Fix ChangeLog typos.
[bpt/emacs.git] / doc / emacs / 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,
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3@c 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
4@c Free Software Foundation, Inc.
5
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6@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
7@node Display, Search, Registers, Top
8@chapter Controlling the Display
9
10 Since only part of a large buffer fits in the window, Emacs tries to
43d67313 11show a part that is likely to be interesting. Display-control
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12commands and variables allow you to specify which part of the text you
13want to see, and how to display it.
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14
15@menu
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16* Scrolling:: Commands to move text up and down in a window.
17* Auto Scrolling:: Redisplay scrolls text automatically when needed.
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18* Horizontal Scrolling:: Moving text left and right in a window.
19* Follow Mode:: Follow mode lets two windows scroll as one.
b8f3a9e3 20* Faces:: How to change the display style using faces.
43d08eb9 21* Standard Faces:: Emacs' predefined faces.
956c76ef 22* Temporary Face Changes:: Commands to temporarily modify the default text face
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.
458db4b6 34* Visual Line Mode:: Word wrap and screen line-based editing.
0015d677 35* Display Custom:: Information on variables for customizing display.
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36@end menu
37
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38@node Scrolling
39@section Scrolling
40
41 If a buffer contains text that is too large to fit entirely within a
42window that is displaying the buffer, Emacs shows a contiguous portion of
43the text. The portion shown always contains point.
44
45@cindex scrolling
46 @dfn{Scrolling} means moving text up or down in the window so that
47different parts of the text are visible. Scrolling ``forward'' or
48``up'' means that text moves up, and new text appears at the bottom.
49Scrolling ``backward'' or ``down'' moves text down, and new text
50appears at the top.
51
52 Scrolling happens automatically if you move point past the bottom or
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53top of the window. You can also scroll explicitly with these
54commands:
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55
56@table @kbd
57@item C-l
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58Scroll the selected window so that the current line is the center-most
59text line; on subsequent consecutive invocations, make the current
60line the top-most line, the bottom-most line, and so forth in cyclic
61order; also, maybe redisplay the screen (@code{recenter-top-bottom}).
dc917bd9 62@item C-v
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63@itemx @key{next}
64@itemx @key{PageDown}
956c76ef 65Scroll forward by nearly a full window (@code{scroll-up}).
dc917bd9 66@item M-v
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67@itemx @key{prior}
68@itemx @key{PageUp}
956c76ef 69Scroll backward (@code{scroll-down}).
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70@item C-M-l
71Scroll heuristically to bring useful information onto the screen
72(@code{reposition-window}).
73@end table
74
75@kindex C-l
956c76ef 76@findex recenter-top-bottom
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77 @kbd{C-l} (@code{recenter-top-bottom}) is a basic scrolling command.
78It @dfn{recenters} the selected window, scrolling it so that the
79current screen line is exactly in the center of the window, or as
80close to the center as possible.
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81
82 Typing @kbd{C-l} twice in a row (@kbd{C-l C-l}) scrolls the window
83so that point is on the topmost screen line. Typing a third @kbd{C-l}
84scrolls the window so that point is on the bottom-most screen line.
85Each successive @kbd{C-l} cycles through these three screen positions.
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86
87@vindex recenter-positions
88 You can change the cycling order by customizing the list variable
89@code{recenter-positions}. Each list element should be the symbol
90@code{top}, @code{middle}, or @code{bottom}, or a number; an integer
91number means to move the line to the specified screen line, while a
92floating-point number between 0.0 and 1.0 specifies a percentage of
93the screen space from the top. The default, @code{(middle top
94bottom)}, is the cycling order described above. Furthermore, if you
95change the variable @code{scroll-margin} to a non-zero value @var{n},
96Emacs always leaves @var{n} screen lines between point and the top or
97bottom of the window (@pxref{Auto Scrolling}).
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98
99 You can also supply @kbd{C-l} with a prefix argument. With a plain
100prefix argument, @kbd{C-u C-l}, Emacs simply recenters point. With a
101positive argument @var{n}, it scrolls to place point @var{n} lines
102down from the top of the window. An argument of zero puts point on
103the topmost line. A negative argument @var{-n} puts point @var{n}
104lines from the bottom of the window. For example, @kbd{C-u - 1 C-l}
105puts point on the bottom line, and @kbd{C-u - 5 C-l} puts it five
106lines from the bottom. When given an argument, @kbd{C-l} does not
107clear the screen or cycle through different screen positions.
dc917bd9 108
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109 The more primitive command @code{recenter} behaves like
110@code{recenter-top-bottom}, but does not cycle among screen positions.
111Prior to Emacs 23, @kbd{C-l} was bound to @code{recenter}.
112
666e158e 113@vindex recenter-redisplay
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114 If the variable @code{recenter-redisplay} has a non-@code{nil}
115value, Emacs clears and redisplays the screen each time @kbd{C-l}
116recenters the window; the special value @code{tty} (the default) says
117to do this on text-terminal frames only. Redisplaying is useful in
118case the screen becomes garbled for any reason (@pxref{Screen
119Garbled}).
666e158e 120
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121@kindex C-v
122@kindex M-v
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123@kindex next
124@kindex prior
125@kindex PageDown
126@kindex PageUp
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127@findex scroll-up
128@findex scroll-down
91ed7ea8 129 To read the buffer a windowful at a time, type @kbd{C-v}
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130(@code{scroll-up}). This scrolls forward by nearly the whole window
131height. The effect is to take the two lines at the bottom of the
132window and put them at the top, followed by lines that were not
133previously visible. If point was in the text that scrolled off the
134top, it ends up at the new top of the window.
135
136 @kbd{M-v} (@code{scroll-down}) scrolls backward in a similar way.
dc917bd9 137
43d67313 138@vindex next-screen-context-lines
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139 The variable @code{next-screen-context-lines} controls the number of
140lines of overlap left by @kbd{C-v} or @kbd{M-v}; by default, it is 2.
b5700de6 141The function keys @key{next} and @key{prior}, or @key{PageDown} and
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142@key{PageUp}, are equivalent to @kbd{C-v} and @kbd{M-v} respectively.
143
144 You can supply @kbd{C-v} or @kbd{M-v} with a numeric prefix argument
145@var{n}. This scrolls the window by @var{n} lines, while attempting
146to leave point unchanged (so that the text and point move up or down
147together). @kbd{C-v} with a negative argument is like @kbd{M-v} and
148vice versa.
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149
150 The names of scroll commands are based on the direction that the
151text moves in the window. Thus, the command to scroll forward is
152called @code{scroll-up} because it moves the text upward on the
956c76ef 153screen. The keys @key{PageUp} and @key{PageDown} derive their names
dc917bd9 154and customary meanings from a different convention that developed
956c76ef 155elsewhere; hence the strange result that @key{PageDown} runs
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156@code{scroll-up}.
157
158@vindex scroll-preserve-screen-position
159 Some users like the full-screen scroll commands to keep point at the
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160same screen position. To enable this behavior, set the variable
161@code{scroll-preserve-screen-position} to a non-@code{nil} value.
162Then, whenever a command scrolls the text around point offscreen (or
163within @code{scroll-margin} lines of the edge), Emacs moves point to
164keep it at the same vertical and horizontal position within the
165window. This mode is convenient for browsing through a file by
166scrolling by screenfuls; if you come back to the screen where you
167started, point goes back to the line where it started.
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168
169@kindex C-M-l
170@findex reposition-window
171 The @kbd{C-M-l} command (@code{reposition-window}) scrolls the current
172window heuristically in a way designed to get useful information onto
173the screen. For example, in a Lisp file, this command tries to get the
174entire current defun onto the screen if possible.
175
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176@node Auto Scrolling
177@section Automatic Scrolling
178
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179 Emacs performs @dfn{automatic scrolling} when point moves out of the
180visible portion of the text.
181
dc917bd9 182@vindex scroll-conservatively
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183 Normally, this centers point vertically within the window. However,
184if you set @code{scroll-conservatively} to a small number @var{n},
185then if you move point just a little off the screen (less than @var{n}
186lines), Emacs scrolls the text just far enough to bring point back on
187screen. By default, @code{scroll-conservatively} is@tie{}0.
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188
189@cindex aggressive scrolling
190@vindex scroll-up-aggressively
191@vindex scroll-down-aggressively
192 When the window does scroll by a longer distance, you can control
956c76ef 193how aggressively it scrolls by setting the variables
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194@code{scroll-up-aggressively} and @code{scroll-down-aggressively}.
195The value of @code{scroll-up-aggressively} should be either
196@code{nil}, or a fraction @var{f} between 0 and 1. A fraction
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197specifies where on the screen to put point when scrolling upward: when
198a window scrolls up because point is above the window start, the new
199start position is chosen to put point @var{f} parts of the window
200height from the top. Thus, larger @var{f} means more aggressive
201scrolling. The default value, @code{nil}, is equivalent to 0.5.
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202
203 Likewise, @code{scroll-down-aggressively} is used for scrolling
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204down. The value specifies how far point should be placed from the
205bottom of the window; thus, as with @code{scroll-up-aggressively}, a
206larger value is more aggressive.
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207
208@vindex scroll-margin
209 The variable @code{scroll-margin} restricts how close point can come
210to the top or bottom of a window. Its value is a number of screen
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211lines; if point comes within that many lines of the top or bottom of
212the window, Emacs performs automatic scrolling. By default,
213@code{scroll-margin} is 0.
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214
215@node Horizontal Scrolling
216@section Horizontal Scrolling
217@cindex horizontal scrolling
218
956c76ef 219@vindex auto-hscroll-mode
dc917bd9 220 @dfn{Horizontal scrolling} means shifting all the lines sideways
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221within a window, so that some of the text near the left margin is not
222displayed. When the text in a window is scrolled horizontally, text
223lines are truncated rather than continued (@pxref{Line Truncation}).
224If a window shows truncated lines, Emacs performs automatic horizontal
225scrolling whenever point moves off the left or right edge of the
226screen. To disable automatic horizontal scrolling, set the variable
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227@code{auto-hscroll-mode} to @code{nil}. Note that when the automatic
228horizontal scrolling is turned off, if point moves off the edge of the
229screen, the cursor disappears to indicate that. (On text-mode
230terminals, the cursor is left at the edge instead.)
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231
232@vindex hscroll-margin
233 The variable @code{hscroll-margin} controls how close point can get
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234to the window's edges before automatic scrolling occurs. It is
235measured in columns. For example, if the value is 5, then moving
236point within 5 columns of an edge causes horizontal scrolling away
237from that edge.
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238
239@vindex hscroll-step
240 The variable @code{hscroll-step} determines how many columns to
241scroll the window when point gets too close to the edge. Zero, the
242default value, means to center point horizontally within the window.
243A positive integer value specifies the number of columns to scroll by.
244A floating-point number specifies the fraction of the window's width
245to scroll by.
246
247 You can also perform explicit horizontal scrolling with the
248following commands:
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249
250@table @kbd
251@item C-x <
252Scroll text in current window to the left (@code{scroll-left}).
253@item C-x >
254Scroll to the right (@code{scroll-right}).
255@end table
256
257@kindex C-x <
258@kindex C-x >
259@findex scroll-left
260@findex scroll-right
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261 @kbd{C-x <} (@code{scroll-left}) scrolls text in the selected window
262to the left by the full width of the window, less two columns. (In
263other words, the text in the window moves left relative to the
264window.) With a numeric argument @var{n}, it scrolls by @var{n}
265columns.
266
267 If the text is scrolled to the left, and point moves off the left
268edge of the window, the cursor will freeze at the left edge of the
269window, until point moves back to the displayed portion of the text.
270This is independent of the current setting of
271@code{auto-hscroll-mode}, which, for text scrolled to the left, only
272affects the behavior at the right edge of the window.
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273
274 @kbd{C-x >} (@code{scroll-right}) scrolls similarly to the right.
275The window cannot be scrolled any farther to the right once it is
276displayed normally, with each line starting at the window's left
277margin; attempting to do so has no effect. This means that you don't
278have to calculate the argument precisely for @w{@kbd{C-x >}}; any
279sufficiently large argument will restore the normal display.
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280
281 If you use those commands to scroll a window horizontally, that sets
282a lower bound for automatic horizontal scrolling. Automatic scrolling
283will continue to scroll the window, but never farther to the right
284than the amount you previously set by @code{scroll-left}.
285
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286@node Follow Mode
287@section Follow Mode
288@cindex Follow mode
289@cindex mode, Follow
290@findex follow-mode
291@cindex windows, synchronizing
292@cindex synchronizing windows
293
294 @dfn{Follow mode} is a minor mode that makes two windows, both
295showing the same buffer, scroll as a single tall ``virtual window.''
296To use Follow mode, go to a frame with just one window, split it into
297two side-by-side windows using @kbd{C-x 3}, and then type @kbd{M-x
298follow-mode}. From then on, you can edit the buffer in either of the
299two windows, or scroll either one; the other window follows it.
300
301 In Follow mode, if you move point outside the portion visible in one
302window and into the portion visible in the other window, that selects
303the other window---again, treating the two as if they were parts of
304one large window.
305
306 To turn off Follow mode, type @kbd{M-x follow-mode} a second time.
307
b8f3a9e3 308@node Faces
b18a8f7f 309@section Faces: Controlling Text Display Style
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310@cindex faces
311
956c76ef 312 Emacs can display text in several different styles, which are called
0015d677 313@dfn{faces}. Each face can specify various @dfn{face attributes},
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314such as the font, height, weight and slant, the foreground and
315background color, and underlining or overlining. A face does not have
316to specify all of these attributes; often it inherits most of them
317from another face.
306da12e 318
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319 On a text-only terminal, not all face attributes are meaningful.
320Some text-only terminals support inverse video, bold, and underline
321attributes; some support colors. Text-only terminals generally do not
322support changing the height, width or font.
c1b45553 323
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324 Most major modes assign faces to the text automatically through the
325work of Font Lock mode. @xref{Font Lock}, for more information about
326Font Lock mode and syntactic highlighting. You can print the current
327buffer with the highlighting that appears on your screen using the
328command @code{ps-print-buffer-with-faces}. @xref{PostScript}.
43d08eb9 329
956c76ef 330 Enriched mode, the mode for editing formatted text, provides
0073fd65 331commands and menus for specifying faces for text in the buffer.
956c76ef 332@xref{Format Faces}.
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333
334@cindex face colors, setting
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335 To alter the appearance of a face, use the customization buffer.
336@xref{Face Customization}. You can also use X resources to specify
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337attributes of any particular face (@pxref{Resources}). When
338displaying a character, any attribute that isn't specified by its face
339is taken from the @code{default} face, whose attributes reflect the
340default settings of the frame itself.
341
342@findex set-face-foreground
343@findex set-face-background
344 You can also change the foreground and background colors of a
345specific face with @kbd{M-x set-face-foreground} and @kbd{M-x
346set-face-background}. These commands prompt in the minibuffer for a
347face name and a color name, with completion, and then set that face to
348use the specified color. @xref{Face Customization}, for information
349about color names. These commands affect the face colors on all
350frames, both existing and those to be created in the future. These
351changes do not, however, persist for future Emacs sessions; to make
352lasting changes, use the customization buffer (@pxref{Face
353Customization}).
354
355 You can also set foreground and background colors for the current
356frame only; see @ref{Frame Parameters}.
357
358 Emacs can display variable-width fonts, but some of the Emacs
359commands that calculate width and indentation do not know how to
360calculate variable widths. This can sometimes lead to incorrect
361results when you use variable-width fonts. In particular, indentation
362commands can give inconsistent results, so we recommend you avoid
363variable-width fonts, especially for editing program source code.
b8f3a9e3 364
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365@node Standard Faces
366@section Standard Faces
367
b8f3a9e3 368@findex list-faces-display
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369 To see what faces are currently defined, and what they look like,
370type @kbd{M-x list-faces-display}. It's possible for a given face to
371look different in different frames; this command shows the appearance
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372in the frame in which you type it. With a prefix argument, this
373prompts for a regular expression, and displays only faces with names
374matching that regular expression.
3b91a16d 375
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376 Here are the standard faces for specifying text appearance. You can
377apply them to specific text when you want the effects they produce.
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378
379@table @code
380@item default
54952612 381This face is used for ordinary text that doesn't specify any face.
43d08eb9 382@item bold
956c76ef 383This face uses a bold variant of the default font.
43d08eb9 384@item italic
956c76ef 385This face uses an italic variant of the default font.
43d08eb9 386@item bold-italic
956c76ef 387This face uses a bold italic variant of the default font.
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388@item underline
389This face underlines text.
390@item fixed-pitch
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391This face forces use of a fixed-width font. It's reasonable to
392customize this face to use a different fixed-width font, if you like,
393but you should not make it a variable-width font.
43d08eb9 394@item variable-pitch
956c76ef 395This face forces use of a variable-width font.
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396@item shadow
397This face is used for making the text less noticeable than the surrounding
398ordinary text. Usually this can be achieved by using shades of gray in
399contrast with either black or white default foreground color.
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400@end table
401
402 Here's an incomplete list of faces used to highlight parts of the
403text temporarily for specific purposes. (Many other modes define
404their own faces for this purpose.)
405
406@table @code
407@item highlight
408This face is used for highlighting portions of text, in various modes.
409For example, mouse-sensitive text is highlighted using this face.
43d08eb9 410@item isearch
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411This face is used for highlighting the current Isearch match
412(@pxref{Incremental Search}).
54952612 413@item query-replace
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414This face is used for highlighting the current Query Replace match
415(@pxref{Replace}).
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416@item lazy-highlight
417This face is used for lazy highlighting of Isearch and Query Replace
418matches other than the current one.
419@item region
04eaab7d 420This face is used for displaying a selected region (@pxref{Mark}).
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421@item secondary-selection
422This face is used for displaying a secondary X selection (@pxref{Secondary
423Selection}).
424@item trailing-whitespace
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425The face for highlighting excess spaces and tabs at the end of a line
426when @code{show-trailing-whitespace} is non-@code{nil}; see
427@ref{Useless Whitespace}.
43d08eb9 428@item nobreak-space
5a7f4c1b 429The face for displaying the character ``nobreak space.''
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430@item escape-glyph
431The face for highlighting the @samp{\} or @samp{^} that indicates
432a control character. It's also used when @samp{\} indicates a
433nobreak space or nobreak (soft) hyphen.
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434@end table
435
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436 These faces control the appearance of parts of the Emacs frame.
437They exist as faces to provide a consistent way to customize the
438appearance of these parts of the frame.
439
440@table @code
b8f3a9e3 441@item mode-line
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442This face is used for the mode line of the currently selected window,
443and for menu bars when toolkit menus are not used. By default, it's
54952612 444drawn with shadows for a ``raised'' effect on graphical displays, and
3b91a16d 445drawn as the inverse of the default face on non-windowed terminals.
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446@item mode-line-inactive
447Like @code{mode-line}, but used for mode lines of the windows other
448than the selected one (if @code{mode-line-in-non-selected-windows} is
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449non-@code{nil}). This face inherits from @code{mode-line}, so changes
450in that face affect mode lines in all windows.
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451@item mode-line-highlight
452Like @code{highlight}, but used for portions of text on mode lines.
453@item mode-line-buffer-id
454This face is used for buffer identification parts in the mode line.
b8f3a9e3 455@item header-line
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456Similar to @code{mode-line} for a window's header line, which appears
457at the top of a window just as the mode line appears at the bottom.
458Most windows do not have a header line---only some special modes, such
459Info mode, create one.
53abc3bf 460@item vertical-border
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461This face is used for the vertical divider between windows.
462By default this face inherits from the @code{mode-line-inactive} face
54952612 463on character terminals. On graphical displays the foreground color of
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464this face is used for the vertical line between windows without
465scrollbars.
3094ad7a 466@item minibuffer-prompt
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467@cindex @code{minibuffer-prompt} face
468@vindex minibuffer-prompt-properties
3094ad7a 469This face is used for the prompt strings displayed in the minibuffer.
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470By default, Emacs automatically adds this face to the value of
471@code{minibuffer-prompt-properties}, which is a list of text
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472properties used to display the prompt text. (This variable takes
473effect when you enter the minibuffer.)
b8f3a9e3 474@item fringe
3b91a16d 475@cindex @code{fringe} face
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476The face for the fringes to the left and right of windows on graphic
477displays. (The fringes are the narrow portions of the Emacs frame
940627fe 478between the text area and the window's right and left borders.)
43d08eb9 479@xref{Fringes}.
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480@item scroll-bar
481This face determines the visual appearance of the scroll bar.
43d08eb9 482@xref{Scroll Bars}.
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483@item border
484This face determines the color of the frame border.
485@item cursor
486This face determines the color of the cursor.
487@item mouse
488This face determines the color of the mouse pointer.
489@item tool-bar
54952612 490This face determines the color of tool bar icons. @xref{Tool Bars}.
b8f3a9e3 491@item tooltip
43d08eb9 492This face is used for tooltips. @xref{Tooltips}.
b8f3a9e3 493@item menu
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494@cindex menu bar appearance
495@cindex @code{menu} face, no effect if customized
496@cindex customization of @code{menu} face
497This face determines the colors and font of Emacs's menus. @xref{Menu
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498Bars}. This has no effect in Emacs built with GTK and in the
499MS-Windows/Mac ports; you need to use system-wide styles and options
500to change the appearance of GTK, Windows, or Mac menus. Setting the
501font of LessTif/Motif menus is currently not supported; attempts to
502set the font are ignored in this case.
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503@end table
504
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505@node Temporary Face Changes
506@section Temporary Face Changes
507
508The following commands change the default face within a buffer.
509
510@cindex adjust buffer face height
511@findex text-scale-adjust
512@kindex C-x C-+
513@kindex C-x C--
514@kindex C-x C-=
515@kindex C-x C-0
516 To increase the height of the default face in the current buffer,
517type @kbd{C-x C-+} or @kbd{C-x C-=}. To decrease it, type @kbd{C-x
518C--}. To restore the default (global) face height, type @kbd{C-x
519C-0}. These keys are all bound to the same command,
520@code{text-scale-adjust}, which looks at the last key typed to
521determine which action to take.
522
523 The final key of these commands may be repeated without the leading
524@kbd{C-x}. For instance, @kbd{C-x C-= C-= C-=} increases the face
525height by three steps. Each step scales the height of the default
526face by the value of the variable @code{text-scale-mode-step}. As a
527special case, an argument of 0 removes any scaling currently active.
528
529@cindex increase buffer face height
530@findex text-scale-increase
531@cindex decrease buffer face height
532@findex text-scale-decrease
533 The commands @code{text-scale-increase} and
534@code{text-scale-decrease} increase or decrease the height of the
535default face, just like @kbd{C-x C-+} and @kbd{C-x C--} respectively.
536You may find it convenient to bind to these commands, rather than
537@code{text-scale-adjust}.
538
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539@cindex set buffer face height
540@findex text-scale-set
541The command @code{text-scale-set} sets the height of the default face
542in the current buffer to an absolute level specified by its prefix
543argument.
544
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545@findex text-scale-mode
546 The above commands automatically enable or disable the minor mode
547@code{text-scale-mode}, depending on whether the current font scaling
548is other than 1 or not.
549
550@cindex variable pitch mode
551@findex variable-pitch-mode
552 To temporarily change the face in the current buffer to a
553variable-pitch (``proportional'') font, use the command @kbd{M-x
554variable-pitch-mode} to enable or disable the Variable Pitch minor
555mode.
556
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557@node Font Lock
558@section Font Lock mode
559@cindex Font Lock mode
560@cindex mode, Font Lock
561@cindex syntax highlighting and coloring
562
8cc11660 563 Font Lock mode is a minor mode, always local to a particular buffer,
0015d677 564which highlights (or ``fontifies'') the buffer contents according to
8cc11660 565the syntax of the text you are editing. It can recognize comments and
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566strings in most programming languages; in several languages, it can
567also recognize and properly highlight various other important
568constructs, such as names of functions being defined or reserved
569keywords. Some special modes, such as Occur mode and Info mode, have
570completely specialized ways of assigning fonts for Font Lock mode.
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571
572@findex font-lock-mode
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573 Font Lock mode is turned on by default in all modes which support it.
574You can toggle font-lock for each buffer with the command @kbd{M-x
575font-lock-mode}. Using a positive argument unconditionally turns Font
576Lock mode on, and a negative or zero argument turns it off.
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577
578@findex global-font-lock-mode
579@vindex global-font-lock-mode
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580 If you do not wish Font Lock mode to be turned on by default,
581customize the variable @code{global-font-lock-mode} using the Customize
582interface (@pxref{Easy Customization}), or use the function
d239287a 583@code{global-font-lock-mode} in your @file{.emacs} file, like this:
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584
585@example
c4e8acbc 586(global-font-lock-mode 0)
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587@end example
588
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589@noindent
590This variable, like all the variables that control Font Lock mode,
591take effect whenever fontification is done; that is, potentially at
592any time.
593
c4e8acbc 594@findex turn-on-font-lock
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595 If you have disabled Global Font Lock mode, you can still enable Font
596Lock for specific major modes by adding the function
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597@code{turn-on-font-lock} to the mode hooks (@pxref{Hooks}). For
598example, to enable Font Lock mode for editing C files, you can do this:
599
600@example
601(add-hook 'c-mode-hook 'turn-on-font-lock)
602@end example
0015d677 603
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604 Font Lock mode uses several specifically named faces to do its job,
605including @code{font-lock-string-face}, @code{font-lock-comment-face},
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606and others. The easiest way to find them all is to use @kbd{M-x
607customize-group @key{RET} font-lock-faces @key{RET}}. You can then
608use that customization buffer to customize the appearance of these
609faces. @xref{Face Customization}.
b8f3a9e3 610
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611@vindex font-lock-maximum-decoration
612 The variable @code{font-lock-maximum-decoration} specifies the
613preferred level of fontification, for modes that provide multiple
614levels. Level 1 is the least amount of fontification; some modes
615support levels as high as 3. The normal default is ``as high as
616possible.'' You can specify an integer, which applies to all modes, or
617you can specify different numbers for particular major modes; for
618example, to use level 1 for C/C++ modes, and the default level
619otherwise, use this:
620
621@example
622(setq font-lock-maximum-decoration
623 '((c-mode . 1) (c++-mode . 1)))
624@end example
625
626@vindex font-lock-maximum-size
627 Fontification can be too slow for large buffers, so you can suppress
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628it for buffers above a certain size. The variable
629@code{font-lock-maximum-size} specifies a buffer size, beyond which
630buffer fontification is suppressed.
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631
632@c @w is used below to prevent a bad page-break.
633@vindex font-lock-beginning-of-syntax-function
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634@cindex incorrect fontification
635@cindex parenthesis in column zero and fontification
636@cindex brace in column zero and fontification
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637 Comment and string fontification (or ``syntactic'' fontification)
638relies on analysis of the syntactic structure of the buffer text. For
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639the sake of speed, some modes, including Lisp mode, rely on a special
640convention: an open-parenthesis or open-brace in the leftmost column
641always defines the @w{beginning} of a defun, and is thus always
642outside any string or comment. (@xref{Left Margin Paren}.) If you
643don't follow this convention, Font Lock mode can misfontify the text
644that follows an open-parenthesis or open-brace in the leftmost column
645that is inside a string or comment.
b8f3a9e3 646
6bb2ed9b 647@cindex slow display during scrolling
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648 The variable @code{font-lock-beginning-of-syntax-function} (always
649buffer-local) specifies how Font Lock mode can find a position
650guaranteed to be outside any comment or string. In modes which use the
651leftmost column parenthesis convention, the default value of the variable
652is @code{beginning-of-defun}---that tells Font Lock mode to use the
653convention. If you set this variable to @code{nil}, Font Lock no longer
654relies on the convention. This avoids incorrect results, but the price
655is that, in some cases, fontification for a changed text must rescan
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656buffer text from the beginning of the buffer. This can considerably
657slow down redisplay while scrolling, particularly if you are close to
658the end of a large buffer.
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659
660@findex font-lock-add-keywords
661 Font Lock highlighting patterns already exist for many modes, but you
662may want to fontify additional patterns. You can use the function
663@code{font-lock-add-keywords}, to add your own highlighting patterns for
664a particular mode. For example, to highlight @samp{FIXME:} words in C
665comments, use this:
666
667@example
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668(add-hook 'c-mode-hook
669 (lambda ()
670 (font-lock-add-keywords nil
671 '(("\\<\\(FIXME\\):" 1 font-lock-warning-face t)))))
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672@end example
673
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674@findex font-lock-remove-keywords
675 To remove keywords from the font-lock highlighting patterns, use the
cd77ce13 676function @code{font-lock-remove-keywords}. @xref{Search-based
956c76ef 677Fontification,,, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
4063fff3 678
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679@cindex just-in-time (JIT) font-lock
680@cindex background syntax highlighting
681 Fontifying large buffers can take a long time. To avoid large
682delays when a file is visited, Emacs fontifies only the visible
683portion of a buffer. As you scroll through the buffer, each portion
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684that becomes visible is fontified as soon as it is displayed; this
685type of Font Lock is called @dfn{Just-In-Time} (or @dfn{JIT}) Lock.
686You can control how JIT Lock behaves, including telling it to perform
687fontification while idle, by customizing variables in the
688customization group @samp{jit-lock}. @xref{Specific Customization}.
3be9b0ca 689
b8f3a9e3 690@node Highlight Interactively
54952612 691@section Interactive Highlighting
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692@cindex highlighting by matching
693@cindex interactive highlighting
54952612 694@cindex Highlight Changes mode
b8f3a9e3 695
54952612 696@findex highlight-changes-mode
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697Highlight Changes mode is a minor mode that @dfn{highlights} the parts
698of the buffer were changed most recently, by giving that text a
699different face. To enable or disable Highlight Changes mode, use
700@kbd{M-x highlight-changes-mode}.
b8f3a9e3 701
54952612 702@cindex Hi Lock mode
b8f3a9e3 703@findex hi-lock-mode
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704 Hi Lock mode is a minor mode that highlights text that matches
705regular expressions you specify. For example, you can use it to
706highlight all the references to a certain variable in a program source
707file, highlight certain parts in a voluminous output of some program,
708or highlight certain names in an article. To enable or disable Hi
709Lock mode, use the command @kbd{M-x hi-lock-mode}. To enable Hi Lock
710mode for all buffers, use @kbd{M-x global-hi-lock-mode} or place
711@code{(global-hi-lock-mode 1)} in your @file{.emacs} file.
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712
713 Hi Lock mode works like Font Lock mode (@pxref{Font Lock}), except
714that you specify explicitly the regular expressions to highlight. You
715control them with these commands:
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716
717@table @kbd
718@item C-x w h @var{regexp} @key{RET} @var{face} @key{RET}
719@kindex C-x w h
720@findex highlight-regexp
cedf175b 721Highlight text that matches @var{regexp} using face @var{face}
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722(@code{highlight-regexp}). The highlighting will remain as long as
723the buffer is loaded. For example, to highlight all occurrences of
724the word ``whim'' using the default face (a yellow background)
725@kbd{C-x w h whim @key{RET} @key{RET}}. Any face can be used for
726highlighting, Hi Lock provides several of its own and these are
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727pre-loaded into a list of default values. While being prompted
728for a face use @kbd{M-n} and @kbd{M-p} to cycle through them.
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729
730You can use this command multiple times, specifying various regular
731expressions to highlight in different ways.
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732
733@item C-x w r @var{regexp} @key{RET}
734@kindex C-x w r
735@findex unhighlight-regexp
630acdcc 736Unhighlight @var{regexp} (@code{unhighlight-regexp}).
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737
738If you invoke this from the menu, you select the expression to
739unhighlight from a list. If you invoke this from the keyboard, you
740use the minibuffer. It will show the most recently added regular
741expression; use @kbd{M-p} to show the next older expression and
742@kbd{M-n} to select the next newer expression. (You can also type the
743expression by hand, with completion.) When the expression you want to
744unhighlight appears in the minibuffer, press @kbd{@key{RET}} to exit
745the minibuffer and unhighlight it.
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746
747@item C-x w l @var{regexp} @key{RET} @var{face} @key{RET}
748@kindex C-x w l
749@findex highlight-lines-matching-regexp
750@cindex lines, highlighting
751@cindex highlighting lines of text
04d0b662 752Highlight entire lines containing a match for @var{regexp}, using face
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753@var{face} (@code{highlight-lines-matching-regexp}).
754
755@item C-x w b
756@kindex C-x w b
757@findex hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns
758Insert all the current highlighting regexp/face pairs into the buffer
759at point, with comment delimiters to prevent them from changing your
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760program. (This key binding runs the
761@code{hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns} command.)
b8f3a9e3 762
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763These patterns are extracted from the comments, if appropriate, if you
764invoke @kbd{M-x hi-lock-find-patterns}, or if you visit the file while
765Hi Lock mode is enabled (since that runs @code{hi-lock-find-patterns}).
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766
767@item C-x w i
768@kindex C-x w i
769@findex hi-lock-find-patterns
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770Extract regexp/face pairs from comments in the current buffer
771(@code{hi-lock-find-patterns}). Thus, you can enter patterns
772interactively with @code{highlight-regexp}, store them into the file
773with @code{hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns}, edit them (perhaps
cedf175b 774including different faces for different parenthesized parts of the
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775match), and finally use this command (@code{hi-lock-find-patterns}) to
776have Hi Lock highlight the edited patterns.
b8f3a9e3 777
3173ce7e 778@vindex hi-lock-file-patterns-policy
d439bcd8 779The variable @code{hi-lock-file-patterns-policy} controls whether Hi
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780Lock mode should automatically extract and highlight patterns found in a
781file when it is visited. Its value can be @code{nil} (never highlight),
782@code{ask} (query the user), or a function. If it is a function,
783@code{hi-lock-find-patterns} calls it with the patterns as argument; if
784the function returns non-@code{nil}, the patterns are used. The default
785is @code{ask}. Note that patterns are always highlighted if you call
786@code{hi-lock-find-patterns} directly, regardless of the value of this
787variable.
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788
789@vindex hi-lock-exclude-modes
790Also, @code{hi-lock-find-patterns} does nothing if the current major
791mode's symbol is a member of the list @code{hi-lock-exclude-modes}.
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792@end table
793
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794@node Fringes
795@section Window Fringes
796@cindex fringes
797
798 On a graphical display, each Emacs window normally has narrow
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799@dfn{fringes} on the left and right edges. The fringes are used to
800display symbols that provide information about the text in the window.
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801
802 The most common use of the fringes is to indicate a continuation
803line, when one line of text is split into multiple lines on the
804screen. The left fringe shows a curving arrow for each screen line
805except the first, indicating that ``this is not the real beginning.''
806The right fringe shows a curving arrow for each screen line except the
807last, indicating that ``this is not the real end.''
808
566da2e7 809 The fringes indicate line truncation with short horizontal arrows
fad78d58 810meaning ``there's more text on this line which is scrolled
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811horizontally out of view;'' clicking the mouse on one of the arrows
812scrolls the display horizontally in the direction of the arrow. The
d239287a 813fringes can also indicate other things, such as empty lines, or where a
566da2e7 814program you are debugging is executing (@pxref{Debuggers}).
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815
816@findex set-fringe-style
817@findex fringe-mode
818 You can enable and disable the fringes for all frames using
819@kbd{M-x fringe-mode}. To enable and disable the fringes
820for the selected frame, use @kbd{M-x set-fringe-style}.
821
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822@node Displaying Boundaries
823@section Displaying Boundaries
824
825@vindex indicate-buffer-boundaries
826 On a graphical display, Emacs can indicate the buffer boundaries in
827the fringes. It indicates the first line and the last line with
828angle images in the fringes. This can be combined with up and down
829arrow images which say whether it is possible to scroll the window up
830and down.
831
832 The buffer-local variable @code{indicate-buffer-boundaries} controls
833how the buffer boundaries and window scrolling is indicated in the
834fringes. If the value is @code{left} or @code{right}, both angle and
835arrow bitmaps are displayed in the left or right fringe, respectively.
836
837 If value is an alist, each element @code{(@var{indicator} .
838@var{position})} specifies the position of one of the indicators.
839The @var{indicator} must be one of @code{top}, @code{bottom},
840@code{up}, @code{down}, or @code{t} which specifies the default
841position for the indicators not present in the alist.
842The @var{position} is one of @code{left}, @code{right}, or @code{nil}
843which specifies not to show this indicator.
844
845 For example, @code{((top . left) (t . right))} places the top angle
846bitmap in left fringe, the bottom angle bitmap in right fringe, and
847both arrow bitmaps in right fringe. To show just the angle bitmaps in
848the left fringe, but no arrow bitmaps, use @code{((top . left)
849(bottom . left))}.
850
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851@node Useless Whitespace
852@section Useless Whitespace
853
854@cindex trailing whitespace
855@cindex whitespace, trailing
856@vindex show-trailing-whitespace
857 It is easy to leave unnecessary spaces at the end of a line, or
858empty lines at the end of a file, without realizing it. In most
859cases, this @dfn{trailing whitespace} has no effect, but there are
956c76ef 860special circumstances where it matters, and it can be a nuisance.
fad78d58 861
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862 You can make trailing whitespace at the end of a line visible by
863setting the buffer-local variable @code{show-trailing-whitespace} to
864@code{t}. Then Emacs displays trailing whitespace, using the face
865@code{trailing-whitespace}.
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866
867 This feature does not apply when point is at the end of the line
868containing the whitespace. Strictly speaking, that is ``trailing
869whitespace'' nonetheless, but displaying it specially in that case
870looks ugly while you are typing in new text. In this special case,
871the location of point is enough to show you that the spaces are
872present.
873
874@findex delete-trailing-whitespace
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875 To delete all trailing whitespace within the buffer's accessible
876portion (@pxref{Narrowing}), type @kbd{M-x delete-trailing-whitespace
877@key{RET}}. This command does not remove newline characters.
fad78d58 878
23e3383d 879@vindex indicate-empty-lines
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880@cindex unused lines
881@cindex fringes, and unused line indication
882 Emacs can indicate unused lines at the end of the window with a
883small image in the left fringe (@pxref{Fringes}). The image appears
884for window lines that do not correspond to any buffer text. Blank
885lines at the end of the buffer then stand out because they do not have
886this image in the fringe.
887
888 To enable this feature, set the buffer-local variable
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889@code{indicate-empty-lines} to a non-@code{nil} value. You can enable
890or disable this feature for all new buffers by setting the default
891value of this variable, e.g.@: @code{(setq-default
892indicate-empty-lines t)};. (This feature currently doesn't work on
893text-only terminals.)
fad78d58 894
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895@node Selective Display
896@section Selective Display
4946337d 897@cindex selective display
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898@findex set-selective-display
899@kindex C-x $
900
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901 Emacs has the ability to hide lines indented more than a given
902number of columns. You can use this to get an overview of a part of a
903program.
6bf7aab6 904
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905 To hide lines in the current buffer, type @kbd{C-x $}
906(@code{set-selective-display}) with a numeric argument @var{n}. Then
907lines with at least @var{n} columns of indentation disappear from the
908screen. The only indication of their presence is that three dots
909(@samp{@dots{}}) appear at the end of each visible line that is
910followed by one or more hidden ones.
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911
912 The commands @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} move across the hidden lines as
913if they were not there.
914
915 The hidden lines are still present in the buffer, and most editing
916commands see them as usual, so you may find point in the middle of the
917hidden text. When this happens, the cursor appears at the end of the
918previous line, after the three dots. If point is at the end of the
919visible line, before the newline that ends it, the cursor appears before
920the three dots.
921
922 To make all lines visible again, type @kbd{C-x $} with no argument.
923
924@vindex selective-display-ellipses
925 If you set the variable @code{selective-display-ellipses} to
926@code{nil}, the three dots do not appear at the end of a line that
927precedes hidden lines. Then there is no visible indication of the
928hidden lines. This variable becomes local automatically when set.
929
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930 See also @ref{Outline Mode} for another way to hide part of
931the text in a buffer.
932
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933@node Optional Mode Line
934@section Optional Mode Line Features
935
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936@cindex buffer size display
937@cindex display of buffer size
938@findex size-indication-mode
939 The buffer percentage @var{pos} indicates the percentage of the
940buffer above the top of the window. You can additionally display the
941size of the buffer by typing @kbd{M-x size-indication-mode} to turn on
942Size Indication mode. The size will be displayed immediately
943following the buffer percentage like this:
944
945@example
946@var{POS} of @var{SIZE}
947@end example
948
949@noindent
950Here @var{SIZE} is the human readable representation of the number of
951characters in the buffer, which means that @samp{k} for 10^3, @samp{M}
952for 10^6, @samp{G} for 10^9, etc., are used to abbreviate.
953
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954@cindex line number display
955@cindex display of line number
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956@findex line-number-mode
957 The current line number of point appears in the mode line when Line
958Number mode is enabled. Use the command @kbd{M-x line-number-mode} to
959turn this mode on and off; normally it is on. The line number appears
b213b767 960after the buffer percentage @var{pos}, with the letter @samp{L} to
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961indicate what it is.
962
963@cindex Column Number mode
964@cindex mode, Column Number
965@findex column-number-mode
966 Similarly, you can display the current column number by turning on
967Column number mode with @kbd{M-x column-number-mode}. The column
968number is indicated by the letter @samp{C}. However, when both of
969these modes are enabled, the line and column numbers are displayed in
970parentheses, the line number first, rather than with @samp{L} and
971@samp{C}. For example: @samp{(561,2)}. @xref{Minor Modes}, for more
972information about minor modes and about how to use these commands.
6bf7aab6 973
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974@cindex narrowing, and line number display
975 If you have narrowed the buffer (@pxref{Narrowing}), the displayed
976line number is relative to the accessible portion of the buffer.
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977Thus, it isn't suitable as an argument to @code{goto-line}. (Use
978@code{what-line} command to see the line number relative to the whole
979file.)
43f971ab 980
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981@vindex line-number-display-limit
982 If the buffer is very large (larger than the value of
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983@code{line-number-display-limit}), Emacs won't compute the line
984number, because that would be too slow; therefore, the line number
985won't appear on the mode-line. To remove this limit, set
986@code{line-number-display-limit} to @code{nil}.
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987
988@vindex line-number-display-limit-width
989 Line-number computation can also be slow if the lines in the buffer
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990are too long. For this reason, Emacs doesn't display line numbers if
991the average width, in characters, of lines near point is larger than
992the value of @code{line-number-display-limit-width}. The default
993value is 200 characters.
6bf7aab6 994
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995@findex display-time
996@cindex time (on mode line)
997 Emacs can optionally display the time and system load in all mode
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998lines. To enable this feature, type @kbd{M-x display-time} or customize
999the option @code{display-time-mode}. The information added to the mode
1000line usually appears after the buffer name, before the mode names and
1001their parentheses. It looks like this:
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1002
1003@example
1004@var{hh}:@var{mm}pm @var{l.ll}
1005@end example
1006
1007@noindent
1008@vindex display-time-24hr-format
1009Here @var{hh} and @var{mm} are the hour and minute, followed always by
1010@samp{am} or @samp{pm}. @var{l.ll} is the average number of running
1011processes in the whole system recently. (Some fields may be missing if
1012your operating system cannot support them.) If you prefer time display
1013in 24-hour format, set the variable @code{display-time-24hr-format}
1014to @code{t}.
1015
1016@cindex mail (on mode line)
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1017@vindex display-time-use-mail-icon
1018@vindex display-time-mail-face
fad78d58
RS
1019@vindex display-time-mail-file
1020@vindex display-time-mail-directory
6bf7aab6 1021 The word @samp{Mail} appears after the load level if there is mail
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1022for you that you have not read yet. On a graphical display you can use
1023an icon instead of @samp{Mail} by customizing
1024@code{display-time-use-mail-icon}; this may save some space on the mode
1025line. You can customize @code{display-time-mail-face} to make the mail
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1026indicator prominent. Use @code{display-time-mail-file} to specify
1027the mail file to check, or set @code{display-time-mail-directory}
1028to specify the directory to check for incoming mail (any nonempty regular
1029file in the directory is considered as ``newly arrived mail'').
6bf7aab6 1030
956c76ef
CY
1031@cindex mail (on mode line)
1032@findex display-battery-mode
1033@vindex display-battery-mode
1034@vindex battery-mode-line-format
1035 When running Emacs on a laptop computer, you can display the battery
1036charge on the mode-line, by using the command
1037@code{display-battery-mode} or customizing the variable
1038@code{display-battery-mode}. The variable
1039@code{battery-mode-line-format} determines the way the battery charge
1040is displayed; the exact mode-line message depends on the operating
1041system, and it usually shows the current battery charge as a
1042percentage of the total charge.
1043
47d7776c 1044@cindex mode line, 3D appearance
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EZ
1045@cindex attributes of mode line, changing
1046@cindex non-integral number of lines in a window
04d0b662
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1047 By default, the mode line is drawn on graphics displays with
10483D-style highlighting, like that of a button when it is not being
1049pressed. If you don't like this effect, you can disable the 3D
1050highlighting of the mode line, by customizing the attributes of the
54952612 1051@code{mode-line} face. @xref{Face Customization}.
bd3ead08 1052
b9e58bf2 1053@cindex non-selected windows, mode line appearance
ac6875fc 1054 By default, the mode line of nonselected windows is displayed in a
1c9f5f23 1055different face, called @code{mode-line-inactive}. Only the selected
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1056window is displayed in the @code{mode-line} face. This helps show
1057which window is selected. When the minibuffer is selected, since
1058it has no mode line, the window from which you activated the minibuffer
1059has its mode line displayed using @code{mode-line}; as a result,
1060ordinary entry to the minibuffer does not change any mode lines.
1061
1062@vindex mode-line-in-non-selected-windows
1063 You can disable use of @code{mode-line-inactive} by setting variable
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KS
1064@code{mode-line-in-non-selected-windows} to @code{nil}; then all mode
1065lines are displayed in the @code{mode-line} face.
b9e58bf2 1066
589a3f9f
RS
1067@vindex eol-mnemonic-unix
1068@vindex eol-mnemonic-dos
1069@vindex eol-mnemonic-mac
1070@vindex eol-mnemonic-undecided
1071 You can customize the mode line display for each of the end-of-line
1072formats by setting each of the variables @code{eol-mnemonic-unix},
1073@code{eol-mnemonic-dos}, @code{eol-mnemonic-mac}, and
54952612 1074@code{eol-mnemonic-undecided} to the strings you prefer.
589a3f9f 1075
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1076@node Text Display
1077@section How Text Is Displayed
1078@cindex characters (in text)
1079
76dd3692 1080 @acronym{ASCII} printing characters (octal codes 040 through 0176) in Emacs
06723f0f 1081buffers are displayed with their graphics, as are non-@acronym{ASCII} multibyte
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1082printing characters (octal codes above 0400).
1083
956c76ef 1084@vindex tab-width
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CY
1085 Some @acronym{ASCII} control characters are displayed in special
1086ways. The newline character (octal code 012) is displayed by starting
1087a new line. The tab character (octal code 011) is displayed by moving
1088to the next tab stop column (normally every 8 columns). The number of
1089spaces per tab is controlled by the variable @code{tab-width}, which
1090must have an integer value between 1 and 1000, inclusive, and is made
cd61af01 1091buffer-local by changing it. Note that how the tab character in the buffer
956c76ef 1092is displayed has nothing to do with the definition of @key{TAB} as a
cd61af01 1093command.
6bf7aab6 1094
76dd3692 1095 Other @acronym{ASCII} control characters are normally displayed as a caret
6bf7aab6 1096(@samp{^}) followed by the non-control version of the character; thus,
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1097control-A is displayed as @samp{^A}. The caret appears in face
1098@code{escape-glyph}.
1099
1100 Non-@acronym{ASCII} characters 0200 through 0237 (octal) are
1101displayed with octal escape sequences; thus, character code 0230
1102(octal) is displayed as @samp{\230}. The backslash appears in face
1103@code{escape-glyph}.
1104
1105@vindex ctl-arrow
1106 If the variable @code{ctl-arrow} is @code{nil}, control characters in
1107the buffer are displayed with octal escape sequences, except for newline
1108and tab. Altering the value of @code{ctl-arrow} makes it local to the
1109current buffer; until that time, the default value is in effect. The
1110default is initially @code{t}.
1111
1112 The display of character codes 0240 through 0377 (octal) may be
1113either as escape sequences or as graphics. They do not normally occur
1114in multibyte buffers, but if they do, they are displayed as Latin-1
1115graphics. In unibyte mode, if you enable European display they are
1116displayed using their graphics (assuming your terminal supports them),
662286c3 1117otherwise as escape sequences. @xref{Unibyte Mode}.
6bf7aab6 1118
470a11a3 1119@vindex nobreak-char-display
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RS
1120@cindex no-break space, display
1121@cindex no-break hyphen, display
1122@cindex soft hyphen, display
470a11a3
RS
1123 Some character sets define ``no-break'' versions of the space and
1124hyphen characters, which are used where a line should not be broken.
1125Emacs normally displays these characters with special faces
1126(respectively, @code{nobreak-space} and @code{escape-glyph}) to
1127distinguish them from ordinary spaces and hyphens. You can turn off
1128this feature by setting the variable @code{nobreak-char-display} to
1129@code{nil}. If you set the variable to any other value, that means to
1130prefix these characters with an escape character.
b5cced4b 1131
54952612
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1132 You can customize the way any particular character code is displayed
1133by means of a display table. @xref{Display Tables,, Display Tables,
1134elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
1135
0015d677
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1136@node Cursor Display
1137@section Displaying the Cursor
1138
1139@findex blink-cursor-mode
1140@vindex blink-cursor-alist
1141@cindex cursor, locating visually
1142@cindex cursor, blinking
1143 You can customize the cursor's color, and whether it blinks, using
1144the @code{cursor} Custom group (@pxref{Easy Customization}). On
098199b1 1145a graphical display, the command @kbd{M-x blink-cursor-mode} enables
0015d677
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1146or disables the blinking of the cursor. (On text terminals, the
1147terminal itself blinks the cursor, and Emacs has no control over it.)
1148You can control how the cursor appears when it blinks off by setting
1149the variable @code{blink-cursor-alist}.
1150
468160b7
SM
1151@vindex visible-cursor
1152 Some text terminals offer two different cursors: the normal cursor
1153and the very visible cursor, where the latter may be e.g. bigger or
43d67313
RS
1154blinking. By default Emacs uses the very visible cursor, and switches
1155to it when you start or resume Emacs. If the variable
1156@code{visible-cursor} is @code{nil} when Emacs starts or resumes, it
1157doesn't switch, so it uses the normal cursor.
468160b7 1158
0015d677
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1159@cindex cursor in non-selected windows
1160@vindex cursor-in-non-selected-windows
93870ce2
RS
1161 Normally, the cursor appears in non-selected windows without
1162blinking, with the same appearance as when the blinking cursor blinks
5a7f4c1b 1163``off.'' For a box cursor, this is a hollow box; for a bar cursor,
0015d677 1164this is a thinner bar. To turn off cursors in non-selected windows,
93870ce2
RS
1165customize the variable @code{cursor-in-non-selected-windows} and
1166assign it a @code{nil} value.
0015d677
RS
1167
1168@vindex x-stretch-cursor
1169@cindex wide block cursor
098199b1 1170 On graphical displays, Emacs can optionally draw the block cursor
0015d677
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1171as wide as the character under the cursor---for example, if the cursor
1172is on a tab character, it would cover the full width occupied by that
1173tab character. To enable this feature, set the variable
1174@code{x-stretch-cursor} to a non-@code{nil} value.
1175
1176@findex hl-line-mode
1177@findex global-hl-line-mode
1178@cindex highlight current line
54952612
RS
1179 To make the cursor even more visible, you can use HL Line mode, a
1180minor mode that highlights the line containing point. Use @kbd{M-x
0015d677
RS
1181hl-line-mode} to enable or disable it in the current buffer. @kbd{M-x
1182global-hl-line-mode} enables or disables the same mode globally.
1183
9d2908a6
RS
1184@node Line Truncation
1185@section Truncation of Lines
0015d677
RS
1186
1187@cindex truncation
1188@cindex line truncation, and fringes
9c6361c9
MR
1189 As an alternative to continuation (@pxref{Continuation Lines}), Emacs
1190can display long lines by @dfn{truncation}. This means that all the
1191characters that do not fit in the width of the screen or window do not
1192appear at all. On graphical displays, a small straight arrow in the
1193fringe indicates truncation at either end of the line. On text-only
1194terminals, @samp{$} appears in the first column when there is text
1195truncated to the left, and in the last column when there is text
1196truncated to the right.
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1197
1198@vindex truncate-lines
1199@findex toggle-truncate-lines
1200 Horizontal scrolling automatically causes line truncation
1201(@pxref{Horizontal Scrolling}). You can explicitly enable line
1202truncation for a particular buffer with the command @kbd{M-x
1203toggle-truncate-lines}. This works by locally changing the variable
1204@code{truncate-lines}. If that variable is non-@code{nil}, long lines
1205are truncated; if it is @code{nil}, they are continued onto multiple
1206screen lines. Setting the variable @code{truncate-lines} in any way
1207makes it local to the current buffer; until that time, the default
1208value is in effect. The default value is normally @code{nil}.
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1209
1210@c @vindex truncate-partial-width-windows @c Idx entry is in Split Windows.
1211 If the variable @code{truncate-partial-width-windows} is
1212non-@code{nil}, it forces truncation rather than continuation in any
1213window less than the full width of the screen or frame, regardless of
956c76ef 1214the value of @code{truncate-lines}. See also @ref{Display,, Display,
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1215elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
1216
80174a97
KS
1217@vindex overflow-newline-into-fringe
1218 If the variable @code{overflow-newline-into-fringe} is
54952612
RS
1219non-@code{nil} on a graphical display, then Emacs does not continue or
1220truncate a line which is exactly as wide as the window. Instead, the
1221newline overflows into the right fringe, and the cursor appears in the
1222fringe when positioned on that newline.
80174a97 1223
458db4b6
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1224@node Visual Line Mode
1225@section Visual Line Mode
1226
1227@cindex word wrap
1228 Another alternative to ordinary line continuation is to use
1229@dfn{word wrap}. Here, each long logical line is divided into two or
1230more screen lines, like in ordinary line continuation. However, Emacs
1231attempts to wrap the line at word boundaries near the right window
1232edge. This makes the text easier to read, as wrapping does not occur
1233in the middle of words.
1234
1235@cindex Visual Line mode
1236@findex visual-line-mode
1237@findex global-visual-line-mode
1238 Word wrap is enabled by Visual Line mode, an optional minor mode.
1239To turn on Visual Line mode in the current buffer, type @kbd{M-x
1240visual-line-mode}; repeating this command turns it off. You can also
1241turn on Visual Line mode using the menu bar: in the Options menu,
1242select the @samp{Line Wrapping in this Buffer} submenu, followed by
1243the @samp{Word Wrap (Visual Line Mode)} menu item. While Visual Line
1244mode is enabled, the mode-line shows the string @samp{wrap} in the
1245mode display. The command @kbd{M-x global-visual-line-mode} toggles
1246Visual Line mode in all buffers.
1247
1248@findex beginning-of-visual-line
1249@findex end-of-visual-line
1250@findex next-logical-line
1251@findex previous-logical-line
1252 In Visual Line mode, some editing commands work on screen lines
1253instead of logical lines: @kbd{C-a} (@code{beginning-of-visual-line})
1254moves to the beginning of the screen line, @kbd{C-e}
1255(@code{end-of-visual-line}) moves to the end of the screen line, and
1256@kbd{C-k} (@code{kill-visual-line}) kills text to the end of the
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1257screen line.
1258
1259 To move by logical lines, use the commands @kbd{M-x
1260next-logical-line} and @kbd{M-x previous-logical-line}. These move
1261point to the next logical line and the previous logical line
1262respectively, regardless of whether Visual Line mode is enabled. If
1263you use these commands frequently, it may be convenient to assign key
1264bindings to them. @xref{Init Rebinding}.
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1265
1266 By default, word-wrapped lines do not display fringe indicators.
1267Visual Line mode is often used to edit files that contain many long
1268logical lines, so having a fringe indicator for each wrapped line
1269would be visually distracting. You can change this by customizing the
1270variable @code{visual-line-fringe-indicators}.
1271
9d2908a6
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1272@node Display Custom
1273@section Customization of Display
80174a97 1274
9d2908a6
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1275 This section describes variables (@pxref{Variables}) that you can
1276change to customize how Emacs displays. Beginning users can skip
1277it.
1278@c the reason for that pxref is because an xref early in the
1279@c ``echo area'' section leads here.
62ea61af 1280
9d2908a6
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1281@vindex visible-bell
1282 If the variable @code{visible-bell} is non-@code{nil}, Emacs attempts
1283to make the whole screen blink when it would normally make an audible bell
1284sound. This variable has no effect if your terminal does not have a way
1285to make the screen blink.
80174a97 1286
9d2908a6
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1287@vindex echo-keystrokes
1288 The variable @code{echo-keystrokes} controls the echoing of multi-character
1289keys; its value is the number of seconds of pause required to cause echoing
1290to start, or zero, meaning don't echo at all. The value takes effect when
1291there is someting to echo. @xref{Echo Area}.
80174a97 1292
6bf7aab6 1293@vindex baud-rate
54952612 1294 The variable @anchor{baud-rate}@code{baud-rate} holds the output
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CY
1295speed of the terminal. Setting this variable does not change the
1296speed of actual data transmission, but the value is used for
1297calculations. On text-only terminals, it affects padding, and
1298decisions about whether to scroll part of the screen or redraw it
1299instead. It also affects the behavior of incremental search. On
1300graphical displays, @code{baud-rate} is only used to determine how
1301frequently to look for pending input during display updating. A
e598186c
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1302higher value of @code{baud-rate} means that check for pending input
1303will be done less frequently.
6bf7aab6 1304
b4a1a8b2 1305@cindex mouse pointer
62095f01 1306@cindex hourglass pointer display
b4a1a8b2 1307@vindex display-hourglass
62095f01 1308@vindex hourglass-delay
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CY
1309 On graphical displays, Emacs displays the mouse pointer as an
1310hourglass if Emacs is busy. To disable this feature, set the variable
1311@code{display-hourglass} to @code{nil}. The variable
1312@code{hourglass-delay} determines the number of seconds of ``busy
1313time'' before the hourglass is shown; the default is 1.
1314
1315@vindex make-pointer-invisible
1316 If the mouse pointer lies inside an Emacs frame, Emacs makes it
1317invisible each time you type a character to insert text, to prevent it
1318from obscuring the text. (To be precise, the hiding occurs when you
1319type a ``self-inserting'' character. @xref{Inserting Text}.) Moving
1320the mouse pointer makes it visible again. To disable this feature,
1321set the variable @code{make-pointer-invisible} to @code{nil}.
1322
1323@vindex underline-minimum-offset
1324@vindex x-underline-at-descent-line
1325 On graphical displays, the variable @code{underline-minimum-offset}
1326determines the minimum distance between the baseline and underline, in
1327pixels, for underlined text. By default, the value is 1; increasing
1328it may improve the legibility of underlined text for certain fonts.
1329(However, Emacs will never draw the underline below the current line
1330area.) The variable @code{x-underline-at-descent-line} determines how
1331to draw underlined text. The default is @code{nil}, which means to
1332draw it at the baseline level of the font; if you change it to
1333@code{nil}, Emacs draws the underline at the same height as the font's
1334descent line.
099bfef9 1335
9d2908a6 1336@vindex overline-margin
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1337 The variable @code{overline-margin} specifies the vertical position
1338of an overline above the text, including the height of the overline
1339itself, in pixels; the default is 2.
9d2908a6 1340
a66b12be
RS
1341@findex tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors
1342 On some text-only terminals, bold face and inverse video together
1343result in text that is hard to read. Call the function
1344@code{tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors} with a non-@code{nil}
1345argument to suppress the effect of bold-face in this case.
1346
54952612
RS
1347@vindex no-redraw-on-reenter
1348 On a text-only terminal, when you reenter Emacs after suspending, Emacs
1349normally clears the screen and redraws the entire display. On some
1350terminals with more than one page of memory, it is possible to arrange
1351the termcap entry so that the @samp{ti} and @samp{te} strings (output
1352to the terminal when Emacs is entered and exited, respectively) switch
1353between pages of memory so as to use one page for Emacs and another
43d67313 1354page for other output. On such terminals, you might want to set the variable
54952612
RS
1355@code{no-redraw-on-reenter} non-@code{nil}; this tells Emacs to
1356assume, when resumed, that the screen page it is using still contains
1357what Emacs last wrote there.
1358
ab5796a9
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1359@ignore
1360 arch-tag: 2219f910-2ff0-4521-b059-1bd231a536c4
1361@end ignore