1 GNU Emacs NEWS -- history of user-visible changes. 2003-05-21
2 Copyright (C) 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
3 See the end for copying conditions.
5 Please send Emacs bug reports to bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org.
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11 +++ indicates that the appropriate manual has already been updated.
12 --- means no change in the manuals is called for.
13 When you add a new item, please add it without either +++ or ---
14 so we will look at it and add it to the manual.
17 * Installation Changes in Emacs 21.4
20 ** A Bulgarian translation of the Emacs Tutorial is available.
22 ** You can build Emacs with Gtk+ widgets by specifying `--with-x-toolkit=gtk'
23 when you run configure. This requires Gtk+ 2.0 or newer. This port
24 provides a way to display multilingual text in menus (with some caveats).
27 ** Emacs can now be built without sound support.
29 ** The `emacsserver' program has been removed, replaced with elisp code.
32 ** Emacs now supports new configure options `--program-prefix',
33 `--program-suffix' and `--program-transform-name' that affect the names of
37 ** By default, Emacs now uses a setgid helper program to update game
38 scores. The directory ${localstatedir}/games/emacs is the normal
39 place for game scores to be stored. This may be controlled by the
40 configure option `--with-game-dir'. The specific user that Emacs uses
41 to own the game scores is controlled by `--with-game-user'. If access
42 to a game user is not available, then scores will be stored separately
43 in each user's home directory.
46 ** Leim is now part of the Emacs distribution.
47 You no longer need to download a separate tarball in order to build
51 ** The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual is now part of the distribution.
53 The ELisp reference manual in Info format is built as part of the
54 Emacs build procedure and installed together with the Emacs User
55 Manual. A menu item was added to the menu bar that makes it easy
56 accessible (Help->More Manuals->Emacs Lisp Reference).
59 ** The Introduction to Programming in Emacs Lisp manual is now part of
62 This manual is now part of the standard distribution and is installed,
63 together with the Emacs User Manual, into the Info directory. A menu
64 item was added to the menu bar that makes it easy accessible
65 (Help->More Manuals->Introduction to Emacs Lisp).
67 ** Support for Cygwin was added.
70 ** Support for FreeBSD/Alpha has been added.
73 ** Support for GNU/Linux systems on S390 machines was added.
76 ** Support for MacOS X was added.
77 See the files mac/README and mac/INSTALL for build instructions.
80 ** Support for GNU/Linux systems on X86-64 machines was added.
83 ** A French translation of the `Emacs Survival Guide' is available.
86 ** A French translation of the Emacs Tutorial is available.
87 ** Building with -DENABLE_CHECKING does not automatically build with union
88 types any more. Add -DUSE_LISP_UNION_TYPE if you want union types.
91 * Changes in Emacs 21.4
93 ** New command quail-show-key shows what key to type to input a
96 ** Convenient commands to switch buffers in a cyclic order are C-x <left>
97 (prev-buffer) and C-x <right> (next-buffer).
99 ** Commands winner-redo and winner-undo, from winner.el, are now bound to
100 C-c <left> and C-c <right>, respectively. This is an incompatible change.
102 ** Help commands `describe-funcion' and `describe-key' now show function
103 arguments in lowercase italics. To change the default, customize the face
104 `help-argument-name' or see variable `help-arg-highlighting-function'.
107 ** The comint prompt can now be made read-only, using the new user
108 option `comint-prompt-read-only'. This is not enabled by default,
109 except in IELM buffers. The read-only status of IELM prompts can be
110 controlled with the new user option `ielm-prompt-read-only', which
111 overrides `comint-prompt-read-only'.
113 The new commands `comint-kill-whole-line' and `comint-kill-region'
114 support editing comint buffers with read-only prompts.
116 `comint-kill-whole-line' is like `kill-whole-line', but ignores both
117 read-only and field properties. Hence, it will always kill entire
118 lines, including any prompts.
120 `comint-kill-region' is like `kill-region', except that it ignores
121 read-only properties, if it is safe to do so. This means that if any
122 part of a prompt is deleted, then the entire prompt must be deleted
123 and that all prompts must stay at the beginning of a line. If this is
124 not the case, then `comint-kill-region' behaves just like
125 `kill-region' if read-only are involved: it copies the text to the
126 kill-ring, but does not delete it.
128 ** You can now use next-error (C-x `) and previous-error to advance to
129 the next/previous matching line found by M-x occur.
131 ** Telnet will now prompt you for a port number with C-u M-x telnet.
134 ** New command line option -Q.
136 This is like using -q --no-site-file, but in addition it also disables
137 the menu-bar, the tool-bar, the scroll-bars, tool tips, the blinking
138 cursor, and the fancy startup screen.
140 ** C-h v and C-h f commands now include a hyperlink to the C source for
141 variables and functions defined in C (if the C source is available).
143 ** When used interactively, `format-write-file' now asks for confirmation
144 before overwriting an existing file, unless a prefix argument is
145 supplied. This behavior is analogous to `write-file'.
147 ** You can now use Auto Revert mode to `tail' a file.
148 If point is at the end of a file buffer before reverting, Auto Revert
149 mode keeps it at the end after reverting. Similarly if point is
150 displayed at the end of a file buffer in any window, it will stay at
151 the end of the buffer in that window. This allows to tail a file:
152 just put point at the end of the buffer and it will stay there. This
153 rule applies to file buffers. For non-file buffers, the behavior may
156 ** Auto Revert mode is now more careful to avoid excessive reverts and
157 other potential problems when deciding which non-file buffers to
158 revert. This matters especially if Global Auto Revert mode is enabled
159 and `global-auto-revert-non-file-buffers' is non-nil. Auto Revert
160 mode will only revert a non-file buffer if the buffer has a non-nil
161 `revert-buffer-function' and a non-nil `buffer-stale-function', which
162 decides whether the buffer should be reverted. Currently, this means
163 that auto reverting works for Dired buffers (although this may not
164 work properly on all operating systems) and for the Buffer Menu.
166 ** If the new user option `auto-revert-check-vc-info' is non-nil, Auto
167 Revert mode reliably updates version control info (such as the version
168 control number in the mode line), in all version controlled buffers in
169 which it is active. If the option is nil, the default, then this info
170 only gets updated whenever the buffer gets reverted.
172 ** New command `Buffer-menu-toggle-files-only' toggles display of file
173 buffers only in the Buffer Menu. It is bound to `T' in Buffer Menu
176 ** M-x compile has become more robust and reliable
178 Quite a few more kinds of messages are recognized. Messages that are
179 recognized as warnings or informational come in orange or green, instead of
180 red. Informational messages are by default skipped with `next-error'
181 (controlled by `compilation-skip-threshold').
183 Location data is collected on the fly as the *compilation* buffer changes.
184 This means you could modify messages to make them point to different files.
185 This also means you can not go to locations of messages you may have deleted.
187 The variable `compilation-error-regexp-alist' has now become customizable. If
188 you had added your own regexps to this, you'll probably need to include a
189 leading `^', otherwise they'll match anywhere on a line. There is now also a
190 `compilation-mode-font-lock-keywords' and it nicely handles all the checks
191 that configure outputs and -o options so you see at a glance where you are.
193 The new file etc/compilation.txt gives examples of each type of message.
195 ** M-x grep has been adapted to new compile
197 Hits are fontified in green, and hits in binary files in orange. Grep buffers
198 can be saved and will again be loaded with the new `grep-mode'.
200 ** M-x diff uses diff-mode instead of compilation-mode.
202 ** M-x compare-windows now can automatically skip non-matching text to
203 resync points in both windows.
205 ** New command `strokes-global-set-stroke-string'.
206 This is like `strokes-global-set-stroke', but it allows you to bind
207 the stroke directly to a string to insert. This is convenient for
208 using strokes as an input method.
211 ** The saveplace.el package now filters out unreadable files.
212 When you exit Emacs, the saved positions in visited files no longer
213 include files that aren't readable, e.g. files that don't exist.
214 Customize the new option `save-place-forget-unreadable-files' to nil
215 to get the old behavior. The new options `save-place-save-skipped'
216 and `save-place-skip-check-regexp' allow further fine-tuning of this
219 ** You can have several Emacs servers on the same machine.
221 % emacs --eval '(setq server-name "foo")' -f server-start &
222 % emacs --eval '(setq server-name "bar")' -f server-start &
223 % emacsclient -s foo file1
224 % emacsclient -s bar file2
226 ** On window systems, lines which are exactly as wide as the window
227 (not counting the final newline character) are no longer broken into
228 two lines on the display (with just the newline on the second line).
229 Instead, the newline now "overflows" into the right fringe, and the
230 cursor will be displayed in the fringe when positioned on that newline.
232 The new user option 'overflow-newline-into-fringe' may be set to nil to
233 revert to the old behaviour of continuing such lines.
235 ** The buffer boundaries (i.e. first and last line in the buffer) may
236 now be marked with angle bitmaps in the fringes. In addition, up and
237 down arrow bitmaps may be shown at the top and bottom of the left or
238 right fringe if the window can be scrolled in either direction.
240 This behavior is activated by setting the buffer-local variable
241 `indicate-buffer-boundaries' to a non-nil value. The default value of
242 this variable is found in `default-indicate-buffer-boundaries'.
244 If value is `left' or `right', both angle and arrow bitmaps are
245 displayed in the left or right fringe, resp. Any other non-nil value
246 causes the bitmap on the top line to be displayed in the left fringe,
247 and the bitmap on the bottom line in the right fringe.
249 If value is a cons (ANGLES . ARROWS), the car specifies the position
250 of the angle bitmaps, and the cdr specifies the position of the arrow
253 For example, (t . right) places the top angle bitmap in left fringe,
254 the bottom angle bitmap in right fringe, and both arrow bitmaps in
255 right fringe. To show just the angle bitmaps in the left fringe, but
256 no arrow bitmaps, use (left . nil).
258 ** New command `display-local-help' displays any local help at point
259 in the echo area. It is bound to `C-h .'. It normally displays the
260 same string that would be displayed on mouse-over using the
261 `help-echo' property, but, in certain cases, it can display a more
262 keyboard oriented alternative.
264 ** New user option `help-at-pt-display-when-idle' allows to
265 automatically show the help provided by `display-local-help' on
266 point-over, after suitable idle time. The amount of idle time is
267 determined by the user option `help-at-pt-timer-delay' and defaults
268 to one second. This feature is turned off by default.
270 ** New commands `scan-buf-next-region' and `scan-buf-previous-region'
271 move to the start of the next (previous, respectively) region with
272 non-nil help-echo property and display any help found there in the
273 echo area, using `display-local-help'.
276 ** Help mode now only makes hyperlinks for faces when the face name is
277 preceded or followed by the word `face'. It no longer makes
278 hyperlinks for variables without variable documentation, unless
279 preceded by one of the words `variable' or `option'. It now makes
280 hyperlinks to Info anchors (or nodes) if the anchor (or node) name is
281 enclosed in single quotes and preceded by `info anchor' or `Info
282 anchor' (in addition to earlier `info node' and `Info node').
284 ** The max size of buffers and integers has been doubled.
285 On 32bit machines, it is now 256M (i.e. 268435455).
288 ** The -f option, used from the command line to call a function,
289 now reads arguments for the function interactively if it is
290 an interactively callable function.
295 *** The variable `sql-product' controls the highlightng of different
296 SQL dialects. This variable can be set globally via Customize, on a
297 buffer-specific basis via local variable settings, or for the current
298 session using the new SQL->Product submenu. (This menu replaces the
299 SQL->Highlighting submenu.)
301 The following values are supported:
303 ansi ANSI Standard (default)
317 The current product name will be shown on the mode line following the
320 The technique of setting `sql-mode-font-lock-defaults' directly in
321 your .emacs will no longer establish the default highlighting -- Use
322 `sql-product' to accomplish this.
324 ANSI keywords are always highlighted.
326 *** The function `sql-add-product-keywords' can be used to add
327 font-lock rules to the product specific rules. For example, to have
328 all identifiers ending in "_t" under MS SQLServer treated as a type,
329 you would use the following line in your .emacs file:
331 (sql-add-product-keywords 'ms
332 '(("\\<\\w+_t\\>" . font-lock-type-face)))
334 *** Oracle support includes keyword highlighting for Oracle 9i. Most
335 SQL and PL/SQL keywords are implemented. SQL*Plus commands are
336 highlighted in `font-lock-doc-face'.
338 *** Microsoft SQLServer support has been significantly improved.
339 Keyword highlighting for SqlServer 2000 is implemented.
340 sql-interactive-mode defaults to use osql, rather than isql, because
341 osql flushes its error stream more frequently. Thus error messages
342 are displayed when they occur rather than when the session is
345 If the username and password are not provided to `sql-ms', osql is
346 called with the -E command line argument to use the operating system
347 credentials to authenticate the user.
349 *** Postgres support is enhanced.
350 Keyword highlighting of Postgres 7.3 is implemented. Prompting for
351 the username and the pgsql `-U' option is added.
353 *** MySQL support is enhanced.
354 Keyword higlighting of MySql 4.0 is implemented.
356 *** Imenu support has been enhanced to locate tables, views, indexes,
357 packages, procedures, functions, triggers, sequences, rules, and
360 *** Added SQL->Start SQLi Session menu entry which calls the
361 appropriate sql-interactive-mode wrapper for the current setting of
364 ** M-x view-file and commands that use it now avoid interfering
365 with special modes such as Tar mode.
367 ** Enhancements to apropos commands:
369 *** The apropos commands will now accept a list of words to match.
370 When more than one word is specified, at least two of those words must
371 be present for an item to match. Regular expression matching is still
374 *** The new option `apropos-sort-by-scores' causes the matching items
375 to be sorted according to their score. The score for an item is a
376 number calculated to indicate how well the item matches the words or
377 regular expression that you entered to the apropos command. The best
378 match is listed first, and the calculated score is shown for each
382 ** The old bindings C-M-delete and C-M-backspace have been deleted,
383 since there are situations where one or the other will shut down
384 the operating system or your X server.
386 ** New minor mode, Visible mode, toggles invisibility in the current buffer.
387 When enabled, it makes all invisible text visible. When disabled, it
388 restores the previous value of `buffer-invisibility-spec'.
390 ** New command `kill-whole-line' kills an entire line at once.
391 By default, it is bound to C-S-<backspace>.
395 *** New faces dired-header, dired-mark, dired-marked, dired-flagged,
396 dired-ignored, dired-directory, dired-symlink, dired-warning
397 introduced for Dired mode instead of font-lock faces.
399 *** New Dired command `dired-compare-directories' to mark files with
400 different file attributes in two dired buffers.
403 *** In Dired's ! command (dired-do-shell-command), `*' and `?' now
404 control substitution of the file names only when they are surrounded
405 by whitespace. This means you can now use them as shell wildcards
406 too. If you want to use just plain `*' as a wildcard, type `*""'; the
407 doublequotes make no difference in the shell, but they prevent
408 special treatment in `dired-do-shell-command'.
411 *** Dired's v command now runs external viewers to view certain
412 types of files. The variable `dired-view-command-alist' controls
413 what external viewers to use and when.
415 *** In Dired, the w command now copies the current line's file name
420 *** Info now hides node names in menus and cross references by default.
421 If you prefer the old behavior, you can set the new user option
422 `Info-hide-note-references' to nil.
424 *** The new command `info-apropos' searches the indices of the known
425 Info files on your system for a string, and builds a menu of the
428 *** Images in Info pages are supported.
429 Info pages show embedded images, in Emacs frames with image support.
430 Info documentation that includes images, processed with makeinfo
431 version 4.7 or newer, compiles to Info pages with embedded images.
434 *** The default value for `Info-scroll-prefer-subnodes' is now nil.
437 *** Info-index offers completion.
439 ** Support for the SQLite interpreter has been added to sql.el by calling
443 *** The new command bibtex-entry-update (bound to C-c C-u) updates
444 an existing BibTeX entry.
445 *** New `bibtex-entry-format' option `required-fields', enabled by default.
446 *** bibtex-maintain-sorted-entries can take values `plain',
447 `crossref', and `entry-class' which control the sorting scheme used
448 for BibTeX entries. `bibtex-sort-entry-class' controls the sorting
449 scheme `entry-class'. TAB completion for reference keys and
450 automatic detection of duplicates does not require anymore that
451 bibtex-maintain-sorted-entries is non-nil.
453 *** If the new variable bibtex-parse-keys-fast is non-nil,
454 use fast but simplified algorithm for parsing BibTeX keys.
456 *** If the new variable bibtex-autoadd-commas is non-nil,
457 automatically add missing commas at end of BibTeX fields.
459 *** The new variable bibtex-autofill-types contains a list of entry
460 types for which fields are filled automatically (if possible).
462 *** The new command bibtex-complete completes word fragment before
463 point according to context (bound to M-tab).
465 *** The new commands bibtex-find-entry and bibtex-find-crossref
466 locate entries and crossref'd entries.
468 *** In BibTeX mode the command fill-paragraph (bound to M-q) fills
469 individual fields of a BibTeX entry.
471 ** When display margins are present in a window, the fringes are now
472 displayed between the margins and the buffer's text area, rather than
473 at the edges of the window.
475 ** A window may now have individual fringe and scroll-bar settings,
476 in addition to the individual display margin settings.
478 Such individual settings are now preserved when windows are split
479 horizontally or vertically, a saved window configuration is restored,
480 or when the frame is resized.
482 ** New functions frame-current-scroll-bars and window-current-scroll-bars.
484 These functions return the current locations of the vertical and
485 horizontal scroll bars in a frame or window.
488 ** Emacs now supports drag and drop for X. Dropping a file on a window
489 opens it, dropping text inserts the text. Dropping a file on a dired
490 buffer copies or moves the file to that directory.
492 ** Under X, mouse-wheel-mode is turned on by default.
494 ** The X resource useXIM can be used to turn off use of XIM, which may
495 speed up Emacs with slow networking to the X server.
497 If the configure option `--without-xim' was used to turn off use of
498 XIM by default, the X resource useXIM can be used to turn it on.
500 ** `undo-only' does an undo which does not redo any previous undo.
502 ** `uniquify-strip-common-suffix' tells uniquify to prefer
503 `file|dir1' and `file|dir2' to `file|dir1/subdir' and `file|dir2/subdir'.
505 ** If the user visits a file larger than `large-file-warning-threshold',
506 Emacs will prompt her for confirmation.
508 ** A UTF-7 coding system is available in the library `utf-7'.
510 ** GUD mode has its own tool bar for controlling execution of the inferior
511 and other common debugger commands.
515 The recent file list is now automatically cleanup when recentf mode is
516 enabled. The new option `recentf-auto-cleanup' controls when to do
519 With the more advanced option: `recentf-filename-handler', you can
520 specify a function that transforms filenames handled by recentf. For
521 example, if set to `file-truename', the same file will not be in the
522 recent list with different symbolic links.
524 To follow naming convention, `recentf-keep-non-readable-files-flag'
525 and `recentf-menu-append-commands-flag' respectively replace the
526 misnamed options `recentf-keep-non-readable-files-p' and
527 `recentf-menu-append-commands-p'. The old names remain available as
528 aliases, but have been marked obsolete.
530 ** The default for the paper size (variable ps-paper-type) is taken
535 You can now put the init files .emacs and .emacs_SHELL under
536 ~/.emacs.d or directly under ~. Emacs will find them in either place.
538 ** partial-completion-mode now does partial completion on directory names.
540 ** skeleton.el now supports using - to mark the skeleton-point without
541 interregion interaction. @ has reverted to only setting
542 skeleton-positions and no longer sets skeleton-point. Skeletons
543 which used @ to mark skeleton-point independent of _ should now use -
544 instead. The updated skeleton-insert docstring explains these new
545 features along with other details of skeleton construction.
549 Upgraded to MH-E version 7.3. There have been major changes since
550 version 5.0.2; see MH-E-NEWS for details.
553 ** The `emacsclient' command understands the options `--eval' and
554 `--display' which tell Emacs respectively to evaluate the given elisp
555 expression and to use the given display when visiting files.
557 ** User option `server-mode' can be used to start a server process.
560 ** The mode line position information now comes before the major mode.
561 When the file is maintained under version control, that information
562 appears between the position information and the major mode.
564 ** C-x s (save-some-buffers) now offers an option `d' to diff a buffer
565 against its file, so you can see what changes you would be saving.
568 ** You can now customize the use of window fringes. To control this
569 for all frames, use M-x fringe-mode or the Show/Hide submenu of the
570 top-level Options menu, or customize the `fringe-mode' variable. To
571 control this for a specific frame, use the command M-x
575 ** There is a new user option `mail-default-directory' that allows you
576 to specify the value of `default-directory' for mail buffers. This
577 directory is used for auto-save files of mail buffers. It defaults to
581 ** When you are root, and you visit a file whose modes specify
582 read-only, the Emacs buffer is now read-only too. Type C-x C-q if you
583 want to make the buffer writable. (As root, you will in fact be able
586 ** The new command `revert-buffer-with-coding-system' (C-x RET r)
587 revisits the current file using a coding system that you specify.
589 ** The new command `recode-file-name' changes the encoding of the name
593 ** `ps-print' can now print characters from the mule-unicode charsets.
595 Printing text with characters from the mule-unicode-* sets works with
596 ps-print, provided that you have installed the appropriate BDF fonts.
597 See the file INSTALL for URLs where you can find these fonts.
600 ** The new options `buffers-menu-show-directories' and
601 `buffers-menu-show-status' let you control how buffers are displayed
602 in the menu dropped down when you click "Buffers" from the menu bar.
604 `buffers-menu-show-directories' controls whether the menu displays
605 leading directories as part of the file name visited by the buffer.
606 If its value is `unless-uniquify', the default, directories will be
607 shown unless uniquify-buffer-name-style' is non-nil. The value of nil
608 and t turn the display of directories off and on, respectively.
610 `buffers-menu-show-status' controls whether the Buffers menu includes
611 the modified and read-only status of the buffers. By default it is
612 t, and the status is shown.
614 Setting these variables directly does not take effect until next time
615 the Buffers menu is regenerated.
618 ** The commands M-x customize-face and M-x customize-face-other-window
619 now look at the character after point. If a face or faces are
620 specified for that character, the commands by default customize those
623 ** New language environments: French, Ukrainian, Tajik,
624 Bulgarian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, UTF-8, Windows-1255, Welsh, Latin-6,
625 Latin-7, Lithuanian, Latvian, Swedish, Slovenian, Croatian, Georgian,
626 Italian, Russian, Malayalam, Tamil, Russian, Chinese-EUC-TW. (Set up
627 automatically according to the locale.)
629 ** Indian support has been updated.
630 The in-is13194 coding system is now Unicode-based. CDAC fonts are
631 assumed. There is a framework for supporting various
632 Indian scripts, but currently only Devanagari, Malayalam and Tamil are
636 ** New input methods: latin-alt-postfix, latin-postfix, latin-prefix,
637 ukrainian-computer, belarusian, bulgarian-bds, russian-computer,
638 vietnamese-telex, lithuanian-numeric, lithuanian-keyboard,
639 latvian-keyboard, welsh, georgian, rfc1345, ucs, sgml,
640 bulgarian-phonetic, dutch, slovenian, croatian, malayalam-inscript,
644 ** A new coding system `euc-tw' has been added for traditional Chinese
645 in CNS encoding; it accepts both Big 5 and CNS as input; on saving,
646 Big 5 is then converted to CNS.
649 ** Many new coding systems are available by loading the `code-pages'
650 library. These include complete versions of most of those in
651 codepage.el, based on Unicode mappings. `codepage-setup' is now
652 obsolete and is used only in the MS-DOS port of Emacs. windows-1252
653 and windows-1251 are preloaded since the former is so common and the
654 latter is used by GNU locales.
656 ** The utf-8/16 coding systems have been enhanced.
657 By default, untranslatable utf-8 sequences (mostly representing CJK
658 characters) are simply composed into single quasi-characters. User
659 option `utf-translate-cjk' arranges to translate many utf-8 CJK
660 character sequences into real Emacs characters in a similar way to the
661 Mule-UCS system. This uses significant space, so is not the default.
662 You can augment/amend the CJK translation via hash tables
663 `ucs-mule-cjk-to-unicode' and `ucs-unicode-to-mule-cjk'. The utf-8
664 coding system now also encodes characters from most of Emacs's
665 one-dimensional internal charsets, specifically the ISO-8859 ones.
666 The utf-16 coding system is affected similarly.
668 ** iso-10646-1 (`Unicode') fonts can be used to display any range of
669 characters encodable by the utf-8 coding system. Just specify the
670 fontset appropriately.
672 ** New command `ucs-insert' inserts a character specified by its
676 ** Limited support for character `unification' has been added.
677 Emacs now knows how to translate between different representations of
678 the same characters in various Emacs charsets according to standard
679 Unicode mappings. This applies mainly to characters in the ISO 8859
680 sets plus some other 8-bit sets, but can be extended. For instance,
681 translation works amongst the Emacs ...-iso8859-... charsets and the
682 mule-unicode-... ones.
684 By default this translation will happen automatically on encoding.
685 Self-inserting characters are translated to make the input conformant
686 with the encoding of the buffer in which it's being used, where
689 You can force a more complete unification with the user option
690 unify-8859-on-decoding-mode. That maps all the Latin-N character sets
691 into Unicode characters (from the latin-iso8859-1 and
692 mule-unicode-0100-24ff charsets) on decoding. Note that this mode
693 will often effectively clobber data with an iso-2022 encoding.
695 ** There is support for decoding Greek and Cyrillic characters into
696 either Unicode (the mule-unicode charsets) or the iso-8859 charsets,
697 when possible. The latter are more space-efficient. This is
698 controlled by user option utf-fragment-on-decoding.
700 ** The new command `set-file-name-coding-system' (C-x RET F) sets
701 coding system for encoding and decoding file names. A new menu item
702 (Options->Mule->Set Coding Systems->For File Name) invokes this
706 ** The scrollbar under LessTif or Motif has a smoother drag-scrolling.
707 On the other hand, the size of the thumb does not represent the actual
708 amount of text shown any more (only a crude approximation of it).
711 ** The pop up menus for Lucid now stay up if you do a fast click and can
712 be navigated with the arrow keys (like Gtk+ and W32).
715 ** Dialogs for Lucid/Athena and Lesstif/Motif pops down when pressing ESC.
718 ** The file selection dialog for Gtk+, W32 and Motif/Lesstif can be
719 disabled by customizing the variable `use-file-dialog'.
722 ** Emacs can produce an underscore-like (horizontal bar) cursor.
723 The underscore cursor is set by putting `(cursor-type . hbar)' in
724 default-frame-alist. It supports variable heights, like the `bar'
728 ** On X, MS Windows, and Mac OS, the blinking cursor's "off" state is
729 now controlled by the variable `blink-cursor-alist'.
731 ** Filesets are collections of files. You can define a fileset in
732 various ways, such as based on a directory tree or based on
733 program files that include other program files.
735 Once you have defined a fileset, you can perform various operations on
736 all the files in it, such as visiting them or searching and replacing
740 ** PO translation files are decoded according to their MIME headers
741 when Emacs visits them.
744 ** The game `mpuz' is enhanced.
746 `mpuz' now allows the 2nd factor not to have two identical digits. By
747 default, all trivial operations involving whole lines are performed
748 automatically. The game uses faces for better visual feedback.
750 ** The new variable `x-select-request-type' controls how Emacs
751 requests X selection. The default value is nil, which means that
752 Emacs requests X selection with types COMPOUND_TEXT and UTF8_STRING,
753 and use the more appropriately result.
756 ** The parameters of automatic hscrolling can now be customized.
757 The variable `hscroll-margin' determines how many columns away from
758 the window edge point is allowed to get before automatic hscrolling
759 will horizontally scroll the window. The default value is 5.
761 The variable `hscroll-step' determines how many columns automatic
762 hscrolling will scroll the window when point gets too close to the
763 window edge. If its value is zero, the default, Emacs scrolls the
764 window so as to center point. If its value is an integer, it says how
765 many columns to scroll. If the value is a floating-point number, it
766 gives the fraction of the window's width to scroll the window.
768 The variable `automatic-hscrolling' was renamed to
769 `auto-hscroll-mode'. The old name is still available as an alias.
772 *** C-c C-c prompts for a command to run, and tries to offer a good default.
774 *** The user option `tex-start-options-string' has been replaced
775 by two new user options: `tex-start-options', which should hold
776 command-line options to feed to TeX, and `tex-start-commands' which should hold
777 TeX commands to use at startup.
778 *** verbatim environments are now highlighted in courier by font-lock
779 and super/sub-scripts are made into super/sub-scripts.
781 *** New major mode doctex-mode for *.dtx files.
784 ** New display feature: focus follows the mouse from one Emacs window
785 to another, even within a frame. If you set the variable
786 mouse-autoselect-window to non-nil value, moving the mouse to a
787 different Emacs window will select that window (minibuffer window can
788 be selected only when it is active). The default is nil, so that this
789 feature is not enabled.
791 ** On X, when the window manager requires that you click on a frame to
792 select it (give it focus), the selected window and cursor position
793 normally changes according to the mouse click position. If you set
794 the variable x-mouse-click-focus-ignore-position to t, the selected
795 window and cursor position do not change when you click on a frame
799 ** The new command `describe-char' (C-u C-x =) pops up a buffer with
800 description various information about a character, including its
801 encodings and syntax, its text properties, overlays, and widgets at
802 point. You can get more information about some of them, by clicking
803 on mouse-sensitive areas or moving there and pressing RET.
806 ** The new command `multi-occur' is just like `occur', except it can
807 search multiple buffers. There is also a new command
808 `multi-occur-by-filename-regexp' which allows you to specify the
809 buffers to search by their filename. Internally, Occur mode has been
810 rewritten, and now uses font-lock, among other changes.
813 ** Emacs normally highlights mouse sensitive text whenever the mouse
814 is over the text. By setting the new variable `mouse-highlight', you
815 can optionally enable mouse highlighting only after you move the
816 mouse, so that highlighting disappears when you press a key. You can
817 also disable mouse highlighting.
819 ** You can now customize if selecting a region by dragging the mouse
820 shall not copy the selected text to the kill-ring by setting the new
821 variable mouse-drag-copy-region to nil.
824 ** font-lock: in modes like C and Lisp where the fontification assumes that
825 an open-paren in column 0 is always outside of any string or comment,
826 font-lock now highlights any such open-paren-in-column-zero in bold-red
827 if it is inside a string or a comment, to indicate that it can cause
828 trouble with fontification and/or indentation.
831 ** There's a new face `minibuffer-prompt'.
832 Emacs adds this face to the list of text properties stored in the
833 variable `minibuffer-prompt-properties', which is used to display the
837 ** The new face `mode-line-inactive' is used to display the mode line
838 of non-selected windows. The `mode-line' face is now used to display
839 the mode line of the currently selected window.
841 The new variable `mode-line-in-non-selected-windows' controls whether
842 the `mode-line-inactive' face is used.
845 ** A menu item "Show/Hide" was added to the top-level menu "Options".
846 This menu allows you to turn various display features on and off (such
847 as the fringes, the tool bar, the speedbar, and the menu bar itself).
848 You can also move the vertical scroll bar to either side here or turn
849 it off completely. There is also a menu-item to toggle displaying of
850 current date and time, current line and column number in the
854 ** Speedbar has moved from the "Tools" top level menu to "Show/Hide".
857 ** Emacs can now indicate in the mode-line the presence of new e-mail
858 in a directory or in a file. See the documentation of the user option
859 `display-time-mail-directory'.
862 ** LDAP support now defaults to ldapsearch from OpenLDAP version 2.
865 ** You can now disable pc-selection-mode after enabling it.
866 M-x pc-selection-mode behaves like a proper minor mode, and with no
867 argument it toggles the mode.
869 Turning off PC-Selection mode restores the global key bindings
870 that were replaced by turning on the mode.
873 ** Emacs now displays a splash screen by default even if command-line
874 arguments were given. The new command-line option --no-splash
875 disables the splash screen; see also the variable
876 `inhibit-startup-message' (which is also aliased as
877 `inhibit-splash-screen').
879 ** Changes in support of colors on character terminals
882 *** The new command-line option --color=MODE lets you specify a standard
883 mode for a tty color support. It is meant to be used on character
884 terminals whose capabilities are not set correctly in the terminal
885 database, or with terminal emulators which support colors, but don't
886 set the TERM environment variable to a name of a color-capable
887 terminal. "emacs --color" uses the same color commands as GNU `ls'
888 when invoked with "ls --color", so if your terminal can support colors
889 in "ls --color", it will support "emacs --color" as well. See the
890 user manual for the possible values of the MODE parameter.
893 *** Emacs now supports several character terminals which provide more
894 than 8 colors. For example, for `xterm', 16-color, 88-color, and
895 256-color modes are supported. Emacs automatically notes at startup
896 the extended number of colors, and defines the appropriate entries for
900 *** Emacs now uses the full range of available colors for the default
901 faces when running on a color terminal, including 16-, 88-, and
902 256-color xterms. This means that when you run "emacs -nw" on an
903 88-color or 256-color xterm, you will see essentially the same face
907 *** There's a new support for colors on `rxvt' terminal emulator.
910 ** Emacs can now be invoked in full-screen mode on a windowed display.
912 When Emacs is invoked on a window system, the new command-line options
913 `--fullwidth', `--fullheight', and `--fullscreen' produce a frame
914 whose width, height, or both width and height take up the entire
915 screen size. (For now, this does not work with some window managers.)
918 ** Emacs now tries to set up buffer coding systems for HTML/XML files
922 ** The new command `comint-insert-previous-argument' in comint-derived
923 modes (shell-mode etc) inserts arguments from previous command lines,
924 like bash's `ESC .' binding. It is bound by default to `C-c .', but
925 otherwise behaves quite similarly to the bash version.
928 ** Changes in C-h bindings:
930 C-h e displays the *Messages* buffer.
932 C-h followed by a control character is used for displaying files
935 C-h C-f displays the FAQ.
936 C-h C-e displays the PROBLEMS file.
938 The info-search bindings on C-h C-f, C-h C-k and C-h C-i
939 have been moved to C-h F, C-h K and C-h S.
941 C-h c, C-h k, C-h w, and C-h f now handle remapped interactive commands.
943 - C-h c and C-h k report the actual command (after possible remapping)
944 run by the key sequence.
946 - C-h w and C-h f on a command which has been remapped now report the
947 command it is remapped to, and the keys which can be used to run
950 For example, if C-k is bound to kill-line, and kill-line is remapped
951 to new-kill-line, these commands now report:
953 - C-h c and C-h k C-k reports:
954 C-k runs the command new-kill-line
956 - C-h w and C-h f kill-line reports:
957 kill-line is remapped to new-kill-line which is on C-k, <deleteline>
959 - C-h w and C-h f new-kill-line reports:
960 new-kill-line is on C-k
963 ** C-w in incremental search now grabs either a character or a word,
964 making the decision in a heuristic way. This new job is done by the
965 command `isearch-yank-word-or-char'. To restore the old behavior,
966 bind C-w to `isearch-yank-word' in `isearch-mode-map'.
969 ** Yanking text now discards certain text properties that can
970 be inconvenient when you did not expect them. The variable
971 `yank-excluded-properties' specifies which ones. Insertion
972 of register contents and rectangles also discards these properties.
975 ** Occur, Info, and comint-derived modes now support using
976 M-x font-lock-mode to toggle fontification. The variable
977 `Info-fontify' is no longer applicable; to disable fontification,
978 remove `turn-on-font-lock' from `Info-mode-hook'.
981 ** M-x grep now tries to avoid appending `/dev/null' to the command line
982 by using GNU grep `-H' option instead. M-x grep will automatically
983 detect whether this is possible or not the first time it is invoked.
984 When `-H' is used, the grep command line supplied by the user is passed
985 unchanged to the system to execute, which allows more complicated
986 command lines to be used than was possible before.
989 ** The face-customization widget has been reworked to be less confusing.
990 In particular, when you enable a face attribute using the corresponding
991 check-box, there's no longer a redundant `*' option in value selection
992 for that attribute; the values you can choose are only those which make
993 sense for the attribute. When an attribute is de-selected by unchecking
994 its check-box, then the (now ignored, but still present temporarily in
995 case you re-select the attribute) value is hidden.
998 ** When you set or reset a variable's value in a Customize buffer,
999 the previous value becomes the "backup value" of the variable.
1000 You can go back to that backup value by selecting "Use Backup Value"
1001 under the "[State]" button.
1003 ** The new customization type `float' specifies numbers with floating
1004 point (no integers are allowed).
1007 ** In GUD mode, when talking to GDB, C-x C-a C-j "jumps" the program
1008 counter to the specified source line (the one where point is).
1011 ** GUD mode improvements for jdb:
1013 *** Search for source files using jdb classpath and class
1014 information. Fast startup since there is no need to scan all
1015 source files up front. There is also no need to create and maintain
1016 lists of source directories to scan. Look at `gud-jdb-use-classpath'
1017 and `gud-jdb-classpath' customization variables documentation.
1019 *** Supports the standard breakpoint (gud-break, gud-clear)
1020 set/clear operations from java source files under the classpath, stack
1021 traversal (gud-up, gud-down), and run until current stack finish
1024 *** Supports new jdb (Java 1.2 and later) in addition to oldjdb
1027 *** The previous method of searching for source files has been
1028 preserved in case someone still wants/needs to use it.
1029 Set gud-jdb-use-classpath to nil.
1031 Added Customization Variables
1033 *** gud-jdb-command-name. What command line to use to invoke jdb.
1035 *** gud-jdb-use-classpath. Allows selection of java source file searching
1036 method: set to t for new method, nil to scan gud-jdb-directories for
1037 java sources (previous method).
1039 *** gud-jdb-directories. List of directories to scan and search for java
1040 classes using the original gud-jdb method (if gud-jdb-use-classpath
1045 *** Do not allow debugger output history variable to grow without bounds.
1048 ** hide-ifdef-mode now uses overlays rather than selective-display
1049 to hide its text. This should be mostly transparent but slightly
1050 changes the behavior of motion commands like C-e and C-p.
1053 ** Unquoted `$' in file names do not signal an error any more when
1054 the corresponding environment variable does not exist.
1055 Instead, the `$ENVVAR' text is left as is, so that `$$' quoting
1056 is only rarely needed.
1060 *** jit-lock can now be delayed with `jit-lock-defer-time'.
1062 If this variable is non-nil, its value should be the amount of Emacs
1063 idle time in seconds to wait before starting fontification. For
1064 example, if you set `jit-lock-defer-time' to 0.25, fontification will
1065 only happen after 0.25s of idle time.
1067 *** contextual refontification is now separate from stealth fontification.
1069 jit-lock-defer-contextually is renamed jit-lock-contextually and
1070 jit-lock-context-time determines the delay after which contextual
1071 refontification takes place.
1074 ** Marking commands extend the region when invoked multiple times. If
1075 you hit M-C-SPC (mark-sexp), M-@ (mark-word), M-h (mark-paragraph), or
1076 C-M-h (mark-defun) repeatedly, the marked region will now be extended
1077 each time, so you can mark the next two sexps with M-C-SPC M-C-SPC,
1078 for example. This feature also works for mark-end-of-sentence, if you
1082 ** Some commands do something special in Transient Mark mode when the
1083 mark is active--for instance, they limit their operation to the
1084 region. Even if you don't normally use Transient Mark mode, you might
1085 want to get this behavior from a particular command. There are two
1086 ways you can enable Transient Mark mode and activate the mark, for one
1089 One method is to type C-SPC C-SPC; this enables Transient Mark mode
1090 and sets the mark at point. The other method is to type C-u C-x C-x.
1091 This enables Transient Mark mode temporarily but does not alter the
1094 After these commands, Transient Mark mode remains enabled until you
1095 deactivate the mark. That typically happens when you type a command
1096 that alters the buffer, but you can also deactivate the mark by typing
1100 ** A prefix argument is no longer required to repeat a jump to a
1101 previous mark, i.e. C-u C-SPC C-SPC C-SPC ... will cycle through the
1102 mark ring. Use C-u C-u C-SPC to set the mark immediately after a jump.
1105 ** In the *Occur* buffer, `o' switches to it in another window, and
1106 C-o displays the current line's occurrence in another window without
1110 ** When you specify a frame size with --geometry, the size applies to
1111 all frames you create. A position specified with --geometry only
1112 affects the initial frame.
1115 ** M-h (mark-paragraph) now accepts a prefix arg.
1116 With positive arg, M-h marks the current and the following paragraphs;
1117 if the arg is negative, it marks the current and the preceding
1121 ** The variables dired-free-space-program and dired-free-space-args
1122 have been renamed to directory-free-space-program and
1123 directory-free-space-args, and they now apply whenever Emacs puts a
1124 directory listing into a buffer.
1127 ** mouse-wheels can now scroll a specific fraction of the window
1128 (rather than a fixed number of lines) and the scrolling is `progressive'.
1130 ** Unexpected yanking of text due to accidental clicking on the mouse
1131 wheel button (typically mouse-2) during wheel scrolling is now avoided.
1132 This behaviour can be customized via the mouse-wheel-click-event and
1133 mouse-wheel-inhibit-click-time variables.
1136 ** The keyboard-coding-system is now automatically set based on your
1137 current locale settings if you are not using a window system. This
1138 may mean that the META key doesn't work but generates non-ASCII
1139 characters instead, depending on how the terminal (or terminal
1140 emulator) works. Use `set-keyboard-coding-system' (or customize
1141 keyboard-coding-system) if you prefer META to work (the old default)
1142 or if the locale doesn't describe the character set actually generated
1143 by the keyboard. See Info node `Single-Byte Character Support'.
1146 ** Emacs now reads the standard abbrevs file ~/.abbrev_defs
1147 automatically at startup, if it exists. When Emacs offers to save
1148 modified buffers, it saves the abbrevs too if they have changed. It
1149 can do this either silently or asking for confirmation first,
1150 according to the value of `save-abbrevs'.
1153 ** Display of hollow cursors now obeys the buffer-local value (if any)
1154 of `cursor-in-non-selected-windows' in the buffer that the cursor
1157 ** The variable `cursor-in-non-selected-windows' can now be set to any
1158 of the recognized cursor types.
1161 ** The variable `auto-save-file-name-transforms' now has a third element that
1162 controls whether or not the function `make-auto-save-file-name' will
1163 attempt to construct a unique auto-save name (e.g. for remote files).
1166 ** Diary sexp entries can have custom marking in the calendar.
1167 Diary sexp functions which only apply to certain days (such as
1168 `diary-block' or `diary-cyclic') now take an optional parameter MARK,
1169 which is the name of a face or a single-character string indicating
1170 how to highlight the day in the calendar display. Specifying a
1171 single-character string as @var{mark} places the character next to the
1172 day in the calendar. Specifying a face highlights the day with that
1173 face. This lets you have different colors or markings for vacations,
1174 appointments, paydays or anything else using a sexp.
1177 ** The new function `calendar-goto-day-of-year' (g D) prompts for a
1178 year and day number, and moves to that date. Negative day numbers
1179 count backward from the end of the year.
1181 ** The function `simple-diary-display' now by default sets a header line.
1182 This can be controlled through the variables `diary-header-line-flag'
1183 and `diary-header-line-format'.
1186 ** The procedure for activating appointment reminders has changed: use
1187 the new function `appt-activate'. The new variable
1188 `appt-display-format' controls how reminders are displayed, replacing
1189 appt-issue-message, appt-visible, and appt-msg-window.
1191 ** The new functions `diary-from-outlook', `diary-from-outlook-gnus',
1192 and `diary-from-outlook-rmail' can be used to import diary entries
1193 from Outlook-format appointments in mail messages. The variable
1194 `diary-outlook-formats' can be customized to recognize additional
1200 *** The key C-x C-q no longer checks files in or out, it only changes
1201 the read-only state of the buffer (toggle-read-only). We made this
1202 change because we held a poll and found that many users were unhappy
1203 with the previous behavior. If you do prefer this behavior, you
1204 can bind `vc-toggle-read-only' to C-x C-q in your .emacs:
1206 (global-set-key "\C-x\C-q" 'vc-toggle-read-only)
1208 The function `vc-toggle-read-only' will continue to exist.
1211 *** There is a new user option `vc-cvs-global-switches' that allows
1212 you to specify switches that are passed to any CVS command invoked
1213 by VC. These switches are used as "global options" for CVS, which
1214 means they are inserted before the command name. For example, this
1215 allows you to specify a compression level using the "-z#" option for
1218 *** New backends for Subversion and Meta-CVS.
1223 *** When comparing directories.
1224 Typing D brings up a buffer that lists the differences between the contents of
1225 directories. Now it is possible to use this buffer to copy the missing files
1226 from one directory to another.
1229 *** When comparing files or buffers.
1230 Typing the = key now offers to perform the word-by-word comparison of the
1231 currently highlighted regions in an inferior Ediff session. If you answer 'n'
1232 then it reverts to the old behavior and asks the user to select regions for
1235 *** The new command `ediff-backup' compares a file with its most recent
1236 backup using `ediff'. If you specify the name of a backup file,
1237 `ediff-backup' compares it with the file of which it is a backup.
1242 *** New regular expressions features
1244 **** New syntax for regular expressions, multi-line regular expressions.
1245 The syntax --ignore-case-regexp=/regex/ is now undocumented and retained
1246 only for backward compatibility. The new equivalent syntax is
1247 --regex=/regex/i. More generally, it is --regex=/TAGREGEX/TAGNAME/MODS,
1248 where `/TAGNAME' is optional, as usual, and MODS is a string of 0 or
1249 more characters among `i' (ignore case), `m' (multi-line) and `s'
1250 (single-line). The `m' and `s' modifiers behave as in Perl regular
1251 expressions: `m' allows regexps to match more than one line, while `s'
1252 (which implies `m') means that `.' matches newlines. The ability to
1253 span newlines allows writing of much more powerful regular expressions
1254 and rapid prototyping for tagging new languages.
1256 **** Regular expressions can use char escape sequences as in Gcc.
1257 The escaped character sequence \a, \b, \d, \e, \f, \n, \r, \t, \v,
1258 respectively, stand for the ASCII characters BEL, BS, DEL, ESC, FF, NL,
1261 **** Regular expressions can be bound to a given language.
1262 The syntax --regex={LANGUAGE}REGEX means that REGEX is used to make tags
1263 only for files of language LANGUAGE, and ignored otherwise. This is
1264 particularly useful when storing regexps in a file.
1266 **** Regular expressions can be read from a file.
1267 The --regex=@regexfile option means read the regexps from a file, one
1268 per line. Lines beginning with space or tab are ignored.
1270 *** New language parsing features
1272 **** The `::' qualifier triggers C++ parsing in C file.
1273 Previously, only the `template' and `class' keywords had this effect.
1275 **** In Perl, packages are tags.
1276 Subroutine tags are named from their package. You can jump to sub tags
1277 as you did before, by the sub name, or additionally by looking for
1280 **** New language PHP.
1281 Tags are functions, classes and defines.
1282 If the --members option is specified to etags, tags are vars also.
1284 **** New language HTML.
1285 Title and h1, h2, h3 are tagged. Also, tags are generated when name= is
1286 used inside an anchor and whenever id= is used.
1288 **** New default keywords for TeX.
1289 The new keywords are def, newcommand, renewcommand, newenvironment and
1292 **** In Makefiles, constants are tagged.
1293 If you want the old behavior instead, thus avoiding to increase the
1294 size of the tags file, use the --no-globals option.
1296 **** In Prolog, etags creates tags for rules in addition to predicates.
1298 *** Honour #line directives.
1299 When Etags parses an input file that contains C preprocessor's #line
1300 directives, it creates tags using the file name and line number
1301 specified in those directives. This is useful when dealing with code
1302 created from Cweb source files. When Etags tags the generated file, it
1303 writes tags pointing to the source file.
1305 *** New option --parse-stdin=FILE.
1306 This option is mostly useful when calling etags from programs. It can
1307 be used (only once) in place of a file name on the command line. Etags
1308 will read from standard input and mark the produced tags as belonging to
1314 *** Font lock support.
1315 CC Mode now provides font lock support for all its languages. This
1316 supersedes the font lock patterns that have been in the core font lock
1317 package for C, C++, Java and Objective-C. Like indentation, font
1318 locking is done in a uniform way across all languages (except the new
1319 AWK mode - see below). That means that the new font locking will be
1320 different from the old patterns in various details for most languages.
1322 The main goal of the font locking in CC Mode is accuracy, to provide a
1323 dependable aid in recognizing the various constructs. Some, like
1324 strings and comments, are easy to recognize while others like
1325 declarations and types can be very tricky. CC Mode can go to great
1326 lengths to recognize declarations and casts correctly, especially when
1327 the types aren't recognized by standard patterns. This is a fairly
1328 demanding analysis which can be slow on older hardware, and it can
1329 therefore be disabled by choosing a lower decoration level with the
1330 variable font-lock-maximum-decoration.
1332 Note that the most demanding font lock level has been tuned with lazy
1333 fontification in mind, i.e. there should be a support mode that waits
1334 with the fontification until the text is actually shown
1335 (e.g. Just-in-time Lock mode, which is the default, or Lazy Lock
1336 mode). Fontifying a file with several thousand lines in one go can
1337 take the better part of a minute.
1339 **** The (c|c++|objc|java|idl|pike)-font-lock-extra-types variables
1340 are now used by CC Mode to recognize identifiers that are certain to
1341 be types. (They are also used in cases that aren't related to font
1342 locking.) At the maximum decoration level, types are often recognized
1343 properly anyway, so these variables should be fairly restrictive and
1344 not contain patterns for uncertain types.
1346 **** Support for documentation comments.
1347 There is a "plugin" system to fontify documentation comments like
1348 Javadoc and the markup within them. It's independent of the host
1349 language, so it's possible to e.g. turn on Javadoc font locking in C
1350 buffers. See the variable c-doc-comment-style for details.
1352 Currently two kinds of doc comment styles are recognized: Suns Javadoc
1353 and Autodoc which is used in Pike. This is by no means a complete
1354 list of the most common tools; if your doc comment extractor of choice
1355 is missing then please drop a note to bug-cc-mode@gnu.org.
1357 **** Better handling of C++ templates.
1358 As a side effect of the more accurate font locking, C++ templates are
1359 now handled much better. The angle brackets that delimit them are
1360 given parenthesis syntax so that they can be navigated like other
1363 This also improves indentation of templates, although there still is
1364 work to be done in that area. E.g. it's required that multiline
1365 template clauses are written in full and then refontified to be
1366 recognized, and the indentation of nested templates is a bit odd and
1367 not as configurable as it ought to be.
1369 **** Improved handling of Objective-C and CORBA IDL.
1370 Especially the support for Objective-C and IDL has gotten an overhaul.
1371 The special "@" declarations in Objective-C are handled correctly.
1372 All the keywords used in CORBA IDL, PSDL, and CIDL are recognized and
1373 handled correctly, also wrt indentation.
1375 *** Support for the AWK language.
1376 Support for the AWK language has been introduced. The implementation is
1377 based around GNU AWK version 3.1, but it should work pretty well with
1378 any AWK. As yet, not all features of CC Mode have been adapted for AWK.
1381 **** Indentation Engine
1382 The CC Mode indentation engine fully supports AWK mode.
1384 AWK mode handles code formatted in the conventional AWK fashion: `{'s
1385 which start actions, user-defined functions, or compound statements are
1386 placed on the same line as the associated construct; the matching `}'s
1387 are normally placed under the start of the respective pattern, function
1388 definition, or structured statement.
1390 The predefined indentation functions haven't yet been adapted for AWK
1391 mode, though some of them may work serendipitously. There shouldn't be
1392 any problems writing custom indentation functions for AWK mode.
1394 The command C-c C-q (c-indent-defun) hasn't yet been adapted for AWK,
1395 though in practice it works properly nearly all the time. Should it
1396 fail, explicitly set the region around the function (using C-u C-SPC:
1397 C-M-h probably won't work either) then do C-M-\ (indent-region).
1400 There is a single level of font locking in AWK mode, rather than the
1401 three distinct levels the other modes have. There are several
1402 idiosyncrasies in AWK mode's font-locking due to the peculiarities of
1403 the AWK language itself.
1405 **** Comment Commands
1406 M-; (indent-for-comment) works fine. None of the other CC Mode
1407 comment formatting commands have yet been adapted for AWK mode.
1409 **** Movement Commands
1410 Most of the movement commands work in AWK mode. The most important
1411 exceptions are M-a (c-beginning-of-statement) and M-e
1412 (c-end-of-statement) which haven't yet been adapted.
1414 The notion of "defun" has been augmented to include AWK pattern-action
1415 pairs. C-M-a (c-awk-beginning-of-defun) and C-M-e (c-awk-end-of-defun)
1416 recognise these pattern-action pairs, as well as user defined
1419 **** Auto-newline Insertion and Clean-ups
1420 Auto-newline insertion hasn't yet been adapted for AWK. Some of
1421 the clean-ups can actually convert good AWK code into syntactically
1422 invalid code. These features are best disabled in AWK buffers.
1424 *** New syntactic symbols in IDL mode.
1425 The top level constructs "module" and "composition" (from CIDL) are
1426 now handled like "namespace" in C++: They are given syntactic symbols
1427 module-open, module-close, inmodule, composition-open,
1428 composition-close, and incomposition.
1430 *** New functions to do hungry delete without enabling hungry delete mode.
1431 The functions c-hungry-backspace and c-hungry-delete-forward can be
1432 bound to keys to get this feature without toggling a mode.
1433 Contributed by Kevin Ryde.
1435 *** Better control over require-final-newline.
1436 The variable that controls how to handle a final newline when the
1437 buffer is saved, require-final-newline, is now customizable on a
1438 per-mode basis through c-require-final-newline. The default is to set
1439 it to t only in languages that mandate a final newline in source files
1440 (C, C++ and Objective-C).
1442 *** Format change for syntactic context elements.
1443 The elements in the syntactic context returned by c-guess-basic-syntax
1444 and stored in c-syntactic-context has been changed somewhat to allow
1445 attaching more information. They are now lists instead of single cons
1446 cells. E.g. a line that previously had the syntactic analysis
1448 ((inclass . 11) (topmost-intro . 13))
1452 ((inclass 11) (topmost-intro 13))
1454 In some cases there are more than one position given for a syntactic
1457 This change might affect code that call c-guess-basic-syntax directly,
1458 and custom lineup functions if they use c-syntactic-context. However,
1459 the argument given to lineup functions is still a single cons cell
1460 with nil or an integer in the cdr.
1462 *** API changes for derived modes.
1463 There have been extensive changes "under the hood" which can affect
1464 derived mode writers. Some of these changes are likely to cause
1465 incompatibilities with existing derived modes, but on the other hand
1466 care has now been taken to make it possible to extend and modify CC
1467 Mode with less risk of such problems in the future.
1469 **** New language variable system.
1470 See the comment blurb near the top of cc-langs.el.
1472 **** New initialization functions.
1473 The initialization procedure has been split up into more functions to
1474 give better control: c-basic-common-init, c-font-lock-init, and
1475 c-init-language-vars.
1477 *** Changes in analysis of nested syntactic constructs.
1478 The syntactic analysis engine has better handling of cases where
1479 several syntactic constructs appear nested on the same line. They are
1480 now handled as if each construct started on a line of its own.
1482 This means that CC Mode now indents some cases differently, and
1483 although it's more consistent there might be cases where the old way
1484 gave results that's more to one's liking. So if you find a situation
1485 where you think that the indentation has become worse, please report
1486 it to bug-cc-mode@gnu.org.
1488 **** New syntactic symbol substatement-label.
1489 This symbol is used when a label is inserted between a statement and
1490 its substatement. E.g:
1496 *** Better handling of multiline macros.
1498 **** Syntactic indentation inside macros.
1499 The contents of multiline #define's are now analyzed and indented
1500 syntactically just like other code. This can be disabled by the new
1501 variable c-syntactic-indentation-in-macros. A new syntactic symbol
1502 cpp-define-intro has been added to control the initial indentation
1505 **** New lineup function c-lineup-cpp-define.
1506 Now used by default to line up macro continuation lines. The behavior
1507 of this function closely mimics the indentation one gets if the macro
1508 is indented while the line continuation backslashes are temporarily
1509 removed. If syntactic indentation in macros is turned off, it works
1510 much line c-lineup-dont-change, which was used earlier, but handles
1511 empty lines within the macro better.
1513 **** Automatically inserted newlines continues the macro if used within one.
1514 This applies to the newlines inserted by the auto-newline mode, and to
1515 c-context-line-break and c-context-open-line.
1517 **** Better alignment of line continuation backslashes.
1518 c-backslash-region tries to adapt to surrounding backslashes. New
1519 variable c-backslash-max-column which put a limit on how far out
1520 backslashes can be moved.
1522 **** Automatic alignment of line continuation backslashes.
1523 This is controlled by the new variable c-auto-align-backslashes. It
1524 affects c-context-line-break, c-context-open-line and newlines
1525 inserted in auto-newline mode.
1527 **** Line indentation works better inside macros.
1528 Regardless whether syntactic indentation and syntactic indentation
1529 inside macros are enabled or not, line indentation now ignores the
1530 line continuation backslashes. This is most noticeable when syntactic
1531 indentation is turned off and there are empty lines (save for the
1532 backslash) in the macro.
1534 *** indent-for-comment is more customizable.
1535 The behavior of M-; (indent-for-comment) is now configurable through
1536 the variable c-indent-comment-alist. The indentation behavior based
1537 on the preceding code on the line, e.g. to get two spaces after #else
1538 and #endif but indentation to comment-column in most other cases
1539 (something which was hardcoded earlier).
1541 *** New function c-context-open-line.
1542 It's the open-line equivalent of c-context-line-break.
1544 *** New lineup functions
1546 **** c-lineup-string-cont
1547 This lineup function lines up a continued string under the one it
1550 result = prefix + "A message "
1551 "string."; <- c-lineup-string-cont
1553 **** c-lineup-cascaded-calls
1554 Lines up series of calls separated by "->" or ".".
1556 **** c-lineup-knr-region-comment
1557 Gives (what most people think is) better indentation of comments in
1558 the "K&R region" between the function header and its body.
1560 **** c-lineup-gcc-asm-reg
1561 Provides better indentation inside asm blocks. Contributed by Kevin
1564 **** c-lineup-argcont
1565 Lines up continued function arguments after the preceding comma.
1566 Contributed by Kevin Ryde.
1568 *** Better caching of the syntactic context.
1569 CC Mode caches the positions of the opening parentheses (of any kind)
1570 of the lists surrounding the point. Those positions are used in many
1571 places as anchor points for various searches. The cache is now
1572 improved so that it can be reused to a large extent when the point is
1573 moved. The less it moves, the less needs to be recalculated.
1575 The effect is that CC Mode should be fast most of the time even when
1576 opening parens are hung (i.e. aren't in column zero). It's typically
1577 only the first time after the point is moved far down in a complex
1578 file that it'll take noticeable time to find out the syntactic
1581 *** Statements are recognized in a more robust way.
1582 Statements are recognized most of the time even when they occur in an
1583 "invalid" context, e.g. in a function argument. In practice that can
1584 happen when macros are involved.
1586 *** Improved the way c-indent-exp chooses the block to indent.
1587 It now indents the block for the closest sexp following the point
1588 whose closing paren ends on a different line. This means that the
1589 point doesn't have to be immediately before the block to indent.
1590 Also, only the block and the closing line is indented; the current
1591 line is left untouched.
1593 *** Added toggle for syntactic indentation.
1594 The function c-toggle-syntactic-indentation can be used to toggle
1595 syntactic indentation.
1597 ** The command line option --no-windows has been changed to
1598 --no-window-system. The old one still works, but is deprecated.
1601 ** The command `list-text-properties-at' has been deleted because
1602 C-u C-x = gives the same information and more.
1605 ** `buffer-menu' and `list-buffers' now list buffers whose names begin
1606 with a space, when those buffers are visiting files. Normally buffers
1607 whose names begin with space are omitted.
1610 ** You can now customize fill-nobreak-predicate to control where
1611 filling can break lines. We provide two sample predicates,
1612 fill-single-word-nobreak-p and fill-french-nobreak-p.
1615 ** New user option `add-log-always-start-new-record'.
1616 When this option is enabled, M-x add-change-log-entry will always
1617 start a new record regardless of when the last record is.
1620 ** SGML mode has indentation and supports XML syntax.
1621 The new variable `sgml-xml-mode' tells SGML mode to use XML syntax.
1622 When this option is enabled, SGML tags are inserted in XML style,
1623 i.e., there is always a closing tag.
1624 By default, its setting is inferred on a buffer-by-buffer basis
1625 from the file name or buffer contents.
1628 ** `xml-mode' is now an alias for `sgml-mode', which has XML support.
1631 ** New user option `isearch-resume-enabled'.
1632 This option can be disabled, to avoid the normal behavior of isearch
1633 which puts calls to `isearch-resume' in the command history.
1636 ** Lisp mode now uses font-lock-doc-face for the docstrings.
1639 ** Perl mode has a new variable `perl-indent-continued-arguments'.
1642 ** Fortran mode has a new variable `fortran-directive-re'.
1643 Adapt this to match the format of any compiler directives you use.
1644 Lines that match are never indented, and are given distinctive font-locking.
1647 ** F90 mode has new navigation commands `f90-end-of-block',
1648 `f90-beginning-of-block', `f90-next-block', `f90-previous-block'.
1651 ** Prolog mode has a new variable `prolog-font-lock-keywords'
1652 to support use of font-lock.
1655 ** `special-display-buffer-names' and `special-display-regexps' now
1656 understand two new boolean pseudo-frame-parameters `same-frame' and
1660 ** M-x setenv now expands environment variables of the form `$foo' and
1661 `${foo}' in the specified new value of the environment variable. To
1662 include a `$' in the value, use `$$'.
1665 ** File-name completion can now ignore directories.
1666 If an element of the list in `completion-ignored-extensions' ends in a
1667 slash `/', it indicates a subdirectory that should be ignored when
1668 completing file names. Elements of `completion-ignored-extensions'
1669 which do not end in a slash are never considered when a completion
1670 candidate is a directory.
1673 ** The completion commands TAB, SPC and ? in the minibuffer apply only
1674 to the text before point. If there is text in the buffer after point,
1675 it remains unchanged.
1677 ** Enhanced visual feedback in *Completions* buffer.
1679 Completions lists use faces to highlight what all completions
1680 have in common and where they begin to differ.
1682 The common prefix shared by all possible completions uses the face
1683 `completions-common-part', while the first character that isn't the
1684 same uses the face `completions-first-difference'. By default,
1685 `completions-common-part' inherits from `default', and
1686 `completions-first-difference' inherits from `bold'. The idea of
1687 `completions-common-part' is that you can use it to make the common
1688 parts less visible than normal, so that the rest of the differing
1689 parts is, by contrast, slightly highlighted.
1692 ** New user option `inhibit-startup-buffer-menu'.
1693 When loading many files, for instance with `emacs *', Emacs normally
1694 displays a buffer menu. This option turns the buffer menu off.
1696 ** Compilation mode enhancements:
1698 *** New user option `compilation-environment'.
1699 This option allows you to specify environment variables for inferior
1700 compilation processes without affecting the environment that all
1701 subprocesses inherit.
1703 *** `next-error' now temporarily highlights the corresponding source line.
1705 ** Grep has been decoupled from compilation mode setup.
1707 *** Grep commands now have their own submenu and customization group.
1709 *** The new variables `grep-window-height', `grep-auto-highlight', and
1710 `grep-scroll-output' can be used to override the corresponding
1711 compilation mode settings for grep commands.
1713 *** Source line is temporarily highlighted when going to next match.
1715 *** New key bindings in grep output window:
1716 SPC and DEL scrolls window up and down. C-n and C-p moves to next and
1717 previous match in the grep window. RET jumps to the source line of
1718 the current match. `n' and `p' shows next and previous match in
1719 other window, but does not switch buffer. `{' and `}' jumps to the
1720 previous or next file in the grep output. TAB also jumps to the next
1724 ** Rmail now displays 5-digit message ids in its summary buffer.
1727 ** On MS Windows, the "system caret" now follows the cursor.
1728 This enables Emacs to work better with programs that need to track
1729 the cursor, for example screen magnifiers and text to speech programs.
1732 ** Tooltips now work on MS Windows.
1733 See the Emacs 21.1 NEWS entry for tooltips for details.
1736 ** Images are now supported on MS Windows.
1737 PBM and XBM images are supported out of the box. Other image formats
1738 depend on external libraries. All of these libraries have been ported
1739 to Windows, and can be found in both source and binary form at
1740 http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/. Note that libpng also depends on
1741 zlib, and tiff depends on the version of jpeg that it was compiled
1745 ** Sound is now supported on MS Windows.
1746 WAV format is supported on all versions of Windows, other formats such
1747 as AU, AIFF and MP3 may be supported in the more recent versions of
1748 Windows, or when other software provides hooks into the system level
1749 sound support for those formats.
1752 ** Different shaped mouse pointers are supported on MS Windows.
1753 The mouse pointer changes shape depending on what is under the pointer.
1756 ** Pointing devices with more than 3 buttons are now supported on MS Windows.
1757 The new variable `w32-pass-extra-mouse-buttons-to-system' controls
1758 whether Emacs should handle the extra buttons itself (the default), or
1759 pass them to Windows to be handled with system-wide functions.
1762 ** Emacs takes note of colors defined in Control Panel on MS-Windows.
1763 The Control Panel defines some default colors for applications in
1764 much the same way as wildcard X Resources do on X. Emacs now
1765 adds these colors to the colormap prefixed by System (eg SystemMenu
1766 for the default Menu background, SystemMenuText for the foreground),
1767 and uses some of them to initialize some of the default faces.
1768 `list-colors-display' will show the list of System color names if you
1769 wish to use them in other faces.
1772 ** Under X11, it is possible to swap Alt and Meta (and Super and Hyper).
1773 The new variables `x-alt-keysym', `x-hyper-keysym', `x-meta-keysym',
1774 and `x-super-keysym' can be used to choose which keysyms Emacs should
1775 use for the modifiers. For example, the following two lines swap
1777 (setq x-alt-keysym 'meta)
1778 (setq x-meta-keysym 'alt)
1781 ** vc-annotate-mode enhancements
1783 In vc-annotate mode, you can now use the following key bindings for
1784 enhanced functionality to browse the annotations of past revisions, or
1785 to view diffs or log entries directly from vc-annotate-mode:
1787 P: annotates the previous revision
1788 N: annotates the next revision
1789 J: annotates the revision at line
1790 A: annotates the revision previous to line
1791 D: shows the diff of the revision at line with its previous revision
1792 L: shows the log of the revision at line
1793 W: annotates the workfile (most up to date) version
1795 * New modes and packages in Emacs 21.4
1797 ** The wdired.el package allows you to use normal editing commands on dired
1798 buffers to change filenames, permissions, etc...
1800 ** The new python.el package is used to edit Python and Jython programs.
1802 ** The URL package (which had been part of W3) is now part of Emacs.
1805 ** The new global minor mode `size-indication-mode' (off by default)
1806 shows the size of accessible part of the buffer on the mode line.
1808 ** GDB-Script-mode is used for files like .gdbinit.
1811 ** Ido mode is now part of the Emacs distribution.
1813 The ido (interactively do) package is an extension of the iswitchb
1814 package to do interactive opening of files and directories in addition
1815 to interactive buffer switching. Ido is a superset of iswitchb (with
1816 a few exceptions), so don't enable both packages.
1819 ** CUA mode is now part of the Emacs distribution.
1821 The new cua package provides CUA-like keybindings using C-x for
1822 cut (kill), C-c for copy, C-v for paste (yank), and C-z for undo.
1823 With cua, the region can be set and extended using shifted movement
1824 keys (like pc-selection-mode) and typed text replaces the active
1825 region (like delete-selection-mode). Do not enable these modes with
1826 cua-mode. Customize the variable `cua-mode' to enable cua.
1828 In addition, cua provides unified rectangle support with visible
1829 rectangle highlighting: Use S-return to start a rectangle, extend it
1830 using the movement commands (or mouse-3), and cut or copy it using C-x
1831 or C-c (using C-w and M-w also works).
1833 Use M-o and M-c to `open' or `close' the rectangle, use M-b or M-f, to
1834 fill it with blanks or another character, use M-u or M-l to upcase or
1835 downcase the rectangle, use M-i to increment the numbers in the
1836 rectangle, use M-n to fill the rectangle with a numeric sequence (such
1837 as 10 20 30...), use M-r to replace a regexp in the rectangle, and use
1838 M-' or M-/ to restrict command on the rectangle to a subset of the
1839 rows. See the commentary in cua-base.el for more rectangle commands.
1841 Cua also provides unified support for registers: Use a numeric
1842 prefix argument between 0 and 9, i.e. M-0 .. M-9, for C-x, C-c, and
1843 C-v to cut or copy into register 0-9, or paste from register 0-9.
1845 The last text deleted (not killed) is automatically stored in
1846 register 0. This includes text deleted by typing text.
1848 Finally, cua provides a global mark which is set using S-C-space.
1849 When the global mark is active, any text which is cut or copied is
1850 automatically inserted at the global mark position. See the
1851 commentary in cua-base.el for more global mark related commands.
1853 The features of cua also works with the standard emacs bindings for
1854 kill, copy, yank, and undo. If you want to use cua mode, but don't
1855 want the C-x, C-c, C-v, and C-z bindings, you may customize the
1856 `cua-enable-cua-keys' variable.
1858 Note: This version of cua mode is not backwards compatible with older
1859 versions of cua.el and cua-mode.el. To ensure proper operation, you
1860 must remove older versions of cua.el or cua-mode.el as well as the
1861 loading and customization of those packages from the .emacs file.
1863 ** The new keypad setup package provides several common bindings for
1864 the numeric keypad which is available on most keyboards. The numeric
1865 keypad typically has the digits 0 to 9, a decimal point, keys marked
1866 +, -, /, and *, an Enter key, and a NumLock toggle key. The keypad
1867 package only controls the use of the digit and decimal keys.
1869 By customizing the variables `keypad-setup', `keypad-shifted-setup',
1870 `keypad-numlock-setup', and `keypad-numlock-shifted-setup', or by
1871 using the function `keypad-setup', you can rebind all digit keys and
1872 the decimal key of the keypad in one step for each of the four
1873 possible combinations of the Shift key state (not pressed/pressed) and
1874 the NumLock toggle state (off/on).
1876 The choices for the keypad keys in each of the above states are:
1877 `Plain numeric keypad' where the keys generates plain digits,
1878 `Numeric keypad with decimal key' where the character produced by the
1879 decimal key can be customized individually (for internationalization),
1880 `Numeric Prefix Arg' where the keypad keys produce numeric prefix args
1881 for emacs editing commands, `Cursor keys' and `Shifted Cursor keys'
1882 where the keys work like (shifted) arrow keys, home/end, etc., and
1883 `Unspecified/User-defined' where the keypad keys (kp-0, kp-1, etc.)
1884 are left unspecified and can be bound individually through the global
1887 ** The new kmacro package provides a simpler user interface to
1888 emacs' keyboard macro facilities.
1890 Basically, it uses two function keys (default F3 and F4) like this:
1891 F3 starts a macro, F4 ends the macro, and pressing F4 again executes
1892 the last macro. While defining the macro, F3 inserts a counter value
1893 which automatically increments every time the macro is executed.
1895 There is now a keyboard macro ring which stores the most recently
1898 The C-x C-k sequence is now a prefix for the kmacro keymap which
1899 defines bindings for moving through the keyboard macro ring,
1900 C-x C-k C-p and C-x C-k C-n, editing the last macro C-x C-k C-e,
1901 manipulating the macro counter and format via C-x C-k C-c,
1902 C-x C-k C-a, and C-x C-k C-f. See the commentary in kmacro.el
1905 The normal macro bindings C-x (, C-x ), and C-x e now interfaces to
1906 the keyboard macro ring.
1908 The C-x e command now automatically terminates the current macro
1909 before calling it, if used while defining a macro.
1911 In addition, when ending or calling a macro with C-x e, the macro can
1912 be repeated immediately by typing just the `e'. You can customize
1913 this behaviour via the variable kmacro-call-repeat-key and
1914 kmacro-call-repeat-with-arg.
1916 Keyboard macros can now be debugged and edited interactively.
1917 C-x C-k SPC will step through the last keyboard macro one key sequence
1918 at a time, prompting for the actions to take.
1921 ** The old Octave mode bindings C-c f and C-c i have been changed
1922 to C-c C-f and C-c C-i. The C-c C-i subcommands now have duplicate
1923 bindings on control characters--thus, C-c C-i C-b is the same as
1924 C-c C-i b, and so on.
1926 ** The printing package is now part of the Emacs distribution.
1928 If you enable the printing package by including (require 'printing) in
1929 the .emacs file, the normal Print item on the File menu is replaced
1930 with a Print sub-menu which allows you to preview output through
1931 ghostview, use ghostscript to print (if you don't have a PostScript
1932 printer) or send directly to printer a PostScript code generated by
1933 `ps-print' package. Use M-x pr-help for more information.
1936 ** Calc is now part of the Emacs distribution.
1938 Calc is an advanced desk calculator and mathematical tool written in
1939 Emacs Lisp. Its documentation is in a separate manual; within Emacs,
1940 type "C-h i m calc RET" to read that manual. A reference card is
1941 available in `etc/calccard.tex' and `etc/calccard.ps'.
1944 ** Tramp is now part of the distribution.
1946 This package is similar to Ange-FTP: it allows you to edit remote
1947 files. But whereas Ange-FTP uses FTP to access the remote host,
1948 Tramp uses a shell connection. The shell connection is always used
1949 for filename completion and directory listings and suchlike, but for
1950 the actual file transfer, you can choose between the so-called
1951 `inline' methods (which transfer the files through the shell
1952 connection using base64 or uu encoding) and the `out-of-band' methods
1953 (which invoke an external copying program such as `rcp' or `scp' or
1954 `rsync' to do the copying).
1956 Shell connections can be acquired via `rsh', `ssh', `telnet' and also
1960 ** The new global minor mode `file-name-shadow-mode' modifies the way
1961 filenames being entered by the user in the minibuffer are displayed, so
1962 that it's clear when part of the entered filename will be ignored due to
1963 emacs' filename parsing rules. The ignored portion can be made dim,
1964 invisible, or otherwise less visually noticable. The display method may
1965 be displayed by customizing the variable `file-name-shadow-properties'.
1968 ** The ruler-mode.el library provides a minor mode for displaying an
1969 "active" ruler in the header line. You can use the mouse to visually
1970 change the `fill-column', `window-margins' and `tab-stop-list'
1974 ** The minor mode Reveal mode makes text visible on the fly as you
1975 move your cursor into hidden regions of the buffer.
1976 It should work with any package that uses overlays to hide parts
1977 of a buffer, such as outline-minor-mode, hs-minor-mode, hide-ifdef-mode, ...
1979 There is also Global Reveal mode which affects all buffers.
1982 ** The new package ibuffer provides a powerful, completely
1983 customizable replacement for buff-menu.el.
1985 ** The new package table.el implements editable, WYSIWYG, embedded
1986 `text tables' in Emacs buffers. It simulates the effect of putting
1987 these tables in a special major mode. The package emulates WYSIWYG
1988 table editing available in modern word processors. The package also
1989 can generate a table source in typesetting and markup languages such
1990 as latex and html from the visually laid out text table.
1993 ** SES mode (ses-mode) is a new major mode for creating and editing
1994 spreadsheet files. Besides the usual Emacs features (intuitive command
1995 letters, undo, cell formulas in Lisp, plaintext files, etc.) it also offers
1996 viral immunity and import/export of tab-separated values.
1999 ** Support for `magic cookie' standout modes has been removed.
2000 Emacs will still work on terminals that require magic cookies in order
2001 to use standout mode, however they will not be able to display
2002 mode-lines in inverse-video.
2005 ** cplus-md.el has been removed to avoid problems with Custom.
2007 ** New package benchmark.el contains simple support for convenient
2008 timing measurements of code (including the garbage collection component).
2010 ** The default values of paragraph-start and indent-line-function have
2011 been changed to reflect those used in Text mode rather than those used
2012 in Indented-Text mode.
2014 ** If you set `query-replace-skip-read-only' non-nil,
2015 `query-replace' and related functions simply ignore
2016 a match if part of it has a read-only property.
2018 ** The new Lisp library fringe.el controls the apperance of fringes.
2020 ** `cfengine-mode' is a major mode for editing GNU Cfengine
2021 configuration files.
2023 * Lisp Changes in Emacs 21.4
2025 ** New functions posn-at-point and posn-at-x-y returns
2026 click-event-style position information for a given visible buffer
2027 position or for a given window pixel coordinate.
2029 ** Function pos-visible-in-window-p now returns the pixel coordinates
2030 and partial visiblity state of the corresponding row, if the PARTIALLY
2033 ** The function `eql' is now available without requiring the CL package.
2036 ** The new primitive `set-file-times' sets a file's access and
2037 modification times. Magic file name handlers can handle this
2040 ** The display space :width and :align-to text properties are now
2041 supported on text terminals.
2043 ** Support for displaying image slices
2045 *** New display property (slice X Y WIDTH HEIGHT) may be used with
2046 an image property to display only a specific slice of the image.
2048 *** Function insert-image has new optional fourth arg to
2049 specify image slice (X Y WIDTH HEIGHT).
2051 *** New function insert-sliced-image inserts a given image as a
2052 specified number of evenly sized slices (rows x columns).
2054 ** New line-height and line-spacing properties for newline characters
2056 A newline may now have line-height and line-spacing text or overlay
2057 properties that control the height of the corresponding display row.
2059 If the line-height property value is 0, the newline does not
2060 contribute to the height of the display row; instead the height of the
2061 newline glyph is reduced. Also, a line-spacing property on this
2062 newline is ignored. This can be used to tile small images or image
2063 slices without adding blank areas between the images.
2065 If the line-height property value is a positive integer, the value
2066 specifies the minimum line height in pixels. If necessary, the line
2067 height it increased by increasing the line's ascent.
2069 If the line-height property value is a float, the minimum line height
2070 is calculated by multiplying the default frame line height by the
2073 If the line-height property value is a cons (RATIO . FACE), the
2074 minimum line height is calculated as RATIO * height of named FACE.
2075 RATIO is int or float. If FACE is t, it specifies the current face.
2077 If the line-spacing property value is an positive integer, the value
2078 is used as additional pixels to insert after the display line; this
2079 overrides the default frame line-spacing and any buffer local value of
2080 the line-spacing variable.
2082 If the line-spacing property may be a float or cons, the line spacing
2083 is calculated as specified above for the line-height property.
2085 If the line-spacing value is a cons (total . SPACING) where SPACING is
2086 any of the forms described above, the value of SPACING is used as the
2087 total height of the line, i.e. a varying number of pixels are inserted
2088 after each line to make each line exactly that many pixels high.
2091 ** The buffer local line-spacing variable may now have a float value,
2092 which is used as a height relative to the default frame line height.
2094 ** Enhancements to stretch display properties
2096 The display property stretch specification form `(space PROPS)', where
2097 PROPS is a property list now allows pixel based width and height
2098 specifications, as well as enhanced horizontal text alignment.
2100 The value of these properties can now be a (primitive) expression
2101 which is evaluated during redisplay. The following expressions
2104 EXPR ::= NUM | (NUM) | UNIT | ELEM | POS | IMAGE | FORM
2105 NUM ::= INTEGER | FLOAT | SYMBOL
2106 UNIT ::= in | mm | cm | width | height
2107 ELEM ::= left-fringe | right-fringe | left-margin | right-margin
2109 POS ::= left | center | right
2110 FORM ::= (NUM . EXPR) | (OP EXPR ...)
2113 The form `NUM' specifies a fractional width or height of the default
2114 frame font size. The form `(NUM)' specifies an absolute number of
2115 pixels. If a symbol is specified, its buffer-local variable binding
2116 is used. The `in', `mm', and `cm' units specifies the number of
2117 pixels per inch, milli-meter, and centi-meter, resp. The `width' and
2118 `height' units correspond to the width and height of the current face
2119 font. An image specification corresponds to the width or height of
2122 The `left-fringe', `right-fringe', `left-margin', `right-margin',
2123 `scroll-bar', and `text' elements specify to the width of the
2124 corresponding area of the window.
2126 The `left', `center', and `right' positions can be used with :align-to
2127 to specify a position relative to the left edge, center, or right edge
2128 of the text area. One of the above window elements (except `text')
2129 can also be used with :align-to to specify that the position is
2130 relative to the left edge of the given area. Once the base offset for
2131 a relative position has been set (by the first occurrence of one of
2132 these symbols), further occurences of these symbols are interpreted as
2133 the width of the area.
2135 For example, to align to the center of the left-margin, use
2136 :align-to (+ left-margin (0.5 . left-margin))
2138 If no specific base offset is set for alignment, it is always relative
2139 to the left edge of the text area. For example, :align-to 0 in a
2140 header-line aligns with the first text column in the text area.
2142 The value of the form `(NUM . EXPR)' is the value of NUM multiplied by
2143 the value of the expression EXPR. For example, (2 . in) specifies a
2144 width of 2 inches, while (0.5 . IMAGE) specifies half the width (or
2145 height) of the specified image.
2147 The form `(+ EXPR ...)' adds up the value of the expressions.
2148 The form `(- EXPR ...)' negates or subtracts the value of the expressions.
2150 ** New macro with-local-quit temporarily sets inhibit-quit to nil for use
2151 around potentially blocking or long-running code in timers
2152 and post-command-hooks.
2155 ** New face attribute `min-colors' can be used to tailor the face color
2156 to the number of colors supported by a display, and define the
2157 foreground and background colors accordingly so that they look best on
2158 a terminal that supports at least this many colors. This is now the
2159 preferred method for defining default faces in a way that makes a good
2160 use of the capabilities of the display.
2162 ** New function 'define-fringe-bitmap' can now be used to change the
2163 built-in fringe bitmaps, as well as create new fringe bitmaps.
2164 The return value is a number identifying the new fringe bitmap.
2166 To change a built-in bitmap, do (require 'fringe) and identify the
2167 bitmap to change with the value of the corresponding symbol, like
2168 `left-truncation-fringe-bitmap' or `continued-line-fringe-bitmap'.
2170 ** New function 'destroy-fringe-bitmap' may be used to destroy a
2171 previously created bitmap, or restore a built-in bitmap.
2173 ** New function 'set-fringe-bitmap-face' can now be used to set a
2174 specific face to be used for a specific fringe bitmap. Normally,
2175 this should be a face derived from the `fringe' face, specifying
2176 the foreground color as the desired color of the bitmap.
2178 ** There are new display properties, left-fringe and right-fringe,
2179 that can be used to show a specific bitmap in the left or right fringe
2180 bitmap of the display line.
2182 Format is 'display '(left-fringe BITMAP [FACE]), where BITMAP is a
2183 number identifying a fringe bitmap, either built-in or as returned by
2184 `define-fringe-bitmap', and FACE is an optional face name to be used
2185 for displaying the bitmap.
2187 ** New function `fringe-bitmaps-at-pos' returns a cons (LEFT . RIGHT)
2188 identifying the current fringe bitmaps in the display line at a given
2189 buffer position. A nil value means no bitmap.
2191 ** Multiple overlay arrows can now be defined and managed via the new
2192 variable `overlay-arrow-variable-list'. It contains a list of
2193 varibles which contain overlay arrow position markers, including
2194 the original `overlay-arrow-position' variable.
2196 Each variable on this list may have individual `overlay-arrow-string'
2197 and `overlay-arrow-bitmap' properties that specify an overlay arrow
2198 string (for non-window terminals) or fringe bitmap (for window
2199 systems) to display at the corresponding overlay arrow position.
2200 If either property is not set, the default `overlay-arrow-string' or
2201 'overlay-arrow-fringe-bitmap' will be used.
2204 ** New function `line-number-at-pos' returns line number of current
2205 line in current buffer, or if optional buffer position is given, line
2206 number of corresponding line in current buffer.
2208 ** The default value of `sentence-end' is now defined using the new
2209 variable `sentence-end-without-space' which contains such characters
2210 that end a sentence without following spaces.
2212 ** The function `sentence-end' should be used to obtain the value of
2213 the variable `sentence-end'. If the variable `sentence-end' is nil,
2214 then this function returns the regexp constructed from the variables
2215 `sentence-end-without-period', `sentence-end-double-space' and
2216 `sentence-end-without-space'.
2219 ** The flags, width, and precision options for %-specifications in function
2220 `format' are now documented. Some flags that were accepted but not
2221 implemented (such as "*") are no longer accepted.
2223 ** New function `macroexpand-all' expands all macros in a form.
2224 It is similar to the Common-Lisp function of the same name.
2225 One difference is that it guarantees to return the original argument
2226 if no expansion is done, which may be tested using `eq'.
2229 ** New function `delete-dups' destructively removes `equal' duplicates
2230 from a list. Of several `equal' occurrences of an element in the list,
2231 the first one is kept.
2234 ** `declare' is now a macro. This change was made mostly for
2235 documentation purposes and should have no real effect on Lisp code.
2237 ** The new hook `before-save-hook' is invoked by `basic-save-buffer'
2238 before saving buffers. This allows packages to perform various final
2239 tasks, for example; it can be used by the copyright package to make
2240 sure saved files have the current year in any copyright headers.
2243 ** The function `insert-for-yank' now supports strings where the
2244 `yank-handler' property does not span the first character of the
2245 string. The old behavior is available if you call
2246 `insert-for-yank-1' instead.
2248 ** New function `get-char-property-and-overlay' accepts the same
2249 arguments as `get-char-property' and returns a cons whose car is the
2250 return value of `get-char-property' called with those arguments and
2251 whose cdr is the overlay in which the property was found, or nil if
2252 it was found as a text property or not found at all.
2254 ** The mouse pointer shape in void text areas (i.e. after the end of a
2255 line or below the last line in the buffer) of the text window is now
2256 controlled by the new variable `void-text-area-pointer'. The default
2257 is to use the `arrow' (non-text) pointer. Other choices are `text'
2258 (or nil), `hand', `vdrag', `hdrag', `modeline', and `hourglass'.
2260 ** The mouse pointer shape over an image can now be controlled by the
2261 :pointer image property.
2263 ** The mouse pointer shape over ordinary text or images may now be
2264 controlled/overriden via the `pointer' text property.
2266 ** Images may now have an associated image map via the :map property.
2268 An image map is an alist where each element has the format (AREA ID PLIST).
2269 An AREA is specified as either a rectangle, a circle, or a polygon:
2270 A rectangle is a cons (rect . ((x0 . y0) . (x1 . y1))) specifying the
2271 pixel coordinates of the upper left and bottom right corners.
2272 A circle is a cons (circle . ((x0 . y0) . r)) specifying the center
2273 and the radius of the circle; r may be a float or integer.
2274 A polygon is a cons (poly . [x0 y0 x1 y1 ...]) where each pair in the
2275 vector describes one corner in the polygon.
2277 When the mouse pointer is above a hot-spot area of an image, the
2278 PLIST of that hot-spot is consulted; if it contains a `help-echo'
2279 property it defines a tool-tip for the hot-spot, and if it contains
2280 a `pointer' property, it defines the shape of the mouse cursor when
2281 it is over the hot-spot. See the variable 'void-area-text-pointer'
2282 for possible pointer shapes.
2284 When you click the mouse when the mouse pointer is over a hot-spot,
2285 an event is composed by combining the ID of the hot-spot with the
2286 mouse event, e.g. [area4 mouse-1] if the hot-spot's ID is `area4'.
2288 ** Mouse event enhancements:
2290 *** Mouse clicks on fringes now generates left-fringe or right-fringes
2291 events, rather than a text area click event.
2293 *** Mouse clicks in the left and right marginal areas now includes a
2294 sensible buffer position corresponding to the first character in the
2295 corresponding text row.
2297 *** Function `mouse-set-point' now works for events outside text area.
2300 *** Mouse events now includes buffer position for all event types.
2303 *** `posn-point' now returns buffer position for non-text area events.
2306 *** New function `posn-area' returns window area clicked on (nil means
2310 *** Mouse events include actual glyph column and row for all event types.
2313 *** New function `posn-actual-col-row' returns actual glyph coordinates.
2316 *** Mouse events may now include image object in addition to string object.
2319 *** Mouse events include relative x and y pixel coordinates relative to
2320 the top left corner of the object (image or character) clicked on.
2323 *** Mouse events include the pixel width and height of the object
2324 (image or character) clicked on.
2327 *** New functions 'posn-object', 'posn-object-x-y', and
2328 'posn-object-width-height' return the image or string object of a mouse
2329 click, the x and y pixel coordinates relative to the top left corner
2330 of that object, and the total width and height of that object.
2332 ** New function `force-window-update' can initiate a full redisplay of
2333 one or all windows. Normally, this is not needed as changes in window
2334 contents are detected automatically. However, certain implicit
2335 changes to mode lines, header lines, or display properties may require
2336 forcing an explicit window update.
2338 ** New function `redirect-debugging-output' can be used to redirect
2339 debugging output on the stderr file handle to a file.
2342 ** `split-string' now includes null substrings in the returned list if
2343 the optional argument SEPARATORS is non-nil and there are matches for
2344 SEPARATORS at the beginning or end of the string. If SEPARATORS is
2345 nil, or if the new optional third argument OMIT-NULLS is non-nil, all
2346 empty matches are omitted from the returned list.
2349 ** `makehash' is now obsolete. Use `make-hash-table' instead.
2352 ** If optional third argument APPEND to `add-to-list' is non-nil, a
2353 new element gets added at the end of the list instead of at the
2354 beginning. This change actually occurred in Emacs-21.1, but was not
2357 ** Major modes can define `eldoc-print-current-symbol-info-function'
2358 locally to provide Eldoc functionality by some method appropriate to
2362 ** New coding system property `mime-text-unsuitable' indicates that
2363 the coding system's `mime-charset' is not suitable for MIME text
2367 ** The argument to forward-word, backward-word, forward-to-indentation
2368 and backward-to-indentation is now optional, and defaults to 1.
2371 ** (char-displayable-p CHAR) returns non-nil if Emacs ought to be able
2372 to display CHAR. More precisely, if the selected frame's fontset has
2373 a font to display the character set that CHAR belongs to.
2375 Fontsets can specify a font on a per-character basis; when the fontset
2376 does that, this value may not be accurate.
2379 ** The new function `window-inside-edges' returns the edges of the
2380 actual text portion of the window, not including the scroll bar or
2381 divider line, the fringes, the display margins, the header line and
2385 ** The new functions `window-pixel-edges' and `window-inside-pixel-edges'
2386 return window edges in units of pixels, rather than columns and lines.
2389 ** The kill-buffer-hook is now permanent-local.
2392 ** `select-window' takes an optional second argument `norecord', like
2396 ** The new macro `with-selected-window' temporarily switches the
2397 selected window without impacting the order of buffer-list.
2400 ** The `keymap' property now also works at the ends of overlays and
2401 text-properties, according to their stickiness. This also means that it
2402 works with empty overlays. The same hold for the `local-map' property.
2405 ** (map-keymap FUNCTION KEYMAP) applies the function to each binding
2409 ** VC changes for backends:
2410 *** (vc-switches BACKEND OPERATION) is a new function for use by backends.
2411 *** The new `find-version' backend function replaces the `destfile'
2412 parameter of the `checkout' backend function.
2413 Old code still works thanks to a default `find-version' behavior that
2414 uses the old `destfile' parameter.
2417 ** The new macro dynamic-completion-table supports using functions
2418 as a dynamic completion table.
2420 (dynamic-completion-table FUN)
2422 FUN is called with one argument, the string for which completion is required,
2423 and it should return an alist containing all the intended possible
2424 completions. This alist may be a full list of possible completions so that FUN
2425 can ignore the value of its argument. If completion is performed in the
2426 minibuffer, FUN will be called in the buffer from which the minibuffer was
2427 entered. dynamic-completion-table then computes the completion.
2430 ** The new macro lazy-completion-table initializes a variable
2431 as a lazy completion table.
2433 (lazy-completion-table VAR FUN &rest ARGS)
2435 If the completion table VAR is used for the first time (e.g., by passing VAR
2436 as an argument to `try-completion'), the function FUN is called with arguments
2437 ARGS. FUN must return the completion table that will be stored in VAR. If
2438 completion is requested in the minibuffer, FUN will be called in the buffer
2439 from which the minibuffer was entered. The return value of
2440 `lazy-completion-table' must be used to initialize the value of VAR.
2443 ** `minor-mode-list' now holds a list of minor mode commands.
2446 ** The new function `modify-all-frames-parameters' modifies parameters
2447 for all (existing and future) frames.
2450 ** `sit-for' can now be called with args (SECONDS &optional NODISP).
2453 ** New standard font-lock face `font-lock-preprocessor-face'.
2456 ** The macro `with-syntax-table' does not copy the table any more.
2459 ** The variable `face-font-rescale-alist' specifies how much larger
2460 (or smaller) font we should use. For instance, if the value is
2461 '((SOME-FONTNAME-PATTERN . 1.3)) and a face requests a font of 10
2462 point, we actually use a font of 13 point if the font matches
2463 SOME-FONTNAME-PATTERN.
2466 ** The function `number-sequence' returns a list of equally-separated
2467 numbers. For instance, (number-sequence 4 9) returns (4 5 6 7 8 9).
2468 By default, the separation is 1, but you can specify a different separation
2469 as the third argument. (number-sequence 1.5 6 2) returns (1.5 3.5 5.5).
2472 ** `file-chase-links' now takes an optional second argument LIMIT which
2473 specifies the maximum number of links to chase through. If after that
2474 many iterations the file name obtained is still a symbolic link,
2475 `file-chase-links' returns it anyway.
2478 ** `set-fontset-font', `fontset-info', `fontset-font' now operate on
2479 the default fontset if the argument NAME is nil..
2482 ** The escape sequence \s is now interpreted as a SPACE character,
2483 unless it is followed by a `-' in a character constant (e.g. ?\s-A),
2484 in which case it is still interpreted as the super modifier.
2485 In strings, \s is always interpreted as a space.
2488 ** New function `set-process-filter-multibyte' sets the multibyteness
2489 of a string given to a process's filter.
2492 ** New function `process-filter-multibyte-p' returns t if
2493 a string given to a process's filter is multibyte.
2496 ** A filter function of a process is called with a multibyte string if
2497 the filter's multibyteness is t. That multibyteness is decided by the
2498 value of `default-enable-multibyte-characters' when the process is
2499 created and can be changed later by `set-process-filter-multibyte'.
2502 ** If a process's coding system is raw-text or no-conversion and its
2503 buffer is multibyte, the output of the process is at first converted
2504 to multibyte by `string-to-multibyte' then inserted in the buffer.
2505 Previously, it was converted to multibyte by `string-as-multibyte',
2506 which was not compatible with the behaviour of file reading.
2509 ** New function `string-to-multibyte' converts a unibyte string to a
2510 multibyte string with the same individual character codes.
2513 ** New variables `gc-elapsed' and `gcs-done' provide extra information
2514 on garbage collection.
2517 ** New function `decode-coding-inserted-region' decodes a region as if
2518 it is read from a file without decoding.
2521 ** New function `locale-info' accesses locale information.
2524 ** `save-selected-window' now saves and restores the selected window
2525 of every frame. This way, it restores everything that can be changed
2526 by calling `select-window'.
2529 ** `easy-menu-define' now allows you to use nil for the symbol name
2530 if you don't need to give the menu a name. If you install the menu
2531 into other keymaps right away (MAPS is non-nil), it usually doesn't
2532 need to have a name.
2534 ** Byte compiler changes:
2537 *** `(featurep 'xemacs)' is treated by the compiler as nil. This
2538 helps to avoid noisy compiler warnings in code meant to run under both
2539 Emacs and XEmacs and may sometimes make the result significantly more
2540 efficient. Since byte code from recent versions of XEmacs won't
2541 generally run in Emacs and vice versa, this optimization doesn't lose
2545 *** You can avoid warnings for possibly-undefined symbols with a
2546 simple convention that the compiler understands. (This is mostly
2547 useful in code meant to be portable to different Emacs versions.)
2548 Write forms like the following, or code that macroexpands into such
2551 (if (fboundp 'foo) <then> <else>)
2552 (if (boundp 'foo) <then> <else)
2554 In the first case, using `foo' as a function inside the <then> form
2555 won't produce a warning if it's not defined as a function, and in the
2556 second case, using `foo' as a variable won't produce a warning if it's
2557 unbound. The test must be in exactly one of the above forms (after
2558 macro expansion), but such tests may be nested. Note that `when' and
2559 `unless' expand to `if', but `cond' doesn't.
2562 *** The new macro `with-no-warnings' suppresses all compiler warnings
2563 inside its body. In terms of execution, it is equivalent to `progn'.
2566 ** The new translation table `translation-table-for-input'
2567 is used for customizing self-insertion. The character to
2568 be inserted is translated through it.
2571 ** `load-history' can now have elements of the form (t . FUNNAME),
2572 which means FUNNAME was previously defined as an autoload (before the
2573 current file redefined it).
2576 ** New Lisp library testcover.el works with edebug to help you determine
2577 whether you've tested all your Lisp code. Function testcover-start
2578 instruments all functions in a given file. Then test your code. Function
2579 testcover-mark-all adds overlay "splotches" to the Lisp file's buffer to
2580 show where coverage is lacking. Command testcover-next-mark (bind it to
2581 a key!) will move point forward to the next spot that has a splotch.
2583 *** Normally, a red splotch indicates the form was never completely evaluated;
2584 a brown splotch means it always evaluated to the same value. The red
2585 splotches are skipped for forms that can't possibly complete their evaluation,
2586 such as `error'. The brown splotches are skipped for forms that are expected
2587 to always evaluate to the same value, such as (setq x 14).
2589 *** For difficult cases, you can add do-nothing macros to your code to help
2590 out the test coverage tool. The macro `noreturn' suppresses a red splotch.
2591 It is an error if the argument to `noreturn' does return. The macro 1value
2592 suppresses a brown splotch for its argument. This macro is a no-op except
2593 during test-coverage -- then it signals an error if the argument actually
2594 returns differing values.
2597 ** New function unsafep returns nil if the given Lisp form can't possibly
2598 do anything dangerous; otherwise it returns a reason why the form might be
2599 unsafe (calls dangerous function, alters global variable, etc).
2602 ** The new variable `print-continuous-numbering', when non-nil, says
2603 that successive calls to print functions should use the same
2604 numberings for circular structure references. This is only relevant
2605 when `print-circle' is non-nil.
2607 When you bind `print-continuous-numbering' to t, you should
2608 also bind `print-number-table' to nil.
2611 ** When using non-toolkit scroll bars with the default width,
2612 the scroll-bar-width frame parameter value is nil.
2615 ** The new function copy-abbrev-table returns a new abbrev table that
2616 is a copy of a given abbrev table.
2619 ** The option --script FILE runs Emacs in batch mode and loads FILE.
2620 It is useful for writing Emacs Lisp shell script files, because they
2621 can start with this line:
2623 #!/usr/bin/emacs --script
2626 ** A function's docstring can now hold the function's usage info on
2627 its last line. It should match the regexp "\n\n(fn.*)\\'".
2630 ** New CCL functions `lookup-character' and `lookup-integer' access
2631 hash tables defined by the Lisp function `define-translation-hash-table'.
2634 ** The new function `minibufferp' returns non-nil if its optional buffer
2635 argument is a minibuffer. If the argument is omitted it defaults to
2639 ** There is a new Warnings facility; see the functions `warn'
2640 and `display-warning'.
2643 ** The functions all-completions and try-completion now accept lists
2644 of strings as well as hash-tables additionally to alists, obarrays
2645 and functions. Furthermore, the function `test-completion' is now
2649 ** When pure storage overflows while dumping, Emacs now prints how
2650 much pure storage it will approximately need.
2653 ** The new variable `auto-coding-functions' lets you specify functions
2654 to examine a file being visited and deduce the proper coding system
2655 for it. (If the coding system is detected incorrectly for a specific
2656 file, you can put a `coding:' tags to override it.)
2659 ** The new function `merge-coding-systems' fills in unspecified aspects
2660 of one coding system from another coding system.
2663 ** The variable `safe-local-eval-forms' specifies a list of forms that
2664 are ok to evaluate when they appear in an `eval' local variables
2665 specification. Normally Emacs asks for confirmation before evaluating
2666 such a form, but if the form appears in this list, no confirmation is
2670 ** If a function has a non-nil `safe-local-eval-function' property,
2671 that means it is ok to evaluate some calls to that function when it
2672 appears in an `eval' local variables specification. If the property
2673 is t, then any form calling that function with constant arguments is
2674 ok. If the property is a function or list of functions, they are called
2675 with the form as argument, and if any returns t, the form is ok to call.
2677 If the form is not "ok to call", that means Emacs asks for
2678 confirmation as before.
2681 ** Controlling the default left and right fringe widths.
2683 The default left and right fringe widths for all windows of a frame
2684 can now be controlled by setting the `left-fringe' and `right-fringe'
2685 frame parameters to an integer value specifying the width in pixels.
2686 Setting the width to 0 effectively removes the corresponding fringe.
2688 The actual default fringe widths for the frame may deviate from the
2689 specified widths, since the combined fringe widths must match an
2690 integral number of columns. The extra width is distributed evenly
2691 between the left and right fringe. For force a specific fringe width,
2692 specify the width as a negative integer (if both widths are negative,
2693 only the left fringe gets the specified width).
2695 Setting the width to nil (the default), restores the default fringe
2696 width which is the minimum number of pixels necessary to display any
2697 of the currently defined fringe bitmaps. The width of the built-in
2698 fringe bitmaps is 8 pixels.
2701 ** Per-window fringes settings
2703 Windows can now have their own individual fringe widths and position
2706 To control the fringe widths of a window, either set the buffer-local
2707 variables `left-fringe-width', `right-fringe-width', or call
2708 `set-window-fringes'.
2710 To control the fringe position in a window, that is, whether fringes
2711 are positioned between the display margins and the window's text area,
2712 or at the edges of the window, either set the buffer-local variable
2713 `fringes-outside-margins' or call `set-window-fringes'.
2715 The function `window-fringes' can be used to obtain the current
2716 settings. To make `left-fringe-width', `right-fringe-width', and
2717 `fringes-outside-margins' take effect, you must set them before
2718 displaying the buffer in a window, or use `set-window-buffer' to force
2719 an update of the display margins.
2722 ** Per-window vertical scroll-bar settings
2724 Windows can now have their own individual scroll-bar settings
2725 controlling the width and position of scroll-bars.
2727 To control the scroll-bar of a window, either set the buffer-local
2728 variables `scroll-bar-mode' and `scroll-bar-width', or call
2729 `set-window-scroll-bars'. The function `window-scroll-bars' can be
2730 used to obtain the current settings. To make `scroll-bar-mode' and
2731 `scroll-bar-width' take effect, you must set them before displaying
2732 the buffer in a window, or use `set-window-buffer' to force an update
2733 of the display margins.
2736 ** The function `set-window-buffer' now has an optional third argument
2737 KEEP-MARGINS which will preserve the window's current margin, fringe,
2738 and scroll-bar settings if non-nil.
2741 ** Renamed file hooks to follow the convention:
2742 find-file-hooks to find-file-hook,
2743 find-file-not-found-hooks to find-file-not-found-functions,
2744 write-file-hooks to write-file-functions,
2745 write-contents-hooks to write-contents-functions.
2746 Marked local-write-file-hooks as obsolete (use the LOCAL arg of `add-hook').
2749 ** The new variable `delete-frame-functions' replaces `delete-frame-hook'.
2750 It was renamed to follow the naming conventions for abnormal hooks. The old
2751 name remains available as an alias, but has been marked obsolete.
2754 ** The `read-file-name' function now takes an additional argument which
2755 specifies a predicate which the file name read must satify. The
2756 new variable `read-file-name-predicate' contains the predicate argument
2757 while reading the file name from the minibuffer; the predicate in this
2758 variable is used by read-file-name-internal to filter the completion list.
2761 ** The new variable `read-file-name-function' can be used by lisp code
2762 to override the internal read-file-name function.
2765 ** The new function `read-directory-name' can be used instead of
2766 `read-file-name' to read a directory name; when used, completion
2767 will only show directories.
2770 ** The new function `file-remote-p' tests a file name and returns
2771 non-nil if it specifies a remote file (one that Emacs accesses using
2772 its own special methods and not directly through the file system).
2775 ** When a Lisp file uses CL functions at run-time, compiling the file
2776 now issues warnings about these calls, unless the file performs
2777 (require 'cl) when loaded.
2780 ** The `defmacro' form may contain declarations specifying how to
2781 indent the macro in Lisp mode and how to debug it with Edebug. The
2782 syntax of defmacro has been extended to
2784 (defmacro NAME LAMBDA-LIST [DOC-STRING] [DECLARATION ...] ...)
2786 DECLARATION is a list `(declare DECLARATION-SPECIFIER ...)'. The
2787 declaration specifiers supported are:
2790 Set NAME's `lisp-indent-function' property to INDENT.
2793 Set NAME's `edebug-form-spec' property to DEBUG. (This is
2794 equivalent to writing a `def-edebug-spec' for the macro.
2797 ** Interactive commands can be remapped through keymaps.
2799 This is an alternative to using defadvice or substitute-key-definition
2800 to modify the behavior of a key binding using the normal keymap
2801 binding and lookup functionality.
2803 When a key sequence is bound to a command, and that command is
2804 remapped to another command, that command is run instead of the
2808 Suppose that minor mode my-mode has defined the commands
2809 my-kill-line and my-kill-word, and it wants C-k (and any other key
2810 bound to kill-line) to run the command my-kill-line instead of
2811 kill-line, and likewise it wants to run my-kill-word instead of
2814 Instead of rebinding C-k and the other keys in the minor mode map,
2815 command remapping allows you to directly map kill-line into
2816 my-kill-line and kill-word into my-kill-word through the minor mode
2817 map using define-key:
2819 (define-key my-mode-map [remap kill-line] 'my-kill-line)
2820 (define-key my-mode-map [remap kill-word] 'my-kill-word)
2822 Now, when my-mode is enabled, and the user enters C-k or M-d,
2823 the commands my-kill-line and my-kill-word are run.
2825 Notice that only one level of remapping is supported. In the above
2826 example, this means that if my-kill-line is remapped to other-kill,
2827 then C-k still runs my-kill-line.
2829 The following changes have been made to provide command remapping:
2831 - Command remappings are defined using `define-key' with a prefix-key
2832 `remap', i.e. `(define-key MAP [remap CMD] DEF)' remaps command CMD
2833 to definition DEF in keymap MAP. The definition is not limited to
2834 another command; it can be anything accepted for a normal binding.
2836 - The new function `command-remapping' returns the binding for a
2837 remapped command in the current keymaps, or nil if not remapped.
2839 - key-binding now remaps interactive commands unless the optional
2840 third argument NO-REMAP is non-nil.
2842 - where-is-internal now returns nil for a remapped command (e.g.
2843 kill-line if my-mode is enabled), and the actual key binding for
2844 the command it is remapped to (e.g. C-k for my-kill-line).
2845 It also has a new optional fifth argument, NO-REMAP, which inhibits
2846 remapping if non-nil (e.g. it returns C-k for kill-line and
2847 <kill-line> for my-kill-line).
2849 - The new variable `this-original-command' contains the original
2850 command before remapping. It is equal to `this-command' when the
2851 command was not remapped.
2854 ** New variable emulation-mode-map-alists.
2856 Lisp packages using many minor mode keymaps can now maintain their own
2857 keymap alist separate from minor-mode-map-alist by adding their keymap
2861 ** Atomic change groups.
2863 To perform some changes in the current buffer "atomically" so that
2864 they either all succeed or are all undone, use `atomic-change-group'
2865 around the code that makes changes. For instance:
2867 (atomic-change-group
2869 (delete-region x y))
2871 If an error (or other nonlocal exit) occurs inside the body of
2872 `atomic-change-group', it unmakes all the changes in that buffer that
2873 were during the execution of the body. The change group has no effect
2874 on any other buffers--any such changes remain.
2876 If you need something more sophisticated, you can directly call the
2877 lower-level functions that `atomic-change-group' uses. Here is how.
2879 To set up a change group for one buffer, call `prepare-change-group'.
2880 Specify the buffer as argument; it defaults to the current buffer.
2881 This function returns a "handle" for the change group. You must save
2882 the handle to activate the change group and then finish it.
2884 Before you change the buffer again, you must activate the change
2885 group. Pass the handle to `activate-change-group' afterward to
2888 After you make the changes, you must finish the change group. You can
2889 either accept the changes or cancel them all. Call
2890 `accept-change-group' to accept the changes in the group as final;
2891 call `cancel-change-group' to undo them all.
2893 You should use `unwind-protect' to make sure the group is always
2894 finished. The call to `activate-change-group' should be inside the
2895 `unwind-protect', in case the user types C-g just after it runs.
2896 (This is one reason why `prepare-change-group' and
2897 `activate-change-group' are separate functions.) Once you finish the
2898 group, don't use the handle again--don't try to finish the same group
2901 To make a multibuffer change group, call `prepare-change-group' once
2902 for each buffer you want to cover, then use `nconc' to combine the
2903 returned values, like this:
2905 (nconc (prepare-change-group buffer-1)
2906 (prepare-change-group buffer-2))
2908 You can then activate the multibuffer change group with a single call
2909 to `activate-change-group', and finish it with a single call to
2910 `accept-change-group' or `cancel-change-group'.
2912 Nested use of several change groups for the same buffer works as you
2913 would expect. Non-nested use of change groups for the same buffer
2914 will lead to undesirable results, so don't let it happen; the first
2915 change group you start for any given buffer should be the last one
2919 ** New variable char-property-alias-alist.
2921 This variable allows you to create alternative names for text
2922 properties. It works at the same level as `default-text-properties',
2923 although it applies to overlays as well. This variable was introduced
2924 to implement the `font-lock-face' property.
2927 ** New special text property `font-lock-face'.
2929 This property acts like the `face' property, but it is controlled by
2930 M-x font-lock-mode. It is not, strictly speaking, a builtin text
2931 property. Instead, it is implemented inside font-core.el, using the
2932 new variable `char-property-alias-alist'.
2935 ** New function remove-list-of-text-properties.
2937 The new function `remove-list-of-text-properties' is almost the same
2938 as `remove-text-properties'. The only difference is that it takes
2939 a list of property names as argument rather than a property list.
2942 ** New function insert-for-yank.
2944 This function normally works like `insert' but removes the text
2945 properties in the `yank-excluded-properties' list. However, if the
2946 inserted text has a `yank-handler' text property on the first
2947 character of the string, the insertion of the text may be modified in
2948 a number of ways. See the description of `yank-handler' below.
2951 ** New function insert-buffer-substring-as-yank.
2953 This function works like `insert-buffer-substring', but removes the
2954 text properties in the `yank-excluded-properties' list.
2957 ** New function insert-buffer-substring-no-properties.
2959 This function is like insert-buffer-substring, but removes all
2960 text properties from the inserted substring.
2963 ** New `yank-handler' text property may be used to control how
2964 previously killed text on the kill-ring is reinserted.
2966 The value of the yank-handler property must be a list with one to four
2967 elements with the following format:
2968 (FUNCTION PARAM NOEXCLUDE UNDO).
2970 The `insert-for-yank' function looks for a yank-handler property on
2971 the first character on its string argument (typically the first
2972 element on the kill-ring). If a yank-handler property is found,
2973 the normal behaviour of `insert-for-yank' is modified in various ways:
2975 When FUNCTION is present and non-nil, it is called instead of `insert'
2976 to insert the string. FUNCTION takes one argument--the object to insert.
2977 If PARAM is present and non-nil, it replaces STRING as the object
2978 passed to FUNCTION (or `insert'); for example, if FUNCTION is
2979 `yank-rectangle', PARAM should be a list of strings to insert as a
2981 If NOEXCLUDE is present and non-nil, the normal removal of the
2982 yank-excluded-properties is not performed; instead FUNCTION is
2983 responsible for removing those properties. This may be necessary
2984 if FUNCTION adjusts point before or after inserting the object.
2985 If UNDO is present and non-nil, it is a function that will be called
2986 by `yank-pop' to undo the insertion of the current object. It is
2987 called with two arguments, the start and end of the current region.
2988 FUNCTION may set `yank-undo-function' to override the UNDO value.
2990 *** The functions kill-new, kill-append, and kill-region now have an
2991 optional argument to specify the yank-handler text property to put on
2994 *** The function yank-pop will now use a non-nil value of the variable
2995 `yank-undo-function' (instead of delete-region) to undo the previous
2996 yank or yank-pop command (or a call to insert-for-yank). The function
2997 insert-for-yank automatically sets that variable according to the UNDO
2998 element of the string argument's yank-handler text property if present.
3001 ** New function display-supports-face-attributes-p may be used to test
3002 whether a given set of face attributes is actually displayable.
3004 A new predicate `supports' has also been added to the `defface' face
3005 specification language, which can be used to do this test for faces
3006 defined with defface.
3009 ** face-attribute, face-foreground, face-background, and face-stipple now
3010 accept a new optional argument, INHERIT, which controls how face
3011 inheritance is used when determining the value of a face attribute.
3014 ** New functions face-attribute-relative-p and merge-face-attribute
3015 help with handling relative face attributes.
3018 ** Enhancements to process support
3020 *** Function list-processes now has an optional argument; if non-nil,
3021 only the processes whose query-on-exit flag is set are listed.
3023 *** New set-process-query-on-exit-flag and process-query-on-exit-flag
3024 functions. The existing process-kill-without-query function is still
3025 supported, but new code should use the new functions.
3027 *** Function signal-process now accepts a process object or process
3028 name in addition to a process id to identify the signalled process.
3030 *** Processes now have an associated property list where programs can
3031 maintain process state and other per-process related information.
3033 The new functions process-get and process-put are used to access, add,
3034 and modify elements on this property list.
3036 The new low-level functions process-plist and set-process-plist are
3037 used to access and replace the entire property list of a process.
3040 *** Adaptive read buffering of subprocess output.
3042 On some systems, when emacs reads the output from a subprocess, the
3043 output data is read in very small blocks, potentially resulting in
3044 very poor performance. This behaviour can be remedied to some extent
3045 by setting the new variable process-adaptive-read-buffering to a
3046 non-nil value (the default), as it will automatically delay reading
3047 from such processes, to allowing them to produce more output before
3048 emacs tries to read it.
3051 ** Enhanced networking support.
3053 *** There is a new `make-network-process' function which supports
3054 opening of stream and datagram connections to a server, as well as
3055 create a stream or datagram server inside emacs.
3057 - A server is started using :server t arg.
3058 - Datagram connection is selected using :type 'datagram arg.
3059 - A server can open on a random port using :service t arg.
3060 - Local sockets are supported using :family 'local arg.
3061 - Non-blocking connect is supported using :nowait t arg.
3062 - The process' property list may be initialized using :plist PLIST arg;
3063 a copy of the server process' property list is automatically inherited
3064 by new client processes created to handle incoming connections.
3066 To test for the availability of a given feature, use featurep like this:
3067 (featurep 'make-network-process '(:type datagram))
3069 *** Original open-network-stream is now emulated using make-network-process.
3071 *** New function open-network-stream-nowait.
3073 This function initiates a non-blocking connect and returns immediately
3074 without waiting for the connection to be established. It takes the
3075 filter and sentinel functions as arguments; when the non-blocking
3076 connect completes, the sentinel is called with a status string
3077 matching "open" or "failed".
3079 *** New function open-network-stream-server.
3081 This function creates a network server process for a TCP service.
3082 When a client connects to the specified service, a new subprocess
3083 is created to handle the new connection, and the sentinel function
3084 is called for the new process.
3086 *** New functions process-datagram-address and set-process-datagram-address.
3088 These functions are used with datagram-based network processes to get
3089 and set the current address of the remote partner.
3091 *** New function format-network-address.
3093 This function reformats the lisp representation of a network address
3094 to a printable string. For example, an IP address A.B.C.D and port
3095 number P is represented as a five element vector [A B C D P], and the
3096 printable string returned for this vector is "A.B.C.D:P". See the doc
3097 string for other formatting options.
3099 *** By default, the function process-contact still returns (HOST SERVICE)
3100 for a network process. Using the new optional KEY arg, the complete list
3101 of network process properties or a specific property can be selected.
3103 Using :local and :remote as the KEY, the address of the local or
3104 remote end-point is returned. An Inet address is represented as a 5
3105 element vector, where the first 4 elements contain the IP address and
3106 the fifth is the port number.
3108 *** Network processes can now be stopped and restarted with
3109 `stop-process' and `continue-process'. For a server process, no
3110 connections are accepted in the stopped state. For a client process,
3111 no input is received in the stopped state.
3113 *** New function network-interface-list.
3115 This function returns a list of network interface names and their
3116 current network addresses.
3118 *** New function network-interface-info.
3120 This function returns the network address, hardware address, current
3121 status, and other information about a specific network interface.
3124 ** New function copy-tree.
3127 ** New function substring-no-properties.
3130 ** New function minibuffer-selected-window.
3133 ** New function `call-process-shell-command'.
3136 ** The dummy function keys made by easymenu
3137 are now always lower case. If you specify the
3138 menu item name "Ada", for instance, it uses `ada'
3139 as the "key" bound by that key binding.
3141 This is relevant only if Lisp code looks for
3142 the bindings that were made with easymenu.
3145 ** The function `commandp' takes an additional optional
3146 argument. If it is non-nil, then `commandp' checks
3147 for a function that could be called with `call-interactively',
3148 and does not return t for keyboard macros.
3151 ** master-mode.el implements a minor mode for scrolling a slave
3152 buffer without leaving your current buffer, the master buffer.
3154 It can be used by sql.el, for example: the SQL buffer is the master
3155 and its SQLi buffer is the slave. This allows you to scroll the SQLi
3156 buffer containing the output from the SQL buffer containing the
3159 This is how to use sql.el and master.el together: the variable
3160 sql-buffer contains the slave buffer. It is a local variable in the
3163 (add-hook 'sql-mode-hook
3164 (function (lambda ()
3166 (master-set-slave sql-buffer))))
3167 (add-hook 'sql-set-sqli-hook
3168 (function (lambda ()
3169 (master-set-slave sql-buffer))))
3172 ** File local variables.
3174 A file local variables list cannot specify a string with text
3175 properties--any specified text properties are discarded.
3178 ** New function window-body-height.
3180 This is like window-height but does not count the mode line
3184 ** New function format-mode-line.
3186 This returns the mode-line or header-line of the selected (or a
3187 specified) window as a string with or without text properties.
3190 ** New functions `lax-plist-get' and `lax-plist-put'.
3192 These functions are like `plist-get' and `plist-put' except that they
3193 compare the property name using `equal' rather than `eq'.
3196 ** New function `tool-bar-local-item-from-menu'
3198 The `tool-bar-add-item-from-menu' must not be used (as previously
3199 recommended) for making entries in the tool bar for local keymaps.
3200 Instead, use the function `tool-bar-local-item-from-menu', which lets
3201 you specify the map to use as an argument.
3204 ** The function `atan' now accepts an optional second argument.
3206 When called with 2 arguments, as in `(atan Y X)', `atan' returns the
3207 angle in radians between the vector [X, Y] and the X axis. (This is
3208 equivalent to the standard C library function `atan2'.)
3211 ** You can now make a window as short as one line.
3213 A window that is just one line tall does not display either a mode
3214 line or a header line, even if the variables `mode-line-format' and
3215 `header-line-format' call for them. A window that is two lines tall
3216 cannot display both a mode line and a header line at once; if the
3217 variables call for both, only the mode line actually appears.
3220 ** The new frame parameter `tty-color-mode' specifies the mode to use
3221 for color support on character terminal frames. Its value can be a
3222 number of colors to support, or a symbol. See the Emacs Lisp
3223 Reference manual for more detailed documentation.
3226 ** The new mode-line construct `(:propertize ELT PROPS...)' can be
3227 used to add text properties to mode-line elements.
3230 ** Mode line display ignores text properties as well as the
3231 :propertize and :eval forms in the value of a variable whose
3232 `risky-local-variable' property is nil.
3235 ** The new `%i' and `%I' constructs for `mode-line-format' can be used
3236 to display the size of the accessible part of the buffer on the mode
3240 ** Indentation of simple and extended loop forms has been added to the
3241 cl-indent package. The new user options
3242 `lisp-loop-keyword-indentation', `lisp-loop-forms-indentation', and
3243 `lisp-simple-loop-indentation' can be used to customize the
3244 indentation of keywords and forms in loop forms.
3247 ** Indentation of backquoted forms has been made customizable in the
3248 cl-indent package. See the new user option `lisp-backquote-indentation'.
3251 ** Already true in Emacs 21.1, but not emphasized clearly enough:
3253 Multibyte buffers can now faithfully record all 256 character codes
3254 from 0 to 255. As a result, most of the past reasons to use unibyte
3255 buffers no longer exist. We only know of three reasons to use them
3258 1. If you prefer to use unibyte text all of the time.
3260 2. For reading files into temporary buffers, when you want to avoid
3261 the time it takes to convert the format.
3263 3. For binary files where format conversion would be pointless and
3267 ** If text has a `keymap' property, that keymap takes precedence
3268 over minor mode keymaps.
3271 ** A hex escape in a string forces the string to be multibyte.
3272 An octal escape makes it unibyte.
3275 ** At the end of a command, point moves out from within invisible
3276 text, in the same way it moves out from within text covered by an
3277 image or composition property.
3279 This makes it generally unnecessary to mark invisible text as intangible.
3280 This is particularly good because the intangible property often has
3281 unexpected side-effects since the property applies to everything
3282 (including `goto-char', ...) whereas this new code is only run after
3283 post-command-hook and thus does not care about intermediate states.
3286 ** field-beginning and field-end now accept an additional optional
3290 ** define-abbrev now accepts an optional argument SYSTEM-FLAG. If
3291 non-nil, this marks the abbrev as a "system" abbrev, which means that
3292 it won't be stored in the user's abbrevs file if he saves the abbrevs.
3293 Major modes that predefine some abbrevs should always specify this
3297 ** Support for Mocklisp has been removed.
3300 ** The function insert-string is now obsolete.
3303 ** The precedence of file-name-handlers has been changed.
3304 Instead of blindly choosing the first handler that matches,
3305 find-file-name-handler now gives precedence to a file-name handler
3306 that matches near the end of the file name. More specifically, the
3307 handler whose (match-beginning 0) is the largest is chosen.
3308 In case of ties, the old "first matched" rule applies.
3311 ** Dense keymaps now handle inheritance correctly.
3312 Previously a dense keymap would hide all of the simple-char key
3313 bindings of the parent keymap.
3316 ** jit-lock obeys a new text-property `jit-lock-defer-multiline'.
3317 If a piece of text with that property gets contextually refontified
3318 (see jit-lock-defer-contextually), then all of that text will
3319 be refontified. This is useful when the syntax of a textual element
3320 depends on text several lines further down (and when font-lock-multiline
3321 is not appropriate to solve that problem). For example in Perl:
3329 Adding/removing the last `e' changes the `bar' from being a piece of
3330 text to being a piece of code, so you'd put a jit-lock-defer-multiline
3331 property over the second half of the command to force (deferred)
3332 refontification of `bar' whenever the `e' is added/removed.
3335 ** describe-vector now takes a second argument `describer' which is
3336 called to print the entries' values. It defaults to `princ'.
3338 ** defcustom and other custom declarations now use a default group
3339 (the last prior group defined in the same file) when no :group was given.
3342 ** emacsserver now runs pre-command-hook and post-command-hook when
3343 it receives a request from emacsclient.
3346 ** The variable `recursive-load-depth-limit' has been deleted.
3347 Emacs now signals an error if the same file is loaded with more
3348 than 3 levels of nesting.
3351 ** If a major mode function has a non-nil `no-clone-indirect'
3352 property, `clone-indirect-buffer' signals an error if you use
3356 ** In `replace-match', the replacement text no longer inherits
3357 properties from surrounding text.
3360 ** New function `buffer-local-value'.
3362 This function returns the buffer-local binding of VARIABLE (a symbol)
3363 in buffer BUFFER. If VARIABLE does not have a buffer-local binding in
3364 buffer BUFFER, it returns the default value of VARIABLE instead.
3367 ** New function `text-clone-create'. Text clones are chunks of text
3368 that are kept identical by transparently propagating changes from one
3372 ** font-lock can manage arbitrary text-properties beside `face'.
3373 *** the FACENAME returned in font-lock-keywords can be a list
3374 of the form (face FACE PROP1 VAL1 PROP2 VAL2 ...) so you can set
3375 other properties than `face'.
3376 *** font-lock-extra-managed-props can be set to make sure those extra
3377 properties are automatically cleaned up by font-lock.
3380 ** The special treatment of faces whose names are of the form `fg:COLOR'
3381 or `bg:COLOR' has been removed. Lisp programs should use the
3382 `defface' facility for defining faces with specific colors, or use
3383 the feature of specifying the face attributes :foreground and :background
3384 directly in the `face' property instead of using a named face.
3387 ** The new function `run-mode-hooks' and the new macro `delay-mode-hooks'
3388 are used by define-derived-mode to make sure the mode hook for the
3389 parent mode is run at the end of the child mode.
3392 ** define-minor-mode now accepts arbitrary additional keyword arguments
3393 and simply passes them to defcustom, if applicable.
3396 ** define-derived-mode by default creates a new empty abbrev table.
3397 It does not copy abbrevs from the parent mode's abbrev table.
3400 ** `provide' and `featurep' now accept an optional second argument
3401 to test/provide subfeatures. Also `provide' now checks `after-load-alist'
3402 and runs any code associated with the provided feature.
3405 ** Functions `file-name-sans-extension' and `file-name-extension' now
3406 ignore the leading dots in file names, so that file names such as
3407 `.emacs' are treated as extensionless.
3410 ** Functions `user-uid' and `user-real-uid' now return floats if the
3411 user UID doesn't fit in a Lisp integer. Function `user-full-name'
3412 accepts a float as UID parameter.
3415 ** `define-key-after' now accepts keys longer than 1.
3418 ** The local variable `no-byte-compile' in elisp files is now obeyed.
3421 ** The Emacs Lisp byte-compiler now displays the actual line and
3422 character position of errors, where possible. Additionally, the form
3423 of its warning and error messages have been brought more in line with
3424 the output of other GNU tools.
3427 ** New functions `keymap-prompt' and `current-active-maps'.
3430 ** New function `describe-buffer-bindings'.
3433 ** New vars `exec-suffixes' and `load-suffixes' used when
3434 searching for an executable resp. an elisp file.
3437 ** Variable aliases have been implemented:
3439 *** defvaralias ALIAS-VAR BASE-VAR [DOCSTRING]
3441 This function defines the symbol ALIAS-VAR as a variable alias for
3442 symbol BASE-VAR. This means that retrieving the value of ALIAS-VAR
3443 returns the value of BASE-VAR, and changing the value of ALIAS-VAR
3444 changes the value of BASE-VAR.
3446 DOCSTRING, if present, is the documentation for ALIAS-VAR; else it has
3447 the same documentation as BASE-VAR.
3449 *** indirect-variable VARIABLE
3451 This function returns the variable at the end of the chain of aliases
3452 of VARIABLE. If VARIABLE is not a symbol, or if VARIABLE is not
3453 defined as an alias, the function returns VARIABLE.
3455 It might be noteworthy that variables aliases work for all kinds of
3456 variables, including buffer-local and frame-local variables.
3459 ** Functions from `post-gc-hook' are run at the end of garbage
3460 collection. The hook is run with GC inhibited, so use it with care.
3463 ** If the second argument to `copy-file' is the name of a directory,
3464 the file is copied to that directory instead of signaling an error.
3467 ** The variables most-positive-fixnum and most-negative-fixnum
3468 hold the largest and smallest possible integer values.
3471 ** On MS Windows, locale-coding-system is used to interact with the OS.
3472 The Windows specific variable w32-system-coding-system, which was
3473 formerly used for that purpose is now an alias for locale-coding-system.
3475 ** Functions y-or-n-p, read-char, read-key-sequence and the like, that
3476 display a prompt but don't use the minibuffer, now display the prompt
3477 using the text properties (esp. the face) of the prompt string.
3479 ** New function x-send-client-message sends a client message when
3482 ** Arguments for remove-overlays are now optional, so that you can remove
3483 all overlays in the buffer by just calling (remove-overlay).
3487 *** The new package gdb-ui.el provides an enhanced graphical interface to
3488 GDB. You can interact with GDB through the GUD buffer in the usual way, but
3489 there are also further buffers which control the execution and describe the
3490 state of your program. It separates the input/output of your program from
3491 that of GDB and watches expressions in the speedbar. It also uses features of
3492 Emacs 21 such as the display margin for breakpoints, and the toolbar.
3494 Use M-x gdba to start GDB-UI.
3496 *** The new package syntax.el provides an efficient way to find the
3497 current syntactic context (as returned by parse-partial-sexp).
3499 *** The new package bindat.el provides functions to unpack and pack
3500 binary data structures, such as network packets, to and from Lisp
3503 *** The TCL package tcl-mode.el was replaced by tcl.el.
3504 This was actually done in Emacs-21.1, and was not documented.
3506 *** The new package button.el implements simple and fast `clickable buttons'
3507 in emacs buffers. `buttons' are much lighter-weight than the `widgets'
3508 implemented by widget.el, and can be used by lisp code that doesn't
3509 require the full power of widgets. Emacs uses buttons for such things
3510 as help and apropos buffers.
3513 * Installation changes in Emacs 21.3
3515 ** Support for GNU/Linux on little-endian MIPS and on IBM S390 has
3519 * Changes in Emacs 21.3
3521 ** The obsolete C mode (c-mode.el) has been removed to avoid problems
3524 ** UTF-16 coding systems are available, encoding the same characters
3527 ** There is a new language environment for UTF-8 (set up automatically
3530 ** Translation tables are available between equivalent characters in
3531 different Emacs charsets -- for instance `e with acute' coming from the
3532 Latin-1 and Latin-2 charsets. User options `unify-8859-on-encoding-mode'
3533 and `unify-8859-on-decoding-mode' respectively turn on translation
3534 between ISO 8859 character sets (`unification') on encoding
3535 (e.g. writing a file) and decoding (e.g. reading a file). Note that
3536 `unify-8859-on-encoding-mode' is useful and safe, but
3537 `unify-8859-on-decoding-mode' can cause text to change when you read
3538 it and write it out again without edits, so it is not generally advisable.
3539 By default `unify-8859-on-encoding-mode' is turned on.
3541 ** In Emacs running on the X window system, the default value of
3542 `selection-coding-system' is now `compound-text-with-extensions'.
3544 If you want the old behavior, set selection-coding-system to
3545 compound-text, which may be significantly more efficient. Using
3546 compound-text-with-extensions seems to be necessary only for decoding
3547 text from applications under XFree86 4.2, whose behaviour is actually
3548 contrary to the compound text specification.
3551 * Installation changes in Emacs 21.2
3553 ** Support for BSD/OS 5.0 has been added.
3555 ** Support for AIX 5.1 was added.
3558 * Changes in Emacs 21.2
3560 ** Emacs now supports compound-text extended segments in X selections.
3562 X applications can use `extended segments' to encode characters in
3563 compound text that belong to character sets which are not part of the
3564 list of approved standard encodings for X, e.g. Big5. To paste
3565 selections with such characters into Emacs, use the new coding system
3566 compound-text-with-extensions as the value of selection-coding-system.
3568 ** The default values of `tooltip-delay' and `tooltip-hide-delay'
3571 ** On terminals whose erase-char is ^H (Backspace), Emacs
3572 now uses normal-erase-is-backspace-mode.
3574 ** When the *scratch* buffer is recreated, its mode is set from
3575 initial-major-mode, which normally is lisp-interaction-mode,
3576 instead of using default-major-mode.
3578 ** The new option `Info-scroll-prefer-subnodes' causes Info to behave
3579 like the stand-alone Info reader (from the GNU Texinfo package) as far
3580 as motion between nodes and their subnodes is concerned. If it is t
3581 (the default), Emacs behaves as before when you type SPC in a menu: it
3582 visits the subnode pointed to by the first menu entry. If this option
3583 is nil, SPC scrolls to the end of the current node, and only then goes
3584 to the first menu item, like the stand-alone reader does.
3586 This change was already in Emacs 21.1, but wasn't advertised in the
3590 * Lisp Changes in Emacs 21.2
3592 ** The meanings of scroll-up-aggressively and scroll-down-aggressively
3593 have been interchanged, so that the former now controls scrolling up,
3594 and the latter now controls scrolling down.
3596 ** The variable `compilation-parse-errors-filename-function' can
3597 be used to transform filenames found in compilation output.
3600 * Installation Changes in Emacs 21.1
3602 See the INSTALL file for information on installing extra libraries and
3603 fonts to take advantage of the new graphical features and extra
3604 charsets in this release.
3606 ** Support for GNU/Linux on IA64 machines has been added.
3608 ** Support for LynxOS has been added.
3610 ** There are new configure options associated with the support for
3611 images and toolkit scrollbars. Use the --help option in `configure'
3614 ** You can build a 64-bit Emacs for SPARC/Solaris systems which
3615 support 64-bit executables and also on Irix 6.5. This increases the
3616 maximum buffer size. See etc/MACHINES for instructions. Changes to
3617 build on other 64-bit systems should be straightforward modulo any
3618 necessary changes to unexec.
3620 ** There is a new configure option `--disable-largefile' to omit
3621 Unix-98-style support for large files if that is available.
3623 ** There is a new configure option `--without-xim' that instructs
3624 Emacs to not use X Input Methods (XIM), if these are available.
3626 ** `movemail' defaults to supporting POP. You can turn this off using
3627 the --without-pop configure option, should that be necessary.
3629 ** This version can be built for the Macintosh, but does not implement
3630 all of the new display features described below. The port currently
3631 lacks unexec, asynchronous processes, and networking support. See the
3632 "Emacs and the Mac OS" appendix in the Emacs manual, for the
3633 description of aspects specific to the Mac.
3635 ** Note that the MS-Windows port does not yet implement various of the
3636 new display features described below.
3639 * Changes in Emacs 21.1
3641 ** Emacs has a new redisplay engine.
3643 The new redisplay handles characters of variable width and height.
3644 Italic text can be used without redisplay problems. Fonts containing
3645 oversized characters, i.e. characters larger than the logical height
3646 of a font can be used. Images of various formats can be displayed in
3649 ** Emacs has a new face implementation.
3651 The new faces no longer fundamentally use X font names to specify the
3652 font. Instead, each face has several independent attributes--family,
3653 height, width, weight and slant--that it may or may not specify.
3654 These attributes can be merged from various faces, and then together
3657 Faces are supported on terminals that can display color or fonts.
3658 These terminal capabilities are auto-detected. Details can be found
3659 under Lisp changes, below.
3661 ** Emacs can display faces on TTY frames.
3663 Emacs automatically detects terminals that are able to display colors.
3664 Faces with a weight greater than normal are displayed extra-bright, if
3665 the terminal supports it. Faces with a weight less than normal and
3666 italic faces are displayed dimmed, if the terminal supports it.
3667 Underlined faces are displayed underlined if possible. Other face
3668 attributes such as `overline', `strike-through', and `box' are ignored
3671 The command-line options `-fg COLOR', `-bg COLOR', and `-rv' are now
3672 supported on character terminals.
3674 Emacs automatically remaps all X-style color specifications to one of
3675 the colors supported by the terminal. This means you could have the
3676 same color customizations that work both on a windowed display and on
3677 a TTY or when Emacs is invoked with the -nw option.
3679 ** New default font is Courier 12pt under X.
3683 Emacs supports playing sound files on GNU/Linux and FreeBSD (Voxware
3684 driver and native BSD driver, a.k.a. Luigi's driver). Currently
3685 supported file formats are RIFF-WAVE (*.wav) and Sun Audio (*.au).
3686 You must configure Emacs with the option `--with-sound=yes' to enable
3689 ** Emacs now resizes mini-windows if appropriate.
3691 If a message is longer than one line, or minibuffer contents are
3692 longer than one line, Emacs can resize the minibuffer window unless it
3693 is on a frame of its own. You can control resizing and the maximum
3694 minibuffer window size by setting the following variables:
3696 - User option: max-mini-window-height
3698 Maximum height for resizing mini-windows. If a float, it specifies a
3699 fraction of the mini-window frame's height. If an integer, it
3700 specifies a number of lines.
3704 - User option: resize-mini-windows
3706 How to resize mini-windows. If nil, don't resize. If t, always
3707 resize to fit the size of the text. If `grow-only', let mini-windows
3708 grow only, until they become empty, at which point they are shrunk
3711 Default is `grow-only'.
3715 Emacs now runs with the LessTif toolkit (see
3716 <http://www.lesstif.org>). You will need version 0.92.26, or later.
3718 ** LessTif/Motif file selection dialog.
3720 When Emacs is configured to use LessTif or Motif, reading a file name
3721 from a menu will pop up a file selection dialog if `use-dialog-box' is
3724 ** File selection dialog on MS-Windows is supported.
3726 When a file is visited by clicking File->Open, the MS-Windows version
3727 now pops up a standard file selection dialog where you can select a
3728 file to visit. File->Save As also pops up that dialog.
3730 ** Toolkit scroll bars.
3732 Emacs now uses toolkit scroll bars if available. When configured for
3733 LessTif/Motif, it will use that toolkit's scroll bar. Otherwise, when
3734 configured for Lucid and Athena widgets, it will use the Xaw3d scroll
3735 bar if Xaw3d is available. You can turn off the use of toolkit scroll
3736 bars by specifying `--with-toolkit-scroll-bars=no' when configuring
3739 When you encounter problems with the Xaw3d scroll bar, watch out how
3740 Xaw3d is compiled on your system. If the Makefile generated from
3741 Xaw3d's Imakefile contains a `-DNARROWPROTO' compiler option, and your
3742 Emacs system configuration file `s/your-system.h' does not contain a
3743 define for NARROWPROTO, you might consider adding it. Take
3744 `s/freebsd.h' as an example.
3746 Alternatively, if you don't have access to the Xaw3d source code, take
3747 a look at your system's imake configuration file, for example in the
3748 directory `/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/config' (paths are different on
3749 different systems). You will find files `*.cf' there. If your
3750 system's cf-file contains a line like `#define NeedWidePrototypes NO',
3751 add a `#define NARROWPROTO' to your Emacs system configuration file.
3753 The reason for this is that one Xaw3d function uses `double' or
3754 `float' function parameters depending on the setting of NARROWPROTO.
3755 This is not a problem when Imakefiles are used because each system's
3756 imake configuration file contains the necessary information. Since
3757 Emacs doesn't use imake, this has do be done manually.
3759 ** Tool bar support.
3761 Emacs supports a tool bar at the top of a frame under X. For details
3762 of how to define a tool bar, see the page describing Lisp-level
3763 changes. Tool-bar global minor mode controls whether or not it is
3764 displayed and is on by default. The appearance of the bar is improved
3765 if Emacs has been built with XPM image support. Otherwise monochrome
3768 To make the tool bar more useful, we need contributions of extra icons
3769 for specific modes (with copyright assignments).
3773 Tooltips are small X windows displaying a help string at the current
3774 mouse position. The Lisp package `tooltip' implements them. You can
3775 turn them off via the user option `tooltip-mode'.
3777 Tooltips also provides support for GUD debugging. If activated,
3778 variable values can be displayed in tooltips by pointing at them with
3779 the mouse in source buffers. You can customize various aspects of the
3780 tooltip display in the group `tooltip'.
3782 ** Automatic Hscrolling
3784 Horizontal scrolling now happens automatically if
3785 `automatic-hscrolling' is set (the default). This setting can be
3788 If a window is scrolled horizontally with set-window-hscroll, or
3789 scroll-left/scroll-right (C-x <, C-x >), this serves as a lower bound
3790 for automatic horizontal scrolling. Automatic scrolling will scroll
3791 the text more to the left if necessary, but won't scroll the text more
3792 to the right than the column set with set-window-hscroll etc.
3794 ** When using a windowing terminal, each Emacs window now has a cursor
3795 of its own. By default, when a window is selected, the cursor is
3796 solid; otherwise, it is hollow. The user-option
3797 `cursor-in-non-selected-windows' controls how to display the
3798 cursor in non-selected windows. If nil, no cursor is shown, if
3799 non-nil a hollow box cursor is shown.
3801 ** Fringes to the left and right of windows are used to display
3802 truncation marks, continuation marks, overlay arrows and alike. The
3803 foreground, background, and stipple of these areas can be changed by
3804 customizing face `fringe'.
3806 ** The mode line under X is now drawn with shadows by default.
3807 You can change its appearance by modifying the face `mode-line'.
3808 In particular, setting the `:box' attribute to nil turns off the 3D
3809 appearance of the mode line. (The 3D appearance makes the mode line
3810 occupy more space, and thus might cause the first or the last line of
3811 the window to be partially obscured.)
3813 The variable `mode-line-inverse-video', which was used in older
3814 versions of emacs to make the mode-line stand out, is now deprecated.
3815 However, setting it to nil will cause the `mode-line' face to be
3816 ignored, and mode-lines to be drawn using the default text face.
3818 ** Mouse-sensitive mode line.
3820 Different parts of the mode line have been made mouse-sensitive on all
3821 systems which support the mouse. Moving the mouse to a
3822 mouse-sensitive part in the mode line changes the appearance of the
3823 mouse pointer to an arrow, and help about available mouse actions is
3824 displayed either in the echo area, or in the tooltip window if you
3827 Currently, the following actions have been defined:
3829 - Mouse-1 on the buffer name in the mode line goes to the next buffer.
3831 - Mouse-3 on the buffer-name goes to the previous buffer.
3833 - Mouse-2 on the read-only or modified status in the mode line (`%' or
3834 `*') toggles the status.
3836 - Mouse-3 on the mode name displays a minor-mode menu.
3838 ** Hourglass pointer
3840 Emacs can optionally display an hourglass pointer under X. You can
3841 turn the display on or off by customizing group `cursor'.
3845 M-x blink-cursor-mode toggles a blinking cursor under X and on
3846 terminals having terminal capabilities `vi', `vs', and `ve'. Blinking
3847 and related parameters like frequency and delay can be customized in
3850 ** New font-lock support mode `jit-lock-mode'.
3852 This support mode is roughly equivalent to `lazy-lock' but is
3853 generally faster. It supports stealth and deferred fontification.
3854 See the documentation of the function `jit-lock-mode' for more
3857 Font-lock uses jit-lock-mode as default support mode, so you don't
3858 have to do anything to activate it.
3860 ** The default binding of the Delete key has changed.
3862 The new user-option `normal-erase-is-backspace' can be set to
3863 determine the effect of the Delete and Backspace function keys.
3865 On window systems, the default value of this option is chosen
3866 according to the keyboard used. If the keyboard has both a Backspace
3867 key and a Delete key, and both are mapped to their usual meanings, the
3868 option's default value is set to t, so that Backspace can be used to
3869 delete backward, and Delete can be used to delete forward. On
3870 keyboards which either have only one key (usually labeled DEL), or two
3871 keys DEL and BS which produce the same effect, the option's value is
3872 set to nil, and these keys delete backward.
3874 If not running under a window system, setting this option accomplishes
3875 a similar effect by mapping C-h, which is usually generated by the
3876 Backspace key, to DEL, and by mapping DEL to C-d via
3877 `keyboard-translate'. The former functionality of C-h is available on
3878 the F1 key. You should probably not use this setting on a text-only
3879 terminal if you don't have both Backspace, Delete and F1 keys.
3881 Programmatically, you can call function normal-erase-is-backspace-mode
3882 to toggle the behavior of the Delete and Backspace keys.
3884 ** The default for user-option `next-line-add-newlines' has been
3885 changed to nil, i.e. C-n will no longer add newlines at the end of a
3888 ** The <home> and <end> keys now move to the beginning or end of the
3889 current line, respectively. C-<home> and C-<end> move to the
3890 beginning and end of the buffer.
3892 ** Emacs now checks for recursive loads of Lisp files. If the
3893 recursion depth exceeds `recursive-load-depth-limit', an error is
3896 ** When an error is signaled during the loading of the user's init
3897 file, Emacs now pops up the *Messages* buffer.
3899 ** Emacs now refuses to load compiled Lisp files which weren't
3900 compiled with Emacs. Set `load-dangerous-libraries' to t to change
3903 The reason for this change is an incompatible change in XEmacs's byte
3904 compiler. Files compiled with XEmacs can contain byte codes that let
3907 ** Toggle buttons and radio buttons in menus.
3909 When compiled with LessTif (or Motif) support, Emacs uses toolkit
3910 widgets for radio and toggle buttons in menus. When configured for
3911 Lucid, Emacs draws radio buttons and toggle buttons similar to Motif.
3913 ** The menu bar configuration has changed. The new configuration is
3914 more CUA-compliant. The most significant change is that Options is
3915 now a separate menu-bar item, with Mule and Customize as its submenus.
3917 ** Item Save Options on the Options menu allows saving options set
3920 ** Highlighting of trailing whitespace.
3922 When `show-trailing-whitespace' is non-nil, Emacs displays trailing
3923 whitespace in the face `trailing-whitespace'. Trailing whitespace is
3924 defined as spaces or tabs at the end of a line. To avoid busy
3925 highlighting when entering new text, trailing whitespace is not
3926 displayed if point is at the end of the line containing the
3929 ** C-x 5 1 runs the new command delete-other-frames which deletes
3930 all frames except the selected one.
3932 ** The new user-option `confirm-kill-emacs' can be customized to
3933 let Emacs ask for confirmation before exiting.
3935 ** The header line in an Info buffer is now displayed as an emacs
3936 header-line (which is like a mode-line, but at the top of the window),
3937 so that it remains visible even when the buffer has been scrolled.
3938 This behavior may be disabled by customizing the option
3939 `Info-use-header-line'.
3941 ** Polish, Czech, German, and French translations of Emacs' reference card
3942 have been added. They are named `pl-refcard.tex', `cs-refcard.tex',
3943 `de-refcard.tex' and `fr-refcard.tex'. Postscript files are included.
3945 ** An `Emacs Survival Guide', etc/survival.tex, is available.
3947 ** A reference card for Dired has been added. Its name is
3948 `dired-ref.tex'. A French translation is available in
3951 ** C-down-mouse-3 is bound differently. Now if the menu bar is not
3952 displayed it pops up a menu containing the items which would be on the
3953 menu bar. If the menu bar is displayed, it pops up the major mode
3954 menu or the Edit menu if there is no major mode menu.
3956 ** Variable `load-path' is no longer customizable through Customize.
3958 You can no longer use `M-x customize-variable' to customize `load-path'
3959 because it now contains a version-dependent component. You can still
3960 use `add-to-list' and `setq' to customize this variable in your
3961 `~/.emacs' init file or to modify it from any Lisp program in general.
3963 ** C-u C-x = provides detailed information about the character at
3964 point in a pop-up window.
3966 ** Emacs can now support 'wheeled' mice (such as the MS IntelliMouse)
3967 under XFree86. To enable this, use the `mouse-wheel-mode' command, or
3968 customize the variable `mouse-wheel-mode'.
3970 The variables `mouse-wheel-follow-mouse' and `mouse-wheel-scroll-amount'
3971 determine where and by how much buffers are scrolled.
3973 ** Emacs' auto-save list files are now by default stored in a
3974 sub-directory `.emacs.d/auto-save-list/' of the user's home directory.
3975 (On MS-DOS, this subdirectory's name is `_emacs.d/auto-save.list/'.)
3976 You can customize `auto-save-list-file-prefix' to change this location.
3978 ** The function `getenv' is now callable interactively.
3980 ** The new user-option `even-window-heights' can be set to nil
3981 to prevent `display-buffer' from evening out window heights.
3983 ** The new command M-x delete-trailing-whitespace RET will delete the
3984 trailing whitespace within the current restriction. You can also add
3985 this function to `write-file-hooks' or `local-write-file-hooks'.
3987 ** When visiting a file with M-x find-file-literally, no newlines will
3988 be added to the end of the buffer even if `require-final-newline' is
3991 ** The new user-option `find-file-suppress-same-file-warnings' can be
3992 set to suppress warnings ``X and Y are the same file'' when visiting a
3993 file that is already visited under a different name.
3995 ** The new user-option `electric-help-shrink-window' can be set to
3996 nil to prevent adjusting the help window size to the buffer size.
3998 ** New command M-x describe-character-set reads a character set name
3999 and displays information about that.
4001 ** The new variable `auto-mode-interpreter-regexp' contains a regular
4002 expression matching interpreters, for file mode determination.
4004 This regular expression is matched against the first line of a file to
4005 determine the file's mode in `set-auto-mode' when Emacs can't deduce a
4006 mode from the file's name. If it matches, the file is assumed to be
4007 interpreted by the interpreter matched by the second group of the
4008 regular expression. The mode is then determined as the mode
4009 associated with that interpreter in `interpreter-mode-alist'.
4011 ** New function executable-make-buffer-file-executable-if-script-p is
4012 suitable as an after-save-hook as an alternative to `executable-chmod'.
4014 ** The most preferred coding-system is now used to save a buffer if
4015 buffer-file-coding-system is `undecided' and it is safe for the buffer
4016 contents. (The most preferred is set by set-language-environment or
4017 by M-x prefer-coding-system.) Thus if you visit an ASCII file and
4018 insert a non-ASCII character from your current language environment,
4019 the file will be saved silently with the appropriate coding.
4020 Previously you would be prompted for a safe coding system.
4022 ** The many obsolete language `setup-...-environment' commands have
4023 been removed -- use `set-language-environment'.
4025 ** The new Custom option `keyboard-coding-system' specifies a coding
4026 system for keyboard input.
4028 ** New variable `inhibit-iso-escape-detection' determines if Emacs'
4029 coding system detection algorithm should pay attention to ISO2022's
4030 escape sequences. If this variable is non-nil, the algorithm ignores
4031 such escape sequences. The default value is nil, and it is
4032 recommended not to change it except for the special case that you
4033 always want to read any escape code verbatim. If you just want to
4034 read a specific file without decoding escape codes, use C-x RET c
4035 (`universal-coding-system-argument'). For instance, C-x RET c latin-1
4036 RET C-x C-f filename RET.
4038 ** Variable `default-korean-keyboard' is initialized properly from the
4039 environment variable `HANGUL_KEYBOARD_TYPE'.
4041 ** New command M-x list-charset-chars reads a character set name and
4042 displays all characters in that character set.
4044 ** M-x set-terminal-coding-system (C-x RET t) now allows CCL-based
4045 coding systems such as cpXXX and cyrillic-koi8.
4047 ** Emacs now attempts to determine the initial language environment
4048 and preferred and locale coding systems systematically from the
4049 LC_ALL, LC_CTYPE, and LANG environment variables during startup.
4051 ** New language environments `Polish', `Latin-8' and `Latin-9'.
4052 Latin-8 and Latin-9 correspond respectively to the ISO character sets
4053 8859-14 (Celtic) and 8859-15 (updated Latin-1, with the Euro sign).
4054 GNU Intlfonts doesn't support these yet but recent X releases have
4055 8859-15. See etc/INSTALL for information on obtaining extra fonts.
4056 There are new Leim input methods for Latin-8 and Latin-9 prefix (only)
4059 ** New language environments `Dutch' and `Spanish'.
4060 These new environments mainly select appropriate translations
4063 ** In Ethiopic language environment, special key bindings for
4064 function keys are changed as follows. This is to conform to "Emacs
4065 Lisp Coding Convention".
4067 new command old-binding
4068 --- ------- -----------
4069 f3 ethio-fidel-to-sera-buffer f5
4070 S-f3 ethio-fidel-to-sera-region f5
4071 C-f3 ethio-fidel-to-sera-mail-or-marker f5
4073 f4 ethio-sera-to-fidel-buffer unchanged
4074 S-f4 ethio-sera-to-fidel-region unchanged
4075 C-f4 ethio-sera-to-fidel-mail-or-marker unchanged
4077 S-f5 ethio-toggle-punctuation f3
4078 S-f6 ethio-modify-vowel f6
4079 S-f7 ethio-replace-space f7
4080 S-f8 ethio-input-special-character f8
4081 S-f9 ethio-replace-space unchanged
4082 C-f9 ethio-toggle-space f2
4084 ** There are new Leim input methods.
4085 New input methods "turkish-postfix", "turkish-alt-postfix",
4086 "greek-mizuochi", "TeX", and "greek-babel" are now part of the Leim
4089 ** The rule of input method "slovak" is slightly changed. Now the
4090 rules for translating "q" and "Q" to "`" (backquote) are deleted, thus
4091 typing them inserts "q" and "Q" respectively. Rules for translating
4092 "=q", "+q", "=Q", and "+Q" to "`" are also deleted. Now, to input
4093 "`", you must type "=q".
4095 ** When your terminal can't display characters from some of the ISO
4096 8859 character sets but can display Latin-1, you can display
4097 more-or-less mnemonic sequences of ASCII/Latin-1 characters instead of
4098 empty boxes (under a window system) or question marks (not under a
4099 window system). Customize the option `latin1-display' to turn this
4102 ** M-; now calls comment-dwim which tries to do something clever based
4103 on the context. M-x kill-comment is now an alias to comment-kill,
4104 defined in newcomment.el. You can choose different styles of region
4105 commenting with the variable `comment-style'.
4107 ** New user options `display-time-mail-face' and
4108 `display-time-use-mail-icon' control the appearance of mode-line mail
4109 indicator used by the display-time package. On a suitable display the
4110 indicator can be an icon and is mouse-sensitive.
4112 ** On window-systems, additional space can be put between text lines
4113 on the display using several methods
4115 - By setting frame parameter `line-spacing' to PIXELS. PIXELS must be
4116 a positive integer, and specifies that PIXELS number of pixels should
4117 be put below text lines on the affected frame or frames.
4119 - By setting X resource `lineSpacing', class `LineSpacing'. This is
4120 equivalent to specifying the frame parameter.
4122 - By specifying `--line-spacing=N' or `-lsp N' on the command line.
4124 - By setting buffer-local variable `line-spacing'. The meaning is
4125 the same, but applies to the a particular buffer only.
4127 ** The new command `clone-indirect-buffer' can be used to create
4128 an indirect buffer that is a twin copy of the current buffer. The
4129 command `clone-indirect-buffer-other-window', bound to C-x 4 c,
4130 does the same but displays the indirect buffer in another window.
4132 ** New user options `backup-directory-alist' and
4133 `make-backup-file-name-function' control the placement of backups,
4134 typically in a single directory or in an invisible sub-directory.
4136 ** New commands iso-iso2sgml and iso-sgml2iso convert between Latin-1
4137 characters and the corresponding SGML (HTML) entities.
4139 ** New X resources recognized
4141 *** The X resource `synchronous', class `Synchronous', specifies
4142 whether Emacs should run in synchronous mode. Synchronous mode
4143 is useful for debugging X problems.
4147 emacs.synchronous: true
4149 *** The X resource `visualClass, class `VisualClass', specifies the
4150 visual Emacs should use. The resource's value should be a string of
4151 the form `CLASS-DEPTH', where CLASS is the name of the visual class,
4152 and DEPTH is the requested color depth as a decimal number. Valid
4153 visual class names are
4162 Visual class names specified as X resource are case-insensitive, i.e.
4163 `pseudocolor', `Pseudocolor' and `PseudoColor' all have the same
4166 The program `xdpyinfo' can be used to list the visual classes
4167 supported on your display, and which depths they have. If
4168 `visualClass' is not specified, Emacs uses the display's default
4173 emacs.visualClass: TrueColor-8
4175 *** The X resource `privateColormap', class `PrivateColormap',
4176 specifies that Emacs should use a private colormap if it is using the
4177 default visual, and that visual is of class PseudoColor. Recognized
4178 resource values are `true' or `on'.
4182 emacs.privateColormap: true
4184 ** Faces and frame parameters.
4186 There are four new faces `scroll-bar', `border', `cursor' and `mouse'.
4187 Setting the frame parameters `scroll-bar-foreground' and
4188 `scroll-bar-background' sets foreground and background color of face
4189 `scroll-bar' and vice versa. Setting frame parameter `border-color'
4190 sets the background color of face `border' and vice versa. Likewise
4191 for frame parameters `cursor-color' and face `cursor', and frame
4192 parameter `mouse-color' and face `mouse'.
4194 Changing frame parameter `font' sets font-related attributes of the
4195 `default' face and vice versa. Setting frame parameters
4196 `foreground-color' or `background-color' sets the colors of the
4197 `default' face and vice versa.
4201 The face `menu' can be used to change colors and font of Emacs' menus.
4203 ** New frame parameter `screen-gamma' for gamma correction.
4205 The new frame parameter `screen-gamma' specifies gamma-correction for
4206 colors. Its value may be nil, the default, in which case no gamma
4207 correction occurs, or a number > 0, usually a float, that specifies
4208 the screen gamma of a frame's display.
4210 PC monitors usually have a screen gamma of 2.2. smaller values result
4211 in darker colors. You might want to try a screen gamma of 1.5 for LCD
4212 color displays. The viewing gamma Emacs uses is 0.4545. (1/2.2).
4214 The X resource name of this parameter is `screenGamma', class
4217 ** Tabs and variable-width text.
4219 Tabs are now displayed with stretch properties; the width of a tab is
4220 defined as a multiple of the normal character width of a frame, and is
4221 independent of the fonts used in the text where the tab appears.
4222 Thus, tabs can be used to line up text in different fonts.
4224 ** Enhancements of the Lucid menu bar
4226 *** The Lucid menu bar now supports the resource "margin".
4228 emacs.pane.menubar.margin: 5
4230 The default margin is 4 which makes the menu bar appear like the
4233 *** Arrows that indicate sub-menus are now drawn with shadows, as in
4236 ** A block cursor can be drawn as wide as the glyph under it under X.
4238 As an example: if a block cursor is over a tab character, it will be
4239 drawn as wide as that tab on the display. To do this, set
4240 `x-stretch-cursor' to a non-nil value.
4242 ** Empty display lines at the end of a buffer may be marked with a
4243 bitmap (this is similar to the tilde displayed by vi and Less).
4245 This behavior is activated by setting the buffer-local variable
4246 `indicate-empty-lines' to a non-nil value. The default value of this
4247 variable is found in `default-indicate-empty-lines'.
4249 ** There is a new "aggressive" scrolling method.
4251 When scrolling up because point is above the window start, if the
4252 value of the buffer-local variable `scroll-up-aggressively' is a
4253 number, Emacs chooses a new window start so that point ends up that
4254 fraction of the window's height from the top of the window.
4256 When scrolling down because point is below the window end, if the
4257 value of the buffer-local variable `scroll-down-aggressively' is a
4258 number, Emacs chooses a new window start so that point ends up that
4259 fraction of the window's height from the bottom of the window.
4261 ** You can now easily create new *Info* buffers using either
4262 M-x clone-buffer, C-u m <entry> RET or C-u g <entry> RET.
4263 M-x clone-buffer can also be used on *Help* and several other special
4266 ** The command `Info-search' now uses a search history.
4268 ** Listing buffers with M-x list-buffers (C-x C-b) now shows
4269 abbreviated file names. Abbreviations can be customized by changing
4270 `directory-abbrev-alist'.
4272 ** A new variable, backup-by-copying-when-privileged-mismatch, gives
4273 the highest file uid for which backup-by-copying-when-mismatch will be
4274 forced on. The assumption is that uids less than or equal to this
4275 value are special uids (root, bin, daemon, etc.--not real system
4276 users) and that files owned by these users should not change ownership,
4277 even if your system policy allows users other than root to edit them.
4279 The default is 200; set the variable to nil to disable the feature.
4281 ** The rectangle commands now avoid inserting undesirable spaces,
4282 notably at the end of lines.
4284 All these functions have been rewritten to avoid inserting unwanted
4285 spaces, and an optional prefix now allows them to behave the old way.
4287 ** The function `replace-rectangle' is an alias for `string-rectangle'.
4289 ** The new command M-x string-insert-rectangle is like `string-rectangle',
4290 but inserts text instead of replacing it.
4292 ** The new command M-x query-replace-regexp-eval acts like
4293 query-replace-regexp, but takes a Lisp expression which is evaluated
4294 after each match to get the replacement text.
4296 ** M-x query-replace recognizes a new command `e' (or `E') that lets
4297 you edit the replacement string.
4299 ** The new command mail-abbrev-complete-alias, bound to `M-TAB'
4300 (if you load the library `mailabbrev'), lets you complete mail aliases
4301 in the text, analogous to lisp-complete-symbol.
4303 ** The variable `echo-keystrokes' may now have a floating point value.
4305 ** If your init file is compiled (.emacs.elc), `user-init-file' is set
4306 to the source name (.emacs.el), if that exists, after loading it.
4308 ** The help string specified for a menu-item whose definition contains
4309 the property `:help HELP' is now displayed under X, on MS-Windows, and
4310 MS-DOS, either in the echo area or with tooltips. Many standard menus
4311 displayed by Emacs now have help strings.
4314 ** New user option `read-mail-command' specifies a command to use to
4315 read mail from the menu etc.
4317 ** The environment variable `EMACSLOCKDIR' is no longer used on MS-Windows.
4318 This environment variable was used when creating lock files. Emacs on
4319 MS-Windows does not use this variable anymore. This change was made
4320 before Emacs 21.1, but wasn't documented until now.
4322 ** Highlighting of mouse-sensitive regions is now supported in the
4323 MS-DOS version of Emacs.
4325 ** The new command `msdos-set-mouse-buttons' forces the MS-DOS version
4326 of Emacs to behave as if the mouse had a specified number of buttons.
4327 This comes handy with mice that don't report their number of buttons
4328 correctly. One example is the wheeled mice, which report 3 buttons,
4329 but clicks on the middle button are not passed to the MS-DOS version
4332 ** Customize changes
4334 *** Customize now supports comments about customized items. Use the
4335 `State' menu to add comments, or give a prefix argument to
4336 M-x customize-set-variable or M-x customize-set-value. Note that
4337 customization comments will cause the customizations to fail in
4338 earlier versions of Emacs.
4340 *** The new option `custom-buffer-done-function' says whether to kill
4341 Custom buffers when you've done with them or just bury them (the
4344 *** If Emacs was invoked with the `-q' or `--no-init-file' options, it
4345 does not allow you to save customizations in your `~/.emacs' init
4346 file. This is because saving customizations from such a session would
4347 wipe out all the other customizationss you might have on your init
4350 ** If Emacs was invoked with the `-q' or `--no-init-file' options, it
4351 does not save disabled and enabled commands for future sessions, to
4352 avoid overwriting existing customizations of this kind that are
4353 already in your init file.
4355 ** New features in evaluation commands
4357 *** The commands to evaluate Lisp expressions, such as C-M-x in Lisp
4358 modes, C-j in Lisp Interaction mode, and M-:, now bind the variables
4359 print-level, print-length, and debug-on-error based on the new
4360 customizable variables eval-expression-print-level,
4361 eval-expression-print-length, and eval-expression-debug-on-error.
4363 The default values for the first two of these variables are 12 and 4
4364 respectively, which means that `eval-expression' now prints at most
4365 the first 12 members of a list and at most 4 nesting levels deep (if
4366 the list is longer or deeper than that, an ellipsis `...' is
4369 <RET> or <mouse-2> on the printed text toggles between an abbreviated
4370 printed representation and an unabbreviated one.
4372 The default value of eval-expression-debug-on-error is t, so any error
4373 during evaluation produces a backtrace.
4375 *** The function `eval-defun' (C-M-x) now loads Edebug and instruments
4376 code when called with a prefix argument.
4380 Note: This release contains changes that might not be compatible with
4381 current user setups (although it's believed that these
4382 incompatibilities will only show in very uncommon circumstances).
4383 However, since the impact is uncertain, these changes may be rolled
4384 back depending on user feedback. Therefore there's no forward
4385 compatibility guarantee wrt the new features introduced in this
4388 *** The hardcoded switch to "java" style in Java mode is gone.
4389 CC Mode used to automatically set the style to "java" when Java mode
4390 is entered. This has now been removed since it caused too much
4393 However, to keep backward compatibility to a certain extent, the
4394 default value for c-default-style now specifies the "java" style for
4395 java-mode, but "gnu" for all other modes (as before). So you won't
4396 notice the change if you haven't touched that variable.
4398 *** New cleanups, space-before-funcall and compact-empty-funcall.
4399 Two new cleanups have been added to c-cleanup-list:
4401 space-before-funcall causes a space to be inserted before the opening
4402 parenthesis of a function call, which gives the style "foo (bar)".
4404 compact-empty-funcall causes any space before a function call opening
4405 parenthesis to be removed if there are no arguments to the function.
4406 It's typically useful together with space-before-funcall to get the
4407 style "foo (bar)" and "foo()".
4409 *** Some keywords now automatically trigger reindentation.
4410 Keywords like "else", "while", "catch" and "finally" have been made
4411 "electric" to make them reindent automatically when they continue an
4412 earlier statement. An example:
4414 for (i = 0; i < 17; i++)
4416 res += a[i]->offset;
4419 Here, the "else" should be indented like the preceding "if", since it
4420 continues that statement. CC Mode will automatically reindent it after
4421 the "else" has been typed in full, since it's not until then it's
4422 possible to decide whether it's a new statement or a continuation of
4425 CC Mode uses Abbrev mode to achieve this, which is therefore turned on
4428 *** M-a and M-e now moves by sentence in multiline strings.
4429 Previously these two keys only moved by sentence in comments, which
4430 meant that sentence movement didn't work in strings containing
4431 documentation or other natural language text.
4433 The reason it's only activated in multiline strings (i.e. strings that
4434 contain a newline, even when escaped by a '\') is to avoid stopping in
4435 the short strings that often reside inside statements. Multiline
4436 strings almost always contain text in a natural language, as opposed
4437 to other strings that typically contain format specifications,
4438 commands, etc. Also, it's not that bothersome that M-a and M-e misses
4439 sentences in single line strings, since they're short anyway.
4441 *** Support for autodoc comments in Pike mode.
4442 Autodoc comments for Pike are used to extract documentation from the
4443 source, like Javadoc in Java. Pike mode now recognize this markup in
4444 comment prefixes and paragraph starts.
4446 *** The comment prefix regexps on c-comment-prefix may be mode specific.
4447 When c-comment-prefix is an association list, it specifies the comment
4448 line prefix on a per-mode basis, like c-default-style does. This
4449 change came about to support the special autodoc comment prefix in
4452 *** Better handling of syntactic errors.
4453 The recovery after unbalanced parens earlier in the buffer has been
4454 improved; CC Mode now reports them by dinging and giving a message
4455 stating the offending line, but still recovers and indent the
4456 following lines in a sane way (most of the time). An "else" with no
4457 matching "if" is handled similarly. If an error is discovered while
4458 indenting a region, the whole region is still indented and the error
4459 is reported afterwards.
4461 *** Lineup functions may now return absolute columns.
4462 A lineup function can give an absolute column to indent the line to by
4463 returning a vector with the desired column as the first element.
4465 *** More robust and warning-free byte compilation.
4466 Although this is strictly not a user visible change (well, depending
4467 on the view of a user), it's still worth mentioning that CC Mode now
4468 can be compiled in the standard ways without causing trouble. Some
4469 code have also been moved between the subpackages to enhance the
4470 modularity somewhat. Thanks to Martin Buchholz for doing the
4473 *** c-style-variables-are-local-p now defaults to t.
4474 This is an incompatible change that has been made to make the behavior
4475 of the style system wrt global variable settings less confusing for
4476 non-advanced users. If you know what this variable does you might
4477 want to set it to nil in your .emacs, otherwise you probably don't
4480 Defaulting c-style-variables-are-local-p to t avoids the confusing
4481 situation that occurs when a user sets some style variables globally
4482 and edits both a Java and a non-Java file in the same Emacs session.
4483 If the style variables aren't buffer local in this case, loading of
4484 the second file will cause the default style (either "gnu" or "java"
4485 by default) to override the global settings made by the user.
4487 *** New initialization procedure for the style system.
4488 When the initial style for a buffer is determined by CC Mode (from the
4489 variable c-default-style), the global values of style variables now
4490 take precedence over the values specified by the chosen style. This
4491 is different than the old behavior: previously, the style-specific
4492 settings would override the global settings. This change makes it
4493 possible to do simple configuration in the intuitive way with
4494 Customize or with setq lines in one's .emacs file.
4496 By default, the global value of every style variable is the new
4497 special symbol set-from-style, which causes the value to be taken from
4498 the style system. This means that in effect, only an explicit setting
4499 of a style variable will cause the "overriding" behavior described
4502 Also note that global settings override style-specific settings *only*
4503 when the initial style of a buffer is chosen by a CC Mode major mode
4504 function. When a style is chosen in other ways --- for example, by a
4505 call like (c-set-style "gnu") in a hook, or via M-x c-set-style ---
4506 then the style-specific values take precedence over any global style
4507 values. In Lisp terms, global values override style-specific values
4508 only when the new second argument to c-set-style is non-nil; see the
4509 function documentation for more info.
4511 The purpose of these changes is to make it easier for users,
4512 especially novice users, to do simple customizations with Customize or
4513 with setq in their .emacs files. On the other hand, the new system is
4514 intended to be compatible with advanced users' customizations as well,
4515 such as those that choose styles in hooks or whatnot. This new system
4516 is believed to be almost entirely compatible with current
4517 configurations, in spite of the changed precedence between style and
4518 global variable settings when a buffer's default style is set.
4520 (Thanks to Eric Eide for clarifying this explanation a bit.)
4522 **** c-offsets-alist is now a customizable variable.
4523 This became possible as a result of the new initialization behavior.
4525 This variable is treated slightly differently from the other style
4526 variables; instead of using the symbol set-from-style, it will be
4527 completed with the syntactic symbols it doesn't already contain when
4528 the style is first initialized. This means it now defaults to the
4529 empty list to make all syntactic elements get their values from the
4532 **** Compatibility variable to restore the old behavior.
4533 In case your configuration doesn't work with this change, you can set
4534 c-old-style-variable-behavior to non-nil to get the old behavior back
4537 *** Improvements to line breaking and text filling.
4538 CC Mode now handles this more intelligently and seamlessly wrt the
4539 surrounding code, especially inside comments. For details see the new
4540 chapter about this in the manual.
4542 **** New variable to recognize comment line prefix decorations.
4543 The variable c-comment-prefix-regexp has been added to properly
4544 recognize the line prefix in both block and line comments. It's
4545 primarily used to initialize the various paragraph recognition and
4546 adaptive filling variables that the text handling functions uses.
4548 **** New variable c-block-comment-prefix.
4549 This is a generalization of the now obsolete variable
4550 c-comment-continuation-stars to handle arbitrary strings.
4552 **** CC Mode now uses adaptive fill mode.
4553 This to make it adapt better to the paragraph style inside comments.
4555 It's also possible to use other adaptive filling packages inside CC
4556 Mode, notably Kyle E. Jones' Filladapt mode (http://wonderworks.com/).
4557 A new convenience function c-setup-filladapt sets up Filladapt for use
4560 Note though that the 2.12 version of Filladapt lacks a feature that
4561 causes it to work suboptimally when c-comment-prefix-regexp can match
4562 the empty string (which it commonly does). A patch for that is
4563 available from the CC Mode web site (http://www.python.org/emacs/
4566 **** The variables `c-hanging-comment-starter-p' and
4567 `c-hanging-comment-ender-p', which controlled how comment starters and
4568 enders were filled, are not used anymore. The new version of the
4569 function `c-fill-paragraph' keeps the comment starters and enders as
4570 they were before the filling.
4572 **** It's now possible to selectively turn off auto filling.
4573 The variable c-ignore-auto-fill is used to ignore auto fill mode in
4574 specific contexts, e.g. in preprocessor directives and in string
4577 **** New context sensitive line break function c-context-line-break.
4578 It works like newline-and-indent in normal code, and adapts the line
4579 prefix according to the comment style when used inside comments. If
4580 you're normally using newline-and-indent, you might want to switch to
4583 *** Fixes to IDL mode.
4584 It now does a better job in recognizing only the constructs relevant
4585 to IDL. E.g. it no longer matches "class" as the beginning of a
4586 struct block, but it does match the CORBA 2.3 "valuetype" keyword.
4587 Thanks to Eric Eide.
4589 *** Improvements to the Whitesmith style.
4590 It now keeps the style consistently on all levels and both when
4591 opening braces hangs and when they don't.
4593 **** New lineup function c-lineup-whitesmith-in-block.
4595 *** New lineup functions c-lineup-template-args and c-indent-multi-line-block.
4596 See their docstrings for details. c-lineup-template-args does a
4597 better job of tracking the brackets used as parens in C++ templates,
4598 and is used by default to line up continued template arguments.
4600 *** c-lineup-comment now preserves alignment with a comment on the
4601 previous line. It used to instead preserve comments that started in
4602 the column specified by comment-column.
4604 *** c-lineup-C-comments handles "free form" text comments.
4605 In comments with a long delimiter line at the start, the indentation
4606 is kept unchanged for lines that start with an empty comment line
4607 prefix. This is intended for the type of large block comments that
4608 contain documentation with its own formatting. In these you normally
4609 don't want CC Mode to change the indentation.
4611 *** The `c' syntactic symbol is now relative to the comment start
4612 instead of the previous line, to make integers usable as lineup
4615 *** All lineup functions have gotten docstrings.
4617 *** More preprocessor directive movement functions.
4618 c-down-conditional does the reverse of c-up-conditional.
4619 c-up-conditional-with-else and c-down-conditional-with-else are
4620 variants of these that also stops at "#else" lines (suggested by Don
4623 *** Minor improvements to many movement functions in tricky situations.
4627 *** New variable `dired-recursive-deletes' determines if the delete
4628 command will delete non-empty directories recursively. The default
4629 is, delete only empty directories.
4631 *** New variable `dired-recursive-copies' determines if the copy
4632 command will copy directories recursively. The default is, do not
4633 copy directories recursively.
4635 *** In command `dired-do-shell-command' (usually bound to `!') a `?'
4636 in the shell command has a special meaning similar to `*', but with
4637 the difference that the command will be run on each file individually.
4639 *** The new command `dired-find-alternate-file' (usually bound to `a')
4640 replaces the Dired buffer with the buffer for an alternate file or
4643 *** The new command `dired-show-file-type' (usually bound to `y') shows
4644 a message in the echo area describing what type of file the point is on.
4645 This command invokes the external program `file' do its work, and so
4646 will only work on systems with that program, and will be only as
4647 accurate or inaccurate as it is.
4649 *** Dired now properly handles undo changes of adding/removing `-R'
4652 *** Dired commands that prompt for a destination file now allow the use
4653 of the `M-n' command in the minibuffer to insert the source filename,
4654 which the user can then edit. This only works if there is a single
4655 source file, not when operating on multiple marked files.
4659 The Gnus NEWS entries are short, but they reflect sweeping changes in
4660 four areas: Article display treatment, MIME treatment,
4661 internationalization and mail-fetching.
4663 *** The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
4664 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
4666 If you used procmail like in
4668 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
4669 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
4670 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
4671 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
4673 this now has changed to
4676 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
4679 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
4680 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
4682 *** Gnus is now a MIME-capable reader. This affects many parts of
4683 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
4684 Separate MIME packages like RMIME, mime-compose etc., will probably no
4685 longer work; remove them and use the native facilities.
4687 The FLIM/SEMI package still works with Emacs 21, but if you want to
4688 use the native facilities, you must remove any mailcap.el[c] that was
4689 installed by FLIM/SEMI version 1.13 or earlier.
4691 *** Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too many
4692 parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables. There
4693 are built-in facilities equivalent to those of gnus-mule.el, which is
4694 now just a compatibility layer.
4696 *** gnus-mule.el is now just a compatibility layer over the built-in
4699 *** gnus-auto-select-first can now be a function to be
4700 called to position point.
4702 *** The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
4703 summary buffers and NOV files.
4705 *** `gnus-article-display-hook' has been removed. Instead, a number
4706 of variables starting with `gnus-treat-' have been added.
4708 *** The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now work in a
4709 subtly different manner.
4711 *** New web-based backends have been added: nnslashdot, nnwarchive
4712 and nnultimate. nnweb has been revamped, again, to keep up with
4713 ever-changing layouts.
4715 *** Gnus can now read IMAP mail via nnimap.
4717 *** There is image support of various kinds and some sound support.
4719 ** Changes in Texinfo mode.
4721 *** A couple of new key bindings have been added for inserting Texinfo
4725 -------------------------
4729 C-c C-c q @quotation
4731 C-c C-o @<block> ... @end <block>
4734 *** The " key now inserts either " or `` or '' depending on context.
4736 ** Changes in Outline mode.
4738 There is now support for Imenu to index headings. A new command
4739 `outline-headers-as-kill' copies the visible headings in the region to
4740 the kill ring, e.g. to produce a table of contents.
4742 ** Changes to Emacs Server
4744 *** The new option `server-kill-new-buffers' specifies what to do
4745 with buffers when done with them. If non-nil, the default, buffers
4746 are killed, unless they were already present before visiting them with
4747 Emacs Server. If nil, `server-temp-file-regexp' specifies which
4748 buffers to kill, as before.
4750 Please note that only buffers are killed that still have a client,
4751 i.e. buffers visited with `emacsclient --no-wait' are never killed in
4754 ** Both emacsclient and Emacs itself now accept command line options
4755 of the form +LINE:COLUMN in addition to +LINE.
4757 ** Changes to Show Paren mode.
4759 *** Overlays used by Show Paren mode now use a priority property.
4760 The new user option show-paren-priority specifies the priority to
4761 use. Default is 1000.
4763 ** New command M-x check-parens can be used to find unbalanced paren
4764 groups and strings in buffers in Lisp mode (or other modes).
4766 ** Changes to hideshow.el
4768 *** Generalized block selection and traversal
4770 A block is now recognized by its start and end regexps (both strings),
4771 and an integer specifying which sub-expression in the start regexp
4772 serves as the place where a `forward-sexp'-like function can operate.
4773 See the documentation of variable `hs-special-modes-alist'.
4775 *** During incremental search, if Hideshow minor mode is active,
4776 hidden blocks are temporarily shown. The variable `hs-headline' can
4777 be used in the mode line format to show the line at the beginning of
4780 *** User option `hs-hide-all-non-comment-function' specifies a
4781 function to be called at each top-level block beginning, instead of
4782 the normal block-hiding function.
4784 *** The command `hs-show-region' has been removed.
4786 *** The key bindings have changed to fit the Emacs conventions,
4787 roughly imitating those of Outline minor mode. Notably, the prefix
4788 for all bindings is now `C-c @'. For details, see the documentation
4789 for `hs-minor-mode'.
4791 *** The variable `hs-show-hidden-short-form' has been removed, and
4792 hideshow.el now always behaves as if this variable were set to t.
4794 ** Changes to Change Log mode and Add-Log functions
4796 *** If you invoke `add-change-log-entry' from a backup file, it makes
4797 an entry appropriate for the file's parent. This is useful for making
4798 log entries by comparing a version with deleted functions.
4800 **** New command M-x change-log-merge merges another log into the
4803 *** New command M-x change-log-redate fixes any old-style date entries
4806 *** Change Log mode now adds a file's version number to change log
4807 entries if user-option `change-log-version-info-enabled' is non-nil.
4808 Unless the file is under version control the search for a file's
4809 version number is performed based on regular expressions from
4810 `change-log-version-number-regexp-list' which can be customized.
4811 Version numbers are only found in the first 10 percent of a file.
4813 *** Change Log mode now defines its own faces for font-lock highlighting.
4815 ** Changes to cmuscheme
4817 *** The user-option `scheme-program-name' has been renamed
4818 `cmuscheme-program-name' due to conflicts with xscheme.el.
4820 ** Changes in Font Lock
4822 *** The new function `font-lock-remove-keywords' can be used to remove
4823 font-lock keywords from the current buffer or from a specific major mode.
4825 *** Multi-line patterns are now supported. Modes using this, should
4826 set font-lock-multiline to t in their font-lock-defaults.
4828 *** `font-lock-syntactic-face-function' allows major-modes to choose
4829 the face used for each string/comment.
4831 *** A new standard face `font-lock-doc-face'.
4832 Meant for Lisp docstrings, Javadoc comments and other "documentation in code".
4834 ** Changes to Shell mode
4836 *** The `shell' command now accepts an optional argument to specify the buffer
4837 to use, which defaults to "*shell*". When used interactively, a
4838 non-default buffer may be specified by giving the `shell' command a
4839 prefix argument (causing it to prompt for the buffer name).
4841 ** Comint (subshell) changes
4843 These changes generally affect all modes derived from comint mode, which
4844 include shell-mode, gdb-mode, scheme-interaction-mode, etc.
4846 *** Comint now by default interprets some carriage-control characters.
4847 Comint now removes CRs from CR LF sequences, and treats single CRs and
4848 BSs in the output in a way similar to a terminal (by deleting to the
4849 beginning of the line, or deleting the previous character,
4850 respectively). This is achieved by adding `comint-carriage-motion' to
4851 the `comint-output-filter-functions' hook by default.
4853 *** By default, comint no longer uses the variable `comint-prompt-regexp'
4854 to distinguish prompts from user-input. Instead, it notices which
4855 parts of the text were output by the process, and which entered by the
4856 user, and attaches `field' properties to allow emacs commands to use
4857 this information. Common movement commands, notably beginning-of-line,
4858 respect field boundaries in a fairly natural manner. To disable this
4859 feature, and use the old behavior, customize the user option
4860 `comint-use-prompt-regexp-instead-of-fields'.
4862 *** Comint now includes new features to send commands to running processes
4863 and redirect the output to a designated buffer or buffers.
4865 *** The command M-x comint-redirect-send-command reads a command and
4866 buffer name from the mini-buffer. The command is sent to the current
4867 buffer's process, and its output is inserted into the specified buffer.
4869 The command M-x comint-redirect-send-command-to-process acts like
4870 M-x comint-redirect-send-command but additionally reads the name of
4871 the buffer whose process should be used from the mini-buffer.
4873 *** Packages based on comint now highlight user input and program prompts,
4874 and support choosing previous input with mouse-2. To control these features,
4875 see the user-options `comint-highlight-input' and `comint-highlight-prompt'.
4877 *** The new command `comint-write-output' (usually bound to `C-c C-s')
4878 saves the output from the most recent command to a file. With a prefix
4879 argument, it appends to the file.
4881 *** The command `comint-kill-output' has been renamed `comint-delete-output'
4882 (usually bound to `C-c C-o'); the old name is aliased to it for
4885 *** The new function `comint-add-to-input-history' adds commands to the input
4888 *** The new variable `comint-input-history-ignore' is a regexp for
4889 identifying history lines that should be ignored, like tcsh time-stamp
4890 strings, starting with a `#'. The default value of this variable is "^#".
4892 ** Changes to Rmail mode
4894 *** The new user-option rmail-user-mail-address-regexp can be
4895 set to fine tune the identification of the correspondent when
4896 receiving new mail. If it matches the address of the sender, the
4897 recipient is taken as correspondent of a mail. If nil, the default,
4898 `user-login-name' and `user-mail-address' are used to exclude yourself
4901 Usually you don't have to set this variable, except if you collect
4902 mails sent by you under different user names. Then it should be a
4903 regexp matching your mail addresses.
4905 *** The new user-option rmail-confirm-expunge controls whether and how
4906 to ask for confirmation before expunging deleted messages from an
4907 Rmail file. You can choose between no confirmation, confirmation
4908 with y-or-n-p, or confirmation with yes-or-no-p. Default is to ask
4909 for confirmation with yes-or-no-p.
4911 *** RET is now bound in the Rmail summary to rmail-summary-goto-msg,
4914 *** There is a new user option `rmail-digest-end-regexps' that
4915 specifies the regular expressions to detect the line that ends a
4918 *** The new user option `rmail-automatic-folder-directives' specifies
4919 in which folder to put messages automatically.
4921 *** The new function `rmail-redecode-body' allows to fix a message
4922 with non-ASCII characters if Emacs happens to decode it incorrectly
4923 due to missing or malformed "charset=" header.
4925 ** The new user-option `mail-envelope-from' can be used to specify
4926 an envelope-from address different from user-mail-address.
4928 ** The variable mail-specify-envelope-from controls whether to
4929 use the -f option when sending mail.
4931 ** The Rmail command `o' (`rmail-output-to-rmail-file') now writes the
4932 current message in the internal `emacs-mule' encoding, rather than in
4933 the encoding taken from the variable `buffer-file-coding-system'.
4934 This allows to save messages whose characters cannot be safely encoded
4935 by the buffer's coding system, and makes sure the message will be
4936 displayed correctly when you later visit the target Rmail file.
4938 If you want your Rmail files be encoded in a specific coding system
4939 other than `emacs-mule', you can customize the variable
4940 `rmail-file-coding-system' to set its value to that coding system.
4942 ** Changes to TeX mode
4944 *** The default mode has been changed from `plain-tex-mode' to
4947 *** latex-mode now has a simple indentation algorithm.
4949 *** M-f and M-p jump around \begin...\end pairs.
4951 *** Added support for outline-minor-mode.
4953 ** Changes to RefTeX mode
4955 *** RefTeX has new support for index generation. Index entries can be
4956 created with `C-c <', with completion available on index keys.
4957 Pressing `C-c /' indexes the word at the cursor with a default
4958 macro. `C-c >' compiles all index entries into an alphabetically
4959 sorted *Index* buffer which looks like the final index. Entries
4960 can be edited from that buffer.
4962 *** Label and citation key selection now allow to select several
4963 items and reference them together (use `m' to mark items, `a' or
4964 `A' to use all marked entries).
4966 *** reftex.el has been split into a number of smaller files to reduce
4967 memory use when only a part of RefTeX is being used.
4969 *** a new command `reftex-view-crossref-from-bibtex' (bound to `C-c &'
4970 in BibTeX-mode) can be called in a BibTeX database buffer in order
4971 to show locations in LaTeX documents where a particular entry has
4974 ** Emacs Lisp mode now allows multiple levels of outline headings.
4975 The level of a heading is determined from the number of leading
4976 semicolons in a heading line. Toplevel forms starting with a `('
4977 in column 1 are always made leaves.
4979 ** The M-x time-stamp command (most commonly used on write-file-hooks)
4980 has the following new features:
4982 *** The patterns for finding the time stamp and for updating a pattern
4983 may match text spanning multiple lines. For example, some people like
4984 to have the filename and date on separate lines. The new variable
4985 time-stamp-inserts-lines controls the matching for multi-line patterns.
4987 *** More than one time stamp can be updated in the same file. This
4988 feature is useful if you need separate time stamps in a program source
4989 file to both include in formatted documentation and insert in the
4990 compiled binary. The same time-stamp will be written at each matching
4991 pattern. The variable time-stamp-count enables this new feature; it
4994 ** Partial Completion mode now completes environment variables in
4999 *** The command `ispell' now spell-checks a region if
5000 transient-mark-mode is on, and the mark is active. Otherwise it
5001 spell-checks the current buffer.
5003 *** Support for synchronous subprocesses - DOS/Windoze - has been
5006 *** An "alignment error" bug was fixed when a manual spelling
5007 correction is made and re-checked.
5009 *** Italian, Portuguese, and Slovak dictionary definitions have been added.
5011 *** Region skipping performance has been vastly improved in some
5014 *** Spell checking HTML buffers has been improved and isn't so strict
5017 *** The buffer-local words are now always placed on a new line at the
5020 *** Spell checking now works in the MS-DOS version of Emacs.
5022 ** Makefile mode changes
5024 *** The mode now uses the abbrev table `makefile-mode-abbrev-table'.
5026 *** Conditionals and include statements are now highlighted when
5027 Fontlock mode is active.
5031 *** Isearch now puts a call to `isearch-resume' in the command history,
5032 so that searches can be resumed.
5034 *** In Isearch mode, C-M-s and C-M-r are now bound like C-s and C-r,
5035 respectively, i.e. you can repeat a regexp isearch with the same keys
5036 that started the search.
5038 *** In Isearch mode, mouse-2 in the echo area now yanks the current
5039 selection into the search string rather than giving an error.
5041 *** There is a new lazy highlighting feature in incremental search.
5043 Lazy highlighting is switched on/off by customizing variable
5044 `isearch-lazy-highlight'. When active, all matches for the current
5045 search string are highlighted. The current match is highlighted as
5046 before using face `isearch' or `region'. All other matches are
5047 highlighted using face `isearch-lazy-highlight-face' which defaults to
5048 `secondary-selection'.
5050 The extra highlighting makes it easier to anticipate where the cursor
5051 will end up each time you press C-s or C-r to repeat a pending search.
5052 Highlighting of these additional matches happens in a deferred fashion
5053 using "idle timers," so the cycles needed do not rob isearch of its
5054 usual snappy response.
5056 If `isearch-lazy-highlight-cleanup' is set to t, highlights for
5057 matches are automatically cleared when you end the search. If it is
5058 set to nil, you can remove the highlights manually with `M-x
5059 isearch-lazy-highlight-cleanup'.
5063 VC has been overhauled internally. It is now modular, making it
5064 easier to plug-in arbitrary version control backends. (See Lisp
5065 Changes for details on the new structure.) As a result, the mechanism
5066 to enable and disable support for particular version systems has
5067 changed: everything is now controlled by the new variable
5068 `vc-handled-backends'. Its value is a list of symbols that identify
5069 version systems; the default is '(RCS CVS SCCS). When finding a file,
5070 each of the backends in that list is tried in order to see whether the
5071 file is registered in that backend.
5073 When registering a new file, VC first tries each of the listed
5074 backends to see if any of them considers itself "responsible" for the
5075 directory of the file (e.g. because a corresponding subdirectory for
5076 master files exists). If none of the backends is responsible, then
5077 the first backend in the list that could register the file is chosen.
5078 As a consequence, the variable `vc-default-back-end' is now obsolete.
5080 The old variable `vc-master-templates' is also obsolete, although VC
5081 still supports it for backward compatibility. To define templates for
5082 RCS or SCCS, you should rather use the new variables
5083 vc-{rcs,sccs}-master-templates. (There is no such feature under CVS
5084 where it doesn't make sense.)
5086 The variables `vc-ignore-vc-files' and `vc-handle-cvs' are also
5087 obsolete now, you must set `vc-handled-backends' to nil or exclude
5088 `CVS' from the list, respectively, to achieve their effect now.
5092 The variable `vc-checkout-carefully' is obsolete: the corresponding
5093 checks are always done now.
5095 VC Dired buffers are now kept up-to-date during all version control
5098 `vc-diff' output is now displayed in `diff-mode'.
5099 `vc-print-log' uses `log-view-mode'.
5100 `vc-log-mode' (used for *VC-Log*) has been replaced by `log-edit-mode'.
5102 The command C-x v m (vc-merge) now accepts an empty argument as the
5103 first revision number. This means that any recent changes on the
5104 current branch should be picked up from the repository and merged into
5105 the working file (``merge news'').
5107 The commands C-x v s (vc-create-snapshot) and C-x v r
5108 (vc-retrieve-snapshot) now ask for a directory name from which to work
5111 *** Multiple Backends
5113 VC now lets you register files in more than one backend. This is
5114 useful, for example, if you are working with a slow remote CVS
5115 repository. You can then use RCS for local editing, and occasionally
5116 commit your changes back to CVS, or pick up changes from CVS into your
5119 To make this work, the ``more local'' backend (RCS in our example)
5120 should come first in `vc-handled-backends', and the ``more remote''
5121 backend (CVS) should come later. (The default value of
5122 `vc-handled-backends' already has it that way.)
5124 You can then commit changes to another backend (say, RCS), by typing
5125 C-u C-x v v RCS RET (i.e. vc-next-action now accepts a backend name as
5126 a revision number). VC registers the file in the more local backend
5127 if that hasn't already happened, and commits to a branch based on the
5128 current revision number from the more remote backend.
5130 If a file is registered in multiple backends, you can switch to
5131 another one using C-x v b (vc-switch-backend). This does not change
5132 any files, it only changes VC's perspective on the file. Use this to
5133 pick up changes from CVS while working under RCS locally.
5135 After you are done with your local RCS editing, you can commit your
5136 changes back to CVS using C-u C-x v v CVS RET. In this case, the
5137 local RCS archive is removed after the commit, and the log entry
5138 buffer is initialized to contain the entire RCS change log of the file.
5142 There is a new user option, `vc-cvs-stay-local'. If it is `t' (the
5143 default), then VC avoids network queries for files registered in
5144 remote repositories. The state of such files is then only determined
5145 by heuristics and past information. `vc-cvs-stay-local' can also be a
5146 regexp to match against repository hostnames; only files from hosts
5147 that match it are treated locally. If the variable is nil, then VC
5148 queries the repository just as often as it does for local files.
5150 If `vc-cvs-stay-local' is on, then VC also makes local backups of
5151 repository versions. This means that ordinary diffs (C-x v =) and
5152 revert operations (C-x v u) can be done completely locally, without
5153 any repository interactions at all. The name of a local version
5154 backup of FILE is FILE.~REV.~, where REV is the repository version
5155 number. This format is similar to that used by C-x v ~
5156 (vc-version-other-window), except for the trailing dot. As a matter
5157 of fact, the two features can each use the files created by the other,
5158 the only difference being that files with a trailing `.' are deleted
5159 automatically after commit. (This feature doesn't work on MS-DOS,
5160 since DOS disallows more than a single dot in the trunk of a file
5163 If `vc-cvs-stay-local' is on, and there have been changes in the
5164 repository, VC notifies you about it when you actually try to commit.
5165 If you want to check for updates from the repository without trying to
5166 commit, you can either use C-x v m RET to perform an update on the
5167 current file, or you can use C-x v r RET to get an update for an
5168 entire directory tree.
5170 The new user option `vc-cvs-use-edit' indicates whether VC should call
5171 "cvs edit" to make files writeable; it defaults to `t'. (This option
5172 is only meaningful if the CVSREAD variable is set, or if files are
5173 "watched" by other developers.)
5175 The commands C-x v s (vc-create-snapshot) and C-x v r
5176 (vc-retrieve-snapshot) are now also implemented for CVS. If you give
5177 an empty snapshot name to the latter, that performs a `cvs update',
5178 starting at the given directory.
5180 *** Lisp Changes in VC
5182 VC has been restructured internally to make it modular. You can now
5183 add support for arbitrary version control backends by writing a
5184 library that provides a certain set of backend-specific functions, and
5185 then telling VC to use that library. For example, to add support for
5186 a version system named SYS, you write a library named vc-sys.el, which
5187 provides a number of functions vc-sys-... (see commentary at the top
5188 of vc.el for a detailed list of them). To make VC use that library,
5189 you need to put it somewhere into Emacs' load path and add the symbol
5190 `SYS' to the list `vc-handled-backends'.
5192 ** The customizable EDT emulation package now supports the EDT
5193 SUBS command and EDT scroll margins. It also works with more
5194 terminal/keyboard configurations and it now works under XEmacs.
5195 See etc/edt-user.doc for more information.
5197 ** New modes and packages
5199 *** The new global minor mode `minibuffer-electric-default-mode'
5200 automatically hides the `(default ...)' part of minibuffer prompts when
5201 the default is not applicable.
5203 *** Artist is an Emacs lisp package that allows you to draw lines,
5204 rectangles and ellipses by using your mouse and/or keyboard. The
5205 shapes are made up with the ascii characters |, -, / and \.
5209 - Intersecting: When a `|' intersects with a `-', a `+' is
5210 drawn, like this: | \ /
5214 - Rubber-banding: When drawing lines you can interactively see the
5215 result while holding the mouse button down and moving the mouse. If
5216 your machine is not fast enough (a 386 is a bit too slow, but a
5217 pentium is well enough), you can turn this feature off. You will
5218 then see 1's and 2's which mark the 1st and 2nd endpoint of the line
5221 - Arrows: After having drawn a (straight) line or a (straight)
5222 poly-line, you can set arrows on the line-ends by typing < or >.
5224 - Flood-filling: You can fill any area with a certain character by
5227 - Cut copy and paste: You can cut, copy and paste rectangular
5228 regions. Artist also interfaces with the rect package (this can be
5229 turned off if it causes you any trouble) so anything you cut in
5230 artist can be yanked with C-x r y and vice versa.
5232 - Drawing with keys: Everything you can do with the mouse, you can
5233 also do without the mouse.
5235 - Aspect-ratio: You can set the variable artist-aspect-ratio to
5236 reflect the height-width ratio for the font you are using. Squares
5237 and circles are then drawn square/round. Note, that once your
5238 ascii-file is shown with font with a different height-width ratio,
5239 the squares won't be square and the circles won't be round.
5241 - Drawing operations: The following drawing operations are implemented:
5243 lines straight-lines
5245 poly-lines straight poly-lines
5247 text (see-thru) text (overwrite)
5248 spray-can setting size for spraying
5249 vaporize line vaporize lines
5250 erase characters erase rectangles
5252 Straight lines are lines that go horizontally, vertically or
5253 diagonally. Plain lines go in any direction. The operations in
5254 the right column are accessed by holding down the shift key while
5257 It is possible to vaporize (erase) entire lines and connected lines
5258 (rectangles for example) as long as the lines being vaporized are
5259 straight and connected at their endpoints. Vaporizing is inspired
5260 by the drawrect package by Jari Aalto <jari.aalto@poboxes.com>.
5262 - Picture mode compatibility: Artist is picture mode compatible (this
5265 *** The new package Eshell is an operating system command shell
5266 implemented entirely in Emacs Lisp. Use `M-x eshell' to invoke it.
5267 It functions similarly to bash and zsh, and allows running of Lisp
5268 functions and external commands using the same syntax. It supports
5269 history lists, aliases, extended globbing, smart scrolling, etc. It
5270 will work on any platform Emacs has been ported to. And since most of
5271 the basic commands -- ls, rm, mv, cp, ln, du, cat, etc. -- have been
5272 rewritten in Lisp, it offers an operating-system independent shell,
5273 all within the scope of your Emacs process.
5275 *** The new package timeclock.el is a mode is for keeping track of time
5276 intervals. You can use it for whatever purpose you like, but the
5277 typical scenario is to keep track of how much time you spend working
5278 on certain projects.
5280 *** The new package hi-lock.el provides commands to highlight matches
5281 of interactively entered regexps. For example,
5283 M-x highlight-regexp RET clearly RET RET
5285 will highlight all occurrences of `clearly' using a yellow background
5286 face. New occurrences of `clearly' will be highlighted as they are
5287 typed. `M-x unhighlight-regexp RET' will remove the highlighting.
5288 Any existing face can be used for highlighting and a set of
5289 appropriate faces is provided. The regexps can be written into the
5290 current buffer in a form that will be recognized the next time the
5291 corresponding file is read. There are commands to highlight matches
5292 to phrases and to highlight entire lines containing a match.
5294 *** The new package zone.el plays games with Emacs' display when
5297 *** The new package tildify.el allows to add hard spaces or other text
5298 fragments in accordance with the current major mode.
5300 *** The new package xml.el provides a simple but generic XML
5301 parser. It doesn't parse the DTDs however.
5303 *** The comment operations are now provided by the newcomment.el
5304 package which allows different styles of comment-region and should
5305 be more robust while offering the same functionality.
5306 `comment-region' now doesn't always comment a-line-at-a-time, but only
5307 comments the region, breaking the line at point if necessary.
5309 *** The Ebrowse package implements a C++ class browser and tags
5310 facilities tailored for use with C++. It is documented in a
5311 separate Texinfo file.
5313 *** The PCL-CVS package available by either running M-x cvs-examine or
5314 by visiting a CVS administrative directory (with a prefix argument)
5315 provides an alternative interface to VC-dired for CVS. It comes with
5316 `log-view-mode' to view RCS and SCCS logs and `log-edit-mode' used to
5317 enter check-in log messages.
5319 *** The new package called `woman' allows to browse Unix man pages
5320 without invoking external programs.
5322 The command `M-x woman' formats manual pages entirely in Emacs Lisp
5323 and then displays them, like `M-x manual-entry' does. Unlike
5324 `manual-entry', `woman' does not invoke any external programs, so it
5325 is useful on systems such as MS-DOS/MS-Windows where the `man' and
5326 Groff or `troff' commands are not readily available.
5328 The command `M-x woman-find-file' asks for the file name of a man
5329 page, then formats and displays it like `M-x woman' does.
5331 *** The new command M-x re-builder offers a convenient interface for
5332 authoring regular expressions with immediate visual feedback.
5334 The buffer from which the command was called becomes the target for
5335 the regexp editor popping up in a separate window. Matching text in
5336 the target buffer is immediately color marked during the editing.
5337 Each sub-expression of the regexp will show up in a different face so
5338 even complex regexps can be edited and verified on target data in a
5341 On displays not supporting faces the matches instead blink like
5342 matching parens to make them stand out. On such a setup you will
5343 probably also want to use the sub-expression mode when the regexp
5344 contains such to get feedback about their respective limits.
5346 *** glasses-mode is a minor mode that makes
5347 unreadableIdentifiersLikeThis readable. It works as glasses, without
5348 actually modifying content of a buffer.
5350 *** The package ebnf2ps translates an EBNF to a syntactic chart in
5353 Currently accepts ad-hoc EBNF, ISO EBNF and Bison/Yacc.
5355 The ad-hoc default EBNF syntax has the following elements:
5357 ; comment (until end of line)
5361 $A default non-terminal
5362 $"C" default terminal
5363 $?C? default special
5364 A = B. production (A is the header and B the body)
5365 C D sequence (C occurs before D)
5366 C | D alternative (C or D occurs)
5367 A - B exception (A excluding B, B without any non-terminal)
5368 n * A repetition (A repeats n (integer) times)
5369 (C) group (expression C is grouped together)
5370 [C] optional (C may or not occurs)
5371 C+ one or more occurrences of C
5372 {C}+ one or more occurrences of C
5373 {C}* zero or more occurrences of C
5374 {C} zero or more occurrences of C
5375 C / D equivalent to: C {D C}*
5376 {C || D}+ equivalent to: C {D C}*
5377 {C || D}* equivalent to: [C {D C}*]
5378 {C || D} equivalent to: [C {D C}*]
5380 Please, see ebnf2ps documentation for EBNF syntax and how to use it.
5382 *** The package align.el will align columns within a region, using M-x
5383 align. Its mode-specific rules, based on regular expressions,
5384 determine where the columns should be split. In C and C++, for
5385 example, it will align variable names in declaration lists, or the
5386 equal signs of assignments.
5388 *** `paragraph-indent-minor-mode' is a new minor mode supporting
5389 paragraphs in the same style as `paragraph-indent-text-mode'.
5391 *** bs.el is a new package for buffer selection similar to
5392 list-buffers or electric-buffer-list. Use M-x bs-show to display a
5393 buffer menu with this package. See the Custom group `bs'.
5395 *** find-lisp.el is a package emulating the Unix find command in Lisp.
5397 *** calculator.el is a small calculator package that is intended to
5398 replace desktop calculators such as xcalc and calc.exe. Actually, it
5399 is not too small - it has more features than most desktop calculators,
5400 and can be customized easily to get many more functions. It should
5401 not be confused with "calc" which is a much bigger mathematical tool
5402 which answers different needs.
5404 *** The minor modes cwarn-mode and global-cwarn-mode highlights
5405 suspicious C and C++ constructions. Currently, assignments inside
5406 expressions, semicolon following `if', `for' and `while' (except, of
5407 course, after a `do .. while' statement), and C++ functions with
5408 reference parameters are recognized. The modes require font-lock mode
5411 *** smerge-mode.el provides `smerge-mode', a simple minor-mode for files
5412 containing diff3-style conflict markers, such as generated by RCS.
5414 *** 5x5.el is a simple puzzle game.
5416 *** hl-line.el provides `hl-line-mode', a minor mode to highlight the
5417 current line in the current buffer. It also provides
5418 `global-hl-line-mode' to provide the same behavior in all buffers.
5420 *** ansi-color.el translates ANSI terminal escapes into text-properties.
5422 Please note: if `ansi-color-for-comint-mode' and
5423 `global-font-lock-mode' are non-nil, loading ansi-color.el will
5424 disable font-lock and add `ansi-color-apply' to
5425 `comint-preoutput-filter-functions' for all shell-mode buffers. This
5426 displays the output of "ls --color=yes" using the correct foreground
5427 and background colors.
5429 *** delphi.el provides a major mode for editing the Delphi (Object
5432 *** quickurl.el provides a simple method of inserting a URL based on
5435 *** sql.el provides an interface to SQL data bases.
5437 *** fortune.el uses the fortune program to create mail/news signatures.
5439 *** whitespace.el is a package for warning about and cleaning bogus
5440 whitespace in a file.
5442 *** PostScript mode (ps-mode) is a new major mode for editing PostScript
5443 files. It offers: interaction with a PostScript interpreter, including
5444 (very basic) error handling; fontification, easily customizable for
5445 interpreter messages; auto-indentation; insertion of EPSF templates and
5446 often used code snippets; viewing of BoundingBox; commenting out /
5447 uncommenting regions; conversion of 8bit characters to PostScript octal
5448 codes. All functionality is accessible through a menu.
5450 *** delim-col helps to prettify columns in a text region or rectangle.
5452 Here is an example of columns:
5455 dog pineapple car EXTRA
5456 porcupine strawberry airplane
5458 Doing the following settings:
5460 (setq delimit-columns-str-before "[ ")
5461 (setq delimit-columns-str-after " ]")
5462 (setq delimit-columns-str-separator ", ")
5463 (setq delimit-columns-separator "\t")
5466 Selecting the lines above and typing:
5468 M-x delimit-columns-region
5472 [ horse , apple , bus , ]
5473 [ dog , pineapple , car , EXTRA ]
5474 [ porcupine, strawberry, airplane, ]
5476 delim-col has the following options:
5478 delimit-columns-str-before Specify a string to be inserted
5481 delimit-columns-str-separator Specify a string to be inserted
5482 between each column.
5484 delimit-columns-str-after Specify a string to be inserted
5487 delimit-columns-separator Specify a regexp which separates
5490 delim-col has the following commands:
5492 delimit-columns-region Prettify all columns in a text region.
5493 delimit-columns-rectangle Prettify all columns in a text rectangle.
5495 *** Recentf mode maintains a menu for visiting files that were
5496 operated on recently. User option recentf-menu-filter specifies a
5497 menu filter function to change the menu appearance. For example, the
5498 recent file list can be displayed:
5500 - organized by major modes, directories or user defined rules.
5501 - sorted by file paths, file names, ascending or descending.
5502 - showing paths relative to the current default-directory
5504 The `recentf-filter-changer' menu filter function allows to
5505 dynamically change the menu appearance.
5507 *** elide-head.el provides a mechanism for eliding boilerplate header
5510 *** footnote.el provides `footnote-mode', a minor mode supporting use
5511 of footnotes. It is intended for use with Message mode, but isn't
5512 specific to Message mode.
5514 *** diff-mode.el provides `diff-mode', a major mode for
5515 viewing/editing context diffs (patches). It is selected for files
5516 with extension `.diff', `.diffs', `.patch' and `.rej'.
5518 *** EUDC, the Emacs Unified Directory Client, provides a common user
5519 interface to access directory servers using different directory
5520 protocols. It has a separate manual.
5522 *** autoconf.el provides a major mode for editing configure.in files
5523 for Autoconf, selected automatically.
5525 *** windmove.el provides moving between windows.
5527 *** crm.el provides a facility to read multiple strings from the
5528 minibuffer with completion.
5530 *** todo-mode.el provides management of TODO lists and integration
5531 with the diary features.
5533 *** autoarg.el provides a feature reported from Twenex Emacs whereby
5534 numeric keys supply prefix args rather than self inserting.
5536 *** The function `turn-off-auto-fill' unconditionally turns off Auto
5539 *** pcomplete.el is a library that provides programmable completion
5540 facilities for Emacs, similar to what zsh and tcsh offer. The main
5541 difference is that completion functions are written in Lisp, meaning
5542 they can be profiled, debugged, etc.
5544 *** antlr-mode is a new major mode for editing ANTLR grammar files.
5545 It is automatically turned on for files whose names have the extension
5548 ** Changes in sort.el
5550 The function sort-numeric-fields interprets numbers starting with `0'
5551 as octal and numbers starting with `0x' or `0X' as hexadecimal. The
5552 new user-option sort-numeric-base can be used to specify a default
5555 ** Changes to Ange-ftp
5557 *** Ange-ftp allows you to specify of a port number in remote file
5558 names cleanly. It is appended to the host name, separated by a hash
5559 sign, e.g. `/foo@bar.org#666:mumble'. (This syntax comes from EFS.)
5561 *** If the new user-option `ange-ftp-try-passive-mode' is set, passive
5562 ftp mode will be used if the ftp client supports that.
5564 *** Ange-ftp handles the output of the w32-style clients which
5565 output ^M at the end of lines.
5567 ** The recommended way of using Iswitchb is via the new global minor
5568 mode `iswitchb-mode'.
5570 ** Just loading the msb package doesn't switch on Msb mode anymore.
5571 If you have `(require 'msb)' in your .emacs, please replace it with
5574 ** Flyspell mode has various new options. See the `flyspell' Custom
5577 ** The user option `backward-delete-char-untabify-method' controls the
5578 behavior of `backward-delete-char-untabify'. The following values
5581 `untabify' -- turn a tab to many spaces, then delete one space;
5582 `hungry' -- delete all whitespace, both tabs and spaces;
5583 `all' -- delete all whitespace, including tabs, spaces and newlines;
5584 nil -- just delete one character.
5586 Default value is `untabify'.
5588 [This change was made in Emacs 20.3 but not mentioned then.]
5590 ** In Cperl mode `cperl-invalid-face' should now be a normal face
5591 symbol, not double-quoted.
5593 ** Some packages are declared obsolete, to be removed in a future
5594 version. They are: auto-show, c-mode, hilit19, hscroll, ooutline,
5595 profile, rnews, rnewspost, and sc. Their implementations have been
5596 moved to lisp/obsolete.
5598 ** auto-compression mode is no longer enabled just by loading jka-compr.el.
5599 To control it, set `auto-compression-mode' via Custom or use the
5600 `auto-compression-mode' command.
5602 ** `browse-url-gnome-moz' is a new option for
5603 `browse-url-browser-function', invoking Mozilla in GNOME, and
5604 `browse-url-kde' can be chosen for invoking the KDE browser.
5606 ** The user-option `browse-url-new-window-p' has been renamed to
5607 `browse-url-new-window-flag'.
5609 ** The functions `keep-lines', `flush-lines' and `how-many' now
5610 operate on the active region in Transient Mark mode.
5612 ** `gnus-user-agent' is a new possibility for `mail-user-agent'. It
5613 is like `message-user-agent', but with all the Gnus paraphernalia.
5615 ** The Strokes package has been updated. If your Emacs has XPM
5616 support, you can use it for pictographic editing. In Strokes mode,
5617 use C-mouse-2 to compose a complex stoke and insert it into the
5618 buffer. You can encode or decode a strokes buffer with new commands
5619 M-x strokes-encode-buffer and M-x strokes-decode-buffer. There is a
5620 new command M-x strokes-list-strokes.
5622 ** Hexl contains a new command `hexl-insert-hex-string' which inserts
5623 a string of hexadecimal numbers read from the mini-buffer.
5625 ** Hexl mode allows to insert non-ASCII characters.
5627 The non-ASCII characters are encoded using the same encoding as the
5628 file you are visiting in Hexl mode.
5630 ** Shell script mode changes.
5632 Shell script mode (sh-script) can now indent scripts for shells
5633 derived from sh and rc. The indentation style is customizable, and
5634 sh-script can attempt to "learn" the current buffer's style.
5638 *** In DOS, etags looks for file.cgz if it cannot find file.c.
5640 *** New option --ignore-case-regex is an alternative to --regex. It is now
5641 possible to bind a regexp to a language, by prepending the regexp with
5642 {lang}, where lang is one of the languages that `etags --help' prints out.
5643 This feature is useful especially for regex files, where each line contains
5644 a regular expression. The manual contains details.
5646 *** In C and derived languages, etags creates tags for function
5647 declarations when given the --declarations option.
5649 *** In C++, tags are created for "operator". The tags have the form
5650 "operator+", without spaces between the keyword and the operator.
5652 *** You shouldn't generally need any more the -C or -c++ option: etags
5653 automatically switches to C++ parsing when it meets the `class' or
5654 `template' keywords.
5656 *** Etags now is able to delve at arbitrary deeps into nested structures in
5657 C-like languages. Previously, it was limited to one or two brace levels.
5659 *** New language Ada: tags are functions, procedures, packages, tasks, and
5662 *** In Fortran, `procedure' is not tagged.
5664 *** In Java, tags are created for "interface".
5666 *** In Lisp, "(defstruct (foo", "(defun (operator" and similar constructs
5669 *** In makefiles, tags the targets.
5671 *** In Perl, the --globals option tags global variables. my and local
5672 variables are tagged.
5674 *** New language Python: def and class at the beginning of a line are tags.
5676 *** .ss files are Scheme files, .pdb is Postscript with C syntax, .psw is
5679 ** Changes in etags.el
5681 *** The new user-option tags-case-fold-search can be used to make
5682 tags operations case-sensitive or case-insensitive. The default
5683 is to use the same setting as case-fold-search.
5685 *** You can display additional output with M-x tags-apropos by setting
5686 the new variable tags-apropos-additional-actions.
5688 If non-nil, the variable's value should be a list of triples (TITLE
5689 FUNCTION TO-SEARCH). For each triple, M-x tags-apropos processes
5690 TO-SEARCH and lists tags from it. TO-SEARCH should be an alist,
5691 obarray, or symbol. If it is a symbol, the symbol's value is used.
5693 TITLE is a string to use to label the list of tags from TO-SEARCH.
5695 FUNCTION is a function to call when an entry is selected in the Tags
5696 List buffer. It is called with one argument, the selected symbol.
5698 A useful example value for this variable might be something like:
5700 '(("Emacs Lisp" Info-goto-emacs-command-node obarray)
5701 ("Common Lisp" common-lisp-hyperspec common-lisp-hyperspec-obarray)
5702 ("SCWM" scwm-documentation scwm-obarray))
5704 *** The face tags-tag-face can be used to customize the appearance
5705 of tags in the output of M-x tags-apropos.
5707 *** Setting tags-apropos-verbose to a non-nil value displays the
5708 names of tags files in the *Tags List* buffer.
5710 *** You can now search for tags that are part of the filename itself.
5711 If you have tagged the files topfile.c subdir/subfile.c
5712 /tmp/tempfile.c, you can now search for tags "topfile.c", "subfile.c",
5713 "dir/sub", "tempfile", "tempfile.c". If the tag matches the file name,
5714 point will go to the beginning of the file.
5716 *** Compressed files are now transparently supported if
5717 auto-compression-mode is active. You can tag (with Etags) and search
5718 (with find-tag) both compressed and uncompressed files.
5720 *** Tags commands like M-x tags-search no longer change point
5721 in buffers where no match is found. In buffers where a match is
5722 found, the original value of point is pushed on the marker ring.
5724 ** Fortran mode has a new command `fortran-strip-sequence-nos' to
5725 remove text past column 72. The syntax class of `\' in Fortran is now
5726 appropriate for C-style escape sequences in strings.
5728 ** SGML mode's default `sgml-validate-command' is now `nsgmls'.
5730 ** A new command `view-emacs-problems' (C-h P) displays the PROBLEMS file.
5732 ** The Dabbrev package has a new user-option `dabbrev-ignored-regexps'
5733 containing a list of regular expressions. Buffers matching a regular
5734 expression from that list, are not checked.
5736 ** Emacs can now figure out modification times of remote files.
5737 When you do C-x C-f /user@host:/path/file RET and edit the file,
5738 and someone else modifies the file, you will be prompted to revert
5739 the buffer, just like for the local files.
5741 ** The buffer menu (C-x C-b) no longer lists the *Buffer List* buffer.
5743 ** When invoked with a prefix argument, the command `list-abbrevs' now
5744 displays local abbrevs, only.
5746 ** Refill minor mode provides preliminary support for keeping
5747 paragraphs filled as you modify them.
5749 ** The variable `double-click-fuzz' specifies how much the mouse
5750 may be moved between clicks that are recognized as a pair. Its value
5751 is measured in pixels.
5753 ** The new global minor mode `auto-image-file-mode' allows image files
5754 to be visited as images.
5756 ** Two new user-options `grep-command' and `grep-find-command'
5757 were added to compile.el.
5759 ** Withdrawn packages
5761 *** mldrag.el has been removed. mouse.el provides the same
5762 functionality with aliases for the mldrag functions.
5764 *** eval-reg.el has been obsoleted by changes to edebug.el and removed.
5766 *** ph.el has been obsoleted by EUDC and removed.
5769 * Incompatible Lisp changes
5771 There are a few Lisp changes which are not backwards-compatible and
5772 may require changes to existing code. Here is a list for reference.
5773 See the sections below for details.
5775 ** Since `format' preserves text properties, the idiom
5776 `(format "%s" foo)' no longer works to copy and remove properties.
5777 Use `copy-sequence' to copy the string, then use `set-text-properties'
5778 to remove the properties of the copy.
5780 ** Since the `keymap' text property now has significance, some code
5781 which uses both `local-map' and `keymap' properties (for portability)
5782 may, for instance, give rise to duplicate menus when the keymaps from
5783 these properties are active.
5785 ** The change in the treatment of non-ASCII characters in search
5786 ranges may affect some code.
5788 ** A non-nil value for the LOCAL arg of add-hook makes the hook
5789 buffer-local even if `make-local-hook' hasn't been called, which might
5790 make a difference to some code.
5792 ** The new treatment of the minibuffer prompt might affect code which
5793 operates on the minibuffer.
5795 ** The new character sets `eight-bit-control' and `eight-bit-graphic'
5796 cause `no-conversion' and `emacs-mule-unix' coding systems to produce
5797 different results when reading files with non-ASCII characters
5798 (previously, both coding systems would produce the same results).
5799 Specifically, `no-conversion' interprets each 8-bit byte as a separate
5800 character. This makes `no-conversion' inappropriate for reading
5801 multibyte text, e.g. buffers written to disk in their internal MULE
5802 encoding (auto-saving does that, for example). If a Lisp program
5803 reads such files with `no-conversion', each byte of the multibyte
5804 sequence, including the MULE leading codes such as \201, is treated as
5805 a separate character, which prevents them from being interpreted in
5806 the buffer as multibyte characters.
5808 Therefore, Lisp programs that read files which contain the internal
5809 MULE encoding should use `emacs-mule-unix'. `no-conversion' is only
5810 appropriate for reading truly binary files.
5812 ** Code that relies on the obsolete `before-change-function' and
5813 `after-change-function' to detect buffer changes will now fail. Use
5814 `before-change-functions' and `after-change-functions' instead.
5816 ** Code that uses `concat' with integer args now gets an error, as
5817 long promised. So does any code that uses derivatives of `concat',
5818 such as `mapconcat'.
5820 ** The function base64-decode-string now always returns a unibyte
5823 ** Not a Lisp incompatibility as such but, with the introduction of
5824 extra private charsets, there is now only one slot free for a new
5825 dimension-2 private charset. User code which tries to add more than
5826 one extra will fail unless you rebuild Emacs with some standard
5827 charset(s) removed; that is probably inadvisable because it changes
5828 the emacs-mule encoding. Also, files stored in the emacs-mule
5829 encoding using Emacs 20 with additional private charsets defined will
5830 probably not be read correctly by Emacs 21.
5832 ** The variable `directory-sep-char' is slated for removal.
5833 Not really a change (yet), but a projected one that you should be
5834 aware of: The variable `directory-sep-char' is deprecated, and should
5835 not be used. It was always ignored on GNU/Linux and Unix systems and
5836 on MS-DOS, but the MS-Windows port tried to support it by adapting the
5837 behavior of certain primitives to the value of this variable. It
5838 turned out that such support cannot be reliable, so it was decided to
5839 remove this variable in the near future. Lisp programs are well
5840 advised not to set it to anything but '/', because any different value
5841 will not have any effect when support for this variable is removed.
5844 * Lisp changes made after edition 2.6 of the Emacs Lisp Manual,
5845 (Display-related features are described in a page of their own below.)
5847 ** Function assq-delete-all replaces function assoc-delete-all.
5849 ** The new function animate-string, from lisp/play/animate.el
5850 allows the animated display of strings.
5852 ** The new function `interactive-form' can be used to obtain the
5853 interactive form of a function.
5855 ** The keyword :set-after in defcustom allows to specify dependencies
5856 between custom options. Example:
5858 (defcustom default-input-method nil
5859 "*Default input method for multilingual text (a string).
5860 This is the input method activated automatically by the command
5861 `toggle-input-method' (\\[toggle-input-method])."
5863 :type '(choice (const nil) string)
5864 :set-after '(current-language-environment))
5866 This specifies that default-input-method should be set after
5867 current-language-environment even if default-input-method appears
5868 first in a custom-set-variables statement.
5870 ** The new hook `kbd-macro-termination-hook' is run at the end of
5871 function execute-kbd-macro. Functions on this hook are called with no
5872 args. The hook is run independent of how the macro was terminated
5873 (signal or normal termination).
5875 ** Functions `butlast' and `nbutlast' for removing trailing elements
5876 from a list are now available without requiring the CL package.
5878 ** The new user-option `even-window-heights' can be set to nil
5879 to prevent `display-buffer' from evening out window heights.
5881 ** The user-option `face-font-registry-alternatives' specifies
5882 alternative font registry names to try when looking for a font.
5884 ** Function `md5' calculates the MD5 "message digest"/"checksum".
5886 ** Function `delete-frame' runs `delete-frame-hook' before actually
5887 deleting the frame. The hook is called with one arg, the frame
5890 ** `add-hook' now makes the hook local if called with a non-nil LOCAL arg.
5892 ** The treatment of non-ASCII characters in search ranges has changed.
5893 If a range in a regular expression or the arg of
5894 skip-chars-forward/backward starts with a unibyte character C and ends
5895 with a multibyte character C2, the range is divided into two: one is
5896 C..?\377, the other is C1..C2, where C1 is the first character of C2's
5899 ** The new function `display-message-or-buffer' displays a message in
5900 the echo area or pops up a buffer, depending on the length of the
5903 ** The new macro `with-auto-compression-mode' allows evaluating an
5904 expression with auto-compression-mode enabled.
5906 ** In image specifications, `:heuristic-mask' has been replaced
5907 with the more general `:mask' property.
5909 ** Image specifications accept more `:conversion's.
5911 ** A `?' can be used in a symbol name without escaping it with a
5914 ** Reading from the mini-buffer now reads from standard input if Emacs
5915 is running in batch mode. For example,
5917 (message "%s" (read t))
5919 will read a Lisp expression from standard input and print the result
5922 ** The argument of `down-list', `backward-up-list', `up-list',
5923 `kill-sexp', `backward-kill-sexp' and `mark-sexp' is now optional.
5925 ** If `display-buffer-reuse-frames' is set, function `display-buffer'
5926 will raise frames displaying a buffer, instead of creating a new
5929 ** Two new functions for removing elements from lists/sequences
5932 - Function: remove ELT SEQ
5934 Return a copy of SEQ with all occurrences of ELT removed. SEQ must be
5935 a list, vector, or string. The comparison is done with `equal'.
5937 - Function: remq ELT LIST
5939 Return a copy of LIST with all occurrences of ELT removed. The
5940 comparison is done with `eq'.
5942 ** The function `delete' now also works with vectors and strings.
5944 ** The meaning of the `:weakness WEAK' argument of make-hash-table
5945 has been changed: WEAK can now have new values `key-or-value' and
5946 `key-and-value', in addition to `nil', `key', `value', and `t'.
5948 ** Function `aset' stores any multibyte character in any string
5949 without signaling "Attempt to change char length of a string". It may
5950 convert a unibyte string to multibyte if necessary.
5952 ** The value of the `help-echo' text property is called as a function
5953 or evaluated, if it is not a string already, to obtain a help string.
5955 ** Function `make-obsolete' now has an optional arg to say when the
5956 function was declared obsolete.
5958 ** Function `plist-member' is renamed from `widget-plist-member' (which is
5959 retained as an alias).
5961 ** Easy-menu's :filter now works as in XEmacs.
5962 It takes the unconverted (i.e. XEmacs) form of the menu and the result
5963 is automatically converted to Emacs' form.
5965 ** The new function `window-list' has been defined
5967 - Function: window-list &optional FRAME WINDOW MINIBUF
5969 Return a list of windows on FRAME, starting with WINDOW. FRAME nil or
5970 omitted means use the selected frame. WINDOW nil or omitted means use
5971 the selected window. MINIBUF t means include the minibuffer window,
5972 even if it isn't active. MINIBUF nil or omitted means include the
5973 minibuffer window only if it's active. MINIBUF neither nil nor t
5974 means never include the minibuffer window.
5976 ** There's a new function `get-window-with-predicate' defined as follows
5978 - Function: get-window-with-predicate PREDICATE &optional MINIBUF ALL-FRAMES DEFAULT
5980 Return a window satisfying PREDICATE.
5982 This function cycles through all visible windows using `walk-windows',
5983 calling PREDICATE on each one. PREDICATE is called with a window as
5984 argument. The first window for which PREDICATE returns a non-nil
5985 value is returned. If no window satisfies PREDICATE, DEFAULT is
5988 Optional second arg MINIBUF t means count the minibuffer window even
5989 if not active. MINIBUF nil or omitted means count the minibuffer iff
5990 it is active. MINIBUF neither t nor nil means not to count the
5991 minibuffer even if it is active.
5993 Several frames may share a single minibuffer; if the minibuffer
5994 counts, all windows on all frames that share that minibuffer count
5995 too. Therefore, if you are using a separate minibuffer frame
5996 and the minibuffer is active and MINIBUF says it counts,
5997 `walk-windows' includes the windows in the frame from which you
5998 entered the minibuffer, as well as the minibuffer window.
6000 ALL-FRAMES is the optional third argument.
6001 ALL-FRAMES nil or omitted means cycle within the frames as specified above.
6002 ALL-FRAMES = `visible' means include windows on all visible frames.
6003 ALL-FRAMES = 0 means include windows on all visible and iconified frames.
6004 ALL-FRAMES = t means include windows on all frames including invisible frames.
6005 If ALL-FRAMES is a frame, it means include windows on that frame.
6006 Anything else means restrict to the selected frame.
6008 ** The function `single-key-description' now encloses function key and
6009 event names in angle brackets. When called with a second optional
6010 argument non-nil, angle brackets won't be printed.
6012 ** If the variable `message-truncate-lines' is bound to t around a
6013 call to `message', the echo area will not be resized to display that
6014 message; it will be truncated instead, as it was done in 20.x.
6015 Default value is nil.
6017 ** The user option `line-number-display-limit' can now be set to nil,
6020 ** The new user option `line-number-display-limit-width' controls
6021 the maximum width of lines in a buffer for which Emacs displays line
6022 numbers in the mode line. The default is 200.
6024 ** `select-safe-coding-system' now also checks the most preferred
6025 coding-system if buffer-file-coding-system is `undecided' and
6026 DEFAULT-CODING-SYSTEM is not specified,
6028 ** The function `subr-arity' provides information about the argument
6029 list of a primitive.
6031 ** `where-is-internal' now also accepts a list of keymaps.
6033 ** The text property `keymap' specifies a key map which overrides the
6034 buffer's local map and the map specified by the `local-map' property.
6035 This is probably what most current uses of `local-map' want, rather
6036 than replacing the local map.
6038 ** The obsolete variables `before-change-function' and
6039 `after-change-function' are no longer acted upon and have been
6040 removed. Use `before-change-functions' and `after-change-functions'
6043 ** The function `apropos-mode' runs the hook `apropos-mode-hook'.
6045 ** `concat' no longer accepts individual integer arguments,
6046 as promised long ago.
6048 ** The new function `float-time' returns the current time as a float.
6050 ** The new variable auto-coding-regexp-alist specifies coding systems
6051 for reading specific files, analogous to auto-coding-alist, but
6052 patterns are checked against file contents instead of file names.
6055 * Lisp changes in Emacs 21.1 (see following page for display-related features)
6057 ** The new package rx.el provides an alternative sexp notation for
6058 regular expressions.
6060 - Function: rx-to-string SEXP
6062 Translate SEXP into a regular expression in string notation.
6066 Translate SEXP into a regular expression in string notation.
6068 The following are valid subforms of regular expressions in sexp
6072 matches string STRING literally.
6075 matches character CHAR literally.
6078 matches any character except a newline.
6081 matches any character
6084 matches any character in SET. SET may be a character or string.
6085 Ranges of characters can be specified as `A-Z' in strings.
6091 matches any character not in SET
6094 matches the empty string, but only at the beginning of a line
6095 in the text being matched
6098 is similar to `line-start' but matches only at the end of a line
6101 matches the empty string, but only at the beginning of the
6102 string being matched against.
6105 matches the empty string, but only at the end of the
6106 string being matched against.
6109 matches the empty string, but only at the beginning of the
6110 buffer being matched against.
6113 matches the empty string, but only at the end of the
6114 buffer being matched against.
6117 matches the empty string, but only at point.
6120 matches the empty string, but only at the beginning or end of a
6124 matches the empty string, but only at the end of a word.
6127 matches the empty string, but only at the beginning or end of a
6130 `(not word-boundary)'
6131 matches the empty string, but not at the beginning or end of a
6135 matches 0 through 9.
6138 matches ASCII control characters.
6141 matches 0 through 9, a through f and A through F.
6144 matches space and tab only.
6147 matches graphic characters--everything except ASCII control chars,
6151 matches printing characters--everything except ASCII control chars
6155 matches letters and digits. (But at present, for multibyte characters,
6156 it matches anything that has word syntax.)
6159 matches letters. (But at present, for multibyte characters,
6160 it matches anything that has word syntax.)
6163 matches ASCII (unibyte) characters.
6166 matches non-ASCII (multibyte) characters.
6169 matches anything lower-case.
6172 matches anything upper-case.
6175 matches punctuation. (But at present, for multibyte characters,
6176 it matches anything that has non-word syntax.)
6179 matches anything that has whitespace syntax.
6182 matches anything that has word syntax.
6185 matches a character with syntax SYNTAX. SYNTAX must be one
6186 of the following symbols.
6188 `whitespace' (\\s- in string notation)
6189 `punctuation' (\\s.)
6192 `open-parenthesis' (\\s()
6193 `close-parenthesis' (\\s))
6194 `expression-prefix' (\\s')
6195 `string-quote' (\\s\")
6196 `paired-delimiter' (\\s$)
6198 `character-quote' (\\s/)
6199 `comment-start' (\\s<)
6200 `comment-end' (\\s>)
6202 `(not (syntax SYNTAX))'
6203 matches a character that has not syntax SYNTAX.
6205 `(category CATEGORY)'
6206 matches a character with category CATEGORY. CATEGORY must be
6207 either a character to use for C, or one of the following symbols.
6209 `consonant' (\\c0 in string notation)
6211 `upper-diacritical-mark' (\\c2)
6212 `lower-diacritical-mark' (\\c3)
6216 `vowel-modifying-diacritical-mark' (\\c7)
6218 `semivowel-lower' (\\c9)
6219 `not-at-end-of-line' (\\c<)
6220 `not-at-beginning-of-line' (\\c>)
6221 `alpha-numeric-two-byte' (\\cA)
6222 `chinse-two-byte' (\\cC)
6223 `greek-two-byte' (\\cG)
6224 `japanese-hiragana-two-byte' (\\cH)
6225 `indian-two-byte' (\\cI)
6226 `japanese-katakana-two-byte' (\\cK)
6227 `korean-hangul-two-byte' (\\cN)
6228 `cyrillic-two-byte' (\\cY)
6237 `japanese-katakana' (\\ck)
6241 `japanese-roman' (\\cr)
6248 `(not (category CATEGORY))'
6249 matches a character that has not category CATEGORY.
6251 `(and SEXP1 SEXP2 ...)'
6252 matches what SEXP1 matches, followed by what SEXP2 matches, etc.
6254 `(submatch SEXP1 SEXP2 ...)'
6255 like `and', but makes the match accessible with `match-end',
6256 `match-beginning', and `match-string'.
6258 `(group SEXP1 SEXP2 ...)'
6259 another name for `submatch'.
6261 `(or SEXP1 SEXP2 ...)'
6262 matches anything that matches SEXP1 or SEXP2, etc. If all
6263 args are strings, use `regexp-opt' to optimize the resulting
6266 `(minimal-match SEXP)'
6267 produce a non-greedy regexp for SEXP. Normally, regexps matching
6268 zero or more occurrences of something are \"greedy\" in that they
6269 match as much as they can, as long as the overall regexp can
6270 still match. A non-greedy regexp matches as little as possible.
6272 `(maximal-match SEXP)'
6273 produce a greedy regexp for SEXP. This is the default.
6275 `(zero-or-more SEXP)'
6276 matches zero or more occurrences of what SEXP matches.
6279 like `zero-or-more'.
6282 like `zero-or-more', but always produces a greedy regexp.
6285 like `zero-or-more', but always produces a non-greedy regexp.
6287 `(one-or-more SEXP)'
6288 matches one or more occurrences of A.
6294 like `one-or-more', but always produces a greedy regexp.
6297 like `one-or-more', but always produces a non-greedy regexp.
6299 `(zero-or-one SEXP)'
6300 matches zero or one occurrences of A.
6306 like `zero-or-one', but always produces a greedy regexp.
6309 like `zero-or-one', but always produces a non-greedy regexp.
6312 matches N occurrences of what SEXP matches.
6315 matches N to M occurrences of what SEXP matches.
6318 evaluate FORM and insert result. If result is a string,
6322 include REGEXP in string notation in the result.
6324 *** The features `md5' and `overlay' are now provided by default.
6326 *** The special form `save-restriction' now works correctly even if the
6327 buffer is widened inside the save-restriction and changes made outside
6328 the original restriction. Previously, doing this would cause the saved
6329 restriction to be restored incorrectly.
6331 *** The functions `find-charset-region' and `find-charset-string' include
6332 `eight-bit-control' and/or `eight-bit-graphic' in the returned list
6333 when they find 8-bit characters. Previously, they included `ascii' in a
6334 multibyte buffer and `unknown' in a unibyte buffer.
6336 *** The functions `set-buffer-multibyte', `string-as-multibyte' and
6337 `string-as-unibyte' change the byte sequence of a buffer or a string
6338 if it contains a character from the `eight-bit-control' character set.
6340 *** The handling of multibyte sequences in a multibyte buffer is
6341 changed. Previously, a byte sequence matching the pattern
6342 [\200-\237][\240-\377]+ was interpreted as a single character
6343 regardless of the length of the trailing bytes [\240-\377]+. Thus, if
6344 the sequence was longer than what the leading byte indicated, the
6345 extra trailing bytes were ignored by Lisp functions. Now such extra
6346 bytes are independent 8-bit characters belonging to the charset
6349 ** Fontsets are now implemented using char-tables.
6351 A fontset can now be specified for each independent character, for
6352 a group of characters or for a character set rather than just for a
6353 character set as previously.
6355 *** The arguments of the function `set-fontset-font' are changed.
6356 They are NAME, CHARACTER, FONTNAME, and optional FRAME. The function
6357 modifies fontset NAME to use FONTNAME for CHARACTER.
6359 CHARACTER may be a cons (FROM . TO), where FROM and TO are non-generic
6360 characters. In that case FONTNAME is used for all characters in the
6361 range FROM and TO (inclusive). CHARACTER may be a charset. In that
6362 case FONTNAME is used for all character in the charset.
6364 FONTNAME may be a cons (FAMILY . REGISTRY), where FAMILY is the family
6365 name of a font and REGISTRY is a registry name of a font.
6367 *** Variable x-charset-registry has been deleted. The default charset
6368 registries of character sets are set in the default fontset
6371 *** The function `create-fontset-from-fontset-spec' ignores the second
6372 argument STYLE-VARIANT. It never creates style-variant fontsets.
6374 ** The method of composing characters is changed. Now character
6375 composition is done by a special text property `composition' in
6376 buffers and strings.
6378 *** Charset composition is deleted. Emacs never creates a `composite
6379 character' which is an independent character with a unique character
6380 code. Thus the following functions handling `composite characters'
6381 have been deleted: composite-char-component,
6382 composite-char-component-count, composite-char-composition-rule,
6383 composite-char-composition-rule and decompose-composite-char delete.
6384 The variables leading-code-composition and min-composite-char have
6387 *** Three more glyph reference points are added. They can be used to
6388 specify a composition rule. See the documentation of the variable
6389 `reference-point-alist' for more detail.
6391 *** The function `compose-region' takes new arguments COMPONENTS and
6392 MODIFICATION-FUNC. With COMPONENTS, you can specify not only a
6393 composition rule but also characters to be composed. Such characters
6394 may differ between buffer and string text.
6396 *** The function `compose-string' takes new arguments START, END,
6397 COMPONENTS, and MODIFICATION-FUNC.
6399 *** The function `compose-string' puts text property `composition'
6400 directly on the argument STRING instead of returning a new string.
6401 Likewise, the function `decompose-string' just removes text property
6402 `composition' from STRING.
6404 *** The new function `find-composition' returns information about
6405 a composition at a specified position in a buffer or a string.
6407 *** The function `decompose-composite-char' is now labeled as
6410 ** The new coding system `mac-roman' is primarily intended for use on
6411 the Macintosh but may be used generally for Macintosh-encoded text.
6413 ** The new character sets `mule-unicode-0100-24ff',
6414 `mule-unicode-2500-33ff', and `mule-unicode-e000-ffff' have been
6415 introduced for Unicode characters in the range U+0100..U+24FF,
6416 U+2500..U+33FF, U+E000..U+FFFF respectively.
6418 Note that the character sets are not yet unified in Emacs, so
6419 characters which belong to charsets such as Latin-2, Greek, Hebrew,
6420 etc. and the same characters in the `mule-unicode-*' charsets are
6421 different characters, as far as Emacs is concerned. For example, text
6422 which includes Unicode characters from the Latin-2 locale cannot be
6423 encoded by Emacs with ISO 8859-2 coding system.
6425 ** The new coding system `mule-utf-8' has been added.
6426 It provides limited support for decoding/encoding UTF-8 text. For
6427 details, please see the documentation string of this coding system.
6429 ** The new character sets `japanese-jisx0213-1' and
6430 `japanese-jisx0213-2' have been introduced for the new Japanese
6431 standard JIS X 0213 Plane 1 and Plane 2.
6433 ** The new character sets `latin-iso8859-14' and `latin-iso8859-15'
6434 have been introduced.
6436 ** The new character sets `eight-bit-control' and `eight-bit-graphic'
6437 have been introduced for 8-bit characters in the ranges 0x80..0x9F and
6438 0xA0..0xFF respectively. Note that the multibyte representation of
6439 eight-bit-control is never exposed; this leads to an exception in the
6440 emacs-mule coding system, which encodes everything else to the
6441 buffer/string internal representation. Note that to search for
6442 eight-bit-graphic characters in a multibyte buffer, the search string
6443 must be multibyte, otherwise such characters will be converted to
6444 their multibyte equivalent.
6446 ** If the APPEND argument of `write-region' is an integer, it seeks to
6447 that offset in the file before writing.
6449 ** The function `add-minor-mode' has been added for convenience and
6450 compatibility with XEmacs (and is used internally by define-minor-mode).
6452 ** The function `shell-command' now sets the default directory of the
6453 `*Shell Command Output*' buffer to the default directory of the buffer
6454 from which the command was issued.
6456 ** The functions `query-replace', `query-replace-regexp',
6457 `query-replace-regexp-eval' `map-query-replace-regexp',
6458 `replace-string', `replace-regexp', and `perform-replace' take two
6459 additional optional arguments START and END that specify the region to
6462 ** The new function `count-screen-lines' is a more flexible alternative
6463 to `window-buffer-height'.
6465 - Function: count-screen-lines &optional BEG END COUNT-FINAL-NEWLINE WINDOW
6467 Return the number of screen lines in the region between BEG and END.
6468 The number of screen lines may be different from the number of actual
6469 lines, due to line breaking, display table, etc.
6471 Optional arguments BEG and END default to `point-min' and `point-max'
6474 If region ends with a newline, ignore it unless optional third argument
6475 COUNT-FINAL-NEWLINE is non-nil.
6477 The optional fourth argument WINDOW specifies the window used for
6478 obtaining parameters such as width, horizontal scrolling, and so
6479 on. The default is to use the selected window's parameters.
6481 Like `vertical-motion', `count-screen-lines' always uses the current
6482 buffer, regardless of which buffer is displayed in WINDOW. This makes
6483 possible to use `count-screen-lines' in any buffer, whether or not it
6484 is currently displayed in some window.
6486 ** The new function `mapc' is like `mapcar' but doesn't collect the
6487 argument function's results.
6489 ** The functions base64-decode-region and base64-decode-string now
6490 signal an error instead of returning nil if decoding fails. Also,
6491 `base64-decode-string' now always returns a unibyte string (in Emacs
6492 20, it returned a multibyte string when the result was a valid multibyte
6495 ** The function sendmail-user-agent-compose now recognizes a `body'
6496 header in the list of headers passed to it.
6498 ** The new function member-ignore-case works like `member', but
6499 ignores differences in case and text representation.
6501 ** The buffer-local variable cursor-type can be used to specify the
6502 cursor to use in windows displaying a buffer. Values are interpreted
6505 t use the cursor specified for the frame (default)
6506 nil don't display a cursor
6507 `bar' display a bar cursor with default width
6508 (bar . WIDTH) display a bar cursor with width WIDTH
6509 others display a box cursor.
6511 ** The variable open-paren-in-column-0-is-defun-start controls whether
6512 an open parenthesis in column 0 is considered to be the start of a
6513 defun. If set, the default, it is considered a defun start. If not
6514 set, an open parenthesis in column 0 has no special meaning.
6516 ** The new function `string-to-syntax' can be used to translate syntax
6517 specifications in string form as accepted by `modify-syntax-entry' to
6518 the cons-cell form that is used for the values of the `syntax-table'
6519 text property, and in `font-lock-syntactic-keywords'.
6523 (string-to-syntax "()")
6526 ** Emacs' reader supports CL read syntax for integers in bases
6529 *** `#BINTEGER' or `#bINTEGER' reads INTEGER in binary (radix 2).
6530 INTEGER optionally contains a sign.
6537 *** `#OINTEGER' or `#oINTEGER' reads INTEGER in octal (radix 8).
6542 *** `#XINTEGER' or `#xINTEGER' reads INTEGER in hexadecimal (radix 16).
6547 *** `#RADIXrINTEGER' reads INTEGER in radix RADIX, 2 <= RADIX <= 36.
6554 ** The function `documentation-property' now evaluates the value of
6555 the given property to obtain a string if it doesn't refer to etc/DOC
6558 ** If called for a symbol, the function `documentation' now looks for
6559 a `function-documentation' property of that symbol. If it has a non-nil
6560 value, the documentation is taken from that value. If the value is
6561 not a string, it is evaluated to obtain a string.
6563 ** The last argument of `define-key-after' defaults to t for convenience.
6565 ** The new function `replace-regexp-in-string' replaces all matches
6566 for a regexp in a string.
6568 ** `mouse-position' now runs the abnormal hook
6569 `mouse-position-function'.
6571 ** The function string-to-number now returns a float for numbers
6572 that don't fit into a Lisp integer.
6574 ** The variable keyword-symbols-constants-flag has been removed.
6575 Keywords are now always considered constants.
6577 ** The new function `delete-and-extract-region' deletes text and
6580 ** The function `clear-this-command-keys' now also clears the vector
6581 returned by function `recent-keys'.
6583 ** Variables `beginning-of-defun-function' and `end-of-defun-function'
6584 can be used to define handlers for the functions that find defuns.
6585 Major modes can define these locally instead of rebinding C-M-a
6586 etc. if the normal conventions for defuns are not appropriate for the
6589 ** easy-mmode-define-minor-mode now takes an additional BODY argument
6590 and is renamed `define-minor-mode'.
6592 ** If an abbrev has a hook function which is a symbol, and that symbol
6593 has a non-nil `no-self-insert' property, the return value of the hook
6594 function specifies whether an expansion has been done or not. If it
6595 returns nil, abbrev-expand also returns nil, meaning "no expansion has
6598 When abbrev expansion is done by typing a self-inserting character,
6599 and the abbrev has a hook with the `no-self-insert' property, and the
6600 hook function returns non-nil meaning expansion has been done,
6601 then the self-inserting character is not inserted.
6603 ** The function `intern-soft' now accepts a symbol as first argument.
6604 In this case, that exact symbol is looked up in the specified obarray,
6605 and the function's value is nil if it is not found.
6607 ** The new macro `with-syntax-table' can be used to evaluate forms
6608 with the syntax table of the current buffer temporarily set to a
6611 (with-syntax-table TABLE &rest BODY)
6613 Evaluate BODY with syntax table of current buffer set to a copy of
6614 TABLE. The current syntax table is saved, BODY is evaluated, and the
6615 saved table is restored, even in case of an abnormal exit. Value is
6618 ** Regular expressions now support intervals \{n,m\} as well as
6619 Perl's shy-groups \(?:...\) and non-greedy *? +? and ?? operators.
6620 Also back-references like \2 are now considered as an error if the
6621 corresponding subgroup does not exist (or is not closed yet).
6622 Previously it would have been silently turned into `2' (ignoring the `\').
6624 ** The optional argument BUFFER of function file-local-copy has been
6625 removed since it wasn't used by anything.
6627 ** The file name argument of function `file-locked-p' is now required
6628 instead of being optional.
6630 ** The new built-in error `text-read-only' is signaled when trying to
6631 modify read-only text.
6633 ** New functions and variables for locales.
6635 The new variable `locale-coding-system' specifies how to encode and
6636 decode strings passed to low-level message functions like strerror and
6637 time functions like strftime. The new variables
6638 `system-messages-locale' and `system-time-locale' give the system
6639 locales to be used when invoking these two types of functions.
6641 The new function `set-locale-environment' sets the language
6642 environment, preferred coding system, and locale coding system from
6643 the system locale as specified by the LC_ALL, LC_CTYPE, and LANG
6644 environment variables. Normally, it is invoked during startup and need
6645 not be invoked thereafter. It uses the new variables
6646 `locale-language-names', `locale-charset-language-names', and
6647 `locale-preferred-coding-systems' to make its decisions.
6649 ** syntax tables now understand nested comments.
6650 To declare a comment syntax as allowing nesting, just add an `n'
6651 modifier to either of the characters of the comment end and the comment
6654 ** The function `pixmap-spec-p' has been renamed `bitmap-spec-p'
6655 because `bitmap' is more in line with the usual X terminology.
6657 ** New function `propertize'
6659 The new function `propertize' can be used to conveniently construct
6660 strings with text properties.
6662 - Function: propertize STRING &rest PROPERTIES
6664 Value is a copy of STRING with text properties assigned as specified
6665 by PROPERTIES. PROPERTIES is a sequence of pairs PROPERTY VALUE, with
6666 PROPERTY being the name of a text property and VALUE being the
6667 specified value of that property. Example:
6669 (propertize "foo" 'face 'bold 'read-only t)
6671 ** push and pop macros.
6673 Simple versions of the push and pop macros of Common Lisp
6674 are now defined in Emacs Lisp. These macros allow only symbols
6675 as the place that holds the list to be changed.
6677 (push NEWELT LISTNAME) add NEWELT to the front of LISTNAME's value.
6678 (pop LISTNAME) return first elt of LISTNAME, and remove it
6679 (thus altering the value of LISTNAME).
6681 ** New dolist and dotimes macros.
6683 Simple versions of the dolist and dotimes macros of Common Lisp
6684 are now defined in Emacs Lisp.
6686 (dolist (VAR LIST [RESULT]) BODY...)
6687 Execute body once for each element of LIST,
6688 using the variable VAR to hold the current element.
6689 Then return the value of RESULT, or nil if RESULT is omitted.
6691 (dotimes (VAR COUNT [RESULT]) BODY...)
6692 Execute BODY with VAR bound to successive integers running from 0,
6693 inclusive, to COUNT, exclusive.
6694 Then return the value of RESULT, or nil if RESULT is omitted.
6696 ** Regular expressions now support Posix character classes such as
6697 [:alpha:], [:space:] and so on. These must be used within a character
6698 class--for instance, [-[:digit:].+] matches digits or a period
6701 [:digit:] matches 0 through 9
6702 [:cntrl:] matches ASCII control characters
6703 [:xdigit:] matches 0 through 9, a through f and A through F.
6704 [:blank:] matches space and tab only
6705 [:graph:] matches graphic characters--everything except ASCII control chars,
6707 [:print:] matches printing characters--everything except ASCII control chars
6709 [:alnum:] matches letters and digits.
6710 (But at present, for multibyte characters,
6711 it matches anything that has word syntax.)
6712 [:alpha:] matches letters.
6713 (But at present, for multibyte characters,
6714 it matches anything that has word syntax.)
6715 [:ascii:] matches ASCII (unibyte) characters.
6716 [:nonascii:] matches non-ASCII (multibyte) characters.
6717 [:lower:] matches anything lower-case.
6718 [:punct:] matches punctuation.
6719 (But at present, for multibyte characters,
6720 it matches anything that has non-word syntax.)
6721 [:space:] matches anything that has whitespace syntax.
6722 [:upper:] matches anything upper-case.
6723 [:word:] matches anything that has word syntax.
6725 ** Emacs now has built-in hash tables.
6727 The following functions are defined for hash tables:
6729 - Function: make-hash-table ARGS
6731 The argument list ARGS consists of keyword/argument pairs. All arguments
6732 are optional. The following arguments are defined:
6736 TEST must be a symbol specifying how to compare keys. Default is `eql'.
6737 Predefined are `eq', `eql' and `equal'. If TEST is not predefined,
6738 it must have been defined with `define-hash-table-test'.
6742 SIZE must be an integer > 0 giving a hint to the implementation how
6743 many elements will be put in the hash table. Default size is 65.
6745 :rehash-size REHASH-SIZE
6747 REHASH-SIZE specifies by how much to grow a hash table once it becomes
6748 full. If REHASH-SIZE is an integer, add that to the hash table's old
6749 size to get the new size. Otherwise, REHASH-SIZE must be a float >
6750 1.0, and the new size is computed by multiplying REHASH-SIZE with the
6751 old size. Default rehash size is 1.5.
6753 :rehash-threshold THRESHOLD
6755 THRESHOLD must be a float > 0 and <= 1.0 specifying when to resize the
6756 hash table. It is resized when the ratio of (number of entries) /
6757 (size of hash table) is >= THRESHOLD. Default threshold is 0.8.
6761 WEAK must be either nil, one of the symbols `key, `value',
6762 `key-or-value', `key-and-value', or t, meaning the same as
6763 `key-and-value'. Entries are removed from weak tables during garbage
6764 collection if their key and/or value are not referenced elsewhere
6765 outside of the hash table. Default are non-weak hash tables.
6767 - Function: makehash &optional TEST
6769 Similar to make-hash-table, but only TEST can be specified.
6771 - Function: hash-table-p TABLE
6773 Returns non-nil if TABLE is a hash table object.
6775 - Function: copy-hash-table TABLE
6777 Returns a copy of TABLE. Only the table itself is copied, keys and
6780 - Function: hash-table-count TABLE
6782 Returns the number of entries in TABLE.
6784 - Function: hash-table-rehash-size TABLE
6786 Returns the rehash size of TABLE.
6788 - Function: hash-table-rehash-threshold TABLE
6790 Returns the rehash threshold of TABLE.
6792 - Function: hash-table-rehash-size TABLE
6794 Returns the size of TABLE.
6796 - Function: hash-table-test TABLE
6798 Returns the test TABLE uses to compare keys.
6800 - Function: hash-table-weakness TABLE
6802 Returns the weakness specified for TABLE.
6804 - Function: clrhash TABLE
6808 - Function: gethash KEY TABLE &optional DEFAULT
6810 Look up KEY in TABLE and return its associated VALUE or DEFAULT if
6813 - Function: puthash KEY VALUE TABLE
6815 Associate KEY with VALUE in TABLE. If KEY is already associated with
6816 another value, replace the old value with VALUE.
6818 - Function: remhash KEY TABLE
6820 Remove KEY from TABLE if it is there.
6822 - Function: maphash FUNCTION TABLE
6824 Call FUNCTION for all elements in TABLE. FUNCTION must take two
6825 arguments KEY and VALUE.
6827 - Function: sxhash OBJ
6829 Return a hash code for Lisp object OBJ.
6831 - Function: define-hash-table-test NAME TEST-FN HASH-FN
6833 Define a new hash table test named NAME. If NAME is specified as
6834 a test in `make-hash-table', the table created will use TEST-FN for
6835 comparing keys, and HASH-FN to compute hash codes for keys. Test
6836 and hash function are stored as symbol property `hash-table-test'
6837 of NAME with a value of (TEST-FN HASH-FN).
6839 TEST-FN must take two arguments and return non-nil if they are the same.
6841 HASH-FN must take one argument and return an integer that is the hash
6842 code of the argument. The function should use the whole range of
6843 integer values for hash code computation, including negative integers.
6845 Example: The following creates a hash table whose keys are supposed to
6846 be strings that are compared case-insensitively.
6848 (defun case-fold-string= (a b)
6849 (compare-strings a nil nil b nil nil t))
6851 (defun case-fold-string-hash (a)
6852 (sxhash (upcase a)))
6854 (define-hash-table-test 'case-fold 'case-fold-string=
6855 'case-fold-string-hash))
6857 (make-hash-table :test 'case-fold)
6859 ** The Lisp reader handles circular structure.
6861 It now works to use the #N= and #N# constructs to represent
6862 circular structures. For example, #1=(a . #1#) represents
6863 a cons cell which is its own cdr.
6865 ** The Lisp printer handles circular structure.
6867 If you bind print-circle to a non-nil value, the Lisp printer outputs
6868 #N= and #N# constructs to represent circular and shared structure.
6870 ** If the second argument to `move-to-column' is anything but nil or
6871 t, that means replace a tab with spaces if necessary to reach the
6872 specified column, but do not add spaces at the end of the line if it
6873 is too short to reach that column.
6875 ** perform-replace has a new feature: the REPLACEMENTS argument may
6876 now be a cons cell (FUNCTION . DATA). This means to call FUNCTION
6877 after each match to get the replacement text. FUNCTION is called with
6878 two arguments: DATA, and the number of replacements already made.
6880 If the FROM-STRING contains any upper-case letters,
6881 perform-replace also turns off `case-fold-search' temporarily
6882 and inserts the replacement text without altering case in it.
6884 ** The function buffer-size now accepts an optional argument
6885 to specify which buffer to return the size of.
6887 ** The calendar motion commands now run the normal hook
6888 calendar-move-hook after moving point.
6890 ** The new variable small-temporary-file-directory specifies a
6891 directory to use for creating temporary files that are likely to be
6892 small. (Certain Emacs features use this directory.) If
6893 small-temporary-file-directory is nil, they use
6894 temporary-file-directory instead.
6896 ** The variable `inhibit-modification-hooks', if non-nil, inhibits all
6897 the hooks that track changes in the buffer. This affects
6898 `before-change-functions' and `after-change-functions', as well as
6899 hooks attached to text properties and overlay properties.
6901 ** assq-delete-all is a new function that deletes all the
6902 elements of an alist which have a car `eq' to a particular value.
6904 ** make-temp-file provides a more reliable way to create a temporary file.
6906 make-temp-file is used like make-temp-name, except that it actually
6907 creates the file before it returns. This prevents a timing error,
6908 ensuring that no other job can use the same name for a temporary file.
6910 ** New exclusive-open feature in `write-region'
6912 The optional seventh arg is now called MUSTBENEW. If non-nil, it insists
6913 on a check for an existing file with the same name. If MUSTBENEW
6914 is `excl', that means to get an error if the file already exists;
6915 never overwrite. If MUSTBENEW is neither nil nor `excl', that means
6916 ask for confirmation before overwriting, but do go ahead and
6917 overwrite the file if the user gives confirmation.
6919 If the MUSTBENEW argument in `write-region' is `excl',
6920 that means to use a special feature in the `open' system call
6921 to get an error if the file exists at that time.
6922 The error reported is `file-already-exists'.
6924 ** Function `format' now handles text properties.
6926 Text properties of the format string are applied to the result string.
6927 If the result string is longer than the format string, text properties
6928 ending at the end of the format string are extended to the end of the
6931 Text properties from string arguments are applied to the result
6932 string where arguments appear in the result string.
6936 (let ((s1 "hello, %s")
6938 (put-text-property 0 (length s1) 'face 'bold s1)
6939 (put-text-property 0 (length s2) 'face 'italic s2)
6942 results in a bold-face string with an italic `world' at the end.
6944 ** Messages can now be displayed with text properties.
6946 Text properties are handled as described above for function `format'.
6947 The following example displays a bold-face message with an italic
6950 (let ((msg "hello, %s!")
6952 (put-text-property 0 (length msg) 'face 'bold msg)
6953 (put-text-property 0 (length arg) 'face 'italic arg)
6958 Emacs supports playing sound files on GNU/Linux and the free BSDs
6959 (Voxware driver and native BSD driver, aka as Luigi's driver).
6961 Currently supported file formats are RIFF-WAVE (*.wav) and Sun Audio
6962 (*.au). You must configure Emacs with the option `--with-sound=yes'
6963 to enable sound support.
6965 Sound files can be played by calling (play-sound SOUND). SOUND is a
6966 list of the form `(sound PROPERTY...)'. The function is only defined
6967 when sound support is present for the system on which Emacs runs. The
6968 functions runs `play-sound-functions' with one argument which is the
6969 sound to play, before playing the sound.
6971 The following sound properties are supported:
6975 FILE is a file name. If FILE isn't an absolute name, it will be
6976 searched relative to `data-directory'.
6980 DATA is a string containing sound data. Either :file or :data
6981 may be present, but not both.
6985 VOLUME must be an integer in the range 0..100 or a float in the range
6986 0..1. This property is optional.
6990 DEVICE is a string specifying the system device on which to play the
6991 sound. The default device is system-dependent.
6993 Other properties are ignored.
6995 An alternative interface is called as
6996 (play-sound-file FILE &optional VOLUME DEVICE).
6998 ** `multimedia' is a new Finder keyword and Custom group.
7000 ** keywordp is a new predicate to test efficiently for an object being
7003 ** Changes to garbage collection
7005 *** The function garbage-collect now additionally returns the number
7006 of live and free strings.
7008 *** There is a new variable `strings-consed' holding the number of
7009 strings that have been consed so far.
7012 * Lisp-level Display features added after release 2.6 of the Emacs
7015 ** The user-option `resize-mini-windows' controls how Emacs resizes
7018 ** The function `pos-visible-in-window-p' now has a third optional
7019 argument, PARTIALLY. If a character is only partially visible, nil is
7020 returned, unless PARTIALLY is non-nil.
7022 ** On window systems, `glyph-table' is no longer used.
7024 ** Help strings in menu items are now used to provide `help-echo' text.
7026 ** The function `image-size' can be used to determine the size of an
7029 - Function: image-size SPEC &optional PIXELS FRAME
7031 Return the size of an image as a pair (WIDTH . HEIGHT).
7033 SPEC is an image specification. PIXELS non-nil means return sizes
7034 measured in pixels, otherwise return sizes measured in canonical
7035 character units (fractions of the width/height of the frame's default
7036 font). FRAME is the frame on which the image will be displayed.
7037 FRAME nil or omitted means use the selected frame.
7039 ** The function `image-mask-p' can be used to determine if an image
7042 - Function: image-mask-p SPEC &optional FRAME
7044 Return t if image SPEC has a mask bitmap.
7045 FRAME is the frame on which the image will be displayed. FRAME nil
7046 or omitted means use the selected frame.
7048 ** The function `find-image' can be used to find a usable image
7049 satisfying one of a list of specifications.
7051 ** The STRING argument of `put-image' and `insert-image' is now
7054 ** Image specifications may contain the property `:ascent center' (see
7058 * New Lisp-level Display features in Emacs 21.1
7060 ** The function tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors can be used
7061 to make Emacs avoid displaying text with bold black foreground on TTYs.
7063 Some terminals, notably PC consoles, emulate bold text by displaying
7064 text in brighter colors. On such a console, a bold black foreground
7065 is displayed in a gray color. If this turns out to be hard to read on
7066 your monitor---the problem occurred with the mode line on
7067 laptops---you can instruct Emacs to ignore the text's boldness, and to
7068 just display it black instead.
7070 This situation can't be detected automatically. You will have to put
7073 (tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors t)
7077 ** New face implementation.
7079 Emacs faces have been reimplemented from scratch. They don't use XLFD
7080 font names anymore and face merging now works as expected.
7084 Each face can specify the following display attributes:
7086 1. Font family or fontset alias name.
7088 2. Relative proportionate width, aka character set width or set
7089 width (swidth), e.g. `semi-compressed'.
7091 3. Font height in 1/10pt
7093 4. Font weight, e.g. `bold'.
7095 5. Font slant, e.g. `italic'.
7097 6. Foreground color.
7099 7. Background color.
7101 8. Whether or not characters should be underlined, and in what color.
7103 9. Whether or not characters should be displayed in inverse video.
7105 10. A background stipple, a bitmap.
7107 11. Whether or not characters should be overlined, and in what color.
7109 12. Whether or not characters should be strike-through, and in what
7112 13. Whether or not a box should be drawn around characters, its
7113 color, the width of the box lines, and 3D appearance.
7115 Faces are frame-local by nature because Emacs allows to define the
7116 same named face (face names are symbols) differently for different
7117 frames. Each frame has an alist of face definitions for all named
7118 faces. The value of a named face in such an alist is a Lisp vector
7119 with the symbol `face' in slot 0, and a slot for each of the face
7120 attributes mentioned above.
7122 There is also a global face alist `face-new-frame-defaults'. Face
7123 definitions from this list are used to initialize faces of newly
7126 A face doesn't have to specify all attributes. Those not specified
7127 have a nil value. Faces specifying all attributes are called
7132 The display style of a given character in the text is determined by
7133 combining several faces. This process is called `face merging'. Any
7134 aspect of the display style that isn't specified by overlays or text
7135 properties is taken from the `default' face. Since it is made sure
7136 that the default face is always fully-specified, face merging always
7137 results in a fully-specified face.
7139 *** Face realization.
7141 After all face attributes for a character have been determined by
7142 merging faces of that character, that face is `realized'. The
7143 realization process maps face attributes to what is physically
7144 available on the system where Emacs runs. The result is a `realized
7145 face' in form of an internal structure which is stored in the face
7146 cache of the frame on which it was realized.
7148 Face realization is done in the context of the charset of the
7149 character to display because different fonts and encodings are used
7150 for different charsets. In other words, for characters of different
7151 charsets, different realized faces are needed to display them.
7153 Except for composite characters, faces are always realized for a
7154 specific character set and contain a specific font, even if the face
7155 being realized specifies a fontset. The reason is that the result of
7156 the new font selection stage is better than what can be done with
7157 statically defined font name patterns in fontsets.
7159 In unibyte text, Emacs' charsets aren't applicable; function
7160 `char-charset' reports ASCII for all characters, including those >
7161 0x7f. The X registry and encoding of fonts to use is determined from
7162 the variable `face-default-registry' in this case. The variable is
7163 initialized at Emacs startup time from the font the user specified for
7166 Currently all unibyte text, i.e. all buffers with
7167 `enable-multibyte-characters' nil are displayed with fonts of the same
7168 registry and encoding `face-default-registry'. This is consistent
7169 with the fact that languages can also be set globally, only.
7171 **** Clearing face caches.
7173 The Lisp function `clear-face-cache' can be called to clear face caches
7174 on all frames. If called with a non-nil argument, it will also unload
7179 Font selection tries to find the best available matching font for a
7180 given (charset, face) combination. This is done slightly differently
7181 for faces specifying a fontset, or a font family name.
7183 If the face specifies a fontset name, that fontset determines a
7184 pattern for fonts of the given charset. If the face specifies a font
7185 family, a font pattern is constructed. Charset symbols have a
7186 property `x-charset-registry' for that purpose that maps a charset to
7187 an XLFD registry and encoding in the font pattern constructed.
7189 Available fonts on the system on which Emacs runs are then matched
7190 against the font pattern. The result of font selection is the best
7191 match for the given face attributes in this font list.
7193 Font selection can be influenced by the user.
7195 The user can specify the relative importance he gives the face
7196 attributes width, height, weight, and slant by setting
7197 face-font-selection-order (faces.el) to a list of face attribute
7198 names. The default is (:width :height :weight :slant), and means
7199 that font selection first tries to find a good match for the font
7200 width specified by a face, then---within fonts with that width---tries
7201 to find a best match for the specified font height, etc.
7203 Setting `face-font-family-alternatives' allows the user to specify
7204 alternative font families to try if a family specified by a face
7207 Setting `face-font-registry-alternatives' allows the user to specify
7208 all alternative font registry names to try for a face specifying a
7211 Please note that the interpretations of the above two variables are
7214 Setting face-ignored-fonts allows the user to ignore specific fonts.
7219 Emacs can make use of scalable fonts but doesn't do so by default,
7220 since the use of too many or too big scalable fonts may crash XFree86
7223 To enable scalable font use, set the variable
7224 `scalable-fonts-allowed'. A value of nil, the default, means never use
7225 scalable fonts. A value of t means any scalable font may be used.
7226 Otherwise, the value must be a list of regular expressions. A
7227 scalable font may then be used if it matches a regular expression from
7230 (setq scalable-fonts-allowed '("muleindian-2$"))
7232 allows the use of scalable fonts with registry `muleindian-2'.
7234 *** Functions and variables related to font selection.
7236 - Function: x-family-fonts &optional FAMILY FRAME
7238 Return a list of available fonts of family FAMILY on FRAME. If FAMILY
7239 is omitted or nil, list all families. Otherwise, FAMILY must be a
7240 string, possibly containing wildcards `?' and `*'.
7242 If FRAME is omitted or nil, use the selected frame. Each element of
7243 the result is a vector [FAMILY WIDTH POINT-SIZE WEIGHT SLANT FIXED-P
7244 FULL REGISTRY-AND-ENCODING]. FAMILY is the font family name.
7245 POINT-SIZE is the size of the font in 1/10 pt. WIDTH, WEIGHT, and
7246 SLANT are symbols describing the width, weight and slant of the font.
7247 These symbols are the same as for face attributes. FIXED-P is non-nil
7248 if the font is fixed-pitch. FULL is the full name of the font, and
7249 REGISTRY-AND-ENCODING is a string giving the registry and encoding of
7250 the font. The result list is sorted according to the current setting
7251 of the face font sort order.
7253 - Function: x-font-family-list
7255 Return a list of available font families on FRAME. If FRAME is
7256 omitted or nil, use the selected frame. Value is a list of conses
7257 (FAMILY . FIXED-P) where FAMILY is a font family, and FIXED-P is
7258 non-nil if fonts of that family are fixed-pitch.
7260 - Variable: font-list-limit
7262 Limit for font matching. If an integer > 0, font matching functions
7263 won't load more than that number of fonts when searching for a
7264 matching font. The default is currently 100.
7266 *** Setting face attributes.
7268 For the most part, the new face implementation is interface-compatible
7269 with the old one. Old face attribute related functions are now
7270 implemented in terms of the new functions `set-face-attribute' and
7273 Face attributes are identified by their names which are keyword
7274 symbols. All attributes can be set to `unspecified'.
7276 The following attributes are recognized:
7280 VALUE must be a string specifying the font family, e.g. ``courier'',
7281 or a fontset alias name. If a font family is specified, wild-cards `*'
7282 and `?' are allowed.
7286 VALUE specifies the relative proportionate width of the font to use.
7287 It must be one of the symbols `ultra-condensed', `extra-condensed',
7288 `condensed', `semi-condensed', `normal', `semi-expanded', `expanded',
7289 `extra-expanded', or `ultra-expanded'.
7293 VALUE must be either an integer specifying the height of the font to use
7294 in 1/10 pt, a floating point number specifying the amount by which to
7295 scale any underlying face, or a function, which is called with the old
7296 height (from the underlying face), and should return the new height.
7300 VALUE specifies the weight of the font to use. It must be one of the
7301 symbols `ultra-bold', `extra-bold', `bold', `semi-bold', `normal',
7302 `semi-light', `light', `extra-light', `ultra-light'.
7306 VALUE specifies the slant of the font to use. It must be one of the
7307 symbols `italic', `oblique', `normal', `reverse-italic', or
7310 `:foreground', `:background'
7312 VALUE must be a color name, a string.
7316 VALUE specifies whether characters in FACE should be underlined. If
7317 VALUE is t, underline with foreground color of the face. If VALUE is
7318 a string, underline with that color. If VALUE is nil, explicitly
7323 VALUE specifies whether characters in FACE should be overlined. If
7324 VALUE is t, overline with foreground color of the face. If VALUE is a
7325 string, overline with that color. If VALUE is nil, explicitly don't
7330 VALUE specifies whether characters in FACE should be drawn with a line
7331 striking through them. If VALUE is t, use the foreground color of the
7332 face. If VALUE is a string, strike-through with that color. If VALUE
7333 is nil, explicitly don't strike through.
7337 VALUE specifies whether characters in FACE should have a box drawn
7338 around them. If VALUE is nil, explicitly don't draw boxes. If
7339 VALUE is t, draw a box with lines of width 1 in the foreground color
7340 of the face. If VALUE is a string, the string must be a color name,
7341 and the box is drawn in that color with a line width of 1. Otherwise,
7342 VALUE must be a property list of the form `(:line-width WIDTH
7343 :color COLOR :style STYLE)'. If a keyword/value pair is missing from
7344 the property list, a default value will be used for the value, as
7345 specified below. WIDTH specifies the width of the lines to draw; it
7346 defaults to 1. COLOR is the name of the color to draw in, default is
7347 the foreground color of the face for simple boxes, and the background
7348 color of the face for 3D boxes. STYLE specifies whether a 3D box
7349 should be draw. If STYLE is `released-button', draw a box looking
7350 like a released 3D button. If STYLE is `pressed-button' draw a box
7351 that appears like a pressed button. If STYLE is nil, the default if
7352 the property list doesn't contain a style specification, draw a 2D
7357 VALUE specifies whether characters in FACE should be displayed in
7358 inverse video. VALUE must be one of t or nil.
7362 If VALUE is a string, it must be the name of a file of pixmap data.
7363 The directories listed in the `x-bitmap-file-path' variable are
7364 searched. Alternatively, VALUE may be a list of the form (WIDTH
7365 HEIGHT DATA) where WIDTH and HEIGHT are the size in pixels, and DATA
7366 is a string containing the raw bits of the bitmap. VALUE nil means
7367 explicitly don't use a stipple pattern.
7369 For convenience, attributes `:family', `:width', `:height', `:weight',
7370 and `:slant' may also be set in one step from an X font name:
7374 Set font-related face attributes from VALUE. VALUE must be a valid
7375 XLFD font name. If it is a font name pattern, the first matching font
7376 is used--this is for compatibility with the behavior of previous
7379 For compatibility with Emacs 20, keywords `:bold' and `:italic' can
7380 be used to specify that a bold or italic font should be used. VALUE
7381 must be t or nil in that case. A value of `unspecified' is not allowed."
7383 Please see also the documentation of `set-face-attribute' and
7388 VALUE is the name of a face from which to inherit attributes, or a list
7389 of face names. Attributes from inherited faces are merged into the face
7390 like an underlying face would be, with higher priority than underlying faces.
7392 *** Face attributes and X resources
7394 The following X resource names can be used to set face attributes
7397 Face attribute X resource class
7398 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
7399 :family attributeFamily . Face.AttributeFamily
7400 :width attributeWidth Face.AttributeWidth
7401 :height attributeHeight Face.AttributeHeight
7402 :weight attributeWeight Face.AttributeWeight
7403 :slant attributeSlant Face.AttributeSlant
7404 foreground attributeForeground Face.AttributeForeground
7405 :background attributeBackground . Face.AttributeBackground
7406 :overline attributeOverline Face.AttributeOverline
7407 :strike-through attributeStrikeThrough Face.AttributeStrikeThrough
7408 :box attributeBox Face.AttributeBox
7409 :underline attributeUnderline Face.AttributeUnderline
7410 :inverse-video attributeInverse Face.AttributeInverse
7411 :stipple attributeStipple Face.AttributeStipple
7412 or attributeBackgroundPixmap
7413 Face.AttributeBackgroundPixmap
7414 :font attributeFont Face.AttributeFont
7415 :bold attributeBold Face.AttributeBold
7416 :italic attributeItalic . Face.AttributeItalic
7417 :font attributeFont Face.AttributeFont
7419 *** Text property `face'.
7421 The value of the `face' text property can now be a single face
7422 specification or a list of such specifications. Each face
7423 specification can be
7425 1. A symbol or string naming a Lisp face.
7427 2. A property list of the form (KEYWORD VALUE ...) where each
7428 KEYWORD is a face attribute name, and VALUE is an appropriate value
7429 for that attribute. Please see the doc string of `set-face-attribute'
7430 for face attribute names.
7432 3. Conses of the form (FOREGROUND-COLOR . COLOR) or
7433 (BACKGROUND-COLOR . COLOR) where COLOR is a color name. This is
7434 for compatibility with previous Emacs versions.
7436 ** Support functions for colors on text-only terminals.
7438 The function `tty-color-define' can be used to define colors for use
7439 on TTY and MSDOS frames. It maps a color name to a color number on
7440 the terminal. Emacs defines a couple of common color mappings by
7441 default. You can get defined colors with a call to
7442 `defined-colors'. The function `tty-color-clear' can be
7443 used to clear the mapping table.
7445 ** Unified support for colors independent of frame type.
7447 The new functions `defined-colors', `color-defined-p', `color-values',
7448 and `display-color-p' work for any type of frame. On frames whose
7449 type is neither x nor w32, these functions transparently map X-style
7450 color specifications to the closest colors supported by the frame
7451 display. Lisp programs should use these new functions instead of the
7452 old `x-defined-colors', `x-color-defined-p', `x-color-values', and
7453 `x-display-color-p'. (The old function names are still available for
7454 compatibility; they are now aliases of the new names.) Lisp programs
7455 should no more look at the value of the variable window-system to
7456 modify their color-related behavior.
7458 The primitives `color-gray-p' and `color-supported-p' also work for
7461 ** Platform-independent functions to describe display capabilities.
7463 The new functions `display-mouse-p', `display-popup-menus-p',
7464 `display-graphic-p', `display-selections-p', `display-screens',
7465 `display-pixel-width', `display-pixel-height', `display-mm-width',
7466 `display-mm-height', `display-backing-store', `display-save-under',
7467 `display-planes', `display-color-cells', `display-visual-class', and
7468 `display-grayscale-p' describe the basic capabilities of a particular
7469 display. Lisp programs should call these functions instead of testing
7470 the value of the variables `window-system' or `system-type', or calling
7471 platform-specific functions such as `x-display-pixel-width'.
7473 The new function `display-images-p' returns non-nil if a particular
7474 display can display image files.
7476 ** The minibuffer prompt is now actually inserted in the minibuffer.
7478 This makes it possible to scroll through the prompt, if you want to.
7479 To disallow this completely (like previous versions of emacs), customize
7480 the variable `minibuffer-prompt-properties', and turn on the
7481 `Inviolable' option.
7483 The function `minibuffer-prompt-end' returns the current position of the
7484 end of the minibuffer prompt, if the minibuffer is current.
7485 Otherwise, it returns `(point-min)'.
7487 ** New `field' abstraction in buffers.
7489 There is now code to support an abstraction called `fields' in emacs
7490 buffers. A field is a contiguous region of text with the same `field'
7491 property (which can be a text property or an overlay).
7493 Many emacs functions, such as forward-word, forward-sentence,
7494 forward-paragraph, beginning-of-line, etc., stop moving when they come
7495 to the boundary between fields; beginning-of-line and end-of-line will
7496 not let the point move past the field boundary, but other movement
7497 commands continue into the next field if repeated. Stopping at field
7498 boundaries can be suppressed programmatically by binding
7499 `inhibit-field-text-motion' to a non-nil value around calls to these
7502 Now that the minibuffer prompt is inserted into the minibuffer, it is in
7503 a separate field from the user-input part of the buffer, so that common
7504 editing commands treat the user's text separately from the prompt.
7506 The following functions are defined for operating on fields:
7508 - Function: constrain-to-field NEW-POS OLD-POS &optional ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE ONLY-IN-LINE INHIBIT-CAPTURE-PROPERTY
7510 Return the position closest to NEW-POS that is in the same field as OLD-POS.
7512 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
7513 If NEW-POS is nil, then the current point is used instead, and set to the
7514 constrained position if that is different.
7516 If OLD-POS is at the boundary of two fields, then the allowable
7517 positions for NEW-POS depends on the value of the optional argument
7518 ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE: If ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE is nil, then NEW-POS is
7519 constrained to the field that has the same `field' char-property
7520 as any new characters inserted at OLD-POS, whereas if ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE
7521 is non-nil, NEW-POS is constrained to the union of the two adjacent
7522 fields. Additionally, if two fields are separated by another field with
7523 the special value `boundary', then any point within this special field is
7524 also considered to be `on the boundary'.
7526 If the optional argument ONLY-IN-LINE is non-nil and constraining
7527 NEW-POS would move it to a different line, NEW-POS is returned
7528 unconstrained. This useful for commands that move by line, like
7529 C-n or C-a, which should generally respect field boundaries
7530 only in the case where they can still move to the right line.
7532 If the optional argument INHIBIT-CAPTURE-PROPERTY is non-nil, and OLD-POS has
7533 a non-nil property of that name, then any field boundaries are ignored.
7535 Field boundaries are not noticed if `inhibit-field-text-motion' is non-nil.
7537 - Function: delete-field &optional POS
7539 Delete the field surrounding POS.
7540 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
7541 If POS is nil, the value of point is used for POS.
7543 - Function: field-beginning &optional POS ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE
7545 Return the beginning of the field surrounding POS.
7546 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
7547 If POS is nil, the value of point is used for POS.
7548 If ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE is non-nil and POS is at the beginning of its
7549 field, then the beginning of the *previous* field is returned.
7551 - Function: field-end &optional POS ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE
7553 Return the end of the field surrounding POS.
7554 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
7555 If POS is nil, the value of point is used for POS.
7556 If ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE is non-nil and POS is at the end of its field,
7557 then the end of the *following* field is returned.
7559 - Function: field-string &optional POS
7561 Return the contents of the field surrounding POS as a string.
7562 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
7563 If POS is nil, the value of point is used for POS.
7565 - Function: field-string-no-properties &optional POS
7567 Return the contents of the field around POS, without text-properties.
7568 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
7569 If POS is nil, the value of point is used for POS.
7573 Emacs can now display images. Images are inserted into text by giving
7574 strings or buffer text a `display' text property containing one of
7575 (AREA IMAGE) or IMAGE. The display of the `display' property value
7576 replaces the display of the characters having that property.
7578 If the property value has the form (AREA IMAGE), AREA must be one of
7579 `(margin left-margin)', `(margin right-margin)' or `(margin nil)'. If
7580 AREA is `(margin nil)', IMAGE will be displayed in the text area of a
7581 window, otherwise it will be displayed in the left or right marginal
7584 IMAGE is an image specification.
7586 *** Image specifications
7588 Image specifications are lists of the form `(image PROPS)' where PROPS
7589 is a property list whose keys are keyword symbols. Each
7590 specifications must contain a property `:type TYPE' with TYPE being a
7591 symbol specifying the image type, e.g. `xbm'. Properties not
7592 described below are ignored.
7594 The following is a list of properties all image types share.
7598 ASCENT must be a number in the range 0..100, or the symbol `center'.
7599 If it is a number, it specifies the percentage of the image's height
7600 to use for its ascent.
7602 If not specified, ASCENT defaults to the value 50 which means that the
7603 image will be centered with the base line of the row it appears in.
7605 If ASCENT is `center' the image is vertically centered around a
7606 centerline which is the vertical center of text drawn at the position
7607 of the image, in the manner specified by the text properties and
7608 overlays that apply to the image.
7612 MARGIN must be either a number >= 0 specifying how many pixels to put
7613 as margin around the image, or a pair (X . Y) with X specifying the
7614 horizontal margin and Y specifying the vertical margin. Default is 0.
7618 RELIEF is analogous to the `:relief' attribute of faces. Puts a relief
7623 Apply an image algorithm to the image before displaying it.
7625 ALGO `laplace' or `emboss' means apply a Laplace or ``emboss''
7626 edge-detection algorithm to the image.
7628 ALGO `(edge-detection :matrix MATRIX :color-adjust ADJUST)' means
7629 apply a general edge-detection algorithm. MATRIX must be either a
7630 nine-element list or a nine-element vector of numbers. A pixel at
7631 position x/y in the transformed image is computed from original pixels
7632 around that position. MATRIX specifies, for each pixel in the
7633 neighborhood of x/y, a factor with which that pixel will influence the
7634 transformed pixel; element 0 specifies the factor for the pixel at
7635 x-1/y-1, element 1 the factor for the pixel at x/y-1 etc. as shown
7638 (x-1/y-1 x/y-1 x+1/y-1
7640 x-1/y+1 x/y+1 x+1/y+1)
7642 The resulting pixel is computed from the color intensity of the color
7643 resulting from summing up the RGB values of surrounding pixels,
7644 multiplied by the specified factors, and dividing that sum by the sum
7645 of the factors' absolute values.
7647 Laplace edge-detection currently uses a matrix of
7653 Emboss edge-detection uses a matrix of
7659 ALGO `disabled' means transform the image so that it looks
7664 If MASK is `heuristic' or `(heuristic BG)', build a clipping mask for
7665 the image, so that the background of a frame is visible behind the
7666 image. If BG is not specified, or if BG is t, determine the
7667 background color of the image by looking at the 4 corners of the
7668 image, assuming the most frequently occurring color from the corners is
7669 the background color of the image. Otherwise, BG must be a list `(RED
7670 GREEN BLUE)' specifying the color to assume for the background of the
7673 If MASK is nil, remove a mask from the image, if it has one. Images
7674 in some formats include a mask which can be removed by specifying
7679 Load image from FILE. If FILE is not absolute after expanding it,
7680 search for the image in `data-directory'. Some image types support
7681 building images from data. When this is done, no `:file' property
7682 may be present in the image specification.
7686 Get image data from DATA. (As of this writing, this is not yet
7687 supported for image type `postscript'). Either :file or :data may be
7688 present in an image specification, but not both. All image types
7689 support strings as DATA, some types allow additional types of DATA.
7691 *** Supported image types
7693 **** XBM, image type `xbm'.
7695 XBM images don't require an external library. Additional image
7696 properties supported are:
7700 FG must be a string specifying the image foreground color, or nil
7701 meaning to use the default. Default is the frame's foreground color.
7705 BG must be a string specifying the image background color, or nil
7706 meaning to use the default. Default is the frame's background color.
7708 XBM images can be constructed from data instead of file. In this
7709 case, the image specification must contain the following properties
7710 instead of a `:file' property.
7714 WIDTH specifies the width of the image in pixels.
7718 HEIGHT specifies the height of the image in pixels.
7724 1. a string large enough to hold the bitmap data, i.e. it must
7725 have a size >= (WIDTH + 7) / 8 * HEIGHT
7727 2. a bool-vector of size >= WIDTH * HEIGHT
7729 3. a vector of strings or bool-vectors, one for each line of the
7732 4. a string that's an in-memory XBM file. Neither width nor
7733 height may be specified in this case because these are defined
7736 **** XPM, image type `xpm'
7738 XPM images require the external library `libXpm', package
7739 `xpm-3.4k.tar.gz', version 3.4k or later. Make sure the library is
7740 found when Emacs is configured by supplying appropriate paths via
7741 `--x-includes' and `--x-libraries'.
7743 Additional image properties supported are:
7745 `:color-symbols SYMBOLS'
7747 SYMBOLS must be a list of pairs (NAME . COLOR), with NAME being the
7748 name of color as it appears in an XPM file, and COLOR being an X color
7751 XPM images can be built from memory instead of files. In that case,
7752 add a `:data' property instead of a `:file' property.
7754 The XPM library uses libz in its implementation so that it is able
7755 to display compressed images.
7757 **** PBM, image type `pbm'
7759 PBM images don't require an external library. Color, gray-scale and
7760 mono images are supported. Additional image properties supported for
7765 FG must be a string specifying the image foreground color, or nil
7766 meaning to use the default. Default is the frame's foreground color.
7770 BG must be a string specifying the image background color, or nil
7771 meaning to use the default. Default is the frame's background color.
7773 **** JPEG, image type `jpeg'
7775 Support for JPEG images requires the external library `libjpeg',
7776 package `jpegsrc.v6a.tar.gz', or later. There are no additional image
7779 **** TIFF, image type `tiff'
7781 Support for TIFF images requires the external library `libtiff',
7782 package `tiff-v3.4-tar.gz', or later. There are no additional image
7785 **** GIF, image type `gif'
7787 Support for GIF images requires the external library `libungif', package
7788 `libungif-4.1.0', or later.
7790 Additional image properties supported are:
7794 INDEX must be an integer >= 0. Load image number INDEX from a
7795 multi-image GIF file. If INDEX is too large, the image displays
7798 This could be used to implement limited support for animated GIFs.
7799 For example, the following function displays a multi-image GIF file
7800 at point-min in the current buffer, switching between sub-images
7803 (defun show-anim (file max)
7804 "Display multi-image GIF file FILE which contains MAX subimages."
7805 (display-anim (current-buffer) file 0 max t))
7807 (defun display-anim (buffer file idx max first-time)
7810 (let ((img (create-image file nil nil :index idx)))
7813 (goto-char (point-min))
7814 (unless first-time (delete-char 1))
7815 (insert-image img "x"))
7816 (run-with-timer 0.1 nil 'display-anim buffer file (1+ idx) max nil)))
7818 **** PNG, image type `png'
7820 Support for PNG images requires the external library `libpng',
7821 package `libpng-1.0.2.tar.gz', or later. There are no additional image
7824 **** Ghostscript, image type `postscript'.
7826 Additional image properties supported are:
7830 WIDTH is width of the image in pt (1/72 inch). WIDTH must be an
7831 integer. This is a required property.
7835 HEIGHT specifies the height of the image in pt (1/72 inch). HEIGHT
7836 must be a integer. This is an required property.
7840 BOX must be a list or vector of 4 integers giving the bounding box of
7841 the PS image, analogous to the `BoundingBox' comment found in PS
7842 files. This is an required property.
7844 Part of the Ghostscript interface is implemented in Lisp. See
7849 The variable `image-types' contains a list of those image types
7850 which are supported in the current configuration.
7852 Images are stored in an image cache and removed from the cache when
7853 they haven't been displayed for `image-cache-eviction-delay seconds.
7854 The function `clear-image-cache' can be used to clear the image cache
7855 manually. Images in the cache are compared with `equal', i.e. all
7856 images with `equal' specifications share the same image.
7858 *** Simplified image API, image.el
7860 The new Lisp package image.el contains functions that simplify image
7861 creation and putting images into text. The function `create-image'
7862 can be used to create images. The macro `defimage' can be used to
7863 define an image based on available image types. The functions
7864 `put-image' and `insert-image' can be used to insert an image into a
7869 Windows can now have margins which are used for special text
7872 To give a window margins, either set the buffer-local variables
7873 `left-margin-width' and `right-margin-width', or call
7874 `set-window-margins'. The function `window-margins' can be used to
7875 obtain the current settings. To make `left-margin-width' and
7876 `right-margin-width' take effect, you must set them before displaying
7877 the buffer in a window, or use `set-window-buffer' to force an update
7878 of the display margins.
7880 You can put text in margins by giving it a `display' text property
7881 containing a pair of the form `(LOCATION . VALUE)', where LOCATION is
7882 one of `left-margin' or `right-margin' or nil. VALUE can be either a
7883 string, an image specification or a stretch specification (see later
7888 Emacs displays short help messages in the echo area, when the mouse
7889 moves over a tool-bar item or a piece of text that has a text property
7890 `help-echo'. This feature also applies to strings in the mode line
7891 that have a `help-echo' property.
7893 If the value of the `help-echo' property is a function, that function
7894 is called with three arguments WINDOW, OBJECT and POSITION. WINDOW is
7895 the window in which the help was found.
7897 If OBJECT is a buffer, POS is the position in the buffer where the
7898 `help-echo' text property was found.
7900 If OBJECT is an overlay, that overlay has a `help-echo' property, and
7901 POS is the position in the overlay's buffer under the mouse.
7903 If OBJECT is a string (an overlay string or a string displayed with
7904 the `display' property), POS is the position in that string under the
7907 If the value of the `help-echo' property is neither a function nor a
7908 string, it is evaluated to obtain a help string.
7910 For tool-bar and menu-bar items, their key definition is used to
7911 determine the help to display. If their definition contains a
7912 property `:help FORM', FORM is evaluated to determine the help string.
7913 For tool-bar items without a help form, the caption of the item is
7914 used as help string.
7916 The hook `show-help-function' can be set to a function that displays
7917 the help string differently. For example, enabling a tooltip window
7918 causes the help display to appear there instead of in the echo area.
7920 ** Vertical fractional scrolling.
7922 The display of text in windows can be scrolled smoothly in pixels.
7923 This is useful, for example, for making parts of large images visible.
7925 The function `window-vscroll' returns the current value of vertical
7926 scrolling, a non-negative fraction of the canonical character height.
7927 The function `set-window-vscroll' can be used to set the vertical
7928 scrolling value. Here is an example of how these function might be
7931 (global-set-key [A-down]
7934 (set-window-vscroll (selected-window)
7935 (+ 0.5 (window-vscroll)))))
7936 (global-set-key [A-up]
7939 (set-window-vscroll (selected-window)
7940 (- (window-vscroll) 0.5)))))
7942 ** New hook `fontification-functions'.
7944 Functions from `fontification-functions' are called from redisplay
7945 when it encounters a region of text that is not yet fontified. This
7946 variable automatically becomes buffer-local when set. Each function
7947 is called with one argument, POS.
7949 At least one of the hook functions should fontify one or more
7950 characters starting at POS in the current buffer. It should mark them
7951 as fontified by giving them a non-nil value of the `fontified' text
7952 property. It may be reasonable for these functions to check for the
7953 `fontified' property and not put it back on, but they do not have to.
7955 ** Tool bar support.
7957 Emacs supports a tool bar at the top of a frame under X. The frame
7958 parameter `tool-bar-lines' (X resource "toolBar", class "ToolBar")
7959 controls how may lines to reserve for the tool bar. A zero value
7960 suppresses the tool bar. If the value is non-zero and
7961 `auto-resize-tool-bars' is non-nil the tool bar's size will be changed
7962 automatically so that all tool bar items are visible.
7964 *** Tool bar item definitions
7966 Tool bar items are defined using `define-key' with a prefix-key
7967 `tool-bar'. For example `(define-key global-map [tool-bar item1] ITEM)'
7968 where ITEM is a list `(menu-item CAPTION BINDING PROPS...)'.
7970 CAPTION is the caption of the item, If it's not a string, it is
7971 evaluated to get a string. The caption is currently not displayed in
7972 the tool bar, but it is displayed if the item doesn't have a `:help'
7973 property (see below).
7975 BINDING is the tool bar item's binding. Tool bar items with keymaps as
7976 binding are currently ignored.
7978 The following properties are recognized:
7982 FORM is evaluated and specifies whether the tool bar item is enabled
7987 FORM is evaluated and specifies whether the tool bar item is displayed.
7991 FUNCTION is called with one parameter, the same list BINDING in which
7992 FUNCTION is specified as the filter. The value FUNCTION returns is
7993 used instead of BINDING to display this item.
7995 `:button (TYPE SELECTED)'
7997 TYPE must be one of `:radio' or `:toggle'. SELECTED is evaluated
7998 and specifies whether the button is selected (pressed) or not.
8002 IMAGES is either a single image specification or a vector of four
8003 image specifications. If it is a vector, this table lists the
8004 meaning of each of the four elements:
8006 Index Use when item is
8007 ----------------------------------------
8008 0 enabled and selected
8009 1 enabled and deselected
8010 2 disabled and selected
8011 3 disabled and deselected
8013 If IMAGE is a single image specification, a Laplace edge-detection
8014 algorithm is used on that image to draw the image in disabled state.
8016 `:help HELP-STRING'.
8018 Gives a help string to display for the tool bar item. This help
8019 is displayed when the mouse is moved over the item.
8021 The function `toolbar-add-item' is a convenience function for adding
8022 toolbar items generally, and `tool-bar-add-item-from-menu' can be used
8023 to define a toolbar item with a binding copied from an item on the
8026 The default bindings use a menu-item :filter to derive the tool-bar
8027 dynamically from variable `tool-bar-map' which may be set
8028 buffer-locally to override the global map.
8030 *** Tool-bar-related variables.
8032 If `auto-resize-tool-bar' is non-nil, the tool bar will automatically
8033 resize to show all defined tool bar items. It will never grow larger
8034 than 1/4 of the frame's size.
8036 If `auto-raise-tool-bar-buttons' is non-nil, tool bar buttons will be
8037 raised when the mouse moves over them.
8039 You can add extra space between tool bar items by setting
8040 `tool-bar-button-margin' to a positive integer specifying a number of
8041 pixels, or a pair of integers (X . Y) specifying horizontal and
8042 vertical margins . Default is 1.
8044 You can change the shadow thickness of tool bar buttons by setting
8045 `tool-bar-button-relief' to an integer. Default is 3.
8047 *** Tool-bar clicks with modifiers.
8049 You can bind commands to clicks with control, shift, meta etc. on
8052 (define-key global-map [tool-bar shell]
8053 '(menu-item "Shell" shell
8054 :image (image :type xpm :file "shell.xpm")))
8056 is the original tool bar item definition, then
8058 (define-key global-map [tool-bar S-shell] 'some-command)
8060 makes a binding to run `some-command' for a shifted click on the same
8063 ** Mode line changes.
8065 *** Mouse-sensitive mode line.
8067 The mode line can be made mouse-sensitive by displaying strings there
8068 that have a `local-map' text property. There are three ways to display
8069 a string with a `local-map' property in the mode line.
8071 1. The mode line spec contains a variable whose string value has
8072 a `local-map' text property.
8074 2. The mode line spec contains a format specifier (e.g. `%12b'), and
8075 that format specifier has a `local-map' property.
8077 3. The mode line spec contains a list containing `:eval FORM'. FORM
8078 is evaluated. If the result is a string, and that string has a
8079 `local-map' property.
8081 The same mechanism is used to determine the `face' and `help-echo'
8082 properties of strings in the mode line. See `bindings.el' for an
8085 *** If a mode line element has the form `(:eval FORM)', FORM is
8086 evaluated and the result is used as mode line element.
8088 *** You can suppress mode-line display by setting the buffer-local
8089 variable mode-line-format to nil.
8091 *** A headerline can now be displayed at the top of a window.
8093 This mode line's contents are controlled by the new variable
8094 `header-line-format' and `default-header-line-format' which are
8095 completely analogous to `mode-line-format' and
8096 `default-mode-line-format'. A value of nil means don't display a top
8099 The appearance of top mode lines is controlled by the face
8102 The function `coordinates-in-window-p' returns `header-line' for a
8103 position in the header-line.
8105 ** Text property `display'
8107 The `display' text property is used to insert images into text,
8108 replace text with other text, display text in marginal area, and it is
8109 also used to control other aspects of how text displays. The value of
8110 the `display' property should be a display specification, as described
8111 below, or a list or vector containing display specifications.
8113 *** Replacing text, displaying text in marginal areas
8115 To replace the text having the `display' property with some other
8116 text, use a display specification of the form `(LOCATION STRING)'.
8118 If LOCATION is `(margin left-margin)', STRING is displayed in the left
8119 marginal area, if it is `(margin right-margin)', it is displayed in
8120 the right marginal area, and if LOCATION is `(margin nil)' STRING
8121 is displayed in the text. In the latter case you can also use the
8122 simpler form STRING as property value.
8124 *** Variable width and height spaces
8126 To display a space of fractional width or height, use a display
8127 specification of the form `(LOCATION STRECH)'. If LOCATION is
8128 `(margin left-margin)', the space is displayed in the left marginal
8129 area, if it is `(margin right-margin)', it is displayed in the right
8130 marginal area, and if LOCATION is `(margin nil)' the space is
8131 displayed in the text. In the latter case you can also use the
8132 simpler form STRETCH as property value.
8134 The stretch specification STRETCH itself is a list of the form `(space
8135 PROPS)', where PROPS is a property list which can contain the
8136 properties described below.
8138 The display of the fractional space replaces the display of the
8139 characters having the `display' property.
8143 Specifies that the space width should be WIDTH times the normal
8144 character width. WIDTH can be an integer or floating point number.
8146 - :relative-width FACTOR
8148 Specifies that the width of the stretch should be computed from the
8149 first character in a group of consecutive characters that have the
8150 same `display' property. The computation is done by multiplying the
8151 width of that character by FACTOR.
8155 Specifies that the space should be wide enough to reach HPOS. The
8156 value HPOS is measured in units of the normal character width.
8158 Exactly one of the above properties should be used.
8162 Specifies the height of the space, as HEIGHT, measured in terms of the
8165 - :relative-height FACTOR
8167 The height of the space is computed as the product of the height
8168 of the text having the `display' property and FACTOR.
8172 Specifies that ASCENT percent of the height of the stretch should be
8173 used for the ascent of the stretch, i.e. for the part above the
8174 baseline. The value of ASCENT must be a non-negative number less or
8177 You should not use both `:height' and `:relative-height' together.
8181 A display specification for an image has the form `(LOCATION
8182 . IMAGE)', where IMAGE is an image specification. The image replaces,
8183 in the display, the characters having this display specification in
8184 their `display' text property. If LOCATION is `(margin left-margin)',
8185 the image will be displayed in the left marginal area, if it is
8186 `(margin right-margin)' it will be displayed in the right marginal
8187 area, and if LOCATION is `(margin nil)' the image will be displayed in
8188 the text. In the latter case you can also use the simpler form IMAGE
8189 as display specification.
8191 *** Other display properties
8193 - (space-width FACTOR)
8195 Specifies that space characters in the text having that property
8196 should be displayed FACTOR times as wide as normal; FACTOR must be an
8201 Display text having this property in a font that is smaller or larger.
8203 If HEIGHT is a list of the form `(+ N)', where N is an integer, that
8204 means to use a font that is N steps larger. If HEIGHT is a list of
8205 the form `(- N)', that means to use a font that is N steps smaller. A
8206 ``step'' is defined by the set of available fonts; each size for which
8207 a font is available counts as a step.
8209 If HEIGHT is a number, that means to use a font that is HEIGHT times
8210 as tall as the frame's default font.
8212 If HEIGHT is a symbol, it is called as a function with the current
8213 height as argument. The function should return the new height to use.
8215 Otherwise, HEIGHT is evaluated to get the new height, with the symbol
8216 `height' bound to the current specified font height.
8220 FACTOR must be a number, specifying a multiple of the current
8221 font's height. If it is positive, that means to display the characters
8222 raised. If it is negative, that means to display them lower down. The
8223 amount of raising or lowering is computed without taking account of the
8224 `height' subproperty.
8226 *** Conditional display properties
8228 All display specifications can be conditionalized. If a specification
8229 has the form `(when CONDITION . SPEC)', the specification SPEC applies
8230 only when CONDITION yields a non-nil value when evaluated. During the
8231 evaluation, `object' is bound to the string or buffer having the
8232 conditional display property; `position' and `buffer-position' are
8233 bound to the position within `object' and the buffer position where
8234 the display property was found, respectively. Both positions can be
8235 different when object is a string.
8237 The normal specification consisting of SPEC only is equivalent to
8240 ** New menu separator types.
8242 Emacs now supports more than one menu separator type. Menu items with
8243 item names consisting of dashes only (including zero dashes) are
8244 treated like before. In addition, the following item names are used
8245 to specify other menu separator types.
8247 - `--no-line' or `--space', or `--:space', or `--:noLine'
8249 No separator lines are drawn, but a small space is inserted where the
8252 - `--single-line' or `--:singleLine'
8254 A single line in the menu's foreground color.
8256 - `--double-line' or `--:doubleLine'
8258 A double line in the menu's foreground color.
8260 - `--single-dashed-line' or `--:singleDashedLine'
8262 A single dashed line in the menu's foreground color.
8264 - `--double-dashed-line' or `--:doubleDashedLine'
8266 A double dashed line in the menu's foreground color.
8268 - `--shadow-etched-in' or `--:shadowEtchedIn'
8270 A single line with 3D sunken appearance. This is the form
8271 displayed for item names consisting of dashes only.
8273 - `--shadow-etched-out' or `--:shadowEtchedOut'
8275 A single line with 3D raised appearance.
8277 - `--shadow-etched-in-dash' or `--:shadowEtchedInDash'
8279 A single dashed line with 3D sunken appearance.
8281 - `--shadow-etched-out-dash' or `--:shadowEtchedOutDash'
8283 A single dashed line with 3D raise appearance.
8285 - `--shadow-double-etched-in' or `--:shadowDoubleEtchedIn'
8287 Two lines with 3D sunken appearance.
8289 - `--shadow-double-etched-out' or `--:shadowDoubleEtchedOut'
8291 Two lines with 3D raised appearance.
8293 - `--shadow-double-etched-in-dash' or `--:shadowDoubleEtchedInDash'
8295 Two dashed lines with 3D sunken appearance.
8297 - `--shadow-double-etched-out-dash' or `--:shadowDoubleEtchedOutDash'
8299 Two dashed lines with 3D raised appearance.
8301 Under LessTif/Motif, the last four separator types are displayed like
8302 the corresponding single-line separators.
8304 ** New frame parameters for scroll bar colors.
8306 The new frame parameters `scroll-bar-foreground' and
8307 `scroll-bar-background' can be used to change scroll bar colors.
8308 Their value must be either a color name, a string, or nil to specify
8309 that scroll bars should use a default color. For toolkit scroll bars,
8310 default colors are toolkit specific. For non-toolkit scroll bars, the
8311 default background is the background color of the frame, and the
8312 default foreground is black.
8314 The X resource name of these parameters are `scrollBarForeground'
8315 (class ScrollBarForeground) and `scrollBarBackground' (class
8316 `ScrollBarBackground').
8318 Setting these parameters overrides toolkit specific X resource
8319 settings for scroll bar colors.
8321 ** You can set `redisplay-dont-pause' to a non-nil value to prevent
8322 display updates from being interrupted when input is pending.
8324 ** Changing a window's width may now change its window start if it
8325 starts on a continuation line. The new window start is computed based
8326 on the window's new width, starting from the start of the continued
8327 line as the start of the screen line with the minimum distance from
8328 the original window start.
8330 ** The variable `hscroll-step' and the functions
8331 `hscroll-point-visible' and `hscroll-window-column' have been removed
8332 now that proper horizontal scrolling is implemented.
8334 ** Windows can now be made fixed-width and/or fixed-height.
8336 A window is fixed-size if its buffer has a buffer-local variable
8337 `window-size-fixed' whose value is not nil. A value of `height' makes
8338 windows fixed-height, a value of `width' makes them fixed-width, any
8339 other non-nil value makes them both fixed-width and fixed-height.
8341 The following code makes all windows displaying the current buffer
8342 fixed-width and fixed-height.
8344 (set (make-local-variable 'window-size-fixed) t)
8346 A call to enlarge-window on a window gives an error if that window is
8347 fixed-width and it is tried to change the window's width, or if the
8348 window is fixed-height, and it is tried to change its height. To
8349 change the size of a fixed-size window, bind `window-size-fixed'
8350 temporarily to nil, for example
8352 (let ((window-size-fixed nil))
8353 (enlarge-window 10))
8355 Likewise, an attempt to split a fixed-height window vertically,
8356 or a fixed-width window horizontally results in a error.
8358 ** The cursor-type frame parameter is now supported on MS-DOS
8359 terminals. When Emacs starts, it by default changes the cursor shape
8360 to a solid box, as it does on Unix. The `cursor-type' frame parameter
8361 overrides this as it does on Unix, except that the bar cursor is
8362 horizontal rather than vertical (since the MS-DOS display doesn't
8363 support a vertical-bar cursor).
8367 * Emacs 20.7 is a bug-fix release with few user-visible changes
8369 ** It is now possible to use CCL-based coding systems for keyboard
8372 ** ange-ftp now handles FTP security extensions, like Kerberos.
8374 ** Rmail has been extended to recognize more forms of digest messages.
8376 ** Now, most coding systems set in keyboard coding system work not
8377 only for character input, but also in incremental search. The
8378 exceptions are such coding systems that handle 2-byte character sets
8379 (e.g euc-kr, euc-jp) and that use ISO's escape sequence
8380 (e.g. iso-2022-jp). They are ignored in incremental search.
8382 ** Support for Macintosh PowerPC-based machines running GNU/Linux has
8386 * Emacs 20.6 is a bug-fix release with one user-visible change
8388 ** Support for ARM-based non-RISCiX machines has been added.
8392 * Emacs 20.5 is a bug-fix release with no user-visible changes.
8394 ** Not new, but not mentioned before:
8395 M-w when Transient Mark mode is enabled disables the mark.
8397 * Changes in Emacs 20.4
8399 ** Init file may be called .emacs.el.
8401 You can now call the Emacs init file `.emacs.el'.
8402 Formerly the name had to be `.emacs'. If you use the name
8403 `.emacs.el', you can byte-compile the file in the usual way.
8405 If both `.emacs' and `.emacs.el' exist, the latter file
8406 is the one that is used.
8408 ** shell-command, and shell-command-on-region, now return
8409 the exit code of the command (unless it is asynchronous).
8410 Also, you can specify a place to put the error output,
8411 separate from the command's regular output.
8412 Interactively, the variable shell-command-default-error-buffer
8413 says where to put error output; set it to a buffer name.
8414 In calls from Lisp, an optional argument ERROR-BUFFER specifies
8417 When you specify a non-nil error buffer (or buffer name), any error
8418 output is inserted before point in that buffer, with \f\n to separate
8419 it from the previous batch of error output. The error buffer is not
8420 cleared, so error output from successive commands accumulates there.
8422 ** Setting the default value of enable-multibyte-characters to nil in
8423 the .emacs file, either explicitly using setq-default, or via Custom,
8424 is now essentially equivalent to using --unibyte: all buffers
8425 created during startup will be made unibyte after loading .emacs.
8427 ** C-x C-f now handles the wildcards * and ? in file names. For
8428 example, typing C-x C-f c*.c RET visits all the files whose names
8429 match c*.c. To visit a file whose name contains * or ?, add the
8430 quoting sequence /: to the beginning of the file name.
8432 ** The M-x commands keep-lines, flush-lines and count-matches
8433 now have the same feature as occur and query-replace:
8434 if the pattern contains any upper case letters, then
8435 they never ignore case.
8437 ** The end-of-line format conversion feature previously mentioned
8438 under `* Emacs 20.1 changes for MS-DOS and MS-Windows' actually
8439 applies to all operating systems. Emacs recognizes from the contents
8440 of a file what convention it uses to separate lines--newline, CRLF, or
8441 just CR--and automatically converts the contents to the normal Emacs
8442 convention (using newline to separate lines) for editing. This is a
8443 part of the general feature of coding system conversion.
8445 If you subsequently save the buffer, Emacs converts the text back to
8446 the same format that was used in the file before.
8448 You can turn off end-of-line conversion by setting the variable
8449 `inhibit-eol-conversion' to non-nil, e.g. with Custom in the MULE group.
8451 ** The character set property `prefered-coding-system' has been
8452 renamed to `preferred-coding-system', for the sake of correct spelling.
8453 This is a fairly internal feature, so few programs should be affected.
8455 ** Mode-line display of end-of-line format is changed.
8456 The indication of the end-of-line format of the file visited by a
8457 buffer is now more explicit when that format is not the usual one for
8458 your operating system. For example, the DOS-style end-of-line format
8459 is displayed as "(DOS)" on Unix and GNU/Linux systems. The usual
8460 end-of-line format is still displayed as a single character (colon for
8461 Unix, backslash for DOS and Windows, and forward slash for the Mac).
8463 The values of the variables eol-mnemonic-unix, eol-mnemonic-dos,
8464 eol-mnemonic-mac, and eol-mnemonic-undecided, which are strings,
8465 control what is displayed in the mode line for each end-of-line
8466 format. You can now customize these variables.
8468 ** In the previous version of Emacs, tar-mode didn't work well if a
8469 filename contained non-ASCII characters. Now this is fixed. Such a
8470 filename is decoded by file-name-coding-system if the default value of
8471 enable-multibyte-characters is non-nil.
8473 ** The command temp-buffer-resize-mode toggles a minor mode
8474 in which temporary buffers (such as help buffers) are given
8475 windows just big enough to hold the whole contents.
8477 ** If you use completion.el, you must now run the function
8478 dynamic-completion-mode to enable it. Just loading the file
8479 doesn't have any effect.
8481 ** In Flyspell mode, the default is now to make just one Ispell process,
8484 ** If you use iswitchb but do not call (iswitchb-default-keybindings) to
8485 use the default keybindings, you will need to add the following line:
8486 (add-hook 'minibuffer-setup-hook 'iswitchb-minibuffer-setup)
8488 ** Auto-show mode is no longer enabled just by loading auto-show.el.
8489 To control it, set `auto-show-mode' via Custom or use the
8490 `auto-show-mode' command.
8492 ** Handling of X fonts' ascent/descent parameters has been changed to
8493 avoid redisplay problems. As a consequence, compared with previous
8494 versions the line spacing and frame size now differ with some font
8495 choices, typically increasing by a pixel per line. This change
8496 occurred in version 20.3 but was not documented then.
8498 ** If you select the bar cursor style, it uses the frame's
8499 cursor-color, rather than the cursor foreground pixel.
8501 ** In multibyte mode, Rmail decodes incoming MIME messages using the
8502 character set specified in the message. If you want to disable this
8503 feature, set the variable rmail-decode-mime-charset to nil.
8505 ** Not new, but not mentioned previously in NEWS: when you use #! at
8506 the beginning of a file to make it executable and specify an
8507 interpreter program, Emacs looks on the second line for the -*- mode
8508 and variable specification, as well as on the first line.
8510 ** Support for IBM codepage encoding of non-ASCII characters.
8512 The new command M-x codepage-setup creates a special coding system
8513 that can be used to convert text between a specific IBM codepage and
8514 one of the character sets built into Emacs which matches that
8515 codepage. For example, codepage 850 corresponds to Latin-1 character
8516 set, codepage 855 corresponds to Cyrillic-ISO character set, etc.
8518 Windows codepages 1250, 1251 and some others, where Windows deviates
8519 from the corresponding ISO character set, are also supported.
8521 IBM box-drawing characters and other glyphs which don't have
8522 equivalents in the corresponding ISO character set, are converted to
8523 a character defined by dos-unsupported-char-glyph on MS-DOS, and to
8524 `?' on other systems.
8526 IBM codepages are widely used on MS-DOS and MS-Windows, so this
8527 feature is most useful on those platforms, but it can also be used on
8530 Emacs compiled for MS-DOS automatically loads the support for the
8531 current codepage when it starts.
8535 *** When mail is sent using compose-mail (C-x m), and if
8536 `mail-send-nonascii' is set to the new default value `mime',
8537 appropriate MIME headers are added. The headers are added only if
8538 non-ASCII characters are present in the body of the mail, and no other
8539 MIME headers are already present. For example, the following three
8540 headers are added if the coding system used in the *mail* buffer is
8544 Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
8545 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
8547 *** The new variable default-sendmail-coding-system specifies the
8548 default way to encode outgoing mail. This has higher priority than
8549 default-buffer-file-coding-system but has lower priority than
8550 sendmail-coding-system and the local value of
8551 buffer-file-coding-system.
8553 You should not set this variable manually. Instead, set
8554 sendmail-coding-system to specify a fixed encoding for all outgoing
8557 *** When you try to send a message that contains non-ASCII characters,
8558 if the coding system specified by those variables doesn't handle them,
8559 Emacs will ask you to select a suitable coding system while showing a
8560 list of possible coding systems.
8564 *** c-default-style can now take an association list that maps major
8565 modes to style names. When this variable is an alist, Java mode no
8566 longer hardcodes a setting to "java" style. See the variable's
8567 docstring for details.
8569 *** It's now possible to put a list as the offset on a syntactic
8570 symbol. The list is evaluated recursively until a non-nil offset is
8571 found. This is useful to combine several lineup functions to act in a
8572 prioritized order on a single line. However, none of the supplied
8573 lineup functions use this feature currently.
8575 *** New syntactic symbol catch-clause, which is used on the "catch" and
8576 "finally" lines in try-catch constructs in C++ and Java.
8578 *** New cleanup brace-catch-brace on c-cleanup-list, which does for
8579 "catch" lines what brace-elseif-brace does for "else if" lines.
8581 *** The braces of Java anonymous inner classes are treated separately
8582 from the braces of other classes in auto-newline mode. Two new
8583 symbols inexpr-class-open and inexpr-class-close may be used on
8584 c-hanging-braces-alist to control the automatic newlines used for
8587 *** Support for the Pike language added, along with new Pike specific
8588 syntactic symbols: inlambda, lambda-intro-cont
8590 *** Support for Java anonymous classes via new syntactic symbol
8591 inexpr-class. New syntactic symbol inexpr-statement for Pike
8592 support and gcc-style statements inside expressions. New lineup
8593 function c-lineup-inexpr-block.
8595 *** New syntactic symbol brace-entry-open which is used in brace lists
8596 (i.e. static initializers) when a list entry starts with an open
8597 brace. These used to be recognized as brace-list-entry's.
8598 c-electric-brace also recognizes brace-entry-open braces
8599 (brace-list-entry's can no longer be electrified).
8601 *** New command c-indent-line-or-region, not bound by default.
8603 *** `#' is only electric when typed in the indentation of a line.
8605 *** Parentheses are now electric (via the new command c-electric-paren)
8606 for auto-reindenting lines when parens are typed.
8608 *** In "gnu" style, inline-open offset is now set to zero.
8610 *** Uniform handling of the inclass syntactic symbol. The indentation
8611 associated with it is now always relative to the class opening brace.
8612 This means that the indentation behavior has changed in some
8613 circumstances, but only if you've put anything besides 0 on the
8614 class-open syntactic symbol (none of the default styles do that).
8618 *** New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
8619 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See the
8620 Gnus manual for the full story.
8622 *** The nndraft backend has returned, but works differently than
8623 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the nndraft
8624 group, which is created automatically.
8626 *** `gnus-alter-header-function' can now be used to alter header
8629 *** `gnus-summary-goto-article' now accept Message-ID's.
8631 *** A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
8632 outside the region: `C-c C-v'.
8634 *** You can now post to component group in nnvirtual groups with
8637 *** `nntp-rlogin-program' -- new variable to ease customization.
8639 *** `C-u C-c C-c' in `gnus-article-edit-mode' will now inhibit
8640 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
8642 *** New element in `gnus-boring-article-headers' -- `long-to'.
8644 *** `M-i' symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
8645 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
8647 *** `L' and `I' in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
8648 `a' to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
8650 *** `gnus-simplify-subject-functions' variable to allow greater
8651 control over simplification.
8653 *** `A T' -- new command for fetching the current thread.
8655 *** `/ T' -- new command for including the current thread in the
8658 *** `M-RET' is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
8660 *** \\1-expressions are now valid in `nnmail-split-methods'.
8662 *** The `custom-face-lookup' function has been removed.
8663 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
8664 rewrite them to use `face-spec-set' instead.
8666 *** Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
8667 `a' forces normal posting method.
8669 *** New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper text
8672 *** For easier debugging of nntp, you can set `nntp-record-commands'
8675 *** nntp now uses ~/.authinfo, a .netrc-like file, for controlling
8676 where and how to send AUTHINFO to NNTP servers.
8678 *** A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
8681 *** A history of where mails have been split is available.
8683 *** A new article date command has been added -- `article-date-iso8601'.
8685 *** Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
8686 `gnus-score-thread-simplify'.
8688 *** A new function for citing in Message has been added --
8689 `message-cite-original-without-signature'.
8691 *** `article-strip-all-blank-lines' -- new article command.
8693 *** A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
8696 *** A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
8697 `gnus-adaptive-word-minimum' variable.
8699 *** The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
8700 updated by the `gnus-start-date-timer' command.
8702 *** Web listserv archives can be read with the nnlistserv backend.
8704 *** Old dejanews archives can now be read by nnweb.
8706 *** `gnus-posting-styles' has been re-activated.
8708 ** Changes to TeX and LaTeX mode
8710 *** The new variable `tex-start-options-string' can be used to give
8711 options for the TeX run. The default value causes TeX to run in
8712 nonstopmode. For an interactive TeX run set it to nil or "".
8714 *** The command `tex-feed-input' sends input to the Tex Shell. In a
8715 TeX buffer it is bound to the keys C-RET, C-c RET, and C-c C-m (some
8716 of these keys may not work on all systems). For instance, if you run
8717 TeX interactively and if the TeX run stops because of an error, you
8718 can continue it without leaving the TeX buffer by typing C-RET.
8720 *** The Tex Shell Buffer is now in `compilation-shell-minor-mode'.
8721 All error-parsing commands of the Compilation major mode are available
8722 but bound to keys that don't collide with the shell. Thus you can use
8723 the Tex Shell for command line executions like a usual shell.
8725 *** The commands `tex-validate-region' and `tex-validate-buffer' check
8726 the matching of braces and $'s. The errors are listed in a *Occur*
8727 buffer and you can use C-c C-c or mouse-2 to go to a particular
8730 ** Changes to RefTeX mode
8732 *** The table of contents buffer can now also display labels and
8733 file boundaries in addition to sections. Use `l', `i', and `c' keys.
8735 *** Labels derived from context (the section heading) are now
8736 lowercase by default. To make the label legal in LaTeX, latin-1
8737 characters will lose their accent. All Mule characters will be
8738 removed from the label.
8740 *** The automatic display of cross reference information can also use
8741 a window instead of the echo area. See variable `reftex-auto-view-crossref'.
8743 *** kpsewhich can be used by RefTeX to find TeX and BibTeX files. See the
8744 customization group `reftex-finding-files'.
8746 *** The option `reftex-bibfile-ignore-list' has been renamed to
8747 `reftex-bibfile-ignore-regexps' and indeed can be fed with regular
8750 *** Multiple Selection buffers are now hidden buffers.
8752 ** New/deleted modes and packages
8754 *** The package snmp-mode.el provides major modes for editing SNMP and
8755 SNMPv2 MIBs. It has entries on `auto-mode-alist'.
8757 *** The package sql.el provides a major mode, M-x sql-mode, for
8758 editing SQL files, and M-x sql-interactive-mode for interacting with
8759 SQL interpreters. It has an entry on `auto-mode-alist'.
8761 *** M-x highlight-changes-mode provides a minor mode displaying buffer
8762 changes with a special face.
8764 *** ispell4.el has been deleted. It got in the way of ispell.el and
8765 this was hard to fix reliably. It has long been obsolete -- use
8766 Ispell 3.1 and ispell.el.
8768 * MS-DOS changes in Emacs 20.4
8770 ** Emacs compiled for MS-DOS now supports MULE features better.
8771 This includes support for display of all ISO 8859-N character sets,
8772 conversion to and from IBM codepage encoding of non-ASCII characters,
8773 and automatic setup of the MULE environment at startup. For details,
8774 check out the section `MS-DOS and MULE' in the manual.
8776 The MS-DOS installation procedure automatically configures and builds
8777 Emacs with input method support if it finds an unpacked Leim
8778 distribution when the config.bat script is run.
8780 ** Formerly, the value of lpr-command did not affect printing on
8781 MS-DOS unless print-region-function was set to nil, but now it
8782 controls whether an external program is invoked or output is written
8783 directly to a printer port. Similarly, in the previous version of
8784 Emacs, the value of ps-lpr-command did not affect PostScript printing
8785 on MS-DOS unless ps-printer-name was set to something other than a
8786 string (eg. t or `pipe'), but now it controls whether an external
8787 program is used. (These changes were made so that configuration of
8788 printing variables would be almost identical across all platforms.)
8790 ** In the previous version of Emacs, PostScript and non-PostScript
8791 output was piped to external programs, but because most print programs
8792 available for MS-DOS and MS-Windows cannot read data from their standard
8793 input, on those systems the data to be output is now written to a
8794 temporary file whose name is passed as the last argument to the external
8797 An exception is made for `print', a standard program on Windows NT,
8798 and `nprint', a standard program on Novell Netware. For both of these
8799 programs, the command line is constructed in the appropriate syntax
8800 automatically, using only the value of printer-name or ps-printer-name
8801 as appropriate--the value of the relevant `-switches' variable is
8802 ignored, as both programs have no useful switches.
8804 ** The value of the variable dos-printer (cf. dos-ps-printer), if it has
8805 a value, overrides the value of printer-name (cf. ps-printer-name), on
8806 MS-DOS and MS-Windows only. This has been true since version 20.3, but
8807 was not documented clearly before.
8809 ** All the Emacs games now work on MS-DOS terminals.
8810 This includes Tetris and Snake.
8812 * Lisp changes in Emacs 20.4
8814 ** New functions line-beginning-position and line-end-position
8815 return the position of the beginning or end of the current line.
8816 They both accept an optional argument, which has the same
8817 meaning as the argument to beginning-of-line or end-of-line.
8819 ** find-file and allied functions now have an optional argument
8820 WILDCARD. If this is non-nil, they do wildcard processing,
8821 and visit all files that match the wildcard pattern.
8823 ** Changes in the file-attributes function.
8825 *** The file size returned by file-attributes may be an integer or a float.
8826 It is an integer if the size fits in a Lisp integer, float otherwise.
8828 *** The inode number returned by file-attributes may be an integer (if
8829 the number fits in a Lisp integer) or a cons cell containing two
8832 ** The new function directory-files-and-attributes returns a list of
8833 files in a directory and their attributes. It accepts the same
8834 arguments as directory-files and has similar semantics, except that
8835 file names and attributes are returned.
8837 ** The new function file-attributes-lessp is a helper function for
8838 sorting the list generated by directory-files-and-attributes. It
8839 accepts two arguments, each a list of a file name and its attributes.
8840 It compares the file names of each according to string-lessp and
8843 ** The new function file-expand-wildcards expands a wildcard-pattern
8844 to produce a list of existing files that match the pattern.
8846 ** New functions for base64 conversion:
8848 The function base64-encode-region converts a part of the buffer
8849 into the base64 code used in MIME. base64-decode-region
8850 performs the opposite conversion. Line-breaking is supported
8853 Functions base64-encode-string and base64-decode-string do a similar
8854 job on the text in a string. They return the value as a new string.
8857 The new function process-running-child-p
8858 will tell you if a subprocess has given control of its
8859 terminal to its own child process.
8861 ** interrupt-process and such functions have a new feature:
8862 when the second argument is `lambda', they send a signal
8863 to the running child of the subshell, if any, but if the shell
8864 itself owns its terminal, no signal is sent.
8866 ** There are new widget types `plist' and `alist' which can
8867 be used for customizing variables whose values are plists or alists.
8869 ** easymenu.el now understands `:key-sequence' and `:style button'.
8870 :included is an alias for :visible.
8872 easy-menu-add-item now understands the values returned by
8873 easy-menu-remove-item and easy-menu-item-present-p. This can be used
8874 to move or copy menu entries.
8876 ** Multibyte editing changes
8878 *** The definitions of sref and char-bytes are changed. Now, sref is
8879 an alias of aref and char-bytes always returns 1. This change is to
8880 make some Emacs Lisp code which works on 20.2 and earlier also
8881 work on the latest Emacs. Such code uses a combination of sref and
8882 char-bytes in a loop typically as below:
8883 (setq char (sref str idx)
8884 idx (+ idx (char-bytes idx)))
8885 The byte-compiler now warns that this is obsolete.
8887 If you want to know how many bytes a specific multibyte character
8888 (say, CH) occupies in a multibyte buffer, use this code:
8889 (charset-bytes (char-charset ch))
8891 *** In multibyte mode, when you narrow a buffer to some region, and the
8892 region is preceded or followed by non-ASCII codes, inserting or
8893 deleting at the head or the end of the region may signal this error:
8895 Byte combining across boundary of accessible buffer text inhibited
8897 This is to avoid some bytes being combined together into a character
8898 across the boundary.
8900 *** The functions find-charset-region and find-charset-string include
8901 `unknown' in the returned list in the following cases:
8902 o The current buffer or the target string is unibyte and
8903 contains 8-bit characters.
8904 o The current buffer or the target string is multibyte and
8905 contains invalid characters.
8907 *** The functions decode-coding-region and encode-coding-region remove
8908 text properties of the target region. Ideally, they should correctly
8909 preserve text properties, but for the moment, it's hard. Removing
8910 text properties is better than preserving them in a less-than-correct
8913 *** prefer-coding-system sets EOL conversion of default coding systems.
8914 If the argument to prefer-coding-system specifies a certain type of
8915 end of line conversion, the default coding systems set by
8916 prefer-coding-system will specify that conversion type for end of line.
8918 *** The new function thai-compose-string can be used to properly
8919 compose Thai characters in a string.
8921 ** The primitive `define-prefix-command' now takes an optional third
8922 argument NAME, which should be a string. It supplies the menu name
8923 for the created keymap. Keymaps created in order to be displayed as
8924 menus should always use the third argument.
8926 ** The meanings of optional second arguments for read-char,
8927 read-event, and read-char-exclusive are flipped. Now the second
8928 arguments are INHERIT-INPUT-METHOD. These functions use the current
8929 input method (if any) if and only if INHERIT-INPUT-METHOD is non-nil.
8931 ** The new function clear-this-command-keys empties out the contents
8932 of the vector that (this-command-keys) returns. This is useful in
8933 programs that read passwords, to prevent the passwords from echoing
8934 inadvertently as part of the next command in certain cases.
8936 ** The new macro `with-temp-message' displays a temporary message in
8937 the echo area, while executing some Lisp code. Like `progn', it
8938 returns the value of the last form, but it also restores the previous
8941 (with-temp-message MESSAGE &rest BODY)
8943 ** The function `require' now takes an optional third argument
8944 NOERROR. If it is non-nil, then there is no error if the
8945 requested feature cannot be loaded.
8947 ** In the function modify-face, an argument of (nil) for the
8948 foreground color, background color or stipple pattern
8949 means to clear out that attribute.
8951 ** The `outer-window-id' frame property of an X frame
8952 gives the window number of the outermost X window for the frame.
8954 ** Temporary buffers made with with-output-to-temp-buffer are now
8955 read-only by default, and normally use the major mode Help mode
8956 unless you put them in some other non-Fundamental mode before the
8957 end of with-output-to-temp-buffer.
8959 ** The new functions gap-position and gap-size return information on
8960 the gap of the current buffer.
8962 ** The new functions position-bytes and byte-to-position provide a way
8963 to convert between character positions and byte positions in the
8966 ** vc.el defines two new macros, `edit-vc-file' and `with-vc-file', to
8967 facilitate working with version-controlled files from Lisp programs.
8968 These macros check out a given file automatically if needed, and check
8969 it back in after any modifications have been made.
8971 * Installation Changes in Emacs 20.3
8973 ** The default value of load-path now includes most subdirectories of
8974 the site-specific directories /usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp and
8975 /usr/local/share/emacs/VERSION/site-lisp, in addition to those
8976 directories themselves. Both immediate subdirectories and
8977 subdirectories multiple levels down are added to load-path.
8979 Not all subdirectories are included, though. Subdirectories whose
8980 names do not start with a letter or digit are excluded.
8981 Subdirectories named RCS or CVS are excluded. Also, a subdirectory
8982 which contains a file named `.nosearch' is excluded. You can use
8983 these methods to prevent certain subdirectories from being searched.
8985 Emacs finds these subdirectories and adds them to load-path when it
8986 starts up. While it would be cleaner to find the subdirectories each
8987 time Emacs loads a file, that would be much slower.
8989 This feature is an incompatible change. If you have stored some Emacs
8990 Lisp files in a subdirectory of the site-lisp directory specifically
8991 to prevent them from being used, you will need to rename the
8992 subdirectory to start with a non-alphanumeric character, or create a
8993 `.nosearch' file in it, in order to continue to achieve the desired
8996 ** Emacs no longer includes an old version of the C preprocessor from
8997 GCC. This was formerly used to help compile Emacs with C compilers
8998 that had limits on the significant length of an identifier, but in
8999 fact we stopped supporting such compilers some time ago.
9001 * Changes in Emacs 20.3
9003 ** The new command C-x z (repeat) repeats the previous command
9004 including its argument. If you repeat the z afterward,
9005 it repeats the command additional times; thus, you can
9006 perform many repetitions with one keystroke per repetition.
9008 ** Emacs now supports "selective undo" which undoes only within a
9009 specified region. To do this, set point and mark around the desired
9010 region and type C-u C-x u (or C-u C-_). You can then continue undoing
9011 further, within the same region, by repeating the ordinary undo
9012 command C-x u or C-_. This will keep undoing changes that were made
9013 within the region you originally specified, until either all of them
9014 are undone, or it encounters a change which crosses the edge of that
9017 In Transient Mark mode, undoing when a region is active requests
9020 ** If you specify --unibyte when starting Emacs, then all buffers are
9021 unibyte, except when a Lisp program specifically creates a multibyte
9022 buffer. Setting the environment variable EMACS_UNIBYTE has the same
9023 effect. The --no-unibyte option overrides EMACS_UNIBYTE and directs
9024 Emacs to run normally in multibyte mode.
9026 The option --unibyte does not affect the reading of Emacs Lisp files,
9027 though. If you want a Lisp file to be read in unibyte mode, use
9028 -*-unibyte: t;-*- on its first line. That will force Emacs to
9029 load that file in unibyte mode, regardless of how Emacs was started.
9031 ** toggle-enable-multibyte-characters no longer has a key binding and
9032 no longer appears in the menu bar. We've realized that changing the
9033 enable-multibyte-characters variable in an existing buffer is
9034 something that most users not do.
9036 ** You can specify a coding system to use for the next cut or paste
9037 operations through the window system with the command C-x RET X.
9038 The coding system can make a difference for communication with other
9041 C-x RET x specifies a coding system for all subsequent cutting and
9044 ** You can specify the printer to use for commands that do printing by
9045 setting the variable `printer-name'. Just what a printer name looks
9046 like depends on your operating system. You can specify a different
9047 printer for the Postscript printing commands by setting
9050 ** Emacs now supports on-the-fly spell checking by the means of a
9051 minor mode. It is called M-x flyspell-mode. You don't have to remember
9052 any other special commands to use it, and you will hardly notice it
9053 except when you make a spelling error. Flyspell works by highlighting
9054 incorrect words as soon as they are completed or as soon as the cursor
9057 Flyspell mode works with whichever dictionary you have selected for
9058 Ispell in Emacs. In TeX mode, it understands TeX syntax so as not
9059 to be confused by TeX commands.
9061 You can correct a misspelled word by editing it into something
9062 correct. You can also correct it, or accept it as correct, by
9063 clicking on the word with Mouse-2; that gives you a pop-up menu
9064 of various alternative replacements and actions.
9066 Flyspell mode also proposes "automatic" corrections. M-TAB replaces
9067 the current misspelled word with a possible correction. If several
9068 corrections are made possible, M-TAB cycles through them in
9069 alphabetical order, or in order of decreasing likelihood if
9070 flyspell-sort-corrections is nil.
9072 Flyspell mode also flags an error when a word is repeated, if
9073 flyspell-mark-duplications-flag is non-nil.
9075 ** Changes in input method usage.
9077 Now you can use arrow keys (right, left, down, up) for selecting among
9078 the alternatives just the same way as you do by C-f, C-b, C-n, and C-p
9081 You can use the ENTER key to accept the current conversion.
9083 If you type TAB to display a list of alternatives, you can select one
9084 of the alternatives with Mouse-2.
9086 The meaning of the variable `input-method-verbose-flag' is changed so
9087 that you can set it to t, nil, `default', or `complex-only'.
9089 If the value is nil, extra guidance is never given.
9091 If the value is t, extra guidance is always given.
9093 If the value is `complex-only', extra guidance is always given only
9094 when you are using complex input methods such as chinese-py.
9096 If the value is `default' (this is the default), extra guidance is
9097 given in the following case:
9098 o When you are using a complex input method.
9099 o When you are using a simple input method but not in the minibuffer.
9101 If you are using Emacs through a very slow line, setting
9102 input-method-verbose-flag to nil or to complex-only is a good choice,
9103 and if you are using an input method you are not familiar with,
9104 setting it to t is helpful.
9106 The old command select-input-method is now called set-input-method.
9108 In the language environment "Korean", you can use the following
9110 Shift-SPC toggle-korean-input-method
9111 C-F9 quail-hangul-switch-symbol-ksc
9112 F9 quail-hangul-switch-hanja
9113 These key bindings are canceled when you switch to another language
9116 ** The minibuffer history of file names now records the specified file
9117 names, not the entire minibuffer input. For example, if the
9118 minibuffer starts out with /usr/foo/, you might type in /etc/passwd to
9121 /usr/foo//etc/passwd
9123 which stands for the file /etc/passwd.
9125 Formerly, this used to put /usr/foo//etc/passwd in the history list.
9126 Now this puts just /etc/passwd in the history list.
9128 ** If you are root, Emacs sets backup-by-copying-when-mismatch to t
9129 at startup, so that saving a file will be sure to preserve
9130 its owner and group.
9132 ** find-func.el can now also find the place of definition of Emacs
9133 Lisp variables in user-loaded libraries.
9135 ** C-x r t (string-rectangle) now deletes the existing rectangle
9136 contents before inserting the specified string on each line.
9138 ** There is a new command delete-whitespace-rectangle
9139 which deletes whitespace starting from a particular column
9140 in all the lines on a rectangle. The column is specified
9141 by the left edge of the rectangle.
9143 ** You can now store a number into a register with C-u NUMBER C-x r n REG,
9144 increment it by INC with C-u INC C-x r + REG (to increment by one, omit
9145 C-u INC), and insert it in the buffer with C-x r g REG. This is useful
9146 for writing keyboard macros.
9148 ** The new command M-x speedbar displays a frame in which directories,
9149 files, and tags can be displayed, manipulated, and jumped to. The
9150 frame defaults to 20 characters in width, and is the same height as
9151 the frame that it was started from. Some major modes define
9152 additional commands for the speedbar, including Rmail, GUD/GDB, and
9155 ** query-replace-regexp is now bound to C-M-%.
9157 ** In Transient Mark mode, when the region is active, M-x
9158 query-replace and the other replace commands now operate on the region
9161 ** M-x write-region, when used interactively, now asks for
9162 confirmation before overwriting an existing file. When you call
9163 the function from a Lisp program, a new optional argument CONFIRM
9164 says whether to ask for confirmation in this case.
9166 ** If you use find-file-literally and the file is already visited
9167 non-literally, the command asks you whether to revisit the file
9168 literally. If you say no, it signals an error.
9170 ** Major modes defined with the "derived mode" feature
9171 now use the proper name for the mode hook: WHATEVER-mode-hook.
9172 Formerly they used the name WHATEVER-mode-hooks, but that is
9173 inconsistent with Emacs conventions.
9175 ** shell-command-on-region (and shell-command) reports success or
9176 failure if the command produces no output.
9178 ** Set focus-follows-mouse to nil if your window system or window
9179 manager does not transfer focus to another window when you just move
9182 ** mouse-menu-buffer-maxlen has been renamed to
9183 mouse-buffer-menu-maxlen to be consistent with the other related
9184 function and variable names.
9186 ** The new variable auto-coding-alist specifies coding systems for
9187 reading specific files. This has higher priority than
9188 file-coding-system-alist.
9190 ** If you set the variable unibyte-display-via-language-environment to
9191 t, then Emacs displays non-ASCII characters are displayed by
9192 converting them to the equivalent multibyte characters according to
9193 the current language environment. As a result, they are displayed
9194 according to the current fontset.
9196 ** C-q's handling of codes in the range 0200 through 0377 is changed.
9198 The codes in the range 0200 through 0237 are inserted as one byte of
9199 that code regardless of the values of nonascii-translation-table and
9200 nonascii-insert-offset.
9202 For the codes in the range 0240 through 0377, if
9203 enable-multibyte-characters is non-nil and nonascii-translation-table
9204 nor nonascii-insert-offset can't convert them to valid multibyte
9205 characters, they are converted to Latin-1 characters.
9207 ** If you try to find a file that is not read-accessible, you now get
9208 an error, rather than an empty buffer and a warning.
9210 ** In the minibuffer history commands M-r and M-s, an upper case
9211 letter in the regular expression forces case-sensitive search.
9213 ** In the *Help* buffer, cross-references to commands and variables
9214 are inferred and hyperlinked. Use C-h m in Help mode for the relevant
9217 ** M-x apropos-command, with a prefix argument, no longer looks for
9218 user option variables--instead it looks for noninteractive functions.
9220 Meanwhile, the command apropos-variable normally searches for
9221 user option variables; with a prefix argument, it looks at
9222 all variables that have documentation.
9224 ** When you type a long line in the minibuffer, and the minibuffer
9225 shows just one line, automatically scrolling works in a special way
9226 that shows you overlap with the previous line of text. The variable
9227 minibuffer-scroll-overlap controls how many characters of overlap
9228 it should show; the default is 20.
9230 Meanwhile, Resize Minibuffer mode is still available; in that mode,
9231 the minibuffer grows taller (up to a point) as needed to show the whole
9234 ** The new command M-x customize-changed-options lets you customize
9235 all the options whose meanings or default values have changed in
9236 recent Emacs versions. You specify a previous Emacs version number as
9237 argument, and the command creates a customization buffer showing all
9238 the customizable options which were changed since that version.
9239 Newly added options are included as well.
9241 If you don't specify a particular version number argument,
9242 then the customization buffer shows all the customizable options
9243 for which Emacs versions of changes are recorded.
9245 This function is also bound to the Changed Options entry in the
9248 ** When you run M-x grep with a prefix argument, it figures out
9249 the tag around point and puts that into the default grep command.
9251 ** The new command M-* (pop-tag-mark) pops back through a history of
9252 buffer positions from which M-. or other tag-finding commands were
9255 ** The new variable comment-padding specifies the number of spaces
9256 that `comment-region' will insert before the actual text of the comment.
9259 ** In Fortran mode the characters `.', `_' and `$' now have symbol
9260 syntax, not word syntax. Fortran mode now supports `imenu' and has
9261 new commands fortran-join-line (M-^) and fortran-narrow-to-subprogram
9262 (C-x n d). M-q can be used to fill a statement or comment block
9265 ** GUD now supports jdb, the Java debugger, and pdb, the Python debugger.
9267 ** If you set the variable add-log-keep-changes-together to a non-nil
9268 value, the command `C-x 4 a' will automatically notice when you make
9269 two entries in one day for one file, and combine them.
9271 ** You can use the command M-x diary-mail-entries to mail yourself a
9272 reminder about upcoming diary entries. See the documentation string
9273 for a sample shell script for calling this function automatically
9278 *** All you need to do to enable use of the Desktop package, is to set
9279 the variable desktop-enable to t with Custom.
9281 *** Minor modes are now restored. Which minor modes are restored
9282 and how modes are restored is controlled by `desktop-minor-mode-table'.
9284 ** There is no need to do anything special, now, to enable Gnus to
9285 read and post multi-lingual articles.
9287 ** Outline mode has now support for showing hidden outlines when
9288 doing an isearch. In order for this to happen search-invisible should
9289 be set to open (the default). If an isearch match is inside a hidden
9290 outline the outline is made visible. If you continue pressing C-s and
9291 the match moves outside the formerly invisible outline, the outline is
9292 made invisible again.
9294 ** Mail reading and sending changes
9296 *** The Rmail e command now switches to displaying the whole header of
9297 the message before it lets you edit the message. This is so that any
9298 changes you make in the header will not be lost if you subsequently
9301 *** The w command in Rmail, which writes the message body into a file,
9302 now works in the summary buffer as well. (The command to delete the
9303 summary buffer is now Q.) The default file name for the w command, if
9304 the message has no subject, is stored in the variable
9305 rmail-default-body-file.
9307 *** Most of the commands and modes that operate on mail and netnews no
9308 longer depend on the value of mail-header-separator. Instead, they
9309 handle whatever separator the buffer happens to use.
9311 *** If you set mail-signature to a value which is not t, nil, or a string,
9312 it should be an expression. When you send a message, this expression
9313 is evaluated to insert the signature.
9315 *** The new Lisp library feedmail.el (version 8) enhances processing of
9316 outbound email messages. It works in coordination with other email
9317 handling packages (e.g., rmail, VM, gnus) and is responsible for
9318 putting final touches on messages and actually submitting them for
9319 transmission. Users of the emacs program "fakemail" might be
9320 especially interested in trying feedmail.
9322 feedmail is not enabled by default. See comments at the top of
9323 feedmail.el for set-up instructions. Among the bigger features
9324 provided by feedmail are:
9326 **** you can park outgoing messages into a disk-based queue and
9327 stimulate sending some or all of them later (handy for laptop users);
9328 there is also a queue for draft messages
9330 **** you can get one last look at the prepped outbound message and
9331 be prompted for confirmation
9333 **** does smart filling of address headers
9335 **** can generate a MESSAGE-ID: line and a DATE: line; the date can be
9336 the time the message was written or the time it is being sent; this
9337 can make FCC copies more closely resemble copies that recipients get
9339 **** you can specify an arbitrary function for actually transmitting
9340 the message; included in feedmail are interfaces for /bin/[r]mail,
9341 /usr/lib/sendmail, and elisp smtpmail; it's easy to write a new
9342 function for something else (10-20 lines of elisp)
9346 *** The Dired function dired-do-toggle, which toggles marked and unmarked
9347 files, is now bound to "t" instead of "T".
9349 *** dired-at-point has been added to ffap.el. It allows one to easily
9350 run Dired on the directory name at point.
9352 *** Dired has a new command: %g. It searches the contents of
9353 files in the directory and marks each file that contains a match
9354 for a specified regexp.
9358 *** New option vc-ignore-vc-files lets you turn off version control
9361 *** VC Dired has been completely rewritten. It is now much
9362 faster, especially for CVS, and works very similar to ordinary
9365 VC Dired is invoked by typing C-x v d and entering the name of the
9366 directory to display. By default, VC Dired gives you a recursive
9367 listing of all files at or below the given directory which are
9368 currently locked (for CVS, all files not up-to-date are shown).
9370 You can change the listing format by setting vc-dired-recurse to nil,
9371 then it shows only the given directory, and you may also set
9372 vc-dired-terse-display to nil, then it shows all files under version
9373 control plus the names of any subdirectories, so that you can type `i'
9374 on such lines to insert them manually, as in ordinary Dired.
9376 All Dired commands operate normally in VC Dired, except for `v', which
9377 is redefined as the version control prefix. That means you may type
9378 `v l', `v =' etc. to invoke `vc-print-log', `vc-diff' and the like on
9379 the file named in the current Dired buffer line. `v v' invokes
9380 `vc-next-action' on this file, or on all files currently marked.
9382 The new command `v t' (vc-dired-toggle-terse-mode) allows you to
9383 toggle between terse display (only locked files) and full display (all
9384 VC files plus subdirectories). There is also a special command,
9385 `* l', to mark all files currently locked.
9387 Giving a prefix argument to C-x v d now does the same thing as in
9388 ordinary Dired: it allows you to supply additional options for the ls
9389 command in the minibuffer, to fine-tune VC Dired's output.
9391 *** Under CVS, if you merge changes from the repository into a working
9392 file, and CVS detects conflicts, VC now offers to start an ediff
9393 session to resolve them.
9395 Alternatively, you can use the new command `vc-resolve-conflicts' to
9396 resolve conflicts in a file at any time. It works in any buffer that
9397 contains conflict markers as generated by rcsmerge (which is what CVS
9400 *** You can now transfer changes between branches, using the new
9401 command vc-merge (C-x v m). It is implemented for RCS and CVS. When
9402 you invoke it in a buffer under version-control, you can specify
9403 either an entire branch or a pair of versions, and the changes on that
9404 branch or between the two versions are merged into the working file.
9405 If this results in any conflicts, they may be resolved interactively,
9408 ** Changes in Font Lock
9410 *** The face and variable previously known as font-lock-reference-face
9411 are now called font-lock-constant-face to better reflect their typical
9412 use for highlighting constants and labels. (Its face properties are
9413 unchanged.) The variable font-lock-reference-face remains for now for
9414 compatibility reasons, but its value is font-lock-constant-face.
9416 ** Frame name display changes
9418 *** The command set-frame-name lets you set the name of the current
9419 frame. You can use the new command select-frame-by-name to select and
9420 raise a frame; this is mostly useful on character-only terminals, or
9421 when many frames are invisible or iconified.
9423 *** On character-only terminal (not a window system), changing the
9424 frame name is now reflected on the mode line and in the Buffers/Frames
9427 ** Comint (subshell) changes
9429 *** In Comint modes, the commands to kill, stop or interrupt a
9430 subjob now also kill pending input. This is for compatibility
9431 with ordinary shells, where the signal characters do this.
9433 *** There are new commands in Comint mode.
9435 C-c C-x fetches the "next" line from the input history;
9436 that is, the line after the last line you got.
9437 You can use this command to fetch successive lines, one by one.
9439 C-c SPC accumulates lines of input. More precisely, it arranges to
9440 send the current line together with the following line, when you send
9443 C-c C-a if repeated twice consecutively now moves to the process mark,
9444 which separates the pending input from the subprocess output and the
9445 previously sent input.
9447 C-c M-r now runs comint-previous-matching-input-from-input;
9448 it searches for a previous command, using the current pending input
9449 as the search string.
9451 *** New option compilation-scroll-output can be set to scroll
9452 automatically in compilation-mode windows.
9456 *** Multiline macros are now handled, both as they affect indentation,
9457 and as recognized syntax. New syntactic symbol cpp-macro-cont is
9458 assigned to second and subsequent lines of a multiline macro
9461 *** A new style "user" which captures all non-hook-ified
9462 (i.e. top-level) .emacs file variable settings and customizations.
9463 Style "cc-mode" is an alias for "user" and is deprecated. "gnu"
9464 style is still the default however.
9466 *** "java" style now conforms to Sun's JDK coding style.
9468 *** There are new commands c-beginning-of-defun, c-end-of-defun which
9469 are alternatives which you could bind to C-M-a and C-M-e if you prefer
9470 them. They do not have key bindings by default.
9472 *** New and improved implementations of M-a (c-beginning-of-statement)
9473 and M-e (c-end-of-statement).
9475 *** C++ namespace blocks are supported, with new syntactic symbols
9476 namespace-open, namespace-close, and innamespace.
9478 *** File local variable settings of c-file-style and c-file-offsets
9479 makes the style variables local to that buffer only.
9481 *** New indentation functions c-lineup-close-paren,
9482 c-indent-one-line-block, c-lineup-dont-change.
9484 *** Improvements (hopefully!) to the way CC Mode is loaded. You
9485 should now be able to do a (require 'cc-mode) to get the entire
9486 package loaded properly for customization in your .emacs file. A new
9487 variable c-initialize-on-load controls this and is t by default.
9489 ** Changes to hippie-expand.
9491 *** New customization variable `hippie-expand-dabbrev-skip-space'. If
9492 non-nil, trailing spaces may be included in the abbreviation to search for,
9493 which then gives the same behavior as the original `dabbrev-expand'.
9495 *** New customization variable `hippie-expand-dabbrev-as-symbol'. If
9496 non-nil, characters of syntax '_' is considered part of the word when
9497 expanding dynamically.
9499 *** New customization variable `hippie-expand-no-restriction'. If
9500 non-nil, narrowed buffers are widened before they are searched.
9502 *** New customization variable `hippie-expand-only-buffers'. If
9503 non-empty, buffers searched are restricted to the types specified in
9504 this list. Useful for example when constructing new special-purpose
9505 expansion functions with `make-hippie-expand-function'.
9507 *** Text properties of the expansion are no longer copied.
9509 ** Changes in BibTeX mode.
9511 *** Any titleword matching a regexp in the new variable
9512 bibtex-autokey-titleword-ignore (case sensitive) is ignored during
9513 automatic key generation. This replaces variable
9514 bibtex-autokey-titleword-first-ignore, which only checked for matches
9515 against the first word in the title.
9517 *** Autokey generation now uses all words from the title, not just
9518 capitalized words. To avoid conflicts with existing customizations,
9519 bibtex-autokey-titleword-ignore is set up such that words starting with
9520 lowerkey characters will still be ignored. Thus, if you want to use
9521 lowercase words from the title, you will have to overwrite the
9522 bibtex-autokey-titleword-ignore standard setting.
9524 *** Case conversion of names and title words for automatic key
9525 generation is more flexible. Variable bibtex-autokey-preserve-case is
9526 replaced by bibtex-autokey-titleword-case-convert and
9527 bibtex-autokey-name-case-convert.
9529 ** Changes in vcursor.el.
9531 *** Support for character terminals is available: there is a new keymap
9532 and the vcursor will appear as an arrow between buffer text. A
9533 variable `vcursor-interpret-input' allows input from the vcursor to be
9534 entered exactly as if typed. Numerous functions, including
9535 `vcursor-compare-windows', have been rewritten to improve consistency
9536 in the selection of windows and corresponding keymaps.
9538 *** vcursor options can now be altered with M-x customize under the
9539 Editing group once the package is loaded.
9541 *** Loading vcursor now does not define keys by default, as this is
9542 generally a bad side effect. Use M-x customize to set
9543 vcursor-key-bindings to t to restore the old behavior.
9545 *** vcursor-auto-disable can be `copy', which turns off copying from the
9546 vcursor, but doesn't disable it, after any non-vcursor command.
9550 *** You can now spell check comments and strings in the current
9551 buffer with M-x ispell-comments-and-strings. Comments and strings
9552 are identified by syntax tables in effect.
9554 *** Generic region skipping implemented.
9555 A single buffer can be broken into a number of regions where text will
9556 and will not be checked. The definitions of the regions can be user
9557 defined. New applications and improvements made available by this
9560 o URLs are automatically skipped
9561 o EMail message checking is vastly improved.
9563 *** Ispell can highlight the erroneous word even on non-window terminals.
9565 ** Changes to RefTeX mode
9567 RefTeX has been updated in order to make it more usable with very
9568 large projects (like a several volume math book). The parser has been
9569 re-written from scratch. To get maximum speed from RefTeX, check the
9570 section `Optimizations' in the manual.
9572 *** New recursive parser.
9574 The old version of RefTeX created a single large buffer containing the
9575 entire multifile document in order to parse the document. The new
9576 recursive parser scans the individual files.
9578 *** Parsing only part of a document.
9580 Reparsing of changed document parts can now be made faster by enabling
9581 partial scans. To use this feature, read the documentation string of
9582 the variable `reftex-enable-partial-scans' and set the variable to t.
9584 (setq reftex-enable-partial-scans t)
9586 *** Storing parsing information in a file.
9588 This can improve startup times considerably. To turn it on, use
9590 (setq reftex-save-parse-info t)
9592 *** Using multiple selection buffers
9594 If the creation of label selection buffers is too slow (this happens
9595 for large documents), you can reuse these buffers by setting
9597 (setq reftex-use-multiple-selection-buffers t)
9599 *** References to external documents.
9601 The LaTeX package `xr' allows to cross-reference labels in external
9602 documents. RefTeX can provide information about the external
9603 documents as well. To use this feature, set up the \externaldocument
9604 macros required by the `xr' package and rescan the document with
9605 RefTeX. The external labels can then be accessed with the `x' key in
9606 the selection buffer provided by `reftex-reference' (bound to `C-c )').
9607 The `x' key also works in the table of contents buffer.
9609 *** Many more labeled LaTeX environments are recognized by default.
9611 The built-in command list now covers all the standard LaTeX commands,
9612 and all of the major packages included in the LaTeX distribution.
9614 Also, RefTeX now understands the \appendix macro and changes
9615 the enumeration of sections in the *toc* buffer accordingly.
9617 *** Mouse support for selection and *toc* buffers
9619 The mouse can now be used to select items in the selection and *toc*
9620 buffers. See also the new option `reftex-highlight-selection'.
9622 *** New keymaps for selection and table of contents modes.
9624 The selection processes for labels and citation keys, and the table of
9625 contents buffer now have their own keymaps: `reftex-select-label-map',
9626 `reftex-select-bib-map', `reftex-toc-map'. The selection processes
9627 have a number of new keys predefined. In particular, TAB lets you
9628 enter a label with completion. Check the on-the-fly help (press `?'
9629 at the selection prompt) or read the Info documentation to find out
9632 *** Support for the varioref package
9634 The `v' key in the label selection buffer toggles \ref versus \vref.
9638 Three new hooks can be used to redefine the way labels, references,
9639 and citations are created. These hooks are
9640 `reftex-format-label-function', `reftex-format-ref-function',
9641 `reftex-format-cite-function'.
9643 *** Citations outside LaTeX
9645 The command `reftex-citation' may also be used outside LaTeX (e.g. in
9646 a mail buffer). See the Info documentation for details.
9648 *** Short context is no longer fontified.
9650 The short context in the label menu no longer copies the
9651 fontification from the text in the buffer. If you prefer it to be
9654 (setq reftex-refontify-context t)
9656 ** file-cache-minibuffer-complete now accepts a prefix argument.
9657 With a prefix argument, it does not try to do completion of
9658 the file name within its directory; it only checks for other
9659 directories that contain the same file name.
9661 Thus, given the file name Makefile, and assuming that a file
9662 Makefile.in exists in the same directory, ordinary
9663 file-cache-minibuffer-complete will try to complete Makefile to
9664 Makefile.in and will therefore never look for other directories that
9665 have Makefile. A prefix argument tells it not to look for longer
9666 names such as Makefile.in, so that instead it will look for other
9667 directories--just as if the name were already complete in its present
9670 ** New modes and packages
9672 *** There is a new alternative major mode for Perl, Cperl mode.
9673 It has many more features than Perl mode, and some people prefer
9674 it, but some do not.
9676 *** There is a new major mode, M-x vhdl-mode, for editing files of VHDL
9679 *** M-x which-function-mode enables a minor mode that displays the
9680 current function name continuously in the mode line, as you move
9683 Which Function mode is effective in major modes which support Imenu.
9685 *** Gametree is a major mode for editing game analysis trees. The author
9686 uses it for keeping notes about his postal Chess games, but it should
9687 be helpful for other two-player games as well, as long as they have an
9688 established system of notation similar to Chess.
9690 *** The new minor mode checkdoc-minor-mode provides Emacs Lisp
9691 documentation string checking for style and spelling. The style
9692 guidelines are found in the Emacs Lisp programming manual.
9694 *** The net-utils package makes some common networking features
9695 available in Emacs. Some of these functions are wrappers around
9696 system utilities (ping, nslookup, etc); others are implementations of
9697 simple protocols (finger, whois) in Emacs Lisp. There are also
9698 functions to make simple connections to TCP/IP ports for debugging and
9701 *** highlight-changes-mode is a minor mode that uses colors to
9702 identify recently changed parts of the buffer text.
9704 *** The new package `midnight' lets you specify things to be done
9705 within Emacs at midnight--by default, kill buffers that you have not
9706 used in a considerable time. To use this feature, customize
9707 the user option `midnight-mode' to t.
9709 *** The file generic-x.el defines a number of simple major modes.
9711 apache-generic-mode: For Apache and NCSA httpd configuration files
9712 samba-generic-mode: Samba configuration files
9713 fvwm-generic-mode: For fvwm initialization files
9714 x-resource-generic-mode: For X resource files
9715 hosts-generic-mode: For hosts files (.rhosts, /etc/hosts, etc)
9716 mailagent-rules-generic-mode: For mailagent .rules files
9717 javascript-generic-mode: For JavaScript files
9718 vrml-generic-mode: For VRML files
9719 java-manifest-generic-mode: For Java MANIFEST files
9720 java-properties-generic-mode: For Java property files
9721 mailrc-generic-mode: For .mailrc files
9723 Platform-specific modes:
9725 prototype-generic-mode: For Solaris/Sys V prototype files
9726 pkginfo-generic-mode: For Solaris/Sys V pkginfo files
9727 alias-generic-mode: For C shell alias files
9728 inf-generic-mode: For MS-Windows INF files
9729 ini-generic-mode: For MS-Windows INI files
9730 reg-generic-mode: For MS-Windows Registry files
9731 bat-generic-mode: For MS-Windows BAT scripts
9732 rc-generic-mode: For MS-Windows Resource files
9733 rul-generic-mode: For InstallShield scripts
9735 * Lisp changes in Emacs 20.3 since the Emacs Lisp Manual was published
9737 ** If you want a Lisp file to be read in unibyte mode,
9738 use -*-unibyte: t;-*- on its first line.
9739 That will force Emacs to read that file in unibyte mode.
9740 Otherwise, the file will be loaded and byte-compiled in multibyte mode.
9742 Thus, each lisp file is read in a consistent way regardless of whether
9743 you started Emacs with --unibyte, so that a Lisp program gives
9744 consistent results regardless of how Emacs was started.
9746 ** The new function assoc-default is useful for searching an alist,
9747 and using a default value if the key is not found there. You can
9748 specify a comparison predicate, so this function is useful for
9749 searching comparing a string against an alist of regular expressions.
9751 ** The functions unibyte-char-to-multibyte and
9752 multibyte-char-to-unibyte convert between unibyte and multibyte
9753 character codes, in a way that is appropriate for the current language
9756 ** The functions read-event, read-char and read-char-exclusive now
9757 take two optional arguments. PROMPT, if non-nil, specifies a prompt
9758 string. SUPPRESS-INPUT-METHOD, if non-nil, says to disable the
9759 current input method for reading this one event.
9761 ** Two new variables print-escape-nonascii and print-escape-multibyte
9762 now control whether to output certain characters as
9763 backslash-sequences. print-escape-nonascii applies to single-byte
9764 non-ASCII characters; print-escape-multibyte applies to multibyte
9765 characters. Both of these variables are used only when printing
9766 in readable fashion (prin1 uses them, princ does not).
9768 * Lisp changes in Emacs 20.3 before the Emacs Lisp Manual was published
9770 ** Compiled Emacs Lisp files made with the modified "MBSK" version
9771 of Emacs 20.2 do not work in Emacs 20.3.
9773 ** Buffer positions are now measured in characters, as they were
9774 in Emacs 19 and before. This means that (forward-char 1)
9775 always increases point by 1.
9777 The function chars-in-region now just subtracts its arguments. It is
9778 considered obsolete. The function char-boundary-p has been deleted.
9780 See below for additional changes relating to multibyte characters.
9782 ** defcustom, defface and defgroup now accept the keyword `:version'.
9783 Use this to specify in which version of Emacs a certain variable's
9784 default value changed. For example,
9786 (defcustom foo-max 34 "*Maximum number of foo's allowed."
9791 (defgroup foo-group nil "The foo group."
9794 If an entire new group is added or the variables in it have the
9795 default values changed, then just add a `:version' to that group. It
9796 is recommended that new packages added to the distribution contain a
9797 `:version' in the top level group.
9799 This information is used to control the customize-changed-options command.
9801 ** It is now an error to change the value of a symbol whose name
9802 starts with a colon--if it is interned in the standard obarray.
9804 However, setting such a symbol to its proper value, which is that
9805 symbol itself, is not an error. This is for the sake of programs that
9806 support previous Emacs versions by explicitly setting these variables
9809 If you set the variable keyword-symbols-constant-flag to nil,
9810 this error is suppressed, and you can set these symbols to any
9813 ** There is a new debugger command, R.
9814 It evaluates an expression like e, but saves the result
9815 in the buffer *Debugger-record*.
9817 ** Frame-local variables.
9819 You can now make a variable local to various frames. To do this, call
9820 the function make-variable-frame-local; this enables frames to have
9821 local bindings for that variable.
9823 These frame-local bindings are actually frame parameters: you create a
9824 frame-local binding in a specific frame by calling
9825 modify-frame-parameters and specifying the variable name as the
9828 Buffer-local bindings take precedence over frame-local bindings.
9829 Thus, if the current buffer has a buffer-local binding, that binding is
9830 active; otherwise, if the selected frame has a frame-local binding,
9831 that binding is active; otherwise, the default binding is active.
9833 It would not be hard to implement window-local bindings, but it is not
9834 clear that this would be very useful; windows tend to come and go in a
9835 very transitory fashion, so that trying to produce any specific effect
9836 through a window-local binding would not be very robust.
9838 ** `sregexq' and `sregex' are two new functions for constructing
9839 "symbolic regular expressions." These are Lisp expressions that, when
9840 evaluated, yield conventional string-based regexps. The symbolic form
9841 makes it easier to construct, read, and maintain complex patterns.
9842 See the documentation in sregex.el.
9844 ** parse-partial-sexp's return value has an additional element which
9845 is used to pass information along if you pass it to another call to
9846 parse-partial-sexp, starting its scan where the first call ended.
9847 The contents of this field are not yet finalized.
9849 ** eval-region now accepts a fourth optional argument READ-FUNCTION.
9850 If it is non-nil, that function is used instead of `read'.
9852 ** unload-feature by default removes the feature's functions from
9853 known hooks to avoid trouble, but a package providing FEATURE can
9854 define a hook FEATURE-unload-hook to be run by unload-feature instead.
9856 ** read-from-minibuffer no longer returns the argument DEFAULT-VALUE
9857 when the user enters empty input. It now returns the null string, as
9858 it did in Emacs 19. The default value is made available in the
9859 history via M-n, but it is not applied here as a default.
9861 The other, more specialized minibuffer-reading functions continue to
9862 return the default value (not the null string) when the user enters
9865 ** The new variable read-buffer-function controls which routine to use
9866 for selecting buffers. For example, if you set this variable to
9867 `iswitchb-read-buffer', iswitchb will be used to read buffer names.
9868 Other functions can also be used if they accept the same arguments as
9869 `read-buffer' and return the selected buffer name as a string.
9871 ** The new function read-passwd reads a password from the terminal,
9872 echoing a period for each character typed. It takes three arguments:
9873 a prompt string, a flag which says "read it twice to make sure", and a
9874 default password to use if the user enters nothing.
9876 ** The variable fill-nobreak-predicate gives major modes a way to
9877 specify not to break a line at certain places. Its value is a
9878 function which is called with no arguments, with point located at the
9879 place where a break is being considered. If the function returns
9880 non-nil, then the line won't be broken there.
9882 ** window-end now takes an optional second argument, UPDATE.
9883 If this is non-nil, then the function always returns an accurate
9884 up-to-date value for the buffer position corresponding to the
9885 end of the window, even if this requires computation.
9887 ** other-buffer now takes an optional argument FRAME
9888 which specifies which frame's buffer list to use.
9889 If it is nil, that means use the selected frame's buffer list.
9891 ** The new variable buffer-display-time, always local in every buffer,
9892 holds the value of (current-time) as of the last time that a window
9893 was directed to display this buffer.
9895 ** It is now meaningful to compare two window-configuration objects
9896 with `equal'. Two window-configuration objects are equal if they
9897 describe equivalent arrangements of windows, in the same frame--in
9898 other words, if they would give the same results if passed to
9899 set-window-configuration.
9901 ** compare-window-configurations is a new function that compares two
9902 window configurations loosely. It ignores differences in saved buffer
9903 positions and scrolling, and considers only the structure and sizes of
9904 windows and the choice of buffers to display.
9906 ** The variable minor-mode-overriding-map-alist allows major modes to
9907 override the key bindings of a minor mode. The elements of this alist
9908 look like the elements of minor-mode-map-alist: (VARIABLE . KEYMAP).
9910 If the VARIABLE in an element of minor-mode-overriding-map-alist has a
9911 non-nil value, the paired KEYMAP is active, and totally overrides the
9912 map (if any) specified for the same variable in minor-mode-map-alist.
9914 minor-mode-overriding-map-alist is automatically local in all buffers,
9915 and it is meant to be set by major modes.
9917 ** The function match-string-no-properties is like match-string
9918 except that it discards all text properties from the result.
9920 ** The function load-average now accepts an optional argument
9921 USE-FLOATS. If it is non-nil, the load average values are returned as
9922 floating point numbers, rather than as integers to be divided by 100.
9924 ** The new variable temporary-file-directory specifies the directory
9925 to use for creating temporary files. The default value is determined
9926 in a reasonable way for your operating system; on GNU and Unix systems
9927 it is based on the TMP and TMPDIR environment variables.
9931 *** easymenu.el now uses the new menu item format and supports the
9932 keywords :visible and :filter. The existing keyword :keys is now
9935 The variable `easy-menu-precalculate-equivalent-keybindings' controls
9936 a new feature which calculates keyboard equivalents for the menu when
9937 you define the menu. The default is t. If you rarely use menus, you
9938 can set the variable to nil to disable this precalculation feature;
9939 then the calculation is done only if you use the menu bar.
9941 *** A new format for menu items is supported.
9943 In a keymap, a key binding that has the format
9944 (STRING . REAL-BINDING) or (STRING HELP-STRING . REAL-BINDING)
9945 defines a menu item. Now a menu item definition may also be a list that
9946 starts with the symbol `menu-item'.
9949 (menu-item ITEM-NAME) or
9950 (menu-item ITEM-NAME REAL-BINDING . ITEM-PROPERTY-LIST)
9951 where ITEM-NAME is an expression which evaluates to the menu item
9952 string, and ITEM-PROPERTY-LIST has the form of a property list.
9953 The supported properties include
9955 :enable FORM Evaluate FORM to determine whether the
9957 :visible FORM Evaluate FORM to determine whether the
9958 item should appear in the menu.
9960 FILTER-FN is a function of one argument,
9961 which will be REAL-BINDING.
9962 It should return a binding to use instead.
9964 DESCRIPTION is a string that describes an equivalent keyboard
9965 binding for REAL-BINDING. DESCRIPTION is expanded with
9966 `substitute-command-keys' before it is used.
9967 :key-sequence KEY-SEQUENCE
9968 KEY-SEQUENCE is a key-sequence for an equivalent
9971 This means that the command normally has no
9972 keyboard equivalent.
9973 :help HELP HELP is the extra help string (not currently used).
9974 :button (TYPE . SELECTED)
9975 TYPE is :toggle or :radio.
9976 SELECTED is a form, to be evaluated, and its
9977 value says whether this button is currently selected.
9979 Buttons are at the moment only simulated by prefixes in the menu.
9980 Eventually ordinary X-buttons may be supported.
9982 (menu-item ITEM-NAME) defines unselectable item.
9986 *** The new event type `mouse-wheel' is generated by a wheel on a
9987 mouse (such as the MS Intellimouse). The event contains a delta that
9988 corresponds to the amount and direction that the wheel is rotated,
9989 which is typically used to implement a scroll or zoom. The format is:
9991 (mouse-wheel POSITION DELTA)
9993 where POSITION is a list describing the position of the event in the
9994 same format as a mouse-click event, and DELTA is a signed number
9995 indicating the number of increments by which the wheel was rotated. A
9996 negative DELTA indicates that the wheel was rotated backwards, towards
9997 the user, and a positive DELTA indicates that the wheel was rotated
9998 forward, away from the user.
10000 As of now, this event type is generated only on MS Windows.
10002 *** The new event type `drag-n-drop' is generated when a group of
10003 files is selected in an application outside of Emacs, and then dragged
10004 and dropped onto an Emacs frame. The event contains a list of
10005 filenames that were dragged and dropped, which are then typically
10006 loaded into Emacs. The format is:
10008 (drag-n-drop POSITION FILES)
10010 where POSITION is a list describing the position of the event in the
10011 same format as a mouse-click event, and FILES is the list of filenames
10012 that were dragged and dropped.
10014 As of now, this event type is generated only on MS Windows.
10016 ** Changes relating to multibyte characters.
10018 *** The variable enable-multibyte-characters is now read-only;
10019 any attempt to set it directly signals an error. The only way
10020 to change this value in an existing buffer is with set-buffer-multibyte.
10022 *** In a string constant, `\ ' now stands for "nothing at all". You
10023 can use it to terminate a hex escape which is followed by a character
10024 that could otherwise be read as part of the hex escape.
10026 *** String indices are now measured in characters, as they were
10027 in Emacs 19 and before.
10029 The function chars-in-string has been deleted.
10030 The function concat-chars has been renamed to `string'.
10032 *** The function set-buffer-multibyte sets the flag in the current
10033 buffer that says whether the buffer uses multibyte representation or
10034 unibyte representation. If the argument is nil, it selects unibyte
10035 representation. Otherwise it selects multibyte representation.
10037 This function does not change the contents of the buffer, viewed
10038 as a sequence of bytes. However, it does change the contents
10039 viewed as characters; a sequence of two bytes which is treated as
10040 one character when the buffer uses multibyte representation
10041 will count as two characters using unibyte representation.
10043 This function sets enable-multibyte-characters to record which
10044 representation is in use. It also adjusts various data in the buffer
10045 (including its markers, overlays and text properties) so that they are
10046 consistent with the new representation.
10048 *** string-make-multibyte takes a string and converts it to multibyte
10049 representation. Most of the time, you don't need to care
10050 about the representation, because Emacs converts when necessary;
10051 however, it makes a difference when you compare strings.
10053 The conversion of non-ASCII characters works by adding the value of
10054 nonascii-insert-offset to each character, or by translating them
10055 using the table nonascii-translation-table.
10057 *** string-make-unibyte takes a string and converts it to unibyte
10058 representation. Most of the time, you don't need to care about the
10059 representation, but it makes a difference when you compare strings.
10061 The conversion from multibyte to unibyte representation
10062 loses information; the only time Emacs performs it automatically
10063 is when inserting a multibyte string into a unibyte buffer.
10065 *** string-as-multibyte takes a string, and returns another string
10066 which contains the same bytes, but treats them as multibyte.
10068 *** string-as-unibyte takes a string, and returns another string
10069 which contains the same bytes, but treats them as unibyte.
10071 *** The new function compare-strings lets you compare
10072 portions of two strings. Unibyte strings are converted to multibyte,
10073 so that a unibyte string can match a multibyte string.
10074 You can specify whether to ignore case or not.
10076 *** assoc-ignore-case now uses compare-strings so that
10077 it can treat unibyte and multibyte strings as equal.
10079 *** Regular expression operations and buffer string searches now
10080 convert the search pattern to multibyte or unibyte to accord with the
10081 buffer or string being searched.
10083 One consequence is that you cannot always use \200-\377 inside of
10084 [...] to match all non-ASCII characters. This does still work when
10085 searching or matching a unibyte buffer or string, but not when
10086 searching or matching a multibyte string. Unfortunately, there is no
10087 obvious choice of syntax to use within [...] for that job. But, what
10088 you want is just to match all non-ASCII characters, the regular
10089 expression [^\0-\177] works for it.
10091 *** Structure of coding system changed.
10093 All coding systems (including aliases and subsidiaries) are named
10094 by symbols; the symbol's `coding-system' property is a vector
10095 which defines the coding system. Aliases share the same vector
10096 as the principal name, so that altering the contents of this
10097 vector affects the principal name and its aliases. You can define
10098 your own alias name of a coding system by the function
10099 define-coding-system-alias.
10101 The coding system definition includes a property list of its own. Use
10102 the new functions `coding-system-get' and `coding-system-put' to
10103 access such coding system properties as post-read-conversion,
10104 pre-write-conversion, character-translation-table-for-decode,
10105 character-translation-table-for-encode, mime-charset, and
10106 safe-charsets. For instance, (coding-system-get 'iso-latin-1
10107 'mime-charset) gives the corresponding MIME-charset parameter
10110 Among the coding system properties listed above, safe-charsets is new.
10111 The value of this property is a list of character sets which this
10112 coding system can correctly encode and decode. For instance:
10113 (coding-system-get 'iso-latin-1 'safe-charsets) => (ascii latin-iso8859-1)
10115 Here, "correctly encode" means that the encoded character sets can
10116 also be handled safely by systems other than Emacs as far as they
10117 are capable of that coding system. Though, Emacs itself can encode
10118 the other character sets and read it back correctly.
10120 *** The new function select-safe-coding-system can be used to find a
10121 proper coding system for encoding the specified region or string.
10122 This function requires a user interaction.
10124 *** The new functions find-coding-systems-region and
10125 find-coding-systems-string are helper functions used by
10126 select-safe-coding-system. They return a list of all proper coding
10127 systems to encode a text in some region or string. If you don't want
10128 a user interaction, use one of these functions instead of
10129 select-safe-coding-system.
10131 *** The explicit encoding and decoding functions, such as
10132 decode-coding-region and encode-coding-string, now set
10133 last-coding-system-used to reflect the actual way encoding or decoding
10136 *** The new function detect-coding-with-language-environment can be
10137 used to detect a coding system of text according to priorities of
10138 coding systems used by some specific language environment.
10140 *** The functions detect-coding-region and detect-coding-string always
10141 return a list if the arg HIGHEST is nil. Thus, if only ASCII
10142 characters are found, they now return a list of single element
10143 `undecided' or its subsidiaries.
10145 *** The new functions coding-system-change-eol-conversion and
10146 coding-system-change-text-conversion can be used to get a different
10147 coding system than what specified only in how end-of-line or text is
10150 *** The new function set-selection-coding-system can be used to set a
10151 coding system for communicating with other X clients.
10153 *** The function `map-char-table' now passes as argument only valid
10154 character codes, plus generic characters that stand for entire
10155 character sets or entire subrows of a character set. In other words,
10156 each time `map-char-table' calls its FUNCTION argument, the key value
10157 either will be a valid individual character code, or will stand for a
10158 range of characters.
10160 *** The new function `char-valid-p' can be used for checking whether a
10161 Lisp object is a valid character code or not.
10163 *** The new function `charset-after' returns a charset of a character
10164 in the current buffer at position POS.
10166 *** Input methods are now implemented using the variable
10167 input-method-function. If this is non-nil, its value should be a
10168 function; then, whenever Emacs reads an input event that is a printing
10169 character with no modifier bits, it calls that function, passing the
10170 event as an argument. Often this function will read more input, first
10171 binding input-method-function to nil.
10173 The return value should be a list of the events resulting from input
10174 method processing. These events will be processed sequentially as
10175 input, before resorting to unread-command-events. Events returned by
10176 the input method function are not passed to the input method function,
10177 not even if they are printing characters with no modifier bits.
10179 The input method function is not called when reading the second and
10180 subsequent events of a key sequence.
10182 *** You can customize any language environment by using
10183 set-language-environment-hook and exit-language-environment-hook.
10185 The hook `exit-language-environment-hook' should be used to undo
10186 customizations that you made with set-language-environment-hook. For
10187 instance, if you set up a special key binding for a specific language
10188 environment by set-language-environment-hook, you should set up
10189 exit-language-environment-hook to restore the normal key binding.
10191 * Changes in Emacs 20.1
10193 ** Emacs has a new facility for customization of its many user
10194 options. It is called M-x customize. With this facility you can look
10195 at the many user options in an organized way; they are grouped into a
10198 M-x customize also knows what sorts of values are legitimate for each
10199 user option and ensures that you don't use invalid values.
10201 With M-x customize, you can set options either for the present Emacs
10202 session or permanently. (Permanent settings are stored automatically
10203 in your .emacs file.)
10205 ** Scroll bars are now on the left side of the window.
10206 You can change this with M-x customize-option scroll-bar-mode.
10208 ** The mode line no longer includes the string `Emacs'.
10209 This makes more space in the mode line for other information.
10211 ** When you select a region with the mouse, it is highlighted
10212 immediately afterward. At that time, if you type the DELETE key, it
10215 The BACKSPACE key, and the ASCII character DEL, do not do this; they
10216 delete the character before point, as usual.
10218 ** In an incremental search the whole current match is highlighted
10219 on terminals which support this. (You can disable this feature
10220 by setting search-highlight to nil.)
10222 ** In the minibuffer, in some cases, you can now use M-n to
10223 insert the default value into the minibuffer as text. In effect,
10224 the default value (if the minibuffer routines know it) is tacked
10225 onto the history "in the future". (The more normal use of the
10226 history list is to use M-p to insert minibuffer input used in the
10229 ** In Text mode, now only blank lines separate paragraphs.
10230 This makes it possible to get the full benefit of Adaptive Fill mode
10231 in Text mode, and other modes derived from it (such as Mail mode).
10232 TAB in Text mode now runs the command indent-relative; this
10233 makes a practical difference only when you use indented paragraphs.
10235 As a result, the old Indented Text mode is now identical to Text mode,
10236 and is an alias for it.
10238 If you want spaces at the beginning of a line to start a paragraph,
10239 use the new mode, Paragraph Indent Text mode.
10241 ** Scrolling changes
10243 *** Scroll commands to scroll a whole screen now preserve the screen
10244 position of the cursor, if scroll-preserve-screen-position is non-nil.
10246 In this mode, if you scroll several screens back and forth, finishing
10247 on the same screen where you started, the cursor goes back to the line
10250 *** If you set scroll-conservatively to a small number, then when you
10251 move point a short distance off the screen, Emacs will scroll the
10252 screen just far enough to bring point back on screen, provided that
10253 does not exceed `scroll-conservatively' lines.
10255 *** The new variable scroll-margin says how close point can come to the
10256 top or bottom of a window. It is a number of screen lines; if point
10257 comes within that many lines of the top or bottom of the window, Emacs
10258 recenters the window.
10260 ** International character set support (MULE)
10262 Emacs now supports a wide variety of international character sets,
10263 including European variants of the Latin alphabet, as well as Chinese,
10264 Devanagari (Hindi and Marathi), Ethiopian, Greek, IPA, Japanese,
10265 Korean, Lao, Russian, Thai, Tibetan, and Vietnamese scripts. These
10266 features have been merged from the modified version of Emacs known as
10267 MULE (for "MULti-lingual Enhancement to GNU Emacs")
10269 Users of these scripts have established many more-or-less standard
10270 coding systems for storing files. Emacs uses a single multibyte
10271 character encoding within Emacs buffers; it can translate from a wide
10272 variety of coding systems when reading a file and can translate back
10273 into any of these coding systems when saving a file.
10275 Keyboards, even in the countries where these character sets are used,
10276 generally don't have keys for all the characters in them. So Emacs
10277 supports various "input methods", typically one for each script or
10278 language, to make it possible to type them.
10280 The Emacs internal multibyte encoding represents a non-ASCII
10281 character as a sequence of bytes in the range 0200 through 0377.
10283 The new prefix key C-x RET is used for commands that pertain
10284 to multibyte characters, coding systems, and input methods.
10286 You can disable multibyte character support as follows:
10288 (setq-default enable-multibyte-characters nil)
10290 Calling the function standard-display-european turns off multibyte
10291 characters, unless you specify a non-nil value for the second
10292 argument, AUTO. This provides compatibility for people who are
10293 already using standard-display-european to continue using unibyte
10294 characters for their work until they want to change.
10298 An input method is a kind of character conversion which is designed
10299 specifically for interactive input. In Emacs, typically each language
10300 has its own input method (though sometimes several languages which use
10301 the same characters can share one input method). Some languages
10302 support several input methods.
10304 The simplest kind of input method works by mapping ASCII letters into
10305 another alphabet. This is how the Greek and Russian input methods
10308 A more powerful technique is composition: converting sequences of
10309 characters into one letter. Many European input methods use
10310 composition to produce a single non-ASCII letter from a sequence which
10311 consists of a letter followed by diacritics. For example, a' is one
10312 sequence of two characters that might be converted into a single
10315 The input methods for syllabic scripts typically use mapping followed
10316 by conversion. The input methods for Thai and Korean work this way.
10317 First, letters are mapped into symbols for particular sounds or tone
10318 marks; then, sequences of these which make up a whole syllable are
10319 mapped into one syllable sign--most often a "composite character".
10321 None of these methods works very well for Chinese and Japanese, so
10322 they are handled specially. First you input a whole word using
10323 phonetic spelling; then, after the word is in the buffer, Emacs
10324 converts it into one or more characters using a large dictionary.
10326 Since there is more than one way to represent a phonetically spelled
10327 word using Chinese characters, Emacs can only guess which one to use;
10328 typically these input methods give you a way to say "guess again" if
10329 the first guess is wrong.
10331 *** The command C-x RET m (toggle-enable-multibyte-characters)
10332 turns multibyte character support on or off for the current buffer.
10334 If multibyte character support is turned off in a buffer, then each
10335 byte is a single character, even codes 0200 through 0377--exactly as
10336 they did in Emacs 19.34. This includes the features for support for
10337 the European characters, ISO Latin-1 and ISO Latin-2.
10339 However, there is no need to turn off multibyte character support to
10340 use ISO Latin-1 or ISO Latin-2; the Emacs multibyte character set
10341 includes all the characters in these character sets, and Emacs can
10342 translate automatically to and from either one.
10344 *** Visiting a file in unibyte mode.
10346 Turning off multibyte character support in the buffer after visiting a
10347 file with multibyte code conversion will display the multibyte
10348 sequences already in the buffer, byte by byte. This is probably not
10351 If you want to edit a file of unibyte characters (Latin-1, for
10352 example), you can do it by specifying `no-conversion' as the coding
10353 system when reading the file. This coding system also turns off
10354 multibyte characters in that buffer.
10356 If you turn off multibyte character support entirely, this turns off
10357 character conversion as well.
10359 *** Displaying international characters on X Windows.
10361 A font for X typically displays just one alphabet or script.
10362 Therefore, displaying the entire range of characters Emacs supports
10363 requires using many fonts.
10365 Therefore, Emacs now supports "fontsets". Each fontset is a
10366 collection of fonts, each assigned to a range of character codes.
10368 A fontset has a name, like a font. Individual fonts are defined by
10369 the X server; fontsets are defined within Emacs itself. But once you
10370 have defined a fontset, you can use it in a face or a frame just as
10371 you would use a font.
10373 If a fontset specifies no font for a certain character, or if it
10374 specifies a font that does not exist on your system, then it cannot
10375 display that character. It will display an empty box instead.
10377 The fontset height and width are determined by the ASCII characters
10378 (that is, by the font in the fontset which is used for ASCII
10381 *** Defining fontsets.
10383 Emacs does not use any fontset by default. Its default font is still
10384 chosen as in previous versions. You can tell Emacs to use a fontset
10385 with the `-fn' option or the `Font' X resource.
10387 Emacs creates a standard fontset automatically according to the value
10388 of standard-fontset-spec. This fontset's short name is
10389 `fontset-standard'. Bold, italic, and bold-italic variants of the
10390 standard fontset are created automatically.
10392 If you specify a default ASCII font with the `Font' resource or `-fn'
10393 argument, a fontset is generated from it. This works by replacing the
10394 FOUNDARY, FAMILY, ADD_STYLE, and AVERAGE_WIDTH fields of the font name
10395 with `*' then using this to specify a fontset. This fontset's short
10396 name is `fontset-startup'.
10398 Emacs checks resources of the form Fontset-N where N is 0, 1, 2...
10399 The resource value should have this form:
10400 FONTSET-NAME, [CHARSET-NAME:FONT-NAME]...
10401 FONTSET-NAME should have the form of a standard X font name, except:
10402 * most fields should be just the wild card "*".
10403 * the CHARSET_REGISTRY field should be "fontset"
10404 * the CHARSET_ENCODING field can be any nickname of the fontset.
10405 The construct CHARSET-NAME:FONT-NAME can be repeated any number
10406 of times; each time specifies the font for one character set.
10407 CHARSET-NAME should be the name of a character set, and FONT-NAME
10408 should specify an actual font to use for that character set.
10410 Each of these fontsets has an alias which is made from the
10411 last two font name fields, CHARSET_REGISTRY and CHARSET_ENCODING.
10412 You can refer to the fontset by that alias or by its full name.
10414 For any character sets that you don't mention, Emacs tries to choose a
10415 font by substituting into FONTSET-NAME. For instance, with the
10416 following resource,
10417 Emacs*Fontset-0: -*-fixed-medium-r-normal-*-24-*-*-*-*-*-fontset-24
10418 the font for ASCII is generated as below:
10419 -*-fixed-medium-r-normal-*-24-*-ISO8859-1
10420 Here is the substitution rule:
10421 Change CHARSET_REGISTRY and CHARSET_ENCODING to that of the charset
10422 defined in the variable x-charset-registries. For instance, ASCII has
10423 the entry (ascii . "ISO8859-1") in this variable. Then, reduce
10424 sequences of wild cards -*-...-*- with a single wildcard -*-.
10425 (This is to prevent use of auto-scaled fonts.)
10427 The function which processes the fontset resource value to create the
10428 fontset is called create-fontset-from-fontset-spec. You can also call
10429 that function explicitly to create a fontset.
10431 With the X resource Emacs.Font, you can specify a fontset name just
10432 like an actual font name. But be careful not to specify a fontset
10433 name in a wildcard resource like Emacs*Font--that tries to specify the
10434 fontset for other purposes including menus, and they cannot handle
10437 *** The command M-x set-language-environment sets certain global Emacs
10438 defaults for a particular choice of language.
10440 Selecting a language environment typically specifies a default input
10441 method and which coding systems to recognize automatically when
10442 visiting files. However, it does not try to reread files you have
10443 already visited; the text in those buffers is not affected. The
10444 language environment may also specify a default choice of coding
10445 system for new files that you create.
10447 It makes no difference which buffer is current when you use
10448 set-language-environment, because these defaults apply globally to the
10449 whole Emacs session.
10451 For example, M-x set-language-environment RET Latin-1 RET
10452 chooses the Latin-1 character set. In the .emacs file, you can do this
10453 with (set-language-environment "Latin-1").
10455 *** The command C-x RET f (set-buffer-file-coding-system)
10456 specifies the file coding system for the current buffer. This
10457 specifies what sort of character code translation to do when saving
10458 the file. As an argument, you must specify the name of one of the
10459 coding systems that Emacs supports.
10461 *** The command C-x RET c (universal-coding-system-argument)
10462 lets you specify a coding system when you read or write a file.
10463 This command uses the minibuffer to read a coding system name.
10464 After you exit the minibuffer, the specified coding system
10465 is used for *the immediately following command*.
10467 So if the immediately following command is a command to read or
10468 write a file, it uses the specified coding system for that file.
10470 If the immediately following command does not use the coding system,
10471 then C-x RET c ultimately has no effect.
10473 For example, C-x RET c iso-8859-1 RET C-x C-f temp RET
10474 visits the file `temp' treating it as ISO Latin-1.
10476 *** You can specify the coding system for a file using the -*-
10477 construct. Include `coding: CODINGSYSTEM;' inside the -*-...-*-
10478 to specify use of coding system CODINGSYSTEM. You can also
10479 specify the coding system in a local variable list at the end
10482 *** The command C-x RET t (set-terminal-coding-system) specifies
10483 the coding system for terminal output. If you specify a character
10484 code for terminal output, all characters output to the terminal are
10485 translated into that character code.
10487 This feature is useful for certain character-only terminals built in
10488 various countries to support the languages of those countries.
10490 By default, output to the terminal is not translated at all.
10492 *** The command C-x RET k (set-keyboard-coding-system) specifies
10493 the coding system for keyboard input.
10495 Character code translation of keyboard input is useful for terminals
10496 with keys that send non-ASCII graphic characters--for example,
10497 some terminals designed for ISO Latin-1 or subsets of it.
10499 By default, keyboard input is not translated at all.
10501 Character code translation of keyboard input is similar to using an
10502 input method, in that both define sequences of keyboard input that
10503 translate into single characters. However, input methods are designed
10504 to be convenient for interactive use, while the code translations are
10505 designed to work with terminals.
10507 *** The command C-x RET p (set-buffer-process-coding-system)
10508 specifies the coding system for input and output to a subprocess.
10509 This command applies to the current buffer; normally, each subprocess
10510 has its own buffer, and thus you can use this command to specify
10511 translation to and from a particular subprocess by giving the command
10512 in the corresponding buffer.
10514 By default, process input and output are not translated at all.
10516 *** The variable file-name-coding-system specifies the coding system
10517 to use for encoding file names before operating on them.
10518 It is also used for decoding file names obtained from the system.
10520 *** The command C-\ (toggle-input-method) activates or deactivates
10521 an input method. If no input method has been selected before, the
10522 command prompts for you to specify the language and input method you
10525 C-u C-\ (select-input-method) lets you switch to a different input
10526 method. C-h C-\ (or C-h I) describes the current input method.
10528 *** Some input methods remap the keyboard to emulate various keyboard
10529 layouts commonly used for particular scripts. How to do this
10530 remapping properly depends on your actual keyboard layout. To specify
10531 which layout your keyboard has, use M-x quail-set-keyboard-layout.
10533 *** The command C-h C (describe-coding-system) displays
10534 the coding systems currently selected for various purposes, plus
10535 related information.
10537 *** The command C-h h (view-hello-file) displays a file called
10538 HELLO, which has examples of text in many languages, using various
10541 *** The command C-h L (describe-language-support) displays
10542 information about the support for a particular language.
10543 You specify the language as an argument.
10545 *** The mode line now contains a letter or character that identifies
10546 the coding system used in the visited file. It normally follows the
10549 A dash indicates the default state of affairs: no code conversion
10550 (except CRLF => newline if appropriate). `=' means no conversion
10551 whatsoever. The ISO 8859 coding systems are represented by digits
10552 1 through 9. Other coding systems are represented by letters:
10554 A alternativnyj (Russian)
10556 C cn-gb-2312 (Chinese)
10557 C iso-2022-cn (Chinese)
10558 D in-is13194-devanagari (Indian languages)
10559 E euc-japan (Japanese)
10560 I iso-2022-cjk or iso-2022-ss2 (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
10561 J junet (iso-2022-7) or old-jis (iso-2022-jp-1978-irv) (Japanese)
10562 K euc-korea (Korean)
10565 S shift_jis (Japanese)
10568 V viscii or vscii (Vietnamese)
10569 i iso-2022-lock (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
10570 k iso-2022-kr (Korean)
10571 v viqr (Vietnamese)
10574 When you are using a character-only terminal (not a window system),
10575 two additional characters appear in between the dash and the file
10576 coding system. These two characters describe the coding system for
10577 keyboard input, and the coding system for terminal output.
10579 *** The new variable rmail-file-coding-system specifies the code
10580 conversion to use for RMAIL files. The default value is nil.
10582 When you read mail with Rmail, each message is decoded automatically
10583 into Emacs' internal format. This has nothing to do with
10584 rmail-file-coding-system. That variable controls reading and writing
10585 Rmail files themselves.
10587 *** The new variable sendmail-coding-system specifies the code
10588 conversion for outgoing mail. The default value is nil.
10590 Actually, there are three different ways of specifying the coding system
10593 - If you use C-x RET f in the mail buffer, that takes priority.
10594 - Otherwise, if you set sendmail-coding-system non-nil, that specifies it.
10595 - Otherwise, the default coding system for new files is used,
10596 if that is non-nil. That comes from your language environment.
10597 - Otherwise, Latin-1 is used.
10599 *** The command C-h t (help-with-tutorial) accepts a prefix argument
10600 to specify the language for the tutorial file. Currently, English,
10601 Japanese, Korean and Thai are supported. We welcome additional
10604 ** An easy new way to visit a file with no code or format conversion
10605 of any kind: Use M-x find-file-literally. There is also a command
10606 insert-file-literally which inserts a file into the current buffer
10607 without any conversion.
10609 ** C-q's handling of octal character codes is changed.
10610 You can now specify any number of octal digits.
10611 RET terminates the digits and is discarded;
10612 any other non-digit terminates the digits and is then used as input.
10614 ** There are new commands for looking up Info documentation for
10615 functions, variables and file names used in your programs.
10617 Type M-x info-lookup-symbol to look up a symbol in the buffer at point.
10618 Type M-x info-lookup-file to look up a file in the buffer at point.
10620 Precisely which Info files are used to look it up depends on the major
10621 mode. For example, in C mode, the GNU libc manual is used.
10623 ** M-TAB in most programming language modes now runs the command
10624 complete-symbol. This command performs completion on the symbol name
10625 in the buffer before point.
10627 With a numeric argument, it performs completion based on the set of
10628 symbols documented in the Info files for the programming language that
10631 With no argument, it does completion based on the current tags tables,
10632 just like the old binding of M-TAB (complete-tag).
10634 ** File locking works with NFS now.
10636 The lock file for FILENAME is now a symbolic link named .#FILENAME,
10637 in the same directory as FILENAME.
10639 This means that collision detection between two different machines now
10640 works reasonably well; it also means that no file server or directory
10641 can become a bottleneck.
10643 The new method does have drawbacks. It means that collision detection
10644 does not operate when you edit a file in a directory where you cannot
10645 create new files. Collision detection also doesn't operate when the
10646 file server does not support symbolic links. But these conditions are
10647 rare, and the ability to have collision detection while using NFS is
10648 so useful that the change is worth while.
10650 When Emacs or a system crashes, this may leave behind lock files which
10651 are stale. So you may occasionally get warnings about spurious
10652 collisions. When you determine that the collision is spurious, just
10653 tell Emacs to go ahead anyway.
10655 ** If you wish to use Show Paren mode to display matching parentheses,
10656 it is no longer sufficient to load paren.el. Instead you must call
10659 ** If you wish to use Delete Selection mode to replace a highlighted
10660 selection when you insert new text, it is no longer sufficient to load
10661 delsel.el. Instead you must call the function delete-selection-mode.
10663 ** If you wish to use Partial Completion mode to complete partial words
10664 within symbols or filenames, it is no longer sufficient to load
10665 complete.el. Instead you must call the function partial-completion-mode.
10667 ** If you wish to use uniquify to rename buffers for you,
10668 it is no longer sufficient to load uniquify.el. You must also
10669 set uniquify-buffer-name-style to one of the non-nil legitimate values.
10671 ** Changes in View mode.
10673 *** Several new commands are available in View mode.
10674 Do H in view mode for a list of commands.
10676 *** There are two new commands for entering View mode:
10677 view-file-other-frame and view-buffer-other-frame.
10679 *** Exiting View mode does a better job of restoring windows to their
10682 *** New customization variable view-scroll-auto-exit. If non-nil,
10683 scrolling past end of buffer makes view mode exit.
10685 *** New customization variable view-exits-all-viewing-windows. If
10686 non-nil, view-mode will at exit restore all windows viewing buffer,
10687 not just the selected window.
10689 *** New customization variable view-read-only. If non-nil, visiting a
10690 read-only file automatically enters View mode, and toggle-read-only
10691 turns View mode on or off.
10693 *** New customization variable view-remove-frame-by-deleting controls
10694 how to remove a not needed frame at view mode exit. If non-nil,
10695 delete the frame, if nil make an icon of it.
10697 ** C-x v l, the command to print a file's version control log,
10698 now positions point at the entry for the file's current branch version.
10700 ** C-x v =, the command to compare a file with the last checked-in version,
10701 has a new feature. If the file is currently not locked, so that it is
10702 presumably identical to the last checked-in version, the command now asks
10703 which version to compare with.
10705 ** When using hideshow.el, incremental search can temporarily show hidden
10706 blocks if a match is inside the block.
10708 The block is hidden again if the search is continued and the next match
10709 is outside the block. By customizing the variable
10710 isearch-hide-immediately you can choose to hide all the temporarily
10711 shown blocks only when exiting from incremental search.
10713 By customizing the variable hs-isearch-open you can choose what kind
10714 of blocks to temporarily show during isearch: comment blocks, code
10715 blocks, all of them or none.
10717 ** The new command C-x 4 0 (kill-buffer-and-window) kills the
10718 current buffer and deletes the selected window. It asks for
10719 confirmation first.
10721 ** C-x C-w, which saves the buffer into a specified file name,
10722 now changes the major mode according to that file name.
10723 However, the mode will not be changed if
10724 (1) a local variables list or the `-*-' line specifies a major mode, or
10725 (2) the current major mode is a "special" mode,
10726 not suitable for ordinary files, or
10727 (3) the new file name does not particularly specify any mode.
10729 This applies to M-x set-visited-file-name as well.
10731 However, if you set change-major-mode-with-file-name to nil, then
10732 these commands do not change the major mode.
10734 ** M-x occur changes.
10736 *** If the argument to M-x occur contains upper case letters,
10737 it performs a case-sensitive search.
10739 *** In the *Occur* buffer made by M-x occur,
10740 if you type g or M-x revert-buffer, this repeats the search
10741 using the same regular expression and the same buffer as before.
10743 ** In Transient Mark mode, the region in any one buffer is highlighted
10744 in just one window at a time. At first, it is highlighted in the
10745 window where you set the mark. The buffer's highlighting remains in
10746 that window unless you select to another window which shows the same
10747 buffer--then the highlighting moves to that window.
10749 ** The feature to suggest key bindings when you use M-x now operates
10750 after the command finishes. The message suggesting key bindings
10751 appears temporarily in the echo area. The previous echo area contents
10752 come back after a few seconds, in case they contain useful information.
10754 ** Each frame now independently records the order for recently
10755 selected buffers, so that the default for C-x b is now based on the
10756 buffers recently selected in the selected frame.
10758 ** Outline mode changes.
10760 *** Outline mode now uses overlays (this is the former noutline.el).
10762 *** Incremental searches skip over invisible text in Outline mode.
10764 ** When a minibuffer window is active but not the selected window, if
10765 you try to use the minibuffer, you used to get a nested minibuffer.
10766 Now, this not only gives an error, it also cancels the minibuffer that
10767 was already active.
10769 The motive for this change is so that beginning users do not
10770 unknowingly move away from minibuffers, leaving them active, and then
10771 get confused by it.
10773 If you want to be able to have recursive minibuffers, you must
10774 set enable-recursive-minibuffers to non-nil.
10776 ** Changes in dynamic abbrevs.
10778 *** Expanding dynamic abbrevs with M-/ is now smarter about case
10779 conversion. If the expansion has mixed case not counting the first
10780 character, and the abbreviation matches the beginning of the expansion
10781 including case, then the expansion is copied verbatim.
10783 The expansion is also copied verbatim if the abbreviation itself has
10784 mixed case. And using SPC M-/ to copy an additional word always
10785 copies it verbatim except when the previous copied word is all caps.
10787 *** The values of `dabbrev-case-replace' and `dabbrev-case-fold-search'
10788 are no longer Lisp expressions. They have simply three possible
10791 `dabbrev-case-replace' has these three values: nil (don't preserve
10792 case), t (do), or `case-replace' (do like M-x query-replace).
10793 `dabbrev-case-fold-search' has these three values: nil (don't ignore
10794 case), t (do), or `case-fold-search' (do like search).
10796 ** Minibuffer history lists are truncated automatically now to a
10797 certain length. The variable history-length specifies how long they
10798 can be. The default value is 30.
10800 ** Changes in Mail mode.
10802 *** The key C-x m no longer runs the `mail' command directly.
10803 Instead, it runs the command `compose-mail', which invokes the mail
10804 composition mechanism you have selected with the variable
10805 `mail-user-agent'. The default choice of user agent is
10806 `sendmail-user-agent', which gives behavior compatible with the old
10809 C-x 4 m now runs compose-mail-other-window, and C-x 5 m runs
10810 compose-mail-other-frame.
10812 *** While composing a reply to a mail message, from Rmail, you can use
10813 the command C-c C-r to cite just the region from the message you are
10814 replying to. This copies the text which is the selected region in the
10815 buffer that shows the original message.
10817 *** The command C-c C-i inserts a file at the end of the message,
10818 with separator lines around the contents.
10820 *** The command M-x expand-mail-aliases expands all mail aliases
10821 in suitable mail headers. Emacs automatically extracts mail alias
10822 definitions from your mail alias file (e.g., ~/.mailrc). You do not
10823 need to expand mail aliases yourself before sending mail.
10825 *** New features in the mail-complete command.
10827 **** The mail-complete command now inserts the user's full name,
10828 for local users or if that is known. The variable mail-complete-style
10829 controls the style to use, and whether to do this at all.
10830 Its values are like those of mail-from-style.
10832 **** The variable mail-passwd-command lets you specify a shell command
10833 to run to fetch a set of password-entries that add to the ones in
10836 **** The variable mail-passwd-file now specifies a list of files to read
10837 to get the list of user ids. By default, one file is used:
10840 ** You can "quote" a file name to inhibit special significance of
10841 special syntax, by adding `/:' to the beginning. Thus, if you have a
10842 directory named `/foo:', you can prevent it from being treated as a
10843 reference to a remote host named `foo' by writing it as `/:/foo:'.
10845 Emacs uses this new construct automatically when necessary, such as
10846 when you start it with a working directory whose name might otherwise
10847 be taken to be magic.
10849 ** There is a new command M-x grep-find which uses find to select
10850 files to search through, and grep to scan them. The output is
10851 available in a Compile mode buffer, as with M-x grep.
10853 M-x grep now uses the -e option if the grep program supports that.
10854 (-e prevents problems if the search pattern starts with a dash.)
10856 ** In Dired, the & command now flags for deletion the files whose names
10857 suggest they are probably not needed in the long run.
10859 In Dired, * is now a prefix key for mark-related commands.
10861 new key dired.el binding old key
10862 ------- ---------------- -------
10863 * c dired-change-marks c
10865 * * dired-mark-executables * (binding deleted)
10866 * / dired-mark-directories / (binding deleted)
10867 * @ dired-mark-symlinks @ (binding deleted)
10869 * DEL dired-unmark-backward DEL
10870 * ? dired-unmark-all-files C-M-?
10871 * ! dired-unmark-all-marks
10872 * % dired-mark-files-regexp % m
10873 * C-n dired-next-marked-file M-}
10874 * C-p dired-prev-marked-file M-{
10878 *** When Rmail cannot convert your incoming mail into Babyl format, it
10879 saves the new mail in the file RMAILOSE.n, where n is an integer
10880 chosen to make a unique name. This way, Rmail will not keep crashing
10881 each time you run it.
10883 *** In Rmail, the variable rmail-summary-line-count-flag now controls
10884 whether to include the line count in the summary. Non-nil means yes.
10886 *** In Rmail summary buffers, d and C-d (the commands to delete
10887 messages) now take repeat counts as arguments. A negative argument
10888 means to move in the opposite direction.
10890 *** In Rmail, the t command now takes an optional argument which lets
10891 you specify whether to show the message headers in full or pruned.
10893 *** In Rmail, the new command w (rmail-output-body-to-file) writes
10894 just the body of the current message into a file, without the headers.
10895 It takes the file name from the message subject, by default, but you
10896 can edit that file name in the minibuffer before it is actually used
10901 *** nntp.el has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
10903 *** Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
10906 *** Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like
10907 `and', `or', `not', and parent redirection.
10909 *** Article washing status can be displayed in the
10912 *** gnus.el has been split into many smaller files.
10914 *** Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID.
10916 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
10918 *** New variables for specifying what score and adapt files
10919 are to be considered home score and adapt files. See
10920 `gnus-home-score-file' and `gnus-home-adapt-files'.
10922 *** Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics.
10924 *** Article editing has been revamped and is now usable.
10926 *** Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions.
10927 See `gnus-signature-separator' and `gnus-signature-limit'.
10929 *** Summary pick mode has been made to look more nn-like.
10930 Line numbers are displayed and the `.' command can be
10931 used to pick articles.
10933 *** Commands for moving the .newsrc.eld from one server to
10934 another have been added.
10936 `M-x gnus-change-server'
10938 *** A way to specify that "uninteresting" fields be suppressed when
10939 generating lines in buffers.
10941 *** Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with
10944 *** Scoring can be done on words using the new score type `w'.
10946 *** Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis:
10948 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
10950 *** Scores can be decayed.
10952 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
10954 *** Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The
10955 Date is normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first.
10957 *** A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
10960 `M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups'
10962 *** A new command for reading collections of documents
10963 (nndoc with nnvirtual on top) has been added -- `C-M-d'.
10965 *** Process mark sets can be pushed and popped.
10967 *** A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post
10968 even when the NNTP server doesn't allow posting.
10970 *** A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
10971 (DejaNews, Alta Vista, InReference) has been added.
10973 Use the `G w' command in the group buffer to create such
10976 *** Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard
10977 sorting functions, and each topic can be sorted independently.
10979 See the commands under the `T S' submap.
10981 *** Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently.
10983 See the commands under the `G P' submap.
10985 *** Cached articles can be pulled into the groups.
10987 Use the `Y c' command.
10989 *** Score files are now applied in a more reliable order.
10991 *** Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated.
10993 `M-x nnmail-split-history'
10995 *** More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk
10996 from incoming mail before saving the mail.
10998 See `nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook'.
11000 *** The nnml mail backend now understands compressed article files.
11002 *** To enable Gnus to read/post multi-lingual articles, you must execute
11003 the following code, for instance, in your .emacs.
11005 (add-hook 'gnus-startup-hook 'gnus-mule-initialize)
11007 Then, when you start Gnus, it will decode non-ASCII text automatically
11008 and show appropriate characters. (Note: if you are using gnus-mime
11009 from the SEMI package, formerly known as TM, you should NOT add this
11010 hook to gnus-startup-hook; gnus-mime has its own method of handling
11013 Since it is impossible to distinguish all coding systems
11014 automatically, you may need to specify a choice of coding system for a
11015 particular news group. This can be done by:
11017 (gnus-mule-add-group NEWSGROUP 'CODING-SYSTEM)
11019 Here NEWSGROUP should be a string which names a newsgroup or a tree
11020 of newsgroups. If NEWSGROUP is "XXX.YYY", all news groups under
11021 "XXX.YYY" (including "XXX.YYY.ZZZ") will use the specified coding
11022 system. CODING-SYSTEM specifies which coding system to use (for both
11023 for reading and posting).
11025 CODING-SYSTEM can also be a cons cell of the form
11026 (READ-CODING-SYSTEM . POST-CODING-SYSTEM)
11027 Then READ-CODING-SYSTEM is used when you read messages from the
11028 newsgroups, while POST-CODING-SYSTEM is used when you post messages
11031 Emacs knows the right coding systems for certain newsgroups by
11032 default. Here are some of these default settings:
11034 (gnus-mule-add-group "fj" 'iso-2022-7)
11035 (gnus-mule-add-group "alt.chinese.text" 'hz-gb-2312)
11036 (gnus-mule-add-group "alt.hk" 'hz-gb-2312)
11037 (gnus-mule-add-group "alt.chinese.text.big5" 'cn-big5)
11038 (gnus-mule-add-group "soc.culture.vietnamese" '(nil . viqr))
11040 When you reply by mail to an article, these settings are ignored;
11041 the mail is encoded according to sendmail-coding-system, as usual.
11043 ** CC mode changes.
11045 *** If you edit primarily one style of C (or C++, Objective-C, Java)
11046 code, you may want to make the CC Mode style variables have global
11047 values so that you can set them directly in your .emacs file. To do
11048 this, set c-style-variables-are-local-p to nil in your .emacs file.
11049 Note that this only takes effect if you do it *before* cc-mode.el is
11052 If you typically edit more than one style of C (or C++, Objective-C,
11053 Java) code in a single Emacs session, you may want to make the CC Mode
11054 style variables have buffer local values. By default, all buffers
11055 share the same style variable settings; to make them buffer local, set
11056 c-style-variables-are-local-p to t in your .emacs file. Note that you
11057 must do this *before* CC Mode is loaded.
11059 *** The new variable c-indentation-style holds the C style name
11060 of the current buffer.
11062 *** The variable c-block-comments-indent-p has been deleted, because
11063 it is no longer necessary. C mode now handles all the supported styles
11064 of block comments, with no need to say which one you will use.
11066 *** There is a new indentation style "python", which specifies the C
11067 style that the Python developers like.
11069 *** There is a new c-cleanup-list option: brace-elseif-brace.
11070 This says to put ...} else if (...) {... on one line,
11071 just as brace-else-brace says to put ...} else {... on one line.
11073 ** VC Changes [new]
11075 *** In vc-retrieve-snapshot (C-x v r), if you don't specify a snapshot
11076 name, it retrieves the *latest* versions of all files in the current
11077 directory and its subdirectories (aside from files already locked).
11079 This feature is useful if your RCS directory is a link to a common
11080 master directory, and you want to pick up changes made by other
11083 You can do the same thing for an individual file by typing C-u C-x C-q
11084 RET in a buffer visiting that file.
11086 *** VC can now handle files under CVS that are being "watched" by
11087 other developers. Such files are made read-only by CVS. To get a
11088 writable copy, type C-x C-q in a buffer visiting such a file. VC then
11089 calls "cvs edit", which notifies the other developers of it.
11091 *** vc-version-diff (C-u C-x v =) now suggests reasonable defaults for
11092 version numbers, based on the current state of the file.
11094 ** Calendar changes.
11096 *** A new function, list-holidays, allows you list holidays or
11097 subclasses of holidays for ranges of years. Related menu items allow
11098 you do this for the year of the selected date, or the
11099 following/previous years.
11101 *** There is now support for the Baha'i calendar system. Use `pb' in
11102 the *Calendar* buffer to display the current Baha'i date. The Baha'i
11103 calendar, or "Badi calendar" is a system of 19 months with 19 days
11104 each, and 4 intercalary days (5 during a Gregorian leap year). The
11105 calendar begins May 23, 1844, with each of the months named after a
11106 supposed attribute of God.
11108 ** ps-print changes
11110 There are some new user variables and subgroups for customizing the page
11113 *** Headers & Footers (subgroup)
11115 Some printer systems print a header page and force the first page to
11116 be printed on the back of the header page when using duplex. If your
11117 printer system has this behavior, set variable
11118 `ps-banner-page-when-duplexing' to t.
11120 If variable `ps-banner-page-when-duplexing' is non-nil, it prints a
11121 blank page as the very first printed page. So, it behaves as if the
11122 very first character of buffer (or region) were a form feed ^L (\014).
11124 The variable `ps-spool-config' specifies who is responsible for
11125 setting duplex mode and page size. Valid values are:
11127 lpr-switches duplex and page size are configured by `ps-lpr-switches'.
11128 Don't forget to set `ps-lpr-switches' to select duplex
11129 printing for your printer.
11131 setpagedevice duplex and page size are configured by ps-print using the
11132 setpagedevice PostScript operator.
11134 nil duplex and page size are configured by ps-print *not* using
11135 the setpagedevice PostScript operator.
11137 The variable `ps-spool-tumble' specifies how the page images on
11138 opposite sides of a sheet are oriented with respect to each other. If
11139 `ps-spool-tumble' is nil, ps-print produces output suitable for
11140 bindings on the left or right. If `ps-spool-tumble' is non-nil,
11141 ps-print produces output suitable for bindings at the top or bottom.
11142 This variable takes effect only if `ps-spool-duplex' is non-nil.
11143 The default value is nil.
11145 The variable `ps-header-frame-alist' specifies a header frame
11146 properties alist. Valid frame properties are:
11148 fore-color Specify the foreground frame color.
11149 Value should be a float number between 0.0 (black
11150 color) and 1.0 (white color), or a string which is a
11151 color name, or a list of 3 float numbers which
11152 correspond to the Red Green Blue color scale, each
11153 float number between 0.0 (dark color) and 1.0 (bright
11154 color). The default is 0 ("black").
11156 back-color Specify the background frame color (similar to fore-color).
11157 The default is 0.9 ("gray90").
11159 shadow-color Specify the shadow color (similar to fore-color).
11160 The default is 0 ("black").
11162 border-color Specify the border color (similar to fore-color).
11163 The default is 0 ("black").
11165 border-width Specify the border width.
11166 The default is 0.4.
11168 Any other property is ignored.
11170 Don't change this alist directly; instead use Custom, or the
11171 `ps-value', `ps-get', `ps-put' and `ps-del' functions (see there for
11174 Ps-print can also print footers. The footer variables are:
11175 `ps-print-footer', `ps-footer-offset', `ps-print-footer-frame',
11176 `ps-footer-font-family', `ps-footer-font-size', `ps-footer-line-pad',
11177 `ps-footer-lines', `ps-left-footer', `ps-right-footer' and
11178 `ps-footer-frame-alist'. These variables are similar to those
11179 controlling headers.
11181 *** Color management (subgroup)
11183 If `ps-print-color-p' is non-nil, the buffer's text will be printed in
11186 *** Face Management (subgroup)
11188 If you need to print without worrying about face background colors,
11189 set the variable `ps-use-face-background' which specifies if face
11190 background should be used. Valid values are:
11192 t always use face background color.
11193 nil never use face background color.
11194 (face...) list of faces whose background color will be used.
11196 *** N-up printing (subgroup)
11198 The variable `ps-n-up-printing' specifies the number of pages per
11201 The variable `ps-n-up-margin' specifies the margin in points (pt)
11202 between the sheet border and the n-up printing.
11204 If variable `ps-n-up-border-p' is non-nil, a border is drawn around
11207 The variable `ps-n-up-filling' specifies how the page matrix is filled
11208 on each sheet of paper. Following are the valid values for
11209 `ps-n-up-filling' with a filling example using a 3x4 page matrix:
11211 `left-top' 1 2 3 4 `left-bottom' 9 10 11 12
11215 `right-top' 4 3 2 1 `right-bottom' 12 11 10 9
11219 `top-left' 1 4 7 10 `bottom-left' 3 6 9 12
11223 `top-right' 10 7 4 1 `bottom-right' 12 9 6 3
11227 Any other value is treated as `left-top'.
11229 *** Zebra stripes (subgroup)
11231 The variable `ps-zebra-color' controls the zebra stripes grayscale or
11234 The variable `ps-zebra-stripe-follow' specifies how zebra stripes
11235 continue on next page. Visually, valid values are (the character `+'
11236 to the right of each column indicates that a line is printed):
11238 `nil' `follow' `full' `full-follow'
11239 Current Page -------- ----------- --------- ----------------
11240 1 XXXXX + 1 XXXXXXXX + 1 XXXXXX + 1 XXXXXXXXXXXXX +
11241 2 XXXXX + 2 XXXXXXXX + 2 XXXXXX + 2 XXXXXXXXXXXXX +
11242 3 XXXXX + 3 XXXXXXXX + 3 XXXXXX + 3 XXXXXXXXXXXXX +
11246 7 XXXXX + 7 XXXXXXXX + 7 XXXXXX + 7 XXXXXXXXXXXXX +
11247 8 XXXXX + 8 XXXXXXXX + 8 XXXXXX + 8 XXXXXXXXXXXXX +
11248 9 XXXXX + 9 XXXXXXXX + 9 XXXXXX + 9 XXXXXXXXXXXXX +
11251 -------- ----------- --------- ----------------
11252 Next Page -------- ----------- --------- ----------------
11253 12 XXXXX + 12 + 10 XXXXXX + 10 +
11254 13 XXXXX + 13 XXXXXXXX + 11 XXXXXX + 11 +
11255 14 XXXXX + 14 XXXXXXXX + 12 XXXXXX + 12 +
11256 15 + 15 XXXXXXXX + 13 + 13 XXXXXXXXXXXXX +
11257 16 + 16 + 14 + 14 XXXXXXXXXXXXX +
11258 17 + 17 + 15 + 15 XXXXXXXXXXXXX +
11259 18 XXXXX + 18 + 16 XXXXXX + 16 +
11260 19 XXXXX + 19 XXXXXXXX + 17 XXXXXX + 17 +
11261 20 XXXXX + 20 XXXXXXXX + 18 XXXXXX + 18 +
11264 -------- ----------- --------- ----------------
11266 Any other value is treated as `nil'.
11269 *** Printer management (subgroup)
11271 The variable `ps-printer-name-option' determines the option used by
11272 some utilities to indicate the printer name; it's used only when
11273 `ps-printer-name' is a non-empty string. If you're using the lpr
11274 utility to print, for example, `ps-printer-name-option' should be set
11277 The variable `ps-manual-feed' indicates if the printer requires manual
11278 paper feeding. If it's nil, automatic feeding takes place. If it's
11279 non-nil, manual feeding takes place.
11281 The variable `ps-end-with-control-d' specifies whether C-d (\x04)
11282 should be inserted at end of the generated PostScript. Non-nil means
11285 *** Page settings (subgroup)
11287 If variable `ps-warn-paper-type' is nil, it's *not* treated as an
11288 error if the PostScript printer doesn't have a paper with the size
11289 indicated by `ps-paper-type'; the default paper size will be used
11290 instead. If `ps-warn-paper-type' is non-nil, an error is signaled if
11291 the PostScript printer doesn't support a paper with the size indicated
11292 by `ps-paper-type'. This is used when `ps-spool-config' is set to
11295 The variable `ps-print-upside-down' determines the orientation for
11296 printing pages: nil means `normal' printing, non-nil means
11297 `upside-down' printing (that is, the page is rotated by 180 degrees).
11299 The variable `ps-selected-pages' specifies which pages to print. If
11300 it's nil, all pages are printed. If it's a list, list elements may be
11301 integers specifying a single page to print, or cons cells (FROM . TO)
11302 specifying to print from page FROM to TO. Invalid list elements, that
11303 is integers smaller than one, or elements whose FROM is greater than
11304 its TO, are ignored.
11306 The variable `ps-even-or-odd-pages' specifies how to print even/odd
11307 pages. Valid values are:
11309 nil print all pages.
11311 `even-page' print only even pages.
11313 `odd-page' print only odd pages.
11315 `even-sheet' print only even sheets.
11316 That is, if `ps-n-up-printing' is 1, it behaves like
11317 `even-page', but for values greater than 1, it'll
11318 print only the even sheet of paper.
11320 `odd-sheet' print only odd sheets.
11321 That is, if `ps-n-up-printing' is 1, it behaves like
11322 `odd-page'; but for values greater than 1, it'll print
11323 only the odd sheet of paper.
11325 Any other value is treated as nil.
11327 If you set `ps-selected-pages' (see there for documentation), pages
11328 are filtered by `ps-selected-pages', and then by
11329 `ps-even-or-odd-pages'. For example, if we have:
11331 (setq ps-selected-pages '(1 4 (6 . 10) (12 . 16) 20))
11333 and we combine this with `ps-even-or-odd-pages' and
11334 `ps-n-up-printing', we get:
11336 `ps-n-up-printing' = 1:
11337 `ps-even-or-odd-pages' PAGES PRINTED
11338 nil 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20
11339 even-page 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 20
11340 odd-page 1, 7, 9, 13, 15
11341 even-sheet 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 20
11342 odd-sheet 1, 7, 9, 13, 15
11344 `ps-n-up-printing' = 2:
11345 `ps-even-or-odd-pages' PAGES PRINTED
11346 nil 1/4, 6/7, 8/9, 10/12, 13/14, 15/16, 20
11347 even-page 4/6, 8/10, 12/14, 16/20
11348 odd-page 1/7, 9/13, 15
11349 even-sheet 6/7, 10/12, 15/16
11350 odd-sheet 1/4, 8/9, 13/14, 20
11352 *** Miscellany (subgroup)
11354 The variable `ps-error-handler-message' specifies where error handler
11355 messages should be sent.
11357 It is also possible to add a user-defined PostScript prologue code in
11358 front of all generated prologue code by setting the variable
11359 `ps-user-defined-prologue'.
11361 The variable `ps-line-number-font' specifies the font for line numbers.
11363 The variable `ps-line-number-font-size' specifies the font size in
11364 points for line numbers.
11366 The variable `ps-line-number-color' specifies the color for line
11367 numbers. See `ps-zebra-color' for documentation.
11369 The variable `ps-line-number-step' specifies the interval in which
11370 line numbers are printed. For example, if `ps-line-number-step' is set
11371 to 2, the printing will look like:
11383 integer an integer specifying the interval in which line numbers are
11384 printed. If it's smaller than or equal to zero, 1
11387 `zebra' specifies that only the line number of the first line in a
11388 zebra stripe is to be printed.
11390 Any other value is treated as `zebra'.
11392 The variable `ps-line-number-start' specifies the starting point in
11393 the interval given by `ps-line-number-step'. For example, if
11394 `ps-line-number-step' is set to 3, and `ps-line-number-start' is set to
11395 3, the output will look like:
11409 The variable `ps-postscript-code-directory' specifies the directory
11410 where the PostScript prologue file used by ps-print is found.
11412 The variable `ps-line-spacing' determines the line spacing in points,
11413 for ordinary text, when generating PostScript (similar to
11416 The variable `ps-paragraph-spacing' determines the paragraph spacing,
11417 in points, for ordinary text, when generating PostScript (similar to
11420 The variable `ps-paragraph-regexp' specifies the paragraph delimiter.
11422 The variable `ps-begin-cut-regexp' and `ps-end-cut-regexp' specify the
11423 start and end of a region to cut out when printing.
11425 ** hideshow changes.
11427 *** now supports hiding of blocks of single line comments (like // for
11430 *** Support for java-mode added.
11432 *** When doing `hs-hide-all' it is now possible to also hide the comments
11433 in the file if `hs-hide-comments-when-hiding-all' is set.
11435 *** The new function `hs-hide-initial-comment' hides the comments at
11436 the beginning of the files. Finally those huge RCS logs don't stay in your
11437 way! This is run by default when entering the `hs-minor-mode'.
11439 *** Now uses overlays instead of `selective-display', so is more
11440 robust and a lot faster.
11442 *** A block beginning can span multiple lines.
11444 *** The new variable `hs-show-hidden-short-form' if t, directs hideshow
11445 to show only the beginning of a block when it is hidden. See the
11446 documentation for more details.
11448 ** Changes in Enriched mode.
11450 *** When you visit a file in enriched-mode, Emacs will make sure it is
11451 filled to the current fill-column. This behavior is now independent
11452 of the size of the window. When you save the file, the fill-column in
11453 use is stored as well, so that the whole buffer need not be refilled
11454 the next time unless the fill-column is different.
11456 *** use-hard-newlines is now a minor mode. When it is enabled, Emacs
11457 distinguishes between hard and soft newlines, and treats hard newlines
11458 as paragraph boundaries. Otherwise all newlines inserted are marked
11459 as soft, and paragraph boundaries are determined solely from the text.
11465 The variables font-lock-face-attributes, font-lock-display-type and
11466 font-lock-background-mode are now obsolete; the recommended way to specify the
11467 faces to use for Font Lock mode is with M-x customize-group on the new custom
11468 group font-lock-highlighting-faces. If you set font-lock-face-attributes in
11469 your ~/.emacs file, Font Lock mode will respect its value. However, you should
11470 consider converting from setting that variable to using M-x customize.
11472 You can still use X resources to specify Font Lock face appearances.
11474 *** Maximum decoration
11476 Fontification now uses the maximum level of decoration supported by
11477 default. Previously, fontification used a mode-specific default level
11478 of decoration, which is typically the minimum level of decoration
11479 supported. You can set font-lock-maximum-decoration to nil
11480 to get the old behavior.
11484 Support is now provided for Java, Objective-C, AWK and SIMULA modes.
11486 Note that Font Lock mode can be turned on without knowing exactly what modes
11487 support Font Lock mode, via the command global-font-lock-mode.
11489 *** Configurable support
11491 Support for C, C++, Objective-C and Java can be more easily configured for
11492 additional types and classes via the new variables c-font-lock-extra-types,
11493 c++-font-lock-extra-types, objc-font-lock-extra-types and, you guessed it,
11494 java-font-lock-extra-types. These value of each of these variables should be a
11495 list of regexps matching the extra type names. For example, the default value
11496 of c-font-lock-extra-types is ("\\sw+_t") which means fontification follows the
11497 convention that C type names end in _t. This results in slower fontification.
11499 Of course, you can change the variables that specify fontification in whatever
11500 way you wish, typically by adding regexps. However, these new variables make
11501 it easier to make specific and common changes for the fontification of types.
11503 *** Adding highlighting patterns to existing support
11505 You can use the new function font-lock-add-keywords to add your own
11506 highlighting patterns, such as for project-local or user-specific constructs,
11509 For example, to highlight `FIXME:' words in C comments, put:
11511 (font-lock-add-keywords 'c-mode '(("\\<FIXME:" 0 font-lock-warning-face t)))
11517 Font Lock now defines two new faces, font-lock-builtin-face and
11518 font-lock-warning-face. These are intended to highlight builtin keywords,
11519 distinct from a language's normal keywords, and objects that should be brought
11520 to user attention, respectively. Various modes now use these new faces.
11522 *** Changes to fast-lock support mode
11524 The fast-lock package, one of the two Font Lock support modes, can now process
11525 cache files silently. You can use the new variable fast-lock-verbose, in the
11526 same way as font-lock-verbose, to control this feature.
11528 *** Changes to lazy-lock support mode
11530 The lazy-lock package, one of the two Font Lock support modes, can now fontify
11531 according to the true syntactic context relative to other lines. You can use
11532 the new variable lazy-lock-defer-contextually to control this feature. If
11533 non-nil, changes to the buffer will cause subsequent lines in the buffer to be
11534 refontified after lazy-lock-defer-time seconds of idle time. If nil, then only
11535 the modified lines will be refontified; this is the same as the previous Lazy
11536 Lock mode behavior and the behavior of Font Lock mode.
11538 This feature is useful in modes where strings or comments can span lines.
11539 For example, if a string or comment terminating character is deleted, then if
11540 this feature is enabled subsequent lines in the buffer will be correctly
11541 refontified to reflect their new syntactic context. Previously, only the line
11542 containing the deleted character would be refontified and you would have to use
11543 the command M-g M-g (font-lock-fontify-block) to refontify some lines.
11545 As a consequence of this new feature, two other variables have changed:
11547 Variable `lazy-lock-defer-driven' is renamed `lazy-lock-defer-on-scrolling'.
11548 Variable `lazy-lock-defer-time' can now only be a time, i.e., a number.
11549 Buffer modes for which on-the-fly deferral applies can be specified via the
11550 new variable `lazy-lock-defer-on-the-fly'.
11552 If you set these variables in your ~/.emacs, then you may have to change those
11555 ** Ada mode changes.
11557 *** There is now better support for using find-file.el with Ada mode.
11558 If you switch between spec and body, the cursor stays in the same
11559 procedure (modulo overloading). If a spec has no body file yet, but
11560 you try to switch to its body file, Ada mode now generates procedure
11563 *** There are two new commands:
11564 - `ada-make-local' : invokes gnatmake on the current buffer
11565 - `ada-check-syntax' : check syntax of current buffer.
11567 The user options `ada-compiler-make', `ada-make-options',
11568 `ada-language-version', `ada-compiler-syntax-check', and
11569 `ada-compile-options' are used within these commands.
11571 *** Ada mode can now work with Outline minor mode. The outline level
11572 is calculated from the indenting, not from syntactic constructs.
11573 Outlining does not work if your code is not correctly indented.
11575 *** The new function `ada-gnat-style' converts the buffer to the style of
11576 formatting used in GNAT. It places two blanks after a comment start,
11577 places one blank between a word end and an opening '(', and puts one
11578 space between a comma and the beginning of a word.
11580 ** Scheme mode changes.
11582 *** Scheme mode indentation now uses many of the facilities of Lisp
11583 mode; therefore, the variables to customize it are the variables used
11584 for Lisp mode which have names starting with `lisp-'. The variables
11585 with names starting with `scheme-' which used to do this no longer
11588 If you want to use different indentation for Scheme and Lisp, this is
11589 still possible, but now you must do it by adding a hook to
11590 scheme-mode-hook, which could work by setting the `lisp-' indentation
11591 variables as buffer-local variables.
11593 *** DSSSL mode is a variant of Scheme mode, for editing DSSSL scripts.
11594 Use M-x dsssl-mode.
11596 ** Changes to the emacsclient program
11598 *** If a socket can't be found, and environment variables LOGNAME or
11599 USER are set, emacsclient now looks for a socket based on the UID
11600 associated with the name. That is an emacsclient running as root
11601 can connect to an Emacs server started by a non-root user.
11603 *** The emacsclient program now accepts an option --no-wait which tells
11604 it to return immediately without waiting for you to "finish" the
11607 *** The new option --alternate-editor allows to specify an editor to
11608 use if Emacs is not running. The environment variable
11609 ALTERNATE_EDITOR can be used for the same effect; the command line
11610 option takes precedence.
11612 ** M-x eldoc-mode enables a minor mode in which the echo area
11613 constantly shows the parameter list for function being called at point
11614 (in Emacs Lisp and Lisp Interaction modes only).
11616 ** C-x n d now runs the new command narrow-to-defun,
11617 which narrows the accessible parts of the buffer to just
11620 ** Emacs now handles the `--' argument in the standard way; all
11621 following arguments are treated as ordinary file names.
11623 ** On MSDOS and Windows, the bookmark file is now called _emacs.bmk,
11624 and the saved desktop file is now called _emacs.desktop (truncated if
11627 ** When you kill a buffer that visits a file,
11628 if there are any registers that save positions in the file,
11629 these register values no longer become completely useless.
11630 If you try to go to such a register with C-x j, then you are
11631 asked whether to visit the file again. If you say yes,
11632 it visits the file and then goes to the same position.
11634 ** When you visit a file that changes frequently outside Emacs--for
11635 example, a log of output from a process that continues to run--it may
11636 be useful for Emacs to revert the file without querying you whenever
11637 you visit the file afresh with C-x C-f.
11639 You can request this behavior for certain files by setting the
11640 variable revert-without-query to a list of regular expressions. If a
11641 file's name matches any of these regular expressions, find-file and
11642 revert-buffer revert the buffer without asking for permission--but
11643 only if you have not edited the buffer text yourself.
11645 ** set-default-font has been renamed to set-frame-font
11646 since it applies only to the current frame.
11648 ** In TeX mode, you can use the variable tex-main-file to specify the
11649 file for tex-file to run TeX on. (By default, tex-main-file is nil,
11650 and tex-file runs TeX on the current visited file.)
11652 This is useful when you are editing a document that consists of
11653 multiple files. In each of the included files, you can set up a local
11654 variable list which specifies the top-level file of your document for
11655 tex-main-file. Then tex-file will run TeX on the whole document
11656 instead of just the file you are editing.
11660 RefTeX mode is a new minor mode with special support for \label, \ref
11661 and \cite macros in LaTeX documents. RefTeX distinguishes labels of
11662 different environments (equation, figure, ...) and has full support for
11663 multifile documents. To use it, select a buffer with a LaTeX document and
11664 turn the mode on with M-x reftex-mode. Here are the main user commands:
11667 Creates a label semi-automatically. RefTeX is context sensitive and
11668 knows which kind of label is needed.
11670 C-c ) reftex-reference
11671 Offers in a menu all labels in the document, along with context of the
11672 label definition. The selected label is referenced as \ref{LABEL}.
11674 C-c [ reftex-citation
11675 Prompts for a regular expression and displays a list of matching BibTeX
11676 database entries. The selected entry is cited with a \cite{KEY} macro.
11678 C-c & reftex-view-crossref
11679 Views the cross reference of a \ref or \cite command near point.
11682 Shows a table of contents of the (multifile) document. From there you
11683 can quickly jump to every section.
11685 Under X, RefTeX installs a "Ref" menu in the menu bar, with additional
11686 commands. Press `?' to get help when a prompt mentions this feature.
11687 Full documentation and customization examples are in the file
11688 reftex.el. You can use the finder to view the file documentation:
11689 C-h p --> tex --> reftex.el
11691 ** Changes in BibTeX mode.
11693 *** Info documentation is now available.
11695 *** Don't allow parentheses in string constants anymore. This confused
11696 both the BibTeX program and Emacs BibTeX mode.
11698 *** Renamed variable bibtex-mode-user-optional-fields to
11699 bibtex-user-optional-fields.
11701 *** Removed variable bibtex-include-OPTannote
11702 (use bibtex-user-optional-fields instead).
11704 *** New interactive functions to copy and kill fields and complete
11705 entries to the BibTeX kill ring, from where they can be yanked back by
11706 appropriate functions.
11708 *** New interactive functions for repositioning and marking of
11709 entries. They are bound by default to C-M-l and C-M-h.
11711 *** New hook bibtex-clean-entry-hook. It is called after entry has
11714 *** New variable bibtex-field-delimiters, which replaces variables
11715 bibtex-field-{left|right}-delimiter.
11717 *** New variable bibtex-entry-delimiters to determine how entries
11718 shall be delimited.
11720 *** Allow preinitialization of fields. See documentation of
11721 bibtex-user-optional-fields, bibtex-entry-field-alist, and
11722 bibtex-include-OPTkey for details.
11724 *** Book and InBook entries require either an author or an editor
11725 field. This is now supported by bibtex.el. Alternative fields are
11726 prefixed with `ALT'.
11728 *** New variable bibtex-entry-format, which replaces variable
11729 bibtex-clean-entry-zap-empty-opts and allows specification of many
11730 formatting options performed on cleaning an entry (see variable
11733 *** Even more control on how automatic keys are generated. See
11734 documentation of bibtex-generate-autokey for details. Transcriptions
11735 for foreign languages other than German are now handled, too.
11737 *** New boolean user option bibtex-comma-after-last-field to decide if
11738 comma should be inserted at end of last field.
11740 *** New boolean user option bibtex-align-at-equal-sign to determine if
11741 alignment should be made at left side of field contents or at equal
11742 signs. New user options to control entry layout (e.g. indentation).
11744 *** New function bibtex-fill-entry to realign entries.
11746 *** New function bibtex-reformat to reformat region or buffer.
11748 *** New function bibtex-convert-alien to convert a BibTeX database
11749 from alien sources.
11751 *** New function bibtex-complete-key (similar to bibtex-complete-string)
11752 to complete prefix to a key defined in buffer. Mainly useful in
11755 *** New function bibtex-count-entries to count entries in buffer or
11758 *** Added support for imenu.
11760 *** The function `bibtex-validate' now checks current region instead
11761 of buffer if mark is active. Now it shows all errors of buffer in a
11762 `compilation mode' buffer. You can use the normal commands (e.g.
11763 `next-error') for compilation modes to jump to errors.
11765 *** New variable `bibtex-string-file-path' to determine where the files
11766 from `bibtex-string-files' are searched.
11768 ** Iso Accents mode now supports Latin-3 as an alternative.
11770 ** The command next-error now opens blocks hidden by hideshow.
11772 ** The function using-unix-filesystems has been replaced by the
11773 functions add-untranslated-filesystem and remove-untranslated-filesystem.
11774 Each of these functions takes the name of a drive letter or directory
11777 When a filesystem is added as untranslated, all files on it are read
11778 and written in binary mode (no cr/lf translation is performed).
11780 ** browse-url changes
11782 *** New methods for: Grail (browse-url-generic), MMM (browse-url-mmm),
11783 Lynx in a separate xterm (browse-url-lynx-xterm) or in an Emacs window
11784 (browse-url-lynx-emacs), remote W3 (browse-url-w3-gnudoit), generic
11785 non-remote-controlled browsers (browse-url-generic) and associated
11786 customization variables.
11788 *** New commands `browse-url-of-region' and `browse-url'.
11790 *** URLs marked up with <URL:...> (RFC1738) work if broken across
11791 lines. Browsing methods can be associated with URL regexps
11792 (e.g. mailto: URLs) via `browse-url-browser-function'.
11794 ** Changes in Ediff
11796 *** Clicking Mouse-2 on a brief command description in Ediff control panel
11797 pops up the Info file for this command.
11799 *** There is now a variable, ediff-autostore-merges, which controls whether
11800 the result of a merge is saved in a file. By default, this is done only when
11801 merge is done from a session group (eg, when merging files in two different
11804 *** Since Emacs 19.31 (this hasn't been announced before), Ediff can compare
11805 and merge groups of files residing in different directories, or revisions of
11806 files in the same directory.
11808 *** Since Emacs 19.31, Ediff can apply multi-file patches interactively.
11809 The patches must be in the context format or GNU unified format. (The bug
11810 related to the GNU format has now been fixed.)
11812 ** Changes in Viper
11814 *** The startup file is now .viper instead of .vip
11815 *** All variable/function names have been changed to start with viper-
11817 *** C-\ now simulates the meta-key in all Viper states.
11818 *** C-z in Insert state now escapes to Vi for the duration of the next
11819 Viper command. In Vi and Insert states, C-z behaves as before.
11820 *** C-c \ escapes to Vi for one command if Viper is in Insert or Emacs states.
11821 *** _ is no longer the meta-key in Vi state.
11822 *** The variable viper-insert-state-cursor-color can be used to change cursor
11823 color when Viper is in insert state.
11824 *** If search lands the cursor near the top or the bottom of the window,
11825 Viper pulls the window up or down to expose more context. The variable
11826 viper-adjust-window-after-search controls this behavior.
11830 *** In C, C++, Objective C and Java, Etags tags global variables by
11831 default. The resulting tags files are inflated by 30% on average.
11832 Use --no-globals to turn this feature off. Etags can also tag
11833 variables which are members of structure-like constructs, but it does
11834 not by default. Use --members to turn this feature on.
11836 *** C++ member functions are now recognized as tags.
11838 *** Java is tagged like C++. In addition, "extends" and "implements"
11839 constructs are tagged. Files are recognised by the extension .java.
11841 *** Etags can now handle programs written in Postscript. Files are
11842 recognised by the extensions .ps and .pdb (Postscript with C syntax).
11843 In Postscript, tags are lines that start with a slash.
11845 *** Etags now handles Objective C and Objective C++ code. The usual C and
11846 C++ tags are recognized in these languages; in addition, etags
11847 recognizes special Objective C syntax for classes, class categories,
11848 methods and protocols.
11850 *** Etags also handles Cobol. Files are recognised by the extension
11851 .cobol. The tagged lines are those containing a word that begins in
11852 column 8 and ends in a full stop, i.e. anything that could be a
11855 *** Regexps in Etags now support intervals, as in ed or grep. The syntax of
11856 an interval is \{M,N\}, and it means to match the preceding expression
11857 at least M times and as many as N times.
11859 ** The format for specifying a custom format for time-stamp to insert
11860 in files has changed slightly.
11862 With the new enhancements to the functionality of format-time-string,
11863 time-stamp-format will change to be eventually compatible with it.
11864 This conversion is being done in two steps to maintain compatibility
11865 with old time-stamp-format values.
11867 In the new scheme, alternate case is signified by the number-sign
11868 (`#') modifier, rather than changing the case of the format character.
11869 This feature is as yet incompletely implemented for compatibility
11872 In the old time-stamp-format, all numeric fields defaulted to their
11873 natural width. (With format-time-string, each format has a
11874 fixed-width default.) In this version, you can specify the colon
11875 (`:') modifier to a numeric conversion to mean "give me the historical
11876 time-stamp-format width default." Do not use colon if you are
11877 specifying an explicit width, as in "%02d".
11879 Numbers are no longer truncated to the requested width, except in the
11880 case of "%02y", which continues to give a two-digit year. Digit
11881 truncation probably wasn't being used for anything else anyway.
11883 The new formats will work with old versions of Emacs. New formats are
11884 being recommended now to allow time-stamp-format to change in the
11885 future to be compatible with format-time-string. The new forms being
11886 recommended now will continue to work then.
11888 See the documentation string for the variable time-stamp-format for
11891 ** There are some additional major modes:
11893 dcl-mode, for editing VMS DCL files.
11894 m4-mode, for editing files of m4 input.
11895 meta-mode, for editing MetaFont and MetaPost source files.
11897 ** In Shell mode, the command shell-copy-environment-variable lets you
11898 copy the value of a specified environment variable from the subshell
11901 ** New Lisp packages include:
11903 *** battery.el displays battery status for laptops.
11905 *** M-x bruce (named after Lenny Bruce) is a program that might
11906 be used for adding some indecent words to your email.
11908 *** M-x crisp-mode enables an emulation for the CRiSP editor.
11910 *** M-x dirtrack arranges for better tracking of directory changes
11913 *** The new library elint.el provides for linting of Emacs Lisp code.
11914 See the documentation for `elint-initialize', `elint-current-buffer'
11917 *** M-x expand-add-abbrevs defines a special kind of abbrev which is
11918 meant for programming constructs. These abbrevs expand like ordinary
11919 ones, when you type SPC, but only at the end of a line and not within
11920 strings or comments.
11922 These abbrevs can act as templates: you can define places within an
11923 abbrev for insertion of additional text. Once you expand the abbrev,
11924 you can then use C-x a p and C-x a n to move back and forth to these
11925 insertion points. Thus you can conveniently insert additional text
11928 *** filecache.el remembers the location of files so that you
11929 can visit them by short forms of their names.
11931 *** find-func.el lets you find the definition of the user-loaded
11932 Emacs Lisp function at point.
11934 *** M-x handwrite converts text to a "handwritten" picture.
11936 *** M-x iswitchb-buffer is a command for switching to a buffer, much like
11937 switch-buffer, but it reads the argument in a more helpful way.
11939 *** M-x landmark implements a neural network for landmark learning.
11941 *** M-x locate provides a convenient interface to the `locate' program.
11943 *** M4 mode is a new mode for editing files of m4 input.
11945 *** mantemp.el creates C++ manual template instantiations
11946 from the GCC error messages which indicate which instantiations are needed.
11948 *** mouse-copy.el provides a one-click copy and move feature.
11949 You can drag a region with M-mouse-1, and it is automatically
11950 inserted at point. M-Shift-mouse-1 deletes the text from its
11951 original place after inserting the copy.
11953 *** mouse-drag.el lets you do scrolling by dragging Mouse-2
11956 You click the mouse and move; that distance either translates into the
11957 velocity to scroll (with mouse-drag-throw) or the distance to scroll
11958 (with mouse-drag-drag). Horizontal scrolling is enabled when needed.
11960 Enable mouse-drag with:
11961 (global-set-key [down-mouse-2] 'mouse-drag-throw)
11963 (global-set-key [down-mouse-2] 'mouse-drag-drag)
11965 *** mspools.el is useful for determining which mail folders have
11966 mail waiting to be read in them. It works with procmail.
11968 *** Octave mode is a major mode for editing files of input for Octave.
11969 It comes with a facility for communicating with an Octave subprocess.
11973 The ogonek package provides functions for changing the coding of
11974 Polish diacritic characters in buffers. Codings known from various
11975 platforms are supported such as ISO8859-2, Mazovia, IBM Latin2, and
11976 TeX. For example, you can change the coding from Mazovia to
11977 ISO8859-2. Another example is a change of coding from ISO8859-2 to
11978 prefix notation (in which `/a' stands for the aogonek character, for
11979 instance) and vice versa.
11981 To use this package load it using
11982 M-x load-library [enter] ogonek
11983 Then, you may get an explanation by calling one of
11984 M-x ogonek-jak -- in Polish
11985 M-x ogonek-how -- in English
11986 The info specifies the commands and variables provided as well as the
11987 ways of customization in `.emacs'.
11989 *** Interface to ph.
11991 Emacs provides a client interface to CCSO Nameservers (ph/qi)
11993 The CCSO nameserver is used in many universities to provide directory
11994 services about people. ph.el provides a convenient Emacs interface to
11997 *** uce.el is useful for replying to unsolicited commercial email.
11999 *** vcursor.el implements a "virtual cursor" feature.
12000 You can move the virtual cursor with special commands
12001 while the real cursor does not move.
12003 *** webjump.el is a "hot list" package which you can set up
12004 for visiting your favorite web sites.
12006 *** M-x winner-mode is a minor mode which saves window configurations,
12007 so you can move back to other configurations that you have recently used.
12011 Movemail no longer needs to be installed setuid root in order for POP
12012 mail retrieval to function properly. This is because it no longer
12013 supports the RPOP (reserved-port POP) protocol; instead, it uses the
12014 user's POP password to authenticate to the mail server.
12016 This change was made earlier, but not reported in NEWS before.
12018 * Emacs 20.1 changes for MS-DOS and MS-Windows.
12020 ** Changes in handling MS-DOS/MS-Windows text files.
12022 Emacs handles three different conventions for representing
12023 end-of-line: CRLF for MSDOS, LF for Unix and GNU, and CR (used on the
12024 Macintosh). Emacs determines which convention is used in a specific
12025 file based on the contents of that file (except for certain special
12026 file names), and when it saves the file, it uses the same convention.
12028 To save the file and change the end-of-line convention, you can use
12029 C-x RET f (set-buffer-file-coding-system) to specify a different
12030 coding system for the buffer. Then, when you save the file, the newly
12031 specified coding system will take effect. For example, to save with
12032 LF, specify undecided-unix (or some other ...-unix coding system); to
12033 save with CRLF, specify undecided-dos.
12035 * Lisp Changes in Emacs 20.1
12037 ** Byte-compiled files made with Emacs 20 will, in general, work in
12038 Emacs 19 as well, as long as the source code runs in Emacs 19. And
12039 vice versa: byte-compiled files made with Emacs 19 should also run in
12040 Emacs 20, as long as the program itself works in Emacs 20.
12042 ** Windows-specific functions and variables have been renamed
12043 to start with w32- instead of win32-.
12045 In hacker language, calling something a "win" is a form of praise. We
12046 don't want to praise a non-free Microsoft system, so we don't call it
12049 ** Basic Lisp changes
12051 *** A symbol whose name starts with a colon now automatically
12052 evaluates to itself. Therefore such a symbol can be used as a constant.
12054 *** The defined purpose of `defconst' has been changed. It should now
12055 be used only for values that should not be changed whether by a program
12058 The actual behavior of defconst has not been changed.
12060 *** There are new macros `when' and `unless'
12062 (when CONDITION BODY...) is short for (if CONDITION (progn BODY...))
12063 (unless CONDITION BODY...) is short for (if CONDITION nil BODY...)
12065 *** Emacs now defines functions caar, cadr, cdar and cddr with their
12066 usual Lisp meanings. For example, caar returns the car of the car of
12069 *** equal, when comparing strings, now ignores their text properties.
12071 *** The new function `functionp' tests whether an object is a function.
12073 *** arrayp now returns t for char-tables and bool-vectors.
12075 *** Certain primitives which use characters (as integers) now get an
12076 error if the integer is not a valid character code. These primitives
12077 include insert-char, char-to-string, and the %c construct in the
12080 *** The `require' function now insists on adding a suffix, either .el
12081 or .elc, to the file name. Thus, (require 'foo) will not use a file
12082 whose name is just foo. It insists on foo.el or foo.elc.
12084 *** The `autoload' function, when the file name does not contain
12085 either a directory name or the suffix .el or .elc, insists on
12086 adding one of these suffixes.
12088 *** string-to-number now takes an optional second argument BASE
12089 which specifies the base to use when converting an integer.
12090 If BASE is omitted, base 10 is used.
12092 We have not implemented other radices for floating point numbers,
12093 because that would be much more work and does not seem useful.
12095 *** substring now handles vectors as well as strings.
12097 *** The Common Lisp function eql is no longer defined normally.
12098 You must load the `cl' library to define it.
12100 *** The new macro `with-current-buffer' lets you evaluate an expression
12101 conveniently with a different current buffer. It looks like this:
12103 (with-current-buffer BUFFER BODY-FORMS...)
12105 BUFFER is the expression that says which buffer to use.
12106 BODY-FORMS say what to do in that buffer.
12108 *** The new primitive `save-current-buffer' saves and restores the
12109 choice of current buffer, like `save-excursion', but without saving or
12110 restoring the value of point or the mark. `with-current-buffer'
12111 works using `save-current-buffer'.
12113 *** The new macro `with-temp-file' lets you do some work in a new buffer and
12114 write the output to a specified file. Like `progn', it returns the value
12117 *** The new macro `with-temp-buffer' lets you do some work in a new buffer,
12118 which is discarded after use. Like `progn', it returns the value of the
12119 last form. If you wish to return the buffer contents, use (buffer-string)
12122 *** The new function split-string takes a string, splits it at certain
12123 characters, and returns a list of the substrings in between the
12126 For example, (split-string "foo bar lose" " +") returns ("foo" "bar" "lose").
12128 *** The new macro with-output-to-string executes some Lisp expressions
12129 with standard-output set up so that all output feeds into a string.
12130 Then it returns that string.
12132 For example, if the current buffer name is `foo',
12134 (with-output-to-string
12135 (princ "The buffer is ")
12136 (princ (buffer-name)))
12138 returns "The buffer is foo".
12140 ** Non-ASCII characters are now supported, if enable-multibyte-characters
12143 These characters have character codes above 256. When inserted in the
12144 buffer or stored in a string, they are represented as multibyte
12145 characters that occupy several buffer positions each.
12147 *** When enable-multibyte-characters is non-nil, a single character in
12148 a buffer or string can be two or more bytes (as many as four).
12150 Buffers and strings are still made up of unibyte elements;
12151 character positions and string indices are always measured in bytes.
12152 Therefore, moving forward one character can increase the buffer
12153 position by 2, 3 or 4. The function forward-char moves by whole
12154 characters, and therefore is no longer equivalent to
12155 (lambda (n) (goto-char (+ (point) n))).
12157 ASCII characters (codes 0 through 127) are still single bytes, always.
12158 Sequences of byte values 128 through 255 are used to represent
12159 non-ASCII characters. These sequences are called "multibyte
12162 The first byte of a multibyte character is always in the range 128
12163 through 159 (octal 0200 through 0237). These values are called
12164 "leading codes". The second and subsequent bytes are always in the
12165 range 160 through 255 (octal 0240 through 0377). The first byte, the
12166 leading code, determines how many bytes long the sequence is.
12168 *** The function forward-char moves over characters, and therefore
12169 (forward-char 1) may increase point by more than 1 if it moves over a
12170 multibyte character. Likewise, delete-char always deletes a
12171 character, which may be more than one buffer position.
12173 This means that some Lisp programs, which assume that a character is
12174 always one buffer position, need to be changed.
12176 However, all ASCII characters are always one buffer position.
12178 *** The regexp [\200-\377] no longer matches all non-ASCII characters,
12179 because when enable-multibyte-characters is non-nil, these characters
12180 have codes that are not in the range octal 200 to octal 377. However,
12181 the regexp [^\000-\177] does match all non-ASCII characters,
12184 *** The function char-boundary-p returns non-nil if position POS is
12185 between two characters in the buffer (not in the middle of a
12188 When the value is non-nil, it says what kind of character follows POS:
12190 0 if POS is at an ASCII character or at the end of range,
12191 1 if POS is before a 2-byte length multi-byte form,
12192 2 if POS is at a head of 3-byte length multi-byte form,
12193 3 if POS is at a head of 4-byte length multi-byte form,
12194 4 if POS is at a head of multi-byte form of a composite character.
12196 *** The function char-bytes returns how many bytes the character CHAR uses.
12198 *** Strings can contain multibyte characters. The function
12199 `length' returns the string length counting bytes, which may be
12200 more than the number of characters.
12202 You can include a multibyte character in a string constant by writing
12203 it literally. You can also represent it with a hex escape,
12204 \xNNNNNNN..., using as many digits as necessary. Any character which
12205 is not a valid hex digit terminates this construct. If you want to
12206 follow it with a character that is a hex digit, write backslash and
12207 newline in between; that will terminate the hex escape.
12209 *** The function concat-chars takes arguments which are characters
12210 and returns a string containing those characters.
12212 *** The function sref access a multibyte character in a string.
12213 (sref STRING INDX) returns the character in STRING at INDEX. INDEX
12214 counts from zero. If INDEX is at a position in the middle of a
12215 character, sref signals an error.
12217 *** The function chars-in-string returns the number of characters
12218 in a string. This is less than the length of the string, if the
12219 string contains multibyte characters (the length counts bytes).
12221 *** The function chars-in-region returns the number of characters
12222 in a region from BEG to END. This is less than (- END BEG) if the
12223 region contains multibyte characters (the length counts bytes).
12225 *** The function string-to-list converts a string to a list of
12226 the characters in it. string-to-vector converts a string
12227 to a vector of the characters in it.
12229 *** The function store-substring alters part of the contents
12230 of a string. You call it as follows:
12232 (store-substring STRING IDX OBJ)
12234 This says to alter STRING, by storing OBJ starting at index IDX in
12235 STRING. OBJ may be either a character or a (smaller) string.
12236 This function really does alter the contents of STRING.
12237 Since it is impossible to change the length of an existing string,
12238 it is an error if OBJ doesn't fit within STRING's actual length.
12240 *** char-width returns the width (in columns) of the character CHAR,
12241 if it were displayed in the current buffer and the selected window.
12243 *** string-width returns the width (in columns) of the text in STRING,
12244 if it were displayed in the current buffer and the selected window.
12246 *** truncate-string-to-width shortens a string, if necessary,
12247 to fit within a certain number of columns. (Of course, it does
12248 not alter the string that you give it; it returns a new string
12249 which contains all or just part of the existing string.)
12251 (truncate-string-to-width STR END-COLUMN &optional START-COLUMN PADDING)
12253 This returns the part of STR up to column END-COLUMN.
12255 The optional argument START-COLUMN specifies the starting column.
12256 If this is non-nil, then the first START-COLUMN columns of the string
12257 are not included in the resulting value.
12259 The optional argument PADDING, if non-nil, is a padding character to be added
12260 at the beginning and end the resulting string, to extend it to exactly
12261 WIDTH columns. If PADDING is nil, that means do not pad; then, if STRING
12262 is narrower than WIDTH, the value is equal to STRING.
12264 If PADDING and START-COLUMN are both non-nil, and if there is no clean
12265 place in STRING that corresponds to START-COLUMN (because one
12266 character extends across that column), then the padding character
12267 PADDING is added one or more times at the beginning of the result
12268 string, so that its columns line up as if it really did start at
12269 column START-COLUMN.
12271 *** When the functions in the list after-change-functions are called,
12272 the third argument is the number of bytes in the pre-change text, not
12273 necessarily the number of characters. It is, in effect, the
12274 difference in buffer position between the beginning and the end of the
12275 changed text, before the change.
12277 *** The characters Emacs uses are classified in various character
12278 sets, each of which has a name which is a symbol. In general there is
12279 one character set for each script, not for each language.
12281 **** The function charsetp tests whether an object is a character set name.
12283 **** The variable charset-list holds a list of character set names.
12285 **** char-charset, given a character code, returns the name of the character
12286 set that the character belongs to. (The value is a symbol.)
12288 **** split-char, given a character code, returns a list containing the
12289 name of the character set, followed by one or two byte-values
12290 which identify the character within that character set.
12292 **** make-char, given a character set name and one or two subsequent
12293 byte-values, constructs a character code. This is roughly the
12294 opposite of split-char.
12296 **** find-charset-region returns a list of the character sets
12297 of all the characters between BEG and END.
12299 **** find-charset-string returns a list of the character sets
12300 of all the characters in a string.
12302 *** Here are the Lisp facilities for working with coding systems
12303 and specifying coding systems.
12305 **** The function coding-system-list returns a list of all coding
12306 system names (symbols). With optional argument t, it returns a list
12307 of all distinct base coding systems, not including variants.
12308 (Variant coding systems are those like latin-1-dos, latin-1-unix
12309 and latin-1-mac which specify the end-of-line conversion as well
12310 as what to do about code conversion.)
12312 **** coding-system-p tests a symbol to see if it is a coding system
12313 name. It returns t if so, nil if not.
12315 **** file-coding-system-alist specifies which coding systems to use
12316 for certain file names. It works like network-coding-system-alist,
12317 except that the PATTERN is matched against the file name.
12319 Each element has the format (PATTERN . VAL), where PATTERN determines
12320 which file names the element applies to. PATTERN should be a regexp
12321 to match against a file name.
12323 VAL is a coding system, a cons cell containing two coding systems, or
12324 a function symbol. If VAL is a coding system, it is used for both
12325 decoding what received from the network stream and encoding what sent
12326 to the network stream. If VAL is a cons cell containing two coding
12327 systems, the car specifies the coding system for decoding, and the cdr
12328 specifies the coding system for encoding.
12330 If VAL is a function symbol, the function must return a coding system
12331 or a cons cell containing two coding systems, which is used as above.
12333 **** The variable network-coding-system-alist specifies
12334 the coding system to use for network sockets.
12336 Each element has the format (PATTERN . VAL), where PATTERN determines
12337 which network sockets the element applies to. PATTERN should be
12338 either a port number or a regular expression matching some network
12341 VAL is a coding system, a cons cell containing two coding systems, or
12342 a function symbol. If VAL is a coding system, it is used for both
12343 decoding what received from the network stream and encoding what sent
12344 to the network stream. If VAL is a cons cell containing two coding
12345 systems, the car specifies the coding system for decoding, and the cdr
12346 specifies the coding system for encoding.
12348 If VAL is a function symbol, the function must return a coding system
12349 or a cons cell containing two coding systems, which is used as above.
12351 **** process-coding-system-alist specifies which coding systems to use
12352 for certain subprocess. It works like network-coding-system-alist,
12353 except that the PATTERN is matched against the program name used to
12354 start the subprocess.
12356 **** The variable default-process-coding-system specifies the coding
12357 systems to use for subprocess (and net connection) input and output,
12358 when nothing else specifies what to do. The value is a cons cell
12359 (OUTPUT-CODING . INPUT-CODING). OUTPUT-CODING applies to output
12360 to the subprocess, and INPUT-CODING applies to input from it.
12362 **** The variable coding-system-for-write, if non-nil, specifies the
12363 coding system to use for writing a file, or for output to a synchronous
12366 It also applies to any asynchronous subprocess or network connection,
12367 but in a different way: the value of coding-system-for-write when you
12368 start the subprocess or connection affects that subprocess or
12369 connection permanently or until overridden.
12371 The variable coding-system-for-write takes precedence over
12372 file-coding-system-alist, process-coding-system-alist and
12373 network-coding-system-alist, and all other methods of specifying a
12374 coding system for output. But most of the time this variable is nil.
12375 It exists so that Lisp programs can bind it to a specific coding
12376 system for one operation at a time.
12378 **** coding-system-for-read applies similarly to input from
12379 files, subprocesses or network connections.
12381 **** The function process-coding-system tells you what
12382 coding systems(s) an existing subprocess is using.
12383 The value is a cons cell,
12384 (DECODING-CODING-SYSTEM . ENCODING-CODING-SYSTEM)
12385 where DECODING-CODING-SYSTEM is used for decoding output from
12386 the subprocess, and ENCODING-CODING-SYSTEM is used for encoding
12387 input to the subprocess.
12389 **** The function set-process-coding-system can be used to
12390 change the coding systems in use for an existing subprocess.
12392 ** Emacs has a new facility to help users manage the many
12393 customization options. To make a Lisp program work with this facility,
12394 you need to use the new macros defgroup and defcustom.
12396 You use defcustom instead of defvar, for defining a user option
12397 variable. The difference is that you specify two additional pieces of
12398 information (usually): the "type" which says what values are
12399 legitimate, and the "group" which specifies the hierarchy for
12402 Thus, instead of writing
12404 (defvar foo-blurgoze nil
12405 "*Non-nil means that foo will act very blurgozely.")
12407 you would now write this:
12409 (defcustom foo-blurgoze nil
12410 "*Non-nil means that foo will act very blurgozely."
12414 The type `boolean' means that this variable has only
12415 two meaningful states: nil and non-nil. Other type values
12416 describe other possibilities; see the manual for Custom
12417 for a description of them.
12419 The "group" argument is used to specify a group which the option
12420 should belong to. You define a new group like this:
12422 (defgroup ispell nil
12423 "Spell checking using Ispell."
12426 The "group" argument in defgroup specifies the parent group. The root
12427 group is called `emacs'; it should not contain any variables itself,
12428 but only other groups. The immediate subgroups of `emacs' correspond
12429 to the keywords used by C-h p. Under these subgroups come
12430 second-level subgroups that belong to individual packages.
12432 Each Emacs package should have its own set of groups. A simple
12433 package should have just one group; a more complex package should
12434 have a hierarchy of its own groups. The sole or root group of a
12435 package should be a subgroup of one or more of the "keyword"
12436 first-level subgroups.
12438 ** New `widget' library for inserting UI components in buffers.
12440 This library, used by the new custom library, is documented in a
12441 separate manual that accompanies Emacs.
12445 The easy-mmode package provides macros and functions that make
12446 developing minor modes easier. Roughly, the programmer has to code
12447 only the functionality of the minor mode. All the rest--toggles,
12448 predicate, and documentation--can be done in one call to the macro
12449 `easy-mmode-define-minor-mode' (see the documentation). See also
12450 `easy-mmode-define-keymap'.
12452 ** Text property changes
12454 *** The `intangible' property now works on overlays as well as on a
12457 *** The new functions next-char-property-change and
12458 previous-char-property-change scan through the buffer looking for a
12459 place where either a text property or an overlay might change. The
12460 functions take two arguments, POSITION and LIMIT. POSITION is the
12461 starting position for the scan. LIMIT says where to stop the scan.
12463 If no property change is found before LIMIT, the value is LIMIT. If
12464 LIMIT is nil, scan goes to the beginning or end of the accessible part
12465 of the buffer. If no property change is found, the value is the
12466 position of the beginning or end of the buffer.
12468 *** In the `local-map' text property or overlay property, the property
12469 value can now be a symbol whose function definition is a keymap. This
12470 is an alternative to using the keymap itself.
12472 ** Changes in invisibility features
12474 *** Isearch can now temporarily show parts of the buffer which are
12475 hidden by an overlay with a invisible property, when the search match
12476 is inside that portion of the buffer. To enable this the overlay
12477 should have a isearch-open-invisible property which is a function that
12478 would be called having the overlay as an argument, the function should
12479 make the overlay visible.
12481 During incremental search the overlays are shown by modifying the
12482 invisible and intangible properties, if beside this more actions are
12483 needed the overlay should have a isearch-open-invisible-temporary
12484 which is a function. The function is called with 2 arguments: one is
12485 the overlay and the second is nil when it should show the overlay and
12486 t when it should hide it.
12488 *** add-to-invisibility-spec, remove-from-invisibility-spec
12490 Modes that use overlays to hide portions of a buffer should set the
12491 invisible property of the overlay to the mode's name (or another symbol)
12492 and modify the `buffer-invisibility-spec' to include that symbol.
12493 Use `add-to-invisibility-spec' and `remove-from-invisibility-spec' to
12494 manipulate the `buffer-invisibility-spec'.
12495 Here is an example of how to do this:
12497 ;; If we want to display an ellipsis:
12498 (add-to-invisibility-spec '(my-symbol . t))
12499 ;; If you don't want ellipsis:
12500 (add-to-invisibility-spec 'my-symbol)
12503 (overlay-put (make-overlay beginning end) 'invisible 'my-symbol)
12506 ;; When done with the overlays:
12507 (remove-from-invisibility-spec '(my-symbol . t))
12508 ;; Or respectively:
12509 (remove-from-invisibility-spec 'my-symbol)
12511 ** Changes in syntax parsing.
12513 *** The syntax-directed buffer-scan functions (such as
12514 `parse-partial-sexp', `forward-word' and similar functions) can now
12515 obey syntax information specified by text properties, if the variable
12516 `parse-sexp-lookup-properties' is non-nil.
12518 If the value of `parse-sexp-lookup-properties' is nil, the behavior
12519 is as before: the syntax-table of the current buffer is always
12520 used to determine the syntax of the character at the position.
12522 When `parse-sexp-lookup-properties' is non-nil, the syntax of a
12523 character in the buffer is calculated thus:
12525 a) if the `syntax-table' text-property of that character
12526 is a cons, this cons becomes the syntax-type;
12528 Valid values of `syntax-table' text-property are: nil, a valid
12529 syntax-table, and a valid syntax-table element, i.e.,
12530 a cons cell of the form (SYNTAX-CODE . MATCHING-CHAR).
12532 b) if the character's `syntax-table' text-property
12533 is a syntax table, this syntax table is used
12534 (instead of the syntax-table of the current buffer) to
12535 determine the syntax type of the character.
12537 c) otherwise the syntax-type is determined by the syntax-table
12538 of the current buffer.
12540 *** The meaning of \s in regular expressions is also affected by the
12541 value of `parse-sexp-lookup-properties'. The details are the same as
12542 for the syntax-directed buffer-scan functions.
12544 *** There are two new syntax-codes, `!' and `|' (numeric values 14
12545 and 15). A character with a code `!' starts a comment which is ended
12546 only by another character with the same code (unless quoted). A
12547 character with a code `|' starts a string which is ended only by
12548 another character with the same code (unless quoted).
12550 These codes are mainly meant for use as values of the `syntax-table'
12553 *** The function `parse-partial-sexp' has new semantics for the sixth
12554 arg COMMENTSTOP. If it is `syntax-table', parse stops after the start
12555 of a comment or a string, or after end of a comment or a string.
12557 *** The state-list which the return value from `parse-partial-sexp'
12558 (and can also be used as an argument) now has an optional ninth
12559 element: the character address of the start of last comment or string;
12560 nil if none. The fourth and eighth elements have special values if the
12561 string/comment is started by a "!" or "|" syntax-code.
12563 *** Since new features of `parse-partial-sexp' allow a complete
12564 syntactic parsing, `font-lock' no longer supports
12565 `font-lock-comment-start-regexp'.
12567 ** Changes in face features
12569 *** The face functions are now unconditionally defined in Emacs, even
12570 if it does not support displaying on a device that supports faces.
12572 *** The function face-documentation returns the documentation string
12573 of a face (or nil if it doesn't have one).
12575 *** The function face-bold-p returns t if a face should be bold.
12576 set-face-bold-p sets that flag.
12578 *** The function face-italic-p returns t if a face should be italic.
12579 set-face-italic-p sets that flag.
12581 *** You can now specify foreground and background colors for text
12582 by adding elements of the form (foreground-color . COLOR-NAME)
12583 and (background-color . COLOR-NAME) to the list of faces in
12584 the `face' property (either the character's text property or an
12587 This means that you no longer need to create named faces to use
12588 arbitrary colors in a Lisp package.
12590 ** Changes in file-handling functions
12592 *** File-access primitive functions no longer discard an extra redundant
12593 directory name from the beginning of the file name. In other words,
12594 they no longer do anything special with // or /~. That conversion
12595 is now done only in substitute-in-file-name.
12597 This makes it possible for a Lisp program to open a file whose name
12600 *** If copy-file is unable to set the date of the output file,
12601 it now signals an error with the condition file-date-error.
12603 *** The inode number returned by file-attributes may be an integer (if
12604 the number fits in a Lisp integer) or a list of integers.
12606 *** insert-file-contents can now read from a special file,
12607 as long as the arguments VISIT and REPLACE are nil.
12609 *** The RAWFILE arg to find-file-noselect, if non-nil, now suppresses
12610 character code conversion as well as other things.
12612 Meanwhile, this feature does work with remote file names
12613 (formerly it did not).
12615 *** Lisp packages which create temporary files should use the TMPDIR
12616 environment variable to decide which directory to put them in.
12618 *** interpreter-mode-alist elements now specify regexps
12619 instead of constant strings.
12621 *** expand-file-name no longer treats `//' or `/~' specially. It used
12622 to delete all the text of a file name up through the first slash of
12623 any `//' or `/~' sequence. Now it passes them straight through.
12625 substitute-in-file-name continues to treat those sequences specially,
12626 in the same way as before.
12628 *** The variable `format-alist' is more general now.
12629 The FROM-FN and TO-FN in a format definition can now be strings
12630 which specify shell commands to use as filters to perform conversion.
12632 *** The new function access-file tries to open a file, and signals an
12633 error if that fails. If the open succeeds, access-file does nothing
12634 else, and returns nil.
12636 *** The function insert-directory now signals an error if the specified
12637 directory cannot be listed.
12639 ** Changes in minibuffer input
12641 *** The functions read-buffer, read-variable, read-command, read-string
12642 read-file-name, read-from-minibuffer and completing-read now take an
12643 additional argument which specifies the default value. If this
12644 argument is non-nil, it should be a string; that string is used in two
12647 It is returned if the user enters empty input.
12648 It is available through the history command M-n.
12650 *** The functions read-string, read-from-minibuffer,
12651 read-no-blanks-input and completing-read now take an additional
12652 argument INHERIT-INPUT-METHOD. If this is non-nil, then the
12653 minibuffer inherits the current input method and the setting of
12654 enable-multibyte-characters from the previously current buffer.
12656 In an interactive spec, you can use M instead of s to read an
12657 argument in this way.
12659 *** All minibuffer input functions discard text properties
12660 from the text you enter in the minibuffer, unless the variable
12661 minibuffer-allow-text-properties is non-nil.
12663 ** Echo area features
12665 *** Clearing the echo area now runs the normal hook
12666 echo-area-clear-hook. Note that the echo area can be used while the
12667 minibuffer is active; in that case, the minibuffer is still active
12668 after the echo area is cleared.
12670 *** The function current-message returns the message currently displayed
12671 in the echo area, or nil if there is none.
12673 ** Keyboard input features
12675 *** tty-erase-char is a new variable that reports which character was
12676 set up as the terminal's erase character when time Emacs was started.
12678 *** num-nonmacro-input-events is the total number of input events
12679 received so far from the terminal. It does not count those generated
12680 by keyboard macros.
12682 ** Frame-related changes
12684 *** make-frame runs the normal hook before-make-frame-hook just before
12685 creating a frame, and just after creating a frame it runs the abnormal
12686 hook after-make-frame-functions with the new frame as arg.
12688 *** The new hook window-configuration-change-hook is now run every time
12689 the window configuration has changed. The frame whose configuration
12690 has changed is the selected frame when the hook is run.
12692 *** Each frame now independently records the order for recently
12693 selected buffers, in its buffer-list frame parameter, so that the
12694 value of other-buffer is now based on the buffers recently displayed
12695 in the selected frame.
12697 *** The value of the frame parameter vertical-scroll-bars
12698 is now `left', `right' or nil. A non-nil value specifies
12699 which side of the window to put the scroll bars on.
12701 ** X Windows features
12703 *** You can examine X resources for other applications by binding
12704 x-resource-class around a call to x-get-resource. The usual value of
12705 x-resource-class is "Emacs", which is the correct value for Emacs.
12707 *** In menus, checkboxes and radio buttons now actually work.
12708 The menu displays the current status of the box or button.
12710 *** The function x-list-fonts now takes an optional fourth argument
12711 MAXIMUM which sets a limit on how many matching fonts to return.
12712 A smaller value of MAXIMUM makes the function faster.
12714 If the only question is whether *any* font matches the pattern,
12715 it is good to supply 1 for this argument.
12717 ** Subprocess features
12719 *** A reminder: it is no longer necessary for subprocess filter
12720 functions and sentinels to do save-match-data, because Emacs does this
12723 *** The new function shell-command-to-string executes a shell command
12724 and returns the output from the command as a string.
12726 *** The new function process-contact returns t for a child process,
12727 and (HOSTNAME SERVICE) for a net connection.
12729 ** An error in running pre-command-hook or post-command-hook
12730 does clear the variable to nil. The documentation was wrong before.
12732 ** In define-key-after, if AFTER is t, the new binding now always goes
12733 at the end of the keymap. If the keymap is a menu, this means it
12734 goes after the other menu items.
12736 ** If you have a program that makes several changes in the same area
12737 of the buffer, you can use the macro combine-after-change-calls
12738 around that Lisp code to make it faster when after-change hooks
12741 The macro arranges to call the after-change functions just once for a
12742 series of several changes--if that seems safe.
12744 Don't alter the variables after-change-functions and
12745 after-change-function within the body of a combine-after-change-calls
12748 ** If you define an abbrev (with define-abbrev) whose EXPANSION
12749 is not a string, then the abbrev does not expand in the usual sense,
12750 but its hook is still run.
12752 ** Normally, the Lisp debugger is not used (even if you have enabled it)
12753 for errors that are handled by condition-case.
12755 If you set debug-on-signal to a non-nil value, then the debugger is called
12756 regardless of whether there is a handler for the condition. This is
12757 useful for debugging problems that happen inside of a condition-case.
12759 This mode of operation seems to be unreliable in other ways. Errors that
12760 are normal and ought to be handled, perhaps in timers or process
12761 filters, will instead invoke the debugger. So don't say you weren't
12764 ** The new variable ring-bell-function lets you specify your own
12765 way for Emacs to "ring the bell".
12767 ** If run-at-time's TIME argument is t, the action is repeated at
12768 integral multiples of REPEAT from the epoch; this is useful for
12769 functions like display-time.
12771 ** You can use the function locate-library to find the precise file
12772 name of a Lisp library. This isn't new, but wasn't documented before.
12774 ** Commands for entering view mode have new optional arguments that
12775 can be used from Lisp. Low-level entrance to and exit from view mode
12776 is done by functions view-mode-enter and view-mode-exit.
12778 ** batch-byte-compile-file now makes Emacs return a nonzero status code
12779 if there is an error in compilation.
12781 ** pop-to-buffer, switch-to-buffer-other-window and
12782 switch-to-buffer-other-frame now accept an additional optional
12783 argument NORECORD, much like switch-to-buffer. If it is non-nil,
12784 they don't put the buffer at the front of the buffer list.
12786 ** If your .emacs file leaves the *scratch* buffer non-empty,
12787 Emacs does not display the startup message, so as to avoid changing
12788 the *scratch* buffer.
12790 ** The new function regexp-opt returns an efficient regexp to match a string.
12791 The arguments are STRINGS and (optionally) PAREN. This function can be used
12792 where regexp matching or searching is intensively used and speed is important,
12793 e.g., in Font Lock mode.
12795 ** The variable buffer-display-count is local to each buffer,
12796 and is incremented each time the buffer is displayed in a window.
12797 It starts at 0 when the buffer is created.
12799 ** The new function compose-mail starts composing a mail message
12800 using the user's chosen mail composition agent (specified with the
12801 variable mail-user-agent). It has variants compose-mail-other-window
12802 and compose-mail-other-frame.
12804 ** The `user-full-name' function now takes an optional parameter which
12805 can either be a number (the UID) or a string (the login name). The
12806 full name of the specified user will be returned.
12808 ** Lisp packages that load files of customizations, or any other sort
12809 of user profile, should obey the variable init-file-user in deciding
12810 where to find it. They should load the profile of the user name found
12811 in that variable. If init-file-user is nil, meaning that the -q
12812 option was used, then Lisp packages should not load the customization
12815 ** format-time-string now allows you to specify the field width
12816 and type of padding. This works as in printf: you write the field
12817 width as digits in the middle of a %-construct. If you start
12818 the field width with 0, it means to pad with zeros.
12820 For example, %S normally specifies the number of seconds since the
12821 minute; %03S means to pad this with zeros to 3 positions, %_3S to pad
12822 with spaces to 3 positions. Plain %3S pads with zeros, because that
12823 is how %S normally pads to two positions.
12825 ** thing-at-point now supports a new kind of "thing": url.
12827 ** imenu.el changes.
12829 You can now specify a function to be run when selecting an
12830 item from menu created by imenu.
12832 An example of using this feature: if we define imenu items for the
12833 #include directives in a C file, we can open the included file when we
12834 select one of those items.
12836 * For older news, see the file ONEWS
12838 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
12839 Copyright information:
12841 Copyright (C) 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
12843 Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim copies
12844 of this document as received, in any medium, provided that the
12845 copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved,
12846 thus giving the recipient permission to redistribute in turn.
12848 Permission is granted to distribute modified versions
12849 of this document, or of portions of it,
12850 under the above conditions, provided also that they
12851 carry prominent notices stating who last changed them.
12855 paragraph-separate: "[
\f]*$"
12858 arch-tag: 1aca9dfa-2ac4-4d14-bebf-0007cee12793