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[bpt/emacs.git] / man / display.texi
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802b0ea7 1@c This is part of the Emacs manual.
b65d8176 2@c Copyright (C) 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001,
4e6835db 3@c 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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4@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
5@node Display, Search, Registers, Top
6@chapter Controlling the Display
7
8 Since only part of a large buffer fits in the window, Emacs tries to
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9show a part that is likely to be interesting. Display-control
10commands allow you to specify which part of the text you want to see,
11and how to display it. Many variables also affect the details of
12redisplay. Unless otherwise stated, the variables described in this
13chapter have their effect by customizing redisplay itself; therefore,
14their values only make a difference at the time of redisplay.
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15
16@menu
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17* Scrolling:: Commands to move text up and down in a window.
18* Auto Scrolling:: Redisplay scrolls text automatically when needed.
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19* Horizontal Scrolling:: Moving text left and right in a window.
20* Follow Mode:: Follow mode lets two windows scroll as one.
b8f3a9e3 21* Faces:: How to change the display style using faces.
43d08eb9 22* Standard Faces:: Emacs' predefined faces.
b8f3a9e3 23* Font Lock:: Minor mode for syntactic highlighting using faces.
b8f3a9e3 24* Highlight Interactively:: Tell Emacs what text to highlight.
fad78d58 25* Fringes:: Enabling or disabling window fringes.
9d2908a6 26* Displaying Boundaries:: Displaying top and bottom of the buffer.
fad78d58 27* Useless Whitespace:: Showing possibly-spurious trailing whitespace.
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28* Selective Display:: Hiding lines with lots of indentation.
29* Optional Mode Line:: Optional mode line display features.
30* Text Display:: How text characters are normally displayed.
099bfef9 31* Cursor Display:: Features for displaying the cursor.
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32* Line Truncation:: Truncating lines to fit the screen width instead
33 of continuing them to multiple screen lines.
0015d677 34* Display Custom:: Information on variables for customizing display.
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35@end menu
36
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37@node Scrolling
38@section Scrolling
39
40 If a buffer contains text that is too large to fit entirely within a
41window that is displaying the buffer, Emacs shows a contiguous portion of
42the text. The portion shown always contains point.
43
44@cindex scrolling
45 @dfn{Scrolling} means moving text up or down in the window so that
46different parts of the text are visible. Scrolling ``forward'' or
47``up'' means that text moves up, and new text appears at the bottom.
48Scrolling ``backward'' or ``down'' moves text down, and new text
49appears at the top.
50
51 Scrolling happens automatically if you move point past the bottom or
52top of the window. You can also scroll explicitly with the commands
53in this section.
54
55@table @kbd
56@item C-l
57Clear screen and redisplay, scrolling the selected window to center
58point vertically within it (@code{recenter}).
59@item C-v
60Scroll forward (a windowful or a specified number of lines) (@code{scroll-up}).
61@item @key{NEXT}
62@itemx @key{PAGEDOWN}
63Likewise, scroll forward.
64@item M-v
65Scroll backward (@code{scroll-down}).
66@item @key{PRIOR}
67@itemx @key{PAGEUP}
68Likewise, scroll backward.
69@item @var{arg} C-l
70Scroll so point is on line @var{arg} (@code{recenter}).
71@item C-M-l
72Scroll heuristically to bring useful information onto the screen
73(@code{reposition-window}).
74@end table
75
76@kindex C-l
77@findex recenter
78 The most basic scrolling command is @kbd{C-l} (@code{recenter}) with
79no argument. It scrolls the selected window so that point is halfway
80down from the top of the window. On a text terminal, it also clears
81the screen and redisplays all windows. That is useful in case the
82screen is garbled (@pxref{Screen Garbled}).
83
84@kindex C-v
85@kindex M-v
86@kindex NEXT
87@kindex PRIOR
88@kindex PAGEDOWN
89@kindex PAGEUP
90@findex scroll-up
91@findex scroll-down
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92 To read the buffer a windowful at a time, use @kbd{C-v}
93(@code{scroll-up}) with no argument. This scrolls forward by nearly
94the whole window height. The effect is to take the two lines at the
95bottom of the window and put them at the top, followed by nearly a
96whole windowful of lines that were not previously visible. If point
97was in the text that scrolled off the top, it ends up at the new top
98of the window.
99
43d67313 100@vindex next-screen-context-lines
dc917bd9 101 @kbd{M-v} (@code{scroll-down}) with no argument scrolls backward in
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102a similar way, also with overlap. The number of lines of overlap that
103the @kbd{C-v} or @kbd{M-v} commands leave is controlled by the
104variable @code{next-screen-context-lines}; by default, it is 2. The
105function keys @key{NEXT} and @key{PRIOR}, or @key{PAGEDOWN} and
106@key{PAGEUP}, are equivalent to @kbd{C-v} and @kbd{M-v}.
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107
108 The commands @kbd{C-v} and @kbd{M-v} with a numeric argument scroll
109the text in the selected window up or down a few lines. @kbd{C-v}
110with an argument moves the text and point up, together, that many
111lines; it brings the same number of new lines into view at the bottom
112of the window. @kbd{M-v} with numeric argument scrolls the text
113downward, bringing that many new lines into view at the top of the
114window. @kbd{C-v} with a negative argument is like @kbd{M-v} and vice
115versa.
116
117 The names of scroll commands are based on the direction that the
118text moves in the window. Thus, the command to scroll forward is
119called @code{scroll-up} because it moves the text upward on the
120screen. The keys @key{PAGEDOWN} and @key{PAGEUP} derive their names
121and customary meanings from a different convention that developed
122elsewhere; hence the strange result that @key{PAGEDOWN} runs
123@code{scroll-up}.
124
125@vindex scroll-preserve-screen-position
126 Some users like the full-screen scroll commands to keep point at the
127same screen line. To enable this behavior, set the variable
128@code{scroll-preserve-screen-position} to a non-@code{nil} value. In
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129this mode, when these commands would scroll the text around point off
130the screen, or within @code{scroll-margin} lines of the edge, they
c39bed4b 131move point to keep the same vertical position within the window.
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132This mode is convenient for browsing through a file by scrolling by
133screenfuls; if you come back to the screen where you started, point
134goes back to the line where it started. However, this mode is
135inconvenient when you move to the next screen in order to move point
136to the text there.
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137
138 Another way to do scrolling is with @kbd{C-l} with a numeric argument.
139@kbd{C-l} does not clear the screen when given an argument; it only scrolls
140the selected window. With a positive argument @var{n}, it repositions text
141to put point @var{n} lines down from the top. An argument of zero puts
142point on the very top line. Point does not move with respect to the text;
143rather, the text and point move rigidly on the screen. @kbd{C-l} with a
144negative argument puts point that many lines from the bottom of the window.
145For example, @kbd{C-u - 1 C-l} puts point on the bottom line, and @kbd{C-u
146- 5 C-l} puts it five lines from the bottom. @kbd{C-u C-l} scrolls to put
147point at the center (vertically) of the selected window.
148
149@kindex C-M-l
150@findex reposition-window
151 The @kbd{C-M-l} command (@code{reposition-window}) scrolls the current
152window heuristically in a way designed to get useful information onto
153the screen. For example, in a Lisp file, this command tries to get the
154entire current defun onto the screen if possible.
155
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156@node Auto Scrolling
157@section Automatic Scrolling
158
dc917bd9 159@vindex scroll-conservatively
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160 Redisplay scrolls the buffer automatically when point moves out of
161the visible portion of the text. The purpose of automatic scrolling
162is to make point visible, but you can customize many aspects of how
163this is done.
164
165 Normally, automatic scrolling centers point vertically within the
166window. However, if you set @code{scroll-conservatively} to a small
167number @var{n}, then if you move point just a little off the
168screen---less than @var{n} lines---then Emacs scrolls the text just
169far enough to bring point back on screen. By default,
9705fb37 170@code{scroll-conservatively} is@tie{}0.
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171
172@cindex aggressive scrolling
173@vindex scroll-up-aggressively
174@vindex scroll-down-aggressively
175 When the window does scroll by a longer distance, you can control
176how aggressively it scrolls, by setting the variables
177@code{scroll-up-aggressively} and @code{scroll-down-aggressively}.
178The value of @code{scroll-up-aggressively} should be either
179@code{nil}, or a fraction @var{f} between 0 and 1. A fraction
180specifies where on the screen to put point when scrolling upward.
181More precisely, when a window scrolls up because point is above the
182window start, the new start position is chosen to put point @var{f}
183part of the window height from the top. The larger @var{f}, the more
184aggressive the scrolling.
185
186 @code{nil}, which is the default, scrolls to put point at the center.
187So it is equivalent to .5.
188
189 Likewise, @code{scroll-down-aggressively} is used for scrolling
190down. The value, @var{f}, specifies how far point should be placed
191from the bottom of the window; thus, as with
192@code{scroll-up-aggressively}, a larger value is more aggressive.
193
194@vindex scroll-margin
195 The variable @code{scroll-margin} restricts how close point can come
196to the top or bottom of a window. Its value is a number of screen
197lines; if point comes within that many lines of the top or bottom of the
198window, Emacs recenters the window. By default, @code{scroll-margin} is
1990.
200
201@node Horizontal Scrolling
202@section Horizontal Scrolling
203@cindex horizontal scrolling
204
205 @dfn{Horizontal scrolling} means shifting all the lines sideways
206within a window---so that some of the text near the left margin is not
207displayed at all. When the text in a window is scrolled horizontally,
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208text lines are truncated rather than continued (@pxref{Line
209Truncation}). Whenever a window shows truncated lines, Emacs
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210automatically updates its horizontal scrolling whenever point moves
211off the left or right edge of the screen. You can also use these
212commands to do explicit horizontal scrolling.
213
214@table @kbd
215@item C-x <
216Scroll text in current window to the left (@code{scroll-left}).
217@item C-x >
218Scroll to the right (@code{scroll-right}).
219@end table
220
221@kindex C-x <
222@kindex C-x >
223@findex scroll-left
224@findex scroll-right
225 The command @kbd{C-x <} (@code{scroll-left}) scrolls the selected
226window to the left by @var{n} columns with argument @var{n}. This moves
227part of the beginning of each line off the left edge of the window.
228With no argument, it scrolls by almost the full width of the window (two
229columns less, to be precise).
230
231 @kbd{C-x >} (@code{scroll-right}) scrolls similarly to the right. The
232window cannot be scrolled any farther to the right once it is displayed
233normally (with each line starting at the window's left margin);
234attempting to do so has no effect. This means that you don't have to
235calculate the argument precisely for @w{@kbd{C-x >}}; any sufficiently large
236argument will restore the normal display.
237
238 If you use those commands to scroll a window horizontally, that sets
239a lower bound for automatic horizontal scrolling. Automatic scrolling
240will continue to scroll the window, but never farther to the right
241than the amount you previously set by @code{scroll-left}.
242
243@vindex hscroll-margin
244 The value of the variable @code{hscroll-margin} controls how close
245to the window's edges point is allowed to get before the window will
246be automatically scrolled. It is measured in columns. If the value
247is 5, then moving point within 5 columns of the edge causes horizontal
248scrolling away from that edge.
249
250@vindex hscroll-step
251 The variable @code{hscroll-step} determines how many columns to
252scroll the window when point gets too close to the edge. If it's
253zero, horizontal scrolling centers point horizontally within the
254window. If it's a positive integer, it specifies the number of
255columns to scroll by. If it's a floating-point number, it specifies
256the fraction of the window's width to scroll by. The default is zero.
257
258@vindex auto-hscroll-mode
259 To disable automatic horizontal scrolling, set the variable
260@code{auto-hscroll-mode} to @code{nil}.
261
262@node Follow Mode
263@section Follow Mode
264@cindex Follow mode
265@cindex mode, Follow
266@findex follow-mode
267@cindex windows, synchronizing
268@cindex synchronizing windows
269
270 @dfn{Follow mode} is a minor mode that makes two windows, both
271showing the same buffer, scroll as a single tall ``virtual window.''
272To use Follow mode, go to a frame with just one window, split it into
273two side-by-side windows using @kbd{C-x 3}, and then type @kbd{M-x
274follow-mode}. From then on, you can edit the buffer in either of the
275two windows, or scroll either one; the other window follows it.
276
277 In Follow mode, if you move point outside the portion visible in one
278window and into the portion visible in the other window, that selects
279the other window---again, treating the two as if they were parts of
280one large window.
281
282 To turn off Follow mode, type @kbd{M-x follow-mode} a second time.
283
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284@node Faces
285@section Using Multiple Typefaces
286@cindex faces
287
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288 You can specify various styles for displaying text using
289@dfn{faces}. Each face can specify various @dfn{face attributes},
290such as the font family, the height, weight and slant of the
291characters, the foreground and background color, and underlining or
292overlining. A face does not have to specify all of these attributes;
293often it inherits most of them from another face.
306da12e 294
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295 On graphical display, all the Emacs face attributes are meaningful.
296On a text-only terminal, only some of them work. Some text-only
306da12e 297terminals support inverse video, bold, and underline attributes; some
54952612 298support colors. Text-only terminals generally do not support changing
306da12e 299the height and width or the font family.
c1b45553 300
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301 Emacs uses faces automatically for highlighting, through the work of
302Font Lock mode. @xref{Font Lock}, for more information about Font
303Lock mode and syntactic highlighting. You can print out the buffer
304with the highlighting that appears on your screen using the command
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305@code{ps-print-buffer-with-faces}. @xref{PostScript}.
306
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307 You control the appearance of a part of the text in the buffer by
308specifying the face or faces to use for it. The style of display used
309for any given character is determined by combining the attributes of
310all the applicable faces specified for that character. Any attribute
0ec1f115 311that isn't specified by these faces is taken from the @code{default} face,
04d0b662 312whose attributes reflect the default settings of the frame itself.
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313
314 Enriched mode, the mode for editing formatted text, includes several
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315commands and menus for specifying faces for text in the buffer.
316@xref{Format Faces}, for how to specify the font for text in the
317buffer. @xref{Format Colors}, for how to specify the foreground and
318background color.
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319
320@cindex face colors, setting
321@findex set-face-foreground
322@findex set-face-background
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323 To alter the appearance of a face, use the customization buffer.
324@xref{Face Customization}. You can also use X resources to specify
186e9bcc 325attributes of particular faces (@pxref{Resources}). Alternatively,
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326you can change the foreground and background colors of a specific face
327with @kbd{M-x set-face-foreground} and @kbd{M-x set-face-background}.
328These commands prompt in the minibuffer for a face name and a color
329name, with completion, and then set that face to use the specified
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330color. Changing the colors of the @code{default} face also changes
331the foreground and background colors on all frames, both existing and
332those to be created in the future. (You can also set foreground and
333background colors for the current frame only; see @ref{Frame
334Parameters}.)
0073fd65 335
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336 If you want to alter the appearance of all Emacs frames, you need to
337customize the frame parameters in the variable
338@code{default-frame-alist}; see @ref{Creating Frames,
339default-frame-alist}.
340
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341 Emacs can correctly display variable-width fonts, but Emacs commands
342that calculate width and indentation do not know how to calculate
343variable widths. This can sometimes lead to incorrect results when
344you use variable-width fonts. In particular, indentation commands can
345give inconsistent results, so we recommend you avoid variable-width
346fonts for editing program source code. Filling will sometimes make
347lines too long or too short. We plan to address these issues in
348future Emacs versions.
b8f3a9e3 349
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350@node Standard Faces
351@section Standard Faces
352
b8f3a9e3 353@findex list-faces-display
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354 To see what faces are currently defined, and what they look like,
355type @kbd{M-x list-faces-display}. It's possible for a given face to
356look different in different frames; this command shows the appearance
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357in the frame in which you type it. With a prefix argument, this
358prompts for a regular expression, and displays only faces with names
359matching that regular expression.
3b91a16d 360
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361 Here are the standard faces for specifying text appearance. You can
362apply them to specific text when you want the effects they produce.
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363
364@table @code
365@item default
54952612 366This face is used for ordinary text that doesn't specify any face.
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367@item bold
368This face uses a bold variant of the default font, if it has one.
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369It's up to you to choose a default font that has a bold variant,
370if you want to use one.
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371@item italic
372This face uses an italic variant of the default font, if it has one.
373@item bold-italic
374This face uses a bold italic variant of the default font, if it has one.
375@item underline
376This face underlines text.
377@item fixed-pitch
3b91a16d 378This face forces use of a particular fixed-width font.
43d08eb9 379@item variable-pitch
3b91a16d 380This face forces use of a particular variable-width font. It's
54952612 381reasonable to customize this face to use a different variable-width font,
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382if you like, but you should not make it a fixed-width font.
383@item shadow
384This face is used for making the text less noticeable than the surrounding
385ordinary text. Usually this can be achieved by using shades of gray in
386contrast with either black or white default foreground color.
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387@end table
388
389 Here's an incomplete list of faces used to highlight parts of the
390text temporarily for specific purposes. (Many other modes define
391their own faces for this purpose.)
392
393@table @code
394@item highlight
395This face is used for highlighting portions of text, in various modes.
396For example, mouse-sensitive text is highlighted using this face.
43d08eb9 397@item isearch
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398This face is used for highlighting the current Isearch match.
399@item query-replace
400This face is used for highlighting the current Query Replace match.
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401@item lazy-highlight
402This face is used for lazy highlighting of Isearch and Query Replace
403matches other than the current one.
404@item region
405This face is used for displaying a selected region (when Transient Mark
406mode is enabled---see below).
407@item secondary-selection
408This face is used for displaying a secondary X selection (@pxref{Secondary
409Selection}).
410@item trailing-whitespace
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411The face for highlighting excess spaces and tabs at the end of a line
412when @code{show-trailing-whitespace} is non-@code{nil}; see
413@ref{Useless Whitespace}.
43d08eb9 414@item nobreak-space
5a7f4c1b 415The face for displaying the character ``nobreak space.''
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416@item escape-glyph
417The face for highlighting the @samp{\} or @samp{^} that indicates
418a control character. It's also used when @samp{\} indicates a
419nobreak space or nobreak (soft) hyphen.
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420@end table
421
422@cindex @code{region} face
423 When Transient Mark mode is enabled, the text of the region is
424highlighted when the mark is active. This uses the face named
425@code{region}; you can control the style of highlighting by changing the
426style of this face (@pxref{Face Customization}). @xref{Transient Mark},
427for more information about Transient Mark mode and activation and
428deactivation of the mark.
429
430 These faces control the appearance of parts of the Emacs frame.
431They exist as faces to provide a consistent way to customize the
432appearance of these parts of the frame.
433
434@table @code
b8f3a9e3 435@item mode-line
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436@itemx modeline
437This face is used for the mode line of the currently selected window,
438and for menu bars when toolkit menus are not used. By default, it's
54952612 439drawn with shadows for a ``raised'' effect on graphical displays, and
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440drawn as the inverse of the default face on non-windowed terminals.
441@code{modeline} is an alias for the @code{mode-line} face, for
442compatibility with old Emacs versions.
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443@item mode-line-inactive
444Like @code{mode-line}, but used for mode lines of the windows other
445than the selected one (if @code{mode-line-in-non-selected-windows} is
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446non-@code{nil}). This face inherits from @code{mode-line}, so changes
447in that face affect mode lines in all windows.
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448@item mode-line-highlight
449Like @code{highlight}, but used for portions of text on mode lines.
450@item mode-line-buffer-id
451This face is used for buffer identification parts in the mode line.
b8f3a9e3 452@item header-line
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453Similar to @code{mode-line} for a window's header line, which appears
454at the top of a window just as the mode line appears at the bottom.
455Most windows do not have a header line---only some special modes, such
456Info mode, create one.
53abc3bf 457@item vertical-border
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458This face is used for the vertical divider between windows.
459By default this face inherits from the @code{mode-line-inactive} face
54952612 460on character terminals. On graphical displays the foreground color of
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461this face is used for the vertical line between windows without
462scrollbars.
3094ad7a 463@item minibuffer-prompt
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464@cindex @code{minibuffer-prompt} face
465@vindex minibuffer-prompt-properties
3094ad7a 466This face is used for the prompt strings displayed in the minibuffer.
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467By default, Emacs automatically adds this face to the value of
468@code{minibuffer-prompt-properties}, which is a list of text
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469properties used to display the prompt text. (This variable takes
470effect when you enter the minibuffer.)
b8f3a9e3 471@item fringe
3b91a16d 472@cindex @code{fringe} face
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473The face for the fringes to the left and right of windows on graphic
474displays. (The fringes are the narrow portions of the Emacs frame
940627fe 475between the text area and the window's right and left borders.)
43d08eb9 476@xref{Fringes}.
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477@item scroll-bar
478This face determines the visual appearance of the scroll bar.
43d08eb9 479@xref{Scroll Bars}.
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480@item border
481This face determines the color of the frame border.
482@item cursor
483This face determines the color of the cursor.
484@item mouse
485This face determines the color of the mouse pointer.
486@item tool-bar
54952612 487This face determines the color of tool bar icons. @xref{Tool Bars}.
b8f3a9e3 488@item tooltip
43d08eb9 489This face is used for tooltips. @xref{Tooltips}.
b8f3a9e3 490@item menu
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491@cindex menu bar appearance
492@cindex @code{menu} face, no effect if customized
493@cindex customization of @code{menu} face
494This face determines the colors and font of Emacs's menus. @xref{Menu
495Bars}. Setting the font of LessTif/Motif menus is currently not
496supported; attempts to set the font are ignored in this case.
497Likewise, attempts to customize this face in Emacs built with GTK and
461a3118 498in the MS-Windows/Mac ports are ignored by the respective GUI toolkits;
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499you need to use system-wide styles and options to change the
500appearance of the menus.
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501@end table
502
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503@node Font Lock
504@section Font Lock mode
505@cindex Font Lock mode
506@cindex mode, Font Lock
507@cindex syntax highlighting and coloring
508
8cc11660 509 Font Lock mode is a minor mode, always local to a particular buffer,
0015d677 510which highlights (or ``fontifies'') the buffer contents according to
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511the syntax of the text you are editing. It can recognize comments and
512strings in most languages; in several languages, it can also recognize
513and properly highlight various other important constructs---for
514example, names of functions being defined or reserved keywords.
515Some special modes, such as Occur mode and Info mode, have completely
516specialized ways of assigning fonts for Font Lock mode.
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517
518@findex font-lock-mode
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519 Font Lock mode is turned on by default in all modes which support it.
520You can toggle font-lock for each buffer with the command @kbd{M-x
521font-lock-mode}. Using a positive argument unconditionally turns Font
522Lock mode on, and a negative or zero argument turns it off.
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523
524@findex global-font-lock-mode
525@vindex global-font-lock-mode
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526 If you do not wish Font Lock mode to be turned on by default,
527customize the variable @code{global-font-lock-mode} using the Customize
528interface (@pxref{Easy Customization}), or use the function
d239287a 529@code{global-font-lock-mode} in your @file{.emacs} file, like this:
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530
531@example
c4e8acbc 532(global-font-lock-mode 0)
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533@end example
534
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535@noindent
536This variable, like all the variables that control Font Lock mode,
537take effect whenever fontification is done; that is, potentially at
538any time.
539
c4e8acbc 540@findex turn-on-font-lock
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541 If you have disabled Global Font Lock mode, you can still enable Font
542Lock for specific major modes by adding the function
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543@code{turn-on-font-lock} to the mode hooks (@pxref{Hooks}). For
544example, to enable Font Lock mode for editing C files, you can do this:
545
546@example
547(add-hook 'c-mode-hook 'turn-on-font-lock)
548@end example
0015d677 549
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550 Font Lock mode uses several specifically named faces to do its job,
551including @code{font-lock-string-face}, @code{font-lock-comment-face},
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552and others. The easiest way to find them all is to use @kbd{M-x
553customize-group @key{RET} font-lock-faces @key{RET}}. You can then
554use that customization buffer to customize the appearance of these
555faces. @xref{Face Customization}.
b8f3a9e3 556
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557 You can also customize these faces using @kbd{M-x
558set-face-foreground} or @kbd{M-x set-face-background}. @xref{Faces}.
b8f3a9e3 559
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560@vindex font-lock-maximum-decoration
561 The variable @code{font-lock-maximum-decoration} specifies the
562preferred level of fontification, for modes that provide multiple
563levels. Level 1 is the least amount of fontification; some modes
564support levels as high as 3. The normal default is ``as high as
565possible.'' You can specify an integer, which applies to all modes, or
566you can specify different numbers for particular major modes; for
567example, to use level 1 for C/C++ modes, and the default level
568otherwise, use this:
569
570@example
571(setq font-lock-maximum-decoration
572 '((c-mode . 1) (c++-mode . 1)))
573@end example
574
575@vindex font-lock-maximum-size
576 Fontification can be too slow for large buffers, so you can suppress
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577it for buffers above a certain size. The variable
578@code{font-lock-maximum-size} specifies a buffer size, beyond which
579buffer fontification is suppressed.
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580
581@c @w is used below to prevent a bad page-break.
582@vindex font-lock-beginning-of-syntax-function
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583@cindex incorrect fontification
584@cindex parenthesis in column zero and fontification
585@cindex brace in column zero and fontification
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586 Comment and string fontification (or ``syntactic'' fontification)
587relies on analysis of the syntactic structure of the buffer text. For
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588the sake of speed, some modes, including Lisp mode, rely on a special
589convention: an open-parenthesis or open-brace in the leftmost column
590always defines the @w{beginning} of a defun, and is thus always
591outside any string or comment. (@xref{Left Margin Paren}.) If you
592don't follow this convention, Font Lock mode can misfontify the text
593that follows an open-parenthesis or open-brace in the leftmost column
594that is inside a string or comment.
b8f3a9e3 595
6bb2ed9b 596@cindex slow display during scrolling
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597 The variable @code{font-lock-beginning-of-syntax-function} (always
598buffer-local) specifies how Font Lock mode can find a position
599guaranteed to be outside any comment or string. In modes which use the
600leftmost column parenthesis convention, the default value of the variable
601is @code{beginning-of-defun}---that tells Font Lock mode to use the
602convention. If you set this variable to @code{nil}, Font Lock no longer
603relies on the convention. This avoids incorrect results, but the price
604is that, in some cases, fontification for a changed text must rescan
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605buffer text from the beginning of the buffer. This can considerably
606slow down redisplay while scrolling, particularly if you are close to
607the end of a large buffer.
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608
609@findex font-lock-add-keywords
610 Font Lock highlighting patterns already exist for many modes, but you
611may want to fontify additional patterns. You can use the function
612@code{font-lock-add-keywords}, to add your own highlighting patterns for
613a particular mode. For example, to highlight @samp{FIXME:} words in C
614comments, use this:
615
616@example
617(font-lock-add-keywords
618 'c-mode
619 '(("\\<\\(FIXME\\):" 1 font-lock-warning-face t)))
620@end example
621
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622@findex font-lock-remove-keywords
623 To remove keywords from the font-lock highlighting patterns, use the
cd77ce13 624function @code{font-lock-remove-keywords}. @xref{Search-based
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625Fontification,,, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}, for
626documentation of the format of this list.
4063fff3 627
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628@cindex just-in-time (JIT) font-lock
629@cindex background syntax highlighting
630 Fontifying large buffers can take a long time. To avoid large
631delays when a file is visited, Emacs fontifies only the visible
632portion of a buffer. As you scroll through the buffer, each portion
633that becomes visible is fontified as soon as it is displayed. The
634parts of the buffer that are not displayed are fontified
de4a4c41 635``stealthily,'' in the background, i.e.@: when Emacs is idle. You can
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636control this background fontification, also called @dfn{Just-In-Time}
637(or @dfn{JIT}) Lock, by customizing variables in the customization
638group @samp{jit-lock}. @xref{Specific Customization}.
3be9b0ca 639
b8f3a9e3 640@node Highlight Interactively
54952612 641@section Interactive Highlighting
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642@cindex highlighting by matching
643@cindex interactive highlighting
54952612 644@cindex Highlight Changes mode
b8f3a9e3 645
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646@findex highlight-changes-mode
647 Use @kbd{M-x highlight-changes-mode} to enable (or disable)
648Highlight Changes mode, a minor mode that uses faces (colors,
649typically) to indicate which parts of the buffer were changed most
650recently.
b8f3a9e3 651
54952612 652@cindex Hi Lock mode
b8f3a9e3 653@findex hi-lock-mode
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654 Hi Lock mode highlights text that matches regular expressions you
655specify. For example, you might wish to see all the references to a
656certain variable in a program source file, highlight certain parts in
657a voluminous output of some program, or make certain names stand out
658in an article. Use the @kbd{M-x hi-lock-mode} command to enable (or
659disable) Hi Lock mode. To enable Hi Lock mode for all buffers, use
660@kbd{M-x global-hi-lock-mode} or place @code{(global-hi-lock-mode 1)}
661in your @file{.emacs} file.
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662
663 Hi Lock mode works like Font Lock mode (@pxref{Font Lock}), except
664that you specify explicitly the regular expressions to highlight. You
665control them with these commands:
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666
667@table @kbd
668@item C-x w h @var{regexp} @key{RET} @var{face} @key{RET}
669@kindex C-x w h
670@findex highlight-regexp
cedf175b 671Highlight text that matches @var{regexp} using face @var{face}
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672(@code{highlight-regexp}). The highlighting will remain as long as
673the buffer is loaded. For example, to highlight all occurrences of
674the word ``whim'' using the default face (a yellow background)
675@kbd{C-x w h whim @key{RET} @key{RET}}. Any face can be used for
676highlighting, Hi Lock provides several of its own and these are
677pre-loaded into a history list. While being prompted for a face use
678@kbd{M-p} and @kbd{M-n} to cycle through them.
679
680You can use this command multiple times, specifying various regular
681expressions to highlight in different ways.
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682
683@item C-x w r @var{regexp} @key{RET}
684@kindex C-x w r
685@findex unhighlight-regexp
630acdcc 686Unhighlight @var{regexp} (@code{unhighlight-regexp}).
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687
688If you invoke this from the menu, you select the expression to
689unhighlight from a list. If you invoke this from the keyboard, you
690use the minibuffer. It will show the most recently added regular
691expression; use @kbd{M-p} to show the next older expression and
692@kbd{M-n} to select the next newer expression. (You can also type the
693expression by hand, with completion.) When the expression you want to
694unhighlight appears in the minibuffer, press @kbd{@key{RET}} to exit
695the minibuffer and unhighlight it.
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696
697@item C-x w l @var{regexp} @key{RET} @var{face} @key{RET}
698@kindex C-x w l
699@findex highlight-lines-matching-regexp
700@cindex lines, highlighting
701@cindex highlighting lines of text
04d0b662 702Highlight entire lines containing a match for @var{regexp}, using face
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703@var{face} (@code{highlight-lines-matching-regexp}).
704
705@item C-x w b
706@kindex C-x w b
707@findex hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns
708Insert all the current highlighting regexp/face pairs into the buffer
709at point, with comment delimiters to prevent them from changing your
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710program. (This key binding runs the
711@code{hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns} command.)
b8f3a9e3 712
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713These patterns are extracted from the comments, if appropriate, if you
714invoke @kbd{M-x hi-lock-find-patterns}, or if you visit the file while
715Hi Lock mode is enabled (since that runs @code{hi-lock-find-patterns}).
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716
717@item C-x w i
718@kindex C-x w i
719@findex hi-lock-find-patterns
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720Extract regexp/face pairs from comments in the current buffer
721(@code{hi-lock-find-patterns}). Thus, you can enter patterns
722interactively with @code{highlight-regexp}, store them into the file
723with @code{hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns}, edit them (perhaps
cedf175b 724including different faces for different parenthesized parts of the
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725match), and finally use this command (@code{hi-lock-find-patterns}) to
726have Hi Lock highlight the edited patterns.
b8f3a9e3 727
3173ce7e 728@vindex hi-lock-file-patterns-policy
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729The variable @code{hi-lock-file-patterns-policy} controls whether Hi
730Lock mode should automatically extract and highlight patterns found in
731a file when it is visited. Its value can be @code{nil} (never
732highlight), @code{t} (highlight the patterns), @code{ask} (query the
733user), or a function. If it is a function,
3173ce7e 734@code{hi-lock-find-patterns} calls it with the patterns as argument;
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735if the function returns non-@code{nil}, the patterns are used. The
736default is @code{nil}. Note that patterns are always highlighted if
737you call @code{hi-lock-find-patterns} directly, regardless of the
738value of this variable.
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739
740@vindex hi-lock-exclude-modes
741Also, @code{hi-lock-find-patterns} does nothing if the current major
742mode's symbol is a member of the list @code{hi-lock-exclude-modes}.
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743@end table
744
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745@node Fringes
746@section Window Fringes
747@cindex fringes
748
749 On a graphical display, each Emacs window normally has narrow
750@dfn{fringes} on the left and right edges. The fringes display
751indications about the text in the window.
752
753 The most common use of the fringes is to indicate a continuation
754line, when one line of text is split into multiple lines on the
755screen. The left fringe shows a curving arrow for each screen line
756except the first, indicating that ``this is not the real beginning.''
757The right fringe shows a curving arrow for each screen line except the
758last, indicating that ``this is not the real end.''
759
566da2e7 760 The fringes indicate line truncation with short horizontal arrows
fad78d58 761meaning ``there's more text on this line which is scrolled
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762horizontally out of view;'' clicking the mouse on one of the arrows
763scrolls the display horizontally in the direction of the arrow. The
d239287a 764fringes can also indicate other things, such as empty lines, or where a
566da2e7 765program you are debugging is executing (@pxref{Debuggers}).
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766
767@findex set-fringe-style
768@findex fringe-mode
769 You can enable and disable the fringes for all frames using
770@kbd{M-x fringe-mode}. To enable and disable the fringes
771for the selected frame, use @kbd{M-x set-fringe-style}.
772
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773@node Displaying Boundaries
774@section Displaying Boundaries
775
776@vindex indicate-buffer-boundaries
777 On a graphical display, Emacs can indicate the buffer boundaries in
778the fringes. It indicates the first line and the last line with
779angle images in the fringes. This can be combined with up and down
780arrow images which say whether it is possible to scroll the window up
781and down.
782
783 The buffer-local variable @code{indicate-buffer-boundaries} controls
784how the buffer boundaries and window scrolling is indicated in the
785fringes. If the value is @code{left} or @code{right}, both angle and
786arrow bitmaps are displayed in the left or right fringe, respectively.
787
788 If value is an alist, each element @code{(@var{indicator} .
789@var{position})} specifies the position of one of the indicators.
790The @var{indicator} must be one of @code{top}, @code{bottom},
791@code{up}, @code{down}, or @code{t} which specifies the default
792position for the indicators not present in the alist.
793The @var{position} is one of @code{left}, @code{right}, or @code{nil}
794which specifies not to show this indicator.
795
796 For example, @code{((top . left) (t . right))} places the top angle
797bitmap in left fringe, the bottom angle bitmap in right fringe, and
798both arrow bitmaps in right fringe. To show just the angle bitmaps in
799the left fringe, but no arrow bitmaps, use @code{((top . left)
800(bottom . left))}.
801
802@vindex default-indicate-buffer-boundaries
803 The value of the variable @code{default-indicate-buffer-boundaries}
804is the default value for @code{indicate-buffer-boundaries} in buffers
805that do not override it.
806
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807@node Useless Whitespace
808@section Useless Whitespace
809
810@cindex trailing whitespace
811@cindex whitespace, trailing
812@vindex show-trailing-whitespace
813 It is easy to leave unnecessary spaces at the end of a line, or
814empty lines at the end of a file, without realizing it. In most
815cases, this @dfn{trailing whitespace} has no effect, but there are
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816special circumstances where it matters. It can also be a nuisance
817that the line has ``changed,'' when the change is just spaces added or
818removed at the end.
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819
820 You can make trailing whitespace at the end of a line visible on the
821screen by setting the buffer-local variable
822@code{show-trailing-whitespace} to @code{t}. Then Emacs displays
823trailing whitespace in the face @code{trailing-whitespace}.
824
825 This feature does not apply when point is at the end of the line
826containing the whitespace. Strictly speaking, that is ``trailing
827whitespace'' nonetheless, but displaying it specially in that case
828looks ugly while you are typing in new text. In this special case,
829the location of point is enough to show you that the spaces are
830present.
831
832@findex delete-trailing-whitespace
833 To delete all trailing whitespace within the current buffer's
834accessible portion (@pxref{Narrowing}), type @kbd{M-x
835delete-trailing-whitespace @key{RET}}. (This command does not remove
836the form-feed characters.)
837
23e3383d 838@vindex indicate-empty-lines
fad78d58 839@vindex default-indicate-empty-lines
877db12e
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840@cindex unused lines
841@cindex fringes, and unused line indication
842 Emacs can indicate unused lines at the end of the window with a
843small image in the left fringe (@pxref{Fringes}). The image appears
844for window lines that do not correspond to any buffer text. Blank
845lines at the end of the buffer then stand out because they do not have
846this image in the fringe.
847
848 To enable this feature, set the buffer-local variable
23e3383d 849@code{indicate-empty-lines} to a non-@code{nil} value. The default
877db12e 850value of this variable is controlled by the variable
23e3383d 851@code{default-indicate-empty-lines}; by setting that variable, you
877db12e 852can enable or disable this feature for all new buffers. (This feature
54952612 853currently doesn't work on text-only terminals.)
fad78d58 854
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855@node Selective Display
856@section Selective Display
4946337d 857@cindex selective display
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858@findex set-selective-display
859@kindex C-x $
860
861 Emacs has the ability to hide lines indented more than a certain number
862of columns (you specify how many columns). You can use this to get an
863overview of a part of a program.
864
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865 To hide lines in the current buffer, type @kbd{C-x $}
866(@code{set-selective-display}) with a numeric argument @var{n}. Then
867lines with at least @var{n} columns of indentation disappear from the
868screen. The only indication of their presence is that three dots
869(@samp{@dots{}}) appear at the end of each visible line that is
870followed by one or more hidden ones.
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871
872 The commands @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} move across the hidden lines as
873if they were not there.
874
875 The hidden lines are still present in the buffer, and most editing
876commands see them as usual, so you may find point in the middle of the
877hidden text. When this happens, the cursor appears at the end of the
878previous line, after the three dots. If point is at the end of the
879visible line, before the newline that ends it, the cursor appears before
880the three dots.
881
882 To make all lines visible again, type @kbd{C-x $} with no argument.
883
884@vindex selective-display-ellipses
885 If you set the variable @code{selective-display-ellipses} to
886@code{nil}, the three dots do not appear at the end of a line that
887precedes hidden lines. Then there is no visible indication of the
888hidden lines. This variable becomes local automatically when set.
889
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890 See also @ref{Outline Mode} for another way to hide part of
891the text in a buffer.
892
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893@node Optional Mode Line
894@section Optional Mode Line Features
895
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896@cindex buffer size display
897@cindex display of buffer size
898@findex size-indication-mode
899 The buffer percentage @var{pos} indicates the percentage of the
900buffer above the top of the window. You can additionally display the
901size of the buffer by typing @kbd{M-x size-indication-mode} to turn on
902Size Indication mode. The size will be displayed immediately
903following the buffer percentage like this:
904
905@example
906@var{POS} of @var{SIZE}
907@end example
908
909@noindent
910Here @var{SIZE} is the human readable representation of the number of
911characters in the buffer, which means that @samp{k} for 10^3, @samp{M}
912for 10^6, @samp{G} for 10^9, etc., are used to abbreviate.
913
914@cindex narrowing, and buffer size display
915 If you have narrowed the buffer (@pxref{Narrowing}), the size of the
916accessible part of the buffer is shown.
917
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918@cindex line number display
919@cindex display of line number
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920@findex line-number-mode
921 The current line number of point appears in the mode line when Line
922Number mode is enabled. Use the command @kbd{M-x line-number-mode} to
923turn this mode on and off; normally it is on. The line number appears
b213b767 924after the buffer percentage @var{pos}, with the letter @samp{L} to
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925indicate what it is. @xref{Minor Modes}, for more information about
926minor modes and about how to use this command.
927
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928@cindex narrowing, and line number display
929 If you have narrowed the buffer (@pxref{Narrowing}), the displayed
930line number is relative to the accessible portion of the buffer.
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931Thus, it isn't suitable as an argument to @code{goto-line}. (Use
932@code{what-line} command to see the line number relative to the whole
933file.)
43f971ab 934
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935@vindex line-number-display-limit
936 If the buffer is very large (larger than the value of
937@code{line-number-display-limit}), then the line number doesn't appear.
938Emacs doesn't compute the line number when the buffer is large, because
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939that would be too slow. Set it to @code{nil} to remove the limit.
940
941@vindex line-number-display-limit-width
942 Line-number computation can also be slow if the lines in the buffer
943are too long. For this reason, Emacs normally doesn't display line
944numbers if the average width, in characters, of lines near point is
945larger than the value of the variable
946@code{line-number-display-limit-width}. The default value is 200
947characters.
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948
949@cindex Column Number mode
950@cindex mode, Column Number
951@findex column-number-mode
952 You can also display the current column number by turning on Column
953Number mode. It displays the current column number preceded by the
954letter @samp{C}. Type @kbd{M-x column-number-mode} to toggle this mode.
955
956@findex display-time
957@cindex time (on mode line)
958 Emacs can optionally display the time and system load in all mode
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959lines. To enable this feature, type @kbd{M-x display-time} or customize
960the option @code{display-time-mode}. The information added to the mode
961line usually appears after the buffer name, before the mode names and
962their parentheses. It looks like this:
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963
964@example
965@var{hh}:@var{mm}pm @var{l.ll}
966@end example
967
968@noindent
969@vindex display-time-24hr-format
970Here @var{hh} and @var{mm} are the hour and minute, followed always by
971@samp{am} or @samp{pm}. @var{l.ll} is the average number of running
972processes in the whole system recently. (Some fields may be missing if
973your operating system cannot support them.) If you prefer time display
974in 24-hour format, set the variable @code{display-time-24hr-format}
975to @code{t}.
976
977@cindex mail (on mode line)
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978@vindex display-time-use-mail-icon
979@vindex display-time-mail-face
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980@vindex display-time-mail-file
981@vindex display-time-mail-directory
6bf7aab6 982 The word @samp{Mail} appears after the load level if there is mail
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983for you that you have not read yet. On a graphical display you can use
984an icon instead of @samp{Mail} by customizing
985@code{display-time-use-mail-icon}; this may save some space on the mode
986line. You can customize @code{display-time-mail-face} to make the mail
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987indicator prominent. Use @code{display-time-mail-file} to specify
988the mail file to check, or set @code{display-time-mail-directory}
989to specify the directory to check for incoming mail (any nonempty regular
990file in the directory is considered as ``newly arrived mail'').
6bf7aab6 991
47d7776c 992@cindex mode line, 3D appearance
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993@cindex attributes of mode line, changing
994@cindex non-integral number of lines in a window
04d0b662
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995 By default, the mode line is drawn on graphics displays with
9963D-style highlighting, like that of a button when it is not being
997pressed. If you don't like this effect, you can disable the 3D
998highlighting of the mode line, by customizing the attributes of the
54952612 999@code{mode-line} face. @xref{Face Customization}.
bd3ead08 1000
b9e58bf2 1001@cindex non-selected windows, mode line appearance
ac6875fc 1002 By default, the mode line of nonselected windows is displayed in a
1c9f5f23 1003different face, called @code{mode-line-inactive}. Only the selected
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1004window is displayed in the @code{mode-line} face. This helps show
1005which window is selected. When the minibuffer is selected, since
1006it has no mode line, the window from which you activated the minibuffer
1007has its mode line displayed using @code{mode-line}; as a result,
1008ordinary entry to the minibuffer does not change any mode lines.
1009
1010@vindex mode-line-in-non-selected-windows
1011 You can disable use of @code{mode-line-inactive} by setting variable
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1012@code{mode-line-in-non-selected-windows} to @code{nil}; then all mode
1013lines are displayed in the @code{mode-line} face.
b9e58bf2 1014
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1015@vindex eol-mnemonic-unix
1016@vindex eol-mnemonic-dos
1017@vindex eol-mnemonic-mac
1018@vindex eol-mnemonic-undecided
1019 You can customize the mode line display for each of the end-of-line
1020formats by setting each of the variables @code{eol-mnemonic-unix},
1021@code{eol-mnemonic-dos}, @code{eol-mnemonic-mac}, and
54952612 1022@code{eol-mnemonic-undecided} to the strings you prefer.
589a3f9f 1023
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1024@node Text Display
1025@section How Text Is Displayed
1026@cindex characters (in text)
1027
76dd3692 1028 @acronym{ASCII} printing characters (octal codes 040 through 0176) in Emacs
13b9ee95 1029buffers are displayed with their graphics, as are non-ASCII multibyte
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1030printing characters (octal codes above 0400).
1031
76dd3692 1032 Some @acronym{ASCII} control characters are displayed in special ways. The
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1033newline character (octal code 012) is displayed by starting a new line.
1034The tab character (octal code 011) is displayed by moving to the next
1035tab stop column (normally every 8 columns).
1036
76dd3692 1037 Other @acronym{ASCII} control characters are normally displayed as a caret
6bf7aab6 1038(@samp{^}) followed by the non-control version of the character; thus,
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1039control-A is displayed as @samp{^A}. The caret appears in face
1040@code{escape-glyph}.
1041
1042 Non-@acronym{ASCII} characters 0200 through 0237 (octal) are
1043displayed with octal escape sequences; thus, character code 0230
1044(octal) is displayed as @samp{\230}. The backslash appears in face
1045@code{escape-glyph}.
1046
1047@vindex ctl-arrow
1048 If the variable @code{ctl-arrow} is @code{nil}, control characters in
1049the buffer are displayed with octal escape sequences, except for newline
1050and tab. Altering the value of @code{ctl-arrow} makes it local to the
1051current buffer; until that time, the default value is in effect. The
1052default is initially @code{t}.
1053
1054 The display of character codes 0240 through 0377 (octal) may be
1055either as escape sequences or as graphics. They do not normally occur
1056in multibyte buffers, but if they do, they are displayed as Latin-1
1057graphics. In unibyte mode, if you enable European display they are
1058displayed using their graphics (assuming your terminal supports them),
662286c3 1059otherwise as escape sequences. @xref{Unibyte Mode}.
6bf7aab6 1060
470a11a3 1061@vindex nobreak-char-display
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1062@cindex no-break space, display
1063@cindex no-break hyphen, display
1064@cindex soft hyphen, display
470a11a3
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1065 Some character sets define ``no-break'' versions of the space and
1066hyphen characters, which are used where a line should not be broken.
1067Emacs normally displays these characters with special faces
1068(respectively, @code{nobreak-space} and @code{escape-glyph}) to
1069distinguish them from ordinary spaces and hyphens. You can turn off
1070this feature by setting the variable @code{nobreak-char-display} to
1071@code{nil}. If you set the variable to any other value, that means to
1072prefix these characters with an escape character.
b5cced4b 1073
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1074@vindex tab-width
1075@vindex default-tab-width
1076 Normally, a tab character in the buffer is displayed as whitespace which
1077extends to the next display tab stop position, and display tab stops come
1078at intervals equal to eight spaces. The number of spaces per tab is
1079controlled by the variable @code{tab-width}, which is made local by
1080changing it. Note that how the tab character
1081in the buffer is displayed has nothing to do with the definition of
1082@key{TAB} as a command. The variable @code{tab-width} must have an
1083integer value between 1 and 1000, inclusive. The variable
1084@code{default-tab-width} controls the default value of this variable
1085for buffers where you have not set it locally.
1086
1087 You can customize the way any particular character code is displayed
1088by means of a display table. @xref{Display Tables,, Display Tables,
1089elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
1090
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1091@node Cursor Display
1092@section Displaying the Cursor
1093
1094@findex blink-cursor-mode
1095@vindex blink-cursor-alist
1096@cindex cursor, locating visually
1097@cindex cursor, blinking
1098 You can customize the cursor's color, and whether it blinks, using
1099the @code{cursor} Custom group (@pxref{Easy Customization}). On
098199b1 1100a graphical display, the command @kbd{M-x blink-cursor-mode} enables
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1101or disables the blinking of the cursor. (On text terminals, the
1102terminal itself blinks the cursor, and Emacs has no control over it.)
1103You can control how the cursor appears when it blinks off by setting
1104the variable @code{blink-cursor-alist}.
1105
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1106@vindex visible-cursor
1107 Some text terminals offer two different cursors: the normal cursor
1108and the very visible cursor, where the latter may be e.g. bigger or
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1109blinking. By default Emacs uses the very visible cursor, and switches
1110to it when you start or resume Emacs. If the variable
1111@code{visible-cursor} is @code{nil} when Emacs starts or resumes, it
1112doesn't switch, so it uses the normal cursor.
468160b7 1113
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1114@cindex cursor in non-selected windows
1115@vindex cursor-in-non-selected-windows
1116 Normally, the cursor appears in non-selected windows in the ``off''
1117state, with the same appearance as when the blinking cursor blinks
5a7f4c1b 1118``off.'' For a box cursor, this is a hollow box; for a bar cursor,
0015d677
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1119this is a thinner bar. To turn off cursors in non-selected windows,
1120customize the variable @code{cursor-in-non-selected-windows} and assign
1121it a @code{nil} value.
1122
1123@vindex x-stretch-cursor
1124@cindex wide block cursor
098199b1 1125 On graphical displays, Emacs can optionally draw the block cursor
0015d677
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1126as wide as the character under the cursor---for example, if the cursor
1127is on a tab character, it would cover the full width occupied by that
1128tab character. To enable this feature, set the variable
1129@code{x-stretch-cursor} to a non-@code{nil} value.
1130
1131@findex hl-line-mode
1132@findex global-hl-line-mode
1133@cindex highlight current line
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1134 To make the cursor even more visible, you can use HL Line mode, a
1135minor mode that highlights the line containing point. Use @kbd{M-x
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1136hl-line-mode} to enable or disable it in the current buffer. @kbd{M-x
1137global-hl-line-mode} enables or disables the same mode globally.
1138
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1139@node Line Truncation
1140@section Truncation of Lines
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1141
1142@cindex truncation
1143@cindex line truncation, and fringes
1144 As an alternative to continuation, Emacs can display long lines by
1145@dfn{truncation}. This means that all the characters that do not fit
1146in the width of the screen or window do not appear at all. On
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1147graphical displays, a small straight arrow in the fringe indicates
1148truncation at either end of the line. On text-only terminals, @samp{$}
0015d677
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1149appears in the first column when there is text truncated to the left,
1150and in the last column when there is text truncated to the right.
1151
1152@vindex truncate-lines
1153@findex toggle-truncate-lines
1154 Horizontal scrolling automatically causes line truncation
1155(@pxref{Horizontal Scrolling}). You can explicitly enable line
1156truncation for a particular buffer with the command @kbd{M-x
1157toggle-truncate-lines}. This works by locally changing the variable
1158@code{truncate-lines}. If that variable is non-@code{nil}, long lines
1159are truncated; if it is @code{nil}, they are continued onto multiple
1160screen lines. Setting the variable @code{truncate-lines} in any way
1161makes it local to the current buffer; until that time, the default
1162value is in effect. The default value is normally @code{nil}.
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1163
1164@c @vindex truncate-partial-width-windows @c Idx entry is in Split Windows.
1165 If the variable @code{truncate-partial-width-windows} is
1166non-@code{nil}, it forces truncation rather than continuation in any
1167window less than the full width of the screen or frame, regardless of
1168the value of @code{truncate-lines}. For information about side-by-side
1169windows, see @ref{Split Window}. See also @ref{Display,, Display,
1170elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
1171
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1172@vindex overflow-newline-into-fringe
1173 If the variable @code{overflow-newline-into-fringe} is
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1174non-@code{nil} on a graphical display, then Emacs does not continue or
1175truncate a line which is exactly as wide as the window. Instead, the
1176newline overflows into the right fringe, and the cursor appears in the
1177fringe when positioned on that newline.
80174a97 1178
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1179@node Display Custom
1180@section Customization of Display
80174a97 1181
9d2908a6
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1182 This section describes variables (@pxref{Variables}) that you can
1183change to customize how Emacs displays. Beginning users can skip
1184it.
1185@c the reason for that pxref is because an xref early in the
1186@c ``echo area'' section leads here.
62ea61af 1187
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1188@vindex inverse-video
1189 If the variable @code{inverse-video} is non-@code{nil}, Emacs attempts
1190to invert all the lines of the display from what they normally are.
62ea61af 1191
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1192@vindex visible-bell
1193 If the variable @code{visible-bell} is non-@code{nil}, Emacs attempts
1194to make the whole screen blink when it would normally make an audible bell
1195sound. This variable has no effect if your terminal does not have a way
1196to make the screen blink.
80174a97 1197
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1198@vindex echo-keystrokes
1199 The variable @code{echo-keystrokes} controls the echoing of multi-character
1200keys; its value is the number of seconds of pause required to cause echoing
1201to start, or zero, meaning don't echo at all. The value takes effect when
1202there is someting to echo. @xref{Echo Area}.
80174a97 1203
6bf7aab6 1204@vindex baud-rate
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1205 The variable @anchor{baud-rate}@code{baud-rate} holds the output
1206speed of the terminal, as far as Emacs knows. Setting this variable
1207does not change the speed of actual data transmission, but the value
1208is used for calculations. On text-only terminals, it affects padding,
1209and decisions about whether to scroll part of the screen or redraw it
1210instead. It also affects the behavior of incremental search.
1211
1212 On graphical displays, @code{baud-rate} is only used to determine
1213how frequently to look for pending input during display updating. A
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1214higher value of @code{baud-rate} means that check for pending input
1215will be done less frequently.
6bf7aab6 1216
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1217@cindex hourglass pointer display
1218@vindex hourglass-delay
54952612 1219 On graphical display, Emacs can optionally display the mouse pointer
099bfef9
RS
1220in a special shape to say that Emacs is busy. To turn this feature on
1221or off, customize the group @code{cursor}. You can also control the
1222amount of time Emacs must remain busy before the busy indicator is
62095f01 1223displayed, by setting the variable @code{hourglass-delay}.
099bfef9 1224
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1225@vindex overline-margin
1226 On graphical display, this variables specifies the vertical position
1227of an overline above the text, including the height of the overline
1228itself (1 pixel). The default value is 2 pixels.
1229
1230@vindex x-underline-at-descent-line
1231 On graphical display, Emacs normally draws an underline at the
1232baseline level of the font. If @code{x-underline-at-descent-line} is
1233non-@code{nil}, Emacs draws the underline at the same height as the
1234font's descent line.
1235
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1236@findex tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors
1237 On some text-only terminals, bold face and inverse video together
1238result in text that is hard to read. Call the function
1239@code{tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors} with a non-@code{nil}
1240argument to suppress the effect of bold-face in this case.
1241
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1242@vindex no-redraw-on-reenter
1243 On a text-only terminal, when you reenter Emacs after suspending, Emacs
1244normally clears the screen and redraws the entire display. On some
1245terminals with more than one page of memory, it is possible to arrange
1246the termcap entry so that the @samp{ti} and @samp{te} strings (output
1247to the terminal when Emacs is entered and exited, respectively) switch
1248between pages of memory so as to use one page for Emacs and another
43d67313 1249page for other output. On such terminals, you might want to set the variable
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1250@code{no-redraw-on-reenter} non-@code{nil}; this tells Emacs to
1251assume, when resumed, that the screen page it is using still contains
1252what Emacs last wrote there.
1253
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1254@ignore
1255 arch-tag: 2219f910-2ff0-4521-b059-1bd231a536c4
1256@end ignore