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ca2565b0 1@c This is part of the Emacs manual.
b65d8176 2@c Copyright (C) 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001,
114f9c96 3@c 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
ca2565b0 4@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
e93bc142 5@node Microsoft Windows, Manifesto, Mac OS / GNUstep, Top
5798efc8 6@appendix Emacs and Microsoft Windows/MS-DOS
c6b30bd2 7@cindex Microsoft Windows
270c6692 8@cindex MS-Windows, Emacs peculiarities
ca2565b0 9
e691d082 10 This section describes peculiarities of using Emacs on Microsoft
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11Windows. Some of these peculiarities are also relevant to Microsoft's
12older MS-DOS ``operating system'' (also known as ``MS-DOG'').
13However, Emacs features that are relevant @emph{only} to MS-DOS are
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14described in a separate
15@iftex
9dc999d3 16manual (@pxref{MS-DOS,,, emacs-xtra, Specialized Emacs Features}).
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17@end iftex
18@ifnottex
19section (@pxref{MS-DOS}).
20@end ifnottex
21
ca2565b0 22
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23 The behavior of Emacs on MS-Windows is reasonably similar to what is
24documented in the rest of the manual, including support for long file
25names, multiple frames, scroll bars, mouse menus, and subprocesses.
26However, a few special considerations apply, and they are described
27here.
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28
29@menu
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30* Text and Binary:: Text files use CRLF to terminate lines.
31* Windows Files:: File-name conventions on Windows.
9974630f 32* ls in Lisp:: Emulation of @code{ls} for Dired.
5798efc8 33* Windows HOME:: Where Emacs looks for your @file{.emacs}.
5a3e3201 34* Windows Keyboard:: Windows-specific keyboard features.
37a75312 35* Windows Mouse:: Windows-specific mouse features.
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36* Windows Processes:: Running subprocesses on Windows.
37* Windows Printing:: How to specify the printer on MS-Windows.
03bebefc 38* Windows Fonts:: Specifying fonts on MS-Windows.
37a75312 39* Windows Misc:: Miscellaneous Windows features.
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40@ifnottex
41* MS-DOS:: Using Emacs on MS-DOS (otherwise known as @dfn{MS-DOG}).
42@end ifnottex
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43@end menu
44
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45@node Text and Binary
46@section Text Files and Binary Files
47@cindex text and binary files on MS-DOS/MS-Windows
48
49 GNU Emacs uses newline characters to separate text lines. This is the
270c6692 50convention used on GNU, Unix, and other Posix-compliant systems.
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51
52@cindex end-of-line conversion on MS-DOS/MS-Windows
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53 By contrast, MS-DOS and MS-Windows normally use carriage-return linefeed,
54a two-character sequence, to separate text lines. (Linefeed is the same
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55character as newline.) Therefore, convenient editing of typical files
56with Emacs requires conversion of these end-of-line (EOL) sequences.
57And that is what Emacs normally does: it converts carriage-return
58linefeed into newline when reading files, and converts newline into
59carriage-return linefeed when writing files. The same mechanism that
60handles conversion of international character codes does this conversion
61also (@pxref{Coding Systems}).
62
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63@cindex cursor location, on MS-DOS
64@cindex point location, on MS-DOS
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65 One consequence of this special format-conversion of most files is
66that character positions as reported by Emacs (@pxref{Position Info}) do
67not agree with the file size information known to the operating system.
68
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69 In addition, if Emacs recognizes from a file's contents that it uses
70newline rather than carriage-return linefeed as its line separator, it
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71does not perform EOL conversion when reading or writing that file.
72Thus, you can read and edit files from GNU and Unix systems on MS-DOS
73with no special effort, and they will retain their Unix-style
74end-of-line convention after you edit them.
ca2565b0 75
ca2565b0 76 The mode line indicates whether end-of-line translation was used for
1ca54e68 77the current buffer. If MS-DOS end-of-line translation is in use for the
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78buffer, the MS-Windows build of Emacs displays a backslash @samp{\} after
79the coding system mnemonic near the beginning of the mode line
80(@pxref{Mode Line}). If no EOL translation was performed, the string
81@samp{(Unix)} is displayed instead of the backslash, to alert you that the
82file's EOL format is not the usual carriage-return linefeed.
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83
84@cindex DOS-to-Unix conversion of files
8e375db2 85 To visit a file and specify whether it uses DOS-style or Unix-style
fef4d6a6 86end-of-line, specify a coding system (@pxref{Text Coding}). For
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87example, @kbd{C-x @key{RET} c unix @key{RET} C-x C-f foobar.txt}
88visits the file @file{foobar.txt} without converting the EOLs; if some
89line ends with a carriage-return linefeed pair, Emacs will display
90@samp{^M} at the end of that line. Similarly, you can direct Emacs to
91save a buffer in a specified EOL format with the @kbd{C-x @key{RET} f}
92command. For example, to save a buffer with Unix EOL format, type
93@kbd{C-x @key{RET} f unix @key{RET} C-x C-s}. If you visit a file
94with DOS EOL conversion, then save it with Unix EOL format, that
95effectively converts the file to Unix EOL style, like @code{dos2unix}.
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96
97@cindex untranslated file system
98@findex add-untranslated-filesystem
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99 When you use NFS, Samba, or some other similar method to access file
100systems that reside on computers using GNU or Unix systems, Emacs
101should not perform end-of-line translation on any files in these file
102systems---not even when you create a new file. To request this,
103designate these file systems as @dfn{untranslated} file systems by
104calling the function @code{add-untranslated-filesystem}. It takes one
105argument: the file system name, including a drive letter and
106optionally a directory. For example,
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107
108@example
109(add-untranslated-filesystem "Z:")
110@end example
111
112@noindent
113designates drive Z as an untranslated file system, and
114
115@example
116(add-untranslated-filesystem "Z:\\foo")
117@end example
118
119@noindent
120designates directory @file{\foo} on drive Z as an untranslated file
121system.
122
123 Most often you would use @code{add-untranslated-filesystem} in your
270c6692 124@file{.emacs} file, or in @file{site-start.el} so that all the users at
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125your site get the benefit of it.
126
127@findex remove-untranslated-filesystem
128 To countermand the effect of @code{add-untranslated-filesystem}, use
129the function @code{remove-untranslated-filesystem}. This function takes
130one argument, which should be a string just like the one that was used
131previously with @code{add-untranslated-filesystem}.
132
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133 Designating a file system as untranslated does not affect character
134set conversion, only end-of-line conversion. Essentially, it directs
135Emacs to create new files with the Unix-style convention of using
136newline at the end of a line. @xref{Coding Systems}.
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137
138@vindex file-name-buffer-file-type-alist
139@cindex binary files, on MS-DOS/MS-Windows
140 Some kinds of files should not be converted at all, because their
270c6692 141contents are not really text. Therefore, Emacs on MS-Windows distinguishes
1ca54e68 142certain files as @dfn{binary files}. (This distinction is not part of
270c6692 143MS-Windows; it is made by Emacs only.) Binary files include executable
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144programs, compressed archives, etc. Emacs uses the file name to decide
145whether to treat a file as binary: the variable
146@code{file-name-buffer-file-type-alist} defines the file-name patterns
147that indicate binary files. If a file name matches one of the patterns
148for binary files (those whose associations are of the type
149@code{(@var{pattern} . t)}, Emacs reads and writes that file using the
150@code{no-conversion} coding system (@pxref{Coding Systems}) which turns
151off @emph{all} coding-system conversions, not only the EOL conversion.
152@code{file-name-buffer-file-type-alist} also includes file-name patterns
270c6692 153for files which are known to be Windows-style text files with
1ca54e68 154carriage-return linefeed EOL format, such as @file{CONFIG.SYS}; Emacs
270c6692 155always writes those files with Windows-style EOLs.
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156
157 If a file which belongs to an untranslated file system matches one of
158the file-name patterns in @code{file-name-buffer-file-type-alist}, the
159EOL conversion is determined by @code{file-name-buffer-file-type-alist}.
160
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161@node Windows Files
162@section File Names on MS-Windows
163@cindex file names on MS-Windows
164
165 MS-Windows and MS-DOS normally use a backslash, @samp{\}, to
166separate name units within a file name, instead of the slash used on
167other systems. Emacs on MS-DOS/MS-Windows permits use of either slash or
168backslash, and also knows about drive letters in file names.
169
170@cindex file-name completion, on MS-Windows
171 On MS-DOS/MS-Windows, file names are case-insensitive, so Emacs by
172default ignores letter-case in file names during completion.
173
37a75312 174@vindex w32-get-true-file-attributes
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175 The variable @code{w32-get-true-file-attributes} controls whether
176Emacs should issue additional system calls to determine more
177accurately file attributes in primitives like @code{file-attributes}
178and @code{directory-files-and-attributes}. These additional calls are
179needed to report correct file ownership, link counts and file types
180for special files such as pipes. Without these system calls, file
181ownership will be attributed to the current user, link counts will be
182always reported as 1, and special files will be reported as regular
183files.
184
185 If the value of this variable is @code{local} (the default), Emacs
186will issue these additional system calls only for files on local fixed
187drives. Any other non-@code{nil} value means do this even for
188removable and remote volumes, where this could potentially slow down
189Dired and other related features. The value of @code{nil} means never
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190issue those system calls. Non-@code{nil} values are more useful on
191NTFS volumes, which support hard links and file security, than on FAT,
192FAT32, and XFAT volumes.
37a75312 193
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194@node ls in Lisp
195@section Emulation of @code{ls} on MS-Windows
196@cindex Dired, and MS-Windows/MS-DOS
197@cindex @code{ls} emulation
198
199 Dired normally uses the external program @code{ls} (or its close
200work-alike) to produce the directory listing displayed in Dired
201buffers (@pxref{Dired}). However, MS-Windows and MS-DOS systems don't
202come with such a program, although several ports of @sc{gnu} @code{ls}
203are available. Therefore, Emacs on those systems @emph{emulates}
204@code{ls} in Lisp, by using the @file{ls-lisp.el} package. While
205@file{ls-lisp.el} provides a reasonably full emulation of @code{ls},
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206there are some options and features peculiar to that emulation;
207@iftex
208for more details, see the documentation of the variables whose names
209begin with @code{ls-lisp}.
210@end iftex
211@ifnottex
212they are described in this section.
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213
214 The @code{ls} emulation supports many of the @code{ls} switches, but
215it doesn't support all of them. Here's the list of the switches it
216does support: @option{-A}, @option{-a}, @option{-B}, @option{-C},
217@option{-c}, @option{-i}, @option{-G}, @option{-g}, @option{-R},
218@option{-r}, @option{-S}, @option{-s}, @option{-t}, @option{-U},
219@option{-u}, and @option{-X}. The @option{-F} switch is partially
220supported (it appends the character that classifies the file, but does
221not prevent symlink following).
222
223@vindex ls-lisp-use-insert-directory-program
224 On MS-Windows and MS-DOS, @file{ls-lisp.el} is preloaded when Emacs
225is built, so the Lisp emulation of @code{ls} is always used on those
226platforms. If you have a ported @code{ls}, setting
227@code{ls-lisp-use-insert-directory-program} to a non-@code{nil} value
228will revert to using an external program named by the variable
229@code{insert-directory-program}.
230
231@vindex ls-lisp-ignore-case
232 By default, @file{ls-lisp.el} uses a case-sensitive sort order for
233the directory listing it produces; this is so the listing looks the
234same as on other platforms. If you wish that the files be sorted in
235case-insensitive order, set the variable @code{ls-lisp-ignore-case} to
236a non-@code{nil} value.
237
238@vindex ls-lisp-dirs-first
239 By default, files and subdirectories are sorted together, to emulate
240the behavior of @code{ls}. However, native MS-Windows/MS-DOS file
241managers list the directories before the files; if you want that
242behavior, customize the option @code{ls-lisp-dirs-first} to a
243non-@code{nil} value.
244
245@vindex ls-lisp-verbosity
246 The variable @code{ls-lisp-verbosity} controls the file attributes
247that @file{ls-lisp.el} displays. The value should be a list that
248contains one or more of the symbols @code{links}, @code{uid}, and
249@code{gid}. @code{links} means display the count of different file
250names that are associated with (a.k.a.@: @dfn{links to}) the file's
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251data; this is only useful on NTFS volumes. @code{uid} means display
252the numerical identifier of the user who owns the file. @code{gid}
253means display the numerical identifier of the file owner's group. The
254default value is @code{(links uid gid)} i.e.@: all the 3 optional
255attributes are displayed.
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256
257@vindex ls-lisp-emulation
258 The variable @code{ls-lisp-emulation} controls the flavour of the
259@code{ls} emulation by setting the defaults for the 3 options
260described above: @code{ls-lisp-ignore-case},
261@code{ls-lisp-dirs-first}, and @code{ls-lisp-verbosity}. The value of
262this option can be one of the following symbols:
263
264@table @code
265@item GNU
266@itemx nil
267Emulate @sc{gnu} systems; this is the default. This sets
268@code{ls-lisp-ignore-case} and @code{ls-lisp-dirs-first} to
269@code{nil}, and @code{ls-lisp-verbosity} to @code{(links uid gid)}.
270@item UNIX
271Emulate Unix systems. Like @code{GNU}, but sets
272@code{ls-lisp-verbosity} to @code{(links uid)}.
273@item MacOS
274Emulate MacOS. Sets @code{ls-lisp-ignore-case} to @code{t}, and
275@code{ls-lisp-dirs-first} and @code{ls-lisp-verbosity} to @code{nil}.
276@item MS-Windows
277Emulate MS-Windows. Sets @code{ls-lisp-ignore-case} and
278@code{ls-lisp-dirs-first} to @code{t}, and @code{ls-lisp-verbosity} to
279@code{(links)} on Windows NT/2K/XP/2K3 and to @code{nil} on Windows 9X.
280Note that the default emulation is @emph{not} @code{MS-Windows}, even
281on Windows, since many users of Emacs on those platforms prefer the
282@sc{gnu} defaults.
283@end table
284
285@noindent
286Any other value of @code{ls-lisp-emulation} means the same as
287@code{GNU}. Note that this option needs to be set @emph{before}
288@file{ls-lisp.el} is loaded, which means that on MS-Windows and MS-DOS
289you will have to set the value from your @file{.emacs} file and then
290restart Emacs, since @file{ls-lisp.el} is preloaded.
291
292@vindex ls-lisp-support-shell-wildcards
293 The variable @code{ls-lisp-support-shell-wildcards} controls how
294file-name patterns are supported: if it is non-@code{nil} (the
295default), they are treated as shell-style wildcards; otherwise they
296are treated as Emacs regular expressions.
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297
298@vindex ls-lisp-format-time-list
299 The variable @code{ls-lisp-format-time-list} defines how to format
300the date and time of files. @emph{The value of this variable is
301ignored}, unless Emacs cannot determine the current locale. (However,
302if the value of @code{ls-lisp-use-localized-time-format} is
303non-@code{nil}, Emacs obeys @code{ls-lisp-format-time-list} even if
304the current locale is available; see below.)
305
306The value of @code{ls-lisp-format-time-list} is a list of 2 strings.
307The first string is used if the file was modified within the current
308year, while the second string is used for older files. In each of
309these two strings you can use @samp{%}-sequences to substitute parts
310of the time. For example:
311@lisp
312("%b %e %H:%M" "%b %e %Y")
313@end lisp
314
315@noindent
316Note that the strings substituted for these @samp{%}-sequences depend
317on the current locale. @xref{Time Parsing,,, elisp, The Emacs Lisp
318Reference Manual}, for more about format time specs.
319
320@vindex ls-lisp-use-localized-time-format
321 Normally, Emacs formats the file time stamps in either traditional
322or ISO-style time format. However, if the value of the variable
323@code{ls-lisp-use-localized-time-format} is non-@code{nil}, Emacs
324formats file time stamps according to what
325@code{ls-lisp-format-time-list} specifies. The @samp{%}-sequences in
326@code{ls-lisp-format-time-list} produce locale-dependent month and day
327names, which might cause misalignment of columns in Dired display.
7d0a2d30 328@end ifnottex
9974630f 329
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330@node Windows HOME
331@section HOME Directory on MS-Windows
332@cindex @code{HOME} directory on MS-Windows
333
444246ca 334 The Windows equivalent of the @code{HOME} directory is the
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335@dfn{user-specific application data directory}. The actual location
336depends on your Windows version and system configuration; typical values
337are @file{C:\Documents and Settings\@var{username}\Application Data} on
338Windows 2K/XP and later, and either @file{C:\WINDOWS\Application Data}
339or @file{C:\WINDOWS\Profiles\@var{username}\Application Data} on the
340older Windows 9X/ME systems.
341
342@cindex init file @file{.emacs} on MS-Windows
343 The home directory is where your init file @file{.emacs} is stored.
344When Emacs starts, it first checks whether the environment variable
345@env{HOME} is set. If it is, it looks for the init file in the
346directory pointed by @env{HOME}. If @env{HOME} is not defined, Emacs
347checks for an existing @file{.emacs} file in @file{C:\}, the root
348directory of drive @file{C:}@footnote{
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349The check in @file{C:\} is for compatibility with older versions of Emacs,
350which didn't check the application data directory.
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351}. If there's no such file in @file{C:\}, Emacs next uses the Windows
352system calls to find out the exact location of your application data
03bebefc 353directory. If that system call fails, Emacs falls back to @file{C:\}.
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354
355 Whatever the final place is, Emacs sets the value of the @env{HOME}
356environment variable to point to it, and it will use that location for
357other files and directories it normally creates in the user's home
358directory.
359
360 You can always find out where Emacs thinks is your home directory's
361location by typing @kbd{C-x d ~/ @key{RET}}. This should present the
362list of files in the home directory, and show its full name on the
363first line. Likewise, to visit your init file, type @kbd{C-x C-f
364~/.emacs @key{RET}}.
365
366@cindex @file{_emacs} init file, MS-Windows
367 Because MS-DOS does not allow file names with leading dots, and
368because older Windows systems made it hard to create files with such
369names, the Windows port of Emacs supports an alternative name
370@file{_emacs} as a fallback, if such a file exists in the home
371directory, whereas @file{.emacs} does not.
372
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373@node Windows Keyboard
374@section Keyboard Usage on MS-Windows
375@cindex keyboard, MS-Windows
376
377 This section describes the Windows-specific features related to
378keyboard input in Emacs.
379
e7379492 380@cindex MS-Windows keyboard shortcuts
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381 Many key combinations (known as ``keyboard shortcuts'') that have
382conventional uses in MS-Windows programs conflict with traditional
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383Emacs key bindings. (These Emacs key bindings were established years
384before Microsoft was founded.) Examples of conflicts include
385@kbd{C-c}, @kbd{C-x}, @kbd{C-z}, @kbd{C-a}, and @kbd{W-@key{SPC}}.
386You can redefine some of them with meanings more like the MS-Windows
387meanings by enabling CUA Mode (@pxref{CUA Bindings}).
e7379492 388
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389@kindex F10 @r{(MS-Windows)}
390@cindex menu bar access using keyboard @r{(MS-Windows)}
391 The @key{F10} key on Windows activates the menu bar in a way that
392makes it possible to use the menus without a mouse. In this mode, the
393arrow keys traverse the menus, @key{RET} selects a highlighted menu
394item, and @key{ESC} closes the menu.
395
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396@iftex
397@inforef{Windows Keyboard, , emacs}, for information about additional
398Windows-specific variables in this category.
399@end iftex
7d0a2d30 400@ifnottex
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401@vindex w32-alt-is-meta
402@cindex @code{Alt} key (MS-Windows)
403 By default, the key labeled @key{Alt} is mapped as the @key{META}
404key. If you wish it to produce the @code{Alt} modifier instead, set
405the variable @code{w32-alt-is-meta} to a @code{nil} value.
406
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407@findex w32-register-hot-key
408@findex w32-unregister-hot-key
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409 MS-Windows reserves certain key combinations, such as
410@kbd{Alt-@key{TAB}}, for its own use. These key combinations are
411intercepted by the system before Emacs can see them. You can use the
412@code{w32-register-hot-key} function to allow a key sequence to be
413seen by Emacs instead of being grabbed by Windows. This functions
414registers a key sequence as a @dfn{hot key}, overriding the special
415meaning of that key sequence for Windows. (MS-Windows is told that
416the key sequence is a hot key only when one of the Emacs windows has
417focus, so that the special keys still have their usual meaning for
418other Windows applications.)
419
420 The argument to @code{w32-register-hot-key} must be a single key,
421with or without modifiers, in vector form that would be acceptable to
422@code{define-key}. The meta modifier is interpreted as the @key{ALT}
423key if @code{w32-alt-is-meta} is @code{t} (the default), and the hyper
424modifier is always interpreted as the Windows key (usually labeled
425with @key{start} and the Windows logo). If the function succeeds in
426registering the key sequence, it returns the hotkey ID, a number;
427otherwise it returns @code{nil}.
428
429@kindex M-TAB@r{, (MS-Windows)}
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430@cindex @kbd{M-@key{TAB}} vs @kbd{Alt-@key{TAB}} (MS-Windows)
431@cindex @kbd{Alt-@key{TAB}} vs @kbd{M-@key{TAB}} (MS-Windows)
432 For example, @code{(w32-register-hot-key [M-tab])} lets you use
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433@kbd{M-TAB} normally in Emacs, for instance, to complete the word or
434symbol at point at top level, or to complete the current search string
435against previously sought strings during incremental search.
436
437 The function @code{w32-unregister-hot-key} reverses the effect of
438@code{w32-register-hot-key} for its argument key sequence.
71ce5fd0 439
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440@vindex w32-capslock-is-shiftlock
441 By default, the @key{CapsLock} key only affects normal character
442keys (it converts lower-case characters to their upper-case
443variants). However, if you set the variable
444@code{w32-capslock-is-shiftlock} to a non-@code{nil} value, the
445@key{CapsLock} key will affect non-character keys as well, as if you
446pressed the @key{Shift} key while typing the non-character key.
447
448@vindex w32-enable-caps-lock
449 If the variable @code{w32-enable-caps-lock} is set to a @code{nil}
450value, the @key{CapsLock} key produces the symbol @code{capslock}
451instead of the shifted version of they keys. The default value is
452@code{t}.
453
454@vindex w32-enable-num-lock
455@cindex keypad keys (MS-Windows)
456 Similarly, if @code{w32-enable-num-lock} is @code{nil}, the
457@key{NumLock} key will produce the symbol @code{kp-numlock}. The
458default is @code{t}, which causes @key{NumLock} to work as expected:
459toggle the meaning of the keys on the numeric keypad.
7d0a2d30 460@end ifnottex
5a3e3201 461
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462@vindex w32-apps-modifier
463 The variable @code{w32-apps-modifier} controls the effect of the
464@key{Apps} key (usually located between the right @key{Alt} and the
465right @key{Ctrl} keys). Its value can be one of the symbols
466@code{hyper}, @code{super}, @code{meta}, @code{alt}, @code{control},
467or @code{shift} for the respective modifier, or @code{nil} to appear
468as the key @code{apps}. The default is @code{nil}.
469
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470@vindex w32-lwindow-modifier
471@vindex w32-rwindow-modifier
472@vindex w32-scroll-lock-modifier
473 The variable @code{w32-lwindow-modifier} determines the effect of
474the left Windows key (usually labeled with @key{start} and the Windows
475logo). If its value is @code{nil} (the default), the key will produce
476the symbol @code{lwindow}. Setting it to one of the symbols
477@code{hyper}, @code{super}, @code{meta}, @code{alt}, @code{control},
478or @code{shift} will produce the respective modifier. A similar
479variable @code{w32-rwindow-modifier} controls the effect of the right
480Windows key, and @code{w32-scroll-lock-modifier} does the same for the
481@key{ScrLock} key. If these variables are set to @code{nil}, the
482right Windows key produces the symbol @code{rwindow} and @key{ScrLock}
483produces the symbol @code{scroll}.
484
485@vindex w32-pass-alt-to-system
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486@cindex Windows system menu
487@cindex @code{Alt} key invokes menu (Windows)
488 Emacs compiled as a native Windows application normally turns off
489the Windows feature that tapping the @key{ALT} key invokes the Windows
490menu. The reason is that the @key{ALT} serves as @key{META} in Emacs.
491When using Emacs, users often press the @key{META} key temporarily and
492then change their minds; if this has the effect of bringing up the
493Windows menu, it alters the meaning of subsequent commands. Many
494users find this frustrating.
495
496 You can re-enable Windows' default handling of tapping the @key{ALT}
497key by setting @code{w32-pass-alt-to-system} to a non-@code{nil}
498value.
499
7d0a2d30 500@ifnottex
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501@vindex w32-pass-lwindow-to-system
502@vindex w32-pass-rwindow-to-system
37a75312 503 The variables @code{w32-pass-lwindow-to-system} and
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504@code{w32-pass-rwindow-to-system} determine whether the respective
505keys are passed to Windows or swallowed by Emacs. If the value is
506@code{nil}, the respective key is silently swallowed by Emacs,
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507otherwise it is passed to Windows. The default is @code{t} for both
508of these variables. Passing each of these keys to Windows produces
509its normal effect: for example, @kbd{@key{Lwindow}} opens the
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510@code{Start} menu, etc.@footnote{
511Some combinations of the ``Windows'' keys with other keys are caught
512by Windows at low level in a way that Emacs currently cannot prevent.
513For example, @kbd{@key{Lwindow} r} always pops up the Windows
514@samp{Run} dialog. Customizing the value of
515@code{w32-phantom-key-code} might help in some cases, though.}
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516
517@vindex w32-recognize-altgr
518@kindex AltGr @r{(MS-Windows)}
519@cindex AltGr key (MS-Windows)
6041f4e1 520 The variable @code{w32-recognize-altgr} controls whether the
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521@key{AltGr} key (if it exists on your keyboard), or its equivalent,
522the combination of the right @key{Alt} and left @key{Ctrl} keys
523pressed together, is recognized as the @key{AltGr} key. The default
524is @code{t}, which means these keys produce @code{AltGr}; setting it
525to @code{nil} causes @key{AltGr} or the equivalent key combination to
526be interpreted as the combination of @key{CTRL} and @key{META}
527modifiers.
7d0a2d30 528@end ifnottex
5a3e3201 529
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530@node Windows Mouse
531@section Mouse Usage on MS-Windows
532@cindex mouse, and MS-Windows
533
534 This section describes the Windows-specific variables related to
535mouse.
536
537@vindex w32-mouse-button-tolerance
538@cindex simulation of middle mouse button
539 The variable @code{w32-mouse-button-tolerance} specifies the
540time interval, in milliseconds, for faking middle mouse button press
541on 2-button mice. If both mouse buttons are depressed within this
542time interval, Emacs generates a middle mouse button click event
543instead of a double click on one of the buttons.
544
545@vindex w32-pass-extra-mouse-buttons-to-system
546 If the variable @code{w32-pass-extra-mouse-buttons-to-system} is
547non-@code{nil}, Emacs passes the fourth and fifth mouse buttons to
548Windows.
549
550@vindex w32-swap-mouse-buttons
551 The variable @code{w32-swap-mouse-buttons} controls which of the 3
552mouse buttons generates the @kbd{mouse-2} events. When it is
553@code{nil} (the default), the middle button generates @kbd{mouse-2}
554and the right button generates @kbd{mouse-3} events. If this variable
555is non-@code{nil}, the roles of these two buttons are reversed.
5a3e3201 556
ca2565b0 557@node Windows Processes
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558@section Subprocesses on Windows 9X/ME and Windows NT/2K/XP
559@cindex subprocesses on MS-Windows
ca2565b0 560
270c6692 561@cindex DOS applications, running from Emacs
049224f6 562 Emacs compiled as a native Windows application (as opposed to the DOS
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563version) includes full support for asynchronous subprocesses.
564In the Windows version, synchronous and asynchronous subprocesses work
565fine on both
270c6692 566Windows 9X/ME and Windows NT/2K/XP as long as you run only 32-bit Windows
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567applications. However, when you run a DOS application in a subprocess,
568you may encounter problems or be unable to run the application at all;
569and if you run two DOS applications at the same time in two
570subprocesses, you may have to reboot your system.
571
572Since the standard command interpreter (and most command line utilities)
270c6692 573on Windows 9X are DOS applications, these problems are significant when
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574using that system. But there's nothing we can do about them; only
575Microsoft can fix them.
576
577If you run just one DOS application subprocess, the subprocess should
578work as expected as long as it is ``well-behaved'' and does not perform
579direct screen access or other unusual actions. If you have a CPU
580monitor application, your machine will appear to be 100% busy even when
581the DOS application is idle, but this is only an artifact of the way CPU
582monitors measure processor load.
583
584You must terminate the DOS application before you start any other DOS
585application in a different subprocess. Emacs is unable to interrupt or
586terminate a DOS subprocess. The only way you can terminate such a
587subprocess is by giving it a command that tells its program to exit.
588
589If you attempt to run two DOS applications at the same time in separate
590subprocesses, the second one that is started will be suspended until the
591first one finishes, even if either or both of them are asynchronous.
592
270c6692 593@cindex kill DOS application
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594If you can go to the first subprocess, and tell it to exit, the second
595subprocess should continue normally. However, if the second subprocess
596is synchronous, Emacs itself will be hung until the first subprocess
597finishes. If it will not finish without user input, then you have no
ff43a665 598choice but to reboot if you are running on Windows 9X. If you are
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599running on Windows NT/2K/XP, you can use a process viewer application to kill
600the appropriate instance of NTVDM instead (this will terminate both DOS
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601subprocesses).
602
ff43a665 603If you have to reboot Windows 9X in this situation, do not use the
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604@code{Shutdown} command on the @code{Start} menu; that usually hangs the
605system. Instead, type @kbd{CTL-ALT-@key{DEL}} and then choose
606@code{Shutdown}. That usually works, although it may take a few minutes
607to do its job.
608
37a75312 609@vindex w32-quote-process-args
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610 The variable @code{w32-quote-process-args} controls how Emacs quotes
611the process arguments. Non-@code{nil} means quote with the @code{"}
612character. If the value is a character, use that character to escape
613any quote characters that appear; otherwise chose a suitable escape
614character based on the type of the program.
37a75312 615
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616@ifnottex
617@findex w32-shell-execute
618 The function @code{w32-shell-execute} can be useful for writing
619customized commands that run MS-Windows applications registered to
620handle a certain standard Windows operation for a specific type of
621document or file. This function is a wrapper around the Windows
622@code{ShellExecute} API. See the MS-Windows API documentation for
623more details.
624@end ifnottex
625
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626@node Windows Printing
627@section Printing and MS-Windows
628
629 Printing commands, such as @code{lpr-buffer} (@pxref{Printing}) and
630@code{ps-print-buffer} (@pxref{PostScript}) work in MS-DOS and
631MS-Windows by sending the output to one of the printer ports, if a
632Posix-style @code{lpr} program is unavailable. The same Emacs
633variables control printing on all systems, but in some cases they have
634different default values on MS-DOS and MS-Windows.
635
636 Emacs on Windows automatically determines your default printer and
03bebefc 637sets the variable @code{printer-name} to that printer's name. But in
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638some rare cases this can fail, or you may wish to use a different
639printer from within Emacs. The rest of this section explains how to
640tell Emacs which printer to use.
641
03bebefc 642@vindex printer-name@r{, (MS-DOS/MS-Windows)}
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643 If you want to use your local printer, then set the Lisp variable
644@code{lpr-command} to @code{""} (its default value on Windows) and
645@code{printer-name} to the name of the printer port---for example,
646@code{"PRN"}, the usual local printer port or @code{"LPT2"}, or
647@code{"COM1"} for a serial printer. You can also set
648@code{printer-name} to a file name, in which case ``printed'' output
649is actually appended to that file. If you set @code{printer-name} to
650@code{"NUL"}, printed output is silently discarded (sent to the system
651null device).
652
653 You can also use a printer shared by another machine by setting
654@code{printer-name} to the UNC share name for that printer---for
655example, @code{"//joes_pc/hp4si"}. (It doesn't matter whether you use
656forward slashes or backslashes here.) To find out the names of shared
657printers, run the command @samp{net view} from the command prompt to
658obtain a list of servers, and @samp{net view @var{server-name}} to see
659the names of printers (and directories) shared by that server.
660Alternatively, click the @samp{Network Neighborhood} icon on your
661desktop, and look for machines which share their printers via the
662network.
663
664@cindex @samp{net use}, and printing on MS-Windows
665@cindex networked printers (MS-Windows)
666 If the printer doesn't appear in the output of @samp{net view}, or
667if setting @code{printer-name} to the UNC share name doesn't produce a
668hardcopy on that printer, you can use the @samp{net use} command to
669connect a local print port such as @code{"LPT2"} to the networked
670printer. For example, typing @kbd{net use LPT2: \\joes_pc\hp4si}@footnote{
671Note that the @samp{net use} command requires the UNC share name to be
672typed with the Windows-style backslashes, while the value of
673@code{printer-name} can be set with either forward- or backslashes.}
674causes Windows to @dfn{capture} the @code{LPT2} port and redirect the
675printed material to the printer connected to the machine @code{joes_pc}.
676After this command, setting @code{printer-name} to @code{"LPT2"}
677should produce the hardcopy on the networked printer.
678
679 With some varieties of Windows network software, you can instruct
680Windows to capture a specific printer port such as @code{"LPT2"}, and
681redirect it to a networked printer via the @w{@code{Control
682Panel->Printers}} applet instead of @samp{net use}.
683
684 If you set @code{printer-name} to a file name, it's best to use an
685absolute file name. Emacs changes the working directory according to
686the default directory of the current buffer, so if the file name in
687@code{printer-name} is relative, you will end up with several such
688files, each one in the directory of the buffer from which the printing
689was done.
690
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691 If the value of @code{printer-name} is correct, but printing does
692not produce the hardcopy on your printer, it is possible that your
693printer does not support printing plain text (some cheap printers omit
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694this functionality). In that case, try the PostScript print commands,
695described below.
375136cc 696
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697@findex print-buffer @r{(MS-DOS)}
698@findex print-region @r{(MS-DOS)}
699@vindex lpr-headers-switches @r{(MS-DOS)}
700 The commands @code{print-buffer} and @code{print-region} call the
701@code{pr} program, or use special switches to the @code{lpr} program, to
702produce headers on each printed page. MS-DOS and MS-Windows don't
703normally have these programs, so by default, the variable
704@code{lpr-headers-switches} is set so that the requests to print page
705headers are silently ignored. Thus, @code{print-buffer} and
706@code{print-region} produce the same output as @code{lpr-buffer} and
707@code{lpr-region}, respectively. If you do have a suitable @code{pr}
708program (for example, from GNU Coreutils), set
709@code{lpr-headers-switches} to @code{nil}; Emacs will then call
710@code{pr} to produce the page headers, and print the resulting output as
711specified by @code{printer-name}.
712
713@vindex print-region-function @r{(MS-DOS)}
714@cindex lpr usage under MS-DOS
715@vindex lpr-command @r{(MS-DOS)}
716@vindex lpr-switches @r{(MS-DOS)}
717 Finally, if you do have an @code{lpr} work-alike, you can set the
718variable @code{lpr-command} to @code{"lpr"}. Then Emacs will use
719@code{lpr} for printing, as on other systems. (If the name of the
720program isn't @code{lpr}, set @code{lpr-command} to specify where to
721find it.) The variable @code{lpr-switches} has its standard meaning
722when @code{lpr-command} is not @code{""}. If the variable
723@code{printer-name} has a string value, it is used as the value for the
724@code{-P} option to @code{lpr}, as on Unix.
725
726@findex ps-print-buffer @r{(MS-DOS)}
727@findex ps-spool-buffer @r{(MS-DOS)}
728@vindex ps-printer-name @r{(MS-DOS)}
729@vindex ps-lpr-command @r{(MS-DOS)}
730@vindex ps-lpr-switches @r{(MS-DOS)}
731 A parallel set of variables, @code{ps-lpr-command},
732@code{ps-lpr-switches}, and @code{ps-printer-name} (@pxref{PostScript
733Variables}), defines how PostScript files should be printed. These
734variables are used in the same way as the corresponding variables
735described above for non-PostScript printing. Thus, the value of
736@code{ps-printer-name} is used as the name of the device (or file) to
737which PostScript output is sent, just as @code{printer-name} is used
738for non-PostScript printing. (There are two distinct sets of
739variables in case you have two printers attached to two different
740ports, and only one of them is a PostScript printer.)
741
6c60bbdb 742@cindex Ghostscript, use for PostScript printing
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743 The default value of the variable @code{ps-lpr-command} is @code{""},
744which causes PostScript output to be sent to the printer port specified
745by @code{ps-printer-name}, but @code{ps-lpr-command} can also be set to
746the name of a program which will accept PostScript files. Thus, if you
747have a non-PostScript printer, you can set this variable to the name of
748a PostScript interpreter program (such as Ghostscript). Any switches
749that need to be passed to the interpreter program are specified using
750@code{ps-lpr-switches}. (If the value of @code{ps-printer-name} is a
751string, it will be added to the list of switches as the value for the
752@code{-P} option. This is probably only useful if you are using
753@code{lpr}, so when using an interpreter typically you would set
754@code{ps-printer-name} to something other than a string so it is
755ignored.)
756
757 For example, to use Ghostscript for printing on the system's default
758printer, put this in your @file{.emacs} file:
759
760@example
761(setq ps-printer-name t)
762(setq ps-lpr-command "D:/gs6.01/bin/gswin32c.exe")
763(setq ps-lpr-switches '("-q" "-dNOPAUSE" "-dBATCH"
764 "-sDEVICE=mswinpr2"
765 "-sPAPERSIZE=a4"))
766@end example
767
768@noindent
769(This assumes that Ghostscript is installed in the
770@file{D:/gs6.01} directory.)
771
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772@node Windows Fonts
773@section Specifying Fonts on MS-Windows
774@cindex font specification (MS Windows)
775
776 Starting with Emacs 23, fonts are specified by their name, size
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777and optional properties. The format for specifying fonts comes from the
778fontconfig library used in modern Free desktops:
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779
780@example
781 [Family[-PointSize]][:Option1=Value1[:Option2=Value2[...]]]
782@end example
783
784 The old XLFD based format is also supported for backwards compatibility.
785
87e391bb 786 Emacs 23 supports a number of backends. Currently, the @code{gdi}
ed6e7b11 787and @code{uniscribe} font backends are supported on Windows. The
86dca3e8 788@code{gdi} font backend is available on all versions of Windows, and
ed6e7b11 789supports all fonts that are natively supported by Windows. The
86dca3e8 790@code{uniscribe} font backend is available on Windows 2000 and later,
ed6e7b11 791and supports Truetype and Opentype fonts. Some languages requiring
86dca3e8 792complex layout can only be properly supported by the uniscribe
ed6e7b11 793backend. By default, both backends are enabled if supported, with
86dca3e8 794@code{uniscribe} taking priority over @code{gdi}.
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795
796@cindex font properties (MS Windows)
797@noindent
798Optional properties common to all font backends on MS-Windows are:
799
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800@table @code
801
03bebefc 802@vindex font-weight-table @r{(MS-Windows)}
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803@item weight
804Specifies the weight of the font. Special values @code{light},
805@code{medium}, @code{demibold}, @code{bold}, and @code{black} can be specified
806without @code{weight=} (e.g., @kbd{Courier New-12:bold}). Otherwise,
03bebefc 807the weight should be a numeric value between 100 and 900, or one of the
87e391bb 808named weights in @code{font-weight-table}. If unspecified, a regular font
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809is assumed.
810
811@vindex font-slant-table @r{(MS-Windows)}
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812@item slant
813Specifies whether the font is italic. Special values
03bebefc 814@code{roman}, @code{italic} and @code{oblique} can be specified
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815without @code{slant=} (e.g., @kbd{Courier New-12:italic}).
816Otherwise, the slant should be a numeric value, or one of the named
03bebefc 817slants in @code{font-slant-table}. On Windows, any slant above 150 is
87e391bb 818treated as italics, and anything below as roman.
03bebefc 819
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820@item family
821Specifies the font family, but normally this will be specified
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822at the start of the font name.
823
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824@item pixelsize
825Specifies the font size in pixels. This can be used instead
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826of the point size specified after the family name.
827
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828@item adstyle
829Specifies additional style information for the font.
03bebefc 830On MS-Windows, the values @code{mono}, @code{sans}, @code{serif},
87e391bb 831@code{script} and @code{decorative} are recognized. These are most useful
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832as a fallback with the font family left unspecified.
833
834@vindex w32-charset-info-alist
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835@item registry
836Specifies the character set registry that the font is
837expected to cover. Most Truetype and Opentype fonts will be unicode fonts
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838that cover several national character sets, but you can narrow down the
839selection of fonts to those that support a particular character set by
840using a specific registry from @code{w32-charset-info-alist} here.
841
87e391bb 842@item spacing
ed6e7b11 843Specifies how the font is spaced. The @code{p} spacing specifies
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844a proportional font, and @code{m} or @code{c} specify a monospaced font.
845
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846@item foundry
847Not used on Windows, but for informational purposes and to
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848prevent problems with code that expects it to be set, is set internally to
849@code{raster} for bitmapped fonts, @code{outline} for scalable fonts,
850or @code{unknown} if the type cannot be determined as one of those.
87e391bb 851@end table
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852
853@cindex font properties (MS Windows gdi backend)
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854Options specific to @code{GDI} fonts:
855
856@table @code
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857
858@cindex font scripts (MS Windows)
859@cindex font unicode subranges (MS Windows)
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860@item script
861Specifies a unicode subrange the font should support.
862
863The following scripts are recognized on Windows: @code{latin}, @code{greek},
864@code{coptic}, @code{cyrillic}, @code{armenian}, @code{hebrew}, @code{arabic},
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865@code{syriac}, @code{nko}, @code{thaana}, @code{devanagari}, @code{bengali},
866@code{gurmukhi}, @code{gujarati}, @code{oriya}, @code{tamil}, @code{telugu},
867@code{kannada}, @code{malayam}, @code{sinhala}, @code{thai}, @code{lao},
868@code{tibetan}, @code{myanmar}, @code{georgian}, @code{hangul},
869@code{ethiopic}, @code{cherokee}, @code{canadian-aboriginal}, @code{ogham},
870@code{runic}, @code{khmer}, @code{mongolian}, @code{symbol}, @code{braille},
871@code{han}, @code{ideographic-description}, @code{cjk-misc}, @code{kana},
872@code{bopomofo}, @code{kanbun}, @code{yi}, @code{byzantine-musical-symbol},
873@code{musical-symbol}, and @code{mathematical}.
874
875@cindex font antialiasing (MS Windows)
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876@item antialias
877Specifies the antialiasing to use for the font. The value @code{none}
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878means no antialiasing, @code{standard} means use standard antialiasing,
879@code{subpixel} means use subpixel antialiasing (known as Cleartype on Windows),
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880and @code{natural} means use subpixel antialiasing with adjusted spacing between
881letters. If unspecified, the font will use the system default antialiasing.
882@end table
03bebefc 883
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884@node Windows Misc
885@section Miscellaneous Windows-specific features
886
887 This section describes miscellaneous Windows-specific features.
888
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889@vindex w32-use-visible-system-caret
890@cindex screen reader software, MS-Windows
891 The variable @code{w32-use-visible-system-caret} is a flag that
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892determines whether to make the system caret visible. The default when
893no screen reader software is in use is @code{nil}, which means Emacs
894draws its own cursor to indicate the position of point. A
895non-@code{nil} value means Emacs will indicate point location by the
896system caret; this facilitates use of screen reader software, and is
897the default when such software is detected when running Emacs.
898When this variable is non-@code{nil}, other variables affecting the
899cursor display have no effect.
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900
901@iftex
902@inforef{Windows Misc, , emacs}, for information about additional
903Windows-specific variables in this category.
904@end iftex
905
7d0a2d30 906@ifnottex
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907@vindex w32-grab-focus-on-raise
908@cindex frame focus policy, MS-Windows
909 The variable @code{w32-grab-focus-on-raise}, if set to a
910non-@code{nil} value causes a frame to grab focus when it is raised.
911The default is @code{t}, which fits well with the Windows default
912click-to-focus policy.
7d0a2d30 913@end ifnottex
37a75312 914
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915@ifnottex
916@include msdog-xtra.texi
917@end ifnottex
918
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919@ignore
920 arch-tag: f39d2590-5dcc-4318-88d9-0eb73ca10fa2
921@end ignore