levels}). By constructing this value, the function can
678change the severity of the warning, or specify different handling for
679a given severity level.
680
681If the variable's value is @code{nil} then there is no function
682to call.
683@end defvar
684
685@defvar warning-series
686Programs can bind this variable to @code{t} to say that the next
687warning should begin a series. When several warnings form a series,
688that means to leave point on the first warning of the series, rather
689than keep moving it for each warning so that it appears on the last one.
690The series ends when the local binding is unbound and
691@code{warning-series} becomes @code{nil} again.
692
693The value can also be a symbol with a function definition. That is
694equivalent to @code{t}, except that the next warning will also call
695the function with no arguments with the warnings buffer current. The
696function can insert text which will serve as a header for the series
697of warnings.
698
699Once a series has begun, the value is a marker which points to the
700buffer position in the warnings buffer of the start of the series.
701
702The variable's normal value is @code{nil}, which means to handle
703each warning separately.
704@end defvar
705
706@defvar warning-fill-prefix
707When this variable is non-@code{nil}, it specifies a fill prefix to
708use for filling each warning's text.
709@end defvar
710
711@defvar warning-type-format
712This variable specifies the format for displaying the warning type
713in the warning message. The result of formatting the type this way
714gets included in the message under the control of the string in the
715entry in @code{warning-levels}. The default value is @code{" (%s)"}.
716If you bind it to @code{""} then the warning type won't appear at
717all.
718@end defvar
719
720@node Warning Options
721@subsection Warning Options
722
723 These variables are used by users to control what happens
724when a Lisp program reports a warning.
725
726@defopt warning-minimum-level
727This user option specifies the minimum severity level that should be
728shown immediately to the user. The default is @code{:warning}, which
729means to immediately display all warnings except @code{:debug}
730warnings.
731@end defopt
732
733@defopt warning-minimum-log-level
734This user option specifies the minimum severity level that should be
735logged in the warnings buffer. The default is @code{:warning}, which
736means to log all warnings except @code{:debug} warnings.
737@end defopt
738
739@defopt warning-suppress-types
740This list specifies which warning types should not be displayed
741immediately for the user. Each element of the list should be a list
742of symbols. If its elements match the first elements in a warning
743type, then that warning is not displayed immediately.
744@end defopt
745
746@defopt warning-suppress-log-types
747This list specifies which warning types should not be logged in the
748warnings buffer. Each element of the list should be a list of
749symbols. If it matches the first few elements in a warning type, then
750that warning is not logged.
751@end defopt
752
753@node Invisible Text
754@section Invisible Text
755
756@cindex invisible text
757You can make characters @dfn{invisible}, so that they do not appear on
758the screen, with the @code{invisible} property. This can be either a
759text property (@pxref{Text Properties}) or a property of an overlay
760(@pxref{Overlays}). Cursor motion also partly ignores these
761characters; if the command loop finds point within them, it moves
762point to the other side of them.
763
764In the simplest case, any non-@code{nil} @code{invisible} property makes
765a character invisible. This is the default case---if you don't alter
766the default value of @code{buffer-invisibility-spec}, this is how the
767@code{invisible} property works. You should normally use @code{t}
768as the value of the @code{invisible} property if you don't plan
769to set @code{buffer-invisibility-spec} yourself.
770
771More generally, you can use the variable @code{buffer-invisibility-spec}
772to control which values of the @code{invisible} property make text
773invisible. This permits you to classify the text into different subsets
774in advance, by giving them different @code{invisible} values, and
775subsequently make various subsets visible or invisible by changing the
776value of @code{buffer-invisibility-spec}.
777
778Controlling visibility with @code{buffer-invisibility-spec} is
779especially useful in a program to display the list of entries in a
780database. It permits the implementation of convenient filtering
781commands to view just a part of the entries in the database. Setting
782this variable is very fast, much faster than scanning all the text in
783the buffer looking for properties to change.
784
785@defvar buffer-invisibility-spec
786This variable specifies which kinds of @code{invisible} properties
787actually make a character invisible. Setting this variable makes it
788buffer-local.
789
790@table @asis
791@item @code{t}
792A character is invisible if its @code{invisible} property is
793non-@code{nil}. This is the default.
794
795@item a list
796Each element of the list specifies a criterion for invisibility; if a
797character's @code{invisible} property fits any one of these criteria,
798the character is invisible. The list can have two kinds of elements:
799
800@table @code
801@item @var{atom}
802A character is invisible if its @code{invisible} property value
803is @var{atom} or if it is a list with @var{atom} as a member.
804
805@item (@var{atom} . t)
806A character is invisible if its @code{invisible} property value is
807@var{atom} or if it is a list with @var{atom} as a member. Moreover,
808a sequence of such characters displays as an ellipsis.
809@end table
810@end table
811@end defvar
812
813 Two functions are specifically provided for adding elements to
814@code{buffer-invisibility-spec} and removing elements from it.
815
816@defun add-to-invisibility-spec element
817This function adds the element @var{element} to
818@code{buffer-invisibility-spec}. If @code{buffer-invisibility-spec}
819was @code{t}, it changes to a list, @code{(t)}, so that text whose
820@code{invisible} property is @code{t} remains invisible.
821@end defun
822
823@defun remove-from-invisibility-spec element
824This removes the element @var{element} from
825@code{buffer-invisibility-spec}. This does nothing if @var{element}
826is not in the list.
827@end defun
828
829 A convention for use of @code{buffer-invisibility-spec} is that a
830major mode should use the mode's own name as an element of
831@code{buffer-invisibility-spec} and as the value of the
832@code{invisible} property:
833
834@example
835;; @r{If you want to display an ellipsis:}
836(add-to-invisibility-spec '(my-symbol . t))
837;; @r{If you don't want ellipsis:}
838(add-to-invisibility-spec 'my-symbol)
839
840(overlay-put (make-overlay beginning end)
841 'invisible 'my-symbol)
842
843;; @r{When done with the overlays:}
844(remove-from-invisibility-spec '(my-symbol . t))
845;; @r{Or respectively:}
846(remove-from-invisibility-spec 'my-symbol)
847@end example
848
849@vindex line-move-ignore-invisible
850 Ordinarily, functions that operate on text or move point do not care
851whether the text is invisible. The user-level line motion commands
852explicitly ignore invisible newlines if
853@code{line-move-ignore-invisible} is non-@code{nil} (the default), but
854only because they are explicitly programmed to do so.
855
856 However, if a command ends with point inside or immediately before
857invisible text, the main editing loop moves point further forward or
858further backward (in the same direction that the command already moved
859it) until that condition is no longer true. Thus, if the command
860moved point back into an invisible range, Emacs moves point back to
861the beginning of that range, and then back one more character. If the
862command moved point forward into an invisible range, Emacs moves point
863forward up to the first visible character that follows the invisible
864text.
865
866 Incremental search can make invisible overlays visible temporarily
867and/or permanently when a match includes invisible text. To enable
868this, the overlay should have a non-@code{nil}
869@code{isearch-open-invisible} property. The property value should be a
870function to be called with the overlay as an argument. This function
871should make the overlay visible permanently; it is used when the match
872overlaps the overlay on exit from the search.
873
874 During the search, such overlays are made temporarily visible by
875temporarily modifying their invisible and intangible properties. If you
876want this to be done differently for a certain overlay, give it an
877@code{isearch-open-invisible-temporary} property which is a function.
878The function is called with two arguments: the first is the overlay, and
879the second is @code{nil} to make the overlay visible, or @code{t} to
880make it invisible again.
881
882@node Selective Display
883@section Selective Display
884@c @cindex selective display Duplicates selective-display
885
886 @dfn{Selective display} refers to a pair of related features for
887hiding certain lines on the screen.
888
889 The first variant, explicit selective display, is designed for use
890in a Lisp program: it controls which lines are hidden by altering the
891text. This kind of hiding in some ways resembles the effect of the
892@code{invisible} property (@pxref{Invisible Text}), but the two
893features are different and do not work the same way.
894
895 In the second variant, the choice of lines to hide is made
896automatically based on indentation. This variant is designed to be a
897user-level feature.
898
899 The way you control explicit selective display is by replacing a
900newline (control-j) with a carriage return (control-m). The text that
901was formerly a line following that newline is now hidden. Strictly
902speaking, it is temporarily no longer a line at all, since only
903newlines can separate lines; it is now part of the previous line.
904
905 Selective display does not directly affect editing commands. For
906example, @kbd{C-f} (@code{forward-char}) moves point unhesitatingly
907into hidden text. However, the replacement of newline characters with
908carriage return characters affects some editing commands. For
909example, @code{next-line} skips hidden lines, since it searches only
910for newlines. Modes that use selective display can also define
911commands that take account of the newlines, or that control which
912parts of the text are hidden.
913
914 When you write a selectively displayed buffer into a file, all the
915control-m's are output as newlines. This means that when you next read
916in the file, it looks OK, with nothing hidden. The selective display
917effect is seen only within Emacs.
918
919@defvar selective-display
920This buffer-local variable enables selective display. This means that
921lines, or portions of lines, may be made hidden.
922
923@itemize @bullet
924@item
925If the value of @code{selective-display} is @code{t}, then the character
926control-m marks the start of hidden text; the control-m, and the rest
927of the line following it, are not displayed. This is explicit selective
928display.
929
930@item
931If the value of @code{selective-display} is a positive integer, then
932lines that start with more than that many columns of indentation are not
933displayed.
934@end itemize
935
936When some portion of a buffer is hidden, the vertical movement
937commands operate as if that portion did not exist, allowing a single
938@code{next-line} command to skip any number of hidden lines.
939However, character movement commands (such as @code{forward-char}) do
940not skip the hidden portion, and it is possible (if tricky) to insert
941or delete text in an hidden portion.
942
943In the examples below, we show the @emph{display appearance} of the
944buffer @code{foo}, which changes with the value of
945@code{selective-display}. The @emph{contents} of the buffer do not
946change.
947
948@example
949@group
950(setq selective-display nil)
951 @result{} nil
952
953---------- Buffer: foo ----------
9541 on this column
955 2on this column
956 3n this column
957 3n this column
958 2on this column
9591 on this column
960---------- Buffer: foo ----------
961@end group
962
963@group
964(setq selective-display 2)
965 @result{} 2
966
967---------- Buffer: foo ----------
9681 on this column
969 2on this column
970 2on this column
9711 on this column
972---------- Buffer: foo ----------
973@end group
974@end example
975@end defvar
976
977@defvar selective-display-ellipses
978If this buffer-local variable is non-@code{nil}, then Emacs displays
979@samp{@dots{}} at the end of a line that is followed by hidden text.
980This example is a continuation of the previous one.
981
982@example
983@group
984(setq selective-display-ellipses t)
985 @result{} t
986
987---------- Buffer: foo ----------
9881 on this column
989 2on this column ...
990 2on this column
9911 on this column
992---------- Buffer: foo ----------
993@end group
994@end example
995
996You can use a display table to substitute other text for the ellipsis
997(@samp{@dots{}}). @xref{Display Tables}.
998@end defvar
999
1000@node Temporary Displays
1001@section Temporary Displays
1002
1003 Temporary displays are used by Lisp programs to put output into a
1004buffer and then present it to the user for perusal rather than for
1005editing. Many help commands use this feature.
1006
1007@defspec with-output-to-temp-buffer buffer-name forms@dots{}
1008This function executes @var{forms} while arranging to insert any output
1009they print into the buffer named @var{buffer-name}, which is first
1010created if necessary, and put into Help mode. Finally, the buffer is
1011displayed in some window, but not selected.
1012
1013If the @var{forms} do not change the major mode in the output buffer,
1014so that it is still Help mode at the end of their execution, then
1015@code{with-output-to-temp-buffer} makes this buffer read-only at the
1016end, and also scans it for function and variable names to make them
1017into clickable cross-references. @xref{Docstring hyperlinks, , Tips
1018for Documentation Strings}, in particular the item on hyperlinks in
1019documentation strings, for more details.
1020
1021The string @var{buffer-name} specifies the temporary buffer, which
1022need not already exist. The argument must be a string, not a buffer.
1023The buffer is erased initially (with no questions asked), and it is
1024marked as unmodified after @code{with-output-to-temp-buffer} exits.
1025
1026@code{with-output-to-temp-buffer} binds @code{standard-output} to the
1027temporary buffer, then it evaluates the forms in @var{forms}. Output
1028using the Lisp output functions within @var{forms} goes by default to
1029that buffer (but screen display and messages in the echo area, although
1030they are ``output'' in the general sense of the word, are not affected).
1031@xref{Output Functions}.
1032
1033Several hooks are available for customizing the behavior
1034of this construct; they are listed below.
1035
1036The value of the last form in @var{forms} is returned.
1037
1038@example
1039@group
1040---------- Buffer: foo ----------
1041 This is the contents of foo.
1042---------- Buffer: foo ----------
1043@end group
1044
1045@group
1046(with-output-to-temp-buffer "foo"
1047 (print 20)
1048 (print standard-output))
1049@result{} #<buffer foo>
1050
1051---------- Buffer: foo ----------
105220
1053
1054#<buffer foo>
1055
1056---------- Buffer: foo ----------
1057@end group
1058@end example
1059@end defspec
1060
1061@defvar temp-buffer-show-function
1062If this variable is non-@code{nil}, @code{with-output-to-temp-buffer}
1063calls it as a function to do the job of displaying a help buffer. The
1064function gets one argument, which is the buffer it should display.
1065
1066It is a good idea for this function to run @code{temp-buffer-show-hook}
1067just as @code{with-output-to-temp-buffer} normally would, inside of
1068@code{save-selected-window} and with the chosen window and buffer
1069selected.
1070@end defvar
1071
1072@defvar temp-buffer-setup-hook
1073This normal hook is run by @code{with-output-to-temp-buffer} before
1074evaluating @var{body}. When the hook runs, the temporary buffer is
1075current. This hook is normally set up with a function to put the
1076buffer in Help mode.
1077@end defvar
1078
1079@defvar temp-buffer-show-hook
1080This normal hook is run by @code{with-output-to-temp-buffer} after
1081displaying the temporary buffer. When the hook runs, the temporary buffer
6733e827 1082is current, and the window it was displayed in is selected.
b8d4c8d0
GM
1083@end defvar
1084
1085@defun momentary-string-display string position &optional char message
1086This function momentarily displays @var{string} in the current buffer at
1087@var{position}. It has no effect on the undo list or on the buffer's
1088modification status.
1089
1090The momentary display remains until the next input event. If the next
1091input event is @var{char}, @code{momentary-string-display} ignores it
1092and returns. Otherwise, that event remains buffered for subsequent use
1093as input. Thus, typing @var{char} will simply remove the string from
1094the display, while typing (say) @kbd{C-f} will remove the string from
1095the display and later (presumably) move point forward. The argument
1096@var{char} is a space by default.
1097
1098The return value of @code{momentary-string-display} is not meaningful.
1099
1100If the string @var{string} does not contain control characters, you can
1101do the same job in a more general way by creating (and then subsequently
1102deleting) an overlay with a @code{before-string} property.
1103@xref{Overlay Properties}.
1104
1105If @var{message} is non-@code{nil}, it is displayed in the echo area
1106while @var{string} is displayed in the buffer. If it is @code{nil}, a
1107default message says to type @var{char} to continue.
1108
1109In this example, point is initially located at the beginning of the
1110second line:
1111
1112@example
1113@group
1114---------- Buffer: foo ----------
1115This is the contents of foo.
1116@point{}Second line.
1117---------- Buffer: foo ----------
1118@end group
1119
1120@group
1121(momentary-string-display
1122 "**** Important Message! ****"
1123 (point) ?\r
1124 "Type RET when done reading")
1125@result{} t
1126@end group
1127
1128@group
1129---------- Buffer: foo ----------
1130This is the contents of foo.
1131**** Important Message! ****Second line.
1132---------- Buffer: foo ----------
1133
1134---------- Echo Area ----------
1135Type RET when done reading
1136---------- Echo Area ----------
1137@end group
1138@end example
1139@end defun
1140
1141@node Overlays
1142@section Overlays
1143@cindex overlays
1144
1145You can use @dfn{overlays} to alter the appearance of a buffer's text on
1146the screen, for the sake of presentation features. An overlay is an
1147object that belongs to a particular buffer, and has a specified
1148beginning and end. It also has properties that you can examine and set;
1149these affect the display of the text within the overlay.
1150
1151An overlay uses markers to record its beginning and end; thus,
1152editing the text of the buffer adjusts the beginning and end of each
1153overlay so that it stays with the text. When you create the overlay,
1154you can specify whether text inserted at the beginning should be
1155inside the overlay or outside, and likewise for the end of the overlay.
1156
1157@menu
1158* Managing Overlays:: Creating and moving overlays.
1159* Overlay Properties:: How to read and set properties.
1160 What properties do to the screen display.
1161* Finding Overlays:: Searching for overlays.
1162@end menu
1163
1164@node Managing Overlays
1165@subsection Managing Overlays
1166
1167 This section describes the functions to create, delete and move
1168overlays, and to examine their contents. Overlay changes are not
1169recorded in the buffer's undo list, since the overlays are not
1170part of the buffer's contents.
1171
1172@defun overlayp object
1173This function returns @code{t} if @var{object} is an overlay.
1174@end defun
1175
1176@defun make-overlay start end &optional buffer front-advance rear-advance
1177This function creates and returns an overlay that belongs to
1178@var{buffer} and ranges from @var{start} to @var{end}. Both @var{start}
1179and @var{end} must specify buffer positions; they may be integers or
1180markers. If @var{buffer} is omitted, the overlay is created in the
1181current buffer.
1182
1183The arguments @var{front-advance} and @var{rear-advance} specify the
1184marker insertion type for the start of the overlay and for the end of
1185the overlay, respectively. @xref{Marker Insertion Types}. If they
1186are both @code{nil}, the default, then the overlay extends to include
1187any text inserted at the beginning, but not text inserted at the end.
1188If @var{front-advance} is non-@code{nil}, text inserted at the
1189beginning of the overlay is excluded from the overlay. If
1190@var{rear-advance} is non-@code{nil}, text inserted at the end of the
1191overlay is included in the overlay.
1192@end defun
1193
1194@defun overlay-start overlay
1195This function returns the position at which @var{overlay} starts,
1196as an integer.
1197@end defun
1198
1199@defun overlay-end overlay
1200This function returns the position at which @var{overlay} ends,
1201as an integer.
1202@end defun
1203
1204@defun overlay-buffer overlay
1205This function returns the buffer that @var{overlay} belongs to. It
1206returns @code{nil} if @var{overlay} has been deleted.
1207@end defun
1208
1209@defun delete-overlay overlay
1210This function deletes @var{overlay}. The overlay continues to exist as
1211a Lisp object, and its property list is unchanged, but it ceases to be
1212attached to the buffer it belonged to, and ceases to have any effect on
1213display.
1214
1215A deleted overlay is not permanently disconnected. You can give it a
1216position in a buffer again by calling @code{move-overlay}.
1217@end defun
1218
1219@defun move-overlay overlay start end &optional buffer
1220This function moves @var{overlay} to @var{buffer}, and places its bounds
1221at @var{start} and @var{end}. Both arguments @var{start} and @var{end}
1222must specify buffer positions; they may be integers or markers.
1223
1224If @var{buffer} is omitted, @var{overlay} stays in the same buffer it
1225was already associated with; if @var{overlay} was deleted, it goes into
1226the current buffer.
1227
1228The return value is @var{overlay}.
1229
1230This is the only valid way to change the endpoints of an overlay. Do
1231not try modifying the markers in the overlay by hand, as that fails to
1232update other vital data structures and can cause some overlays to be
1233``lost.''
1234@end defun
1235
1236@defun remove-overlays &optional start end name value
1237This function removes all the overlays between @var{start} and
1238@var{end} whose property @var{name} has the value @var{value}. It can
1239move the endpoints of the overlays in the region, or split them.
1240
1241If @var{name} is omitted or @code{nil}, it means to delete all overlays in
1242the specified region. If @var{start} and/or @var{end} are omitted or
1243@code{nil}, that means the beginning and end of the buffer respectively.
1244Therefore, @code{(remove-overlays)} removes all the overlays in the
1245current buffer.
1246@end defun
1247
1248 Here are some examples:
1249
1250@example
1251;; @r{Create an overlay.}
1252(setq foo (make-overlay 1 10))
1253 @result{} #<overlay from 1 to 10 in display.texi>
1254(overlay-start foo)
1255 @result{} 1
1256(overlay-end foo)
1257 @result{} 10
1258(overlay-buffer foo)
1259 @result{} #<buffer display.texi>
1260;; @r{Give it a property we can check later.}
1261(overlay-put foo 'happy t)
1262 @result{} t
1263;; @r{Verify the property is present.}
1264(overlay-get foo 'happy)
1265 @result{} t
1266;; @r{Move the overlay.}
1267(move-overlay foo 5 20)
1268 @result{} #<overlay from 5 to 20 in display.texi>
1269(overlay-start foo)
1270 @result{} 5
1271(overlay-end foo)
1272 @result{} 20
1273;; @r{Delete the overlay.}
1274(delete-overlay foo)
1275 @result{} nil
1276;; @r{Verify it is deleted.}
1277foo
1278 @result{} #<overlay in no buffer>
1279;; @r{A deleted overlay has no position.}
1280(overlay-start foo)
1281 @result{} nil
1282(overlay-end foo)
1283 @result{} nil
1284(overlay-buffer foo)
1285 @result{} nil
1286;; @r{Undelete the overlay.}
1287(move-overlay foo 1 20)
1288 @result{} #<overlay from 1 to 20 in display.texi>
1289;; @r{Verify the results.}
1290(overlay-start foo)
1291 @result{} 1
1292(overlay-end foo)
1293 @result{} 20
1294(overlay-buffer foo)
1295 @result{} #<buffer display.texi>
1296;; @r{Moving and deleting the overlay does not change its properties.}
1297(overlay-get foo 'happy)
1298 @result{} t
1299@end example
1300
1301 Emacs stores the overlays of each buffer in two lists, divided
1302around an arbitrary ``center position.'' One list extends backwards
1303through the buffer from that center position, and the other extends
1304forwards from that center position. The center position can be anywhere
1305in the buffer.
1306
1307@defun overlay-recenter pos
1308This function recenters the overlays of the current buffer around
1309position @var{pos}. That makes overlay lookup faster for positions
1310near @var{pos}, but slower for positions far away from @var{pos}.
1311@end defun
1312
1313 A loop that scans the buffer forwards, creating overlays, can run
1314faster if you do @code{(overlay-recenter (point-max))} first.
1315
1316@node Overlay Properties
1317@subsection Overlay Properties
1318
1319 Overlay properties are like text properties in that the properties that
1320alter how a character is displayed can come from either source. But in
1321most respects they are different. @xref{Text Properties}, for comparison.
1322
1323 Text properties are considered a part of the text; overlays and
1324their properties are specifically considered not to be part of the
1325text. Thus, copying text between various buffers and strings
1326preserves text properties, but does not try to preserve overlays.
1327Changing a buffer's text properties marks the buffer as modified,
1328while moving an overlay or changing its properties does not. Unlike
1329text property changes, overlay property changes are not recorded in
1330the buffer's undo list.
1331
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1332 Since more than one overlay can specify a property value for the
1333same character, Emacs lets you specify a priority value of each
1334overlay. You should not make assumptions about which overlay will
1335prevail when there is a conflict and they have the same priority.
1336
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1337 These functions read and set the properties of an overlay:
1338
1339@defun overlay-get overlay prop
1340This function returns the value of property @var{prop} recorded in
1341@var{overlay}, if any. If @var{overlay} does not record any value for
1342that property, but it does have a @code{category} property which is a
1343symbol, that symbol's @var{prop} property is used. Otherwise, the value
1344is @code{nil}.
1345@end defun
1346
1347@defun overlay-put overlay prop value
1348This function sets the value of property @var{prop} recorded in
1349@var{overlay} to @var{value}. It returns @var{value}.
1350@end defun
1351
1352@defun overlay-properties overlay
1353This returns a copy of the property list of @var{overlay}.
1354@end defun
1355
1356 See also the function @code{get-char-property} which checks both
1357overlay properties and text properties for a given character.
1358@xref{Examining Properties}.
1359
1360 Many overlay properties have special meanings; here is a table
1361of them:
1362
1363@table @code
1364@item priority
1365@kindex priority @r{(overlay property)}
1366This property's value (which should be a nonnegative integer number)
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1367determines the priority of the overlay. No priority, or @code{nil},
1368means zero.
1369
1370The priority matters when two or more overlays cover the same
1371character and both specify the same property; the one whose
1372@code{priority} value is larger overrides the other. For the
1373@code{face} property, the higher priority overlay's value does not
1374completely override the other value; instead, its face attributes
1375override the face attributes of the lower priority @code{face}
1376property.
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1377
1378Currently, all overlays take priority over text properties. Please
1379avoid using negative priority values, as we have not yet decided just
1380what they should mean.
1381
1382@item window
1383@kindex window @r{(overlay property)}
1384If the @code{window} property is non-@code{nil}, then the overlay
1385applies only on that window.
1386
1387@item category
1388@kindex category @r{(overlay property)}
1389If an overlay has a @code{category} property, we call it the
1390@dfn{category} of the overlay. It should be a symbol. The properties
1391of the symbol serve as defaults for the properties of the overlay.
1392
1393@item face
1394@kindex face @r{(overlay property)}
1395This property controls the way text is displayed---for example, which
1396font and which colors. @xref{Faces}, for more information.
1397
1398In the simplest case, the value is a face name. It can also be a list;
1399then each element can be any of these possibilities:
1400
1401@itemize @bullet
1402@item
1403A face name (a symbol or string).
1404
1405@item
1406A property list of face attributes. This has the form (@var{keyword}
1407@var{value} @dots{}), where each @var{keyword} is a face attribute
1408name and @var{value} is a meaningful value for that attribute. With
1409this feature, you do not need to create a face each time you want to
1410specify a particular attribute for certain text. @xref{Face
1411Attributes}.
1412
1413@item
1414A cons cell, either of the form @code{(foreground-color . @var{color-name})} or
1415@code{(background-color . @var{color-name})}. These elements specify
1416just the foreground color or just the background color.
1417
1418@code{(foreground-color . @var{color-name})} has the same effect as
1419@code{(:foreground @var{color-name})}; likewise for the background.
1420@end itemize
1421
1422@item mouse-face
1423@kindex mouse-face @r{(overlay property)}
1424This property is used instead of @code{face} when the mouse is within
1425the range of the overlay.
1426
1427@item display
1428@kindex display @r{(overlay property)}
1429This property activates various features that change the
1430way text is displayed. For example, it can make text appear taller
1431or shorter, higher or lower, wider or narrower, or replaced with an image.
1432@xref{Display Property}.
1433
1434@item help-echo
1435@kindex help-echo @r{(overlay property)}
1436If an overlay has a @code{help-echo} property, then when you move the
1437mouse onto the text in the overlay, Emacs displays a help string in the
1438echo area, or in the tooltip window. For details see @ref{Text
1439help-echo}.
1440
1441@item modification-hooks
1442@kindex modification-hooks @r{(overlay property)}
1443This property's value is a list of functions to be called if any
1444character within the overlay is changed or if text is inserted strictly
1445within the overlay.
1446
1447The hook functions are called both before and after each change.
1448If the functions save the information they receive, and compare notes
1449between calls, they can determine exactly what change has been made
1450in the buffer text.
1451
1452When called before a change, each function receives four arguments: the
1453overlay, @code{nil}, and the beginning and end of the text range to be
1454modified.
1455
1456When called after a change, each function receives five arguments: the
1457overlay, @code{t}, the beginning and end of the text range just
1458modified, and the length of the pre-change text replaced by that range.
1459(For an insertion, the pre-change length is zero; for a deletion, that
1460length is the number of characters deleted, and the post-change
1461beginning and end are equal.)
1462
1463If these functions modify the buffer, they should bind
1464@code{inhibit-modification-hooks} to @code{t} around doing so, to
1465avoid confusing the internal mechanism that calls these hooks.
1466
1467Text properties also support the @code{modification-hooks} property,
1468but the details are somewhat different (@pxref{Special Properties}).
1469
1470@item insert-in-front-hooks
1471@kindex insert-in-front-hooks @r{(overlay property)}
1472This property's value is a list of functions to be called before and
1473after inserting text right at the beginning of the overlay. The calling
1474conventions are the same as for the @code{modification-hooks} functions.
1475
1476@item insert-behind-hooks
1477@kindex insert-behind-hooks @r{(overlay property)}
1478This property's value is a list of functions to be called before and
1479after inserting text right at the end of the overlay. The calling
1480conventions are the same as for the @code{modification-hooks} functions.
1481
1482@item invisible
1483@kindex invisible @r{(overlay property)}
1484The @code{invisible} property can make the text in the overlay
1485invisible, which means that it does not appear on the screen.
1486@xref{Invisible Text}, for details.
1487
1488@item intangible
1489@kindex intangible @r{(overlay property)}
1490The @code{intangible} property on an overlay works just like the
1491@code{intangible} text property. @xref{Special Properties}, for details.
1492
1493@item isearch-open-invisible
1494This property tells incremental search how to make an invisible overlay
1495visible, permanently, if the final match overlaps it. @xref{Invisible
1496Text}.
1497
1498@item isearch-open-invisible-temporary
1499This property tells incremental search how to make an invisible overlay
1500visible, temporarily, during the search. @xref{Invisible Text}.
1501
1502@item before-string
1503@kindex before-string @r{(overlay property)}
1504This property's value is a string to add to the display at the beginning
1505of the overlay. The string does not appear in the buffer in any
1506sense---only on the screen.
1507
1508@item after-string
1509@kindex after-string @r{(overlay property)}
1510This property's value is a string to add to the display at the end of
1511the overlay. The string does not appear in the buffer in any
1512sense---only on the screen.
1513
1514@item evaporate
1515@kindex evaporate @r{(overlay property)}
1516If this property is non-@code{nil}, the overlay is deleted automatically
1517if it becomes empty (i.e., if its length becomes zero). If you give
1518an empty overlay a non-@code{nil} @code{evaporate} property, that deletes
1519it immediately.
1520
1521@item local-map
1522@cindex keymap of character (and overlays)
1523@kindex local-map @r{(overlay property)}
1524If this property is non-@code{nil}, it specifies a keymap for a portion
1525of the text. The property's value replaces the buffer's local map, when
1526the character after point is within the overlay. @xref{Active Keymaps}.
1527
1528@item keymap
1529@kindex keymap @r{(overlay property)}
1530The @code{keymap} property is similar to @code{local-map} but overrides the
1531buffer's local map (and the map specified by the @code{local-map}
1532property) rather than replacing it.
1533@end table
1534
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1535The @code{local-map} and @code{keymap} properties do not affect a
1536string displayed by the @code{before-string}, @code{after-string}, or
1537@code{display} properties. This is only relevant for mouse clicks and
1538other mouse events that fall on the string, since point is never on
1539the string. To bind special mouse events for the string, assign it a
1540@code{local-map} or @code{keymap} text property. @xref{Special
1541Properties}.
1542
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1543@node Finding Overlays
1544@subsection Searching for Overlays
1545
1546@defun overlays-at pos
1547This function returns a list of all the overlays that cover the
1548character at position @var{pos} in the current buffer. The list is in
1549no particular order. An overlay contains position @var{pos} if it
1550begins at or before @var{pos}, and ends after @var{pos}.
1551
1552To illustrate usage, here is a Lisp function that returns a list of the
1553overlays that specify property @var{prop} for the character at point:
1554
1555@smallexample
1556(defun find-overlays-specifying (prop)
1557 (let ((overlays (overlays-at (point)))
1558 found)
1559 (while overlays
1560 (let ((overlay (car overlays)))
1561 (if (overlay-get overlay prop)
1562 (setq found (cons overlay found))))
1563 (setq overlays (cdr overlays)))
1564 found))
1565@end smallexample
1566@end defun
1567
1568@defun overlays-in beg end
1569This function returns a list of the overlays that overlap the region
1570@var{beg} through @var{end}. ``Overlap'' means that at least one
1571character is contained within the overlay and also contained within the
1572specified region; however, empty overlays are included in the result if
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1573they are located at @var{beg}, strictly between @var{beg} and @var{end},
1574or at @var{end} when @var{end} denotes the position at the end of the
1575buffer.
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1576@end defun
1577
1578@defun next-overlay-change pos
1579This function returns the buffer position of the next beginning or end
1580of an overlay, after @var{pos}. If there is none, it returns
1581@code{(point-max)}.
1582@end defun
1583
1584@defun previous-overlay-change pos
1585This function returns the buffer position of the previous beginning or
1586end of an overlay, before @var{pos}. If there is none, it returns
1587@code{(point-min)}.
1588@end defun
1589
1590 As an example, here's a simplified (and inefficient) version of the
1591primitive function @code{next-single-char-property-change}
1592(@pxref{Property Search}). It searches forward from position
1593@var{pos} for the next position where the value of a given property
1594@code{prop}, as obtained from either overlays or text properties,
1595changes.
1596
1597@smallexample
1598(defun next-single-char-property-change (position prop)
1599 (save-excursion
1600 (goto-char position)
1601 (let ((propval (get-char-property (point) prop)))
1602 (while (and (not (eobp))
1603 (eq (get-char-property (point) prop) propval))
1604 (goto-char (min (next-overlay-change (point))
1605 (next-single-property-change (point) prop)))))
1606 (point)))
1607@end smallexample
1608
1609@node Width
1610@section Width
1611
1612Since not all characters have the same width, these functions let you
1613check the width of a character. @xref{Primitive Indent}, and
1614@ref{Screen Lines}, for related functions.
1615
1616@defun char-width char
1617This function returns the width in columns of the character @var{char},
1618if it were displayed in the current buffer and the selected window.
1619@end defun
1620
1621@defun string-width string
1622This function returns the width in columns of the string @var{string},
1623if it were displayed in the current buffer and the selected window.
1624@end defun
1625
1626@defun truncate-string-to-width string width &optional start-column padding ellipsis
1627This function returns the part of @var{string} that fits within
1628@var{width} columns, as a new string.
1629
1630If @var{string} does not reach @var{width}, then the result ends where
1631@var{string} ends. If one multi-column character in @var{string}
1632extends across the column @var{width}, that character is not included in
1633the result. Thus, the result can fall short of @var{width} but cannot
1634go beyond it.
1635
1636The optional argument @var{start-column} specifies the starting column.
1637If this is non-@code{nil}, then the first @var{start-column} columns of
1638the string are omitted from the value. If one multi-column character in
1639@var{string} extends across the column @var{start-column}, that
1640character is not included.
1641
1642The optional argument @var{padding}, if non-@code{nil}, is a padding
1643character added at the beginning and end of the result string, to extend
1644it to exactly @var{width} columns. The padding character is used at the
1645end of the result if it falls short of @var{width}. It is also used at
1646the beginning of the result if one multi-column character in
1647@var{string} extends across the column @var{start-column}.
1648
1649If @var{ellipsis} is non-@code{nil}, it should be a string which will
1650replace the end of @var{str} (including any padding) if it extends
1651beyond @var{end-column}, unless the display width of @var{str} is
1652equal to or less than the display width of @var{ellipsis}. If
1653@var{ellipsis} is non-@code{nil} and not a string, it stands for
1654@code{"..."}.
1655
1656@example
1657(truncate-string-to-width "\tab\t" 12 4)
1658 @result{} "ab"
1659(truncate-string-to-width "\tab\t" 12 4 ?\s)
1660 @result{} " ab "
1661@end example
1662@end defun
1663
1664@node Line Height
1665@section Line Height
1666@cindex line height
1667
1668 The total height of each display line consists of the height of the
1669contents of the line, plus optional additional vertical line spacing
1670above or below the display line.
1671
1672 The height of the line contents is the maximum height of any
1673character or image on that display line, including the final newline
1674if there is one. (A display line that is continued doesn't include a
1675final newline.) That is the default line height, if you do nothing to
1676specify a greater height. (In the most common case, this equals the
1677height of the default frame font.)
1678
1679 There are several ways to explicitly specify a larger line height,
1680either by specifying an absolute height for the display line, or by
1681specifying vertical space. However, no matter what you specify, the
1682actual line height can never be less than the default.
1683
1684@kindex line-height @r{(text property)}
1685 A newline can have a @code{line-height} text or overlay property
1686that controls the total height of the display line ending in that
1687newline.
1688
1689 If the property value is @code{t}, the newline character has no
1690effect on the displayed height of the line---the visible contents
1691alone determine the height. This is useful for tiling small images
1692(or image slices) without adding blank areas between the images.
1693
1694 If the property value is a list of the form @code{(@var{height}
1695@var{total})}, that adds extra space @emph{below} the display line.
1696First Emacs uses @var{height} as a height spec to control extra space
1697@emph{above} the line; then it adds enough space @emph{below} the line
1698to bring the total line height up to @var{total}. In this case, the
1699other ways to specify the line spacing are ignored.
1700
1701 Any other kind of property value is a height spec, which translates
1702into a number---the specified line height. There are several ways to
1703write a height spec; here's how each of them translates into a number:
1704
1705@table @code
1706@item @var{integer}
1707If the height spec is a positive integer, the height value is that integer.
1708@item @var{float}
1709If the height spec is a float, @var{float}, the numeric height value
1710is @var{float} times the frame's default line height.
1711@item (@var{face} . @var{ratio})
1712If the height spec is a cons of the format shown, the numeric height
1713is @var{ratio} times the height of face @var{face}. @var{ratio} can
1714be any type of number, or @code{nil} which means a ratio of 1.
1715If @var{face} is @code{t}, it refers to the current face.
1716@item (nil . @var{ratio})
1717If the height spec is a cons of the format shown, the numeric height
1718is @var{ratio} times the height of the contents of the line.
1719@end table
1720
1721 Thus, any valid height spec determines the height in pixels, one way
1722or another. If the line contents' height is less than that, Emacs
1723adds extra vertical space above the line to achieve the specified
1724total height.
1725
1726 If you don't specify the @code{line-height} property, the line's
1727height consists of the contents' height plus the line spacing.
1728There are several ways to specify the line spacing for different
1729parts of Emacs text.
1730
1731@vindex default-line-spacing
1732 You can specify the line spacing for all lines in a frame with the
1733@code{line-spacing} frame parameter (@pxref{Layout Parameters}).
1734However, if the variable @code{default-line-spacing} is
1735non-@code{nil}, it overrides the frame's @code{line-spacing}
1736parameter. An integer value specifies the number of pixels put below
1737lines on graphical displays. A floating point number specifies the
1738spacing relative to the frame's default line height.
1739
1740@vindex line-spacing
1741 You can specify the line spacing for all lines in a buffer via the
1742buffer-local @code{line-spacing} variable. An integer value specifies
1743the number of pixels put below lines on graphical displays. A floating
1744point number specifies the spacing relative to the default frame line
1745height. This overrides line spacings specified for the frame.
1746
1747@kindex line-spacing @r{(text property)}
1748 Finally, a newline can have a @code{line-spacing} text or overlay
1749property that overrides the default frame line spacing and the buffer
1750local @code{line-spacing} variable, for the display line ending in
1751that newline.
1752
1753 One way or another, these mechanisms specify a Lisp value for the
1754spacing of each line. The value is a height spec, and it translates
1755into a Lisp value as described above. However, in this case the
1756numeric height value specifies the line spacing, rather than the line
1757height.
1758
1759@node Faces
1760@section Faces
1761@cindex faces
1762
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1763 A @dfn{face} is a collection of graphical attributes for displaying
1764text: font family, foreground color, background color, optional
1765underlining, and so on. Faces control how buffer text is displayed,
1766and how some parts of the frame, such as the mode-line, are displayed.
1767@xref{Standard Faces,,, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}, for the list of
1768faces Emacs normally comes with.
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1769
1770@cindex face id
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1771 For most purposes, you refer to a face in Lisp programs using its
1772@dfn{face name}. This is either a string or (equivalently) a Lisp
1773symbol whose name is equal to that string.
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1774
1775@defun facep object
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1776This function returns a non-@code{nil} value if @var{object} is a Lisp
1777symbol or string that names a face. Otherwise, it returns @code{nil}.
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1778@end defun
1779
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1780 Each face name is meaningful for all frames, and by default it has
1781the same meaning in all frames. But you can arrange to give a
1782particular face name a special meaning in one frame if you wish.
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1783
1784@menu
1785* Defining Faces:: How to define a face with @code{defface}.
1786* Face Attributes:: What is in a face?
1787* Attribute Functions:: Functions to examine and set face attributes.
1788* Displaying Faces:: How Emacs combines the faces specified for a character.
d466a866 1789* Face Remapping:: Remapping faces to alternative definitions.
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1790* Face Functions:: How to define and examine faces.
1791* Auto Faces:: Hook for automatic face assignment.
9185bf49 1792* Font Selection:: Finding the best available font for a face.
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1793* Font Lookup:: Looking up the names of available fonts
1794 and information about them.
1795* Fontsets:: A fontset is a collection of fonts
1796 that handle a range of character sets.
c2aa555a 1797* Low-Level Font:: Lisp representation for character display fonts.
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1798@end menu
1799
1800@node Defining Faces
1801@subsection Defining Faces
1802
1803 The way to define a new face is with @code{defface}. This creates a
1804kind of customization item (@pxref{Customization}) which the user can
1805customize using the Customization buffer (@pxref{Easy Customization,,,
1806emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}).
1807
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1808 People are sometimes tempted to create variables whose values specify
1809which faces to use (for example, Font-Lock does this). In the vast
1810majority of cases, this is not necessary, and simply using faces
1811directly is preferable.
1812
b8d4c8d0 1813@defmac defface face spec doc [keyword value]@dots{}
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1814This declares @var{face} as a customizable face whose default
1815attributes are given by @var{spec}. You should not quote the symbol
1816@var{face}, and it should not end in @samp{-face} (that would be
1817redundant). The argument @var{doc} specifies the face documentation.
1818The keywords you can use in @code{defface} are the same as in
1819@code{defgroup} and @code{defcustom} (@pxref{Common Keywords}).
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1820
1821When @code{defface} executes, it defines the face according to
1822@var{spec}, then uses any customizations that were read from the
1823init file (@pxref{Init File}) to override that specification.
1824
1825When you evaluate a @code{defface} form with @kbd{C-M-x} in Emacs
1826Lisp mode (@code{eval-defun}), a special feature of @code{eval-defun}
1827overrides any customizations of the face. This way, the face reflects
1828exactly what the @code{defface} says.
1829
1830The purpose of @var{spec} is to specify how the face should appear on
1831different kinds of terminals. It should be an alist whose elements
1832have the form @code{(@var{display} @var{atts})}. Each element's
1833@sc{car}, @var{display}, specifies a class of terminals. (The first
1834element, if its @sc{car} is @code{default}, is special---it specifies
1835defaults for the remaining elements). The element's @sc{cadr},
1836@var{atts}, is a list of face attributes and their values; it
1837specifies what the face should look like on that kind of terminal.
1838The possible attributes are defined in the value of
1839@code{custom-face-attributes}.
1840
1841The @var{display} part of an element of @var{spec} determines which
1842frames the element matches. If more than one element of @var{spec}
1843matches a given frame, the first element that matches is the one used
1844for that frame. There are three possibilities for @var{display}:
1845
1846@table @asis
1847@item @code{default}
1848This element of @var{spec} doesn't match any frames; instead, it
1849specifies defaults that apply to all frames. This kind of element, if
1850used, must be the first element of @var{spec}. Each of the following
1851elements can override any or all of these defaults.
1852
1853@item @code{t}
1854This element of @var{spec} matches all frames. Therefore, any
1855subsequent elements of @var{spec} are never used. Normally
1856@code{t} is used in the last (or only) element of @var{spec}.
1857
1858@item a list
1859If @var{display} is a list, each element should have the form
1860@code{(@var{characteristic} @var{value}@dots{})}. Here
1861@var{characteristic} specifies a way of classifying frames, and the
1862@var{value}s are possible classifications which @var{display} should
1863apply to. Here are the possible values of @var{characteristic}:
1864
1865@table @code
1866@item type
1867The kind of window system the frame uses---either @code{graphic} (any
1868graphics-capable display), @code{x}, @code{pc} (for the MS-DOS console),
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1869@code{w32} (for MS Windows 9X/NT/2K/XP), or @code{tty}
1870(a non-graphics-capable display).
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1871@xref{Window Systems, window-system}.
1872
1873@item class
1874What kinds of colors the frame supports---either @code{color},
1875@code{grayscale}, or @code{mono}.
1876
1877@item background
1878The kind of background---either @code{light} or @code{dark}.
1879
1880@item min-colors
1881An integer that represents the minimum number of colors the frame
1882should support. This matches a frame if its
1883@code{display-color-cells} value is at least the specified integer.
1884
1885@item supports
1886Whether or not the frame can display the face attributes given in
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1887@var{value}@dots{} (@pxref{Face Attributes}). @xref{Display Face
1888Attribute Testing}, for more information on exactly how this testing
1889is done.
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1890@end table
1891
1892If an element of @var{display} specifies more than one @var{value} for a
1893given @var{characteristic}, any of those values is acceptable. If
1894@var{display} has more than one element, each element should specify a
1895different @var{characteristic}; then @emph{each} characteristic of the
1896frame must match one of the @var{value}s specified for it in
1897@var{display}.
1898@end table
1899@end defmac
1900
1901 Here's how the standard face @code{region} is defined:
1902
1903@example
1904@group
1905(defface region
1906 '((((class color) (min-colors 88) (background dark))
1907 :background "blue3")
1908@end group
1909 (((class color) (min-colors 88) (background light))
1910 :background "lightgoldenrod2")
1911 (((class color) (min-colors 16) (background dark))
1912 :background "blue3")
1913 (((class color) (min-colors 16) (background light))
1914 :background "lightgoldenrod2")
1915 (((class color) (min-colors 8))
1916 :background "blue" :foreground "white")
1917 (((type tty) (class mono))
1918 :inverse-video t)
1919 (t :background "gray"))
1920@group
1921 "Basic face for highlighting the region."
1922 :group 'basic-faces)
1923@end group
1924@end example
1925
1926 Internally, @code{defface} uses the symbol property
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1927@code{face-defface-spec} to record the specified face attributes. The
1928attributes saved by the user with the customization buffer are
1929recorded in the symbol property @code{saved-face}; the attributes
1930customized by the user for the current session, but not saved, are
1931recorded in the symbol property @code{customized-face}. The
1932documentation string is recorded in the symbol property
1933@code{face-documentation}.
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1934
1935@defopt frame-background-mode
1936This option, if non-@code{nil}, specifies the background type to use for
1937interpreting face definitions. If it is @code{dark}, then Emacs treats
1938all frames as if they had a dark background, regardless of their actual
1939background colors. If it is @code{light}, then Emacs treats all frames
1940as if they had a light background.
1941@end defopt
1942
1943@node Face Attributes
1944@subsection Face Attributes
1945@cindex face attributes
1946
1947 The effect of using a face is determined by a fixed set of @dfn{face
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1948attributes}. This table lists all the face attributes, their possible
1949values, and their effects. You can specify more than one face for a
1950given piece of text; Emacs merges the attributes of all the faces to
1951determine how to display the text. @xref{Displaying Faces}.
1952
1953 In addition to the values given below, each face attribute can also
1954have the value @code{unspecified}. This special value means the face
1955doesn't specify that attribute. In face merging, when the first face
1956fails to specify a particular attribute, the next face gets a chance.
1957However, the @code{default} face must specify all attributes.
1958
1959 Some of these font attributes are meaningful only on certain kinds
1960of displays. If your display cannot handle a certain attribute, the
1961attribute is ignored.
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1962
1963@table @code
1964@item :family
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1965Font family name or fontset name (a string). If you specify a font
1966family name, the wild-card characters @samp{*} and @samp{?} are
1967allowed. The function @code{font-family-list}, described below,
1968returns a list of available family names. @xref{Fontsets}, for
1969information about fontsets.
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1970
1971@item :foundry
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1972The name of the @dfn{font foundry} in which the font family specified
1973by the @code{:family} attribute is located (a string). The wild-card
1974characters @samp{*} and @samp{?} are allowed.
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1975
1976@item :width
42a2a154 1977Relative proportionate character width, also known as the character
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1978set width. This should be one of the symbols @code{ultra-condensed},
1979@code{extra-condensed}, @code{condensed}, @code{semi-condensed},
1980@code{normal}, @code{semi-expanded}, @code{expanded},
1981@code{extra-expanded}, or @code{ultra-expanded}.
1982
1983@item :height
42a2a154 1984Font height---either an integer in units of 1/10 point, or a floating
b8d4c8d0 1985point number specifying the amount by which to scale the height of any
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1986underlying face, or a function that is called with one argument (the
1987height of the underlying face) and returns the height of the new face.
1988If the function is passed an integer argument, it must return an
1989integer.
1990
1991The height of the default face must be specified using an integer;
1992floating point and function values are not allowed.
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1993
1994@item :weight
42a2a154 1995Font weight---one of the symbols (from densest to faintest)
b8d4c8d0 1996@code{ultra-bold}, @code{extra-bold}, @code{bold}, @code{semi-bold},
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1997@code{normal}, @code{semi-light}, @code{light}, @code{extra-light}, or
1998@code{ultra-light}. On text-only terminals that support
1999variable-brightness text, any weight greater than normal is displayed
2000as extra bright, and any weight less than normal is displayed as
2001half-bright.
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2002
2003@item :slant
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2004Font slant---one of the symbols @code{italic}, @code{oblique},
2005@code{normal}, @code{reverse-italic}, or @code{reverse-oblique}. On
2006text-only terminals that support variable-brightness text, slanted
2007text is displayed as half-bright.
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2008
2009@item :foreground
2010Foreground color, a string. The value can be a system-defined color
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2011name, or a hexadecimal color specification. @xref{Color Names}. On
2012black-and-white displays, certain shades of gray are implemented by
2013stipple patterns.
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2014
2015@item :background
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2016Background color, a string. The value can be a system-defined color
2017name, or a hexadecimal color specification. @xref{Color Names}.
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2018
2019@item :underline
2020Whether or not characters should be underlined, and in what color. If
2021the value is @code{t}, underlining uses the foreground color of the
2022face. If the value is a string, underlining uses that color. The
2023value @code{nil} means do not underline.
2024
2025@item :overline
2026Whether or not characters should be overlined, and in what color.
2027The value is used like that of @code{:underline}.
2028
2029@item :strike-through
2030Whether or not characters should be strike-through, and in what
2031color. The value is used like that of @code{:underline}.
2032
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2033@item :box
2034Whether or not a box should be drawn around characters, its color, the
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2035width of the box lines, and 3D appearance. Here are the possible
2036values of the @code{:box} attribute, and what they mean:
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2037
2038@table @asis
2039@item @code{nil}
2040Don't draw a box.
2041
2042@item @code{t}
2043Draw a box with lines of width 1, in the foreground color.
2044
2045@item @var{color}
2046Draw a box with lines of width 1, in color @var{color}.
2047
2048@item @code{(:line-width @var{width} :color @var{color} :style @var{style})}
2049This way you can explicitly specify all aspects of the box. The value
2050@var{width} specifies the width of the lines to draw; it defaults to 1.
2051
2052The value @var{color} specifies the color to draw with. The default is
2053the foreground color of the face for simple boxes, and the background
2054color of the face for 3D boxes.
2055
2056The value @var{style} specifies whether to draw a 3D box. If it is
2057@code{released-button}, the box looks like a 3D button that is not being
2058pressed. If it is @code{pressed-button}, the box looks like a 3D button
2059that is being pressed. If it is @code{nil} or omitted, a plain 2D box
2060is used.
2061@end table
2062
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2063@item :inverse-video
2064Whether or not characters should be displayed in inverse video. The
2065value should be @code{t} (yes) or @code{nil} (no).
b8d4c8d0 2066
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2067@item :stipple
2068The background stipple, a bitmap.
b8d4c8d0 2069
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2070The value can be a string; that should be the name of a file containing
2071external-format X bitmap data. The file is found in the directories
2072listed in the variable @code{x-bitmap-file-path}.
b8d4c8d0 2073
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2074Alternatively, the value can specify the bitmap directly, with a list
2075of the form @code{(@var{width} @var{height} @var{data})}. Here,
2076@var{width} and @var{height} specify the size in pixels, and
2077@var{data} is a string containing the raw bits of the bitmap, row by
2078row. Each row occupies @math{(@var{width} + 7) / 8} consecutive bytes
2079in the string (which should be a unibyte string for best results).
2080This means that each row always occupies at least one whole byte.
b8d4c8d0 2081
42a2a154 2082If the value is @code{nil}, that means use no stipple pattern.
b8d4c8d0 2083
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2084Normally you do not need to set the stipple attribute, because it is
2085used automatically to handle certain shades of gray.
b8d4c8d0 2086
42a2a154 2087@item :font
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2088The font used to display the face. Its value should be a font object.
2089@xref{Font Selection}, for information about font objects.
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2090
2091When specifying this attribute using @code{set-face-attribute}
9185bf49 2092(@pxref{Attribute Functions}), you may also supply a font spec, a font
42a2a154 2093entity, or a string. Emacs converts such values to an appropriate
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2094font object, and stores that font object as the actual attribute
2095value. If you specify a string, the contents of the string should be
2096a font name (@pxref{Font X,, Font Specification Options, emacs, The
2097GNU Emacs Manual}); if the font name is an XLFD containing wildcards,
2098Emacs chooses the first font matching those wildcards. Specifying
2099this attribute also changes the values of the @code{:family},
2100@code{:foundry}, @code{:width}, @code{:height}, @code{:weight}, and
2101@code{:slant} attributes.
b8d4c8d0 2102
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2103@item :inherit
2104The name of a face from which to inherit attributes, or a list of face
2105names. Attributes from inherited faces are merged into the face like
2106an underlying face would be, with higher priority than underlying
2107faces. If a list of faces is used, attributes from faces earlier in
2108the list override those from later faces.
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2109@end table
2110
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2111For compatibility with Emacs 20, you can also specify values for two
2112``fake'' face attributes: @code{:bold} and @code{:italic}. Their
2113values must be either @code{t} or @code{nil}; a value of
2114@code{unspecified} is not allowed. Setting @code{:bold} to @code{t}
2115is equivalent to setting the @code{:weight} attribute to @code{bold},
2116and setting it to @code{nil} is equivalent to setting @code{:weight}
2117to @code{normal}. Setting @code{:italic} to @code{t} is equivalent to
2118setting the @code{:slant} attribute to @code{italic}, and setting it
2119to @code{nil} is equivalent to setting @code{:slant} to @code{normal}.
2120
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2121@defun font-family-list &optional frame
2122This function returns a list of available font family names. The
2123optional argument @var{frame} specifies the frame on which the text is
2124to be displayed; if it is @code{nil}, the selected frame is used.
2125@end defun
2126
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2127@defvar x-bitmap-file-path
2128This variable specifies a list of directories for searching
2129for bitmap files, for the @code{:stipple} attribute.
2130@end defvar
2131
2132@defun bitmap-spec-p object
2133This returns @code{t} if @var{object} is a valid bitmap specification,
2134suitable for use with @code{:stipple} (see above). It returns
2135@code{nil} otherwise.
2136@end defun
2137
2138@node Attribute Functions
2139@subsection Face Attribute Functions
2140
2141 This section describes the functions for accessing and modifying the
2142attributes of an existing face.
2143
2144@defun set-face-attribute face frame &rest arguments
42a2a154 2145This function sets one or more attributes of @var{face} for
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2146@var{frame}. The attributes you specify this way override whatever
2147the @code{defface} says.
2148
2149The extra arguments @var{arguments} specify the attributes to set, and
2150the values for them. They should consist of alternating attribute names
2151(such as @code{:family} or @code{:underline}) and corresponding values.
2152Thus,
2153
2154@example
2155(set-face-attribute 'foo nil
2156 :width 'extended
2157 :weight 'bold
2158 :underline "red")
2159@end example
2160
2161@noindent
2162sets the attributes @code{:width}, @code{:weight} and @code{:underline}
2163to the corresponding values.
2164
2165If @var{frame} is @code{t}, this function sets the default attributes
2166for new frames. Default attribute values specified this way override
2167the @code{defface} for newly created frames.
2168
2169If @var{frame} is @code{nil}, this function sets the attributes for
2170all existing frames, and the default for new frames.
2171@end defun
2172
2173@defun face-attribute face attribute &optional frame inherit
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2174This returns the value of the @var{attribute} attribute of @var{face}
2175on @var{frame}. If @var{frame} is @code{nil}, that means the selected
2176frame (@pxref{Input Focus}).
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2177
2178If @var{frame} is @code{t}, this returns whatever new-frames default
2179value you previously specified with @code{set-face-attribute} for the
2180@var{attribute} attribute of @var{face}. If you have not specified
2181one, it returns @code{nil}.
2182
2183If @var{inherit} is @code{nil}, only attributes directly defined by
2184@var{face} are considered, so the return value may be
2185@code{unspecified}, or a relative value. If @var{inherit} is
2186non-@code{nil}, @var{face}'s definition of @var{attribute} is merged
2187with the faces specified by its @code{:inherit} attribute; however the
2188return value may still be @code{unspecified} or relative. If
2189@var{inherit} is a face or a list of faces, then the result is further
2190merged with that face (or faces), until it becomes specified and
2191absolute.
2192
2193To ensure that the return value is always specified and absolute, use
2194a value of @code{default} for @var{inherit}; this will resolve any
2195unspecified or relative values by merging with the @code{default} face
2196(which is always completely specified).
2197
2198For example,
2199
2200@example
2201(face-attribute 'bold :weight)
2202 @result{} bold
2203@end example
2204@end defun
2205
2206@defun face-attribute-relative-p attribute value
2207This function returns non-@code{nil} if @var{value}, when used as the
2208value of the face attribute @var{attribute}, is relative. This means
2209it would modify, rather than completely override, any value that comes
2210from a subsequent face in the face list or that is inherited from
2211another face.
2212
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2213@code{unspecified} is a relative value for all attributes. For
2214@code{:height}, floating point and function values are also relative.
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2215
2216For example:
2217
2218@example
2219(face-attribute-relative-p :height 2.0)
2220 @result{} t
2221@end example
2222@end defun
2223
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2224@defun face-all-attributes face &optional frame
2225This function returns an alist of attributes of @var{face}. The
2226elements of the result are name-value pairs of the form
2227@w{@code{(@var{attr-name} . @var{attr-value})}}. Optional argument
2228@var{frame} specifies the frame whose definition of @var{face} to
2229return; if omitted or @code{nil}, the returned value describes the
2230default attributes of @var{face} for newly created frames.
2231@end defun
2232
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2233@defun merge-face-attribute attribute value1 value2
2234If @var{value1} is a relative value for the face attribute
2235@var{attribute}, returns it merged with the underlying value
2236@var{value2}; otherwise, if @var{value1} is an absolute value for the
2237face attribute @var{attribute}, returns @var{value1} unchanged.
2238@end defun
2239
42a2a154 2240 The following functions provide compatibility with Emacs 20 and
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2241below. They work by calling @code{set-face-attribute}. Values of
2242@code{t} and @code{nil} for their @var{frame} argument are handled
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2243just like @code{set-face-attribute} and @code{face-attribute}.
2244
2245@defun set-face-foreground face color &optional frame
2246@defunx set-face-background face color &optional frame
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2247These functions set the @code{:foreground} attribute (or
2248@code{:background} attribute, respectively) of @var{face} to
2249@var{color}.
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2250@end defun
2251
2252@defun set-face-stipple face pattern &optional frame
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2253This function sets the @code{:stipple} attribute of @var{face} to
2254@var{pattern}.
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2255@end defun
2256
2257@defun set-face-font face font &optional frame
d466a866 2258This function sets the @code{:font} attribute of @var{face} to
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2259@var{font}.
2260@end defun
2261
2262@defun set-face-bold-p face bold-p &optional frame
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2263This function sets the @code{:weight} attribute of @var{face} to
2264@var{normal} if @var{bold-p} is @code{nil}, and to @var{bold}
2265otherwise.
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2266@end defun
2267
2268@defun set-face-italic-p face italic-p &optional frame
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2269This function sets the @code{:slant} attribute of @var{face} to
2270@var{normal} if @var{italic-p} is @code{nil}, and to @var{italic}
2271otherwise.
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2272@end defun
2273
2274@defun set-face-underline-p face underline &optional frame
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2275This function sets the @code{:underline} attribute of @var{face} to
2276@var{underline}.
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2277@end defun
2278
2279@defun set-face-inverse-video-p face inverse-video-p &optional frame
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2280This function sets the @code{:inverse-video} attribute of @var{face}
2281to @var{inverse-video-p}.
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2282@end defun
2283
2284@defun invert-face face &optional frame
2285This function swaps the foreground and background colors of face
2286@var{face}.
2287@end defun
2288
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2289 The following functions examine the attributes of a face. If you
2290don't specify @var{frame}, they refer to the selected frame; @code{t}
2291refers to the default data for new frames. They return the symbol
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2292@code{unspecified} if the face doesn't define any value for that
2293attribute.
2294
2295@defun face-foreground face &optional frame inherit
2296@defunx face-background face &optional frame inherit
2297These functions return the foreground color (or background color,
2298respectively) of face @var{face}, as a string.
2299
2300If @var{inherit} is @code{nil}, only a color directly defined by the face is
2301returned. If @var{inherit} is non-@code{nil}, any faces specified by its
2302@code{:inherit} attribute are considered as well, and if @var{inherit}
2303is a face or a list of faces, then they are also considered, until a
2304specified color is found. To ensure that the return value is always
2305specified, use a value of @code{default} for @var{inherit}.
2306@end defun
2307
2308@defun face-stipple face &optional frame inherit
2309This function returns the name of the background stipple pattern of face
2310@var{face}, or @code{nil} if it doesn't have one.
2311
2312If @var{inherit} is @code{nil}, only a stipple directly defined by the
2313face is returned. If @var{inherit} is non-@code{nil}, any faces
2314specified by its @code{:inherit} attribute are considered as well, and
2315if @var{inherit} is a face or a list of faces, then they are also
2316considered, until a specified stipple is found. To ensure that the
2317return value is always specified, use a value of @code{default} for
2318@var{inherit}.
2319@end defun
2320
2321@defun face-font face &optional frame
2322This function returns the name of the font of face @var{face}.
2323@end defun
2324
2325@defun face-bold-p face &optional frame
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2326This function returns a non-@code{nil} value if the @code{:weight}
2327attribute of @var{face} is bolder than normal (i.e., one of
2328@code{semi-bold}, @code{bold}, @code{extra-bold}, or
2329@code{ultra-bold}). Otherwise, it returns @code{nil}.
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2330@end defun
2331
2332@defun face-italic-p face &optional frame
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2333This function returns a non-@code{nil} value if the @code{:slant}
2334attribute of @var{face} is @code{italic} or @code{oblique}, and
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2335@code{nil} otherwise.
2336@end defun
2337
2338@defun face-underline-p face &optional frame
2339This function returns the @code{:underline} attribute of face @var{face}.
2340@end defun
2341
2342@defun face-inverse-video-p face &optional frame
2343This function returns the @code{:inverse-video} attribute of face @var{face}.
2344@end defun
2345
2346@node Displaying Faces
2347@subsection Displaying Faces
2348
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2349 Here is how Emacs determines the face to use for displaying any
2350given piece of text:
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2351
2352@itemize @bullet
2353@item
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2354If the text consists of a special glyph, the glyph can specify a
2355particular face. @xref{Glyphs}.
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2356
2357@item
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2358If the text lies within an active region, Emacs highlights it using
2359the @code{region} face. @xref{Standard Faces,,, emacs, The GNU Emacs
2360Manual}.
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2361
2362@item
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2363If the text lies within an overlay with a non-@code{nil} @code{face}
2364property, Emacs applies the face or face attributes specified by that
2365property. If the overlay has a @code{mouse-face} property and the
2366mouse is ``near enough'' to the overlay, Emacs applies the face or
2367face attributes specified by the @code{mouse-face} property instead.
2368@xref{Overlay Properties}.
b8d4c8d0 2369
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2370When multiple overlays cover one character, an overlay with higher
2371priority overrides those with lower priority. @xref{Overlays}.
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2372
2373@item
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2374If the text contains a @code{face} or @code{mouse-face} property,
2375Emacs applies the specified faces and face attributes. @xref{Special
2376Properties}. (This is how Font Lock mode faces are applied.
2377@xref{Font Lock Mode}.)
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2378
2379@item
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2380If the text lies within the mode line of the selected window, Emacs
2381applies the @code{mode-line} face. For the mode line of a
2382non-selected window, Emacs applies the @code{mode-line-inactive} face.
2383For a header line, Emacs applies the @code{header-line} face.
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2384
2385@item
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2386If any given attribute has not been specified during the preceding
2387steps, Emacs applies the attribute of the @code{default} face.
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2388@end itemize
2389
2390 If these various sources together specify more than one face for a
2391particular character, Emacs merges the attributes of the various faces
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2392specified. For each attribute, Emacs tries using the above order
2393(i.e., first the face of any special glyph; then the face for region
2394highlighting, if appropriate; then faces specified by overlays, then
2395faces specified by text properties, then the @code{mode-line} or
2396@code{mode-line-inactive} or @code{header-line} face, if appropriate,
2397and finally the @code{default} face).
b8d4c8d0 2398
d466a866
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2399@node Face Remapping
2400@subsection Face Remapping
f2cec7a9 2401
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2402 The variable @code{face-remapping-alist} is used for buffer-local or
2403global changes in the appearance of a face. For instance, it can be
2404used to make the @code{default} face a variable-pitch face within a
2405particular buffer.
f2cec7a9 2406
d466a866
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2407@defvar face-remapping-alist
2408An alist whose elements have the form @code{(@var{face}
2409@var{remapping...})}. This causes Emacs to display text using the
2410face @var{face} using @var{remapping...} instead of @var{face}'s
2411ordinary definition. @var{remapping...} may be any face specification
2412suitable for a @code{face} text property: either a face name, or a
2413property list of attribute/value pairs. @xref{Special Properties}.
2414
2415If @code{face-remapping-alist} is buffer-local, its local value takes
2416effect only within that buffer.
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2417
2418Two points bear emphasizing:
2419
2420@enumerate
2421@item
2422The new definition @var{remapping...} is the complete
2423specification of how to display @var{face}---it entirely replaces,
2424rather than augmenting or modifying, the normal definition of that
2425face.
2426
2427@item
2428If @var{remapping...} recursively references the same face name
2429@var{face}, either directly remapping entry, or via the
2430@code{:inherit} attribute of some other face in
2431@var{remapping...}, then that reference uses normal frame-wide
2432definition of @var{face} instead of the ``remapped'' definition.
2433
2434For instance, if the @code{mode-line} face is remapped using this
2435entry in @code{face-remapping-alist}:
2436@example
2437(mode-line italic mode-line)
2438@end example
2439@noindent
2440then the new definition of the @code{mode-line} face inherits from the
2441@code{italic} face, and the @emph{normal} (non-remapped) definition of
2442@code{mode-line} face.
2443@end enumerate
d466a866 2444@end defvar
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2445
2446 A typical use of the @code{face-remapping-alist} is to change a
2447buffer's @code{default} face; for example, the following changes a
2448buffer's @code{default} face to use the @code{variable-pitch} face,
2449with the height doubled:
2450
2451@example
2452(set (make-local-variable 'face-remapping-alist)
2453 '((default variable-pitch :height 2.0)))
2454@end example
2455
d466a866 2456 The following functions implement a higher-level interface to
9d3d42fb
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2457@code{face-remapping-alist}, making it easier to use
2458``cooperatively''. They are mainly intended for buffer-local use, and
2459so all make @code{face-remapping-alist} variable buffer-local as a
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2460side-effect. They use entries in @code{face-remapping-alist} which
2461have the general form:
9d3d42fb
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2462
2463@example
2464 (@var{face} @var{relative_specs_1} @var{relative_specs_2} @var{...} @var{base_specs})
2465@end example
2466
2467Everything except the @var{face} is a ``face spec'', a list of face
2468names or face attribute-value pairs. All face specs are merged
2469together, with earlier values taking precedence.
2470
2471The @var{relative_specs_}n values are ``relative specs'', and are
e40a85cd
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2472added by @code{face-remap-add-relative} (and removed by
2473@code{face-remap-remove-relative}. These are intended for face
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2474modifications (such as increasing the size). Typical users of these
2475relative specs would be minor modes.
2476
2477@var{base_specs} is the lowest-priority value, and by default is just the
2478face name, which causes the global definition of that face to be used.
2479
2480A non-default value of @var{base_specs} may also be set using
e40a85cd 2481@code{face-remap-set-base}. Because this @emph{overwrites} the
9d3d42fb 2482default base-spec value (which inherits the global face definition),
e40a85cd 2483it is up to the caller of @code{face-remap-set-base} to add such
9d3d42fb 2484inheritance if it is desired. A typical use of
e40a85cd 2485@code{face-remap-set-base} would be a major mode adding a face
9d3d42fb
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2486remappings, e.g., of the default face.
2487
2488
e40a85cd 2489@defun face-remap-add-relative face &rest specs
9d3d42fb
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2490This functions adds a face remapping entry of @var{face} to @var{specs}
2491in the current buffer.
2492
2493It returns a ``cookie'' which can be used to later delete the remapping with
e40a85cd 2494@code{face-remap-remove-relative}.
9d3d42fb
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2495
2496@var{specs} can be any value suitable for the @code{face} text
2497property, including a face name, a list of face names, or a
2498face-attribute property list. The attributes given by @var{specs}
2499will be merged with any other currently active face remappings of
2500@var{face}, and with the global definition of @var{face} (by default;
e40a85cd
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2501this may be changed using @code{face-remap-set-base}), with the most
2502recently added relative remapping taking precedence.
9d3d42fb
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2503@end defun
2504
e40a85cd 2505@defun face-remap-remove-relative cookie
9d3d42fb 2506This function removes a face remapping previously added by
e40a85cd
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2507@code{face-remap-add-relative}. @var{cookie} should be a return value
2508from that function.
9d3d42fb
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2509@end defun
2510
e40a85cd 2511@defun face-remap-set-base face &rest specs
9d3d42fb
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2512This function sets the ``base remapping'' of @var{face} in the current
2513buffer to @var{specs}. If @var{specs} is empty, the default base
2514remapping is restored, which inherits from the global definition of
2515@var{face}; note that this is different from @var{specs} containing a
2516single value @code{nil}, which has the opposite result (the global
2517definition of @var{face} is ignored).
2518@end defun
2519
e40a85cd 2520@defun face-remap-reset-base face
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2521This function sets the ``base remapping'' of @var{face} to its default
2522value, which inherits from @var{face}'s global definition.
2523@end defun
2524
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2525@node Face Functions
2526@subsection Functions for Working with Faces
2527
2528 Here are additional functions for creating and working with faces.
2529
2530@defun make-face name
2531This function defines a new face named @var{name}, initially with all
2532attributes @code{nil}. It does nothing if there is already a face named
2533@var{name}.
2534@end defun
2535
2536@defun face-list
2537This function returns a list of all defined face names.
2538@end defun
2539
2540@defun copy-face old-face new-name &optional frame new-frame
2541This function defines a face named @var{new-name} as a copy of the existing
2542face named @var{old-face}. It creates the face @var{new-name} if that
2543doesn't already exist.
2544
2545If the optional argument @var{frame} is given, this function applies
2546only to that frame. Otherwise it applies to each frame individually,
2547copying attributes from @var{old-face} in each frame to @var{new-face}
2548in the same frame.
2549
2550If the optional argument @var{new-frame} is given, then @code{copy-face}
2551copies the attributes of @var{old-face} in @var{frame} to @var{new-name}
2552in @var{new-frame}.
2553@end defun
2554
2555@defun face-id face
2556This function returns the @dfn{face number} of face @var{face}. This
2557is a number that uniquely identifies a face at low levels within
2558Emacs. It is seldom necessary to refer to a face by its face number.
2559@end defun
2560
2561@defun face-documentation face
2562This function returns the documentation string of face @var{face}, or
2563@code{nil} if none was specified for it.
2564@end defun
2565
2566@defun face-equal face1 face2 &optional frame
2567This returns @code{t} if the faces @var{face1} and @var{face2} have the
2568same attributes for display.
2569@end defun
2570
2571@defun face-differs-from-default-p face &optional frame
2572This returns non-@code{nil} if the face @var{face} displays
2573differently from the default face.
2574@end defun
2575
2576@cindex face alias
2577A @dfn{face alias} provides an equivalent name for a face. You can
2578define a face alias by giving the alias symbol the @code{face-alias}
2579property, with a value of the target face name. The following example
2580makes @code{modeline} an alias for the @code{mode-line} face.
2581
2582@example
2583(put 'modeline 'face-alias 'mode-line)
2584@end example
2585
2586@node Auto Faces
2587@subsection Automatic Face Assignment
2588@cindex automatic face assignment
2589@cindex faces, automatic choice
2590
2591 This hook is used for automatically assigning faces to text in the
2592buffer. It is part of the implementation of Jit-Lock mode, used by
2593Font-Lock.
2594
2595@defvar fontification-functions
2596This variable holds a list of functions that are called by Emacs
2597redisplay as needed to assign faces automatically to text in the buffer.
2598
2599The functions are called in the order listed, with one argument, a
2600buffer position @var{pos}. Each function should attempt to assign faces
2601to the text in the current buffer starting at @var{pos}.
2602
2603Each function should record the faces they assign by setting the
2604@code{face} property. It should also add a non-@code{nil}
2605@code{fontified} property for all the text it has assigned faces to.
2606That property tells redisplay that faces have been assigned to that text
2607already.
2608
2609It is probably a good idea for each function to do nothing if the
2610character after @var{pos} already has a non-@code{nil} @code{fontified}
2611property, but this is not required. If one function overrides the
2612assignments made by a previous one, the properties as they are
2613after the last function finishes are the ones that really matter.
2614
2615For efficiency, we recommend writing these functions so that they
2616usually assign faces to around 400 to 600 characters at each call.
2617@end defvar
2618
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2619@node Font Selection
2620@subsection Font Selection
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2621
2622 Before Emacs can draw a character on a particular display, it must
2623select a @dfn{font} for that character@footnote{In this context, the
2624term @dfn{font} has nothing to do with Font Lock (@pxref{Font Lock
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2625Mode}).}. Normally, Emacs automatically chooses a font based on the
2626faces assigned to that character---specifically, the face attributes
2627@code{:family}, @code{:weight}, @code{:slant}, and @code{:width}
2628(@pxref{Face Attributes}). The choice of font also depends on the
2629character to be displayed; some fonts can only display a limited set
2630of characters. If no available font exactly fits the requirements,
2631Emacs looks for the @dfn{closest matching font}. The variables in
2632this section control how Emacs makes this selection.
9185bf49 2633
c2aa555a
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2634@defvar face-font-family-alternatives
2635If a given family is specified but does not exist, this variable
2636specifies alternative font families to try. Each element should have
2637this form:
9185bf49 2638
c2aa555a
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2639@example
2640(@var{family} @var{alternate-families}@dots{})
2641@end example
b8d4c8d0 2642
c2aa555a
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2643If @var{family} is specified but not available, Emacs will try the other
2644families given in @var{alternate-families}, one by one, until it finds a
2645family that does exist.
2646@end defvar
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2647
2648@defvar face-font-selection-order
c2aa555a
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2649If there is no font that exactly matches all desired face attributes
2650(@code{:width}, @code{:height}, @code{:weight}, and @code{:slant}),
2651this variable specifies the order in which these attributes should be
2652considered when selecting the closest matching font. The value should
2653be a list containing those four attribute symbols, in order of
2654decreasing importance. The default is @code{(:width :height :weight
2655:slant)}.
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2656
2657Font selection first finds the best available matches for the first
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2658attribute in the list; then, among the fonts which are best in that
2659way, it searches for the best matches in the second attribute, and so
2660on.
b8d4c8d0
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2661
2662The attributes @code{:weight} and @code{:width} have symbolic values in
2663a range centered around @code{normal}. Matches that are more extreme
2664(farther from @code{normal}) are somewhat preferred to matches that are
2665less extreme (closer to @code{normal}); this is designed to ensure that
2666non-normal faces contrast with normal ones, whenever possible.
2667
b8d4c8d0
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2668One example of a case where this variable makes a difference is when the
2669default font has no italic equivalent. With the default ordering, the
2670@code{italic} face will use a non-italic font that is similar to the
2671default one. But if you put @code{:slant} before @code{:height}, the
2672@code{italic} face will use an italic font, even if its height is not
2673quite right.
2674@end defvar
2675
b8d4c8d0
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2676@defvar face-font-registry-alternatives
2677This variable lets you specify alternative font registries to try, if a
2678given registry is specified and doesn't exist. Each element should have
2679this form:
2680
2681@example
2682(@var{registry} @var{alternate-registries}@dots{})
2683@end example
2684
2685If @var{registry} is specified but not available, Emacs will try the
2686other registries given in @var{alternate-registries}, one by one,
2687until it finds a registry that does exist.
2688@end defvar
2689
2690 Emacs can make use of scalable fonts, but by default it does not use
c2aa555a 2691them.
b8d4c8d0
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2692
2693@defvar scalable-fonts-allowed
2694This variable controls which scalable fonts to use. A value of
2695@code{nil}, the default, means do not use scalable fonts. @code{t}
2696means to use any scalable font that seems appropriate for the text.
2697
2698Otherwise, the value must be a list of regular expressions. Then a
2699scalable font is enabled for use if its name matches any regular
2700expression in the list. For example,
2701
2702@example
2703(setq scalable-fonts-allowed '("muleindian-2$"))
2704@end example
2705
2706@noindent
2707allows the use of scalable fonts with registry @code{muleindian-2}.
2708@end defvar
2709
2710@defvar face-font-rescale-alist
2711This variable specifies scaling for certain faces. Its value should
2712be a list of elements of the form
2713
2714@example
2715(@var{fontname-regexp} . @var{scale-factor})
2716@end example
2717
2718If @var{fontname-regexp} matches the font name that is about to be
2719used, this says to choose a larger similar font according to the
2720factor @var{scale-factor}. You would use this feature to normalize
2721the font size if certain fonts are bigger or smaller than their
2722nominal heights and widths would suggest.
2723@end defvar
2724
b8d4c8d0
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2725@node Font Lookup
2726@subsection Looking Up Fonts
2727
c2aa555a 2728@defun x-list-fonts name &optional reference-face frame maximum
b8d4c8d0 2729This function returns a list of available font names that match
c2aa555a
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2730@var{name}. @var{name} should be a string containing a font name in
2731either the Fontconfig, GTK, or XLFD format (@pxref{Font X,, Font
2732Specification Options, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}). Within an XLFD
2733string, wildcard characters may be used: the @samp{*} character
2734matches any substring, and the @samp{?} character matches any single
2735character. Case is ignored when matching font names.
2736
2737If the optional arguments @var{reference-face} and @var{frame} are
2738specified, the returned list includes only fonts that are the same
2739size as @var{reference-face} (a face name) currently is on the frame
2740@var{frame}.
b8d4c8d0
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2741
2742The optional argument @var{maximum} sets a limit on how many fonts to
c2aa555a
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2743return. If it is non-@code{nil}, then the return value is truncated
2744after the first @var{maximum} matching fonts. Specifying a small
2745value for @var{maximum} can make this function much faster, in cases
2746where many fonts match the pattern.
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2747@end defun
2748
2749@defun x-family-fonts &optional family frame
2750This function returns a list describing the available fonts for family
2751@var{family} on @var{frame}. If @var{family} is omitted or @code{nil},
2752this list applies to all families, and therefore, it contains all
2753available fonts. Otherwise, @var{family} must be a string; it may
2754contain the wildcards @samp{?} and @samp{*}.
2755
2756The list describes the display that @var{frame} is on; if @var{frame} is
2757omitted or @code{nil}, it applies to the selected frame's display
2758(@pxref{Input Focus}).
2759
c2aa555a 2760Each element in the list is a vector of the following form:
b8d4c8d0
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2761
2762@example
2763[@var{family} @var{width} @var{point-size} @var{weight} @var{slant}
2764 @var{fixed-p} @var{full} @var{registry-and-encoding}]
2765@end example
2766
2767The first five elements correspond to face attributes; if you
2768specify these attributes for a face, it will use this font.
2769
2770The last three elements give additional information about the font.
2771@var{fixed-p} is non-@code{nil} if the font is fixed-pitch.
2772@var{full} is the full name of the font, and
2773@var{registry-and-encoding} is a string giving the registry and
2774encoding of the font.
b8d4c8d0
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2775@end defun
2776
2777@defvar font-list-limit
2778This variable specifies maximum number of fonts to consider in font
2779matching. The function @code{x-family-fonts} will not return more than
2780that many fonts, and font selection will consider only that many fonts
2781when searching a matching font for face attributes. The default is
2782currently 100.
2783@end defvar
2784
2785@node Fontsets
2786@subsection Fontsets
2787
2788 A @dfn{fontset} is a list of fonts, each assigned to a range of
2789character codes. An individual font cannot display the whole range of
2790characters that Emacs supports, but a fontset can. Fontsets have names,
2791just as fonts do, and you can use a fontset name in place of a font name
2792when you specify the ``font'' for a frame or a face. Here is
2793information about defining a fontset under Lisp program control.
2794
2795@defun create-fontset-from-fontset-spec fontset-spec &optional style-variant-p noerror
2796This function defines a new fontset according to the specification
2797string @var{fontset-spec}. The string should have this format:
2798
2799@smallexample
7b753744 2800@var{fontpattern}, @r{[}@var{charset}:@var{font}@r{]@dots{}}
b8d4c8d0
GM
2801@end smallexample
2802
2803@noindent
2804Whitespace characters before and after the commas are ignored.
2805
2806The first part of the string, @var{fontpattern}, should have the form of
2807a standard X font name, except that the last two fields should be
2808@samp{fontset-@var{alias}}.
2809
2810The new fontset has two names, one long and one short. The long name is
2811@var{fontpattern} in its entirety. The short name is
2812@samp{fontset-@var{alias}}. You can refer to the fontset by either
2813name. If a fontset with the same name already exists, an error is
2814signaled, unless @var{noerror} is non-@code{nil}, in which case this
2815function does nothing.
2816
2817If optional argument @var{style-variant-p} is non-@code{nil}, that says
2818to create bold, italic and bold-italic variants of the fontset as well.
2819These variant fontsets do not have a short name, only a long one, which
2820is made by altering @var{fontpattern} to indicate the bold or italic
2821status.
2822
2823The specification string also says which fonts to use in the fontset.
2824See below for the details.
2825@end defun
2826
2827 The construct @samp{@var{charset}:@var{font}} specifies which font to
2828use (in this fontset) for one particular character set. Here,
2829@var{charset} is the name of a character set, and @var{font} is the font
2830to use for that character set. You can use this construct any number of
2831times in the specification string.
2832
2833 For the remaining character sets, those that you don't specify
2834explicitly, Emacs chooses a font based on @var{fontpattern}: it replaces
2835@samp{fontset-@var{alias}} with a value that names one character set.
2836For the @acronym{ASCII} character set, @samp{fontset-@var{alias}} is replaced
2837with @samp{ISO8859-1}.
2838
2839 In addition, when several consecutive fields are wildcards, Emacs
2840collapses them into a single wildcard. This is to prevent use of
2841auto-scaled fonts. Fonts made by scaling larger fonts are not usable
2842for editing, and scaling a smaller font is not useful because it is
2843better to use the smaller font in its own size, which Emacs does.
2844
2845 Thus if @var{fontpattern} is this,
2846
2847@example
2848-*-fixed-medium-r-normal-*-24-*-*-*-*-*-fontset-24
2849@end example
2850
2851@noindent
2852the font specification for @acronym{ASCII} characters would be this:
2853
2854@example
2855-*-fixed-medium-r-normal-*-24-*-ISO8859-1
2856@end example
2857
2858@noindent
2859and the font specification for Chinese GB2312 characters would be this:
2860
2861@example
2862-*-fixed-medium-r-normal-*-24-*-gb2312*-*
2863@end example
2864
2865 You may not have any Chinese font matching the above font
2866specification. Most X distributions include only Chinese fonts that
2867have @samp{song ti} or @samp{fangsong ti} in the @var{family} field. In
2868such a case, @samp{Fontset-@var{n}} can be specified as below:
2869
2870@smallexample
2871Emacs.Fontset-0: -*-fixed-medium-r-normal-*-24-*-*-*-*-*-fontset-24,\
2872 chinese-gb2312:-*-*-medium-r-normal-*-24-*-gb2312*-*
2873@end smallexample
2874
2875@noindent
2876Then, the font specifications for all but Chinese GB2312 characters have
2877@samp{fixed} in the @var{family} field, and the font specification for
2878Chinese GB2312 characters has a wild card @samp{*} in the @var{family}
2879field.
2880
2881@defun set-fontset-font name character fontname &optional frame
2882This function modifies the existing fontset @var{name} to
2883use the font name @var{fontname} for the character @var{character}.
2884
2885If @var{name} is @code{nil}, this function modifies the default
2886fontset, whose short name is @samp{fontset-default}.
2887
2888@var{character} may be a cons; @code{(@var{from} . @var{to})}, where
d15c8cce 2889@var{from} and @var{to} are character codepoints. In that case, use
b8d4c8d0
GM
2890@var{fontname} for all characters in the range @var{from} and @var{to}
2891(inclusive).
2892
2893@var{character} may be a charset. In that case, use
2894@var{fontname} for all character in the charsets.
2895
2896@var{fontname} may be a cons; @code{(@var{family} . @var{registry})},
2897where @var{family} is a family name of a font (possibly including a
2898foundry name at the head), @var{registry} is a registry name of a font
2899(possibly including an encoding name at the tail).
2900
2901For instance, this changes the default fontset to use a font of which
2902registry name is @samp{JISX0208.1983} for all characters belonging to
2903the charset @code{japanese-jisx0208}.
2904
2905@smallexample
2906(set-fontset-font nil 'japanese-jisx0208 '(nil . "JISX0208.1983"))
2907@end smallexample
2908@end defun
2909
2910@defun char-displayable-p char
2911This function returns @code{t} if Emacs ought to be able to display
2912@var{char}. More precisely, if the selected frame's fontset has a
2913font to display the character set that @var{char} belongs to.
2914
2915Fontsets can specify a font on a per-character basis; when the fontset
2916does that, this function's value may not be accurate.
2917@end defun
2918
c2aa555a
CY
2919@node Low-Level Font
2920@subsection Low-Level Font Representation
2921
2922 Normally, it is not necessary to manipulate fonts directly. In case
2923you need to do so, this section explains how.
2924
2925 In Emacs Lisp, fonts are represented using three different Lisp
2926qobject types: @dfn{font objects}, @dfn{font specs}, and @dfn{font
2927entities}.
2928
2929@defun fontp object &optional type
2930Return @code{t} if @var{object} is a font object, font spec, or font
2931entity. Otherwise, return @code{nil}.
2932
2933The optional argument @var{type}, if non-@code{nil}, determines the
2934exact type of Lisp object to check for. In that case, @var{type}
2935should be one of @code{font-object}, @code{font-spec}, or
2936@code{font-entity}.
2937@end defun
2938
2939 A font object is a Lisp object that represents a font that Emacs has
2940@dfn{opened}. Font objects cannot be modified in Lisp, but they can
2941be inspected. If you call @code{set-face-attribute} and pass a font
2942spec, font entity, or font name string as the value of the
2943@code{:font} attribute, Emacs opens the best ``matching'' font that is
2944available for display. It then stores the corresponding font object
2945as the actual value of the @code{:font} attribute for that face.
2946
2947@defun font-at position &optional window string
2948Return the font object that is being used to display the character at
2949position @var{position} in the window @var{window}. If @var{window}
2950is @code{nil}, it defaults to the selected window. If @var{string} is
2951@code{nil}, @var{position} specifies a position in the current buffer;
2952otherwise, @var{string} should be a string, and @var{position}
2953specifies a position in that string.
2954@end defun
2955
2956 A font spec is a Lisp object that contains a set of specifications
2957that can be used to find a font. More than one font may match the
2958specifications in a font spec.
2959
2960@defun font-spec &rest arguments
2961Return a new font spec using the specifications in @var{arguments},
2962which should come in @code{property}-@code{value} pairs. The possible
2963specifications are as follows:
2964
2965@table @code
2966@item :name
2967The font name (a string), in either XLFD, Fontconfig, or GTK format.
2968@xref{Font X,, Font Specification Options, emacs, The GNU Emacs
2969Manual}.
2970
2971@item :family
2972@itemx :foundry
2973@itemx :weight
2974@itemx :slant
2975@itemx :width
2976These have the same meanings as the face attributes of the same name.
2977@xref{Face Attributes}.
2978
2979@item :size
2980The font size---either a non-negative integer that specifies the pixel
2981size, or a floating point number that specifies the point size.
2982
2983@item :adstyle
2984Additional typographic style information for the font, such as
2985@samp{sans}. The value should be a string or a symbol.
2986
2987@item :registry
2988The charset registry and encoding of the font, such as
2989@samp{iso8859-1}. The value should be a string or a symbol.
2990
2991@item :script
2992The script that the font must support (a symbol).
2993@end table
2994@end defun
2995
2996@defun font-put font-spec property value
2997Set the font property @var{property} in the font-spec @var{font-spec}
2998to @var{value}.
2999@end defun
3000
3001 A font entity is a reference to a font that need not be open. Its
3002properties are intermediate between a font object and a font spec:
3003like a font object, and unlike a font spec, it refers to a single,
3004specific font. Unlike a font object, creating a font entity does not
3005load the contents of that font into computer memory.
3006
3007@defun find-font font-spec &optional frame
3008This function returns a font entity that best matches the font spec
3009@var{font-spec} on frame @var{frame}. If @var{frame} is @code{nil},
3010it defaults to the selected frame.
3011@end defun
3012
3013@defun list-fonts font-spec &optional frame num prefer
3014This function returns a list of all font entities that match the font
3015spec @var{font-spec}.
3016
3017The optional argument @var{frame}, if non-@code{nil}, specifies the
3018frame on which the fonts are to be displayed. The optional argument
3019@var{num}, if non-@code{nil}, should be an integer that specifies the
3020maximum length of the returned list. The optional argument
3021@var{prefer}, if non-@code{nil}, should be another font spec, which is
3022used to control the order of the returned list; the returned font
3023entities are sorted in order of decreasing ``closeness'' to that font
3024spec.
3025@end defun
3026
3027 The following functions can be used to obtain information about a
3028font. For these functions, the @var{font} argument can be a font
3029object, a font entity, or a font spec.
3030
3031@defun font-get font property
3032This function returns the value of the font property @var{property}
3033for @var{font}.
3034
3035If @var{font} is a font spec and the font spec does not specify
3036@var{property}, the return value is @code{nil}. If @var{font} is a
3037font object or font entity, the value for the @var{:script} property
3038may be a list of scripts supported by the font.
3039@end defun
3040
3041@defun font-face-attributes font &optional frame
3042This function returns a list of face attributes corresponding to
3043@var{font}. The optional argument @var{frame} specifies the frame on
3044which the font is to be displayed. If it is @code{nil}, the selected
3045frame is used. The return value has the form
3046
3047@smallexample
3048(:family @var{family} :height @var{height} :weight @var{weight}
3049 :slant @var{slant} :width @var{width})
3050@end smallexample
3051
3052where the values of @var{family}, @var{height}, @var{weight},
3053@var{slant}, and @var{width} are face attribute values. Some of these
3054key-attribute pairs may be omitted from the list if they are not
3055specified by @var{font}.
3056@end defun
3057
3058@defun font-xlfd-name font &optional fold-wildcards
3059This function returns the XLFD (X Logical Font Descriptor), a string,
3060matching @var{font}. @xref{Font X,, Font Specification Options,
3061emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}, for information about XLFDs. If the
3062name is too long for an XLFD (which can contain at most 255
3063characters), the function returns @code{nil}.
3064
3065If the optional argument @var{fold-wildcards} is non-@code{nil},
3066consecutive wildcards in the XLFD are folded into one.
3067@end defun
3068
b8d4c8d0
GM
3069@node Fringes
3070@section Fringes
3071@cindex fringes
3072
3073 The @dfn{fringes} of a window are thin vertical strips down the
3074sides that are used for displaying bitmaps that indicate truncation,
3075continuation, horizontal scrolling, and the overlay arrow.
3076
3077@menu
3078* Fringe Size/Pos:: Specifying where to put the window fringes.
3079* Fringe Indicators:: Displaying indicator icons in the window fringes.
3080* Fringe Cursors:: Displaying cursors in the right fringe.
3081* Fringe Bitmaps:: Specifying bitmaps for fringe indicators.
3082* Customizing Bitmaps:: Specifying your own bitmaps to use in the fringes.
3083* Overlay Arrow:: Display of an arrow to indicate position.
3084@end menu
3085
3086@node Fringe Size/Pos
3087@subsection Fringe Size and Position
3088
3089 The following buffer-local variables control the position and width
3090of the window fringes.
3091
3092@defvar fringes-outside-margins
3093The fringes normally appear between the display margins and the window
3094text. If the value is non-@code{nil}, they appear outside the display
3095margins. @xref{Display Margins}.
3096@end defvar
3097
3098@defvar left-fringe-width
3099This variable, if non-@code{nil}, specifies the width of the left
3100fringe in pixels. A value of @code{nil} means to use the left fringe
3101width from the window's frame.
3102@end defvar
3103
3104@defvar right-fringe-width
3105This variable, if non-@code{nil}, specifies the width of the right
3106fringe in pixels. A value of @code{nil} means to use the right fringe
3107width from the window's frame.
3108@end defvar
3109
3110 The values of these variables take effect when you display the
3111buffer in a window. If you change them while the buffer is visible,
3112you can call @code{set-window-buffer} to display it once again in the
3113same window, to make the changes take effect.
3114
3115@defun set-window-fringes window left &optional right outside-margins
3116This function sets the fringe widths of window @var{window}.
3117If @var{window} is @code{nil}, the selected window is used.
3118
3119The argument @var{left} specifies the width in pixels of the left
3120fringe, and likewise @var{right} for the right fringe. A value of
3121@code{nil} for either one stands for the default width. If
3122@var{outside-margins} is non-@code{nil}, that specifies that fringes
3123should appear outside of the display margins.
3124@end defun
3125
3126@defun window-fringes &optional window
3127This function returns information about the fringes of a window
3128@var{window}. If @var{window} is omitted or @code{nil}, the selected
3129window is used. The value has the form @code{(@var{left-width}
3130@var{right-width} @var{outside-margins})}.
3131@end defun
3132
3133
3134@node Fringe Indicators
3135@subsection Fringe Indicators
3136@cindex fringe indicators
3137@cindex indicators, fringe
3138
3139 The @dfn{fringe indicators} are tiny icons Emacs displays in the
3140window fringe (on a graphic display) to indicate truncated or
3141continued lines, buffer boundaries, overlay arrow, etc.
3142
3143@defopt indicate-empty-lines
3144@cindex fringes, and empty line indication
3145When this is non-@code{nil}, Emacs displays a special glyph in the
3146fringe of each empty line at the end of the buffer, on graphical
3147displays. @xref{Fringes}. This variable is automatically
3148buffer-local in every buffer.
3149@end defopt
3150
3151@defvar indicate-buffer-boundaries
3152This buffer-local variable controls how the buffer boundaries and
3153window scrolling are indicated in the window fringes.
3154
3155Emacs can indicate the buffer boundaries---that is, the first and last
3156line in the buffer---with angle icons when they appear on the screen.
3157In addition, Emacs can display an up-arrow in the fringe to show
3158that there is text above the screen, and a down-arrow to show
3159there is text below the screen.
3160
3161There are three kinds of basic values:
3162
3163@table @asis
3164@item @code{nil}
3165Don't display any of these fringe icons.
3166@item @code{left}
3167Display the angle icons and arrows in the left fringe.
3168@item @code{right}
3169Display the angle icons and arrows in the right fringe.
3170@item any non-alist
3171Display the angle icons in the left fringe
3172and don't display the arrows.
3173@end table
3174
3175Otherwise the value should be an alist that specifies which fringe
3176indicators to display and where. Each element of the alist should
3177have the form @code{(@var{indicator} . @var{position})}. Here,
3178@var{indicator} is one of @code{top}, @code{bottom}, @code{up},
3179@code{down}, and @code{t} (which covers all the icons not yet
3180specified), while @var{position} is one of @code{left}, @code{right}
3181and @code{nil}.
3182
3183For example, @code{((top . left) (t . right))} places the top angle
3184bitmap in left fringe, and the bottom angle bitmap as well as both
3185arrow bitmaps in right fringe. To show the angle bitmaps in the left
3186fringe, and no arrow bitmaps, use @code{((top . left) (bottom . left))}.
3187@end defvar
3188
3189@defvar default-indicate-buffer-boundaries
3190The value of this variable is the default value for
3191@code{indicate-buffer-boundaries} in buffers that do not override it.
3192@end defvar
3193
3194@defvar fringe-indicator-alist
3195This buffer-local variable specifies the mapping from logical fringe
3196indicators to the actual bitmaps displayed in the window fringes.
3197
3198These symbols identify the logical fringe indicators:
3199
3200@table @asis
3201@item Truncation and continuation line indicators:
3202@code{truncation}, @code{continuation}.
3203
3204@item Buffer position indicators:
3205@code{up}, @code{down},
3206@code{top}, @code{bottom},
3207@code{top-bottom}.
3208
3209@item Empty line indicator:
3210@code{empty-line}.
3211
3212@item Overlay arrow indicator:
3213@code{overlay-arrow}.
3214
3215@item Unknown bitmap indicator:
3216@code{unknown}.
3217@end table
3218
3219 The value is an alist where each element @code{(@var{indicator} . @var{bitmaps})}
3220specifies the fringe bitmaps used to display a specific logical
3221fringe indicator.
3222
3223Here, @var{indicator} specifies the logical indicator type, and
3224@var{bitmaps} is list of symbols @code{(@var{left} @var{right}
3225[@var{left1} @var{right1}])} which specifies the actual bitmap shown
3226in the left or right fringe for the logical indicator.
3227
3228The @var{left} and @var{right} symbols specify the bitmaps shown in
3229the left and/or right fringe for the specific indicator. The
3230@var{left1} or @var{right1} bitmaps are used only for the `bottom' and
3231`top-bottom indicators when the last (only) line in has no final
3232newline. Alternatively, @var{bitmaps} may be a single symbol which is
3233used in both left and right fringes.
3234
3235When @code{fringe-indicator-alist} has a buffer-local value, and there
3236is no bitmap defined for a logical indicator, or the bitmap is
3237@code{t}, the corresponding value from the (non-local)
3238@code{default-fringe-indicator-alist} is used.
3239
3240To completely hide a specific indicator, set the bitmap to @code{nil}.
3241@end defvar
3242
3243@defvar default-fringe-indicator-alist
3244The value of this variable is the default value for
3245@code{fringe-indicator-alist} in buffers that do not override it.
3246@end defvar
3247
3248Standard fringe bitmaps for indicators:
3249@example
3250left-arrow right-arrow up-arrow down-arrow
3251left-curly-arrow right-curly-arrow
3252left-triangle right-triangle
3253top-left-angle top-right-angle
3254bottom-left-angle bottom-right-angle
3255left-bracket right-bracket
3256filled-rectangle hollow-rectangle
3257filled-square hollow-square
3258vertical-bar horizontal-bar
3259empty-line question-mark
3260@end example
3261
3262@node Fringe Cursors
3263@subsection Fringe Cursors
3264@cindex fringe cursors
3265@cindex cursor, fringe
3266
3267 When a line is exactly as wide as the window, Emacs displays the
3268cursor in the right fringe instead of using two lines. Different
3269bitmaps are used to represent the cursor in the fringe depending on
3270the current buffer's cursor type.
3271
3272@table @asis
3273@item Logical cursor types:
3274@code{box} , @code{hollow}, @code{bar},
3275@code{hbar}, @code{hollow-small}.
3276@end table
3277
3278The @code{hollow-small} type is used instead of @code{hollow} when the
3279normal @code{hollow-rectangle} bitmap is too tall to fit on a specific
3280display line.
3281
3282@defvar overflow-newline-into-fringe
3283If this is non-@code{nil}, lines exactly as wide as the window (not
3284counting the final newline character) are not continued. Instead,
3285when point is at the end of the line, the cursor appears in the right
3286fringe.
3287@end defvar
3288
3289@defvar fringe-cursor-alist
3290This variable specifies the mapping from logical cursor type to the
3291actual fringe bitmaps displayed in the right fringe. The value is an
3292alist where each element @code{(@var{cursor} . @var{bitmap})} specifies
3293the fringe bitmaps used to display a specific logical cursor type in
3294the fringe. Here, @var{cursor} specifies the logical cursor type and
3295@var{bitmap} is a symbol specifying the fringe bitmap to be displayed
3296for that logical cursor type.
3297
3298When @code{fringe-cursor-alist} has a buffer-local value, and there is
3299no bitmap defined for a cursor type, the corresponding value from the
3300(non-local) @code{default-fringes-indicator-alist} is used.
3301@end defvar
3302
3303@defvar default-fringes-cursor-alist
3304The value of this variable is the default value for
3305@code{fringe-cursor-alist} in buffers that do not override it.
3306@end defvar
3307
3308Standard bitmaps for displaying the cursor in right fringe:
3309@example
3310filled-rectangle hollow-rectangle filled-square hollow-square
3311vertical-bar horizontal-bar
3312@end example
3313
3314
3315@node Fringe Bitmaps
3316@subsection Fringe Bitmaps
3317@cindex fringe bitmaps
3318@cindex bitmaps, fringe
3319
3320 The @dfn{fringe bitmaps} are the actual bitmaps which represent the
3321logical fringe indicators for truncated or continued lines, buffer
3322boundaries, overlay arrow, etc. Fringe bitmap symbols have their own
3323name space. The fringe bitmaps are shared by all frames and windows.
3324You can redefine the built-in fringe bitmaps, and you can define new
3325fringe bitmaps.
3326
3327 The way to display a bitmap in the left or right fringes for a given
3328line in a window is by specifying the @code{display} property for one
3329of the characters that appears in it. Use a display specification of
3330the form @code{(left-fringe @var{bitmap} [@var{face}])} or
3331@code{(right-fringe @var{bitmap} [@var{face}])} (@pxref{Display
3332Property}). Here, @var{bitmap} is a symbol identifying the bitmap you
3333want, and @var{face} (which is optional) is the name of the face whose
3334colors should be used for displaying the bitmap, instead of the
3335default @code{fringe} face. @var{face} is automatically merged with
3336the @code{fringe} face, so normally @var{face} need only specify the
3337foreground color for the bitmap.
3338
3339@defun fringe-bitmaps-at-pos &optional pos window
3340This function returns the fringe bitmaps of the display line
3341containing position @var{pos} in window @var{window}. The return
3342value has the form @code{(@var{left} @var{right} @var{ov})}, where @var{left}
3343is the symbol for the fringe bitmap in the left fringe (or @code{nil}
3344if no bitmap), @var{right} is similar for the right fringe, and @var{ov}
3345is non-@code{nil} if there is an overlay arrow in the left fringe.
3346
3347The value is @code{nil} if @var{pos} is not visible in @var{window}.
3348If @var{window} is @code{nil}, that stands for the selected window.
3349If @var{pos} is @code{nil}, that stands for the value of point in
3350@var{window}.
3351@end defun
3352
3353@node Customizing Bitmaps
3354@subsection Customizing Fringe Bitmaps
3355
3356@defun define-fringe-bitmap bitmap bits &optional height width align
3357This function defines the symbol @var{bitmap} as a new fringe bitmap,
3358or replaces an existing bitmap with that name.
3359
3360The argument @var{bits} specifies the image to use. It should be
3361either a string or a vector of integers, where each element (an
3362integer) corresponds to one row of the bitmap. Each bit of an integer
3363corresponds to one pixel of the bitmap, where the low bit corresponds
3364to the rightmost pixel of the bitmap.
3365
3366The height is normally the length of @var{bits}. However, you
3367can specify a different height with non-@code{nil} @var{height}. The width
3368is normally 8, but you can specify a different width with non-@code{nil}
3369@var{width}. The width must be an integer between 1 and 16.
3370
3371The argument @var{align} specifies the positioning of the bitmap
3372relative to the range of rows where it is used; the default is to
3373center the bitmap. The allowed values are @code{top}, @code{center},
3374or @code{bottom}.
3375
3376The @var{align} argument may also be a list @code{(@var{align}
3377@var{periodic})} where @var{align} is interpreted as described above.
3378If @var{periodic} is non-@code{nil}, it specifies that the rows in
3379@code{bits} should be repeated enough times to reach the specified
3380height.
3381@end defun
3382
3383@defun destroy-fringe-bitmap bitmap
3384This function destroy the fringe bitmap identified by @var{bitmap}.
3385If @var{bitmap} identifies a standard fringe bitmap, it actually
3386restores the standard definition of that bitmap, instead of
3387eliminating it entirely.
3388@end defun
3389
3390@defun set-fringe-bitmap-face bitmap &optional face
3391This sets the face for the fringe bitmap @var{bitmap} to @var{face}.
3392If @var{face} is @code{nil}, it selects the @code{fringe} face. The
3393bitmap's face controls the color to draw it in.
3394
3395@var{face} is merged with the @code{fringe} face, so normally
3396@var{face} should specify only the foreground color.
3397@end defun
3398
3399@node Overlay Arrow
3400@subsection The Overlay Arrow
3401@c @cindex overlay arrow Duplicates variable names
3402
3403 The @dfn{overlay arrow} is useful for directing the user's attention
3404to a particular line in a buffer. For example, in the modes used for
3405interface to debuggers, the overlay arrow indicates the line of code
3406about to be executed. This feature has nothing to do with
3407@dfn{overlays} (@pxref{Overlays}).
3408
3409@defvar overlay-arrow-string
3410This variable holds the string to display to call attention to a
3411particular line, or @code{nil} if the arrow feature is not in use.
3412On a graphical display the contents of the string are ignored; instead a
3413glyph is displayed in the fringe area to the left of the display area.
3414@end defvar
3415
3416@defvar overlay-arrow-position
3417This variable holds a marker that indicates where to display the overlay
3418arrow. It should point at the beginning of a line. On a non-graphical
3419display the arrow text
3420appears at the beginning of that line, overlaying any text that would
3421otherwise appear. Since the arrow is usually short, and the line
3422usually begins with indentation, normally nothing significant is
3423overwritten.
3424
3425The overlay-arrow string is displayed in any given buffer if the value
3426of @code{overlay-arrow-position} in that buffer points into that
3427buffer. Thus, it is possible to display multiple overlay arrow strings
3428by creating buffer-local bindings of @code{overlay-arrow-position}.
3429However, it is usually cleaner to use
3430@code{overlay-arrow-variable-list} to achieve this result.
3431@c !!! overlay-arrow-position: but the overlay string may remain in the display
3432@c of some other buffer until an update is required. This should be fixed
3433@c now. Is it?
3434@end defvar
3435
3436 You can do a similar job by creating an overlay with a
3437@code{before-string} property. @xref{Overlay Properties}.
3438
3439 You can define multiple overlay arrows via the variable
3440@code{overlay-arrow-variable-list}.
3441
3442@defvar overlay-arrow-variable-list
3443This variable's value is a list of variables, each of which specifies
3444the position of an overlay arrow. The variable
3445@code{overlay-arrow-position} has its normal meaning because it is on
3446this list.
3447@end defvar
3448
3449Each variable on this list can have properties
3450@code{overlay-arrow-string} and @code{overlay-arrow-bitmap} that
3451specify an overlay arrow string (for text-only terminals) or fringe
3452bitmap (for graphical terminals) to display at the corresponding
3453overlay arrow position. If either property is not set, the default
3454@code{overlay-arrow-string} or @code{overlay-arrow} fringe indicator
3455is used.
3456
3457@node Scroll Bars
3458@section Scroll Bars
3459@cindex scroll bars
3460
3461Normally the frame parameter @code{vertical-scroll-bars} controls
3462whether the windows in the frame have vertical scroll bars, and
3463whether they are on the left or right. The frame parameter
3464@code{scroll-bar-width} specifies how wide they are (@code{nil}
3465meaning the default). @xref{Layout Parameters}.
3466
3467@defun frame-current-scroll-bars &optional frame
3468This function reports the scroll bar type settings for frame
3469@var{frame}. The value is a cons cell
3470@code{(@var{vertical-type} .@: @var{horizontal-type})}, where
3471@var{vertical-type} is either @code{left}, @code{right}, or @code{nil}
3472(which means no scroll bar.) @var{horizontal-type} is meant to
3473specify the horizontal scroll bar type, but since they are not
3474implemented, it is always @code{nil}.
3475@end defun
3476
3477@vindex vertical-scroll-bar
3478 You can enable or disable scroll bars for a particular buffer,
3479by setting the variable @code{vertical-scroll-bar}. This variable
3480automatically becomes buffer-local when set. The possible values are
3481@code{left}, @code{right}, @code{t}, which means to use the
3482frame's default, and @code{nil} for no scroll bar.
3483
3484 You can also control this for individual windows. Call the function
3485@code{set-window-scroll-bars} to specify what to do for a specific window:
3486
3487@defun set-window-scroll-bars window width &optional vertical-type horizontal-type
3488This function sets the width and type of scroll bars for window
3489@var{window}.
3490
3491@var{width} specifies the scroll bar width in pixels (@code{nil} means
3492use the width specified for the frame). @var{vertical-type} specifies
3493whether to have a vertical scroll bar and, if so, where. The possible
3494values are @code{left}, @code{right} and @code{nil}, just like the
3495values of the @code{vertical-scroll-bars} frame parameter.
3496
3497The argument @var{horizontal-type} is meant to specify whether and
3498where to have horizontal scroll bars, but since they are not
3499implemented, it has no effect. If @var{window} is @code{nil}, the
3500selected window is used.
3501@end defun
3502
3503@defun window-scroll-bars &optional window
3504Report the width and type of scroll bars specified for @var{window}.
3505If @var{window} is omitted or @code{nil}, the selected window is used.
3506The value is a list of the form @code{(@var{width}
3507@var{cols} @var{vertical-type} @var{horizontal-type})}. The value
3508@var{width} is the value that was specified for the width (which may
3509be @code{nil}); @var{cols} is the number of columns that the scroll
3510bar actually occupies.
3511
3512@var{horizontal-type} is not actually meaningful.
3513@end defun
3514
3515If you don't specify these values for a window with
3516@code{set-window-scroll-bars}, the buffer-local variables
3517@code{scroll-bar-mode} and @code{scroll-bar-width} in the buffer being
3518displayed control the window's vertical scroll bars. The function
3519@code{set-window-buffer} examines these variables. If you change them
3520in a buffer that is already visible in a window, you can make the
3521window take note of the new values by calling @code{set-window-buffer}
3522specifying the same buffer that is already displayed.
3523
3524@defvar scroll-bar-mode
3525This variable, always local in all buffers, controls whether and where
3526to put scroll bars in windows displaying the buffer. The possible values
3527are @code{nil} for no scroll bar, @code{left} to put a scroll bar on
3528the left, and @code{right} to put a scroll bar on the right.
3529@end defvar
3530
3531@defun window-current-scroll-bars &optional window
3532This function reports the scroll bar type for window @var{window}.
3533If @var{window} is omitted or @code{nil}, the selected window is used.
3534The value is a cons cell
3535@code{(@var{vertical-type} .@: @var{horizontal-type})}. Unlike
3536@code{window-scroll-bars}, this reports the scroll bar type actually
3537used, once frame defaults and @code{scroll-bar-mode} are taken into
3538account.
3539@end defun
3540
3541@defvar scroll-bar-width
3542This variable, always local in all buffers, specifies the width of the
3543buffer's scroll bars, measured in pixels. A value of @code{nil} means
3544to use the value specified by the frame.
3545@end defvar
3546
3547@node Display Property
3548@section The @code{display} Property
3549@cindex display specification
3550@kindex display @r{(text property)}
3551
3552 The @code{display} text property (or overlay property) is used to
3553insert images into text, and also control other aspects of how text
3554displays. The value of the @code{display} property should be a
3555display specification, or a list or vector containing several display
fb33e6a9
RS
3556specifications. Display specifications in the same @code{display}
3557property value generally apply in parallel to the text they cover.
3558
3559 If several sources (overlays and/or a text property) specify values
3560for the @code{display} property, only one of the values takes effect,
3561following the rules of @code{get-char-property}. @xref{Examining
3562Properties}.
3563
3564 The rest of this section describes several kinds of
3565display specifications and what they mean.
3566
3567@menu
3568* Replacing Specs:: Display specs that replace the text.
3569* Specified Space:: Displaying one space with a specified width.
3570* Pixel Specification:: Specifying space width or height in pixels.
3571* Other Display Specs:: Displaying an image; magnifying text; moving it
3572 up or down on the page; adjusting the width
3573 of spaces within text.
3574* Display Margins:: Displaying text or images to the side of the main text.
3575@end menu
3576
3577@node Replacing Specs
3578@subsection Display Specs That Replace The Text
4db6da64 3579
9600ac7c 3580 Some kinds of @code{display} specifications specify something to
fb33e6a9
RS
3581display instead of the text that has the property. These are called
3582@dfn{replacing} display specifications. Emacs does not allow the user
3583to interactively move point into the middle of buffer text that is
3584replaced in this way.
3585
3586 If a list of display specifications includes more than one replacing
3587display specification, the first overrides the rest. Replacing
3588display specifications make most other display specifications
3589irrelevant, since those don't apply to the replacement.
3590
3591 For replacing display specifications, ``the text that has the
3592property'' means all the consecutive characters that have the same
3593Lisp object as their @code{display} property; these characters are
3594replaced as a single unit. By contrast, characters that have similar
3595but distinct Lisp objects as their @code{display} properties are
3596handled separately. Here's a function that illustrates this point:
b8d4c8d0
GM
3597
3598@smallexample
3599(defun foo ()
3600 (goto-char (point-min))
3601 (dotimes (i 5)
3602 (let ((string (concat "A")))
3603 (put-text-property (point) (1+ (point)) 'display string)
3604 (forward-char 1)
3605 (put-text-property (point) (1+ (point)) 'display string)
3606 (forward-char 1))))
3607@end smallexample
3608
3609@noindent
3610It gives each of the first ten characters in the buffer string
3611@code{"A"} as the @code{display} property, but they don't all get the
3612same string. The first two characters get the same string, so they
3613together are replaced with one @samp{A}. The next two characters get
3614a second string, so they together are replaced with one @samp{A}.
3615Likewise for each following pair of characters. Thus, the ten
3616characters appear as five A's. This function would have the same
3617results:
3618
3619@smallexample
3620(defun foo ()
3621 (goto-char (point-min))
3622 (dotimes (i 5)
3623 (let ((string (concat "A")))
9600ac7c 3624 (put-text-property (point) (+ 2 (point)) 'display string)
b8d4c8d0
GM
3625 (put-text-property (point) (1+ (point)) 'display string)
3626 (forward-char 2))))
3627@end smallexample
3628
3629@noindent
3630This illustrates that what matters is the property value for
3631each character. If two consecutive characters have the same
3632object as the @code{display} property value, it's irrelevant
3633whether they got this property from a single call to
3634@code{put-text-property} or from two different calls.
3635
b8d4c8d0
GM
3636@node Specified Space
3637@subsection Specified Spaces
3638@cindex spaces, specified height or width
3639@cindex variable-width spaces
3640
3641 To display a space of specified width and/or height, use a display
3642specification of the form @code{(space . @var{props})}, where
3643@var{props} is a property list (a list of alternating properties and
3644values). You can put this property on one or more consecutive
3645characters; a space of the specified height and width is displayed in
3646place of @emph{all} of those characters. These are the properties you
3647can use in @var{props} to specify the weight of the space:
3648
3649@table @code
3650@item :width @var{width}
3651If @var{width} is an integer or floating point number, it specifies
3652that the space width should be @var{width} times the normal character
3653width. @var{width} can also be a @dfn{pixel width} specification
3654(@pxref{Pixel Specification}).
3655
3656@item :relative-width @var{factor}
3657Specifies that the width of the stretch should be computed from the
3658first character in the group of consecutive characters that have the
3659same @code{display} property. The space width is the width of that
3660character, multiplied by @var{factor}.
3661
3662@item :align-to @var{hpos}
3663Specifies that the space should be wide enough to reach @var{hpos}.
3664If @var{hpos} is a number, it is measured in units of the normal
3665character width. @var{hpos} can also be a @dfn{pixel width}
3666specification (@pxref{Pixel Specification}).
3667@end table
3668
3669 You should use one and only one of the above properties. You can
3670also specify the height of the space, with these properties:
3671
3672@table @code
3673@item :height @var{height}
3674Specifies the height of the space.
3675If @var{height} is an integer or floating point number, it specifies
3676that the space height should be @var{height} times the normal character
3677height. The @var{height} may also be a @dfn{pixel height} specification
3678(@pxref{Pixel Specification}).
3679
3680@item :relative-height @var{factor}
3681Specifies the height of the space, multiplying the ordinary height
3682of the text having this display specification by @var{factor}.
3683
3684@item :ascent @var{ascent}
3685If the value of @var{ascent} is a non-negative number no greater than
3686100, it specifies that @var{ascent} percent of the height of the space
3687should be considered as the ascent of the space---that is, the part
3688above the baseline. The ascent may also be specified in pixel units
3689with a @dfn{pixel ascent} specification (@pxref{Pixel Specification}).
3690
3691@end table
3692
3693 Don't use both @code{:height} and @code{:relative-height} together.
3694
3695 The @code{:width} and @code{:align-to} properties are supported on
3696non-graphic terminals, but the other space properties in this section
3697are not.
3698
3699@node Pixel Specification
3700@subsection Pixel Specification for Spaces
3701@cindex spaces, pixel specification
3702
3703 The value of the @code{:width}, @code{:align-to}, @code{:height},
3704and @code{:ascent} properties can be a special kind of expression that
3705is evaluated during redisplay. The result of the evaluation is used
3706as an absolute number of pixels.
3707
3708 The following expressions are supported:
3709
3710@smallexample
3711@group
3712 @var{expr} ::= @var{num} | (@var{num}) | @var{unit} | @var{elem} | @var{pos} | @var{image} | @var{form}
3713 @var{num} ::= @var{integer} | @var{float} | @var{symbol}
3714 @var{unit} ::= in | mm | cm | width | height
3715@end group
3716@group
3717 @var{elem} ::= left-fringe | right-fringe | left-margin | right-margin
3718 | scroll-bar | text
3719 @var{pos} ::= left | center | right
3720 @var{form} ::= (@var{num} . @var{expr}) | (@var{op} @var{expr} ...)
3721 @var{op} ::= + | -
3722@end group
3723@end smallexample
3724
3725 The form @var{num} specifies a fraction of the default frame font
3726height or width. The form @code{(@var{num})} specifies an absolute
3727number of pixels. If @var{num} is a symbol, @var{symbol}, its
3728buffer-local variable binding is used.
3729
3730 The @code{in}, @code{mm}, and @code{cm} units specify the number of
3731pixels per inch, millimeter, and centimeter, respectively. The
3732@code{width} and @code{height} units correspond to the default width
3733and height of the current face. An image specification @code{image}
3734corresponds to the width or height of the image.
3735
3736 The @code{left-fringe}, @code{right-fringe}, @code{left-margin},
3737@code{right-margin}, @code{scroll-bar}, and @code{text} elements
3738specify to the width of the corresponding area of the window.
3739
3740 The @code{left}, @code{center}, and @code{right} positions can be
3741used with @code{:align-to} to specify a position relative to the left
3742edge, center, or right edge of the text area.
3743
3744 Any of the above window elements (except @code{text}) can also be
3745used with @code{:align-to} to specify that the position is relative to
3746the left edge of the given area. Once the base offset for a relative
3747position has been set (by the first occurrence of one of these
3748symbols), further occurrences of these symbols are interpreted as the
3749width of the specified area. For example, to align to the center of
3750the left-margin, use
3751
3752@example
3753:align-to (+ left-margin (0.5 . left-margin))
3754@end example
3755
3756 If no specific base offset is set for alignment, it is always relative
3757to the left edge of the text area. For example, @samp{:align-to 0} in a
3758header-line aligns with the first text column in the text area.
3759
3760 A value of the form @code{(@var{num} . @var{expr})} stands for the
3761product of the values of @var{num} and @var{expr}. For example,
3762@code{(2 . in)} specifies a width of 2 inches, while @code{(0.5 .
3763@var{image})} specifies half the width (or height) of the specified
3764image.
3765
3766 The form @code{(+ @var{expr} ...)} adds up the value of the
3767expressions. The form @code{(- @var{expr} ...)} negates or subtracts
3768the value of the expressions.
3769
3770@node Other Display Specs
3771@subsection Other Display Specifications
3772
3773 Here are the other sorts of display specifications that you can use
3774in the @code{display} text property.
3775
3776@table @code
3777@item @var{string}
3778Display @var{string} instead of the text that has this property.
3779
3780Recursive display specifications are not supported---@var{string}'s
3781@code{display} properties, if any, are not used.
3782
3783@item (image . @var{image-props})
3784This kind of display specification is an image descriptor (@pxref{Images}).
3785When used as a display specification, it means to display the image
3786instead of the text that has the display specification.
3787
3788@item (slice @var{x} @var{y} @var{width} @var{height})
3789This specification together with @code{image} specifies a @dfn{slice}
3790(a partial area) of the image to display. The elements @var{y} and
3791@var{x} specify the top left corner of the slice, within the image;
3792@var{width} and @var{height} specify the width and height of the
3793slice. Integer values are numbers of pixels. A floating point number
3794in the range 0.0--1.0 stands for that fraction of the width or height
3795of the entire image.
3796
3797@item ((margin nil) @var{string})
3798A display specification of this form means to display @var{string}
3799instead of the text that has the display specification, at the same
3800position as that text. It is equivalent to using just @var{string},
3801but it is done as a special case of marginal display (@pxref{Display
3802Margins}).
3803
3804@item (space-width @var{factor})
3805This display specification affects all the space characters within the
3806text that has the specification. It displays all of these spaces
3807@var{factor} times as wide as normal. The element @var{factor} should
3808be an integer or float. Characters other than spaces are not affected
3809at all; in particular, this has no effect on tab characters.
3810
3811@item (height @var{height})
3812This display specification makes the text taller or shorter.
3813Here are the possibilities for @var{height}:
3814
3815@table @asis
3816@item @code{(+ @var{n})}
3817This means to use a font that is @var{n} steps larger. A ``step'' is
3818defined by the set of available fonts---specifically, those that match
3819what was otherwise specified for this text, in all attributes except
3820height. Each size for which a suitable font is available counts as
3821another step. @var{n} should be an integer.
3822
3823@item @code{(- @var{n})}
3824This means to use a font that is @var{n} steps smaller.
3825
3826@item a number, @var{factor}
3827A number, @var{factor}, means to use a font that is @var{factor} times
3828as tall as the default font.
3829
3830@item a symbol, @var{function}
3831A symbol is a function to compute the height. It is called with the
3832current height as argument, and should return the new height to use.
3833
3834@item anything else, @var{form}
3835If the @var{height} value doesn't fit the previous possibilities, it is
3836a form. Emacs evaluates it to get the new height, with the symbol
3837@code{height} bound to the current specified font height.
3838@end table
3839
3840@item (raise @var{factor})
3841This kind of display specification raises or lowers the text
3842it applies to, relative to the baseline of the line.
3843
3844@var{factor} must be a number, which is interpreted as a multiple of the
3845height of the affected text. If it is positive, that means to display
3846the characters raised. If it is negative, that means to display them
3847lower down.
3848
3849If the text also has a @code{height} display specification, that does
3850not affect the amount of raising or lowering, which is based on the
3851faces used for the text.
3852@end table
3853
3854@c We put all the `@code{(when ...)}' on one line to encourage
3855@c makeinfo's end-of-sentence heuristics to DTRT. Previously, the dot
3856@c was at eol; the info file ended up w/ two spaces rendered after it.
3857 You can make any display specification conditional. To do that,
3858package it in another list of the form
3859@code{(when @var{condition} . @var{spec})}.
3860Then the specification @var{spec} applies only when
3861@var{condition} evaluates to a non-@code{nil} value. During the
3862evaluation, @code{object} is bound to the string or buffer having the
3863conditional @code{display} property. @code{position} and
3864@code{buffer-position} are bound to the position within @code{object}
3865and the buffer position where the @code{display} property was found,
3866respectively. Both positions can be different when @code{object} is a
3867string.
3868
3869@node Display Margins
3870@subsection Displaying in the Margins
3871@cindex display margins
3872@cindex margins, display
3873
fb33e6a9
RS
3874 A buffer can have blank areas called @dfn{display margins} on the
3875left and on the right. Ordinary text never appears in these areas,
3876but you can put things into the display margins using the
3877@code{display} property. There is currently no way to make text or
3878images in the margin mouse-sensitive.
3879
3880 The way to display something in the margins is to specify it in a
3881margin display specification in the @code{display} property of some
3882text. This is a replacing display specification, meaning that the
3883text you put it on does not get displayed; the margin display appears,
3884but that text does not.
3885
3886 A margin display specification looks like @code{((margin
3887right-margin) @var{spec}} or @code{((margin left-margin) @var{spec})}.
3888Here, @var{spec} is another display specification that says what to
3889display in the margin. Typically it is a string of text to display,
3890or an image descriptor.
3891
3892 To display something in the margin @emph{in association with}
3893certain buffer text, without altering or preventing the display of
3894that text, put a @code{before-string} property on the text and put the
3895margin display specification on the contents of the before-string.
b8d4c8d0
GM
3896
3897 Before the display margins can display anything, you must give
3898them a nonzero width. The usual way to do that is to set these
3899variables:
3900
3901@defvar left-margin-width
3902This variable specifies the width of the left margin.
3903It is buffer-local in all buffers.
3904@end defvar
3905
3906@defvar right-margin-width
3907This variable specifies the width of the right margin.
3908It is buffer-local in all buffers.
3909@end defvar
3910
3911 Setting these variables does not immediately affect the window. These
3912variables are checked when a new buffer is displayed in the window.
3913Thus, you can make changes take effect by calling
3914@code{set-window-buffer}.
3915
3916 You can also set the margin widths immediately.
3917
3918@defun set-window-margins window left &optional right
3919This function specifies the margin widths for window @var{window}.
3920The argument @var{left} controls the left margin and
3921@var{right} controls the right margin (default @code{0}).
3922@end defun
3923
3924@defun window-margins &optional window
3925This function returns the left and right margins of @var{window}
3926as a cons cell of the form @code{(@var{left} . @var{right})}.
3927If @var{window} is @code{nil}, the selected window is used.
3928@end defun
3929
3930@node Images
3931@section Images
3932@cindex images in buffers
3933
3934 To display an image in an Emacs buffer, you must first create an image
3935descriptor, then use it as a display specifier in the @code{display}
3936property of text that is displayed (@pxref{Display Property}).
3937
3938 Emacs is usually able to display images when it is run on a
3939graphical terminal. Images cannot be displayed in a text terminal, on
3940certain graphical terminals that lack the support for this, or if
3941Emacs is compiled without image support. You can use the function
3942@code{display-images-p} to determine if images can in principle be
3943displayed (@pxref{Display Feature Testing}).
3944
3945@menu
3946* Image Formats:: Supported image formats.
3947* Image Descriptors:: How to specify an image for use in @code{:display}.
3948* XBM Images:: Special features for XBM format.
3949* XPM Images:: Special features for XPM format.
3950* GIF Images:: Special features for GIF format.
905a9adb 3951* TIFF Images:: Special features for TIFF format.
b8d4c8d0
GM
3952* PostScript Images:: Special features for PostScript format.
3953* Other Image Types:: Various other formats are supported.
3954* Defining Images:: Convenient ways to define an image for later use.
3955* Showing Images:: Convenient ways to display an image once it is defined.
3956* Image Cache:: Internal mechanisms of image display.
3957@end menu
3958
3959@node Image Formats
3960@subsection Image Formats
3961@cindex image formats
3962@cindex image types
3963
3964 Emacs can display a number of different image formats; some of them
3965are supported only if particular support libraries are installed on
3966your machine. In some environments, Emacs can load image
3967libraries on demand; if so, the variable @code{image-library-alist}
3968can be used to modify the set of known names for these dynamic
3969libraries (though it is not possible to add new image formats).
3970
3971 The supported image formats include XBM, XPM (this requires the
3972libraries @code{libXpm} version 3.4k and @code{libz}), GIF (requiring
3973@code{libungif} 4.1.0), PostScript, PBM, JPEG (requiring the
3974@code{libjpeg} library version v6a), TIFF (requiring @code{libtiff}
3975v3.4), PNG (requiring @code{libpng} 1.0.2), and SVG (requiring
3976@code{librsvg} 2.0.0).
3977
3978 You specify one of these formats with an image type symbol. The image
3979type symbols are @code{xbm}, @code{xpm}, @code{gif}, @code{postscript},
3980@code{pbm}, @code{jpeg}, @code{tiff}, @code{png}, and @code{svg}.
3981
3982@defvar image-types
3983This variable contains a list of those image type symbols that are
3984potentially supported in the current configuration.
3985@emph{Potentially} here means that Emacs knows about the image types,
3986not necessarily that they can be loaded (they could depend on
3987unavailable dynamic libraries, for example).
3988
3989To know which image types are really available, use
3990@code{image-type-available-p}.
3991@end defvar
3992
3993@defvar image-library-alist
3994This in an alist of image types vs external libraries needed to
3995display them.
3996
3997Each element is a list @code{(@var{image-type} @var{library}...)},
3998where the car is a supported image format from @code{image-types}, and
3999the rest are strings giving alternate filenames for the corresponding
4000external libraries to load.
4001
4002Emacs tries to load the libraries in the order they appear on the
4003list; if none is loaded, the running session of Emacs won't support
4004the image type. @code{pbm} and @code{xbm} don't need to be listed;
4005they're always supported.
4006
4007This variable is ignored if the image libraries are statically linked
4008into Emacs.
4009@end defvar
4010
4011@defun image-type-available-p type
4012This function returns non-@code{nil} if image type @var{type} is
4013available, i.e., if images of this type can be loaded and displayed in
4014Emacs. @var{type} should be one of the types contained in
4015@code{image-types}.
4016
4017For image types whose support libraries are statically linked, this
4018function always returns @code{t}; for other image types, it returns
4019@code{t} if the dynamic library could be loaded, @code{nil} otherwise.
4020@end defun
4021
4022@node Image Descriptors
4023@subsection Image Descriptors
4024@cindex image descriptor
4025
4026 An image description is a list of the form @code{(image . @var{props})},
4027where @var{props} is a property list containing alternating keyword
4028symbols (symbols whose names start with a colon) and their values.
4029You can use any Lisp object as a property, but the only properties
4030that have any special meaning are certain symbols, all of them keywords.
4031
4032 Every image descriptor must contain the property @code{:type
4033@var{type}} to specify the format of the image. The value of @var{type}
4034should be an image type symbol; for example, @code{xpm} for an image in
4035XPM format.
4036
4037 Here is a list of other properties that are meaningful for all image
4038types:
4039
4040@table @code
4041@item :file @var{file}
4042The @code{:file} property says to load the image from file
4043@var{file}. If @var{file} is not an absolute file name, it is expanded
4044in @code{data-directory}.
4045
4046@item :data @var{data}
4047The @code{:data} property says the actual contents of the image.
4048Each image must use either @code{:data} or @code{:file}, but not both.
4049For most image types, the value of the @code{:data} property should be a
4050string containing the image data; we recommend using a unibyte string.
4051
4052Before using @code{:data}, look for further information in the section
4053below describing the specific image format. For some image types,
4054@code{:data} may not be supported; for some, it allows other data types;
4055for some, @code{:data} alone is not enough, so you need to use other
4056image properties along with @code{:data}.
4057
4058@item :margin @var{margin}
4059The @code{:margin} property specifies how many pixels to add as an
4060extra margin around the image. The value, @var{margin}, must be a
4061non-negative number, or a pair @code{(@var{x} . @var{y})} of such
4062numbers. If it is a pair, @var{x} specifies how many pixels to add
4063horizontally, and @var{y} specifies how many pixels to add vertically.
4064If @code{:margin} is not specified, the default is zero.
4065
4066@item :ascent @var{ascent}
4067The @code{:ascent} property specifies the amount of the image's
4068height to use for its ascent---that is, the part above the baseline.
4069The value, @var{ascent}, must be a number in the range 0 to 100, or
4070the symbol @code{center}.
4071
4072If @var{ascent} is a number, that percentage of the image's height is
4073used for its ascent.
4074
4075If @var{ascent} is @code{center}, the image is vertically centered
4076around a centerline which would be the vertical centerline of text drawn
4077at the position of the image, in the manner specified by the text
4078properties and overlays that apply to the image.
4079
4080If this property is omitted, it defaults to 50.
4081
4082@item :relief @var{relief}
4083The @code{:relief} property, if non-@code{nil}, adds a shadow rectangle
4084around the image. The value, @var{relief}, specifies the width of the
4085shadow lines, in pixels. If @var{relief} is negative, shadows are drawn
4086so that the image appears as a pressed button; otherwise, it appears as
4087an unpressed button.
4088
4089@item :conversion @var{algorithm}
4090The @code{:conversion} property, if non-@code{nil}, specifies a
4091conversion algorithm that should be applied to the image before it is
4092displayed; the value, @var{algorithm}, specifies which algorithm.
4093
4094@table @code
4095@item laplace
4096@itemx emboss
4097Specifies the Laplace edge detection algorithm, which blurs out small
4098differences in color while highlighting larger differences. People
4099sometimes consider this useful for displaying the image for a
4100``disabled'' button.
4101
4102@item (edge-detection :matrix @var{matrix} :color-adjust @var{adjust})
4103Specifies a general edge-detection algorithm. @var{matrix} must be
4104either a nine-element list or a nine-element vector of numbers. A pixel
4105at position @math{x/y} in the transformed image is computed from
4106original pixels around that position. @var{matrix} specifies, for each
4107pixel in the neighborhood of @math{x/y}, a factor with which that pixel
4108will influence the transformed pixel; element @math{0} specifies the
4109factor for the pixel at @math{x-1/y-1}, element @math{1} the factor for
4110the pixel at @math{x/y-1} etc., as shown below:
4111@iftex
4112@tex
4113$$\pmatrix{x-1/y-1 & x/y-1 & x+1/y-1 \cr
4114 x-1/y & x/y & x+1/y \cr
4115 x-1/y+1& x/y+1 & x+1/y+1 \cr}$$
4116@end tex
4117@end iftex
4118@ifnottex
4119@display
4120 (x-1/y-1 x/y-1 x+1/y-1
4121 x-1/y x/y x+1/y
4122 x-1/y+1 x/y+1 x+1/y+1)
4123@end display
4124@end ifnottex
4125
4126The resulting pixel is computed from the color intensity of the color
4127resulting from summing up the RGB values of surrounding pixels,
4128multiplied by the specified factors, and dividing that sum by the sum
4129of the factors' absolute values.
4130
4131Laplace edge-detection currently uses a matrix of
4132@iftex
4133@tex
4134$$\pmatrix{1 & 0 & 0 \cr
4135 0& 0 & 0 \cr
4136 9 & 9 & -1 \cr}$$
4137@end tex
4138@end iftex
4139@ifnottex
4140@display
4141 (1 0 0
4142 0 0 0
4143 9 9 -1)
4144@end display
4145@end ifnottex
4146
4147Emboss edge-detection uses a matrix of
4148@iftex
4149@tex
4150$$\pmatrix{ 2 & -1 & 0 \cr
4151 -1 & 0 & 1 \cr
4152 0 & 1 & -2 \cr}$$
4153@end tex
4154@end iftex
4155@ifnottex
4156@display
4157 ( 2 -1 0
4158 -1 0 1
4159 0 1 -2)
4160@end display
4161@end ifnottex
4162
4163@item disabled
4164Specifies transforming the image so that it looks ``disabled.''
4165@end table
4166
4167@item :mask @var{mask}
4168If @var{mask} is @code{heuristic} or @code{(heuristic @var{bg})}, build
4169a clipping mask for the image, so that the background of a frame is
4170visible behind the image. If @var{bg} is not specified, or if @var{bg}
4171is @code{t}, determine the background color of the image by looking at
4172the four corners of the image, assuming the most frequently occurring
4173color from the corners is the background color of the image. Otherwise,
4174@var{bg} must be a list @code{(@var{red} @var{green} @var{blue})}
4175specifying the color to assume for the background of the image.
4176
4177If @var{mask} is @code{nil}, remove a mask from the image, if it has
4178one. Images in some formats include a mask which can be removed by
4179specifying @code{:mask nil}.
4180
4181@item :pointer @var{shape}
4182This specifies the pointer shape when the mouse pointer is over this
4183image. @xref{Pointer Shape}, for available pointer shapes.
4184
4185@item :map @var{map}
4186This associates an image map of @dfn{hot spots} with this image.
4187
4188An image map is an alist where each element has the format
4189@code{(@var{area} @var{id} @var{plist})}. An @var{area} is specified
4190as either a rectangle, a circle, or a polygon.
4191
4192A rectangle is a cons
4193@code{(rect . ((@var{x0} . @var{y0}) . (@var{x1} . @var{y1})))}
4194which specifies the pixel coordinates of the upper left and bottom right
4195corners of the rectangle area.
4196
4197A circle is a cons
4198@code{(circle . ((@var{x0} . @var{y0}) . @var{r}))}
4199which specifies the center and the radius of the circle; @var{r} may
4200be a float or integer.
4201
4202A polygon is a cons
4203@code{(poly . [@var{x0} @var{y0} @var{x1} @var{y1} ...])}
4204where each pair in the vector describes one corner in the polygon.
4205
4206When the mouse pointer lies on a hot-spot area of an image, the
4207@var{plist} of that hot-spot is consulted; if it contains a @code{help-echo}
4208property, that defines a tool-tip for the hot-spot, and if it contains
4209a @code{pointer} property, that defines the shape of the mouse cursor when
4210it is on the hot-spot.
4211@xref{Pointer Shape}, for available pointer shapes.
4212
4213When you click the mouse when the mouse pointer is over a hot-spot, an
4214event is composed by combining the @var{id} of the hot-spot with the
4215mouse event; for instance, @code{[area4 mouse-1]} if the hot-spot's
4216@var{id} is @code{area4}.
4217@end table
4218
4219@defun image-mask-p spec &optional frame
4220This function returns @code{t} if image @var{spec} has a mask bitmap.
4221@var{frame} is the frame on which the image will be displayed.
4222@var{frame} @code{nil} or omitted means to use the selected frame
4223(@pxref{Input Focus}).
4224@end defun
4225
4226@node XBM Images
4227@subsection XBM Images
4228@cindex XBM
4229
4230 To use XBM format, specify @code{xbm} as the image type. This image
4231format doesn't require an external library, so images of this type are
4232always supported.
4233
4234 Additional image properties supported for the @code{xbm} image type are:
4235
4236@table @code
4237@item :foreground @var{foreground}
4238The value, @var{foreground}, should be a string specifying the image
4239foreground color, or @code{nil} for the default color. This color is
4240used for each pixel in the XBM that is 1. The default is the frame's
4241foreground color.
4242
4243@item :background @var{background}
4244The value, @var{background}, should be a string specifying the image
4245background color, or @code{nil} for the default color. This color is
4246used for each pixel in the XBM that is 0. The default is the frame's
4247background color.
4248@end table
4249
4250 If you specify an XBM image using data within Emacs instead of an
4251external file, use the following three properties:
4252
4253@table @code
4254@item :data @var{data}
4255The value, @var{data}, specifies the contents of the image.
4256There are three formats you can use for @var{data}:
4257
4258@itemize @bullet
4259@item
4260A vector of strings or bool-vectors, each specifying one line of the
4261image. Do specify @code{:height} and @code{:width}.
4262
4263@item
4264A string containing the same byte sequence as an XBM file would contain.
4265You must not specify @code{:height} and @code{:width} in this case,
4266because omitting them is what indicates the data has the format of an
4267XBM file. The file contents specify the height and width of the image.
4268
4269@item
4270A string or a bool-vector containing the bits of the image (plus perhaps
4271some extra bits at the end that will not be used). It should contain at
4272least @var{width} * @code{height} bits. In this case, you must specify
4273@code{:height} and @code{:width}, both to indicate that the string
4274contains just the bits rather than a whole XBM file, and to specify the
4275size of the image.
4276@end itemize
4277
4278@item :width @var{width}
4279The value, @var{width}, specifies the width of the image, in pixels.
4280
4281@item :height @var{height}
4282The value, @var{height}, specifies the height of the image, in pixels.
4283@end table
4284
4285@node XPM Images
4286@subsection XPM Images
4287@cindex XPM
4288
4289 To use XPM format, specify @code{xpm} as the image type. The
4290additional image property @code{:color-symbols} is also meaningful with
4291the @code{xpm} image type:
4292
4293@table @code
4294@item :color-symbols @var{symbols}
4295The value, @var{symbols}, should be an alist whose elements have the
4296form @code{(@var{name} . @var{color})}. In each element, @var{name} is
4297the name of a color as it appears in the image file, and @var{color}
4298specifies the actual color to use for displaying that name.
4299@end table
4300
4301@node GIF Images
4302@subsection GIF Images
4303@cindex GIF
4304
4305 For GIF images, specify image type @code{gif}.
4306
4307@table @code
4308@item :index @var{index}
4309You can use @code{:index} to specify one image from a GIF file that
4310contains more than one image. This property specifies use of image
4311number @var{index} from the file. If the GIF file doesn't contain an
4312image with index @var{index}, the image displays as a hollow box.
4313@end table
4314
4315@ignore
4316This could be used to implement limited support for animated GIFs.
4317For example, the following function displays a multi-image GIF file
4318at point-min in the current buffer, switching between sub-images
4319every 0.1 seconds.
4320
4321(defun show-anim (file max)
4322 "Display multi-image GIF file FILE which contains MAX subimages."
4323 (display-anim (current-buffer) file 0 max t))
4324
4325(defun display-anim (buffer file idx max first-time)
4326 (when (= idx max)
4327 (setq idx 0))
4328 (let ((img (create-image file nil :image idx)))
4329 (save-excursion
4330 (set-buffer buffer)
4331 (goto-char (point-min))
4332 (unless first-time (delete-char 1))
4333 (insert-image img))
4334 (run-with-timer 0.1 nil 'display-anim buffer file (1+ idx) max nil)))
4335@end ignore
4336
905a9adb
JR
4337@node TIFF Images
4338@subsection TIFF Images
4339@cindex TIFF
4340
4341 For TIFF images, specify image type @code{tiff}.
4342
4343@table @code
4344@item :index @var{index}
4345You can use @code{:index} to specify one image from a TIFF file that
4346contains more than one image. This property specifies use of image
4347number @var{index} from the file. If the TIFF file doesn't contain an
4348image with index @var{index}, the image displays as a hollow box.
4349@end table
4350
b8d4c8d0
GM
4351@node PostScript Images
4352@subsection PostScript Images
4353@cindex postscript images
4354
4355 To use PostScript for an image, specify image type @code{postscript}.
4356This works only if you have Ghostscript installed. You must always use
4357these three properties:
4358
4359@table @code
4360@item :pt-width @var{width}
4361The value, @var{width}, specifies the width of the image measured in
4362points (1/72 inch). @var{width} must be an integer.
4363
4364@item :pt-height @var{height}
4365The value, @var{height}, specifies the height of the image in points
4366(1/72 inch). @var{height} must be an integer.
4367
4368@item :bounding-box @var{box}
4369The value, @var{box}, must be a list or vector of four integers, which
4370specifying the bounding box of the PostScript image, analogous to the
4371@samp{BoundingBox} comment found in PostScript files.
4372
4373@example
4374%%BoundingBox: 22 171 567 738
4375@end example
4376@end table
4377
4378 Displaying PostScript images from Lisp data is not currently
4379implemented, but it may be implemented by the time you read this.
4380See the @file{etc/NEWS} file to make sure.
4381
4382@node Other Image Types
4383@subsection Other Image Types
4384@cindex PBM
4385
4386 For PBM images, specify image type @code{pbm}. Color, gray-scale and
4387monochromatic images are supported. For mono PBM images, two additional
4388image properties are supported.
4389
4390@table @code
4391@item :foreground @var{foreground}
4392The value, @var{foreground}, should be a string specifying the image
4393foreground color, or @code{nil} for the default color. This color is
3696411e 4394used for each pixel in the PBM that is 1. The default is the frame's
b8d4c8d0
GM
4395foreground color.
4396
4397@item :background @var{background}
4398The value, @var{background}, should be a string specifying the image
4399background color, or @code{nil} for the default color. This color is
3696411e 4400used for each pixel in the PBM that is 0. The default is the frame's
b8d4c8d0
GM
4401background color.
4402@end table
4403
4404 For JPEG images, specify image type @code{jpeg}.
4405
4406 For TIFF images, specify image type @code{tiff}.
4407
4408 For PNG images, specify image type @code{png}.
4409
4410 For SVG images, specify image type @code{svg}.
4411
4412@node Defining Images
4413@subsection Defining Images
4414
4415 The functions @code{create-image}, @code{defimage} and
4416@code{find-image} provide convenient ways to create image descriptors.
4417
4418@defun create-image file-or-data &optional type data-p &rest props
4419This function creates and returns an image descriptor which uses the
4420data in @var{file-or-data}. @var{file-or-data} can be a file name or
4421a string containing the image data; @var{data-p} should be @code{nil}
4422for the former case, non-@code{nil} for the latter case.
4423
4424The optional argument @var{type} is a symbol specifying the image type.
4425If @var{type} is omitted or @code{nil}, @code{create-image} tries to
4426determine the image type from the file's first few bytes, or else
4427from the file's name.
4428
4429The remaining arguments, @var{props}, specify additional image
4430properties---for example,
4431
4432@example
4433(create-image "foo.xpm" 'xpm nil :heuristic-mask t)
4434@end example
4435
4436The function returns @code{nil} if images of this type are not
4437supported. Otherwise it returns an image descriptor.
4438@end defun
4439
4440@defmac defimage symbol specs &optional doc
4441This macro defines @var{symbol} as an image name. The arguments
4442@var{specs} is a list which specifies how to display the image.
4443The third argument, @var{doc}, is an optional documentation string.
4444
4445Each argument in @var{specs} has the form of a property list, and each
4446one should specify at least the @code{:type} property and either the
4447@code{:file} or the @code{:data} property. The value of @code{:type}
4448should be a symbol specifying the image type, the value of
4449@code{:file} is the file to load the image from, and the value of
4450@code{:data} is a string containing the actual image data. Here is an
4451example:
4452
4453@example
4454(defimage test-image
4455 ((:type xpm :file "~/test1.xpm")
4456 (:type xbm :file "~/test1.xbm")))
4457@end example
4458
4459@code{defimage} tests each argument, one by one, to see if it is
4460usable---that is, if the type is supported and the file exists. The
4461first usable argument is used to make an image descriptor which is
4462stored in @var{symbol}.
4463
4464If none of the alternatives will work, then @var{symbol} is defined
4465as @code{nil}.
4466@end defmac
4467
4468@defun find-image specs
4469This function provides a convenient way to find an image satisfying one
4470of a list of image specifications @var{specs}.
4471
4472Each specification in @var{specs} is a property list with contents
4473depending on image type. All specifications must at least contain the
4474properties @code{:type @var{type}} and either @w{@code{:file @var{file}}}
4475or @w{@code{:data @var{DATA}}}, where @var{type} is a symbol specifying
4476the image type, e.g.@: @code{xbm}, @var{file} is the file to load the
4477image from, and @var{data} is a string containing the actual image data.
4478The first specification in the list whose @var{type} is supported, and
4479@var{file} exists, is used to construct the image specification to be
4480returned. If no specification is satisfied, @code{nil} is returned.
4481
4482The image is looked for in @code{image-load-path}.
4483@end defun
4484
4485@defvar image-load-path
4486This variable's value is a list of locations in which to search for
4487image files. If an element is a string or a variable symbol whose
4488value is a string, the string is taken to be the name of a directory
4489to search. If an element is a variable symbol whose value is a list,
4490that is taken to be a list of directory names to search.
4491
4492The default is to search in the @file{images} subdirectory of the
4493directory specified by @code{data-directory}, then the directory
4494specified by @code{data-directory}, and finally in the directories in
4495@code{load-path}. Subdirectories are not automatically included in
4496the search, so if you put an image file in a subdirectory, you have to
4497supply the subdirectory name explicitly. For example, to find the
4498image @file{images/foo/bar.xpm} within @code{data-directory}, you
4499should specify the image as follows:
4500
4501@example
4502(defimage foo-image '((:type xpm :file "foo/bar.xpm")))
4503@end example
4504@end defvar
4505
4506@defun image-load-path-for-library library image &optional path no-error
4507This function returns a suitable search path for images used by the
4508Lisp package @var{library}.
4509
4510The function searches for @var{image} first using @code{image-load-path},
4511excluding @file{@code{data-directory}/images}, and then in
4512@code{load-path}, followed by a path suitable for @var{library}, which
4513includes @file{../../etc/images} and @file{../etc/images} relative to
4514the library file itself, and finally in
4515@file{@code{data-directory}/images}.
4516
4517Then this function returns a list of directories which contains first
4518the directory in which @var{image} was found, followed by the value of
4519@code{load-path}. If @var{path} is given, it is used instead of
4520@code{load-path}.
4521
4522If @var{no-error} is non-@code{nil} and a suitable path can't be
4523found, don't signal an error. Instead, return a list of directories as
4524before, except that @code{nil} appears in place of the image directory.
4525
4526Here is an example that uses a common idiom to provide compatibility
4527with versions of Emacs that lack the variable @code{image-load-path}:
4528
4529@example
4530(defvar image-load-path) ; shush compiler
4531(let* ((load-path (image-load-path-for-library
4532 "mh-e" "mh-logo.xpm"))
4533 (image-load-path (cons (car load-path)
4534 (when (boundp 'image-load-path)
4535 image-load-path))))
4536 (mh-tool-bar-folder-buttons-init))
4537@end example
4538@end defun
4539
4540@node Showing Images
4541@subsection Showing Images
4542
4543 You can use an image descriptor by setting up the @code{display}
4544property yourself, but it is easier to use the functions in this
4545section.
4546
4547@defun insert-image image &optional string area slice
4548This function inserts @var{image} in the current buffer at point. The
4549value @var{image} should be an image descriptor; it could be a value
4550returned by @code{create-image}, or the value of a symbol defined with
4551@code{defimage}. The argument @var{string} specifies the text to put
4552in the buffer to hold the image. If it is omitted or @code{nil},
4553@code{insert-image} uses @code{" "} by default.
4554
4555The argument @var{area} specifies whether to put the image in a margin.
4556If it is @code{left-margin}, the image appears in the left margin;
4557@code{right-margin} specifies the right margin. If @var{area} is
4558@code{nil} or omitted, the image is displayed at point within the
4559buffer's text.
4560
4561The argument @var{slice} specifies a slice of the image to insert. If
4562@var{slice} is @code{nil} or omitted the whole image is inserted.
4563Otherwise, @var{slice} is a list @code{(@var{x} @var{y} @var{width}
4564@var{height})} which specifies the @var{x} and @var{y} positions and
4565@var{width} and @var{height} of the image area to insert. Integer
4566values are in units of pixels. A floating point number in the range
45670.0--1.0 stands for that fraction of the width or height of the entire
4568image.
4569
4570Internally, this function inserts @var{string} in the buffer, and gives
4571it a @code{display} property which specifies @var{image}. @xref{Display
4572Property}.
4573@end defun
4574
4575@defun insert-sliced-image image &optional string area rows cols
4576This function inserts @var{image} in the current buffer at point, like
4577@code{insert-image}, but splits the image into @var{rows}x@var{cols}
4578equally sized slices.
4579@end defun
4580
4581@defun put-image image pos &optional string area
4582This function puts image @var{image} in front of @var{pos} in the
4583current buffer. The argument @var{pos} should be an integer or a
4584marker. It specifies the buffer position where the image should appear.
4585The argument @var{string} specifies the text that should hold the image
4586as an alternative to the default.
4587
4588The argument @var{image} must be an image descriptor, perhaps returned
4589by @code{create-image} or stored by @code{defimage}.
4590
4591The argument @var{area} specifies whether to put the image in a margin.
4592If it is @code{left-margin}, the image appears in the left margin;
4593@code{right-margin} specifies the right margin. If @var{area} is
4594@code{nil} or omitted, the image is displayed at point within the
4595buffer's text.
4596
4597Internally, this function creates an overlay, and gives it a
4598@code{before-string} property containing text that has a @code{display}
4599property whose value is the image. (Whew!)
4600@end defun
4601
4602@defun remove-images start end &optional buffer
4603This function removes images in @var{buffer} between positions
4604@var{start} and @var{end}. If @var{buffer} is omitted or @code{nil},
4605images are removed from the current buffer.
4606
4607This removes only images that were put into @var{buffer} the way
4608@code{put-image} does it, not images that were inserted with
4609@code{insert-image} or in other ways.
4610@end defun
4611
4612@defun image-size spec &optional pixels frame
4613This function returns the size of an image as a pair
4614@w{@code{(@var{width} . @var{height})}}. @var{spec} is an image
4615specification. @var{pixels} non-@code{nil} means return sizes
4616measured in pixels, otherwise return sizes measured in canonical
4617character units (fractions of the width/height of the frame's default
4618font). @var{frame} is the frame on which the image will be displayed.
4619@var{frame} null or omitted means use the selected frame (@pxref{Input
4620Focus}).
4621@end defun
4622
4623@defvar max-image-size
4624This variable is used to define the maximum size of image that Emacs
4625will load. Emacs will refuse to load (and display) any image that is
4626larger than this limit.
4627
4628If the value is an integer, it directly specifies the maximum
4629image height and width, measured in pixels. If it is a floating
4630point number, it specifies the maximum image height and width
4631as a ratio to the frame height and width. If the value is
4632non-numeric, there is no explicit limit on the size of images.
4633
4634The purpose of this variable is to prevent unreasonably large images
4635from accidentally being loaded into Emacs. It only takes effect the
4636first time an image is loaded. Once an image is placed in the image
4637cache, it can always be displayed, even if the value of
4638@var{max-image-size} is subsequently changed (@pxref{Image Cache}).
4639@end defvar
4640
4641@node Image Cache
4642@subsection Image Cache
4643@cindex image cache
4644
4645 Emacs stores images in an image cache so that it can display them
4646again more efficiently. When Emacs displays an image, it searches the
4647image cache for an existing image specification @code{equal} to the
4648desired specification. If a match is found, the image is displayed
4649from the cache; otherwise, Emacs loads the image normally.
4650
4651 Occasionally, you may need to tell Emacs to refresh the images
4652associated with a given image specification. For example, suppose you
4653display an image using a specification that contains a @code{:file}
4654property. The image is loaded from the given file and stored in the
4655image cache. If you later display the image again, using the same
4656image specification, the image is displayed from the image cache.
4657Normally, this is not a problem. However, if the image file has
4658changed in the meantime, Emacs would be displaying the old version of
4659the image. In such a situation, it is necessary to ``refresh'' the
4660image using @code{image-refresh}.
4661
4662@defun image-refresh spec &optional frame
4663This function refreshes any images having image specifications
4664@code{equal} to @var{spec} on frame @var{frame}. If @var{frame} is
4665@code{nil}, the selected frame is used. If @var{frame} is @code{t},
4666the refresh is applied to all existing frames.
4667
bf190568
EZ
4668This works by removing from the image cache all the images whose image
4669specifications match @var{spec}. The next time Emacs needs to display
4670such an image, it will reload the image anew.
b8d4c8d0
GM
4671@end defun
4672
a2bc5bdd
SM
4673@defun clear-image-cache &optional filter
4674This function clears the image cache. If @var{filter} is
4675a frame, only the cache for that frame is cleared. If omitted or
4676@code{nil}, clear the images on the selected frame. If @code{t},
4677all frames' caches are cleared. Otherwise, @var{filter} is taken as
4678a file name and only images that reference this file will be flushed.
b8d4c8d0
GM
4679@end defun
4680
4681If an image in the image cache has not been displayed for a specified
4682period of time, Emacs removes it from the cache and frees the
4683associated memory.
4684
4685@defvar image-cache-eviction-delay
4686This variable specifies the number of seconds an image can remain in the
4687cache without being displayed. When an image is not displayed for this
4688length of time, Emacs removes it from the image cache.
4689
4690If the value is @code{nil}, Emacs does not remove images from the cache
4691except when you explicitly clear it. This mode can be useful for
4692debugging.
4693@end defvar
4694
4695@node Buttons
4696@section Buttons
4697@cindex buttons in buffers
4698@cindex clickable buttons in buffers
4699
4700 The @emph{button} package defines functions for inserting and
4701manipulating clickable (with the mouse, or via keyboard commands)
4702buttons in Emacs buffers, such as might be used for help hyper-links,
4703etc. Emacs uses buttons for the hyper-links in help text and the like.
4704
4705 A button is essentially a set of properties attached (via text
4706properties or overlays) to a region of text in an Emacs buffer. These
4707properties are called @dfn{button properties}.
4708
4709 One of these properties (@code{action}) is a function, which will
4710be called when the user invokes it using the keyboard or the mouse.
4711The invoked function may then examine the button and use its other
4712properties as desired.
4713
4714 In some ways the Emacs button package duplicates functionality offered
4715by the widget package (@pxref{Top, , Introduction, widget, The Emacs
4716Widget Library}), but the button package has the advantage that it is
4717much faster, much smaller, and much simpler to use (for elisp
4718programmers---for users, the result is about the same). The extra
4719speed and space savings are useful mainly if you need to create many
4720buttons in a buffer (for instance an @code{*Apropos*} buffer uses
4721buttons to make entries clickable, and may contain many thousands of
4722entries).
4723
4724@menu
4725* Button Properties:: Button properties with special meanings.
4726* Button Types:: Defining common properties for classes of buttons.
4727* Making Buttons:: Adding buttons to Emacs buffers.
4728* Manipulating Buttons:: Getting and setting properties of buttons.
4729* Button Buffer Commands:: Buffer-wide commands and bindings for buttons.
4730@end menu
4731
4732@node Button Properties
4733@subsection Button Properties
4734@cindex button properties
4735
4736 Buttons have an associated list of properties defining their
4737appearance and behavior, and other arbitrary properties may be used
4738for application specific purposes. Some properties that have special
4739meaning to the button package include:
4740
4741@table @code
4742@item action
4743@kindex action @r{(button property)}
4744The function to call when the user invokes the button, which is passed
4745the single argument @var{button}. By default this is @code{ignore},
4746which does nothing.
4747
4748@item mouse-action
4749@kindex mouse-action @r{(button property)}
4750This is similar to @code{action}, and when present, will be used
4751instead of @code{action} for button invocations resulting from
4752mouse-clicks (instead of the user hitting @key{RET}). If not
4753present, mouse-clicks use @code{action} instead.
4754
4755@item face
4756@kindex face @r{(button property)}
4757This is an Emacs face controlling how buttons of this type are
4758displayed; by default this is the @code{button} face.
4759
4760@item mouse-face
4761@kindex mouse-face @r{(button property)}
4762This is an additional face which controls appearance during
4763mouse-overs (merged with the usual button face); by default this is
4764the usual Emacs @code{highlight} face.
4765
4766@item keymap
4767@kindex keymap @r{(button property)}
4768The button's keymap, defining bindings active within the button
4769region. By default this is the usual button region keymap, stored
4770in the variable @code{button-map}, which defines @key{RET} and
4771@key{mouse-2} to invoke the button.
4772
4773@item type
4774@kindex type @r{(button property)}
4775The button-type of the button. When creating a button, this is
4776usually specified using the @code{:type} keyword argument.
4777@xref{Button Types}.
4778
4779@item help-echo
4780@kindex help-index @r{(button property)}
4781A string displayed by the Emacs tool-tip help system; by default,
4782@code{"mouse-2, RET: Push this button"}.
4783
4784@item follow-link
4785@kindex follow-link @r{(button property)}
4786The follow-link property, defining how a @key{Mouse-1} click behaves
4787on this button, @xref{Links and Mouse-1}.
4788
4789@item button
4790@kindex button @r{(button property)}
4791All buttons have a non-@code{nil} @code{button} property, which may be useful
4792in finding regions of text that comprise buttons (which is what the
4793standard button functions do).
4794@end table
4795
4796 There are other properties defined for the regions of text in a
4797button, but these are not generally interesting for typical uses.
4798
4799@node Button Types
4800@subsection Button Types
4801@cindex button types
4802
4803 Every button has a button @emph{type}, which defines default values
4804for the button's properties. Button types are arranged in a
4805hierarchy, with specialized types inheriting from more general types,
4806so that it's easy to define special-purpose types of buttons for
4807specific tasks.
4808
4809@defun define-button-type name &rest properties
1a256502
TTN
4810Define a `button type' called @var{name} (a symbol).
4811The remaining arguments
b8d4c8d0
GM
4812form a sequence of @var{property value} pairs, specifying default
4813property values for buttons with this type (a button's type may be set
4814by giving it a @code{type} property when creating the button, using
4815the @code{:type} keyword argument).
4816
4817In addition, the keyword argument @code{:supertype} may be used to
4818specify a button-type from which @var{name} inherits its default
4819property values. Note that this inheritance happens only when
4820@var{name} is defined; subsequent changes to a supertype are not
4821reflected in its subtypes.
4822@end defun
4823
4824 Using @code{define-button-type} to define default properties for
4825buttons is not necessary---buttons without any specified type use the
4826built-in button-type @code{button}---but it is encouraged, since
4827doing so usually makes the resulting code clearer and more efficient.
4828
4829@node Making Buttons
4830@subsection Making Buttons
4831@cindex making buttons
4832
4833 Buttons are associated with a region of text, using an overlay or
4834text properties to hold button-specific information, all of which are
4835initialized from the button's type (which defaults to the built-in
4836button type @code{button}). Like all Emacs text, the appearance of
4837the button is governed by the @code{face} property; by default (via
4838the @code{face} property inherited from the @code{button} button-type)
4839this is a simple underline, like a typical web-page link.
4840
4841 For convenience, there are two sorts of button-creation functions,
4842those that add button properties to an existing region of a buffer,
4843called @code{make-...button}, and those that also insert the button
4844text, called @code{insert-...button}.
4845
4846 The button-creation functions all take the @code{&rest} argument
4847@var{properties}, which should be a sequence of @var{property value}
4848pairs, specifying properties to add to the button; see @ref{Button
4849Properties}. In addition, the keyword argument @code{:type} may be
4850used to specify a button-type from which to inherit other properties;
4851see @ref{Button Types}. Any properties not explicitly specified
4852during creation will be inherited from the button's type (if the type
4853defines such a property).
4854
4855 The following functions add a button using an overlay
4856(@pxref{Overlays}) to hold the button properties:
4857
4858@defun make-button beg end &rest properties
4859This makes a button from @var{beg} to @var{end} in the
4860current buffer, and returns it.
4861@end defun
4862
4863@defun insert-button label &rest properties
4864This insert a button with the label @var{label} at point,
4865and returns it.
4866@end defun
4867
4868 The following functions are similar, but use Emacs text properties
4869(@pxref{Text Properties}) to hold the button properties, making the
4870button actually part of the text instead of being a property of the
4871buffer. Buttons using text properties do not create markers into the
4872buffer, which is important for speed when you use extremely large
4873numbers of buttons. Both functions return the position of the start
4874of the new button:
4875
4876@defun make-text-button beg end &rest properties
4877This makes a button from @var{beg} to @var{end} in the current buffer, using
4878text properties.
4879@end defun
4880
4881@defun insert-text-button label &rest properties
4882This inserts a button with the label @var{label} at point, using text
4883properties.
4884@end defun
4885
4886@node Manipulating Buttons
4887@subsection Manipulating Buttons
4888@cindex manipulating buttons
4889
4890These are functions for getting and setting properties of buttons.
4891Often these are used by a button's invocation function to determine
4892what to do.
4893
4894Where a @var{button} parameter is specified, it means an object
4895referring to a specific button, either an overlay (for overlay
4896buttons), or a buffer-position or marker (for text property buttons).
4897Such an object is passed as the first argument to a button's
4898invocation function when it is invoked.
4899
4900@defun button-start button
4901Return the position at which @var{button} starts.
4902@end defun
4903
4904@defun button-end button
4905Return the position at which @var{button} ends.
4906@end defun
4907
4908@defun button-get button prop
4909Get the property of button @var{button} named @var{prop}.
4910@end defun
4911
4912@defun button-put button prop val
4913Set @var{button}'s @var{prop} property to @var{val}.
4914@end defun
4915
4916@defun button-activate button &optional use-mouse-action
4917Call @var{button}'s @code{action} property (i.e., invoke it). If
4918@var{use-mouse-action} is non-@code{nil}, try to invoke the button's
4919@code{mouse-action} property instead of @code{action}; if the button
4920has no @code{mouse-action} property, use @code{action} as normal.
4921@end defun
4922
4923@defun button-label button
4924Return @var{button}'s text label.
4925@end defun
4926
4927@defun button-type button
4928Return @var{button}'s button-type.
4929@end defun
4930
4931@defun button-has-type-p button type
4932Return @code{t} if @var{button} has button-type @var{type}, or one of
4933@var{type}'s subtypes.
4934@end defun
4935
4936@defun button-at pos
4937Return the button at position @var{pos} in the current buffer, or @code{nil}.
4938@end defun
4939
4940@defun button-type-put type prop val
4941Set the button-type @var{type}'s @var{prop} property to @var{val}.
4942@end defun
4943
4944@defun button-type-get type prop
4945Get the property of button-type @var{type} named @var{prop}.
4946@end defun
4947
4948@defun button-type-subtype-p type supertype
4949Return @code{t} if button-type @var{type} is a subtype of @var{supertype}.
4950@end defun
4951
4952@node Button Buffer Commands
4953@subsection Button Buffer Commands
4954@cindex button buffer commands
4955
4956These are commands and functions for locating and operating on
4957buttons in an Emacs buffer.
4958
4959@code{push-button} is the command that a user uses to actually `push'
4960a button, and is bound by default in the button itself to @key{RET}
4961and to @key{mouse-2} using a region-specific keymap. Commands
4962that are useful outside the buttons itself, such as
4963@code{forward-button} and @code{backward-button} are additionally
4964available in the keymap stored in @code{button-buffer-map}; a mode
4965which uses buttons may want to use @code{button-buffer-map} as a
4966parent keymap for its keymap.
4967
4968If the button has a non-@code{nil} @code{follow-link} property, and
4969@var{mouse-1-click-follows-link} is set, a quick @key{Mouse-1} click
4970will also activate the @code{push-button} command.
4971@xref{Links and Mouse-1}.
4972
4973@deffn Command push-button &optional pos use-mouse-action
4974Perform the action specified by a button at location @var{pos}.
4975@var{pos} may be either a buffer position or a mouse-event. If
4976@var{use-mouse-action} is non-@code{nil}, or @var{pos} is a
4977mouse-event (@pxref{Mouse Events}), try to invoke the button's
4978@code{mouse-action} property instead of @code{action}; if the button
4979has no @code{mouse-action} property, use @code{action} as normal.
4980@var{pos} defaults to point, except when @code{push-button} is invoked
4981interactively as the result of a mouse-event, in which case, the mouse
4982event's position is used. If there's no button at @var{pos}, do
4983nothing and return @code{nil}, otherwise return @code{t}.
4984@end deffn
4985
4986@deffn Command forward-button n &optional wrap display-message
4987Move to the @var{n}th next button, or @var{n}th previous button if
4988@var{n} is negative. If @var{n} is zero, move to the start of any
4989button at point. If @var{wrap} is non-@code{nil}, moving past either
4990end of the buffer continues from the other end. If
4991@var{display-message} is non-@code{nil}, the button's help-echo string
4992is displayed. Any button with a non-@code{nil} @code{skip} property
4993is skipped over. Returns the button found.
4994@end deffn
4995
4996@deffn Command backward-button n &optional wrap display-message
4997Move to the @var{n}th previous button, or @var{n}th next button if
4998@var{n} is negative. If @var{n} is zero, move to the start of any
4999button at point. If @var{wrap} is non-@code{nil}, moving past either
5000end of the buffer continues from the other end. If
5001@var{display-message} is non-@code{nil}, the button's help-echo string
5002is displayed. Any button with a non-@code{nil} @code{skip} property
5003is skipped over. Returns the button found.
5004@end deffn
5005
5006@defun next-button pos &optional count-current
5007@defunx previous-button pos &optional count-current
5008Return the next button after (for @code{next-button} or before (for
5009@code{previous-button}) position @var{pos} in the current buffer. If
5010@var{count-current} is non-@code{nil}, count any button at @var{pos}
5011in the search, instead of starting at the next button.
5012@end defun
5013
5014@node Abstract Display
5015@section Abstract Display
5016@cindex ewoc
5017@cindex display, abstract
5018@cindex display, arbitrary objects
5019@cindex model/view/controller
5020@cindex view part, model/view/controller
5021
5022 The Ewoc package constructs buffer text that represents a structure
5023of Lisp objects, and updates the text to follow changes in that
5024structure. This is like the ``view'' component in the
5025``model/view/controller'' design paradigm.
5026
5027 An @dfn{ewoc} is a structure that organizes information required to
5028construct buffer text that represents certain Lisp data. The buffer
5029text of the ewoc has three parts, in order: first, fixed @dfn{header}
5030text; next, textual descriptions of a series of data elements (Lisp
5031objects that you specify); and last, fixed @dfn{footer} text.
5032Specifically, an ewoc contains information on:
5033
5034@itemize @bullet
5035@item
5036The buffer which its text is generated in.
5037
5038@item
5039The text's start position in the buffer.
5040
5041@item
5042The header and footer strings.
5043
5044@item
5045A doubly-linked chain of @dfn{nodes}, each of which contains:
5046
5047@itemize
5048@item
5049A @dfn{data element}, a single Lisp object.
5050
5051@item
5052Links to the preceding and following nodes in the chain.
5053@end itemize
5054
5055@item
5056A @dfn{pretty-printer} function which is responsible for
5057inserting the textual representation of a data
5058element value into the current buffer.
5059@end itemize
5060
5061 Typically, you define an ewoc with @code{ewoc-create}, and then pass
5062the resulting ewoc structure to other functions in the Ewoc package to
5063build nodes within it, and display it in the buffer. Once it is
5064displayed in the buffer, other functions determine the correspondance
5065between buffer positions and nodes, move point from one node's textual
5066representation to another, and so forth. @xref{Abstract Display
5067Functions}.
5068
5069 A node @dfn{encapsulates} a data element much the way a variable
5070holds a value. Normally, encapsulation occurs as a part of adding a
5071node to the ewoc. You can retrieve the data element value and place a
5072new value in its place, like so:
5073
5074@lisp
5075(ewoc-data @var{node})
5076@result{} value
5077
5078(ewoc-set-data @var{node} @var{new-value})
5079@result{} @var{new-value}
5080@end lisp
5081
5082@noindent
5083You can also use, as the data element value, a Lisp object (list or
5084vector) that is a container for the ``real'' value, or an index into
5085some other structure. The example (@pxref{Abstract Display Example})
5086uses the latter approach.
5087
5088 When the data changes, you will want to update the text in the
5089buffer. You can update all nodes by calling @code{ewoc-refresh}, or
5090just specific nodes using @code{ewoc-invalidate}, or all nodes
5091satisfying a predicate using @code{ewoc-map}. Alternatively, you can
5092delete invalid nodes using @code{ewoc-delete} or @code{ewoc-filter},
5093and add new nodes in their place. Deleting a node from an ewoc deletes
5094its associated textual description from buffer, as well.
5095
5096@menu
5097* Abstract Display Functions::
5098* Abstract Display Example::
5099@end menu
5100
5101@node Abstract Display Functions
5102@subsection Abstract Display Functions
5103
5104 In this subsection, @var{ewoc} and @var{node} stand for the
5105structures described above (@pxref{Abstract Display}), while
5106@var{data} stands for an arbitrary Lisp object used as a data element.
5107
5108@defun ewoc-create pretty-printer &optional header footer nosep
5109This constructs and returns a new ewoc, with no nodes (and thus no data
5110elements). @var{pretty-printer} should be a function that takes one
5111argument, a data element of the sort you plan to use in this ewoc, and
5112inserts its textual description at point using @code{insert} (and never
5113@code{insert-before-markers}, because that would interfere with the
5114Ewoc package's internal mechanisms).
5115
5116Normally, a newline is automatically inserted after the header,
5117the footer and every node's textual description. If @var{nosep}
5118is non-@code{nil}, no newline is inserted. This may be useful for
5119displaying an entire ewoc on a single line, for example, or for
5120making nodes ``invisible'' by arranging for @var{pretty-printer}
5121to do nothing for those nodes.
5122
5123An ewoc maintains its text in the buffer that is current when
5124you create it, so switch to the intended buffer before calling
5125@code{ewoc-create}.
5126@end defun
5127
5128@defun ewoc-buffer ewoc
5129This returns the buffer where @var{ewoc} maintains its text.
5130@end defun
5131
5132@defun ewoc-get-hf ewoc
5133This returns a cons cell @code{(@var{header} . @var{footer})}
5134made from @var{ewoc}'s header and footer.
5135@end defun
5136
5137@defun ewoc-set-hf ewoc header footer
5138This sets the header and footer of @var{ewoc} to the strings
5139@var{header} and @var{footer}, respectively.
5140@end defun
5141
5142@defun ewoc-enter-first ewoc data
5143@defunx ewoc-enter-last ewoc data
5144These add a new node encapsulating @var{data}, putting it, respectively,
5145at the beginning or end of @var{ewoc}'s chain of nodes.
5146@end defun
5147
5148@defun ewoc-enter-before ewoc node data
5149@defunx ewoc-enter-after ewoc node data
5150These add a new node encapsulating @var{data}, adding it to
5151@var{ewoc} before or after @var{node}, respectively.
5152@end defun
5153
5154@defun ewoc-prev ewoc node
5155@defunx ewoc-next ewoc node
5156These return, respectively, the previous node and the next node of @var{node}
5157in @var{ewoc}.
5158@end defun
5159
5160@defun ewoc-nth ewoc n
5161This returns the node in @var{ewoc} found at zero-based index @var{n}.
5162A negative @var{n} means count from the end. @code{ewoc-nth} returns
5163@code{nil} if @var{n} is out of range.
5164@end defun
5165
5166@defun ewoc-data node
5167This extracts the data encapsulated by @var{node} and returns it.
5168@end defun
5169
5170@defun ewoc-set-data node data
5171This sets the data encapsulated by @var{node} to @var{data}.
5172@end defun
5173
5174@defun ewoc-locate ewoc &optional pos guess
5175This determines the node in @var{ewoc} which contains point (or
5176@var{pos} if specified), and returns that node. If @var{ewoc} has no
5177nodes, it returns @code{nil}. If @var{pos} is before the first node,
5178it returns the first node; if @var{pos} is after the last node, it returns
5179the last node. The optional third arg @var{guess}
5180should be a node that is likely to be near @var{pos}; this doesn't
5181alter the result, but makes the function run faster.
5182@end defun
5183
5184@defun ewoc-location node
5185This returns the start position of @var{node}.
5186@end defun
5187
5188@defun ewoc-goto-prev ewoc arg
5189@defunx ewoc-goto-next ewoc arg
5190These move point to the previous or next, respectively, @var{arg}th node
5191in @var{ewoc}. @code{ewoc-goto-prev} does not move if it is already at
5192the first node or if @var{ewoc} is empty, whereas @code{ewoc-goto-next}
5193moves past the last node, returning @code{nil}. Excepting this special
5194case, these functions return the node moved to.
5195@end defun
5196
5197@defun ewoc-goto-node ewoc node
5198This moves point to the start of @var{node} in @var{ewoc}.
5199@end defun
5200
5201@defun ewoc-refresh ewoc
5202This function regenerates the text of @var{ewoc}. It works by
5203deleting the text between the header and the footer, i.e., all the
5204data elements' representations, and then calling the pretty-printer
5205function for each node, one by one, in order.
5206@end defun
5207
5208@defun ewoc-invalidate ewoc &rest nodes
5209This is similar to @code{ewoc-refresh}, except that only @var{nodes} in
5210@var{ewoc} are updated instead of the entire set.
5211@end defun
5212
5213@defun ewoc-delete ewoc &rest nodes
5214This deletes each node in @var{nodes} from @var{ewoc}.
5215@end defun
5216
5217@defun ewoc-filter ewoc predicate &rest args
5218This calls @var{predicate} for each data element in @var{ewoc} and
5219deletes those nodes for which @var{predicate} returns @code{nil}.
5220Any @var{args} are passed to @var{predicate}.
5221@end defun
5222
5223@defun ewoc-collect ewoc predicate &rest args
5224This calls @var{predicate} for each data element in @var{ewoc}
5225and returns a list of those elements for which @var{predicate}
5226returns non-@code{nil}. The elements in the list are ordered
5227as in the buffer. Any @var{args} are passed to @var{predicate}.
5228@end defun
5229
5230@defun ewoc-map map-function ewoc &rest args
5231This calls @var{map-function} for each data element in @var{ewoc} and
5232updates those nodes for which @var{map-function} returns non-@code{nil}.
5233Any @var{args} are passed to @var{map-function}.
5234@end defun
5235
5236@node Abstract Display Example
5237@subsection Abstract Display Example
5238
5239 Here is a simple example using functions of the ewoc package to
5240implement a ``color components display,'' an area in a buffer that
5241represents a vector of three integers (itself representing a 24-bit RGB
5242value) in various ways.
5243
5244@example
5245(setq colorcomp-ewoc nil
5246 colorcomp-data nil
5247 colorcomp-mode-map nil
5248 colorcomp-labels ["Red" "Green" "Blue"])
5249
5250(defun colorcomp-pp (data)
5251 (if data
5252 (let ((comp (aref colorcomp-data data)))
5253 (insert (aref colorcomp-labels data) "\t: #x"
5254 (format "%02X" comp) " "
5255 (make-string (ash comp -2) ?#) "\n"))
5256 (let ((cstr (format "#%02X%02X%02X"
5257 (aref colorcomp-data 0)
5258 (aref colorcomp-data 1)
5259 (aref colorcomp-data 2)))
5260 (samp " (sample text) "))
5261 (insert "Color\t: "
5262 (propertize samp 'face `(foreground-color . ,cstr))
5263 (propertize samp 'face `(background-color . ,cstr))
5264 "\n"))))
5265
5266(defun colorcomp (color)
5267 "Allow fiddling with COLOR in a new buffer.
5268The buffer is in Color Components mode."
5269 (interactive "sColor (name or #RGB or #RRGGBB): ")
5270 (when (string= "" color)
5271 (setq color "green"))
5272 (unless (color-values color)
5273 (error "No such color: %S" color))
5274 (switch-to-buffer
5275 (generate-new-buffer (format "originally: %s" color)))
5276 (kill-all-local-variables)
5277 (setq major-mode 'colorcomp-mode
5278 mode-name "Color Components")
5279 (use-local-map colorcomp-mode-map)
5280 (erase-buffer)
5281 (buffer-disable-undo)
5282 (let ((data (apply 'vector (mapcar (lambda (n) (ash n -8))
5283 (color-values color))))
5284 (ewoc (ewoc-create 'colorcomp-pp
5285 "\nColor Components\n\n"
5286 (substitute-command-keys
5287 "\n\\@{colorcomp-mode-map@}"))))
5288 (set (make-local-variable 'colorcomp-data) data)
5289 (set (make-local-variable 'colorcomp-ewoc) ewoc)
5290 (ewoc-enter-last ewoc 0)
5291 (ewoc-enter-last ewoc 1)
5292 (ewoc-enter-last ewoc 2)
5293 (ewoc-enter-last ewoc nil)))
5294@end example
5295
5296@cindex controller part, model/view/controller
5297 This example can be extended to be a ``color selection widget'' (in
5298other words, the controller part of the ``model/view/controller''
5299design paradigm) by defining commands to modify @code{colorcomp-data}
5300and to ``finish'' the selection process, and a keymap to tie it all
5301together conveniently.
5302
5303@smallexample
5304(defun colorcomp-mod (index limit delta)
5305 (let ((cur (aref colorcomp-data index)))
5306 (unless (= limit cur)
5307 (aset colorcomp-data index (+ cur delta)))
5308 (ewoc-invalidate
5309 colorcomp-ewoc
5310 (ewoc-nth colorcomp-ewoc index)
5311 (ewoc-nth colorcomp-ewoc -1))))
5312
5313(defun colorcomp-R-more () (interactive) (colorcomp-mod 0 255 1))
5314(defun colorcomp-G-more () (interactive) (colorcomp-mod 1 255 1))
5315(defun colorcomp-B-more () (interactive) (colorcomp-mod 2 255 1))
5316(defun colorcomp-R-less () (interactive) (colorcomp-mod 0 0 -1))
5317(defun colorcomp-G-less () (interactive) (colorcomp-mod 1 0 -1))
5318(defun colorcomp-B-less () (interactive) (colorcomp-mod 2 0 -1))
5319
5320(defun colorcomp-copy-as-kill-and-exit ()
5321 "Copy the color components into the kill ring and kill the buffer.
5322The string is formatted #RRGGBB (hash followed by six hex digits)."
5323 (interactive)
5324 (kill-new (format "#%02X%02X%02X"
5325 (aref colorcomp-data 0)
5326 (aref colorcomp-data 1)
5327 (aref colorcomp-data 2)))
5328 (kill-buffer nil))
5329
5330(setq colorcomp-mode-map
5331 (let ((m (make-sparse-keymap)))
5332 (suppress-keymap m)
5333 (define-key m "i" 'colorcomp-R-less)
5334 (define-key m "o" 'colorcomp-R-more)
5335 (define-key m "k" 'colorcomp-G-less)
5336 (define-key m "l" 'colorcomp-G-more)
5337 (define-key m "," 'colorcomp-B-less)
5338 (define-key m "." 'colorcomp-B-more)
5339 (define-key m " " 'colorcomp-copy-as-kill-and-exit)
5340 m))
5341@end smallexample
5342
5343Note that we never modify the data in each node, which is fixed when the
5344ewoc is created to be either @code{nil} or an index into the vector
5345@code{colorcomp-data}, the actual color components.
5346
5347@node Blinking
5348@section Blinking Parentheses
5349@cindex parenthesis matching
5350@cindex blinking parentheses
5351@cindex balancing parentheses
5352
5353 This section describes the mechanism by which Emacs shows a matching
5354open parenthesis when the user inserts a close parenthesis.
5355
5356@defvar blink-paren-function
5357The value of this variable should be a function (of no arguments) to
5358be called whenever a character with close parenthesis syntax is inserted.
5359The value of @code{blink-paren-function} may be @code{nil}, in which
5360case nothing is done.
5361@end defvar
5362
5363@defopt blink-matching-paren
5364If this variable is @code{nil}, then @code{blink-matching-open} does
5365nothing.
5366@end defopt
5367
5368@defopt blink-matching-paren-distance
5369This variable specifies the maximum distance to scan for a matching
5370parenthesis before giving up.
5371@end defopt
5372
5373@defopt blink-matching-delay
5374This variable specifies the number of seconds for the cursor to remain
5375at the matching parenthesis. A fraction of a second often gives
5376good results, but the default is 1, which works on all systems.
5377@end defopt
5378
5379@deffn Command blink-matching-open
5380This function is the default value of @code{blink-paren-function}. It
5381assumes that point follows a character with close parenthesis syntax and
5382moves the cursor momentarily to the matching opening character. If that
5383character is not already on the screen, it displays the character's
5384context in the echo area. To avoid long delays, this function does not
5385search farther than @code{blink-matching-paren-distance} characters.
5386
5387Here is an example of calling this function explicitly.
5388
5389@smallexample
5390@group
5391(defun interactive-blink-matching-open ()
5392@c Do not break this line! -- rms.
5393@c The first line of a doc string
5394@c must stand alone.
5395 "Indicate momentarily the start of sexp before point."
5396 (interactive)
5397@end group
5398@group
5399 (let ((blink-matching-paren-distance
5400 (buffer-size))
5401 (blink-matching-paren t))
5402 (blink-matching-open)))
5403@end group
5404@end smallexample
5405@end deffn
5406
5407@node Usual Display
5408@section Usual Display Conventions
5409
5410 The usual display conventions define how to display each character
5411code. You can override these conventions by setting up a display table
5412(@pxref{Display Tables}). Here are the usual display conventions:
5413
5414@itemize @bullet
5415@item
5416Character codes 32 through 126 map to glyph codes 32 through 126.
5417Normally this means they display as themselves.
5418
5419@item
5420Character code 9 is a horizontal tab. It displays as whitespace
5421up to a position determined by @code{tab-width}.
5422
5423@item
5424Character code 10 is a newline.
5425
5426@item
5427All other codes in the range 0 through 31, and code 127, display in one
5428of two ways according to the value of @code{ctl-arrow}. If it is
5429non-@code{nil}, these codes map to sequences of two glyphs, where the
5430first glyph is the @acronym{ASCII} code for @samp{^}. (A display table can
5431specify a glyph to use instead of @samp{^}.) Otherwise, these codes map
5432just like the codes in the range 128 to 255.
5433
5434On MS-DOS terminals, Emacs arranges by default for the character code
5435127 to be mapped to the glyph code 127, which normally displays as an
5436empty polygon. This glyph is used to display non-@acronym{ASCII} characters
5437that the MS-DOS terminal doesn't support. @xref{MS-DOS and MULE,,,
5438emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}.
5439
5440@item
5441Character codes 128 through 255 map to sequences of four glyphs, where
5442the first glyph is the @acronym{ASCII} code for @samp{\}, and the others are
5443digit characters representing the character code in octal. (A display
5444table can specify a glyph to use instead of @samp{\}.)
5445
5446@item
5447Multibyte character codes above 256 are displayed as themselves, or as a
5448question mark or empty box if the terminal cannot display that
5449character.
5450@end itemize
5451
5452 The usual display conventions apply even when there is a display
5453table, for any character whose entry in the active display table is
5454@code{nil}. Thus, when you set up a display table, you need only
5455specify the characters for which you want special behavior.
5456
5457 These display rules apply to carriage return (character code 13), when
5458it appears in the buffer. But that character may not appear in the
5459buffer where you expect it, if it was eliminated as part of end-of-line
5460conversion (@pxref{Coding System Basics}).
5461
5462 These variables affect the way certain characters are displayed on the
5463screen. Since they change the number of columns the characters occupy,
5464they also affect the indentation functions. These variables also affect
5465how the mode line is displayed; if you want to force redisplay of the
5466mode line using the new values, call the function
5467@code{force-mode-line-update} (@pxref{Mode Line Format}).
5468
5469@defopt ctl-arrow
5470@cindex control characters in display
5471This buffer-local variable controls how control characters are
5472displayed. If it is non-@code{nil}, they are displayed as a caret
5473followed by the character: @samp{^A}. If it is @code{nil}, they are
5474displayed as a backslash followed by three octal digits: @samp{\001}.
5475@end defopt
5476
5477@c Following may have overfull hbox.
5478@defvar default-ctl-arrow
5479The value of this variable is the default value for @code{ctl-arrow} in
5480buffers that do not override it. @xref{Default Value}.
5481@end defvar
5482
5483@defopt tab-width
5484The value of this buffer-local variable is the spacing between tab
5485stops used for displaying tab characters in Emacs buffers. The value
5486is in units of columns, and the default is 8. Note that this feature
5487is completely independent of the user-settable tab stops used by the
5488command @code{tab-to-tab-stop}. @xref{Indent Tabs}.
5489@end defopt
5490
5491@node Display Tables
5492@section Display Tables
5493
5494@cindex display table
5495You can use the @dfn{display table} feature to control how all possible
5496character codes display on the screen. This is useful for displaying
5497European languages that have letters not in the @acronym{ASCII} character
5498set.
5499
5500The display table maps each character code into a sequence of
5501@dfn{glyphs}, each glyph being a graphic that takes up one character
5502position on the screen. You can also define how to display each glyph
5503on your terminal, using the @dfn{glyph table}.
5504
5505Display tables affect how the mode line is displayed; if you want to
5506force redisplay of the mode line using a new display table, call
5507@code{force-mode-line-update} (@pxref{Mode Line Format}).
5508
5509@menu
5510* Display Table Format:: What a display table consists of.
5511* Active Display Table:: How Emacs selects a display table to use.
5512* Glyphs:: How to define a glyph, and what glyphs mean.
5513@end menu
5514
5515@node Display Table Format
5516@subsection Display Table Format
5517
5518 A display table is actually a char-table (@pxref{Char-Tables}) with
5519@code{display-table} as its subtype.
5520
5521@defun make-display-table
5522This creates and returns a display table. The table initially has
5523@code{nil} in all elements.
5524@end defun
5525
5526 The ordinary elements of the display table are indexed by character
5527codes; the element at index @var{c} says how to display the character
5528code @var{c}. The value should be @code{nil} or a vector of the
5529glyphs to be output (@pxref{Glyphs}). @code{nil} says to display the
5530character @var{c} according to the usual display conventions
5531(@pxref{Usual Display}).
5532
5533 @strong{Warning:} if you use the display table to change the display
5534of newline characters, the whole buffer will be displayed as one long
5535``line.''
5536
5537 The display table also has six ``extra slots'' which serve special
5538purposes. Here is a table of their meanings; @code{nil} in any slot
5539means to use the default for that slot, as stated below.
5540
5541@table @asis
5542@item 0
5543The glyph for the end of a truncated screen line (the default for this
5544is @samp{$}). @xref{Glyphs}. On graphical terminals, Emacs uses
5545arrows in the fringes to indicate truncation, so the display table has
5546no effect.
5547
5548@item 1
5549The glyph for the end of a continued line (the default is @samp{\}).
5550On graphical terminals, Emacs uses curved arrows in the fringes to
5551indicate continuation, so the display table has no effect.
5552
5553@item 2
5554The glyph for indicating a character displayed as an octal character
5555code (the default is @samp{\}).
5556
5557@item 3
5558The glyph for indicating a control character (the default is @samp{^}).
5559
5560@item 4
5561A vector of glyphs for indicating the presence of invisible lines (the
5562default is @samp{...}). @xref{Selective Display}.
5563
5564@item 5
5565The glyph used to draw the border between side-by-side windows (the
5566default is @samp{|}). @xref{Splitting Windows}. This takes effect only
5567when there are no scroll bars; if scroll bars are supported and in use,
5568a scroll bar separates the two windows.
5569@end table
5570
5571 For example, here is how to construct a display table that mimics the
5572effect of setting @code{ctl-arrow} to a non-@code{nil} value:
5573
5574@example
5575(setq disptab (make-display-table))
5576(let ((i 0))
5577 (while (< i 32)
5578 (or (= i ?\t) (= i ?\n)
5579 (aset disptab i (vector ?^ (+ i 64))))
5580 (setq i (1+ i)))
5581 (aset disptab 127 (vector ?^ ??)))
5582@end example
5583
5584@defun display-table-slot display-table slot
5585This function returns the value of the extra slot @var{slot} of
5586@var{display-table}. The argument @var{slot} may be a number from 0 to
55875 inclusive, or a slot name (symbol). Valid symbols are
5588@code{truncation}, @code{wrap}, @code{escape}, @code{control},
5589@code{selective-display}, and @code{vertical-border}.
5590@end defun
5591
5592@defun set-display-table-slot display-table slot value
5593This function stores @var{value} in the extra slot @var{slot} of
5594@var{display-table}. The argument @var{slot} may be a number from 0 to
55955 inclusive, or a slot name (symbol). Valid symbols are
5596@code{truncation}, @code{wrap}, @code{escape}, @code{control},
5597@code{selective-display}, and @code{vertical-border}.
5598@end defun
5599
5600@defun describe-display-table display-table
5601This function displays a description of the display table
5602@var{display-table} in a help buffer.
5603@end defun
5604
5605@deffn Command describe-current-display-table
5606This command displays a description of the current display table in a
5607help buffer.
5608@end deffn
5609
5610@node Active Display Table
5611@subsection Active Display Table
5612@cindex active display table
5613
5614 Each window can specify a display table, and so can each buffer. When
5615a buffer @var{b} is displayed in window @var{w}, display uses the
5616display table for window @var{w} if it has one; otherwise, the display
5617table for buffer @var{b} if it has one; otherwise, the standard display
5618table if any. The display table chosen is called the @dfn{active}
5619display table.
5620
5621@defun window-display-table &optional window
5622This function returns @var{window}'s display table, or @code{nil}
5623if @var{window} does not have an assigned display table. The default
5624for @var{window} is the selected window.
5625@end defun
5626
5627@defun set-window-display-table window table
5628This function sets the display table of @var{window} to @var{table}.
5629The argument @var{table} should be either a display table or
5630@code{nil}.
5631@end defun
5632
5633@defvar buffer-display-table
5634This variable is automatically buffer-local in all buffers; its value in
5635a particular buffer specifies the display table for that buffer. If it
5636is @code{nil}, that means the buffer does not have an assigned display
5637table.
5638@end defvar
5639
5640@defvar standard-display-table
5641This variable's value is the default display table, used whenever a
5642window has no display table and neither does the buffer displayed in
5643that window. This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5644@end defvar
5645
5646 If there is no display table to use for a particular window---that is,
5647if the window specifies none, its buffer specifies none, and
5648@code{standard-display-table} is @code{nil}---then Emacs uses the usual
5649display conventions for all character codes in that window. @xref{Usual
5650Display}.
5651
5652A number of functions for changing the standard display table
5653are defined in the library @file{disp-table}.
5654
5655@node Glyphs
5656@subsection Glyphs
5657
5658@cindex glyph
5659 A @dfn{glyph} is a generalization of a character; it stands for an
5660image that takes up a single character position on the screen. Normally
5661glyphs come from vectors in the display table (@pxref{Display Tables}).
5662
5663 A glyph is represented in Lisp as a @dfn{glyph code}. A glyph code
5664can be @dfn{simple} or it can be defined by the @dfn{glyph table}. A
5665simple glyph code is just a way of specifying a character and a face
5666to output it in. @xref{Faces}.
5667
5668 The following functions are used to manipulate simple glyph codes:
5669
5670@defun make-glyph-code char &optional face
5671This function returns a simple glyph code representing char @var{char}
5672with face @var{face}.
5673@end defun
5674
5675@defun glyph-char glyph
5676This function returns the character of simple glyph code @var{glyph}.
5677@end defun
5678
5679@defun glyph-face glyph
5680This function returns face of simple glyph code @var{glyph}, or
5681@code{nil} if @var{glyph} has the default face (face-id 0).
d466a866 5682@xref{Face Functions}.
b8d4c8d0
GM
5683@end defun
5684
5685 On character terminals, you can set up a @dfn{glyph table} to define
5686the meaning of glyph codes (represented as small integers).
5687
5688@defvar glyph-table
5689The value of this variable is the current glyph table. It should be
5690@code{nil} or a vector whose @var{g}th element defines glyph code
5691@var{g}.
5692
5693If a glyph code is greater than or equal to the length of the glyph
5694table, that code is automatically simple. If @code{glyph-table} is
5695@code{nil} then all glyph codes are simple.
5696
5697The glyph table is used only on character terminals. On graphical
5698displays, all glyph codes are simple.
5699@end defvar
5700
5701 Here are the meaningful types of elements in the glyph table:
5702
5703@table @asis
5704@item @var{string}
5705Send the characters in @var{string} to the terminal to output
5706this glyph code.
5707
5708@item @var{code}
5709Define this glyph code as an alias for glyph code @var{code} created
5710by @code{make-glyph-code}. You can use such an alias to define a
5711small-numbered glyph code which specifies a character with a face.
5712
5713@item @code{nil}
5714This glyph code is simple.
5715@end table
5716
5717@defun create-glyph string
5718This function returns a newly-allocated glyph code which is set up to
5719display by sending @var{string} to the terminal.
5720@end defun
5721
5722@node Beeping
5723@section Beeping
5724@c @cindex beeping "beep" is adjacent
5725@cindex bell
5726
5727 This section describes how to make Emacs ring the bell (or blink the
5728screen) to attract the user's attention. Be conservative about how
5729often you do this; frequent bells can become irritating. Also be
5730careful not to use just beeping when signaling an error is more
5731appropriate. (@xref{Errors}.)
5732
5733@defun ding &optional do-not-terminate
5734@cindex keyboard macro termination
5735This function beeps, or flashes the screen (see @code{visible-bell} below).
5736It also terminates any keyboard macro currently executing unless
5737@var{do-not-terminate} is non-@code{nil}.
5738@end defun
5739
5740@defun beep &optional do-not-terminate
5741This is a synonym for @code{ding}.
5742@end defun
5743
5744@defopt visible-bell
5745This variable determines whether Emacs should flash the screen to
5746represent a bell. Non-@code{nil} means yes, @code{nil} means no. This
5747is effective on graphical displays, and on text-only terminals
5748provided the terminal's Termcap entry defines the visible bell
5749capability (@samp{vb}).
5750@end defopt
5751
5752@defvar ring-bell-function
5753If this is non-@code{nil}, it specifies how Emacs should ``ring the
5754bell.'' Its value should be a function of no arguments. If this is
5755non-@code{nil}, it takes precedence over the @code{visible-bell}
5756variable.
5757@end defvar
5758
5759@node Window Systems
5760@section Window Systems
5761
5762 Emacs works with several window systems, most notably the X Window
5763System. Both Emacs and X use the term ``window,'' but use it
5764differently. An Emacs frame is a single window as far as X is
5765concerned; the individual Emacs windows are not known to X at all.
5766
5767@defvar window-system
77bb0476
EZ
5768This frame-local variable tells Lisp programs what window system Emacs is using
5769for displaying the frame. The possible values are
b8d4c8d0
GM
5770
5771@table @code
5772@item x
5773@cindex X Window System
77bb0476 5774Emacs is displaying the frame using X.
b8d4c8d0 5775@item w32
77bb0476
EZ
5776Emacs is displaying the frame using native MS-Windows GUI.
5777@item pc
5778Emacs is displaying the frame using MS-DOS direct screen writes.
b8d4c8d0 5779@item nil
77bb0476 5780Emacs is displaying the frame on a character-based terminal.
b8d4c8d0
GM
5781@end table
5782@end defvar
5783
4267d515
EZ
5784@defvar initial-window-system
5785This variable holds the value of @code{window-system} used for the
5786first frame created by Emacs during startup.
5787@end defvar
5788
77bb0476
EZ
5789@defun window-system &optional frame
5790This function returns a symbol whose name tells what window system is
5791used for displaying @var{frame} (which defaults to the currently
5792selected frame). The list of possible symbols it returns is the same
5793one documented for the variable @code{window-system} above.
5794@end defun
5795
b8d4c8d0
GM
5796@defvar window-setup-hook
5797This variable is a normal hook which Emacs runs after handling the
5798initialization files. Emacs runs this hook after it has completed
5799loading your init file, the default initialization file (if
5800any), and the terminal-specific Lisp code, and running the hook
5801@code{term-setup-hook}.
5802
5803This hook is used for internal purposes: setting up communication with
5804the window system, and creating the initial window. Users should not
5805interfere with it.
5806@end defvar
5807
5808@ignore
5809 arch-tag: ffdf5714-7ecf-415b-9023-fbc6b409c2c6
5810@end ignore