declare smobs in alloc.c
[bpt/emacs.git] / etc / NEWS.20
CommitLineData
9a21d88b 1GNU Emacs NEWS -- history of user-visible changes. 2006-05-31
5b87ad55 2
ba318903 3Copyright (C) 1999-2001, 2006-2014 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
5b87ad55
GM
4See the end of the file for license conditions.
5
9a21d88b
KS
6
7Please send Emacs bug reports to bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org.
8If possible, use M-x report-emacs-bug.
9
10This file is about changes in emacs version 20.
11
12
13\f
14* Emacs 20.7 is a bug-fix release with few user-visible changes
15
16** It is now possible to use CCL-based coding systems for keyboard
17input.
18
19** ange-ftp now handles FTP security extensions, like Kerberos.
20
21** Rmail has been extended to recognize more forms of digest messages.
22
23** Now, most coding systems set in keyboard coding system work not
24only for character input, but also in incremental search. The
25exceptions are such coding systems that handle 2-byte character sets
26(e.g euc-kr, euc-jp) and that use ISO's escape sequence
27(e.g. iso-2022-jp). They are ignored in incremental search.
28
29** Support for Macintosh PowerPC-based machines running GNU/Linux has
30been added.
31
32
33\f
34* Emacs 20.6 is a bug-fix release with one user-visible change
35
36** Support for ARM-based non-RISCiX machines has been added.
37
38
39\f
40* Emacs 20.5 is a bug-fix release with no user-visible changes.
41
42** Not new, but not mentioned before:
43M-w when Transient Mark mode is enabled disables the mark.
44
45
46\f
47* Changes in Emacs 20.4
48
49** Init file may be called .emacs.el.
50
51You can now call the Emacs init file `.emacs.el'.
52Formerly the name had to be `.emacs'. If you use the name
53`.emacs.el', you can byte-compile the file in the usual way.
54
55If both `.emacs' and `.emacs.el' exist, the latter file
56is the one that is used.
57
58** shell-command, and shell-command-on-region, now return
59the exit code of the command (unless it is asynchronous).
60Also, you can specify a place to put the error output,
61separate from the command's regular output.
62Interactively, the variable shell-command-default-error-buffer
63says where to put error output; set it to a buffer name.
64In calls from Lisp, an optional argument ERROR-BUFFER specifies
65the buffer name.
66
67When you specify a non-nil error buffer (or buffer name), any error
68output is inserted before point in that buffer, with \f\n to separate
69it from the previous batch of error output. The error buffer is not
70cleared, so error output from successive commands accumulates there.
71
72** Setting the default value of enable-multibyte-characters to nil in
73the .emacs file, either explicitly using setq-default, or via Custom,
74is now essentially equivalent to using --unibyte: all buffers
75created during startup will be made unibyte after loading .emacs.
76
77** C-x C-f now handles the wildcards * and ? in file names. For
78example, typing C-x C-f c*.c RET visits all the files whose names
79match c*.c. To visit a file whose name contains * or ?, add the
80quoting sequence /: to the beginning of the file name.
81
82** The M-x commands keep-lines, flush-lines and count-matches
83now have the same feature as occur and query-replace:
84if the pattern contains any upper case letters, then
85they never ignore case.
86
87** The end-of-line format conversion feature previously mentioned
88under `* Emacs 20.1 changes for MS-DOS and MS-Windows' actually
89applies to all operating systems. Emacs recognizes from the contents
90of a file what convention it uses to separate lines--newline, CRLF, or
91just CR--and automatically converts the contents to the normal Emacs
92convention (using newline to separate lines) for editing. This is a
93part of the general feature of coding system conversion.
94
95If you subsequently save the buffer, Emacs converts the text back to
96the same format that was used in the file before.
97
98You can turn off end-of-line conversion by setting the variable
99`inhibit-eol-conversion' to non-nil, e.g. with Custom in the MULE group.
100
101** The character set property `prefered-coding-system' has been
102renamed to `preferred-coding-system', for the sake of correct spelling.
103This is a fairly internal feature, so few programs should be affected.
104
105** Mode-line display of end-of-line format is changed.
106The indication of the end-of-line format of the file visited by a
107buffer is now more explicit when that format is not the usual one for
108your operating system. For example, the DOS-style end-of-line format
109is displayed as "(DOS)" on Unix and GNU/Linux systems. The usual
110end-of-line format is still displayed as a single character (colon for
111Unix, backslash for DOS and Windows, and forward slash for the Mac).
112
113The values of the variables eol-mnemonic-unix, eol-mnemonic-dos,
114eol-mnemonic-mac, and eol-mnemonic-undecided, which are strings,
115control what is displayed in the mode line for each end-of-line
116format. You can now customize these variables.
117
118** In the previous version of Emacs, tar-mode didn't work well if a
119filename contained non-ASCII characters. Now this is fixed. Such a
120filename is decoded by file-name-coding-system if the default value of
121enable-multibyte-characters is non-nil.
122
123** The command temp-buffer-resize-mode toggles a minor mode
124in which temporary buffers (such as help buffers) are given
125windows just big enough to hold the whole contents.
126
127** If you use completion.el, you must now run the function
128dynamic-completion-mode to enable it. Just loading the file
129doesn't have any effect.
130
131** In Flyspell mode, the default is now to make just one Ispell process,
132not one per buffer.
133
134** If you use iswitchb but do not call (iswitchb-default-keybindings) to
135use the default keybindings, you will need to add the following line:
136 (add-hook 'minibuffer-setup-hook 'iswitchb-minibuffer-setup)
137
138** Auto-show mode is no longer enabled just by loading auto-show.el.
139To control it, set `auto-show-mode' via Custom or use the
140`auto-show-mode' command.
141
142** Handling of X fonts' ascent/descent parameters has been changed to
143avoid redisplay problems. As a consequence, compared with previous
144versions the line spacing and frame size now differ with some font
145choices, typically increasing by a pixel per line. This change
146occurred in version 20.3 but was not documented then.
147
148** If you select the bar cursor style, it uses the frame's
149cursor-color, rather than the cursor foreground pixel.
150
151** In multibyte mode, Rmail decodes incoming MIME messages using the
152character set specified in the message. If you want to disable this
153feature, set the variable rmail-decode-mime-charset to nil.
154
155** Not new, but not mentioned previously in NEWS: when you use #! at
156the beginning of a file to make it executable and specify an
157interpreter program, Emacs looks on the second line for the -*- mode
158and variable specification, as well as on the first line.
159
160** Support for IBM codepage encoding of non-ASCII characters.
161
162The new command M-x codepage-setup creates a special coding system
163that can be used to convert text between a specific IBM codepage and
164one of the character sets built into Emacs which matches that
165codepage. For example, codepage 850 corresponds to Latin-1 character
166set, codepage 855 corresponds to Cyrillic-ISO character set, etc.
167
168Windows codepages 1250, 1251 and some others, where Windows deviates
169from the corresponding ISO character set, are also supported.
170
171IBM box-drawing characters and other glyphs which don't have
172equivalents in the corresponding ISO character set, are converted to
173a character defined by dos-unsupported-char-glyph on MS-DOS, and to
174`?' on other systems.
175
176IBM codepages are widely used on MS-DOS and MS-Windows, so this
177feature is most useful on those platforms, but it can also be used on
178Unix.
179
180Emacs compiled for MS-DOS automatically loads the support for the
181current codepage when it starts.
182
183** Mail changes
184
185*** When mail is sent using compose-mail (C-x m), and if
186`mail-send-nonascii' is set to the new default value `mime',
187appropriate MIME headers are added. The headers are added only if
188non-ASCII characters are present in the body of the mail, and no other
189MIME headers are already present. For example, the following three
190headers are added if the coding system used in the *mail* buffer is
191latin-1:
192
193 MIME-version: 1.0
194 Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
195 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
196
197*** The new variable default-sendmail-coding-system specifies the
198default way to encode outgoing mail. This has higher priority than
199default-buffer-file-coding-system but has lower priority than
200sendmail-coding-system and the local value of
201buffer-file-coding-system.
202
203You should not set this variable manually. Instead, set
204sendmail-coding-system to specify a fixed encoding for all outgoing
205mail.
206
207*** When you try to send a message that contains non-ASCII characters,
208if the coding system specified by those variables doesn't handle them,
209Emacs will ask you to select a suitable coding system while showing a
210list of possible coding systems.
211
212** CC Mode changes
213
214*** c-default-style can now take an association list that maps major
215modes to style names. When this variable is an alist, Java mode no
216longer hardcodes a setting to "java" style. See the variable's
217docstring for details.
218
219*** It's now possible to put a list as the offset on a syntactic
220symbol. The list is evaluated recursively until a non-nil offset is
221found. This is useful to combine several lineup functions to act in a
222prioritized order on a single line. However, none of the supplied
223lineup functions use this feature currently.
224
225*** New syntactic symbol catch-clause, which is used on the "catch" and
226"finally" lines in try-catch constructs in C++ and Java.
227
228*** New cleanup brace-catch-brace on c-cleanup-list, which does for
229"catch" lines what brace-elseif-brace does for "else if" lines.
230
231*** The braces of Java anonymous inner classes are treated separately
232from the braces of other classes in auto-newline mode. Two new
233symbols inexpr-class-open and inexpr-class-close may be used on
234c-hanging-braces-alist to control the automatic newlines used for
235anonymous classes.
236
237*** Support for the Pike language added, along with new Pike specific
238syntactic symbols: inlambda, lambda-intro-cont
239
240*** Support for Java anonymous classes via new syntactic symbol
241inexpr-class. New syntactic symbol inexpr-statement for Pike
242support and gcc-style statements inside expressions. New lineup
243function c-lineup-inexpr-block.
244
245*** New syntactic symbol brace-entry-open which is used in brace lists
246(i.e. static initializers) when a list entry starts with an open
247brace. These used to be recognized as brace-list-entry's.
248c-electric-brace also recognizes brace-entry-open braces
249(brace-list-entry's can no longer be electrified).
250
251*** New command c-indent-line-or-region, not bound by default.
252
253*** `#' is only electric when typed in the indentation of a line.
254
255*** Parentheses are now electric (via the new command c-electric-paren)
256for auto-reindenting lines when parens are typed.
257
258*** In "gnu" style, inline-open offset is now set to zero.
259
260*** Uniform handling of the inclass syntactic symbol. The indentation
261associated with it is now always relative to the class opening brace.
262This means that the indentation behavior has changed in some
263circumstances, but only if you've put anything besides 0 on the
264class-open syntactic symbol (none of the default styles do that).
265
266** Gnus changes.
267
268*** New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
269added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See the
270Gnus manual for the full story.
271
272*** The nndraft backend has returned, but works differently than
273before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the nndraft
274group, which is created automatically.
275
276*** `gnus-alter-header-function' can now be used to alter header
277values.
278
279*** `gnus-summary-goto-article' now accept Message-ID's.
280
281*** A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
282outside the region: `C-c C-v'.
283
284*** You can now post to component group in nnvirtual groups with
285`C-u C-c C-c'.
286
287*** `nntp-rlogin-program' -- new variable to ease customization.
288
289*** `C-u C-c C-c' in `gnus-article-edit-mode' will now inhibit
290re-highlighting of the article buffer.
291
292*** New element in `gnus-boring-article-headers' -- `long-to'.
293
294*** `M-i' symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
295Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
296
297*** `L' and `I' in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
298`a' to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
299
300*** `gnus-simplify-subject-functions' variable to allow greater
301control over simplification.
302
303*** `A T' -- new command for fetching the current thread.
304
305*** `/ T' -- new command for including the current thread in the
306limit.
307
308*** `M-RET' is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
309
310*** \\1-expressions are now valid in `nnmail-split-methods'.
311
312*** The `custom-face-lookup' function has been removed.
313If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
314rewrite them to use `face-spec-set' instead.
315
316*** Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
317`a' forces normal posting method.
318
319*** New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper text
320-- `W d'.
321
322*** For easier debugging of nntp, you can set `nntp-record-commands'
323to a non-nil value.
324
325*** nntp now uses ~/.authinfo, a .netrc-like file, for controlling
326where and how to send AUTHINFO to NNTP servers.
327
328*** A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
329has been added.
330
331*** A history of where mails have been split is available.
332
333*** A new article date command has been added -- `article-date-iso8601'.
334
335*** Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
336`gnus-score-thread-simplify'.
337
338*** A new function for citing in Message has been added --
339`message-cite-original-without-signature'.
340
341*** `article-strip-all-blank-lines' -- new article command.
342
343*** A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
344been added.
345
346*** A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
347`gnus-adaptive-word-minimum' variable.
348
349*** The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
350updated by the `gnus-start-date-timer' command.
351
352*** Web listserv archives can be read with the nnlistserv backend.
353
354*** Old dejanews archives can now be read by nnweb.
355
356*** `gnus-posting-styles' has been re-activated.
357
358** Changes to TeX and LaTeX mode
359
360*** The new variable `tex-start-options-string' can be used to give
361options for the TeX run. The default value causes TeX to run in
362nonstopmode. For an interactive TeX run set it to nil or "".
363
364*** The command `tex-feed-input' sends input to the Tex Shell. In a
365TeX buffer it is bound to the keys C-RET, C-c RET, and C-c C-m (some
366of these keys may not work on all systems). For instance, if you run
367TeX interactively and if the TeX run stops because of an error, you
368can continue it without leaving the TeX buffer by typing C-RET.
369
370*** The Tex Shell Buffer is now in `compilation-shell-minor-mode'.
371All error-parsing commands of the Compilation major mode are available
372but bound to keys that don't collide with the shell. Thus you can use
373the Tex Shell for command line executions like a usual shell.
374
375*** The commands `tex-validate-region' and `tex-validate-buffer' check
376the matching of braces and $'s. The errors are listed in a *Occur*
377buffer and you can use C-c C-c or mouse-2 to go to a particular
378mismatch.
379
380** Changes to RefTeX mode
381
382*** The table of contents buffer can now also display labels and
383file boundaries in addition to sections. Use `l', `i', and `c' keys.
384
385*** Labels derived from context (the section heading) are now
386lowercase by default. To make the label legal in LaTeX, latin-1
387characters will lose their accent. All Mule characters will be
388removed from the label.
389
390*** The automatic display of cross reference information can also use
391a window instead of the echo area. See variable `reftex-auto-view-crossref'.
392
393*** kpsewhich can be used by RefTeX to find TeX and BibTeX files. See the
394customization group `reftex-finding-files'.
395
396*** The option `reftex-bibfile-ignore-list' has been renamed to
397`reftex-bibfile-ignore-regexps' and indeed can be fed with regular
398expressions.
399
400*** Multiple Selection buffers are now hidden buffers.
401
402** New/deleted modes and packages
403
404*** The package snmp-mode.el provides major modes for editing SNMP and
405SNMPv2 MIBs. It has entries on `auto-mode-alist'.
406
407*** The package sql.el provides a major mode, M-x sql-mode, for
408editing SQL files, and M-x sql-interactive-mode for interacting with
409SQL interpreters. It has an entry on `auto-mode-alist'.
410
411*** ispell4.el has been deleted. It got in the way of ispell.el and
412this was hard to fix reliably. It has long been obsolete -- use
413Ispell 3.1 and ispell.el.
414
415\f
416* MS-DOS changes in Emacs 20.4
417
418** Emacs compiled for MS-DOS now supports MULE features better.
419This includes support for display of all ISO 8859-N character sets,
420conversion to and from IBM codepage encoding of non-ASCII characters,
421and automatic setup of the MULE environment at startup. For details,
422check out the section `MS-DOS and MULE' in the manual.
423
424The MS-DOS installation procedure automatically configures and builds
425Emacs with input method support if it finds an unpacked Leim
426distribution when the config.bat script is run.
427
428** Formerly, the value of lpr-command did not affect printing on
429MS-DOS unless print-region-function was set to nil, but now it
430controls whether an external program is invoked or output is written
431directly to a printer port. Similarly, in the previous version of
432Emacs, the value of ps-lpr-command did not affect PostScript printing
433on MS-DOS unless ps-printer-name was set to something other than a
434string (eg. t or `pipe'), but now it controls whether an external
435program is used. (These changes were made so that configuration of
436printing variables would be almost identical across all platforms.)
437
438** In the previous version of Emacs, PostScript and non-PostScript
439output was piped to external programs, but because most print programs
440available for MS-DOS and MS-Windows cannot read data from their standard
441input, on those systems the data to be output is now written to a
442temporary file whose name is passed as the last argument to the external
443program.
444
445An exception is made for `print', a standard program on Windows NT,
446and `nprint', a standard program on Novell Netware. For both of these
447programs, the command line is constructed in the appropriate syntax
448automatically, using only the value of printer-name or ps-printer-name
449as appropriate--the value of the relevant `-switches' variable is
450ignored, as both programs have no useful switches.
451
452** The value of the variable dos-printer (cf. dos-ps-printer), if it has
453a value, overrides the value of printer-name (cf. ps-printer-name), on
454MS-DOS and MS-Windows only. This has been true since version 20.3, but
455was not documented clearly before.
456
457** All the Emacs games now work on MS-DOS terminals.
458This includes Tetris and Snake.
459
460\f
461* Lisp changes in Emacs 20.4
462
463** New functions line-beginning-position and line-end-position
464return the position of the beginning or end of the current line.
465They both accept an optional argument, which has the same
466meaning as the argument to beginning-of-line or end-of-line.
467
468** find-file and allied functions now have an optional argument
469WILDCARD. If this is non-nil, they do wildcard processing,
470and visit all files that match the wildcard pattern.
471
472** Changes in the file-attributes function.
473
474*** The file size returned by file-attributes may be an integer or a float.
475It is an integer if the size fits in a Lisp integer, float otherwise.
476
477*** The inode number returned by file-attributes may be an integer (if
478the number fits in a Lisp integer) or a cons cell containing two
479integers.
480
481** The new function directory-files-and-attributes returns a list of
482files in a directory and their attributes. It accepts the same
483arguments as directory-files and has similar semantics, except that
484file names and attributes are returned.
485
486** The new function file-attributes-lessp is a helper function for
487sorting the list generated by directory-files-and-attributes. It
488accepts two arguments, each a list of a file name and its attributes.
489It compares the file names of each according to string-lessp and
490returns the result.
491
492** The new function file-expand-wildcards expands a wildcard-pattern
493to produce a list of existing files that match the pattern.
494
495** New functions for base64 conversion:
496
497The function base64-encode-region converts a part of the buffer
498into the base64 code used in MIME. base64-decode-region
499performs the opposite conversion. Line-breaking is supported
500optionally.
501
502Functions base64-encode-string and base64-decode-string do a similar
503job on the text in a string. They return the value as a new string.
504
505**
506The new function process-running-child-p
507will tell you if a subprocess has given control of its
508terminal to its own child process.
509
510** interrupt-process and such functions have a new feature:
511when the second argument is `lambda', they send a signal
512to the running child of the subshell, if any, but if the shell
513itself owns its terminal, no signal is sent.
514
515** There are new widget types `plist' and `alist' which can
516be used for customizing variables whose values are plists or alists.
517
518** easymenu.el now understands `:key-sequence' and `:style button'.
519:included is an alias for :visible.
520
521easy-menu-add-item now understands the values returned by
522easy-menu-remove-item and easy-menu-item-present-p. This can be used
523to move or copy menu entries.
524
525** Multibyte editing changes
526
527*** The definitions of sref and char-bytes are changed. Now, sref is
528an alias of aref and char-bytes always returns 1. This change is to
529make some Emacs Lisp code which works on 20.2 and earlier also
530work on the latest Emacs. Such code uses a combination of sref and
531char-bytes in a loop typically as below:
532 (setq char (sref str idx)
533 idx (+ idx (char-bytes idx)))
534The byte-compiler now warns that this is obsolete.
535
536If you want to know how many bytes a specific multibyte character
537(say, CH) occupies in a multibyte buffer, use this code:
538 (charset-bytes (char-charset ch))
539
540*** In multibyte mode, when you narrow a buffer to some region, and the
541region is preceded or followed by non-ASCII codes, inserting or
542deleting at the head or the end of the region may signal this error:
543
544 Byte combining across boundary of accessible buffer text inhibited
545
546This is to avoid some bytes being combined together into a character
547across the boundary.
548
549*** The functions find-charset-region and find-charset-string include
550`unknown' in the returned list in the following cases:
551 o The current buffer or the target string is unibyte and
552 contains 8-bit characters.
553 o The current buffer or the target string is multibyte and
554 contains invalid characters.
555
556*** The functions decode-coding-region and encode-coding-region remove
557text properties of the target region. Ideally, they should correctly
558preserve text properties, but for the moment, it's hard. Removing
559text properties is better than preserving them in a less-than-correct
560way.
561
562*** prefer-coding-system sets EOL conversion of default coding systems.
563If the argument to prefer-coding-system specifies a certain type of
564end of line conversion, the default coding systems set by
565prefer-coding-system will specify that conversion type for end of line.
566
567*** The new function thai-compose-string can be used to properly
568compose Thai characters in a string.
569
570** The primitive `define-prefix-command' now takes an optional third
571argument NAME, which should be a string. It supplies the menu name
572for the created keymap. Keymaps created in order to be displayed as
573menus should always use the third argument.
574
575** The meanings of optional second arguments for read-char,
576read-event, and read-char-exclusive are flipped. Now the second
577arguments are INHERIT-INPUT-METHOD. These functions use the current
578input method (if any) if and only if INHERIT-INPUT-METHOD is non-nil.
579
580** The new function clear-this-command-keys empties out the contents
581of the vector that (this-command-keys) returns. This is useful in
582programs that read passwords, to prevent the passwords from echoing
583inadvertently as part of the next command in certain cases.
584
585** The new macro `with-temp-message' displays a temporary message in
586the echo area, while executing some Lisp code. Like `progn', it
587returns the value of the last form, but it also restores the previous
588echo area contents.
589
590 (with-temp-message MESSAGE &rest BODY)
591
592** The function `require' now takes an optional third argument
593NOERROR. If it is non-nil, then there is no error if the
594requested feature cannot be loaded.
595
596** In the function modify-face, an argument of (nil) for the
597foreground color, background color or stipple pattern
598means to clear out that attribute.
599
600** The `outer-window-id' frame property of an X frame
601gives the window number of the outermost X window for the frame.
602
603** Temporary buffers made with with-output-to-temp-buffer are now
604read-only by default, and normally use the major mode Help mode
605unless you put them in some other non-Fundamental mode before the
606end of with-output-to-temp-buffer.
607
608** The new functions gap-position and gap-size return information on
609the gap of the current buffer.
610
611** The new functions position-bytes and byte-to-position provide a way
612to convert between character positions and byte positions in the
613current buffer.
614
615** vc.el defines two new macros, `edit-vc-file' and `with-vc-file', to
616facilitate working with version-controlled files from Lisp programs.
617These macros check out a given file automatically if needed, and check
618it back in after any modifications have been made.
619
620
621\f
622* Installation Changes in Emacs 20.3
623
624** The default value of load-path now includes most subdirectories of
625the site-specific directories /usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp and
626/usr/local/share/emacs/VERSION/site-lisp, in addition to those
627directories themselves. Both immediate subdirectories and
628subdirectories multiple levels down are added to load-path.
629
630Not all subdirectories are included, though. Subdirectories whose
631names do not start with a letter or digit are excluded.
632Subdirectories named RCS or CVS are excluded. Also, a subdirectory
633which contains a file named `.nosearch' is excluded. You can use
634these methods to prevent certain subdirectories from being searched.
635
636Emacs finds these subdirectories and adds them to load-path when it
637starts up. While it would be cleaner to find the subdirectories each
638time Emacs loads a file, that would be much slower.
639
640This feature is an incompatible change. If you have stored some Emacs
641Lisp files in a subdirectory of the site-lisp directory specifically
642to prevent them from being used, you will need to rename the
643subdirectory to start with a non-alphanumeric character, or create a
644`.nosearch' file in it, in order to continue to achieve the desired
645results.
646
647** Emacs no longer includes an old version of the C preprocessor from
648GCC. This was formerly used to help compile Emacs with C compilers
649that had limits on the significant length of an identifier, but in
650fact we stopped supporting such compilers some time ago.
651
652\f
653* Changes in Emacs 20.3
654
655** The new command C-x z (repeat) repeats the previous command
656including its argument. If you repeat the z afterward,
657it repeats the command additional times; thus, you can
658perform many repetitions with one keystroke per repetition.
659
660** Emacs now supports "selective undo" which undoes only within a
661specified region. To do this, set point and mark around the desired
662region and type C-u C-x u (or C-u C-_). You can then continue undoing
663further, within the same region, by repeating the ordinary undo
664command C-x u or C-_. This will keep undoing changes that were made
665within the region you originally specified, until either all of them
666are undone, or it encounters a change which crosses the edge of that
667region.
668
669In Transient Mark mode, undoing when a region is active requests
670selective undo.
671
672** If you specify --unibyte when starting Emacs, then all buffers are
673unibyte, except when a Lisp program specifically creates a multibyte
674buffer. Setting the environment variable EMACS_UNIBYTE has the same
675effect. The --no-unibyte option overrides EMACS_UNIBYTE and directs
676Emacs to run normally in multibyte mode.
677
678The option --unibyte does not affect the reading of Emacs Lisp files,
679though. If you want a Lisp file to be read in unibyte mode, use
680-*-unibyte: t;-*- on its first line. That will force Emacs to
681load that file in unibyte mode, regardless of how Emacs was started.
682
683** toggle-enable-multibyte-characters no longer has a key binding and
684no longer appears in the menu bar. We've realized that changing the
685enable-multibyte-characters variable in an existing buffer is
686something that most users not do.
687
688** You can specify a coding system to use for the next cut or paste
689operations through the window system with the command C-x RET X.
690The coding system can make a difference for communication with other
691applications.
692
693C-x RET x specifies a coding system for all subsequent cutting and
694pasting operations.
695
696** You can specify the printer to use for commands that do printing by
697setting the variable `printer-name'. Just what a printer name looks
698like depends on your operating system. You can specify a different
7877f373 699printer for the PostScript printing commands by setting
9a21d88b
KS
700`ps-printer-name'.
701
702** Emacs now supports on-the-fly spell checking by the means of a
703minor mode. It is called M-x flyspell-mode. You don't have to remember
704any other special commands to use it, and you will hardly notice it
705except when you make a spelling error. Flyspell works by highlighting
706incorrect words as soon as they are completed or as soon as the cursor
707hits a new word.
708
709Flyspell mode works with whichever dictionary you have selected for
710Ispell in Emacs. In TeX mode, it understands TeX syntax so as not
711to be confused by TeX commands.
712
713You can correct a misspelled word by editing it into something
714correct. You can also correct it, or accept it as correct, by
715clicking on the word with Mouse-2; that gives you a pop-up menu
716of various alternative replacements and actions.
717
718Flyspell mode also proposes "automatic" corrections. M-TAB replaces
719the current misspelled word with a possible correction. If several
720corrections are made possible, M-TAB cycles through them in
721alphabetical order, or in order of decreasing likelihood if
722flyspell-sort-corrections is nil.
723
724Flyspell mode also flags an error when a word is repeated, if
725flyspell-mark-duplications-flag is non-nil.
726
727** Changes in input method usage.
728
729Now you can use arrow keys (right, left, down, up) for selecting among
730the alternatives just the same way as you do by C-f, C-b, C-n, and C-p
731respectively.
732
733You can use the ENTER key to accept the current conversion.
734
735If you type TAB to display a list of alternatives, you can select one
736of the alternatives with Mouse-2.
737
738The meaning of the variable `input-method-verbose-flag' is changed so
739that you can set it to t, nil, `default', or `complex-only'.
740
741 If the value is nil, extra guidance is never given.
742
743 If the value is t, extra guidance is always given.
744
745 If the value is `complex-only', extra guidance is always given only
746 when you are using complex input methods such as chinese-py.
747
748 If the value is `default' (this is the default), extra guidance is
749 given in the following case:
750 o When you are using a complex input method.
751 o When you are using a simple input method but not in the minibuffer.
752
753If you are using Emacs through a very slow line, setting
754input-method-verbose-flag to nil or to complex-only is a good choice,
755and if you are using an input method you are not familiar with,
756setting it to t is helpful.
757
758The old command select-input-method is now called set-input-method.
759
760In the language environment "Korean", you can use the following
761keys:
762 Shift-SPC toggle-korean-input-method
763 C-F9 quail-hangul-switch-symbol-ksc
764 F9 quail-hangul-switch-hanja
765These key bindings are canceled when you switch to another language
766environment.
767
768** The minibuffer history of file names now records the specified file
769names, not the entire minibuffer input. For example, if the
770minibuffer starts out with /usr/foo/, you might type in /etc/passwd to
771get
772
773 /usr/foo//etc/passwd
774
775which stands for the file /etc/passwd.
776
777Formerly, this used to put /usr/foo//etc/passwd in the history list.
778Now this puts just /etc/passwd in the history list.
779
780** If you are root, Emacs sets backup-by-copying-when-mismatch to t
781at startup, so that saving a file will be sure to preserve
782its owner and group.
783
784** find-func.el can now also find the place of definition of Emacs
785Lisp variables in user-loaded libraries.
786
787** C-x r t (string-rectangle) now deletes the existing rectangle
788contents before inserting the specified string on each line.
789
790** There is a new command delete-whitespace-rectangle
791which deletes whitespace starting from a particular column
792in all the lines on a rectangle. The column is specified
793by the left edge of the rectangle.
794
795** You can now store a number into a register with C-u NUMBER C-x r n REG,
796increment it by INC with C-u INC C-x r + REG (to increment by one, omit
797C-u INC), and insert it in the buffer with C-x r g REG. This is useful
798for writing keyboard macros.
799
800** The new command M-x speedbar displays a frame in which directories,
801files, and tags can be displayed, manipulated, and jumped to. The
802frame defaults to 20 characters in width, and is the same height as
803the frame that it was started from. Some major modes define
804additional commands for the speedbar, including Rmail, GUD/GDB, and
805info.
806
807** query-replace-regexp is now bound to C-M-%.
808
809** In Transient Mark mode, when the region is active, M-x
810query-replace and the other replace commands now operate on the region
811contents only.
812
813** M-x write-region, when used interactively, now asks for
814confirmation before overwriting an existing file. When you call
815the function from a Lisp program, a new optional argument CONFIRM
816says whether to ask for confirmation in this case.
817
818** If you use find-file-literally and the file is already visited
819non-literally, the command asks you whether to revisit the file
820literally. If you say no, it signals an error.
821
822** Major modes defined with the "derived mode" feature
823now use the proper name for the mode hook: WHATEVER-mode-hook.
824Formerly they used the name WHATEVER-mode-hooks, but that is
825inconsistent with Emacs conventions.
826
827** shell-command-on-region (and shell-command) reports success or
828failure if the command produces no output.
829
830** Set focus-follows-mouse to nil if your window system or window
831manager does not transfer focus to another window when you just move
832the mouse.
833
834** mouse-menu-buffer-maxlen has been renamed to
835mouse-buffer-menu-maxlen to be consistent with the other related
836function and variable names.
837
838** The new variable auto-coding-alist specifies coding systems for
839reading specific files. This has higher priority than
840file-coding-system-alist.
841
842** If you set the variable unibyte-display-via-language-environment to
843t, then Emacs displays non-ASCII characters are displayed by
844converting them to the equivalent multibyte characters according to
845the current language environment. As a result, they are displayed
846according to the current fontset.
847
848** C-q's handling of codes in the range 0200 through 0377 is changed.
849
850The codes in the range 0200 through 0237 are inserted as one byte of
851that code regardless of the values of nonascii-translation-table and
852nonascii-insert-offset.
853
854For the codes in the range 0240 through 0377, if
855enable-multibyte-characters is non-nil and nonascii-translation-table
856nor nonascii-insert-offset can't convert them to valid multibyte
857characters, they are converted to Latin-1 characters.
858
859** If you try to find a file that is not read-accessible, you now get
860an error, rather than an empty buffer and a warning.
861
862** In the minibuffer history commands M-r and M-s, an upper case
863letter in the regular expression forces case-sensitive search.
864
865** In the *Help* buffer, cross-references to commands and variables
866are inferred and hyperlinked. Use C-h m in Help mode for the relevant
867command keys.
868
869** M-x apropos-command, with a prefix argument, no longer looks for
870user option variables--instead it looks for noninteractive functions.
871
872Meanwhile, the command apropos-variable normally searches for
873user option variables; with a prefix argument, it looks at
874all variables that have documentation.
875
876** When you type a long line in the minibuffer, and the minibuffer
877shows just one line, automatically scrolling works in a special way
878that shows you overlap with the previous line of text. The variable
879minibuffer-scroll-overlap controls how many characters of overlap
880it should show; the default is 20.
881
882Meanwhile, Resize Minibuffer mode is still available; in that mode,
883the minibuffer grows taller (up to a point) as needed to show the whole
884of your input.
885
886** The new command M-x customize-changed-options lets you customize
887all the options whose meanings or default values have changed in
888recent Emacs versions. You specify a previous Emacs version number as
889argument, and the command creates a customization buffer showing all
890the customizable options which were changed since that version.
891Newly added options are included as well.
892
893If you don't specify a particular version number argument,
894then the customization buffer shows all the customizable options
895for which Emacs versions of changes are recorded.
896
897This function is also bound to the Changed Options entry in the
898Customize menu.
899
900** When you run M-x grep with a prefix argument, it figures out
901the tag around point and puts that into the default grep command.
902
903** The new command M-* (pop-tag-mark) pops back through a history of
904buffer positions from which M-. or other tag-finding commands were
905invoked.
906
907** The new variable comment-padding specifies the number of spaces
908that `comment-region' will insert before the actual text of the comment.
909The default is 1.
910
911** In Fortran mode the characters `.', `_' and `$' now have symbol
912syntax, not word syntax. Fortran mode now supports `imenu' and has
913new commands fortran-join-line (M-^) and fortran-narrow-to-subprogram
914(C-x n d). M-q can be used to fill a statement or comment block
915sensibly.
916
917** GUD now supports jdb, the Java debugger, and pdb, the Python debugger.
918
919** If you set the variable add-log-keep-changes-together to a non-nil
920value, the command `C-x 4 a' will automatically notice when you make
921two entries in one day for one file, and combine them.
922
923** You can use the command M-x diary-mail-entries to mail yourself a
924reminder about upcoming diary entries. See the documentation string
925for a sample shell script for calling this function automatically
926every night.
927
928** Desktop changes
929
930*** All you need to do to enable use of the Desktop package, is to set
931the variable desktop-enable to t with Custom.
932
933*** Minor modes are now restored. Which minor modes are restored
934and how modes are restored is controlled by `desktop-minor-mode-table'.
935
936** There is no need to do anything special, now, to enable Gnus to
937read and post multi-lingual articles.
938
939** Outline mode has now support for showing hidden outlines when
940doing an isearch. In order for this to happen search-invisible should
941be set to open (the default). If an isearch match is inside a hidden
942outline the outline is made visible. If you continue pressing C-s and
943the match moves outside the formerly invisible outline, the outline is
944made invisible again.
945
946** Mail reading and sending changes
947
948*** The Rmail e command now switches to displaying the whole header of
949the message before it lets you edit the message. This is so that any
950changes you make in the header will not be lost if you subsequently
951toggle.
952
953*** The w command in Rmail, which writes the message body into a file,
954now works in the summary buffer as well. (The command to delete the
955summary buffer is now Q.) The default file name for the w command, if
956the message has no subject, is stored in the variable
957rmail-default-body-file.
958
959*** Most of the commands and modes that operate on mail and netnews no
960longer depend on the value of mail-header-separator. Instead, they
961handle whatever separator the buffer happens to use.
962
963*** If you set mail-signature to a value which is not t, nil, or a string,
964it should be an expression. When you send a message, this expression
965is evaluated to insert the signature.
966
967*** The new Lisp library feedmail.el (version 8) enhances processing of
968outbound email messages. It works in coordination with other email
969handling packages (e.g., rmail, VM, gnus) and is responsible for
970putting final touches on messages and actually submitting them for
971transmission. Users of the emacs program "fakemail" might be
972especially interested in trying feedmail.
973
974feedmail is not enabled by default. See comments at the top of
975feedmail.el for set-up instructions. Among the bigger features
976provided by feedmail are:
977
978**** you can park outgoing messages into a disk-based queue and
979stimulate sending some or all of them later (handy for laptop users);
980there is also a queue for draft messages
981
982**** you can get one last look at the prepped outbound message and
983be prompted for confirmation
984
985**** does smart filling of address headers
986
987**** can generate a MESSAGE-ID: line and a DATE: line; the date can be
988the time the message was written or the time it is being sent; this
989can make FCC copies more closely resemble copies that recipients get
990
991**** you can specify an arbitrary function for actually transmitting
992the message; included in feedmail are interfaces for /bin/[r]mail,
993/usr/lib/sendmail, and Emacs Lisp smtpmail; it's easy to write a new
994function for something else (10-20 lines of Lisp code).
995
996** Dired changes
997
998*** The Dired function dired-do-toggle, which toggles marked and unmarked
999files, is now bound to "t" instead of "T".
1000
1001*** dired-at-point has been added to ffap.el. It allows one to easily
1002run Dired on the directory name at point.
1003
1004*** Dired has a new command: %g. It searches the contents of
1005files in the directory and marks each file that contains a match
1006for a specified regexp.
1007
1008** VC Changes
1009
1010*** New option vc-ignore-vc-files lets you turn off version control
1011conveniently.
1012
1013*** VC Dired has been completely rewritten. It is now much
1014faster, especially for CVS, and works very similar to ordinary
1015Dired.
1016
1017VC Dired is invoked by typing C-x v d and entering the name of the
1018directory to display. By default, VC Dired gives you a recursive
1019listing of all files at or below the given directory which are
1020currently locked (for CVS, all files not up-to-date are shown).
1021
1022You can change the listing format by setting vc-dired-recurse to nil,
1023then it shows only the given directory, and you may also set
1024vc-dired-terse-display to nil, then it shows all files under version
1025control plus the names of any subdirectories, so that you can type `i'
1026on such lines to insert them manually, as in ordinary Dired.
1027
1028All Dired commands operate normally in VC Dired, except for `v', which
1029is redefined as the version control prefix. That means you may type
1030`v l', `v =' etc. to invoke `vc-print-log', `vc-diff' and the like on
1031the file named in the current Dired buffer line. `v v' invokes
1032`vc-next-action' on this file, or on all files currently marked.
1033
1034The new command `v t' (vc-dired-toggle-terse-mode) allows you to
1035toggle between terse display (only locked files) and full display (all
1036VC files plus subdirectories). There is also a special command,
1037`* l', to mark all files currently locked.
1038
1039Giving a prefix argument to C-x v d now does the same thing as in
1040ordinary Dired: it allows you to supply additional options for the ls
1041command in the minibuffer, to fine-tune VC Dired's output.
1042
1043*** Under CVS, if you merge changes from the repository into a working
1044file, and CVS detects conflicts, VC now offers to start an ediff
1045session to resolve them.
1046
1047Alternatively, you can use the new command `vc-resolve-conflicts' to
1048resolve conflicts in a file at any time. It works in any buffer that
1049contains conflict markers as generated by rcsmerge (which is what CVS
1050uses as well).
1051
1052*** You can now transfer changes between branches, using the new
1053command vc-merge (C-x v m). It is implemented for RCS and CVS. When
1054you invoke it in a buffer under version-control, you can specify
1055either an entire branch or a pair of versions, and the changes on that
1056branch or between the two versions are merged into the working file.
1057If this results in any conflicts, they may be resolved interactively,
1058using ediff.
1059
1060** Changes in Font Lock
1061
1062*** The face and variable previously known as font-lock-reference-face
1063are now called font-lock-constant-face to better reflect their typical
1064use for highlighting constants and labels. (Its face properties are
1065unchanged.) The variable font-lock-reference-face remains for now for
1066compatibility reasons, but its value is font-lock-constant-face.
1067
1068** Frame name display changes
1069
1070*** The command set-frame-name lets you set the name of the current
1071frame. You can use the new command select-frame-by-name to select and
1072raise a frame; this is mostly useful on character-only terminals, or
1073when many frames are invisible or iconified.
1074
1075*** On character-only terminal (not a window system), changing the
1076frame name is now reflected on the mode line and in the Buffers/Frames
1077menu.
1078
1079** Comint (subshell) changes
1080
1081*** In Comint modes, the commands to kill, stop or interrupt a
1082subjob now also kill pending input. This is for compatibility
1083with ordinary shells, where the signal characters do this.
1084
1085*** There are new commands in Comint mode.
1086
1087C-c C-x fetches the "next" line from the input history;
1088that is, the line after the last line you got.
1089You can use this command to fetch successive lines, one by one.
1090
1091C-c SPC accumulates lines of input. More precisely, it arranges to
1092send the current line together with the following line, when you send
1093the following line.
1094
1095C-c C-a if repeated twice consecutively now moves to the process mark,
1096which separates the pending input from the subprocess output and the
1097previously sent input.
1098
1099C-c M-r now runs comint-previous-matching-input-from-input;
1100it searches for a previous command, using the current pending input
1101as the search string.
1102
1103*** New option compilation-scroll-output can be set to scroll
1104automatically in compilation-mode windows.
1105
1106** C mode changes
1107
1108*** Multiline macros are now handled, both as they affect indentation,
1109and as recognized syntax. New syntactic symbol cpp-macro-cont is
1110assigned to second and subsequent lines of a multiline macro
1111definition.
1112
1113*** A new style "user" which captures all non-hook-ified
1114(i.e. top-level) .emacs file variable settings and customizations.
1115Style "cc-mode" is an alias for "user" and is deprecated. "gnu"
1116style is still the default however.
1117
1118*** "java" style now conforms to Sun's JDK coding style.
1119
1120*** There are new commands c-beginning-of-defun, c-end-of-defun which
1121are alternatives which you could bind to C-M-a and C-M-e if you prefer
1122them. They do not have key bindings by default.
1123
1124*** New and improved implementations of M-a (c-beginning-of-statement)
1125and M-e (c-end-of-statement).
1126
1127*** C++ namespace blocks are supported, with new syntactic symbols
1128namespace-open, namespace-close, and innamespace.
1129
1130*** File local variable settings of c-file-style and c-file-offsets
1131makes the style variables local to that buffer only.
1132
1133*** New indentation functions c-lineup-close-paren,
1134c-indent-one-line-block, c-lineup-dont-change.
1135
1136*** Improvements (hopefully!) to the way CC Mode is loaded. You
1137should now be able to do a (require 'cc-mode) to get the entire
1138package loaded properly for customization in your .emacs file. A new
1139variable c-initialize-on-load controls this and is t by default.
1140
1141** Changes to hippie-expand.
1142
1143*** New customization variable `hippie-expand-dabbrev-skip-space'. If
1144non-nil, trailing spaces may be included in the abbreviation to search for,
1145which then gives the same behavior as the original `dabbrev-expand'.
1146
1147*** New customization variable `hippie-expand-dabbrev-as-symbol'. If
1148non-nil, characters of syntax '_' is considered part of the word when
1149expanding dynamically.
1150
1151*** New customization variable `hippie-expand-no-restriction'. If
1152non-nil, narrowed buffers are widened before they are searched.
1153
1154*** New customization variable `hippie-expand-only-buffers'. If
1155non-empty, buffers searched are restricted to the types specified in
1156this list. Useful for example when constructing new special-purpose
1157expansion functions with `make-hippie-expand-function'.
1158
1159*** Text properties of the expansion are no longer copied.
1160
1161** Changes in BibTeX mode.
1162
1163*** Any titleword matching a regexp in the new variable
1164bibtex-autokey-titleword-ignore (case sensitive) is ignored during
1165automatic key generation. This replaces variable
1166bibtex-autokey-titleword-first-ignore, which only checked for matches
1167against the first word in the title.
1168
1169*** Autokey generation now uses all words from the title, not just
1170capitalized words. To avoid conflicts with existing customizations,
1171bibtex-autokey-titleword-ignore is set up such that words starting with
1172lowerkey characters will still be ignored. Thus, if you want to use
1173lowercase words from the title, you will have to overwrite the
1174bibtex-autokey-titleword-ignore standard setting.
1175
1176*** Case conversion of names and title words for automatic key
1177generation is more flexible. Variable bibtex-autokey-preserve-case is
1178replaced by bibtex-autokey-titleword-case-convert and
1179bibtex-autokey-name-case-convert.
1180
1181** Changes in vcursor.el.
1182
1183*** Support for character terminals is available: there is a new keymap
1184and the vcursor will appear as an arrow between buffer text. A
1185variable `vcursor-interpret-input' allows input from the vcursor to be
1186entered exactly as if typed. Numerous functions, including
1187`vcursor-compare-windows', have been rewritten to improve consistency
1188in the selection of windows and corresponding keymaps.
1189
1190*** vcursor options can now be altered with M-x customize under the
1191Editing group once the package is loaded.
1192
1193*** Loading vcursor now does not define keys by default, as this is
1194generally a bad side effect. Use M-x customize to set
1195vcursor-key-bindings to t to restore the old behavior.
1196
1197*** vcursor-auto-disable can be `copy', which turns off copying from the
1198vcursor, but doesn't disable it, after any non-vcursor command.
1199
1200** Ispell changes.
1201
1202*** You can now spell check comments and strings in the current
1203buffer with M-x ispell-comments-and-strings. Comments and strings
1204are identified by syntax tables in effect.
1205
1206*** Generic region skipping implemented.
1207A single buffer can be broken into a number of regions where text will
1208and will not be checked. The definitions of the regions can be user
1209defined. New applications and improvements made available by this
1210include:
1211
1212 o URLs are automatically skipped
1213 o EMail message checking is vastly improved.
1214
1215*** Ispell can highlight the erroneous word even on non-window terminals.
1216
1217** Changes to RefTeX mode
1218
1219RefTeX has been updated in order to make it more usable with very
1220large projects (like a several volume math book). The parser has been
1221re-written from scratch. To get maximum speed from RefTeX, check the
1222section `Optimizations' in the manual.
1223
1224*** New recursive parser.
1225
1226The old version of RefTeX created a single large buffer containing the
1227entire multifile document in order to parse the document. The new
1228recursive parser scans the individual files.
1229
1230*** Parsing only part of a document.
1231
1232Reparsing of changed document parts can now be made faster by enabling
1233partial scans. To use this feature, read the documentation string of
1234the variable `reftex-enable-partial-scans' and set the variable to t.
1235
1236 (setq reftex-enable-partial-scans t)
1237
1238*** Storing parsing information in a file.
1239
1240This can improve startup times considerably. To turn it on, use
1241
1242 (setq reftex-save-parse-info t)
1243
1244*** Using multiple selection buffers
1245
1246If the creation of label selection buffers is too slow (this happens
1247for large documents), you can reuse these buffers by setting
1248
1249 (setq reftex-use-multiple-selection-buffers t)
1250
1251*** References to external documents.
1252
1253The LaTeX package `xr' allows to cross-reference labels in external
1254documents. RefTeX can provide information about the external
1255documents as well. To use this feature, set up the \externaldocument
1256macros required by the `xr' package and rescan the document with
1257RefTeX. The external labels can then be accessed with the `x' key in
1258the selection buffer provided by `reftex-reference' (bound to `C-c )').
1259The `x' key also works in the table of contents buffer.
1260
1261*** Many more labeled LaTeX environments are recognized by default.
1262
1263The built-in command list now covers all the standard LaTeX commands,
1264and all of the major packages included in the LaTeX distribution.
1265
1266Also, RefTeX now understands the \appendix macro and changes
1267the enumeration of sections in the *toc* buffer accordingly.
1268
1269*** Mouse support for selection and *toc* buffers
1270
1271The mouse can now be used to select items in the selection and *toc*
1272buffers. See also the new option `reftex-highlight-selection'.
1273
1274*** New keymaps for selection and table of contents modes.
1275
1276The selection processes for labels and citation keys, and the table of
1277contents buffer now have their own keymaps: `reftex-select-label-map',
1278`reftex-select-bib-map', `reftex-toc-map'. The selection processes
1279have a number of new keys predefined. In particular, TAB lets you
1280enter a label with completion. Check the on-the-fly help (press `?'
1281at the selection prompt) or read the Info documentation to find out
1282more.
1283
1284*** Support for the varioref package
1285
1286The `v' key in the label selection buffer toggles \ref versus \vref.
1287
1288*** New hooks
1289
1290Three new hooks can be used to redefine the way labels, references,
1291and citations are created. These hooks are
1292`reftex-format-label-function', `reftex-format-ref-function',
1293`reftex-format-cite-function'.
1294
1295*** Citations outside LaTeX
1296
1297The command `reftex-citation' may also be used outside LaTeX (e.g. in
1298a mail buffer). See the Info documentation for details.
1299
1300*** Short context is no longer fontified.
1301
1302The short context in the label menu no longer copies the
1303fontification from the text in the buffer. If you prefer it to be
1304fontified, use
1305
1306 (setq reftex-refontify-context t)
1307
1308** file-cache-minibuffer-complete now accepts a prefix argument.
1309With a prefix argument, it does not try to do completion of
1310the file name within its directory; it only checks for other
1311directories that contain the same file name.
1312
1313Thus, given the file name Makefile, and assuming that a file
1314Makefile.in exists in the same directory, ordinary
1315file-cache-minibuffer-complete will try to complete Makefile to
1316Makefile.in and will therefore never look for other directories that
1317have Makefile. A prefix argument tells it not to look for longer
1318names such as Makefile.in, so that instead it will look for other
1319directories--just as if the name were already complete in its present
1320directory.
1321
1322** New modes and packages
1323
1324*** There is a new alternative major mode for Perl, Cperl mode.
1325It has many more features than Perl mode, and some people prefer
1326it, but some do not.
1327
1328*** There is a new major mode, M-x vhdl-mode, for editing files of VHDL
1329code.
1330
1331*** M-x which-function-mode enables a minor mode that displays the
1332current function name continuously in the mode line, as you move
1333around in a buffer.
1334
1335Which Function mode is effective in major modes which support Imenu.
1336
1337*** Gametree is a major mode for editing game analysis trees. The author
1338uses it for keeping notes about his postal Chess games, but it should
1339be helpful for other two-player games as well, as long as they have an
1340established system of notation similar to Chess.
1341
1342*** The new minor mode checkdoc-minor-mode provides Emacs Lisp
1343documentation string checking for style and spelling. The style
1344guidelines are found in the Emacs Lisp programming manual.
1345
1346*** The net-utils package makes some common networking features
1347available in Emacs. Some of these functions are wrappers around
1348system utilities (ping, nslookup, etc.); others are implementations of
1349simple protocols (finger, whois) in Emacs Lisp. There are also
1350functions to make simple connections to TCP/IP ports for debugging and
1351the like.
1352
1353*** highlight-changes-mode is a minor mode that uses colors to
1354identify recently changed parts of the buffer text.
1355
1356*** The new package `midnight' lets you specify things to be done
1357within Emacs at midnight--by default, kill buffers that you have not
1358used in a considerable time. To use this feature, customize
1359the user option `midnight-mode' to t.
1360
1361*** The file generic-x.el defines a number of simple major modes.
1362
1363 apache-generic-mode: For Apache and NCSA httpd configuration files
1364 samba-generic-mode: Samba configuration files
1365 fvwm-generic-mode: For fvwm initialization files
1366 x-resource-generic-mode: For X resource files
1367 hosts-generic-mode: For hosts files (.rhosts, /etc/hosts, etc.)
1368 mailagent-rules-generic-mode: For mailagent .rules files
1369 javascript-generic-mode: For JavaScript files
1370 vrml-generic-mode: For VRML files
1371 java-manifest-generic-mode: For Java MANIFEST files
1372 java-properties-generic-mode: For Java property files
1373 mailrc-generic-mode: For .mailrc files
1374
1375 Platform-specific modes:
1376
1377 prototype-generic-mode: For Solaris/Sys V prototype files
1378 pkginfo-generic-mode: For Solaris/Sys V pkginfo files
1379 alias-generic-mode: For C shell alias files
1380 inf-generic-mode: For MS-Windows INF files
1381 ini-generic-mode: For MS-Windows INI files
1382 reg-generic-mode: For MS-Windows Registry files
1383 bat-generic-mode: For MS-Windows BAT scripts
1384 rc-generic-mode: For MS-Windows Resource files
1385 rul-generic-mode: For InstallShield scripts
1386
1387\f
1388* Lisp changes in Emacs 20.3 since the Emacs Lisp Manual was published
1389
1390** If you want a Lisp file to be read in unibyte mode,
1391use -*-unibyte: t;-*- on its first line.
1392That will force Emacs to read that file in unibyte mode.
1393Otherwise, the file will be loaded and byte-compiled in multibyte mode.
1394
1395Thus, each lisp file is read in a consistent way regardless of whether
1396you started Emacs with --unibyte, so that a Lisp program gives
1397consistent results regardless of how Emacs was started.
1398
1399** The new function assoc-default is useful for searching an alist,
1400and using a default value if the key is not found there. You can
1401specify a comparison predicate, so this function is useful for
1402searching comparing a string against an alist of regular expressions.
1403
1404** The functions unibyte-char-to-multibyte and
1405multibyte-char-to-unibyte convert between unibyte and multibyte
1406character codes, in a way that is appropriate for the current language
1407environment.
1408
1409** The functions read-event, read-char and read-char-exclusive now
1410take two optional arguments. PROMPT, if non-nil, specifies a prompt
1411string. SUPPRESS-INPUT-METHOD, if non-nil, says to disable the
1412current input method for reading this one event.
1413
1414** Two new variables print-escape-nonascii and print-escape-multibyte
1415now control whether to output certain characters as
1416backslash-sequences. print-escape-nonascii applies to single-byte
1417non-ASCII characters; print-escape-multibyte applies to multibyte
1418characters. Both of these variables are used only when printing
1419in readable fashion (prin1 uses them, princ does not).
1420
1421\f
1422* Lisp changes in Emacs 20.3 before the Emacs Lisp Manual was published
1423
1424** Compiled Emacs Lisp files made with the modified "MBSK" version
1425of Emacs 20.2 do not work in Emacs 20.3.
1426
1427** Buffer positions are now measured in characters, as they were
1428in Emacs 19 and before. This means that (forward-char 1)
1429always increases point by 1.
1430
1431The function chars-in-region now just subtracts its arguments. It is
1432considered obsolete. The function char-boundary-p has been deleted.
1433
1434See below for additional changes relating to multibyte characters.
1435
1436** defcustom, defface and defgroup now accept the keyword `:version'.
1437Use this to specify in which version of Emacs a certain variable's
1438default value changed. For example,
1439
1440 (defcustom foo-max 34 "*Maximum number of foo's allowed."
1441 :type 'integer
1442 :group 'foo
1443 :version "20.3")
1444
1445 (defgroup foo-group nil "The foo group."
1446 :version "20.3")
1447
1448If an entire new group is added or the variables in it have the
1449default values changed, then just add a `:version' to that group. It
1450is recommended that new packages added to the distribution contain a
1451`:version' in the top level group.
1452
1453This information is used to control the customize-changed-options command.
1454
1455** It is now an error to change the value of a symbol whose name
1456starts with a colon--if it is interned in the standard obarray.
1457
1458However, setting such a symbol to its proper value, which is that
1459symbol itself, is not an error. This is for the sake of programs that
1460support previous Emacs versions by explicitly setting these variables
1461to themselves.
1462
1463If you set the variable keyword-symbols-constant-flag to nil,
1464this error is suppressed, and you can set these symbols to any
1465values whatever.
1466
1467** There is a new debugger command, R.
1468It evaluates an expression like e, but saves the result
1469in the buffer *Debugger-record*.
1470
1471** Frame-local variables.
1472
1473You can now make a variable local to various frames. To do this, call
1474the function make-variable-frame-local; this enables frames to have
1475local bindings for that variable.
1476
1477These frame-local bindings are actually frame parameters: you create a
1478frame-local binding in a specific frame by calling
1479modify-frame-parameters and specifying the variable name as the
1480parameter name.
1481
1482Buffer-local bindings take precedence over frame-local bindings.
1483Thus, if the current buffer has a buffer-local binding, that binding is
1484active; otherwise, if the selected frame has a frame-local binding,
1485that binding is active; otherwise, the default binding is active.
1486
1487It would not be hard to implement window-local bindings, but it is not
1488clear that this would be very useful; windows tend to come and go in a
1489very transitory fashion, so that trying to produce any specific effect
1490through a window-local binding would not be very robust.
1491
1492** `sregexq' and `sregex' are two new functions for constructing
1493"symbolic regular expressions." These are Lisp expressions that, when
1494evaluated, yield conventional string-based regexps. The symbolic form
1495makes it easier to construct, read, and maintain complex patterns.
1496See the documentation in sregex.el.
1497
1498** parse-partial-sexp's return value has an additional element which
1499is used to pass information along if you pass it to another call to
1500parse-partial-sexp, starting its scan where the first call ended.
1501The contents of this field are not yet finalized.
1502
1503** eval-region now accepts a fourth optional argument READ-FUNCTION.
1504If it is non-nil, that function is used instead of `read'.
1505
1506** unload-feature by default removes the feature's functions from
1507known hooks to avoid trouble, but a package providing FEATURE can
1508define a hook FEATURE-unload-hook to be run by unload-feature instead.
1509
1510** read-from-minibuffer no longer returns the argument DEFAULT-VALUE
1511when the user enters empty input. It now returns the null string, as
1512it did in Emacs 19. The default value is made available in the
1513history via M-n, but it is not applied here as a default.
1514
1515The other, more specialized minibuffer-reading functions continue to
1516return the default value (not the null string) when the user enters
1517empty input.
1518
1519** The new variable read-buffer-function controls which routine to use
1520for selecting buffers. For example, if you set this variable to
1521`iswitchb-read-buffer', iswitchb will be used to read buffer names.
1522Other functions can also be used if they accept the same arguments as
1523`read-buffer' and return the selected buffer name as a string.
1524
1525** The new function read-passwd reads a password from the terminal,
1526echoing a period for each character typed. It takes three arguments:
1527a prompt string, a flag which says "read it twice to make sure", and a
1528default password to use if the user enters nothing.
1529
1530** The variable fill-nobreak-predicate gives major modes a way to
1531specify not to break a line at certain places. Its value is a
1532function which is called with no arguments, with point located at the
1533place where a break is being considered. If the function returns
1534non-nil, then the line won't be broken there.
1535
1536** window-end now takes an optional second argument, UPDATE.
1537If this is non-nil, then the function always returns an accurate
1538up-to-date value for the buffer position corresponding to the
1539end of the window, even if this requires computation.
1540
1541** other-buffer now takes an optional argument FRAME
1542which specifies which frame's buffer list to use.
1543If it is nil, that means use the selected frame's buffer list.
1544
1545** The new variable buffer-display-time, always local in every buffer,
1546holds the value of (current-time) as of the last time that a window
1547was directed to display this buffer.
1548
1549** It is now meaningful to compare two window-configuration objects
1550with `equal'. Two window-configuration objects are equal if they
1551describe equivalent arrangements of windows, in the same frame--in
1552other words, if they would give the same results if passed to
1553set-window-configuration.
1554
1555** compare-window-configurations is a new function that compares two
1556window configurations loosely. It ignores differences in saved buffer
1557positions and scrolling, and considers only the structure and sizes of
1558windows and the choice of buffers to display.
1559
1560** The variable minor-mode-overriding-map-alist allows major modes to
1561override the key bindings of a minor mode. The elements of this alist
1562look like the elements of minor-mode-map-alist: (VARIABLE . KEYMAP).
1563
1564If the VARIABLE in an element of minor-mode-overriding-map-alist has a
1565non-nil value, the paired KEYMAP is active, and totally overrides the
1566map (if any) specified for the same variable in minor-mode-map-alist.
1567
1568minor-mode-overriding-map-alist is automatically local in all buffers,
1569and it is meant to be set by major modes.
1570
1571** The function match-string-no-properties is like match-string
1572except that it discards all text properties from the result.
1573
1574** The function load-average now accepts an optional argument
1575USE-FLOATS. If it is non-nil, the load average values are returned as
1576floating point numbers, rather than as integers to be divided by 100.
1577
1578** The new variable temporary-file-directory specifies the directory
1579to use for creating temporary files. The default value is determined
1580in a reasonable way for your operating system; on GNU and Unix systems
1581it is based on the TMP and TMPDIR environment variables.
1582
1583** Menu changes
1584
1585*** easymenu.el now uses the new menu item format and supports the
1586keywords :visible and :filter. The existing keyword :keys is now
1587better supported.
1588
1589The variable `easy-menu-precalculate-equivalent-keybindings' controls
1590a new feature which calculates keyboard equivalents for the menu when
1591you define the menu. The default is t. If you rarely use menus, you
1592can set the variable to nil to disable this precalculation feature;
1593then the calculation is done only if you use the menu bar.
1594
1595*** A new format for menu items is supported.
1596
1597In a keymap, a key binding that has the format
1598 (STRING . REAL-BINDING) or (STRING HELP-STRING . REAL-BINDING)
1599defines a menu item. Now a menu item definition may also be a list that
1600starts with the symbol `menu-item'.
1601
1602The format is:
1603 (menu-item ITEM-NAME) or
1604 (menu-item ITEM-NAME REAL-BINDING . ITEM-PROPERTY-LIST)
1605where ITEM-NAME is an expression which evaluates to the menu item
1606string, and ITEM-PROPERTY-LIST has the form of a property list.
1607The supported properties include
1608
1609:enable FORM Evaluate FORM to determine whether the
1610 item is enabled.
1611:visible FORM Evaluate FORM to determine whether the
1612 item should appear in the menu.
1613:filter FILTER-FN
1614 FILTER-FN is a function of one argument,
1615 which will be REAL-BINDING.
1616 It should return a binding to use instead.
1617:keys DESCRIPTION
1618 DESCRIPTION is a string that describes an equivalent keyboard
1619 binding for REAL-BINDING. DESCRIPTION is expanded with
1620 `substitute-command-keys' before it is used.
1621:key-sequence KEY-SEQUENCE
1622 KEY-SEQUENCE is a key-sequence for an equivalent
1623 keyboard binding.
1624:key-sequence nil
1625 This means that the command normally has no
1626 keyboard equivalent.
1627:help HELP HELP is the extra help string (not currently used).
1628:button (TYPE . SELECTED)
1629 TYPE is :toggle or :radio.
1630 SELECTED is a form, to be evaluated, and its
1631 value says whether this button is currently selected.
1632
1633Buttons are at the moment only simulated by prefixes in the menu.
1634Eventually ordinary X-buttons may be supported.
1635
1636(menu-item ITEM-NAME) defines unselectable item.
1637
1638** New event types
1639
1640*** The new event type `mouse-wheel' is generated by a wheel on a
1641mouse (such as the MS Intellimouse). The event contains a delta that
1642corresponds to the amount and direction that the wheel is rotated,
1643which is typically used to implement a scroll or zoom. The format is:
1644
1645 (mouse-wheel POSITION DELTA)
1646
1647where POSITION is a list describing the position of the event in the
1648same format as a mouse-click event, and DELTA is a signed number
1649indicating the number of increments by which the wheel was rotated. A
1650negative DELTA indicates that the wheel was rotated backwards, towards
1651the user, and a positive DELTA indicates that the wheel was rotated
1652forward, away from the user.
1653
1654As of now, this event type is generated only on MS Windows.
1655
1656*** The new event type `drag-n-drop' is generated when a group of
1657files is selected in an application outside of Emacs, and then dragged
1658and dropped onto an Emacs frame. The event contains a list of
1659filenames that were dragged and dropped, which are then typically
1660loaded into Emacs. The format is:
1661
1662 (drag-n-drop POSITION FILES)
1663
1664where POSITION is a list describing the position of the event in the
1665same format as a mouse-click event, and FILES is the list of filenames
1666that were dragged and dropped.
1667
1668As of now, this event type is generated only on MS Windows.
1669
1670** Changes relating to multibyte characters.
1671
1672*** The variable enable-multibyte-characters is now read-only;
1673any attempt to set it directly signals an error. The only way
1674to change this value in an existing buffer is with set-buffer-multibyte.
1675
1676*** In a string constant, `\ ' now stands for "nothing at all". You
1677can use it to terminate a hex escape which is followed by a character
1678that could otherwise be read as part of the hex escape.
1679
1680*** String indices are now measured in characters, as they were
1681in Emacs 19 and before.
1682
1683The function chars-in-string has been deleted.
1684The function concat-chars has been renamed to `string'.
1685
1686*** The function set-buffer-multibyte sets the flag in the current
1687buffer that says whether the buffer uses multibyte representation or
1688unibyte representation. If the argument is nil, it selects unibyte
1689representation. Otherwise it selects multibyte representation.
1690
1691This function does not change the contents of the buffer, viewed
1692as a sequence of bytes. However, it does change the contents
1693viewed as characters; a sequence of two bytes which is treated as
1694one character when the buffer uses multibyte representation
1695will count as two characters using unibyte representation.
1696
1697This function sets enable-multibyte-characters to record which
1698representation is in use. It also adjusts various data in the buffer
1699(including its markers, overlays and text properties) so that they are
1700consistent with the new representation.
1701
1702*** string-make-multibyte takes a string and converts it to multibyte
1703representation. Most of the time, you don't need to care
1704about the representation, because Emacs converts when necessary;
1705however, it makes a difference when you compare strings.
1706
1707The conversion of non-ASCII characters works by adding the value of
1708nonascii-insert-offset to each character, or by translating them
1709using the table nonascii-translation-table.
1710
1711*** string-make-unibyte takes a string and converts it to unibyte
1712representation. Most of the time, you don't need to care about the
1713representation, but it makes a difference when you compare strings.
1714
1715The conversion from multibyte to unibyte representation
1716loses information; the only time Emacs performs it automatically
1717is when inserting a multibyte string into a unibyte buffer.
1718
1719*** string-as-multibyte takes a string, and returns another string
1720which contains the same bytes, but treats them as multibyte.
1721
1722*** string-as-unibyte takes a string, and returns another string
1723which contains the same bytes, but treats them as unibyte.
1724
1725*** The new function compare-strings lets you compare
1726portions of two strings. Unibyte strings are converted to multibyte,
1727so that a unibyte string can match a multibyte string.
1728You can specify whether to ignore case or not.
1729
1730*** assoc-ignore-case now uses compare-strings so that
1731it can treat unibyte and multibyte strings as equal.
1732
1733*** Regular expression operations and buffer string searches now
1734convert the search pattern to multibyte or unibyte to accord with the
1735buffer or string being searched.
1736
1737One consequence is that you cannot always use \200-\377 inside of
1738[...] to match all non-ASCII characters. This does still work when
1739searching or matching a unibyte buffer or string, but not when
1740searching or matching a multibyte string. Unfortunately, there is no
1741obvious choice of syntax to use within [...] for that job. But, what
1742you want is just to match all non-ASCII characters, the regular
1743expression [^\0-\177] works for it.
1744
1745*** Structure of coding system changed.
1746
1747All coding systems (including aliases and subsidiaries) are named
1748by symbols; the symbol's `coding-system' property is a vector
1749which defines the coding system. Aliases share the same vector
1750as the principal name, so that altering the contents of this
1751vector affects the principal name and its aliases. You can define
1752your own alias name of a coding system by the function
1753define-coding-system-alias.
1754
1755The coding system definition includes a property list of its own. Use
1756the new functions `coding-system-get' and `coding-system-put' to
1757access such coding system properties as post-read-conversion,
1758pre-write-conversion, character-translation-table-for-decode,
1759character-translation-table-for-encode, mime-charset, and
1760safe-charsets. For instance, (coding-system-get 'iso-latin-1
1761'mime-charset) gives the corresponding MIME-charset parameter
1762`iso-8859-1'.
1763
1764Among the coding system properties listed above, safe-charsets is new.
1765The value of this property is a list of character sets which this
1766coding system can correctly encode and decode. For instance:
1767(coding-system-get 'iso-latin-1 'safe-charsets) => (ascii latin-iso8859-1)
1768
1769Here, "correctly encode" means that the encoded character sets can
1770also be handled safely by systems other than Emacs as far as they
1771are capable of that coding system. Though, Emacs itself can encode
1772the other character sets and read it back correctly.
1773
1774*** The new function select-safe-coding-system can be used to find a
1775proper coding system for encoding the specified region or string.
1776This function requires a user interaction.
1777
1778*** The new functions find-coding-systems-region and
1779find-coding-systems-string are helper functions used by
1780select-safe-coding-system. They return a list of all proper coding
1781systems to encode a text in some region or string. If you don't want
1782a user interaction, use one of these functions instead of
1783select-safe-coding-system.
1784
1785*** The explicit encoding and decoding functions, such as
1786decode-coding-region and encode-coding-string, now set
1787last-coding-system-used to reflect the actual way encoding or decoding
1788was done.
1789
1790*** The new function detect-coding-with-language-environment can be
1791used to detect a coding system of text according to priorities of
1792coding systems used by some specific language environment.
1793
1794*** The functions detect-coding-region and detect-coding-string always
1795return a list if the arg HIGHEST is nil. Thus, if only ASCII
1796characters are found, they now return a list of single element
1797`undecided' or its subsidiaries.
1798
1799*** The new functions coding-system-change-eol-conversion and
1800coding-system-change-text-conversion can be used to get a different
1801coding system than what specified only in how end-of-line or text is
1802converted.
1803
1804*** The new function set-selection-coding-system can be used to set a
1805coding system for communicating with other X clients.
1806
1807*** The function `map-char-table' now passes as argument only valid
1808character codes, plus generic characters that stand for entire
1809character sets or entire subrows of a character set. In other words,
1810each time `map-char-table' calls its FUNCTION argument, the key value
1811either will be a valid individual character code, or will stand for a
1812range of characters.
1813
1814*** The new function `char-valid-p' can be used for checking whether a
1815Lisp object is a valid character code or not.
1816
1817*** The new function `charset-after' returns a charset of a character
1818in the current buffer at position POS.
1819
1820*** Input methods are now implemented using the variable
1821input-method-function. If this is non-nil, its value should be a
1822function; then, whenever Emacs reads an input event that is a printing
1823character with no modifier bits, it calls that function, passing the
1824event as an argument. Often this function will read more input, first
1825binding input-method-function to nil.
1826
1827The return value should be a list of the events resulting from input
1828method processing. These events will be processed sequentially as
1829input, before resorting to unread-command-events. Events returned by
1830the input method function are not passed to the input method function,
1831not even if they are printing characters with no modifier bits.
1832
1833The input method function is not called when reading the second and
1834subsequent events of a key sequence.
1835
1836*** You can customize any language environment by using
1837set-language-environment-hook and exit-language-environment-hook.
1838
1839The hook `exit-language-environment-hook' should be used to undo
1840customizations that you made with set-language-environment-hook. For
1841instance, if you set up a special key binding for a specific language
1842environment by set-language-environment-hook, you should set up
1843exit-language-environment-hook to restore the normal key binding.
1844
1845
1846\f
1847* Changes in Emacs 20.1
1848
1849** Emacs has a new facility for customization of its many user
1850options. It is called M-x customize. With this facility you can look
1851at the many user options in an organized way; they are grouped into a
1852tree structure.
1853
1854M-x customize also knows what sorts of values are legitimate for each
1855user option and ensures that you don't use invalid values.
1856
1857With M-x customize, you can set options either for the present Emacs
1858session or permanently. (Permanent settings are stored automatically
1859in your .emacs file.)
1860
1861** Scroll bars are now on the left side of the window.
1862You can change this with M-x customize-option scroll-bar-mode.
1863
1864** The mode line no longer includes the string `Emacs'.
1865This makes more space in the mode line for other information.
1866
1867** When you select a region with the mouse, it is highlighted
1868immediately afterward. At that time, if you type the DELETE key, it
1869kills the region.
1870
1871The BACKSPACE key, and the ASCII character DEL, do not do this; they
1872delete the character before point, as usual.
1873
1874** In an incremental search the whole current match is highlighted
1875on terminals which support this. (You can disable this feature
1876by setting search-highlight to nil.)
1877
1878** In the minibuffer, in some cases, you can now use M-n to
1879insert the default value into the minibuffer as text. In effect,
1880the default value (if the minibuffer routines know it) is tacked
1881onto the history "in the future". (The more normal use of the
1882history list is to use M-p to insert minibuffer input used in the
1883past.)
1884
1885** In Text mode, now only blank lines separate paragraphs.
1886This makes it possible to get the full benefit of Adaptive Fill mode
1887in Text mode, and other modes derived from it (such as Mail mode).
1888TAB in Text mode now runs the command indent-relative; this
1889makes a practical difference only when you use indented paragraphs.
1890
1891As a result, the old Indented Text mode is now identical to Text mode,
1892and is an alias for it.
1893
1894If you want spaces at the beginning of a line to start a paragraph,
1895use the new mode, Paragraph Indent Text mode.
1896
1897** Scrolling changes
1898
1899*** Scroll commands to scroll a whole screen now preserve the screen
1900position of the cursor, if scroll-preserve-screen-position is non-nil.
1901
1902In this mode, if you scroll several screens back and forth, finishing
1903on the same screen where you started, the cursor goes back to the line
1904where it started.
1905
1906*** If you set scroll-conservatively to a small number, then when you
1907move point a short distance off the screen, Emacs will scroll the
1908screen just far enough to bring point back on screen, provided that
1909does not exceed `scroll-conservatively' lines.
1910
1911*** The new variable scroll-margin says how close point can come to the
1912top or bottom of a window. It is a number of screen lines; if point
1913comes within that many lines of the top or bottom of the window, Emacs
1914recenters the window.
1915
1916** International character set support (MULE)
1917
1918Emacs now supports a wide variety of international character sets,
1919including European variants of the Latin alphabet, as well as Chinese,
1920Devanagari (Hindi and Marathi), Ethiopian, Greek, IPA, Japanese,
1921Korean, Lao, Russian, Thai, Tibetan, and Vietnamese scripts. These
1922features have been merged from the modified version of Emacs known as
1923MULE (for "MULti-lingual Enhancement to GNU Emacs")
1924
1925Users of these scripts have established many more-or-less standard
1926coding systems for storing files. Emacs uses a single multibyte
1927character encoding within Emacs buffers; it can translate from a wide
1928variety of coding systems when reading a file and can translate back
1929into any of these coding systems when saving a file.
1930
1931Keyboards, even in the countries where these character sets are used,
1932generally don't have keys for all the characters in them. So Emacs
1933supports various "input methods", typically one for each script or
1934language, to make it possible to type them.
1935
1936The Emacs internal multibyte encoding represents a non-ASCII
1937character as a sequence of bytes in the range 0200 through 0377.
1938
1939The new prefix key C-x RET is used for commands that pertain
1940to multibyte characters, coding systems, and input methods.
1941
1942You can disable multibyte character support as follows:
1943
1944 (setq-default enable-multibyte-characters nil)
1945
1946Calling the function standard-display-european turns off multibyte
1947characters, unless you specify a non-nil value for the second
1948argument, AUTO. This provides compatibility for people who are
1949already using standard-display-european to continue using unibyte
1950characters for their work until they want to change.
1951
1952*** Input methods
1953
1954An input method is a kind of character conversion which is designed
1955specifically for interactive input. In Emacs, typically each language
1956has its own input method (though sometimes several languages which use
1957the same characters can share one input method). Some languages
1958support several input methods.
1959
1960The simplest kind of input method works by mapping ASCII letters into
1961another alphabet. This is how the Greek and Russian input methods
1962work.
1963
1964A more powerful technique is composition: converting sequences of
1965characters into one letter. Many European input methods use
1966composition to produce a single non-ASCII letter from a sequence which
1967consists of a letter followed by diacritics. For example, a' is one
1968sequence of two characters that might be converted into a single
1969letter.
1970
1971The input methods for syllabic scripts typically use mapping followed
1972by conversion. The input methods for Thai and Korean work this way.
1973First, letters are mapped into symbols for particular sounds or tone
1974marks; then, sequences of these which make up a whole syllable are
1975mapped into one syllable sign--most often a "composite character".
1976
1977None of these methods works very well for Chinese and Japanese, so
1978they are handled specially. First you input a whole word using
1979phonetic spelling; then, after the word is in the buffer, Emacs
1980converts it into one or more characters using a large dictionary.
1981
1982Since there is more than one way to represent a phonetically spelled
1983word using Chinese characters, Emacs can only guess which one to use;
1984typically these input methods give you a way to say "guess again" if
1985the first guess is wrong.
1986
1987*** The command C-x RET m (toggle-enable-multibyte-characters)
1988turns multibyte character support on or off for the current buffer.
1989
1990If multibyte character support is turned off in a buffer, then each
1991byte is a single character, even codes 0200 through 0377--exactly as
1992they did in Emacs 19.34. This includes the features for support for
1993the European characters, ISO Latin-1 and ISO Latin-2.
1994
1995However, there is no need to turn off multibyte character support to
1996use ISO Latin-1 or ISO Latin-2; the Emacs multibyte character set
1997includes all the characters in these character sets, and Emacs can
1998translate automatically to and from either one.
1999
2000*** Visiting a file in unibyte mode.
2001
2002Turning off multibyte character support in the buffer after visiting a
2003file with multibyte code conversion will display the multibyte
2004sequences already in the buffer, byte by byte. This is probably not
2005what you want.
2006
2007If you want to edit a file of unibyte characters (Latin-1, for
2008example), you can do it by specifying `no-conversion' as the coding
2009system when reading the file. This coding system also turns off
2010multibyte characters in that buffer.
2011
2012If you turn off multibyte character support entirely, this turns off
2013character conversion as well.
2014
2015*** Displaying international characters on X Windows.
2016
2017A font for X typically displays just one alphabet or script.
2018Therefore, displaying the entire range of characters Emacs supports
2019requires using many fonts.
2020
2021Therefore, Emacs now supports "fontsets". Each fontset is a
2022collection of fonts, each assigned to a range of character codes.
2023
2024A fontset has a name, like a font. Individual fonts are defined by
2025the X server; fontsets are defined within Emacs itself. But once you
2026have defined a fontset, you can use it in a face or a frame just as
2027you would use a font.
2028
2029If a fontset specifies no font for a certain character, or if it
2030specifies a font that does not exist on your system, then it cannot
2031display that character. It will display an empty box instead.
2032
2033The fontset height and width are determined by the ASCII characters
2034(that is, by the font in the fontset which is used for ASCII
2035characters).
2036
2037*** Defining fontsets.
2038
2039Emacs does not use any fontset by default. Its default font is still
2040chosen as in previous versions. You can tell Emacs to use a fontset
2041with the `-fn' option or the `Font' X resource.
2042
2043Emacs creates a standard fontset automatically according to the value
2044of standard-fontset-spec. This fontset's short name is
2045`fontset-standard'. Bold, italic, and bold-italic variants of the
2046standard fontset are created automatically.
2047
2048If you specify a default ASCII font with the `Font' resource or `-fn'
2049argument, a fontset is generated from it. This works by replacing the
dbdb7031 2050FOUNDRY, FAMILY, ADD_STYLE, and AVERAGE_WIDTH fields of the font name
9a21d88b
KS
2051with `*' then using this to specify a fontset. This fontset's short
2052name is `fontset-startup'.
2053
2054Emacs checks resources of the form Fontset-N where N is 0, 1, 2...
2055The resource value should have this form:
2056 FONTSET-NAME, [CHARSET-NAME:FONT-NAME]...
2057FONTSET-NAME should have the form of a standard X font name, except:
2058 * most fields should be just the wild card "*".
2059 * the CHARSET_REGISTRY field should be "fontset"
2060 * the CHARSET_ENCODING field can be any nickname of the fontset.
2061The construct CHARSET-NAME:FONT-NAME can be repeated any number
2062of times; each time specifies the font for one character set.
2063CHARSET-NAME should be the name of a character set, and FONT-NAME
2064should specify an actual font to use for that character set.
2065
2066Each of these fontsets has an alias which is made from the
2067last two font name fields, CHARSET_REGISTRY and CHARSET_ENCODING.
2068You can refer to the fontset by that alias or by its full name.
2069
2070For any character sets that you don't mention, Emacs tries to choose a
2071font by substituting into FONTSET-NAME. For instance, with the
2072following resource,
2073 Emacs*Fontset-0: -*-fixed-medium-r-normal-*-24-*-*-*-*-*-fontset-24
2074the font for ASCII is generated as below:
2075 -*-fixed-medium-r-normal-*-24-*-ISO8859-1
2076Here is the substitution rule:
2077 Change CHARSET_REGISTRY and CHARSET_ENCODING to that of the charset
2078 defined in the variable x-charset-registries. For instance, ASCII has
2079 the entry (ascii . "ISO8859-1") in this variable. Then, reduce
2080 sequences of wild cards -*-...-*- with a single wildcard -*-.
2081 (This is to prevent use of auto-scaled fonts.)
2082
2083The function which processes the fontset resource value to create the
2084fontset is called create-fontset-from-fontset-spec. You can also call
2085that function explicitly to create a fontset.
2086
2087With the X resource Emacs.Font, you can specify a fontset name just
2088like an actual font name. But be careful not to specify a fontset
2089name in a wildcard resource like Emacs*Font--that tries to specify the
2090fontset for other purposes including menus, and they cannot handle
2091fontsets.
2092
2093*** The command M-x set-language-environment sets certain global Emacs
2094defaults for a particular choice of language.
2095
2096Selecting a language environment typically specifies a default input
2097method and which coding systems to recognize automatically when
2098visiting files. However, it does not try to reread files you have
2099already visited; the text in those buffers is not affected. The
2100language environment may also specify a default choice of coding
2101system for new files that you create.
2102
2103It makes no difference which buffer is current when you use
2104set-language-environment, because these defaults apply globally to the
2105whole Emacs session.
2106
2107For example, M-x set-language-environment RET Latin-1 RET
2108chooses the Latin-1 character set. In the .emacs file, you can do this
2109with (set-language-environment "Latin-1").
2110
2111*** The command C-x RET f (set-buffer-file-coding-system)
2112specifies the file coding system for the current buffer. This
2113specifies what sort of character code translation to do when saving
2114the file. As an argument, you must specify the name of one of the
2115coding systems that Emacs supports.
2116
2117*** The command C-x RET c (universal-coding-system-argument)
2118lets you specify a coding system when you read or write a file.
2119This command uses the minibuffer to read a coding system name.
2120After you exit the minibuffer, the specified coding system
2121is used for *the immediately following command*.
2122
2123So if the immediately following command is a command to read or
2124write a file, it uses the specified coding system for that file.
2125
2126If the immediately following command does not use the coding system,
2127then C-x RET c ultimately has no effect.
2128
2129For example, C-x RET c iso-8859-1 RET C-x C-f temp RET
2130visits the file `temp' treating it as ISO Latin-1.
2131
2132*** You can specify the coding system for a file using the -*-
2133construct. Include `coding: CODINGSYSTEM;' inside the -*-...-*-
2134to specify use of coding system CODINGSYSTEM. You can also
2135specify the coding system in a local variable list at the end
2136of the file.
2137
2138*** The command C-x RET t (set-terminal-coding-system) specifies
2139the coding system for terminal output. If you specify a character
2140code for terminal output, all characters output to the terminal are
2141translated into that character code.
2142
2143This feature is useful for certain character-only terminals built in
2144various countries to support the languages of those countries.
2145
2146By default, output to the terminal is not translated at all.
2147
2148*** The command C-x RET k (set-keyboard-coding-system) specifies
2149the coding system for keyboard input.
2150
2151Character code translation of keyboard input is useful for terminals
2152with keys that send non-ASCII graphic characters--for example,
2153some terminals designed for ISO Latin-1 or subsets of it.
2154
2155By default, keyboard input is not translated at all.
2156
2157Character code translation of keyboard input is similar to using an
2158input method, in that both define sequences of keyboard input that
2159translate into single characters. However, input methods are designed
2160to be convenient for interactive use, while the code translations are
2161designed to work with terminals.
2162
2163*** The command C-x RET p (set-buffer-process-coding-system)
2164specifies the coding system for input and output to a subprocess.
2165This command applies to the current buffer; normally, each subprocess
2166has its own buffer, and thus you can use this command to specify
2167translation to and from a particular subprocess by giving the command
2168in the corresponding buffer.
2169
2170By default, process input and output are not translated at all.
2171
2172*** The variable file-name-coding-system specifies the coding system
2173to use for encoding file names before operating on them.
2174It is also used for decoding file names obtained from the system.
2175
2176*** The command C-\ (toggle-input-method) activates or deactivates
2177an input method. If no input method has been selected before, the
2178command prompts for you to specify the language and input method you
2179want to use.
2180
2181C-u C-\ (select-input-method) lets you switch to a different input
2182method. C-h C-\ (or C-h I) describes the current input method.
2183
2184*** Some input methods remap the keyboard to emulate various keyboard
2185layouts commonly used for particular scripts. How to do this
2186remapping properly depends on your actual keyboard layout. To specify
2187which layout your keyboard has, use M-x quail-set-keyboard-layout.
2188
2189*** The command C-h C (describe-coding-system) displays
2190the coding systems currently selected for various purposes, plus
2191related information.
2192
2193*** The command C-h h (view-hello-file) displays a file called
2194HELLO, which has examples of text in many languages, using various
2195scripts.
2196
2197*** The command C-h L (describe-language-support) displays
2198information about the support for a particular language.
2199You specify the language as an argument.
2200
2201*** The mode line now contains a letter or character that identifies
2202the coding system used in the visited file. It normally follows the
2203first dash.
2204
2205A dash indicates the default state of affairs: no code conversion
2206(except CRLF => newline if appropriate). `=' means no conversion
2207whatsoever. The ISO 8859 coding systems are represented by digits
22081 through 9. Other coding systems are represented by letters:
2209
2210 A alternativnyj (Russian)
2211 B big5 (Chinese)
2212 C cn-gb-2312 (Chinese)
2213 C iso-2022-cn (Chinese)
2214 D in-is13194-devanagari (Indian languages)
2215 E euc-japan (Japanese)
2216 I iso-2022-cjk or iso-2022-ss2 (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
2217 J junet (iso-2022-7) or old-jis (iso-2022-jp-1978-irv) (Japanese)
2218 K euc-korea (Korean)
2219 R koi8 (Russian)
2220 Q tibetan
2221 S shift_jis (Japanese)
2222 T lao
2223 T tis620 (Thai)
2224 V viscii or vscii (Vietnamese)
2225 i iso-2022-lock (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
2226 k iso-2022-kr (Korean)
2227 v viqr (Vietnamese)
2228 z hz (Chinese)
2229
2230When you are using a character-only terminal (not a window system),
2231two additional characters appear in between the dash and the file
2232coding system. These two characters describe the coding system for
2233keyboard input, and the coding system for terminal output.
2234
2235*** The new variable rmail-file-coding-system specifies the code
2236conversion to use for RMAIL files. The default value is nil.
2237
2238When you read mail with Rmail, each message is decoded automatically
2239into Emacs' internal format. This has nothing to do with
2240rmail-file-coding-system. That variable controls reading and writing
2241Rmail files themselves.
2242
2243*** The new variable sendmail-coding-system specifies the code
2244conversion for outgoing mail. The default value is nil.
2245
2246Actually, there are three different ways of specifying the coding system
2247for sending mail:
2248
2249- If you use C-x RET f in the mail buffer, that takes priority.
2250- Otherwise, if you set sendmail-coding-system non-nil, that specifies it.
2251- Otherwise, the default coding system for new files is used,
2252 if that is non-nil. That comes from your language environment.
2253- Otherwise, Latin-1 is used.
2254
2255*** The command C-h t (help-with-tutorial) accepts a prefix argument
2256to specify the language for the tutorial file. Currently, English,
2257Japanese, Korean and Thai are supported. We welcome additional
2258translations.
2259
2260** An easy new way to visit a file with no code or format conversion
2261of any kind: Use M-x find-file-literally. There is also a command
2262insert-file-literally which inserts a file into the current buffer
2263without any conversion.
2264
2265** C-q's handling of octal character codes is changed.
2266You can now specify any number of octal digits.
2267RET terminates the digits and is discarded;
2268any other non-digit terminates the digits and is then used as input.
2269
2270** There are new commands for looking up Info documentation for
2271functions, variables and file names used in your programs.
2272
2273Type M-x info-lookup-symbol to look up a symbol in the buffer at point.
2274Type M-x info-lookup-file to look up a file in the buffer at point.
2275
2276Precisely which Info files are used to look it up depends on the major
2277mode. For example, in C mode, the GNU libc manual is used.
2278
2279** M-TAB in most programming language modes now runs the command
2280complete-symbol. This command performs completion on the symbol name
2281in the buffer before point.
2282
2283With a numeric argument, it performs completion based on the set of
2284symbols documented in the Info files for the programming language that
2285you are using.
2286
2287With no argument, it does completion based on the current tags tables,
2288just like the old binding of M-TAB (complete-tag).
2289
2290** File locking works with NFS now.
2291
2292The lock file for FILENAME is now a symbolic link named .#FILENAME,
2293in the same directory as FILENAME.
2294
2295This means that collision detection between two different machines now
2296works reasonably well; it also means that no file server or directory
2297can become a bottleneck.
2298
2299The new method does have drawbacks. It means that collision detection
2300does not operate when you edit a file in a directory where you cannot
2301create new files. Collision detection also doesn't operate when the
2302file server does not support symbolic links. But these conditions are
2303rare, and the ability to have collision detection while using NFS is
2304so useful that the change is worth while.
2305
2306When Emacs or a system crashes, this may leave behind lock files which
2307are stale. So you may occasionally get warnings about spurious
2308collisions. When you determine that the collision is spurious, just
2309tell Emacs to go ahead anyway.
2310
2311** If you wish to use Show Paren mode to display matching parentheses,
2312it is no longer sufficient to load paren.el. Instead you must call
2313show-paren-mode.
2314
2315** If you wish to use Delete Selection mode to replace a highlighted
2316selection when you insert new text, it is no longer sufficient to load
2317delsel.el. Instead you must call the function delete-selection-mode.
2318
2319** If you wish to use Partial Completion mode to complete partial words
2320within symbols or filenames, it is no longer sufficient to load
2321complete.el. Instead you must call the function partial-completion-mode.
2322
2323** If you wish to use uniquify to rename buffers for you,
2324it is no longer sufficient to load uniquify.el. You must also
2325set uniquify-buffer-name-style to one of the non-nil legitimate values.
2326
2327** Changes in View mode.
2328
2329*** Several new commands are available in View mode.
2330Do H in view mode for a list of commands.
2331
2332*** There are two new commands for entering View mode:
2333view-file-other-frame and view-buffer-other-frame.
2334
2335*** Exiting View mode does a better job of restoring windows to their
2336previous state.
2337
2338*** New customization variable view-scroll-auto-exit. If non-nil,
2339scrolling past end of buffer makes view mode exit.
2340
2341*** New customization variable view-exits-all-viewing-windows. If
2342non-nil, view-mode will at exit restore all windows viewing buffer,
2343not just the selected window.
2344
2345*** New customization variable view-read-only. If non-nil, visiting a
2346read-only file automatically enters View mode, and toggle-read-only
2347turns View mode on or off.
2348
2349*** New customization variable view-remove-frame-by-deleting controls
2350how to remove a not needed frame at view mode exit. If non-nil,
2351delete the frame, if nil make an icon of it.
2352
2353** C-x v l, the command to print a file's version control log,
2354now positions point at the entry for the file's current branch version.
2355
2356** C-x v =, the command to compare a file with the last checked-in version,
2357has a new feature. If the file is currently not locked, so that it is
2358presumably identical to the last checked-in version, the command now asks
2359which version to compare with.
2360
2361** When using hideshow.el, incremental search can temporarily show hidden
2362blocks if a match is inside the block.
2363
2364The block is hidden again if the search is continued and the next match
2365is outside the block. By customizing the variable
2366isearch-hide-immediately you can choose to hide all the temporarily
2367shown blocks only when exiting from incremental search.
2368
2369By customizing the variable hs-isearch-open you can choose what kind
2370of blocks to temporarily show during isearch: comment blocks, code
2371blocks, all of them or none.
2372
2373** The new command C-x 4 0 (kill-buffer-and-window) kills the
2374current buffer and deletes the selected window. It asks for
2375confirmation first.
2376
2377** C-x C-w, which saves the buffer into a specified file name,
2378now changes the major mode according to that file name.
2379However, the mode will not be changed if
2380(1) a local variables list or the `-*-' line specifies a major mode, or
2381(2) the current major mode is a "special" mode,
2382 not suitable for ordinary files, or
2383(3) the new file name does not particularly specify any mode.
2384
2385This applies to M-x set-visited-file-name as well.
2386
2387However, if you set change-major-mode-with-file-name to nil, then
2388these commands do not change the major mode.
2389
2390** M-x occur changes.
2391
2392*** If the argument to M-x occur contains upper case letters,
2393it performs a case-sensitive search.
2394
2395*** In the *Occur* buffer made by M-x occur,
2396if you type g or M-x revert-buffer, this repeats the search
2397using the same regular expression and the same buffer as before.
2398
2399** In Transient Mark mode, the region in any one buffer is highlighted
2400in just one window at a time. At first, it is highlighted in the
2401window where you set the mark. The buffer's highlighting remains in
2402that window unless you select to another window which shows the same
2403buffer--then the highlighting moves to that window.
2404
2405** The feature to suggest key bindings when you use M-x now operates
2406after the command finishes. The message suggesting key bindings
2407appears temporarily in the echo area. The previous echo area contents
2408come back after a few seconds, in case they contain useful information.
2409
2410** Each frame now independently records the order for recently
2411selected buffers, so that the default for C-x b is now based on the
2412buffers recently selected in the selected frame.
2413
2414** Outline mode changes.
2415
2416*** Outline mode now uses overlays (this is the former noutline.el).
2417
2418*** Incremental searches skip over invisible text in Outline mode.
2419
2420** When a minibuffer window is active but not the selected window, if
2421you try to use the minibuffer, you used to get a nested minibuffer.
2422Now, this not only gives an error, it also cancels the minibuffer that
2423was already active.
2424
2425The motive for this change is so that beginning users do not
2426unknowingly move away from minibuffers, leaving them active, and then
2427get confused by it.
2428
2429If you want to be able to have recursive minibuffers, you must
2430set enable-recursive-minibuffers to non-nil.
2431
2432** Changes in dynamic abbrevs.
2433
2434*** Expanding dynamic abbrevs with M-/ is now smarter about case
2435conversion. If the expansion has mixed case not counting the first
2436character, and the abbreviation matches the beginning of the expansion
2437including case, then the expansion is copied verbatim.
2438
2439The expansion is also copied verbatim if the abbreviation itself has
2440mixed case. And using SPC M-/ to copy an additional word always
2441copies it verbatim except when the previous copied word is all caps.
2442
2443*** The values of `dabbrev-case-replace' and `dabbrev-case-fold-search'
2444are no longer Lisp expressions. They have simply three possible
2445values.
2446
2447`dabbrev-case-replace' has these three values: nil (don't preserve
2448case), t (do), or `case-replace' (do like M-x query-replace).
2449`dabbrev-case-fold-search' has these three values: nil (don't ignore
2450case), t (do), or `case-fold-search' (do like search).
2451
2452** Minibuffer history lists are truncated automatically now to a
2453certain length. The variable history-length specifies how long they
2454can be. The default value is 30.
2455
2456** Changes in Mail mode.
2457
2458*** The key C-x m no longer runs the `mail' command directly.
2459Instead, it runs the command `compose-mail', which invokes the mail
2460composition mechanism you have selected with the variable
2461`mail-user-agent'. The default choice of user agent is
2462`sendmail-user-agent', which gives behavior compatible with the old
2463behavior.
2464
2465C-x 4 m now runs compose-mail-other-window, and C-x 5 m runs
2466compose-mail-other-frame.
2467
2468*** While composing a reply to a mail message, from Rmail, you can use
2469the command C-c C-r to cite just the region from the message you are
2470replying to. This copies the text which is the selected region in the
2471buffer that shows the original message.
2472
2473*** The command C-c C-i inserts a file at the end of the message,
2474with separator lines around the contents.
2475
2476*** The command M-x expand-mail-aliases expands all mail aliases
2477in suitable mail headers. Emacs automatically extracts mail alias
2478definitions from your mail alias file (e.g., ~/.mailrc). You do not
2479need to expand mail aliases yourself before sending mail.
2480
2481*** New features in the mail-complete command.
2482
2483**** The mail-complete command now inserts the user's full name,
2484for local users or if that is known. The variable mail-complete-style
2485controls the style to use, and whether to do this at all.
2486Its values are like those of mail-from-style.
2487
2488**** The variable mail-passwd-command lets you specify a shell command
2489to run to fetch a set of password-entries that add to the ones in
2490/etc/passwd.
2491
2492**** The variable mail-passwd-file now specifies a list of files to read
2493to get the list of user ids. By default, one file is used:
2494/etc/passwd.
2495
2496** You can "quote" a file name to inhibit special significance of
2497special syntax, by adding `/:' to the beginning. Thus, if you have a
2498directory named `/foo:', you can prevent it from being treated as a
2499reference to a remote host named `foo' by writing it as `/:/foo:'.
2500
2501Emacs uses this new construct automatically when necessary, such as
2502when you start it with a working directory whose name might otherwise
2503be taken to be magic.
2504
2505** There is a new command M-x grep-find which uses find to select
2506files to search through, and grep to scan them. The output is
2507available in a Compile mode buffer, as with M-x grep.
2508
2509M-x grep now uses the -e option if the grep program supports that.
2510(-e prevents problems if the search pattern starts with a dash.)
2511
2512** In Dired, the & command now flags for deletion the files whose names
2513suggest they are probably not needed in the long run.
2514
2515In Dired, * is now a prefix key for mark-related commands.
2516
2517new key dired.el binding old key
2518------- ---------------- -------
2519 * c dired-change-marks c
2520 * m dired-mark m
2521 * * dired-mark-executables * (binding deleted)
2522 * / dired-mark-directories / (binding deleted)
2523 * @ dired-mark-symlinks @ (binding deleted)
2524 * u dired-unmark u
2525 * DEL dired-unmark-backward DEL
2526 * ? dired-unmark-all-files C-M-?
2527 * ! dired-unmark-all-marks
2528 * % dired-mark-files-regexp % m
2529 * C-n dired-next-marked-file M-}
2530 * C-p dired-prev-marked-file M-{
2531
2532** Rmail changes.
2533
2534*** When Rmail cannot convert your incoming mail into Babyl format, it
2535saves the new mail in the file RMAILOSE.n, where n is an integer
2536chosen to make a unique name. This way, Rmail will not keep crashing
2537each time you run it.
2538
2539*** In Rmail, the variable rmail-summary-line-count-flag now controls
2540whether to include the line count in the summary. Non-nil means yes.
2541
2542*** In Rmail summary buffers, d and C-d (the commands to delete
2543messages) now take repeat counts as arguments. A negative argument
2544means to move in the opposite direction.
2545
2546*** In Rmail, the t command now takes an optional argument which lets
2547you specify whether to show the message headers in full or pruned.
2548
2549*** In Rmail, the new command w (rmail-output-body-to-file) writes
2550just the body of the current message into a file, without the headers.
2551It takes the file name from the message subject, by default, but you
2552can edit that file name in the minibuffer before it is actually used
2553for output.
2554
2555** Gnus changes.
2556
2557*** nntp.el has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
2558
2559*** Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
2560Gnus.
2561
2562*** Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like
2563`and', `or', `not', and parent redirection.
2564
2565*** Article washing status can be displayed in the
2566article mode line.
2567
2568*** gnus.el has been split into many smaller files.
2569
2570*** Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID.
2571
2572(setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
2573
2574*** New variables for specifying what score and adapt files
2575are to be considered home score and adapt files. See
2576`gnus-home-score-file' and `gnus-home-adapt-files'.
2577
2578*** Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics.
2579
2580*** Article editing has been revamped and is now usable.
2581
2582*** Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions.
2583See `gnus-signature-separator' and `gnus-signature-limit'.
2584
2585*** Summary pick mode has been made to look more nn-like.
2586Line numbers are displayed and the `.' command can be
2587used to pick articles.
2588
2589*** Commands for moving the .newsrc.eld from one server to
2590another have been added.
2591
2592 `M-x gnus-change-server'
2593
2594*** A way to specify that "uninteresting" fields be suppressed when
2595generating lines in buffers.
2596
2597*** Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with
2598`C-M-_'.
2599
2600*** Scoring can be done on words using the new score type `w'.
2601
2602*** Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis:
2603
2604 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
2605
2606*** Scores can be decayed.
2607
2608 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
2609
2610*** Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The
2611Date is normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first.
2612
2613*** A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
2614the native server.
2615
2616 `M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups'
2617
2618*** A new command for reading collections of documents
2619(nndoc with nnvirtual on top) has been added -- `C-M-d'.
2620
2621*** Process mark sets can be pushed and popped.
2622
2623*** A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post
2624even when the NNTP server doesn't allow posting.
2625
2626*** A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
2627(DejaNews, Alta Vista, InReference) has been added.
2628
2629 Use the `G w' command in the group buffer to create such
2630 a group.
2631
2632*** Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard
2633sorting functions, and each topic can be sorted independently.
2634
2635 See the commands under the `T S' submap.
2636
2637*** Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently.
2638
2639 See the commands under the `G P' submap.
2640
2641*** Cached articles can be pulled into the groups.
2642
2643 Use the `Y c' command.
2644
2645*** Score files are now applied in a more reliable order.
2646
2647*** Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated.
2648
2649 `M-x nnmail-split-history'
2650
2651*** More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk
2652from incoming mail before saving the mail.
2653
2654 See `nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook'.
2655
2656*** The nnml mail backend now understands compressed article files.
2657
2658*** To enable Gnus to read/post multi-lingual articles, you must execute
2659the following code, for instance, in your .emacs.
2660
2661 (add-hook 'gnus-startup-hook 'gnus-mule-initialize)
2662
2663Then, when you start Gnus, it will decode non-ASCII text automatically
2664and show appropriate characters. (Note: if you are using gnus-mime
2665from the SEMI package, formerly known as TM, you should NOT add this
2666hook to gnus-startup-hook; gnus-mime has its own method of handling
2667this issue.)
2668
2669Since it is impossible to distinguish all coding systems
2670automatically, you may need to specify a choice of coding system for a
2671particular news group. This can be done by:
2672
2673 (gnus-mule-add-group NEWSGROUP 'CODING-SYSTEM)
2674
2675Here NEWSGROUP should be a string which names a newsgroup or a tree
2676of newsgroups. If NEWSGROUP is "XXX.YYY", all news groups under
2677"XXX.YYY" (including "XXX.YYY.ZZZ") will use the specified coding
2678system. CODING-SYSTEM specifies which coding system to use (for both
2679for reading and posting).
2680
2681CODING-SYSTEM can also be a cons cell of the form
2682 (READ-CODING-SYSTEM . POST-CODING-SYSTEM)
2683Then READ-CODING-SYSTEM is used when you read messages from the
2684newsgroups, while POST-CODING-SYSTEM is used when you post messages
2685there.
2686
2687Emacs knows the right coding systems for certain newsgroups by
2688default. Here are some of these default settings:
2689
2690 (gnus-mule-add-group "fj" 'iso-2022-7)
2691 (gnus-mule-add-group "alt.chinese.text" 'hz-gb-2312)
2692 (gnus-mule-add-group "alt.hk" 'hz-gb-2312)
2693 (gnus-mule-add-group "alt.chinese.text.big5" 'cn-big5)
2694 (gnus-mule-add-group "soc.culture.vietnamese" '(nil . viqr))
2695
2696When you reply by mail to an article, these settings are ignored;
2697the mail is encoded according to sendmail-coding-system, as usual.
2698
2699** CC mode changes.
2700
2701*** If you edit primarily one style of C (or C++, Objective-C, Java)
2702code, you may want to make the CC Mode style variables have global
2703values so that you can set them directly in your .emacs file. To do
2704this, set c-style-variables-are-local-p to nil in your .emacs file.
2705Note that this only takes effect if you do it *before* cc-mode.el is
2706loaded.
2707
2708If you typically edit more than one style of C (or C++, Objective-C,
2709Java) code in a single Emacs session, you may want to make the CC Mode
2710style variables have buffer local values. By default, all buffers
2711share the same style variable settings; to make them buffer local, set
2712c-style-variables-are-local-p to t in your .emacs file. Note that you
2713must do this *before* CC Mode is loaded.
2714
2715*** The new variable c-indentation-style holds the C style name
2716of the current buffer.
2717
2718*** The variable c-block-comments-indent-p has been deleted, because
2719it is no longer necessary. C mode now handles all the supported styles
2720of block comments, with no need to say which one you will use.
2721
2722*** There is a new indentation style "python", which specifies the C
2723style that the Python developers like.
2724
2725*** There is a new c-cleanup-list option: brace-elseif-brace.
2726This says to put ...} else if (...) {... on one line,
2727just as brace-else-brace says to put ...} else {... on one line.
2728
2729** VC Changes [new]
2730
2731*** In vc-retrieve-snapshot (C-x v r), if you don't specify a snapshot
2732name, it retrieves the *latest* versions of all files in the current
2733directory and its subdirectories (aside from files already locked).
2734
2735This feature is useful if your RCS directory is a link to a common
2736master directory, and you want to pick up changes made by other
2737developers.
2738
2739You can do the same thing for an individual file by typing C-u C-x C-q
2740RET in a buffer visiting that file.
2741
2742*** VC can now handle files under CVS that are being "watched" by
2743other developers. Such files are made read-only by CVS. To get a
2744writable copy, type C-x C-q in a buffer visiting such a file. VC then
2745calls "cvs edit", which notifies the other developers of it.
2746
2747*** vc-version-diff (C-u C-x v =) now suggests reasonable defaults for
2748version numbers, based on the current state of the file.
2749
2750** Calendar changes.
2751
2752*** A new function, list-holidays, allows you list holidays or
2753subclasses of holidays for ranges of years. Related menu items allow
2754you do this for the year of the selected date, or the
2755following/previous years.
2756
2757*** There is now support for the Baha'i calendar system. Use `pb' in
2758the *Calendar* buffer to display the current Baha'i date. The Baha'i
2759calendar, or "Badi calendar" is a system of 19 months with 19 days
2760each, and 4 intercalary days (5 during a Gregorian leap year). The
2761calendar begins May 23, 1844, with each of the months named after a
2762supposed attribute of God.
2763
2764** ps-print changes
2765
2766There are some new user variables and subgroups for customizing the page
2767layout.
2768
2769*** Headers & Footers (subgroup)
2770
2771Some printer systems print a header page and force the first page to
2772be printed on the back of the header page when using duplex. If your
2773printer system has this behavior, set variable
2774`ps-banner-page-when-duplexing' to t.
2775
2776If variable `ps-banner-page-when-duplexing' is non-nil, it prints a
2777blank page as the very first printed page. So, it behaves as if the
2778very first character of buffer (or region) were a form feed ^L (\014).
2779
2780The variable `ps-spool-config' specifies who is responsible for
2781setting duplex mode and page size. Valid values are:
2782
2783 lpr-switches duplex and page size are configured by `ps-lpr-switches'.
2784 Don't forget to set `ps-lpr-switches' to select duplex
2785 printing for your printer.
2786
2787 setpagedevice duplex and page size are configured by ps-print using the
2788 setpagedevice PostScript operator.
2789
2790 nil duplex and page size are configured by ps-print *not* using
2791 the setpagedevice PostScript operator.
2792
2793The variable `ps-spool-tumble' specifies how the page images on
2794opposite sides of a sheet are oriented with respect to each other. If
2795`ps-spool-tumble' is nil, ps-print produces output suitable for
2796bindings on the left or right. If `ps-spool-tumble' is non-nil,
2797ps-print produces output suitable for bindings at the top or bottom.
2798This variable takes effect only if `ps-spool-duplex' is non-nil.
2799The default value is nil.
2800
2801The variable `ps-header-frame-alist' specifies a header frame
2802properties alist. Valid frame properties are:
2803
2804 fore-color Specify the foreground frame color.
2805 Value should be a float number between 0.0 (black
2806 color) and 1.0 (white color), or a string which is a
2807 color name, or a list of 3 float numbers which
2808 correspond to the Red Green Blue color scale, each
2809 float number between 0.0 (dark color) and 1.0 (bright
2810 color). The default is 0 ("black").
2811
2812 back-color Specify the background frame color (similar to fore-color).
2813 The default is 0.9 ("gray90").
2814
2815 shadow-color Specify the shadow color (similar to fore-color).
2816 The default is 0 ("black").
2817
2818 border-color Specify the border color (similar to fore-color).
2819 The default is 0 ("black").
2820
2821 border-width Specify the border width.
2822 The default is 0.4.
2823
2824Any other property is ignored.
2825
2826Don't change this alist directly; instead use Custom, or the
2827`ps-value', `ps-get', `ps-put' and `ps-del' functions (see there for
2828documentation).
2829
2830Ps-print can also print footers. The footer variables are:
2831`ps-print-footer', `ps-footer-offset', `ps-print-footer-frame',
2832`ps-footer-font-family', `ps-footer-font-size', `ps-footer-line-pad',
2833`ps-footer-lines', `ps-left-footer', `ps-right-footer' and
2834`ps-footer-frame-alist'. These variables are similar to those
2835controlling headers.
2836
2837*** Color management (subgroup)
2838
2839If `ps-print-color-p' is non-nil, the buffer's text will be printed in
2840color.
2841
2842*** Face Management (subgroup)
2843
2844If you need to print without worrying about face background colors,
2845set the variable `ps-use-face-background' which specifies if face
2846background should be used. Valid values are:
2847
2848 t always use face background color.
2849 nil never use face background color.
2850 (face...) list of faces whose background color will be used.
2851
2852*** N-up printing (subgroup)
2853
2854The variable `ps-n-up-printing' specifies the number of pages per
2855sheet of paper.
2856
2857The variable `ps-n-up-margin' specifies the margin in points (pt)
2858between the sheet border and the n-up printing.
2859
2860If variable `ps-n-up-border-p' is non-nil, a border is drawn around
2861each page.
2862
2863The variable `ps-n-up-filling' specifies how the page matrix is filled
2864on each sheet of paper. Following are the valid values for
2865`ps-n-up-filling' with a filling example using a 3x4 page matrix:
2866
2867 `left-top' 1 2 3 4 `left-bottom' 9 10 11 12
2868 5 6 7 8 5 6 7 8
2869 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4
2870
2871 `right-top' 4 3 2 1 `right-bottom' 12 11 10 9
2872 8 7 6 5 8 7 6 5
2873 12 11 10 9 4 3 2 1
2874
2875 `top-left' 1 4 7 10 `bottom-left' 3 6 9 12
2876 2 5 8 11 2 5 8 11
2877 3 6 9 12 1 4 7 10
2878
2879 `top-right' 10 7 4 1 `bottom-right' 12 9 6 3
2880 11 8 5 2 11 8 5 2
2881 12 9 6 3 10 7 4 1
2882
2883Any other value is treated as `left-top'.
2884
2885*** Zebra stripes (subgroup)
2886
2887The variable `ps-zebra-color' controls the zebra stripes grayscale or
2888RGB color.
2889
2890The variable `ps-zebra-stripe-follow' specifies how zebra stripes
2891continue on next page. Visually, valid values are (the character `+'
2892to the right of each column indicates that a line is printed):
2893
2894 `nil' `follow' `full' `full-follow'
2895 Current Page -------- ----------- --------- ----------------
2896 1 XXXXX + 1 XXXXXXXX + 1 XXXXXX + 1 XXXXXXXXXXXXX +
2897 2 XXXXX + 2 XXXXXXXX + 2 XXXXXX + 2 XXXXXXXXXXXXX +
2898 3 XXXXX + 3 XXXXXXXX + 3 XXXXXX + 3 XXXXXXXXXXXXX +
2899 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 +
2900 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 +
2901 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 +
2902 7 XXXXX + 7 XXXXXXXX + 7 XXXXXX + 7 XXXXXXXXXXXXX +
2903 8 XXXXX + 8 XXXXXXXX + 8 XXXXXX + 8 XXXXXXXXXXXXX +
2904 9 XXXXX + 9 XXXXXXXX + 9 XXXXXX + 9 XXXXXXXXXXXXX +
2905 10 + 10 +
2906 11 + 11 +
2907 -------- ----------- --------- ----------------
2908 Next Page -------- ----------- --------- ----------------
2909 12 XXXXX + 12 + 10 XXXXXX + 10 +
2910 13 XXXXX + 13 XXXXXXXX + 11 XXXXXX + 11 +
2911 14 XXXXX + 14 XXXXXXXX + 12 XXXXXX + 12 +
2912 15 + 15 XXXXXXXX + 13 + 13 XXXXXXXXXXXXX +
2913 16 + 16 + 14 + 14 XXXXXXXXXXXXX +
2914 17 + 17 + 15 + 15 XXXXXXXXXXXXX +
2915 18 XXXXX + 18 + 16 XXXXXX + 16 +
2916 19 XXXXX + 19 XXXXXXXX + 17 XXXXXX + 17 +
2917 20 XXXXX + 20 XXXXXXXX + 18 XXXXXX + 18 +
2918 21 + 21 XXXXXXXX +
2919 22 + 22 +
2920 -------- ----------- --------- ----------------
2921
2922Any other value is treated as `nil'.
2923
2924
2925*** Printer management (subgroup)
2926
2927The variable `ps-printer-name-option' determines the option used by
2928some utilities to indicate the printer name; it's used only when
2929`ps-printer-name' is a non-empty string. If you're using the lpr
2930utility to print, for example, `ps-printer-name-option' should be set
2931to "-P".
2932
2933The variable `ps-manual-feed' indicates if the printer requires manual
2934paper feeding. If it's nil, automatic feeding takes place. If it's
2935non-nil, manual feeding takes place.
2936
2937The variable `ps-end-with-control-d' specifies whether C-d (\x04)
2938should be inserted at end of the generated PostScript. Non-nil means
2939do so.
2940
2941*** Page settings (subgroup)
2942
2943If variable `ps-warn-paper-type' is nil, it's *not* treated as an
2944error if the PostScript printer doesn't have a paper with the size
2945indicated by `ps-paper-type'; the default paper size will be used
2946instead. If `ps-warn-paper-type' is non-nil, an error is signaled if
2947the PostScript printer doesn't support a paper with the size indicated
2948by `ps-paper-type'. This is used when `ps-spool-config' is set to
2949`setpagedevice'.
2950
2951The variable `ps-print-upside-down' determines the orientation for
2952printing pages: nil means `normal' printing, non-nil means
2953`upside-down' printing (that is, the page is rotated by 180 degrees).
2954
2955The variable `ps-selected-pages' specifies which pages to print. If
2956it's nil, all pages are printed. If it's a list, list elements may be
2957integers specifying a single page to print, or cons cells (FROM . TO)
2958specifying to print from page FROM to TO. Invalid list elements, that
2959is integers smaller than one, or elements whose FROM is greater than
2960its TO, are ignored.
2961
2962The variable `ps-even-or-odd-pages' specifies how to print even/odd
2963pages. Valid values are:
2964
2965 nil print all pages.
2966
2967 `even-page' print only even pages.
2968
2969 `odd-page' print only odd pages.
2970
2971 `even-sheet' print only even sheets.
2972 That is, if `ps-n-up-printing' is 1, it behaves like
2973 `even-page', but for values greater than 1, it'll
2974 print only the even sheet of paper.
2975
2976 `odd-sheet' print only odd sheets.
2977 That is, if `ps-n-up-printing' is 1, it behaves like
2978 `odd-page'; but for values greater than 1, it'll print
2979 only the odd sheet of paper.
2980
2981Any other value is treated as nil.
2982
2983If you set `ps-selected-pages' (see there for documentation), pages
2984are filtered by `ps-selected-pages', and then by
2985`ps-even-or-odd-pages'. For example, if we have:
2986
2987 (setq ps-selected-pages '(1 4 (6 . 10) (12 . 16) 20))
2988
2989and we combine this with `ps-even-or-odd-pages' and
2990`ps-n-up-printing', we get:
2991
2992`ps-n-up-printing' = 1:
2993 `ps-even-or-odd-pages' PAGES PRINTED
2994 nil 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20
2995 even-page 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 20
2996 odd-page 1, 7, 9, 13, 15
2997 even-sheet 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 20
2998 odd-sheet 1, 7, 9, 13, 15
2999
3000`ps-n-up-printing' = 2:
3001 `ps-even-or-odd-pages' PAGES PRINTED
3002 nil 1/4, 6/7, 8/9, 10/12, 13/14, 15/16, 20
3003 even-page 4/6, 8/10, 12/14, 16/20
3004 odd-page 1/7, 9/13, 15
3005 even-sheet 6/7, 10/12, 15/16
3006 odd-sheet 1/4, 8/9, 13/14, 20
3007
3008*** Miscellany (subgroup)
3009
3010The variable `ps-error-handler-message' specifies where error handler
3011messages should be sent.
3012
3013It is also possible to add a user-defined PostScript prologue code in
3014front of all generated prologue code by setting the variable
3015`ps-user-defined-prologue'.
3016
3017The variable `ps-line-number-font' specifies the font for line numbers.
3018
3019The variable `ps-line-number-font-size' specifies the font size in
3020points for line numbers.
3021
3022The variable `ps-line-number-color' specifies the color for line
3023numbers. See `ps-zebra-color' for documentation.
3024
3025The variable `ps-line-number-step' specifies the interval in which
3026line numbers are printed. For example, if `ps-line-number-step' is set
3027to 2, the printing will look like:
3028
3029 1 one line
3030 one line
3031 3 one line
3032 one line
3033 5 one line
3034 one line
3035 ...
3036
3037Valid values are:
3038
3039integer an integer specifying the interval in which line numbers are
3040 printed. If it's smaller than or equal to zero, 1
3041 is used.
3042
3043`zebra' specifies that only the line number of the first line in a
3044 zebra stripe is to be printed.
3045
3046Any other value is treated as `zebra'.
3047
3048The variable `ps-line-number-start' specifies the starting point in
3049the interval given by `ps-line-number-step'. For example, if
3050`ps-line-number-step' is set to 3, and `ps-line-number-start' is set to
30513, the output will look like:
3052
3053 one line
3054 one line
3055 3 one line
3056 one line
3057 one line
3058 6 one line
3059 one line
3060 one line
3061 9 one line
3062 one line
3063 ...
3064
3065The variable `ps-postscript-code-directory' specifies the directory
3066where the PostScript prologue file used by ps-print is found.
3067
3068The variable `ps-line-spacing' determines the line spacing in points,
3069for ordinary text, when generating PostScript (similar to
3070`ps-font-size').
3071
3072The variable `ps-paragraph-spacing' determines the paragraph spacing,
3073in points, for ordinary text, when generating PostScript (similar to
3074`ps-font-size').
3075
3076The variable `ps-paragraph-regexp' specifies the paragraph delimiter.
3077
3078The variable `ps-begin-cut-regexp' and `ps-end-cut-regexp' specify the
3079start and end of a region to cut out when printing.
3080
3081** hideshow changes.
3082
3083*** now supports hiding of blocks of single line comments (like // for
3084C++, ; for lisp).
3085
3086*** Support for java-mode added.
3087
3088*** When doing `hs-hide-all' it is now possible to also hide the comments
3089in the file if `hs-hide-comments-when-hiding-all' is set.
3090
3091*** The new function `hs-hide-initial-comment' hides the comments at
3092the beginning of the files. Finally those huge RCS logs don't stay in your
3093way! This is run by default when entering the `hs-minor-mode'.
3094
3095*** Now uses overlays instead of `selective-display', so is more
3096robust and a lot faster.
3097
3098*** A block beginning can span multiple lines.
3099
3100*** The new variable `hs-show-hidden-short-form' if t, directs hideshow
3101to show only the beginning of a block when it is hidden. See the
3102documentation for more details.
3103
3104** Changes in Enriched mode.
3105
3106*** When you visit a file in enriched-mode, Emacs will make sure it is
3107filled to the current fill-column. This behavior is now independent
3108of the size of the window. When you save the file, the fill-column in
3109use is stored as well, so that the whole buffer need not be refilled
3110the next time unless the fill-column is different.
3111
3112*** use-hard-newlines is now a minor mode. When it is enabled, Emacs
3113distinguishes between hard and soft newlines, and treats hard newlines
3114as paragraph boundaries. Otherwise all newlines inserted are marked
3115as soft, and paragraph boundaries are determined solely from the text.
3116
3117** Font Lock mode
3118
3119*** Custom support
3120
3121The variables font-lock-face-attributes, font-lock-display-type and
3122font-lock-background-mode are now obsolete; the recommended way to specify
3123the faces to use for Font Lock mode is with M-x customize-group on the new
3124custom group font-lock-faces. If you set font-lock-face-attributes in your
3125~/.emacs file, Font Lock mode will respect its value. However, you should
3126consider converting from setting that variable to using M-x customize.
3127
3128You can still use X resources to specify Font Lock face appearances.
3129
3130*** Maximum decoration
3131
3132Fontification now uses the maximum level of decoration supported by
3133default. Previously, fontification used a mode-specific default level
3134of decoration, which is typically the minimum level of decoration
3135supported. You can set font-lock-maximum-decoration to nil
3136to get the old behavior.
3137
3138*** New support
3139
3140Support is now provided for Java, Objective-C, AWK and SIMULA modes.
3141
3142Note that Font Lock mode can be turned on without knowing exactly what modes
3143support Font Lock mode, via the command global-font-lock-mode.
3144
3145*** Configurable support
3146
3147Support for C, C++, Objective-C and Java can be more easily configured for
3148additional types and classes via the new variables c-font-lock-extra-types,
3149c++-font-lock-extra-types, objc-font-lock-extra-types and, you guessed it,
3150java-font-lock-extra-types. These value of each of these variables should be a
3151list of regexps matching the extra type names. For example, the default value
3152of c-font-lock-extra-types is ("\\sw+_t") which means fontification follows the
3153convention that C type names end in _t. This results in slower fontification.
3154
3155Of course, you can change the variables that specify fontification in whatever
3156way you wish, typically by adding regexps. However, these new variables make
3157it easier to make specific and common changes for the fontification of types.
3158
3159*** Adding highlighting patterns to existing support
3160
3161You can use the new function font-lock-add-keywords to add your own
3162highlighting patterns, such as for project-local or user-specific constructs,
3163for any mode.
3164
3165For example, to highlight `FIXME:' words in C comments, put:
3166
3167 (font-lock-add-keywords 'c-mode '(("\\<FIXME:" 0 font-lock-warning-face t)))
3168
3169in your ~/.emacs.
3170
3171*** New faces
3172
3173Font Lock now defines two new faces, font-lock-builtin-face and
3174font-lock-warning-face. These are intended to highlight builtin keywords,
3175distinct from a language's normal keywords, and objects that should be brought
3176to user attention, respectively. Various modes now use these new faces.
3177
3178*** Changes to fast-lock support mode
3179
3180The fast-lock package, one of the two Font Lock support modes, can now process
3181cache files silently. You can use the new variable fast-lock-verbose, in the
3182same way as font-lock-verbose, to control this feature.
3183
3184*** Changes to lazy-lock support mode
3185
3186The lazy-lock package, one of the two Font Lock support modes, can now fontify
3187according to the true syntactic context relative to other lines. You can use
3188the new variable lazy-lock-defer-contextually to control this feature. If
3189non-nil, changes to the buffer will cause subsequent lines in the buffer to be
3190refontified after lazy-lock-defer-time seconds of idle time. If nil, then only
3191the modified lines will be refontified; this is the same as the previous Lazy
3192Lock mode behavior and the behavior of Font Lock mode.
3193
3194This feature is useful in modes where strings or comments can span lines.
3195For example, if a string or comment terminating character is deleted, then if
3196this feature is enabled subsequent lines in the buffer will be correctly
3197refontified to reflect their new syntactic context. Previously, only the line
3198containing the deleted character would be refontified and you would have to use
3199the command M-o M-o (font-lock-fontify-block) to refontify some lines.
3200
3201As a consequence of this new feature, two other variables have changed:
3202
3203Variable `lazy-lock-defer-driven' is renamed `lazy-lock-defer-on-scrolling'.
3204Variable `lazy-lock-defer-time' can now only be a time, i.e., a number.
3205Buffer modes for which on-the-fly deferral applies can be specified via the
3206new variable `lazy-lock-defer-on-the-fly'.
3207
3208If you set these variables in your ~/.emacs, then you may have to change those
3209settings.
3210
3211** Ada mode changes.
3212
3213*** There is now better support for using find-file.el with Ada mode.
3214If you switch between spec and body, the cursor stays in the same
3215procedure (modulo overloading). If a spec has no body file yet, but
3216you try to switch to its body file, Ada mode now generates procedure
3217stubs.
3218
3219*** There are two new commands:
3220 - `ada-make-local' : invokes gnatmake on the current buffer
3221 - `ada-check-syntax' : check syntax of current buffer.
3222
3223The user options `ada-compiler-make', `ada-make-options',
3224`ada-language-version', `ada-compiler-syntax-check', and
3225`ada-compile-options' are used within these commands.
3226
3227*** Ada mode can now work with Outline minor mode. The outline level
3228is calculated from the indenting, not from syntactic constructs.
3229Outlining does not work if your code is not correctly indented.
3230
3231*** The new function `ada-gnat-style' converts the buffer to the style of
3232formatting used in GNAT. It places two blanks after a comment start,
3233places one blank between a word end and an opening '(', and puts one
3234space between a comma and the beginning of a word.
3235
3236** Scheme mode changes.
3237
3238*** Scheme mode indentation now uses many of the facilities of Lisp
3239mode; therefore, the variables to customize it are the variables used
3240for Lisp mode which have names starting with `lisp-'. The variables
3241with names starting with `scheme-' which used to do this no longer
3242have any effect.
3243
3244If you want to use different indentation for Scheme and Lisp, this is
3245still possible, but now you must do it by adding a hook to
3246scheme-mode-hook, which could work by setting the `lisp-' indentation
3247variables as buffer-local variables.
3248
3249*** DSSSL mode is a variant of Scheme mode, for editing DSSSL scripts.
3250Use M-x dsssl-mode.
3251
3252** Changes to the emacsclient program
3253
3254*** If a socket can't be found, and environment variables LOGNAME or
3255USER are set, emacsclient now looks for a socket based on the UID
3256associated with the name. That is an emacsclient running as root
3257can connect to an Emacs server started by a non-root user.
3258
3259*** The emacsclient program now accepts an option --no-wait which tells
3260it to return immediately without waiting for you to "finish" the
3261buffer in Emacs.
3262
3263*** The new option --alternate-editor allows to specify an editor to
3264use if Emacs is not running. The environment variable
3265ALTERNATE_EDITOR can be used for the same effect; the command line
3266option takes precedence.
3267
3268** M-x eldoc-mode enables a minor mode in which the echo area
3269constantly shows the parameter list for function being called at point
3270(in Emacs Lisp and Lisp Interaction modes only).
3271
3272** C-x n d now runs the new command narrow-to-defun,
3273which narrows the accessible parts of the buffer to just
3274the current defun.
3275
3276** Emacs now handles the `--' argument in the standard way; all
3277following arguments are treated as ordinary file names.
3278
3279** On MSDOS and Windows, the bookmark file is now called _emacs.bmk,
3280and the saved desktop file is now called _emacs.desktop (truncated if
3281necessary).
3282
3283** When you kill a buffer that visits a file,
3284if there are any registers that save positions in the file,
3285these register values no longer become completely useless.
3286If you try to go to such a register with C-x j, then you are
3287asked whether to visit the file again. If you say yes,
3288it visits the file and then goes to the same position.
3289
3290** When you visit a file that changes frequently outside Emacs--for
3291example, a log of output from a process that continues to run--it may
3292be useful for Emacs to revert the file without querying you whenever
3293you visit the file afresh with C-x C-f.
3294
3295You can request this behavior for certain files by setting the
3296variable revert-without-query to a list of regular expressions. If a
3297file's name matches any of these regular expressions, find-file and
3298revert-buffer revert the buffer without asking for permission--but
3299only if you have not edited the buffer text yourself.
3300
3301** set-default-font has been renamed to set-frame-font
3302since it applies only to the current frame.
3303
3304** In TeX mode, you can use the variable tex-main-file to specify the
3305file for tex-file to run TeX on. (By default, tex-main-file is nil,
3306and tex-file runs TeX on the current visited file.)
3307
3308This is useful when you are editing a document that consists of
3309multiple files. In each of the included files, you can set up a local
3310variable list which specifies the top-level file of your document for
3311tex-main-file. Then tex-file will run TeX on the whole document
3312instead of just the file you are editing.
3313
3314** RefTeX mode
3315
3316RefTeX mode is a new minor mode with special support for \label, \ref
3317and \cite macros in LaTeX documents. RefTeX distinguishes labels of
3318different environments (equation, figure, ...) and has full support for
3319multifile documents. To use it, select a buffer with a LaTeX document and
3320turn the mode on with M-x reftex-mode. Here are the main user commands:
3321
3322C-c ( reftex-label
3323 Creates a label semi-automatically. RefTeX is context sensitive and
3324 knows which kind of label is needed.
3325
3326C-c ) reftex-reference
3327 Offers in a menu all labels in the document, along with context of the
3328 label definition. The selected label is referenced as \ref{LABEL}.
3329
3330C-c [ reftex-citation
3331 Prompts for a regular expression and displays a list of matching BibTeX
3332 database entries. The selected entry is cited with a \cite{KEY} macro.
3333
3334C-c & reftex-view-crossref
3335 Views the cross reference of a \ref or \cite command near point.
3336
3337C-c = reftex-toc
3338 Shows a table of contents of the (multifile) document. From there you
3339 can quickly jump to every section.
3340
3341Under X, RefTeX installs a "Ref" menu in the menu bar, with additional
3342commands. Press `?' to get help when a prompt mentions this feature.
3343Full documentation and customization examples are in the file
3344reftex.el. You can use the finder to view the file documentation:
3345C-h p --> tex --> reftex.el
3346
3347** Changes in BibTeX mode.
3348
3349*** Info documentation is now available.
3350
3351*** Don't allow parentheses in string constants anymore. This confused
3352both the BibTeX program and Emacs BibTeX mode.
3353
3354*** Renamed variable bibtex-mode-user-optional-fields to
3355bibtex-user-optional-fields.
3356
3357*** Removed variable bibtex-include-OPTannote
3358(use bibtex-user-optional-fields instead).
3359
3360*** New interactive functions to copy and kill fields and complete
3361entries to the BibTeX kill ring, from where they can be yanked back by
3362appropriate functions.
3363
3364*** New interactive functions for repositioning and marking of
3365entries. They are bound by default to C-M-l and C-M-h.
3366
3367*** New hook bibtex-clean-entry-hook. It is called after entry has
3368been cleaned.
3369
3370*** New variable bibtex-field-delimiters, which replaces variables
3371bibtex-field-{left|right}-delimiter.
3372
3373*** New variable bibtex-entry-delimiters to determine how entries
3374shall be delimited.
3375
3376*** Allow preinitialization of fields. See documentation of
3377bibtex-user-optional-fields, bibtex-entry-field-alist, and
3378bibtex-include-OPTkey for details.
3379
3380*** Book and InBook entries require either an author or an editor
3381field. This is now supported by bibtex.el. Alternative fields are
3382prefixed with `ALT'.
3383
3384*** New variable bibtex-entry-format, which replaces variable
3385bibtex-clean-entry-zap-empty-opts and allows specification of many
3386formatting options performed on cleaning an entry (see variable
3387documentation).
3388
3389*** Even more control on how automatic keys are generated. See
3390documentation of bibtex-generate-autokey for details. Transcriptions
3391for foreign languages other than German are now handled, too.
3392
3393*** New boolean user option bibtex-comma-after-last-field to decide if
3394comma should be inserted at end of last field.
3395
3396*** New boolean user option bibtex-align-at-equal-sign to determine if
3397alignment should be made at left side of field contents or at equal
3398signs. New user options to control entry layout (e.g. indentation).
3399
3400*** New function bibtex-fill-entry to realign entries.
3401
3402*** New function bibtex-reformat to reformat region or buffer.
3403
3404*** New function bibtex-convert-alien to convert a BibTeX database
3405from alien sources.
3406
3407*** New function bibtex-complete-key (similar to bibtex-complete-string)
3408to complete prefix to a key defined in buffer. Mainly useful in
3409crossref entries.
3410
3411*** New function bibtex-count-entries to count entries in buffer or
3412region.
3413
3414*** Added support for imenu.
3415
3416*** The function `bibtex-validate' now checks current region instead
3417of buffer if mark is active. Now it shows all errors of buffer in a
3418`compilation mode' buffer. You can use the normal commands (e.g.
3419`next-error') for compilation modes to jump to errors.
3420
3421*** New variable `bibtex-string-file-path' to determine where the files
3422from `bibtex-string-files' are searched.
3423
3424** Iso Accents mode now supports Latin-3 as an alternative.
3425
3426** The command next-error now opens blocks hidden by hideshow.
3427
3428** The function using-unix-filesystems has been replaced by the
3429functions add-untranslated-filesystem and remove-untranslated-filesystem.
3430Each of these functions takes the name of a drive letter or directory
3431as an argument.
3432
3433When a filesystem is added as untranslated, all files on it are read
3434and written in binary mode (no cr/lf translation is performed).
3435
3436** browse-url changes
3437
3438*** New methods for: Grail (browse-url-generic), MMM (browse-url-mmm),
3439Lynx in a separate xterm (browse-url-lynx-xterm) or in an Emacs window
3440(browse-url-lynx-emacs), remote W3 (browse-url-w3-gnudoit), generic
3441non-remote-controlled browsers (browse-url-generic) and associated
3442customization variables.
3443
3444*** New commands `browse-url-of-region' and `browse-url'.
3445
3446*** URLs marked up with <URL:...> (RFC1738) work if broken across
3447lines. Browsing methods can be associated with URL regexps
3448(e.g. mailto: URLs) via `browse-url-browser-function'.
3449
3450** Changes in Ediff
3451
3452*** Clicking Mouse-2 on a brief command description in Ediff control panel
3453pops up the Info file for this command.
3454
3455*** There is now a variable, ediff-autostore-merges, which controls whether
3456the result of a merge is saved in a file. By default, this is done only when
3457merge is done from a session group (eg, when merging files in two different
3458directories).
3459
3460*** Since Emacs 19.31 (this hasn't been announced before), Ediff can compare
3461and merge groups of files residing in different directories, or revisions of
3462files in the same directory.
3463
3464*** Since Emacs 19.31, Ediff can apply multi-file patches interactively.
3465The patches must be in the context format or GNU unified format. (The bug
3466related to the GNU format has now been fixed.)
3467
3468** Changes in Viper
3469
3470*** The startup file is now .viper instead of .vip
3471*** All variable/function names have been changed to start with viper-
3472 instead of vip-.
3473*** C-\ now simulates the meta-key in all Viper states.
3474*** C-z in Insert state now escapes to Vi for the duration of the next
3475Viper command. In Vi and Insert states, C-z behaves as before.
3476*** C-c \ escapes to Vi for one command if Viper is in Insert or Emacs states.
3477*** _ is no longer the meta-key in Vi state.
3478*** The variable viper-insert-state-cursor-color can be used to change cursor
3479color when Viper is in insert state.
3480*** If search lands the cursor near the top or the bottom of the window,
3481Viper pulls the window up or down to expose more context. The variable
3482viper-adjust-window-after-search controls this behavior.
3483
3484** Etags changes.
3485
3486*** In C, C++, Objective C and Java, Etags tags global variables by
3487default. The resulting tags files are inflated by 30% on average.
3488Use --no-globals to turn this feature off. Etags can also tag
3489variables which are members of structure-like constructs, but it does
3490not by default. Use --members to turn this feature on.
3491
3492*** C++ member functions are now recognized as tags.
3493
3494*** Java is tagged like C++. In addition, "extends" and "implements"
3495constructs are tagged. Files are recognized by the extension .java.
3496
7877f373
JB
3497*** Etags can now handle programs written in PostScript. Files are
3498recognized by the extensions .ps and .pdb (PostScript with C syntax).
3499In PostScript, tags are lines that start with a slash.
9a21d88b
KS
3500
3501*** Etags now handles Objective C and Objective C++ code. The usual C and
3502C++ tags are recognized in these languages; in addition, etags
3503recognizes special Objective C syntax for classes, class categories,
3504methods and protocols.
3505
3506*** Etags also handles Cobol. Files are recognized by the extension
3507.cobol. The tagged lines are those containing a word that begins in
3508column 8 and ends in a full stop, i.e. anything that could be a
3509paragraph name.
3510
3511*** Regexps in Etags now support intervals, as in ed or grep. The syntax of
3512an interval is \{M,N\}, and it means to match the preceding expression
3513at least M times and as many as N times.
3514
3515** The format for specifying a custom format for time-stamp to insert
3516in files has changed slightly.
3517
3518With the new enhancements to the functionality of format-time-string,
3519time-stamp-format will change to be eventually compatible with it.
3520This conversion is being done in two steps to maintain compatibility
3521with old time-stamp-format values.
3522
3523In the new scheme, alternate case is signified by the number-sign
3524(`#') modifier, rather than changing the case of the format character.
3525This feature is as yet incompletely implemented for compatibility
3526reasons.
3527
3528In the old time-stamp-format, all numeric fields defaulted to their
3529natural width. (With format-time-string, each format has a
3530fixed-width default.) In this version, you can specify the colon
3531(`:') modifier to a numeric conversion to mean "give me the historical
3532time-stamp-format width default." Do not use colon if you are
3533specifying an explicit width, as in "%02d".
3534
3535Numbers are no longer truncated to the requested width, except in the
3536case of "%02y", which continues to give a two-digit year. Digit
3537truncation probably wasn't being used for anything else anyway.
3538
3539The new formats will work with old versions of Emacs. New formats are
3540being recommended now to allow time-stamp-format to change in the
3541future to be compatible with format-time-string. The new forms being
3542recommended now will continue to work then.
3543
3544See the documentation string for the variable time-stamp-format for
3545details.
3546
3547** There are some additional major modes:
3548
3549dcl-mode, for editing VMS DCL files.
3550m4-mode, for editing files of m4 input.
3551meta-mode, for editing MetaFont and MetaPost source files.
3552
3553** In Shell mode, the command shell-copy-environment-variable lets you
3554copy the value of a specified environment variable from the subshell
3555into Emacs.
3556
3557** New Lisp packages include:
3558
3559*** battery.el displays battery status for laptops.
3560
3561*** M-x bruce (named after Lenny Bruce) is a program that might
3562be used for adding some indecent words to your email.
3563
3564*** M-x crisp-mode enables an emulation for the CRiSP editor.
3565
3566*** M-x dirtrack arranges for better tracking of directory changes
3567in shell buffers.
3568
3569*** The new library elint.el provides for linting of Emacs Lisp code.
3570See the documentation for `elint-initialize', `elint-current-buffer'
3571and `elint-defun'.
3572
3573*** M-x expand-add-abbrevs defines a special kind of abbrev which is
3574meant for programming constructs. These abbrevs expand like ordinary
3575ones, when you type SPC, but only at the end of a line and not within
3576strings or comments.
3577
3578These abbrevs can act as templates: you can define places within an
3579abbrev for insertion of additional text. Once you expand the abbrev,
3580you can then use C-x a p and C-x a n to move back and forth to these
3581insertion points. Thus you can conveniently insert additional text
3582at these points.
3583
3584*** filecache.el remembers the location of files so that you
3585can visit them by short forms of their names.
3586
3587*** find-func.el lets you find the definition of the user-loaded
3588Emacs Lisp function at point.
3589
3590*** M-x handwrite converts text to a "handwritten" picture.
3591
3592*** M-x iswitchb-buffer is a command for switching to a buffer, much like
3593switch-buffer, but it reads the argument in a more helpful way.
3594
3595*** M-x landmark implements a neural network for landmark learning.
3596
3597*** M-x locate provides a convenient interface to the `locate' program.
3598
3599*** M4 mode is a new mode for editing files of m4 input.
3600
3601*** mantemp.el creates C++ manual template instantiations
3602from the GCC error messages which indicate which instantiations are needed.
3603
3604*** mouse-copy.el provides a one-click copy and move feature.
3605You can drag a region with M-mouse-1, and it is automatically
3606inserted at point. M-Shift-mouse-1 deletes the text from its
3607original place after inserting the copy.
3608
3609*** mouse-drag.el lets you do scrolling by dragging Mouse-2
3610on the buffer.
3611
3612You click the mouse and move; that distance either translates into the
3613velocity to scroll (with mouse-drag-throw) or the distance to scroll
3614(with mouse-drag-drag). Horizontal scrolling is enabled when needed.
3615
3616Enable mouse-drag with:
3617 (global-set-key [down-mouse-2] 'mouse-drag-throw)
3618-or-
3619 (global-set-key [down-mouse-2] 'mouse-drag-drag)
3620
3621*** mspools.el is useful for determining which mail folders have
3622mail waiting to be read in them. It works with procmail.
3623
3624*** Octave mode is a major mode for editing files of input for Octave.
3625It comes with a facility for communicating with an Octave subprocess.
3626
3627*** ogonek
3628
3629The ogonek package provides functions for changing the coding of
3630Polish diacritic characters in buffers. Codings known from various
3631platforms are supported such as ISO8859-2, Mazovia, IBM Latin2, and
3632TeX. For example, you can change the coding from Mazovia to
3633ISO8859-2. Another example is a change of coding from ISO8859-2 to
3634prefix notation (in which `/a' stands for the aogonek character, for
3635instance) and vice versa.
3636
3637To use this package load it using
3638 M-x load-library [enter] ogonek
3639Then, you may get an explanation by calling one of
3640 M-x ogonek-jak -- in Polish
3641 M-x ogonek-how -- in English
3642The info specifies the commands and variables provided as well as the
3643ways of customization in `.emacs'.
3644
3645*** Interface to ph.
3646
3647Emacs provides a client interface to CCSO Nameservers (ph/qi)
3648
3649The CCSO nameserver is used in many universities to provide directory
3650services about people. ph.el provides a convenient Emacs interface to
3651these servers.
3652
3653*** uce.el is useful for replying to unsolicited commercial email.
3654
3655*** vcursor.el implements a "virtual cursor" feature.
3656You can move the virtual cursor with special commands
3657while the real cursor does not move.
3658
3659*** webjump.el is a "hot list" package which you can set up
3660for visiting your favorite web sites.
3661
3662*** M-x winner-mode is a minor mode which saves window configurations,
3663so you can move back to other configurations that you have recently used.
3664
3665** movemail change
3666
3667Movemail no longer needs to be installed setuid root in order for POP
3668mail retrieval to function properly. This is because it no longer
3669supports the RPOP (reserved-port POP) protocol; instead, it uses the
3670user's POP password to authenticate to the mail server.
3671
3672This change was made earlier, but not reported in NEWS before.
3673
3674\f
3675* Emacs 20.1 changes for MS-DOS and MS-Windows.
3676
3677** Changes in handling MS-DOS/MS-Windows text files.
3678
3679Emacs handles three different conventions for representing
3680end-of-line: CRLF for MSDOS, LF for Unix and GNU, and CR (used on the
3681Macintosh). Emacs determines which convention is used in a specific
3682file based on the contents of that file (except for certain special
3683file names), and when it saves the file, it uses the same convention.
3684
3685To save the file and change the end-of-line convention, you can use
3686C-x RET f (set-buffer-file-coding-system) to specify a different
3687coding system for the buffer. Then, when you save the file, the newly
3688specified coding system will take effect. For example, to save with
3689LF, specify undecided-unix (or some other ...-unix coding system); to
3690save with CRLF, specify undecided-dos.
3691
3692\f
3693* Lisp Changes in Emacs 20.1
3694
3695** Byte-compiled files made with Emacs 20 will, in general, work in
3696Emacs 19 as well, as long as the source code runs in Emacs 19. And
3697vice versa: byte-compiled files made with Emacs 19 should also run in
3698Emacs 20, as long as the program itself works in Emacs 20.
3699
3700** Windows-specific functions and variables have been renamed
3701to start with w32- instead of win32-.
3702
3703In hacker language, calling something a "win" is a form of praise. We
3704don't want to praise a non-free Microsoft system, so we don't call it
3705"win".
3706
3707** Basic Lisp changes
3708
3709*** A symbol whose name starts with a colon now automatically
3710evaluates to itself. Therefore such a symbol can be used as a constant.
3711
3712*** The defined purpose of `defconst' has been changed. It should now
3713be used only for values that should not be changed whether by a program
3714or by the user.
3715
3716The actual behavior of defconst has not been changed.
3717
3718*** There are new macros `when' and `unless'
3719
3720(when CONDITION BODY...) is short for (if CONDITION (progn BODY...))
3721(unless CONDITION BODY...) is short for (if CONDITION nil BODY...)
3722
3723*** Emacs now defines functions caar, cadr, cdar and cddr with their
3724usual Lisp meanings. For example, caar returns the car of the car of
3725its argument.
3726
3727*** equal, when comparing strings, now ignores their text properties.
3728
3729*** The new function `functionp' tests whether an object is a function.
3730
3731*** arrayp now returns t for char-tables and bool-vectors.
3732
3733*** Certain primitives which use characters (as integers) now get an
3734error if the integer is not a valid character code. These primitives
3735include insert-char, char-to-string, and the %c construct in the
3736`format' function.
3737
3738*** The `require' function now insists on adding a suffix, either .el
3739or .elc, to the file name. Thus, (require 'foo) will not use a file
3740whose name is just foo. It insists on foo.el or foo.elc.
3741
3742*** The `autoload' function, when the file name does not contain
3743either a directory name or the suffix .el or .elc, insists on
3744adding one of these suffixes.
3745
3746*** string-to-number now takes an optional second argument BASE
3747which specifies the base to use when converting an integer.
3748If BASE is omitted, base 10 is used.
3749
3750We have not implemented other radices for floating point numbers,
3751because that would be much more work and does not seem useful.
3752
3753*** substring now handles vectors as well as strings.
3754
3755*** The Common Lisp function eql is no longer defined normally.
3756You must load the `cl' library to define it.
3757
3758*** The new macro `with-current-buffer' lets you evaluate an expression
3759conveniently with a different current buffer. It looks like this:
3760
3761 (with-current-buffer BUFFER BODY-FORMS...)
3762
3763BUFFER is the expression that says which buffer to use.
3764BODY-FORMS say what to do in that buffer.
3765
3766*** The new primitive `save-current-buffer' saves and restores the
3767choice of current buffer, like `save-excursion', but without saving or
3768restoring the value of point or the mark. `with-current-buffer'
3769works using `save-current-buffer'.
3770
3771*** The new macro `with-temp-file' lets you do some work in a new buffer and
3772write the output to a specified file. Like `progn', it returns the value
3773of the last form.
3774
3775*** The new macro `with-temp-buffer' lets you do some work in a new buffer,
3776which is discarded after use. Like `progn', it returns the value of the
3777last form. If you wish to return the buffer contents, use (buffer-string)
3778as the last form.
3779
3780*** The new function split-string takes a string, splits it at certain
3781characters, and returns a list of the substrings in between the
3782matches.
3783
3784For example, (split-string "foo bar lose" " +") returns ("foo" "bar" "lose").
3785
3786*** The new macro with-output-to-string executes some Lisp expressions
3787with standard-output set up so that all output feeds into a string.
3788Then it returns that string.
3789
3790For example, if the current buffer name is `foo',
3791
3792(with-output-to-string
3793 (princ "The buffer is ")
3794 (princ (buffer-name)))
3795
3796returns "The buffer is foo".
3797
3798** Non-ASCII characters are now supported, if enable-multibyte-characters
3799is non-nil.
3800
3801These characters have character codes above 256. When inserted in the
3802buffer or stored in a string, they are represented as multibyte
3803characters that occupy several buffer positions each.
3804
3805*** When enable-multibyte-characters is non-nil, a single character in
3806a buffer or string can be two or more bytes (as many as four).
3807
3808Buffers and strings are still made up of unibyte elements;
3809character positions and string indices are always measured in bytes.
3810Therefore, moving forward one character can increase the buffer
3811position by 2, 3 or 4. The function forward-char moves by whole
3812characters, and therefore is no longer equivalent to
3813 (lambda (n) (goto-char (+ (point) n))).
3814
3815ASCII characters (codes 0 through 127) are still single bytes, always.
3816Sequences of byte values 128 through 255 are used to represent
3817non-ASCII characters. These sequences are called "multibyte
3818characters".
3819
3820The first byte of a multibyte character is always in the range 128
3821through 159 (octal 0200 through 0237). These values are called
3822"leading codes". The second and subsequent bytes are always in the
3823range 160 through 255 (octal 0240 through 0377). The first byte, the
3824leading code, determines how many bytes long the sequence is.
3825
3826*** The function forward-char moves over characters, and therefore
3827(forward-char 1) may increase point by more than 1 if it moves over a
3828multibyte character. Likewise, delete-char always deletes a
3829character, which may be more than one buffer position.
3830
3831This means that some Lisp programs, which assume that a character is
3832always one buffer position, need to be changed.
3833
3834However, all ASCII characters are always one buffer position.
3835
3836*** The regexp [\200-\377] no longer matches all non-ASCII characters,
3837because when enable-multibyte-characters is non-nil, these characters
3838have codes that are not in the range octal 200 to octal 377. However,
3839the regexp [^\000-\177] does match all non-ASCII characters,
3840guaranteed.
3841
3842*** The function char-boundary-p returns non-nil if position POS is
3843between two characters in the buffer (not in the middle of a
3844character).
3845
3846When the value is non-nil, it says what kind of character follows POS:
3847
3848 0 if POS is at an ASCII character or at the end of range,
3849 1 if POS is before a 2-byte length multi-byte form,
3850 2 if POS is at a head of 3-byte length multi-byte form,
3851 3 if POS is at a head of 4-byte length multi-byte form,
3852 4 if POS is at a head of multi-byte form of a composite character.
3853
3854*** The function char-bytes returns how many bytes the character CHAR uses.
3855
3856*** Strings can contain multibyte characters. The function
3857`length' returns the string length counting bytes, which may be
3858more than the number of characters.
3859
3860You can include a multibyte character in a string constant by writing
3861it literally. You can also represent it with a hex escape,
3862\xNNNNNNN..., using as many digits as necessary. Any character which
3863is not a valid hex digit terminates this construct. If you want to
3864follow it with a character that is a hex digit, write backslash and
3865newline in between; that will terminate the hex escape.
3866
3867*** The function concat-chars takes arguments which are characters
3868and returns a string containing those characters.
3869
3870*** The function sref access a multibyte character in a string.
3871(sref STRING INDX) returns the character in STRING at INDEX. INDEX
3872counts from zero. If INDEX is at a position in the middle of a
3873character, sref signals an error.
3874
3875*** The function chars-in-string returns the number of characters
3876in a string. This is less than the length of the string, if the
3877string contains multibyte characters (the length counts bytes).
3878
3879*** The function chars-in-region returns the number of characters
3880in a region from BEG to END. This is less than (- END BEG) if the
3881region contains multibyte characters (the length counts bytes).
3882
3883*** The function string-to-list converts a string to a list of
3884the characters in it. string-to-vector converts a string
3885to a vector of the characters in it.
3886
3887*** The function store-substring alters part of the contents
3888of a string. You call it as follows:
3889
3890 (store-substring STRING IDX OBJ)
3891
3892This says to alter STRING, by storing OBJ starting at index IDX in
3893STRING. OBJ may be either a character or a (smaller) string.
3894This function really does alter the contents of STRING.
3895Since it is impossible to change the length of an existing string,
3896it is an error if OBJ doesn't fit within STRING's actual length.
3897
3898*** char-width returns the width (in columns) of the character CHAR,
3899if it were displayed in the current buffer and the selected window.
3900
3901*** string-width returns the width (in columns) of the text in STRING,
3902if it were displayed in the current buffer and the selected window.
3903
3904*** truncate-string-to-width shortens a string, if necessary,
3905to fit within a certain number of columns. (Of course, it does
3906not alter the string that you give it; it returns a new string
3907which contains all or just part of the existing string.)
3908
3909(truncate-string-to-width STR END-COLUMN &optional START-COLUMN PADDING)
3910
3911This returns the part of STR up to column END-COLUMN.
3912
3913The optional argument START-COLUMN specifies the starting column.
3914If this is non-nil, then the first START-COLUMN columns of the string
3915are not included in the resulting value.
3916
3917The optional argument PADDING, if non-nil, is a padding character to be added
3918at the beginning and end the resulting string, to extend it to exactly
3919WIDTH columns. If PADDING is nil, that means do not pad; then, if STRING
3920is narrower than WIDTH, the value is equal to STRING.
3921
3922If PADDING and START-COLUMN are both non-nil, and if there is no clean
3923place in STRING that corresponds to START-COLUMN (because one
3924character extends across that column), then the padding character
3925PADDING is added one or more times at the beginning of the result
3926string, so that its columns line up as if it really did start at
3927column START-COLUMN.
3928
3929*** When the functions in the list after-change-functions are called,
3930the third argument is the number of bytes in the pre-change text, not
3931necessarily the number of characters. It is, in effect, the
3932difference in buffer position between the beginning and the end of the
3933changed text, before the change.
3934
3935*** The characters Emacs uses are classified in various character
3936sets, each of which has a name which is a symbol. In general there is
3937one character set for each script, not for each language.
3938
3939**** The function charsetp tests whether an object is a character set name.
3940
3941**** The variable charset-list holds a list of character set names.
3942
3943**** char-charset, given a character code, returns the name of the character
3944set that the character belongs to. (The value is a symbol.)
3945
3946**** split-char, given a character code, returns a list containing the
3947name of the character set, followed by one or two byte-values
3948which identify the character within that character set.
3949
3950**** make-char, given a character set name and one or two subsequent
3951byte-values, constructs a character code. This is roughly the
3952opposite of split-char.
3953
3954**** find-charset-region returns a list of the character sets
3955of all the characters between BEG and END.
3956
3957**** find-charset-string returns a list of the character sets
3958of all the characters in a string.
3959
3960*** Here are the Lisp facilities for working with coding systems
3961and specifying coding systems.
3962
3963**** The function coding-system-list returns a list of all coding
3964system names (symbols). With optional argument t, it returns a list
3965of all distinct base coding systems, not including variants.
3966(Variant coding systems are those like latin-1-dos, latin-1-unix
3967and latin-1-mac which specify the end-of-line conversion as well
3968as what to do about code conversion.)
3969
3970**** coding-system-p tests a symbol to see if it is a coding system
3971name. It returns t if so, nil if not.
3972
3973**** file-coding-system-alist specifies which coding systems to use
3974for certain file names. It works like network-coding-system-alist,
3975except that the PATTERN is matched against the file name.
3976
3977Each element has the format (PATTERN . VAL), where PATTERN determines
3978which file names the element applies to. PATTERN should be a regexp
3979to match against a file name.
3980
3981VAL is a coding system, a cons cell containing two coding systems, or
3982a function symbol. If VAL is a coding system, it is used for both
3983decoding what received from the network stream and encoding what sent
3984to the network stream. If VAL is a cons cell containing two coding
3985systems, the car specifies the coding system for decoding, and the cdr
3986specifies the coding system for encoding.
3987
3988If VAL is a function symbol, the function must return a coding system
3989or a cons cell containing two coding systems, which is used as above.
3990
3991**** The variable network-coding-system-alist specifies
3992the coding system to use for network sockets.
3993
3994Each element has the format (PATTERN . VAL), where PATTERN determines
3995which network sockets the element applies to. PATTERN should be
3996either a port number or a regular expression matching some network
3997service names.
3998
3999VAL is a coding system, a cons cell containing two coding systems, or
4000a function symbol. If VAL is a coding system, it is used for both
4001decoding what received from the network stream and encoding what sent
4002to the network stream. If VAL is a cons cell containing two coding
4003systems, the car specifies the coding system for decoding, and the cdr
4004specifies the coding system for encoding.
4005
4006If VAL is a function symbol, the function must return a coding system
4007or a cons cell containing two coding systems, which is used as above.
4008
4009**** process-coding-system-alist specifies which coding systems to use
4010for certain subprocess. It works like network-coding-system-alist,
4011except that the PATTERN is matched against the program name used to
4012start the subprocess.
4013
4014**** The variable default-process-coding-system specifies the coding
4015systems to use for subprocess (and net connection) input and output,
4016when nothing else specifies what to do. The value is a cons cell
4017(OUTPUT-CODING . INPUT-CODING). OUTPUT-CODING applies to output
4018to the subprocess, and INPUT-CODING applies to input from it.
4019
4020**** The variable coding-system-for-write, if non-nil, specifies the
4021coding system to use for writing a file, or for output to a synchronous
4022subprocess.
4023
4024It also applies to any asynchronous subprocess or network connection,
4025but in a different way: the value of coding-system-for-write when you
4026start the subprocess or connection affects that subprocess or
4027connection permanently or until overridden.
4028
4029The variable coding-system-for-write takes precedence over
4030file-coding-system-alist, process-coding-system-alist and
4031network-coding-system-alist, and all other methods of specifying a
4032coding system for output. But most of the time this variable is nil.
4033It exists so that Lisp programs can bind it to a specific coding
4034system for one operation at a time.
4035
4036**** coding-system-for-read applies similarly to input from
4037files, subprocesses or network connections.
4038
4039**** The function process-coding-system tells you what
4040coding systems(s) an existing subprocess is using.
4041The value is a cons cell,
4042 (DECODING-CODING-SYSTEM . ENCODING-CODING-SYSTEM)
4043where DECODING-CODING-SYSTEM is used for decoding output from
4044the subprocess, and ENCODING-CODING-SYSTEM is used for encoding
4045input to the subprocess.
4046
4047**** The function set-process-coding-system can be used to
4048change the coding systems in use for an existing subprocess.
4049
4050** Emacs has a new facility to help users manage the many
4051customization options. To make a Lisp program work with this facility,
4052you need to use the new macros defgroup and defcustom.
4053
4054You use defcustom instead of defvar, for defining a user option
4055variable. The difference is that you specify two additional pieces of
4056information (usually): the "type" which says what values are
4057legitimate, and the "group" which specifies the hierarchy for
4058customization.
4059
4060Thus, instead of writing
4061
4062 (defvar foo-blurgoze nil
4063 "*Non-nil means that foo will act very blurgozely.")
4064
4065you would now write this:
4066
4067 (defcustom foo-blurgoze nil
4068 "*Non-nil means that foo will act very blurgozely."
4069 :type 'boolean
4070 :group foo)
4071
4072The type `boolean' means that this variable has only
4073two meaningful states: nil and non-nil. Other type values
4074describe other possibilities; see the manual for Custom
4075for a description of them.
4076
4077The "group" argument is used to specify a group which the option
4078should belong to. You define a new group like this:
4079
4080 (defgroup ispell nil
4081 "Spell checking using Ispell."
4082 :group 'processes)
4083
4084The "group" argument in defgroup specifies the parent group. The root
4085group is called `emacs'; it should not contain any variables itself,
4086but only other groups. The immediate subgroups of `emacs' correspond
4087to the keywords used by C-h p. Under these subgroups come
4088second-level subgroups that belong to individual packages.
4089
4090Each Emacs package should have its own set of groups. A simple
4091package should have just one group; a more complex package should
4092have a hierarchy of its own groups. The sole or root group of a
4093package should be a subgroup of one or more of the "keyword"
4094first-level subgroups.
4095
4096** New `widget' library for inserting UI components in buffers.
4097
4098This library, used by the new custom library, is documented in a
4099separate manual that accompanies Emacs.
4100
4101** easy-mmode
4102
4103The easy-mmode package provides macros and functions that make
4104developing minor modes easier. Roughly, the programmer has to code
4105only the functionality of the minor mode. All the rest--toggles,
4106predicate, and documentation--can be done in one call to the macro
4107`easy-mmode-define-minor-mode' (see the documentation). See also
4108`easy-mmode-define-keymap'.
4109
4110** Text property changes
4111
4112*** The `intangible' property now works on overlays as well as on a
4113text property.
4114
4115*** The new functions next-char-property-change and
4116previous-char-property-change scan through the buffer looking for a
4117place where either a text property or an overlay might change. The
4118functions take two arguments, POSITION and LIMIT. POSITION is the
4119starting position for the scan. LIMIT says where to stop the scan.
4120
4121If no property change is found before LIMIT, the value is LIMIT. If
4122LIMIT is nil, scan goes to the beginning or end of the accessible part
4123of the buffer. If no property change is found, the value is the
4124position of the beginning or end of the buffer.
4125
4126*** In the `local-map' text property or overlay property, the property
4127value can now be a symbol whose function definition is a keymap. This
4128is an alternative to using the keymap itself.
4129
4130** Changes in invisibility features
4131
4132*** Isearch can now temporarily show parts of the buffer which are
4133hidden by an overlay with a invisible property, when the search match
4134is inside that portion of the buffer. To enable this the overlay
4135should have a isearch-open-invisible property which is a function that
4136would be called having the overlay as an argument, the function should
4137make the overlay visible.
4138
4139During incremental search the overlays are shown by modifying the
4140invisible and intangible properties, if beside this more actions are
4141needed the overlay should have a isearch-open-invisible-temporary
4142which is a function. The function is called with 2 arguments: one is
4143the overlay and the second is nil when it should show the overlay and
4144t when it should hide it.
4145
4146*** add-to-invisibility-spec, remove-from-invisibility-spec
4147
4148Modes that use overlays to hide portions of a buffer should set the
4149invisible property of the overlay to the mode's name (or another symbol)
4150and modify the `buffer-invisibility-spec' to include that symbol.
4151Use `add-to-invisibility-spec' and `remove-from-invisibility-spec' to
4152manipulate the `buffer-invisibility-spec'.
4153Here is an example of how to do this:
4154
4155 ;; If we want to display an ellipsis:
4156 (add-to-invisibility-spec '(my-symbol . t))
4157 ;; If you don't want ellipsis:
4158 (add-to-invisibility-spec 'my-symbol)
4159
4160 ...
4161 (overlay-put (make-overlay beginning end) 'invisible 'my-symbol)
4162
4163 ...
4164 ;; When done with the overlays:
4165 (remove-from-invisibility-spec '(my-symbol . t))
4166 ;; Or respectively:
4167 (remove-from-invisibility-spec 'my-symbol)
4168
4169** Changes in syntax parsing.
4170
4171*** The syntax-directed buffer-scan functions (such as
4172`parse-partial-sexp', `forward-word' and similar functions) can now
4173obey syntax information specified by text properties, if the variable
4174`parse-sexp-lookup-properties' is non-nil.
4175
4176If the value of `parse-sexp-lookup-properties' is nil, the behavior
4177is as before: the syntax-table of the current buffer is always
4178used to determine the syntax of the character at the position.
4179
4180When `parse-sexp-lookup-properties' is non-nil, the syntax of a
4181character in the buffer is calculated thus:
4182
4183 a) if the `syntax-table' text-property of that character
4184 is a cons, this cons becomes the syntax-type;
4185
4186 Valid values of `syntax-table' text-property are: nil, a valid
4187 syntax-table, and a valid syntax-table element, i.e.,
4188 a cons cell of the form (SYNTAX-CODE . MATCHING-CHAR).
4189
4190 b) if the character's `syntax-table' text-property
4191 is a syntax table, this syntax table is used
4192 (instead of the syntax-table of the current buffer) to
4193 determine the syntax type of the character.
4194
4195 c) otherwise the syntax-type is determined by the syntax-table
4196 of the current buffer.
4197
4198*** The meaning of \s in regular expressions is also affected by the
4199value of `parse-sexp-lookup-properties'. The details are the same as
4200for the syntax-directed buffer-scan functions.
4201
4202*** There are two new syntax-codes, `!' and `|' (numeric values 14
4203and 15). A character with a code `!' starts a comment which is ended
4204only by another character with the same code (unless quoted). A
4205character with a code `|' starts a string which is ended only by
4206another character with the same code (unless quoted).
4207
4208These codes are mainly meant for use as values of the `syntax-table'
4209text property.
4210
4211*** The function `parse-partial-sexp' has new semantics for the sixth
4212arg COMMENTSTOP. If it is `syntax-table', parse stops after the start
4213of a comment or a string, or after end of a comment or a string.
4214
4215*** The state-list which the return value from `parse-partial-sexp'
4216(and can also be used as an argument) now has an optional ninth
4217element: the character address of the start of last comment or string;
4218nil if none. The fourth and eighth elements have special values if the
4219string/comment is started by a "!" or "|" syntax-code.
4220
4221*** Since new features of `parse-partial-sexp' allow a complete
4222syntactic parsing, `font-lock' no longer supports
4223`font-lock-comment-start-regexp'.
4224
4225** Changes in face features
4226
4227*** The face functions are now unconditionally defined in Emacs, even
4228if it does not support displaying on a device that supports faces.
4229
4230*** The function face-documentation returns the documentation string
4231of a face (or nil if it doesn't have one).
4232
4233*** The function face-bold-p returns t if a face should be bold.
4234set-face-bold-p sets that flag.
4235
4236*** The function face-italic-p returns t if a face should be italic.
4237set-face-italic-p sets that flag.
4238
4239*** You can now specify foreground and background colors for text
4240by adding elements of the form (foreground-color . COLOR-NAME)
4241and (background-color . COLOR-NAME) to the list of faces in
4242the `face' property (either the character's text property or an
4243overlay property).
4244
4245This means that you no longer need to create named faces to use
4246arbitrary colors in a Lisp package.
4247
4248** Changes in file-handling functions
4249
4250*** File-access primitive functions no longer discard an extra redundant
4251directory name from the beginning of the file name. In other words,
4252they no longer do anything special with // or /~. That conversion
4253is now done only in substitute-in-file-name.
4254
4255This makes it possible for a Lisp program to open a file whose name
4256begins with ~.
4257
4258*** If copy-file is unable to set the date of the output file,
4259it now signals an error with the condition file-date-error.
4260
4261*** The inode number returned by file-attributes may be an integer (if
4262the number fits in a Lisp integer) or a list of integers.
4263
4264*** insert-file-contents can now read from a special file,
4265as long as the arguments VISIT and REPLACE are nil.
4266
4267*** The RAWFILE arg to find-file-noselect, if non-nil, now suppresses
4268character code conversion as well as other things.
4269
4270Meanwhile, this feature does work with remote file names
4271(formerly it did not).
4272
4273*** Lisp packages which create temporary files should use the TMPDIR
4274environment variable to decide which directory to put them in.
4275
4276*** interpreter-mode-alist elements now specify regexps
4277instead of constant strings.
4278
4279*** expand-file-name no longer treats `//' or `/~' specially. It used
4280to delete all the text of a file name up through the first slash of
4281any `//' or `/~' sequence. Now it passes them straight through.
4282
4283substitute-in-file-name continues to treat those sequences specially,
4284in the same way as before.
4285
4286*** The variable `format-alist' is more general now.
4287The FROM-FN and TO-FN in a format definition can now be strings
4288which specify shell commands to use as filters to perform conversion.
4289
4290*** The new function access-file tries to open a file, and signals an
4291error if that fails. If the open succeeds, access-file does nothing
4292else, and returns nil.
4293
4294*** The function insert-directory now signals an error if the specified
4295directory cannot be listed.
4296
4297** Changes in minibuffer input
4298
4299*** The functions read-buffer, read-variable, read-command, read-string
4300read-file-name, read-from-minibuffer and completing-read now take an
4301additional argument which specifies the default value. If this
4302argument is non-nil, it should be a string; that string is used in two
4303ways:
4304
4305 It is returned if the user enters empty input.
4306 It is available through the history command M-n.
4307
4308*** The functions read-string, read-from-minibuffer,
4309read-no-blanks-input and completing-read now take an additional
4310argument INHERIT-INPUT-METHOD. If this is non-nil, then the
4311minibuffer inherits the current input method and the setting of
4312enable-multibyte-characters from the previously current buffer.
4313
4314In an interactive spec, you can use M instead of s to read an
4315argument in this way.
4316
4317*** All minibuffer input functions discard text properties
4318from the text you enter in the minibuffer, unless the variable
4319minibuffer-allow-text-properties is non-nil.
4320
4321** Echo area features
4322
4323*** Clearing the echo area now runs the normal hook
4324echo-area-clear-hook. Note that the echo area can be used while the
4325minibuffer is active; in that case, the minibuffer is still active
4326after the echo area is cleared.
4327
4328*** The function current-message returns the message currently displayed
4329in the echo area, or nil if there is none.
4330
4331** Keyboard input features
4332
4333*** tty-erase-char is a new variable that reports which character was
4334set up as the terminal's erase character when time Emacs was started.
4335
4336*** num-nonmacro-input-events is the total number of input events
4337received so far from the terminal. It does not count those generated
4338by keyboard macros.
4339
4340** Frame-related changes
4341
4342*** make-frame runs the normal hook before-make-frame-hook just before
4343creating a frame, and just after creating a frame it runs the abnormal
4344hook after-make-frame-functions with the new frame as arg.
4345
4346*** The new hook window-configuration-change-hook is now run every time
4347the window configuration has changed. The frame whose configuration
4348has changed is the selected frame when the hook is run.
4349
4350*** Each frame now independently records the order for recently
4351selected buffers, in its buffer-list frame parameter, so that the
4352value of other-buffer is now based on the buffers recently displayed
4353in the selected frame.
4354
4355*** The value of the frame parameter vertical-scroll-bars
4356is now `left', `right' or nil. A non-nil value specifies
4357which side of the window to put the scroll bars on.
4358
4359** X Windows features
4360
4361*** You can examine X resources for other applications by binding
4362x-resource-class around a call to x-get-resource. The usual value of
4363x-resource-class is "Emacs", which is the correct value for Emacs.
4364
4365*** In menus, checkboxes and radio buttons now actually work.
4366The menu displays the current status of the box or button.
4367
4368*** The function x-list-fonts now takes an optional fourth argument
4369MAXIMUM which sets a limit on how many matching fonts to return.
4370A smaller value of MAXIMUM makes the function faster.
4371
4372If the only question is whether *any* font matches the pattern,
4373it is good to supply 1 for this argument.
4374
4375** Subprocess features
4376
4377*** A reminder: it is no longer necessary for subprocess filter
4378functions and sentinels to do save-match-data, because Emacs does this
4379automatically.
4380
4381*** The new function shell-command-to-string executes a shell command
4382and returns the output from the command as a string.
4383
4384*** The new function process-contact returns t for a child process,
4385and (HOSTNAME SERVICE) for a net connection.
4386
4387** An error in running pre-command-hook or post-command-hook
4388does clear the variable to nil. The documentation was wrong before.
4389
4390** In define-key-after, if AFTER is t, the new binding now always goes
4391at the end of the keymap. If the keymap is a menu, this means it
4392goes after the other menu items.
4393
4394** If you have a program that makes several changes in the same area
4395of the buffer, you can use the macro combine-after-change-calls
4396around that Lisp code to make it faster when after-change hooks
4397are in use.
4398
4399The macro arranges to call the after-change functions just once for a
4400series of several changes--if that seems safe.
4401
4402Don't alter the variables after-change-functions and
4403after-change-function within the body of a combine-after-change-calls
4404form.
4405
4406** If you define an abbrev (with define-abbrev) whose EXPANSION
4407is not a string, then the abbrev does not expand in the usual sense,
4408but its hook is still run.
4409
4410** Normally, the Lisp debugger is not used (even if you have enabled it)
4411for errors that are handled by condition-case.
4412
4413If you set debug-on-signal to a non-nil value, then the debugger is called
4414regardless of whether there is a handler for the condition. This is
4415useful for debugging problems that happen inside of a condition-case.
4416
4417This mode of operation seems to be unreliable in other ways. Errors that
4418are normal and ought to be handled, perhaps in timers or process
4419filters, will instead invoke the debugger. So don't say you weren't
4420warned.
4421
4422** The new variable ring-bell-function lets you specify your own
4423way for Emacs to "ring the bell".
4424
4425** If run-at-time's TIME argument is t, the action is repeated at
4426integral multiples of REPEAT from the epoch; this is useful for
4427functions like display-time.
4428
4429** You can use the function locate-library to find the precise file
4430name of a Lisp library. This isn't new, but wasn't documented before.
4431
4432** Commands for entering view mode have new optional arguments that
4433can be used from Lisp. Low-level entrance to and exit from view mode
4434is done by functions view-mode-enter and view-mode-exit.
4435
4436** batch-byte-compile-file now makes Emacs return a nonzero status code
4437if there is an error in compilation.
4438
4439** pop-to-buffer, switch-to-buffer-other-window and
4440switch-to-buffer-other-frame now accept an additional optional
4441argument NORECORD, much like switch-to-buffer. If it is non-nil,
4442they don't put the buffer at the front of the buffer list.
4443
4444** If your .emacs file leaves the *scratch* buffer non-empty,
4445Emacs does not display the startup message, so as to avoid changing
4446the *scratch* buffer.
4447
4448** The new function regexp-opt returns an efficient regexp to match a string.
4449The arguments are STRINGS and (optionally) PAREN. This function can be used
4450where regexp matching or searching is intensively used and speed is important,
4451e.g., in Font Lock mode.
4452
4453** The variable buffer-display-count is local to each buffer,
4454and is incremented each time the buffer is displayed in a window.
4455It starts at 0 when the buffer is created.
4456
4457** The new function compose-mail starts composing a mail message
4458using the user's chosen mail composition agent (specified with the
4459variable mail-user-agent). It has variants compose-mail-other-window
4460and compose-mail-other-frame.
4461
4462** The `user-full-name' function now takes an optional parameter which
4463can either be a number (the UID) or a string (the login name). The
4464full name of the specified user will be returned.
4465
4466** Lisp packages that load files of customizations, or any other sort
4467of user profile, should obey the variable init-file-user in deciding
4468where to find it. They should load the profile of the user name found
4469in that variable. If init-file-user is nil, meaning that the -q
4470option was used, then Lisp packages should not load the customization
4471files at all.
4472
4473** format-time-string now allows you to specify the field width
4474and type of padding. This works as in printf: you write the field
4475width as digits in the middle of a %-construct. If you start
4476the field width with 0, it means to pad with zeros.
4477
4478For example, %S normally specifies the number of seconds since the
4479minute; %03S means to pad this with zeros to 3 positions, %_3S to pad
4480with spaces to 3 positions. Plain %3S pads with zeros, because that
4481is how %S normally pads to two positions.
4482
4483** thing-at-point now supports a new kind of "thing": url.
4484
4485** imenu.el changes.
4486
4487You can now specify a function to be run when selecting an
4488item from menu created by imenu.
4489
4490An example of using this feature: if we define imenu items for the
4491#include directives in a C file, we can open the included file when we
4492select one of those items.
4493
4494\f
4495----------------------------------------------------------------------
5b87ad55 4496This file is part of GNU Emacs.
9a21d88b 4497
ab73e885 4498GNU Emacs is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
5b87ad55 4499it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
ab73e885
GM
4500the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
4501(at your option) any later version.
5b87ad55
GM
4502
4503GNU Emacs is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
4504but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
4505MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
4506GNU General Public License for more details.
9a21d88b 4507
5b87ad55 4508You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
ab73e885 4509along with GNU Emacs. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
9a21d88b 4510
9a21d88b
KS
4511\f
4512Local variables:
4513mode: outline
4514paragraph-separate: "[ \f]*$"
4515end: