1 @c This is part of the Emacs manual.
2 @c Copyright (C) 1987, 1993-1995, 1997, 2001-2011
3 @c Free Software Foundation, Inc.
4 @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
5 @node X Resources, Antinews, Emacs Invocation, Top
6 @appendix X Options and Resources
8 You can customize some X-related aspects of Emacs behavior using X
9 resources, as is usual for programs that use X. On MS-Windows, you
10 can customize some of the same aspects using the system registry.
11 @xref{MS-Windows Registry}.
13 When Emacs is built using an ``X toolkit'', such as Lucid or
14 LessTif, you need to use X resources to customize the appearance of
15 the widgets, including the menu-bar, scroll-bar, and dialog boxes.
16 This is because the libraries that implement these don't provide for
17 customization through Emacs. GTK+ widgets use a separate system of
19 ``GTK resources'', which we will also describe.
22 ``GTK resources.'' In this chapter we describe the most commonly used
23 resource specifications. For full documentation, see the online
26 @c Add xref for LessTif/Motif menu resources.
31 * Resources:: Using X resources with Emacs (in general).
32 * Table of Resources:: Table of specific X resources that affect Emacs.
33 * Face Resources:: X resources for customizing faces.
34 * Lucid Resources:: X resources for Lucid menus.
35 * LessTif Resources:: X resources for LessTif and Motif menus.
36 * GTK resources:: Resources for GTK widgets.
40 @appendixsec X Resources
43 @cindex @file{~/.Xdefaults} file
44 @cindex @file{~/.Xresources} file
46 Programs running under the X Window System organize their user
47 options under a hierarchy of classes and resources. You can specify
48 default values for these options in your @dfn{X resource file},
49 usually named @file{~/.Xdefaults} or @file{~/.Xresources}. Changes in
50 this file do not take effect immediately, because the X server stores
51 its own list of resources; to update it, use the command
52 @command{xrdb}---for instance, @samp{xrdb ~/.Xdefaults}.
54 @cindex Registry (MS-Windows)
55 (MS-Windows systems do not support X resource files; on Windows,
56 Emacs looks for X resources in the Windows Registry, first under the
57 key @samp{HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\GNU\Emacs} and then under the key
58 @samp{HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\GNU\Emacs}. The menu and scroll
59 bars are native widgets on MS-Windows, so they are only customizable
60 via the system-wide settings in the Display Control Panel. You can
61 also set resources using the @samp{-xrm} command line option, as
64 Each line in the X resource file specifies a value for one option or
65 for a collection of related options. Each resource specification
66 consists of a @dfn{program name} and a @dfn{resource name}. Case
67 distinctions are significant in each of these names. Here is an
75 The program name is the name of the executable file to which the
76 resource applies. For Emacs, this is normally @samp{emacs}. To
77 specify a definition that applies to all instances of Emacs,
78 regardless of the name of the Emacs executable, use @samp{Emacs}.
80 The resource name is the name of a program setting. For instance,
81 Emacs recognizes a @samp{borderWidth} resource that controls the width
82 of the external border for graphical frames.
84 Resources are grouped into named classes. For instance, the
85 @samp{BorderWidth} class contains both the @samp{borderWidth} resource
86 (which we just described), as well as the @samp{internalBorder}
87 resource, which controls the width of the internal border for
88 graphical frames. Instead of using a resource name, you can use a
89 class name to specify the same value for all resources in that class.
96 If you specify a value for a class, it becomes the default for all
97 resources in that class. You can specify values for individual
98 resources as well; these override the class value, for those
99 particular resources. The following example specifies 2 as the
100 default width for all borders, but overrides this value with 4 for the
109 The order in which the lines appear in the file does not matter.
110 One way to experiment with the effect of different resource settings
111 is to use the @code{editres} program. See the @code{editres} man page
114 Emacs does not process X resources at all if you set the variable
115 @code{inhibit-x-resources} to a non-@code{nil} value, or if you
116 specify the @samp{-Q} (or @samp{--quick}) command-line argument
117 (@pxref{Initial Options}). (The @samp{-Q} argument automatically sets
118 @code{inhibit-x-resources} to @code{t}.)
121 In addition, you can use the following command-line options to
122 override the X resources file:
125 @item -name @var{name}
127 @itemx --name=@var{name}
128 @cindex resource name, command-line argument
129 This option sets the program name of the initial Emacs frame to
130 @var{name}. It also sets the title of the initial frame to
131 @var{name}. This option does not affect subsequent frames.
133 If you don't specify this option, the default is to use the Emacs
134 executable's name as the program name.
136 For consistency, @samp{-name} also specifies the name to use for other
137 resource values that do not belong to any particular frame.
139 The resources that name Emacs invocations also belong to a class,
140 named @samp{Emacs}. If you write @samp{Emacs} instead of
141 @samp{emacs}, the resource applies to all frames in all Emacs jobs,
142 regardless of frame titles and regardless of the name of the
145 @item -xrm @var{resource-values}
147 @itemx --xrm=@var{resource-values}
148 @cindex resource values, command-line argument
149 This option specifies X resource values for the present Emacs job.
151 @var{resource-values} should have the same format that you would use
152 inside a file of X resources. To include multiple resource
153 specifications in @var{resource-values}, put a newline between them,
154 just as you would in a file. You can also use @samp{#include
155 "@var{filename}"} to include a file full of resource specifications.
156 Resource values specified with @samp{-xrm} take precedence over all
157 other resource specifications.
161 @node Table of Resources
162 @appendixsec Table of X Resources for Emacs
164 This table lists the resource names that designate options for
165 Emacs, not counting those for the appearance of the menu bar, each
166 with the class that it belongs to:
169 @item @code{background} (class @code{Background})
170 Background color name.
173 @item @code{bitmapIcon} (class @code{BitmapIcon})
174 Use a bitmap icon (a picture of a gnu) if @samp{on}, let the window
175 manager choose an icon if @samp{off}.
178 @item @code{borderColor} (class @code{BorderColor})
179 Color name for the external border.
182 @item @code{borderWidth} (class @code{BorderWidth})
183 Width in pixels of the external border.
186 @item @code{cursorColor} (class @code{Foreground})
187 Color name for text cursor (point).
190 @item @code{cursorBlink} (class @code{CursorBlink})
191 Specifies whether to make the cursor blink. The default is @samp{on}. Use
192 @samp{off} or @samp{false} to turn cursor blinking off.
195 @item @code{font} (class @code{Font})
196 Font name for the @code{default} font. @xref{Fonts}. You can also
197 specify a fontset name (@pxref{Fontsets}).
199 @item @code{fontBackend} (class @code{FontBackend})
200 The backend(s) to use for drawing fonts; if multiple backends are
201 specified, they must be comma-delimited and given in order of
202 precedence. On X, for instance, the value @samp{x,xft} tells Emacs to
203 draw fonts using the X core font driver, falling back on the Xft font
204 driver if that fails. Normally, you can leave this resource unset, in
205 which case Emacs tries using all font backends available on your
208 @item @code{foreground} (class @code{Foreground})
211 @item @code{geometry} (class @code{Geometry})
212 Window size and position. Be careful not to specify this resource as
213 @samp{emacs*geometry}, because that may affect individual menus as well
214 as the Emacs frame itself.
216 If this resource specifies a position, that position applies only to the
217 initial Emacs frame (or, in the case of a resource for a specific frame
218 name, only that frame). However, the size, if specified here, applies to
222 @item @code{fullscreen} (class @code{Fullscreen})
223 The desired fullscreen size. The value can be one of @code{fullboth},
224 @code{maximized}, @code{fullwidth} or @code{fullheight}, which correspond to
225 the command-line options @samp{-fs}, @samp{-mm}, @samp{-fw}, and @samp{-fh}
226 (@pxref{Window Size X}).
228 Note that this applies to the initial frame only.
231 @item @code{iconName} (class @code{Title})
232 Name to display in the icon.
234 @item @code{internalBorder} (class @code{BorderWidth})
235 Width in pixels of the internal border.
237 @item @code{lineSpacing} (class @code{LineSpacing})
240 Additional space (@dfn{leading}) between lines, in pixels.
242 @item @code{menuBar} (class @code{MenuBar})
244 Give frames menu bars if @samp{on}; don't have menu bars if @samp{off}.
246 @xref{Lucid Resources}, and @ref{LessTif Resources},
249 @xref{Lucid Resources},
251 for how to control the appearance of the menu bar if you have one.
254 @item @code{minibuffer} (class @code{Minibuffer})
255 If @samp{none}, don't make a minibuffer in this frame.
256 It will use a separate minibuffer frame instead.
258 @item @code{paneFont} (class @code{Font})
259 @cindex font for menus
260 Font name for menu pane titles, in non-toolkit versions of Emacs.
263 @item @code{pointerColor} (class @code{Foreground})
264 Color of the mouse cursor.
267 @item @code{privateColormap} (class @code{PrivateColormap})
268 If @samp{on}, use a private color map, in the case where the ``default
269 visual'' of class PseudoColor and Emacs is using it.
271 @item @code{reverseVideo} (class @code{ReverseVideo})
272 Switch foreground and background default colors if @samp{on}, use colors as
273 specified if @samp{off}.
276 @item @code{screenGamma} (class @code{ScreenGamma})
277 @cindex gamma correction
278 Gamma correction for colors, equivalent to the frame parameter
281 @item @code{scrollBarWidth} (class @code{ScrollBarWidth})
282 @cindex scrollbar width
283 The scroll bar width in pixels, equivalent to the frame parameter
284 @code{scroll-bar-width}.
287 @item @code{selectionFont} (class @code{SelectionFont})
288 Font name for pop-up menu items, in non-toolkit versions of Emacs. (For
289 toolkit versions, see @ref{Lucid Resources}, also see @ref{LessTif
292 @item @code{selectionTimeout} (class @code{SelectionTimeout})
293 Number of milliseconds to wait for a selection reply.
294 If the selection owner doesn't reply in this time, we give up.
295 A value of 0 means wait as long as necessary.
297 @item @code{synchronous} (class @code{Synchronous})
298 @cindex debugging X problems
299 @cindex synchronous X mode
300 Run Emacs in synchronous mode if @samp{on}. Synchronous mode is
301 useful for debugging X problems.
304 @item @code{title} (class @code{Title})
305 Name to display in the title bar of the initial Emacs frame.
307 @item @code{toolBar} (class @code{ToolBar})
309 Number of lines to reserve for the tool bar. A zero value suppresses
310 the tool bar. For the Emacs tool bar (i.e. not Gtk+), if the value is
311 non-zero and @code{auto-resize-tool-bars} is non-@code{nil}, the tool bar's
312 size will be changed automatically so that all tool bar items are visible.
313 If the value of @code{auto-resize-tool-bars} is @code{grow-only},
314 the tool bar expands automatically, but does not contract automatically.
315 To contract the tool bar, you must redraw the frame by entering @kbd{C-l}.
316 For the Gtk+ tool bar, any non-zero value means on and
317 @code{auto-resize-tool-bars} has no effect.
319 @item @code{useXIM} (class @code{UseXIM})
321 @cindex X input methods
322 @cindex input methods, X
323 Turn off use of X input methods (XIM) if @samp{false} or @samp{off}.
324 This is only relevant if your Emacs is actually built with XIM
325 support. It is potentially useful to turn off XIM for efficiency,
326 especially slow X client/server links.
328 @item @code{verticalScrollBars} (class @code{ScrollBars})
329 Give frames scroll bars if @samp{on}; don't have scroll bars if
333 @item @code{visualClass} (class @code{VisualClass})
334 Specify the ``visual'' that X should use. This tells X how to handle
337 The value should start with one of @samp{TrueColor},
338 @samp{PseudoColor}, @samp{DirectColor}, @samp{StaticColor},
339 @samp{GrayScale}, and @samp{StaticGray}, followed by
340 @samp{-@var{depth}}, where @var{depth} is the number of color planes.
341 Most terminals only allow a few ``visuals,'' and the @samp{dpyinfo}
342 program outputs information saying which ones.
347 @appendixsec X Resources for Faces
349 You can use resources to customize the appearance of particular
350 faces (@pxref{Faces}):
353 @item @var{face}.attributeForeground
354 Foreground color for face @var{face}.
355 @item @var{face}.attributeBackground
356 Background color for face @var{face}.
357 @item @var{face}.attributeUnderline
358 Underline flag for face @var{face}. Use @samp{on} or @samp{true} for
360 @item @var{face}.attributeStrikeThrough
361 @itemx @var{face}.attributeOverline
362 @itemx @var{face}.attributeBox
363 @itemx @var{face}.attributeInverse
364 Likewise, for other boolean font attributes.
365 @item @var{face}.attributeStipple
366 The name of a pixmap data file to use for the stipple pattern, or
367 @code{false} to not use stipple for the face @var{face}.
368 @item @var{face}.attributeBackgroundPixmap
369 The background pixmap for the face @var{face}. Should be a name of a
370 pixmap file or @code{false}.
371 @item @var{face}.attributeFont
372 Font name (full XFD name or valid X abbreviation) for face @var{face}.
373 Instead of this, you can specify the font through separate attributes.
376 Instead of using @code{attributeFont} to specify a font name, you can
377 select a font through these separate attributes:
380 @item @var{face}.attributeFamily
381 Font family for face @var{face}.
382 @item @var{face}.attributeHeight
383 Height of the font to use for face @var{face}: either an integer
384 specifying the height in units of 1/10@dmn{pt}, or a floating point
385 number that specifies a scale factor to scale the underlying face's
386 default font, or a function to be called with the default height which
387 will return a new height.
388 @item @var{face}.attributeWidth
389 @itemx @var{face}.attributeWeight
390 @itemx @var{face}.attributeSlant
391 Each of these resources corresponds to a like-named font attribute,
392 and you write the resource value the same as the symbol you would use
393 for the font attribute value.
394 @item @var{face}.attributeBold
395 Bold flag for face @var{face}---instead of @code{attributeWeight}. Use @samp{on} or @samp{true} for
397 @item @var{face}.attributeItalic
398 Italic flag for face @var{face}---instead of @code{attributeSlant}.
401 @node Lucid Resources
402 @appendixsec Lucid Menu And Dialog X Resources
403 @cindex Menu X Resources (Lucid widgets)
404 @cindex Dialog X Resources (Lucid widgets)
405 @cindex Lucid Widget X Resources
408 If the Emacs installed at your site was built to use the X toolkit
409 with the Lucid menu widgets, then the menu bar is a separate widget and
410 has its own resources. The resource names contain @samp{pane.menubar}
411 (following, as always, the name of the Emacs invocation, or @samp{Emacs},
412 which stands for all Emacs invocations). Specify them like this:
415 Emacs.pane.menubar.@var{resource}: @var{value}
419 For example, to specify the font @samp{Courier-12} for the menu-bar items,
423 If the Emacs installed at your site was built to use the X toolkit
424 with the Lucid menu widgets, then the menu bar is a separate widget
425 and has its own resources. The resource specifications start with
426 @samp{Emacs.pane.menubar}---for instance, to specify the font
427 @samp{Courier-12} for the menu-bar items, write this:
431 Emacs.pane.menubar.font: Courier-12
435 To specify a font, use fontconfig font names as values to the @code{font}
436 resource, or old style names:
439 Emacs.pane.menubar.font: lucidasanstypewriter-10
443 Emacs first tries to open the font as an old style font, and if that fails
444 as an fontconfig font. In rare cases, Emacs might do the wrong thing.
447 The Lucid menus can display multilingual text in your locale with old style
448 fonts. For more information about fontsets see the man page for
449 @code{XCreateFontSet}. To enable multilingual menu text you specify a
450 @code{fontSet} resource instead of the font resource. If both
451 @code{font} and @code{fontSet} resources are specified, the
452 @code{fontSet} resource is used.
454 Thus, to specify @samp{-*-helvetica-medium-r-*--*-120-*-*-*-*-*-*,*}
455 for both the popup and menu bar menus, write this:
458 Emacs*menu*fontSet: -*-helvetica-medium-r-*--*-120-*-*-*-*-*-*,*
462 Resources for @emph{non-menubar} toolkit pop-up menus have
463 @samp{menu*} instead of @samp{pane.menubar}. For example, to specify
464 the font @samp{8x16} for the pop-up menu items, write this:
467 Emacs.menu*.font: 8x16
471 For dialog boxes, use @samp{dialog*}:
474 Emacs.dialog*.font: Sans-12
478 The @samp{*menu*} as a wildcard matches @samp{pane.menubar} and
481 Experience shows that on some systems you may need to add
482 @samp{shell.}@: before the @samp{pane.menubar} or @samp{menu*}. On
483 some other systems, you must not add @samp{shell.}. The generic wildcard
484 approach should work on both kinds of systems.
486 Here is a list of the specific resources for menu bars and pop-up menus:
490 Font for menu item text.
492 Fontset for menu item text.
494 Color of the foreground.
496 Color of the background.
497 @item buttonForeground
498 In the menu bar, the color of the foreground for a selected item.
500 @item horizontalSpacing
501 Horizontal spacing in pixels between items. Default is 3.
502 @item verticalSpacing
503 Vertical spacing in pixels between items. Default is 2.
505 Horizontal spacing between the arrow (which indicates a submenu) and
506 the associated text. Default is 10.
507 @item shadowThickness
508 Thickness of shadow line around the widget. Default is 1.
510 Also determines the thickness of shadow lines around other objects,
511 for instance 3D buttons and arrows. If you have the impression that
512 the arrows in the menus do not stand out clearly enough or that the
513 difference between ``in'' and ``out'' buttons is difficult to see, set
514 this to 2. If you have no problems with visibility, the default
515 probably looks better. The background color may also have some effect
519 The margin of the menu bar, in characters. Default is 1.
523 @node LessTif Resources
524 @appendixsec LessTif Menu X Resources
525 @cindex Menu X Resources (LessTif widgets)
526 @cindex LessTif Widget X Resources
528 If the Emacs installed at your site was built to use the X toolkit
529 with the LessTif or Motif widgets, then the menu bar, the dialog
530 boxes, the pop-up menus, and the file-selection box are separate
531 widgets and have their own resources.
533 The resource names for the menu bar contain @samp{pane.menubar}
534 (following, as always, the name of the Emacs invocation, or
535 @samp{Emacs}, which stands for all Emacs invocations). Specify them
539 Emacs.pane.menubar.@var{subwidget}.@var{resource}: @var{value}
542 Each individual string in the menu bar is a subwidget; the subwidget's
543 name is the same as the menu item string. For example, the word
544 @samp{File} in the menu bar is part of a subwidget named
545 @samp{emacs.pane.menubar.File}. Most likely, you want to specify the
546 same resources for the whole menu bar. To do this, use @samp{*} instead
547 of a specific subwidget name. For example, to specify the font
548 @samp{8x16} for the menu-bar items, write this:
551 Emacs.pane.menubar.*.fontList: 8x16
555 This also specifies the resource value for submenus.
557 Each item in a submenu in the menu bar also has its own name for X
558 resources; for example, the @samp{File} submenu has an item named
559 @samp{Save (current buffer)}. A resource specification for a submenu
560 item looks like this:
563 Emacs.pane.menubar.popup_*.@var{menu}.@var{item}.@var{resource}: @var{value}
567 For example, here's how to specify the font for the @samp{Save (current
571 Emacs.pane.menubar.popup_*.File.Save (current buffer).fontList: 8x16
575 For an item in a second-level submenu, such as @samp{Complete Word}
576 under @samp{Spell Checking} under @samp{Tools}, the resource fits this
580 Emacs.pane.menubar.popup_*.popup_*.@var{menu}.@var{resource}: @var{value}
587 Emacs.pane.menubar.popup_*.popup_*.Spell Checking.Complete Word: @var{value}
591 (This should be one long line.)
593 It's impossible to specify a resource for all the menu-bar items
594 without also specifying it for the submenus as well. So if you want the
595 submenu items to look different from the menu bar itself, you must ask
596 for that in two steps. First, specify the resource for all of them;
597 then, override the value for submenus alone. Here is an example:
600 Emacs.pane.menubar.*.fontList: 8x16
601 Emacs.pane.menubar.popup_*.fontList: 8x16
605 For LessTif pop-up menus, use @samp{menu*} instead of
606 @samp{pane.menubar}. For example, to specify the font @samp{8x16} for
607 the pop-up menu items, write this:
610 Emacs.menu*.fontList: 8x16
614 For LessTif dialog boxes, use @samp{dialog} instead of @samp{menu}:
617 Emacs.dialog*.fontList: 8x16
618 Emacs.dialog*.foreground: hotpink
621 To specify resources for the LessTif file-selection box, use
622 @samp{fsb*}, like this:
625 Emacs.fsb*.fontList: 8x16
631 Here is a list of the specific resources for LessTif menu bars and
636 The color to show in an armed button.
645 Amount of space to leave around the item, within the border.
647 The width of the border around the menu item, on all sides.
648 @item shadowThickness
649 The width of the border shadow.
650 @item bottomShadowColor
651 The color for the border shadow, on the bottom and the right.
653 The color for the border shadow, on the top and the left.
659 @appendixsec GTK resources
661 The most common way to customize the GTK widgets Emacs uses (menus, dialogs
662 tool bars and scroll bars) is by choosing an appropriate theme, for example
663 with the GNOME theme selector.
665 You can also do Emacs specific customization
666 by inserting GTK style directives in the file @file{~/.emacs.d/gtkrc},
667 but only if you have a Gtk+ version earlier than 3 (i.e. 2). Some GTK
668 themes ignore customizations in @file{~/.emacs.d/gtkrc} so not everything
669 works with all themes. To customize Emacs font, background, faces, etc., use
670 the normal X resources (@pxref{Resources}). We will present some examples of
671 customizations here, but for a more detailed description, see the online manual
673 The first example is just one line. It changes the font on all GTK widgets
674 to courier with size 12:
677 gtk-font-name = "courier 12"
680 The thing to note is that the font name is not an X font name, like
681 -*-helvetica-medium-r-*--*-120-*-*-*-*-*-*, but a Pango font name. A Pango
682 font name is basically of the format "family style size", where the style
683 is optional as in the case above. A name with a style could be for example:
686 gtk-font-name = "helvetica bold 10"
689 To customize widgets you first define a style and then apply the style to
690 the widgets. Here is an example that sets the font for menus, but not
694 # @r{Define the style @samp{menufont}.}
697 font_name = "helvetica bold 14" # This is a Pango font name
700 # @r{Specify that widget type @samp{*emacs-menuitem*} uses @samp{menufont}.}
701 widget "*emacs-menuitem*" style "menufont"
704 The widget name in this example contains wildcards, so the style will be
705 applied to all widgets that match "*emacs-menuitem*". The widgets are
706 named by the way they are contained, from the outer widget to the inner widget.
707 So to apply the style "my_style" (not shown) with the full, absolute name, for
708 the menubar and the scroll bar in Emacs we use:
711 widget "Emacs.pane.menubar" style "my_style"
712 widget "Emacs.pane.emacs.verticalScrollBar" style "my_style"
715 But to avoid having to type it all, wildcards are often used. @samp{*}
716 matches zero or more characters and @samp{?} matches one character. So "*"
719 Each widget has a class (for example GtkMenuItem) and a name (emacs-menuitem).
720 You can assign styles by name or by class. In this example we have used the
726 font_name = "helvetica bold 14"
729 widget_class "*GtkMenuBar" style "menufont"
733 The names and classes for the GTK widgets Emacs uses are:
735 @multitable {@code{verticalScrollbar plus}} {@code{GtkFileSelection} and some}
736 @item @code{emacs-filedialog}
737 @tab @code{GtkFileSelection}
738 @item @code{emacs-dialog}
739 @tab @code{GtkDialog}
741 @tab @code{GtkWindow}
746 @item @code{verticalScrollBar}
747 @tab @code{GtkVScrollbar}
748 @item @code{emacs-toolbar}
749 @tab @code{GtkToolbar}
751 @tab @code{GtkMenuBar}
752 @item @code{emacs-menuitem}
753 @tab anything in menus
756 GTK absolute names are quite strange when it comes to menus
757 and dialogs. The names do not start with @samp{Emacs}, as they are
758 free-standing windows and not contained (in the GTK sense) by the
759 Emacs GtkWindow. To customize the dialogs and menus, use wildcards like this:
762 widget "*emacs-dialog*" style "my_dialog_style"
763 widget "*emacs-filedialog* style "my_file_style"
764 widget "*emacs-menuitem* style "my_menu_style"
767 If you specify a customization in @file{~/.emacs.d/gtkrc}, then it
768 automatically applies only to Emacs, since other programs don't read
769 that file. For example, the drop down menu in the file dialog can not
770 be customized by any absolute widget name, only by an absolute class
771 name. This is because the widgets in the drop down menu do not
772 have names and the menu is not contained in the Emacs GtkWindow. To
773 have all menus in Emacs look the same, use this in
774 @file{~/.emacs.d/gtkrc}:
777 widget_class "*Menu*" style "my_menu_style"
780 Here is a more elaborate example, showing how to change the parts of
786 fg[NORMAL] = "red"@ @ @ @ @ # @r{The arrow color.}
787 bg[NORMAL] = "yellow"@ @ # @r{The thumb and background around the arrow.}
788 bg[ACTIVE] = "blue"@ @ @ @ # @r{The trough color.}
789 bg[PRELIGHT] = "white"@ # @r{The thumb color when the mouse is over it.}
792 widget "*verticalScrollBar*" style "scroll"
797 @cindex GTK resources and customization
798 @cindex resource files for GTK
799 @cindex @file{~/.gtkrc-2.0} file
800 @cindex @file{~/.emacs.d/gtkrc} file
802 If Emacs was built to use the GTK widget set, then the menu bar, tool bar,
803 scroll bar and the dialogs are customized with the standard GTK
804 customization file, @file{~/.gtkrc-2.0}, or with the Emacs specific
805 file @file{~/.emacs.d/gtkrc}. We recommend that you use
806 @file{~/.emacs.d/gtkrc} for customizations, since @file{~/.gtkrc-2.0}
807 seems to be ignored when running GConf with GNOME. These files apply
808 only to GTK widget features. To customize Emacs font, background,
809 faces, etc., use the normal X resources (@pxref{Resources}).
811 Some GTK themes override these mechanisms, which means that using
812 these mechanisms will not work to customize them.
814 In these files you first define a style and say what it means; then
815 you specify to apply the style to various widget types (@pxref{GTK
816 widget names}). Here is an example of how to change the font for
820 # @r{Define the style @samp{menufont}.}
823 font_name = "helvetica bold 14" # This is a Pango font name
826 # @r{Specify that widget type @samp{*emacs-menuitem*} uses @samp{menufont}.}
827 widget "*emacs-menuitem*" style "menufont"
830 Here is a more elaborate example, showing how to change the parts of
836 fg[NORMAL] = "red"@ @ @ @ @ # @r{The arrow color.}
837 bg[NORMAL] = "yellow"@ @ # @r{The thumb and background around the arrow.}
838 bg[ACTIVE] = "blue"@ @ @ @ # @r{The trough color.}
839 bg[PRELIGHT] = "white"@ # @r{The thumb color when the mouse is over it.}
842 widget "*verticalScrollBar*" style "scroll"
845 There are also parameters that affect GTK as a whole. For example,
846 the property @code{gtk-font-name} sets the default font for GTK. You
847 must use Pango font names (@pxref{GTK styles}). A GTK resources file
848 that just sets a default font looks like this:
851 gtk-font-name = "courier 12"
854 The GTK resources file is fully described in the GTK API document.
856 @file{@var{prefix}/share/gtk-doc/html/gtk/gtk-resource-files.html},
857 where @file{prefix} is the directory in which the GTK libraries were
858 installed (usually @file{/usr} or @file{/usr/local}). You can also
859 find the document online, at
860 @uref{http://developer.gnome.org/doc/API/2.0/gtk/gtk-Resource-Files.html}.
863 * GTK widget names:: How widgets in GTK are named in general.
864 * GTK Names in Emacs:: GTK widget names in Emacs.
865 * GTK styles:: What can be customized in a GTK widget.
868 @node GTK widget names
869 @appendixsubsec GTK widget names
870 @cindex GTK widget names
872 A GTK widget is specified by its @dfn{widget class} and
873 @dfn{widget name}. The widget class is the type of the widget: for
874 example, @code{GtkMenuBar}. The widget name is the name given to a
875 specific widget. A widget always has a class, but need not have a
878 @dfn{Absolute names} are sequences of widget names or widget
879 classes, corresponding to hierarchies of widgets embedded within
880 other widgets. For example, if a @code{GtkWindow} named @code{top}
881 contains a @code{GtkVBox} named @code{box}, which in turn contains
882 a @code{GtkMenuBar} called @code{menubar}, the absolute class name
883 of the menu-bar widget is @code{GtkWindow.GtkVBox.GtkMenuBar}, and
884 its absolute widget name is @code{top.box.menubar}.
886 When assigning a style to a widget, you can use the absolute class
887 name or the absolute widget name.
889 There are two commands to specify changes for widgets:
892 @item @code{widget_class}
893 specifies a style for widgets based on the absolute class name.
896 specifies a style for widgets based on the absolute class name,
901 You must specify the class and the style in double-quotes, and put
902 these commands at the top level in the GTK customization file, like
908 font_name = "helvetica bold 14"
911 widget "top.box.menubar" style "menufont"
912 widget_class "GtkWindow.GtkVBox.GtkMenuBar" style "menufont"
915 Matching of absolute names uses shell wildcard syntax: @samp{*}
916 matches zero or more characters and @samp{?} matches one character.
917 This example assigns @code{base_style} to all widgets:
920 widget "*" style "base_style"
923 Given the absolute class name @code{GtkWindow.GtkVBox.GtkMenuBar}
924 and the corresponding absolute widget name @code{top.box.menubar}, all
925 these examples specify @code{my_style} for the menu bar:
928 widget_class "GtkWindow.GtkVBox.GtkMenuBar" style "my_style"
929 widget_class "GtkWindow.*.GtkMenuBar" style "my_style"
930 widget_class "*GtkMenuBar" style "my_style"
931 widget "top.box.menubar" style "my_style"
932 widget "*box*menubar" style "my_style"
933 widget "*menubar" style "my_style"
934 widget "*menu*" style "my_style"
937 @node GTK Names in Emacs
938 @appendixsubsec GTK Widget Names in Emacs
939 @cindex GTK widget names
940 @cindex GTK widget classes
942 In Emacs, the top level widget for a frame is a @code{GtkWindow}
943 that contains a @code{GtkVBox}. The @code{GtkVBox} contains the
944 @code{GtkMenuBar} and a @code{GtkFixed} widget. The vertical scroll
945 bars, @code{GtkVScrollbar}, are contained in the @code{GtkFixed}
946 widget. The text you write in Emacs is drawn in the @code{GtkFixed}
949 Dialogs in Emacs are @code{GtkDialog} widgets. The file dialog is a
950 @code{GtkFileSelection} widget.
953 To set a style for the menu bar using the absolute class name, use:
956 widget_class "GtkWindow.GtkVBox.GtkMenuBar" style "my_style"
960 For the scroll bar, the absolute class name is:
964 "GtkWindow.GtkVBox.GtkFixed.GtkVScrollbar"
969 The names for the emacs widgets, and their classes, are:
971 @multitable {@code{verticalScrollbar plus}} {@code{GtkFileSelection} and some}
972 @item @code{emacs-filedialog}
973 @tab @code{GtkFileSelection}
974 @item @code{emacs-dialog}
975 @tab @code{GtkDialog}
977 @tab @code{GtkWindow}
982 @item @code{verticalScrollBar}
983 @tab @code{GtkVScrollbar}
984 @item @code{emacs-toolbar}
985 @tab @code{GtkToolbar}
987 @tab @code{GtkMenuBar}
988 @item @code{emacs-menuitem}
989 @tab anything in menus
993 Thus, for Emacs you can write the two examples above as:
996 widget "Emacs.pane.menubar" style "my_style"
997 widget "Emacs.pane.emacs.verticalScrollBar" style "my_style"
1000 GTK absolute names are quite strange when it comes to menus
1001 and dialogs. The names do not start with @samp{Emacs}, as they are
1002 free-standing windows and not contained (in the GTK sense) by the
1003 Emacs GtkWindow. To customize the dialogs and menus, use wildcards like this:
1006 widget "*emacs-dialog*" style "my_dialog_style"
1007 widget "*emacs-filedialog* style "my_file_style"
1008 widget "*emacs-menuitem* style "my_menu_style"
1011 If you specify a customization in @file{~/.emacs.d/gtkrc}, then it
1012 automatically applies only to Emacs, since other programs don't read
1013 that file. For example, the drop down menu in the file dialog can not
1014 be customized by any absolute widget name, only by an absolute class
1015 name. This is because the widgets in the drop down menu do not
1016 have names and the menu is not contained in the Emacs GtkWindow. To
1017 have all menus in Emacs look the same, use this in
1018 @file{~/.emacs.d/gtkrc}:
1021 widget_class "*Menu*" style "my_menu_style"
1025 @appendixsubsec GTK styles
1028 In a GTK style you specify the appearance widgets shall have. You
1029 can specify foreground and background color, background pixmap and
1030 font. The edit widget (where you edit the text) in Emacs is a GTK
1031 widget, but trying to specify a style for the edit widget will have no
1032 effect. This is so that Emacs compiled for GTK is compatible with
1033 Emacs compiled for other X toolkits. The settings for foreground,
1034 background and font for the edit widget is taken from the X resources;
1035 @pxref{Resources}. Here is an example of two style declarations,
1036 @samp{default} and @samp{ruler}:
1039 pixmap_path "/usr/share/pixmaps:/usr/include/X11/pixmaps"
1043 font_name = "helvetica 12"
1045 bg[NORMAL] = @{ 0.83, 0.80, 0.73 @}
1046 bg[SELECTED] = @{ 0.0, 0.55, 0.55 @}
1047 bg[INSENSITIVE] = @{ 0.77, 0.77, 0.66 @}
1048 bg[ACTIVE] = @{ 0.0, 0.55, 0.55 @}
1049 bg[PRELIGHT] = @{ 0.0, 0.55, 0.55 @}
1051 fg[NORMAL] = "black"
1052 fg[SELECTED] = @{ 0.9, 0.9, 0.9 @}
1053 fg[ACTIVE] = "black"
1054 fg[PRELIGHT] = @{ 0.9, 0.9, 0.9 @}
1056 base[INSENSITIVE] = "#777766"
1057 text[INSENSITIVE] = @{ 0.60, 0.65, 0.57 @}
1059 bg_pixmap[NORMAL] = "background.xpm"
1060 bg_pixmap[INSENSITIVE] = "background.xpm"
1061 bg_pixmap[ACTIVE] = "background.xpm"
1062 bg_pixmap[PRELIGHT] = "<none>"
1066 style "ruler" = "default"
1068 font_name = "helvetica 8"
1073 The style @samp{ruler} inherits from @samp{default}. This way you can build
1074 on existing styles. The syntax for fonts and colors is described below.
1076 As this example shows, it is possible to specify several values for
1077 foreground and background depending on the widget's @dfn{state}. The
1078 possible states are:
1082 This is the default state for widgets.
1084 This is the state for a widget that is ready to do something. It is
1085 also for the trough of a scroll bar, i.e. @code{bg[ACTIVE] = "red"}
1086 sets the scroll bar trough to red. Buttons that have been pressed but
1087 not released yet (``armed'') are in this state.
1089 This is the state for a widget that can be manipulated, when the mouse
1090 pointer is over it---for example when the mouse is over the thumb in
1091 the scroll bar or over a menu item. When the mouse is over a button
1092 that is not pressed, the button is in this state.
1094 This is the state for data that has been selected by the user. It can
1095 be selected text or items selected in a list. This state is not used
1098 This is the state for widgets that are visible, but they can not be
1099 manipulated in the usual way---for example, buttons that can't be
1100 pressed, and disabled menu items. To display disabled menu items in
1101 yellow, use @code{fg[INSENSITIVE] = "yellow"}.
1104 Here are the things that can go in a style declaration:
1107 @item bg[@var{state}] = @var{color}
1108 This specifies the background color for the widget. Note that
1109 editable text doesn't use @code{bg}; it uses @code{base} instead.
1111 @item base[@var{state}] = @var{color}
1112 This specifies the background color for editable text. In Emacs, this
1113 color is used for the background of the text fields in the file
1116 @item bg_pixmap[@var{state}] = "@var{pixmap}"
1117 This specifies an image background (instead of a background color).
1118 @var{pixmap} should be the image file name. GTK can use a number of
1119 image file formats, including XPM, XBM, GIF, JPEG and PNG. If you
1120 want a widget to use the same image as its parent, use
1121 @samp{<parent>}. If you don't want any image, use @samp{<none>}.
1122 @samp{<none>} is the way to cancel a background image inherited from a
1125 You can't specify the file by its absolute file name. GTK looks for
1126 the pixmap file in directories specified in @code{pixmap_path}.
1127 @code{pixmap_path} is a colon-separated list of directories within
1128 double quotes, specified at the top level in a @file{gtkrc} file
1129 (i.e. not inside a style definition; see example above):
1132 pixmap_path "/usr/share/pixmaps:/usr/include/X11/pixmaps"
1135 @item fg[@var{state}] = @var{color}
1136 This specifies the foreground color for widgets to use. It is the
1137 color of text in menus and buttons, and the color for the arrows in
1138 the scroll bar. For editable text, use @code{text}.
1140 @item text[@var{state}] = @var{color}
1141 This is the color for editable text. In Emacs, this color is used for the
1142 text fields in the file dialog.
1144 @item font_name = "@var{font}"
1145 This specifies the font for text in the widget. @var{font} is a
1146 Pango font name, for example @samp{Sans Italic 10}, @samp{Helvetica
1147 Bold 12}, @samp{Courier 14}, @samp{Times 18}. See below for exact
1148 syntax. The names are case insensitive.
1151 There are three ways to specify a color: by name, in hexadecimal
1152 form, and with an RGB triplet.
1155 A color name is written within double quotes, for example @code{"red"}.
1158 Hexadecimal form is the same as in X:
1159 @code{#@var{rrrr}@var{gggg}@var{bbbb}}, where all three color specs
1160 must have the same number of hex digits (1, 2, 3 or 4).
1163 An RGB triplet looks like @code{@{ @var{r}, @var{g}, @var{b} @}},
1164 where @var{r}, @var{g} and @var{b} are either integers in the range
1165 0-65535 or floats in the range 0.0-1.0.
1167 Pango font names have the form ``@var{family-list} @var{style-options}
1169 @cindex Pango font name
1171 @var{family-list} is a comma separated list of font families optionally
1172 terminated by a comma. This way you can specify several families and the
1173 first one found will be used. @var{family} corresponds to the second part in
1174 an X font name, for example in
1177 -adobe-times-medium-r-normal--12-120-75-75-p-64-iso10646-1
1181 the family name is @samp{times}.
1184 @var{style-options} is a whitespace separated list of words where each word
1185 is a style, variant, weight, or stretch. The default value for all of
1186 these is @code{normal}.
1189 A `style' corresponds to the fourth part of an X font name. In X font
1190 names it is the character @samp{r}, @samp{i} or @samp{o}; in Pango
1191 font names the corresponding values are @code{normal}, @code{italic},
1195 A `variant' is either @code{normal} or @code{small-caps}.
1196 Small caps is a font with the lower case characters replaced by
1197 smaller variants of the capital characters.
1200 Weight describes the ``boldness'' of a font. It corresponds to the third
1201 part of an X font name. It is one of @code{ultra-light}, @code{light},
1202 @code{normal}, @code{bold}, @code{ultra-bold}, or @code{heavy}.
1205 Stretch gives the width of the font relative to other designs within a
1206 family. It corresponds to the fifth part of an X font name. It is one of
1207 @code{ultra-condensed}, @code{extra-condensed}, @code{condensed},
1208 @code{semi-condensed}, @code{normal}, @code{semi-expanded},
1209 @code{expanded}, @code{extra-expanded}, or @code{ultra-expanded}.
1212 @var{size} is a decimal number that describes the font size in points.