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6bf7aab6 1@c This is part of the Emacs manual.
739a80b3 2@c Copyright (C) 1985,86,87,93,94,95,1997,2000,2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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3@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
4@node Calendar/Diary, Gnus, Dired, Top
5@chapter The Calendar and the Diary
6@cindex calendar
7@findex calendar
8
9 Emacs provides the functions of a desk calendar, with a diary of
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10planned or past events. It also has facilities for managing your
11appointments, and keeping track of how much time you spend working on
12certain projects.
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13
14 To enter the calendar, type @kbd{M-x calendar}; this displays a
15three-month calendar centered on the current month, with point on the
16current date. With a numeric argument, as in @kbd{C-u M-x calendar}, it
17prompts you for the month and year to be the center of the three-month
18calendar. The calendar uses its own buffer, whose major mode is
19Calendar mode.
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20
21 @kbd{Mouse-2} in the calendar brings up a menu of operations on a
22particular date; @kbd{C-Mouse-3} brings up a menu of commonly used
23calendar features that are independent of any particular date. To exit
24the calendar, type @kbd{q}. @xref{Calendar, Customizing the Calendar
25and Diary,, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}, for customization
26information about the calendar and diary.
27
28@menu
29* Calendar Motion:: Moving through the calendar; selecting a date.
30* Scroll Calendar:: Bringing earlier or later months onto the screen.
31* Counting Days:: How many days are there between two dates?
32* General Calendar:: Exiting or recomputing the calendar.
33* LaTeX Calendar:: Print a calendar using LaTeX.
34* Holidays:: Displaying dates of holidays.
35* Sunrise/Sunset:: Displaying local times of sunrise and sunset.
36* Lunar Phases:: Displaying phases of the moon.
37* Other Calendars:: Converting dates to other calendar systems.
38* Diary:: Displaying events from your diary.
39* Appointments:: Reminders when it's time to do something.
40* Daylight Savings:: How to specify when daylight savings time is active.
c1ec1a77 41* Time Intervals:: Keeping track of time intervals.
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42@end menu
43
44@node Calendar Motion
45@section Movement in the Calendar
46
47@cindex moving inside the calendar
48 Calendar mode lets you move through the calendar in logical units of
49time such as days, weeks, months, and years. If you move outside the
50three months originally displayed, the calendar display ``scrolls''
51automatically through time to make the selected date visible. Moving to
52a date lets you view its holidays or diary entries, or convert it to other
53calendars; moving longer time periods is also useful simply to scroll the
54calendar.
55
56@menu
57* Calendar Unit Motion:: Moving by days, weeks, months, and years.
58* Move to Beginning or End:: Moving to start/end of weeks, months, and years.
59* Specified Dates:: Moving to the current date or another
60 specific date.
61@end menu
62
63@node Calendar Unit Motion
64@subsection Motion by Standard Lengths of Time
65
66 The commands for movement in the calendar buffer parallel the
67commands for movement in text. You can move forward and backward by
68days, weeks, months, and years.
69
70@table @kbd
71@item C-f
72Move point one day forward (@code{calendar-forward-day}).
73@item C-b
74Move point one day backward (@code{calendar-backward-day}).
75@item C-n
76Move point one week forward (@code{calendar-forward-week}).
77@item C-p
78Move point one week backward (@code{calendar-backward-week}).
79@item M-@}
80Move point one month forward (@code{calendar-forward-month}).
81@item M-@{
82Move point one month backward (@code{calendar-backward-month}).
83@item C-x ]
84Move point one year forward (@code{calendar-forward-year}).
85@item C-x [
86Move point one year backward (@code{calendar-backward-year}).
87@end table
88
89@kindex C-f @r{(Calendar mode)}
90@findex calendar-forward-day
91@kindex C-b @r{(Calendar mode)}
92@findex calendar-backward-day
93@kindex C-n @r{(Calendar mode)}
94@findex calendar-forward-week
95@kindex C-p @r{(Calendar mode)}
96@findex calendar-backward-week
97 The day and week commands are natural analogues of the usual Emacs
98commands for moving by characters and by lines. Just as @kbd{C-n}
99usually moves to the same column in the following line, in Calendar
100mode it moves to the same day in the following week. And @kbd{C-p}
101moves to the same day in the previous week.
102
103 The arrow keys are equivalent to @kbd{C-f}, @kbd{C-b}, @kbd{C-n} and
104@kbd{C-p}, just as they normally are in other modes.
105
106@kindex M-@} @r{(Calendar mode)}
107@findex calendar-forward-month
108@kindex M-@{ @r{(Calendar mode)}
109@findex calendar-backward-month
110@kindex C-x ] @r{(Calendar mode)}
111@findex calendar-forward-year
112@kindex C-x [ @r{(Calendar mode)}
113@findex calendar-forward-year
114 The commands for motion by months and years work like those for
115weeks, but move a larger distance. The month commands @kbd{M-@}} and
116@kbd{M-@{} move forward or backward by an entire month's time. The
117year commands @kbd{C-x ]} and @w{@kbd{C-x [}} move forward or backward a
118whole year.
119
120 The easiest way to remember these commands is to consider months and
121years analogous to paragraphs and pages of text, respectively. But the
122commands themselves are not quite analogous. The ordinary Emacs paragraph
123commands move to the beginning or end of a paragraph, whereas these month
124and year commands move by an entire month or an entire year, which usually
125involves skipping across the end of a month or year.
126
127 All these commands accept a numeric argument as a repeat count.
128For convenience, the digit keys and the minus sign specify numeric
129arguments in Calendar mode even without the Meta modifier. For example,
130@kbd{100 C-f} moves point 100 days forward from its present location.
131
132@node Move to Beginning or End
133@subsection Beginning or End of Week, Month or Year
134
135 A week (or month, or year) is not just a quantity of days; we think of
136weeks (months, years) as starting on particular dates. So Calendar mode
137provides commands to move to the beginning or end of a week, month or
138year:
139
140@table @kbd
141@kindex C-a @r{(Calendar mode)}
142@findex calendar-beginning-of-week
143@item C-a
144Move point to start of week (@code{calendar-beginning-of-week}).
145@kindex C-e @r{(Calendar mode)}
146@findex calendar-end-of-week
147@item C-e
148Move point to end of week (@code{calendar-end-of-week}).
149@kindex M-a @r{(Calendar mode)}
150@findex calendar-beginning-of-month
151@item M-a
152Move point to start of month (@code{calendar-beginning-of-month}).
153@kindex M-e @r{(Calendar mode)}
154@findex calendar-end-of-month
155@item M-e
156Move point to end of month (@code{calendar-end-of-month}).
157@kindex M-< @r{(Calendar mode)}
158@findex calendar-beginning-of-year
159@item M-<
160Move point to start of year (@code{calendar-beginning-of-year}).
161@kindex M-> @r{(Calendar mode)}
162@findex calendar-end-of-year
163@item M->
164Move point to end of year (@code{calendar-end-of-year}).
165@end table
166
167 These commands also take numeric arguments as repeat counts, with the
168repeat count indicating how many weeks, months, or years to move
169backward or forward.
170
171@vindex calendar-week-start-day
172@cindex weeks, which day they start on
173@cindex calendar, first day of week
174 By default, weeks begin on Sunday. To make them begin on Monday
175instead, set the variable @code{calendar-week-start-day} to 1.
176
177@node Specified Dates
178@subsection Specified Dates
179
180 Calendar mode provides commands for moving to a particular date
181specified in various ways.
182
183@table @kbd
184@item g d
185Move point to specified date (@code{calendar-goto-date}).
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186@item g D
187Move point to specified day of year (@code{calendar-goto-day-of-year}).
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188@item o
189Center calendar around specified month (@code{calendar-other-month}).
190@item .
191Move point to today's date (@code{calendar-goto-today}).
192@end table
193
194@kindex g d @r{(Calendar mode)}
195@findex calendar-goto-date
196 @kbd{g d} (@code{calendar-goto-date}) prompts for a year, a month, and a day
197of the month, and then moves to that date. Because the calendar includes all
198dates from the beginning of the current era, you must type the year in its
199entirety; that is, type @samp{1990}, not @samp{90}.
200
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201@kindex g D @r{(Calendar mode)}
202@findex calendar-goto-day-of-year
203 @kbd{g D} (@code{calendar-goto-day-of-year}) prompts for a year and
204day number, and moves to that date. Negative day numbers count backward
205from the end of the year.
206
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207@kindex o @r{(Calendar mode)}
208@findex calendar-other-month
209 @kbd{o} (@code{calendar-other-month}) prompts for a month and year,
210then centers the three-month calendar around that month.
211
212@kindex . @r{(Calendar mode)}
213@findex calendar-goto-today
214 You can return to today's date with @kbd{.}@:
215(@code{calendar-goto-today}).
216
217@node Scroll Calendar
218@section Scrolling in the Calendar
219
220@cindex scrolling in the calendar
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221 The calendar display scrolls automatically through time when you
222move out of the visible portion. You can also scroll it manually.
223Imagine that the calendar window contains a long strip of paper with
224the months on it. Scrolling the calendar means moving the strip
225horizontally, so that new months become visible in the window.
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226
227@table @kbd
228@item C-x <
229Scroll calendar one month forward (@code{scroll-calendar-left}).
230@item C-x >
231Scroll calendar one month backward (@code{scroll-calendar-right}).
232@item C-v
233@itemx @key{NEXT}
234Scroll calendar three months forward
235(@code{scroll-calendar-left-three-months}).
236@item M-v
237@itemx @key{PRIOR}
238Scroll calendar three months backward
239(@code{scroll-calendar-right-three-months}).
240@end table
241
242@kindex C-x < @r{(Calendar mode)}
243@findex scroll-calendar-left
244@kindex C-x > @r{(Calendar mode)}
245@findex scroll-calendar-right
246 The most basic calendar scroll commands scroll by one month at a
247time. This means that there are two months of overlap between the
248display before the command and the display after. @kbd{C-x <} scrolls
249the calendar contents one month to the left; that is, it moves the
250display forward in time. @kbd{C-x >} scrolls the contents to the
251right, which moves backwards in time.
252
253@kindex C-v @r{(Calendar mode)}
254@findex scroll-calendar-left-three-months
255@kindex M-v @r{(Calendar mode)}
256@findex scroll-calendar-right-three-months
257 The commands @kbd{C-v} and @kbd{M-v} scroll the calendar by an entire
258``screenful''---three months---in analogy with the usual meaning of
259these commands. @kbd{C-v} makes later dates visible and @kbd{M-v} makes
260earlier dates visible. These commands take a numeric argument as a
261repeat count; in particular, since @kbd{C-u} multiplies the next command
262by four, typing @kbd{C-u C-v} scrolls the calendar forward by a year and
263typing @kbd{C-u M-v} scrolls the calendar backward by a year.
264
265 The function keys @key{NEXT} and @key{PRIOR} are equivalent to
266@kbd{C-v} and @kbd{M-v}, just as they are in other modes.
267
268@node Counting Days
269@section Counting Days
270
271@table @kbd
272@item M-=
273Display the number of days in the current region
274(@code{calendar-count-days-region}).
275@end table
276
277@kindex M-= @r{(Calendar mode)}
278@findex calendar-count-days-region
279 To determine the number of days in the region, type @kbd{M-=}
1ba2ce68 280(@code{calendar-count-days-region}). The numbers of days shown is
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281@emph{inclusive}; that is, it includes the days specified by mark and
282point.
283
284@node General Calendar
285@section Miscellaneous Calendar Commands
286
287@table @kbd
288@item p d
289Display day-in-year (@code{calendar-print-day-of-year}).
290@item C-c C-l
291Regenerate the calendar window (@code{redraw-calendar}).
292@item SPC
293Scroll the next window (@code{scroll-other-window}).
294@item q
295Exit from calendar (@code{exit-calendar}).
296@end table
297
298@kindex p d @r{(Calendar mode)}
299@cindex day of year
300@findex calendar-print-day-of-year
1ba2ce68 301 To display the number of days elapsed since the start of the year, or
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302the number of days remaining in the year, type the @kbd{p d} command
303(@code{calendar-print-day-of-year}). This displays both of those
304numbers in the echo area. The number of days elapsed includes the
305selected date. The number of days remaining does not include that
306date.
307
308@kindex C-c C-l @r{(Calendar mode)}
309@findex redraw-calendar
310 If the calendar window text gets corrupted, type @kbd{C-c C-l}
311(@code{redraw-calendar}) to redraw it. (This can only happen if you use
312non-Calendar-mode editing commands.)
313
314@kindex SPC @r{(Calendar mode)}
315 In Calendar mode, you can use @kbd{SPC} (@code{scroll-other-window})
316to scroll the other window. This is handy when you display a list of
317holidays or diary entries in another window.
318
319@kindex q @r{(Calendar mode)}
320@findex exit-calendar
321 To exit from the calendar, type @kbd{q} (@code{exit-calendar}). This
322buries all buffers related to the calendar, selecting other buffers.
323(If a frame contains a dedicated calendar window, exiting from the
324calendar iconifies that frame.)
325
326@node LaTeX Calendar
327@section LaTeX Calendar
328@cindex calendar and La@TeX{}
329
330 The Calendar La@TeX{} commands produce a buffer of La@TeX{} code that
331prints as a calendar. Depending on the command you use, the printed
332calendar covers the day, week, month or year that point is in.
333
334@kindex t @r{(Calendar mode)}
335@table @kbd
336@item t m
337Generate a one-month calendar (@code{cal-tex-cursor-month}).
338@item t M
339Generate a sideways-printing one-month calendar
340(@code{cal-tex-cursor-month-landscape}).
341@item t d
342Generate a one-day calendar
343(@code{cal-tex-cursor-day}).
344@item t w 1
345Generate a one-page calendar for one week
346(@code{cal-tex-cursor-week}).
347@item t w 2
348Generate a two-page calendar for one week
349(@code{cal-tex-cursor-week2}).
350@item t w 3
351Generate an ISO-style calendar for one week
352(@code{cal-tex-cursor-week-iso}).
353@item t w 4
354Generate a calendar for one Monday-starting week
355(@code{cal-tex-cursor-week-monday}).
356@item t f w
357Generate a Filofax-style two-weeks-at-a-glance calendar
358(@code{cal-tex-cursor-filofax-2week}).
359@item t f W
360Generate a Filofax-style one-week-at-a-glance calendar
361(@code{cal-tex-cursor-filofax-week}).
362@item t y
363Generate a calendar for one year
364(@code{cal-tex-cursor-year}).
365@item t Y
366Generate a sideways-printing calendar for one year
367(@code{cal-tex-cursor-year-landscape}).
368@item t f y
369Generate a Filofax-style calendar for one year
370(@code{cal-tex-cursor-filofax-year}).
371@end table
372
373 Some of these commands print the calendar sideways (in ``landscape
374mode''), so it can be wider than it is long. Some of them use Filofax
375paper size (3.75in x 6.75in). All of these commands accept a prefix
376argument which specifies how many days, weeks, months or years to print
377(starting always with the selected one).
378
379 If the variable @code{cal-tex-holidays} is non-@code{nil} (the default),
380then the printed calendars show the holidays in @code{calendar-holidays}.
381If the variable @code{cal-tex-diary} is non-@code{nil} (the default is
382@code{nil}), diary entries are included also (in weekly and monthly
383calendars only). If the variable @code{cal-tex-rules} is non-@code{nil}
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384(the default is @code{nil}), the calendar displays ruled pages
385in styles that have sufficient room.
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386
387@node Holidays
388@section Holidays
389@cindex holidays
390
391 The Emacs calendar knows about all major and many minor holidays,
392and can display them.
393
394@table @kbd
395@item h
396Display holidays for the selected date
397(@code{calendar-cursor-holidays}).
398@item Mouse-2 Holidays
399Display any holidays for the date you click on.
400@item x
401Mark holidays in the calendar window (@code{mark-calendar-holidays}).
402@item u
403Unmark calendar window (@code{calendar-unmark}).
404@item a
405List all holidays for the displayed three months in another window
406(@code{list-calendar-holidays}).
407@item M-x holidays
408List all holidays for three months around today's date in another
409window.
410@item M-x list-holidays
411List holidays in another window for a specified range of years.
412@end table
413
414@kindex h @r{(Calendar mode)}
415@findex calendar-cursor-holidays
416 To see if any holidays fall on a given date, position point on that
417date in the calendar window and use the @kbd{h} command. Alternatively,
418click on that date with @kbd{Mouse-2} and then choose @kbd{Holidays}
419from the menu that appears. Either way, this displays the holidays for
420that date, in the echo area if they fit there, otherwise in a separate
421window.
422
423@kindex x @r{(Calendar mode)}
424@findex mark-calendar-holidays
425@kindex u @r{(Calendar mode)}
426@findex calendar-unmark
427 To view the distribution of holidays for all the dates shown in the
428calendar, use the @kbd{x} command. This displays the dates that are
429holidays in a different face (or places a @samp{*} after these dates, if
430display with multiple faces is not available). The command applies both
431to the currently visible months and to other months that subsequently
432become visible by scrolling. To turn marking off and erase the current
433marks, type @kbd{u}, which also erases any diary marks (@pxref{Diary}).
434
435@kindex a @r{(Calendar mode)}
436@findex list-calendar-holidays
437 To get even more detailed information, use the @kbd{a} command, which
438displays a separate buffer containing a list of all holidays in the
439current three-month range. You can use @key{SPC} in the calendar window
440to scroll that list.
441
442@findex holidays
443 The command @kbd{M-x holidays} displays the list of holidays for the
444current month and the preceding and succeeding months; this works even
445if you don't have a calendar window. If you want the list of holidays
446centered around a different month, use @kbd{C-u M-x holidays}, which
447prompts for the month and year.
448
449 The holidays known to Emacs include United States holidays and the
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450major Christian, Jewish, and Islamic holidays; also the solstices and
451equinoxes.
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452
453@findex list-holidays
454 The command @kbd{M-x list-holidays} displays the list of holidays for
455a range of years. This function asks you for the starting and stopping
456years, and allows you to choose all the holidays or one of several
457categories of holidays. You can use this command even if you don't have
458a calendar window.
459
460 The dates used by Emacs for holidays are based on @emph{current
461practice}, not historical fact. Historically, for instance, the start
462of daylight savings time and even its existence have varied from year to
463year, but present United States law mandates that daylight savings time
464begins on the first Sunday in April. When the daylight savings rules
465are set up for the United States, Emacs always uses the present
466definition, even though it is wrong for some prior years.
467
468@node Sunrise/Sunset
469@section Times of Sunrise and Sunset
470@cindex sunrise and sunset
471
472 Special calendar commands can tell you, to within a minute or two, the
473times of sunrise and sunset for any date.
474
475@table @kbd
476@item S
477Display times of sunrise and sunset for the selected date
478(@code{calendar-sunrise-sunset}).
505b55e6 479@item Mouse-2 Sunrise/sunset
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480Display times of sunrise and sunset for the date you click on.
481@item M-x sunrise-sunset
482Display times of sunrise and sunset for today's date.
483@item C-u M-x sunrise-sunset
484Display times of sunrise and sunset for a specified date.
485@end table
486
487@kindex S @r{(Calendar mode)}
488@findex calendar-sunrise-sunset
489@findex sunrise-sunset
490 Within the calendar, to display the @emph{local times} of sunrise and
491sunset in the echo area, move point to the date you want, and type
492@kbd{S}. Alternatively, click @kbd{Mouse-2} on the date, then choose
505b55e6 493@samp{Sunrise/sunset} from the menu that appears. The command @kbd{M-x
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494sunrise-sunset} is available outside the calendar to display this
495information for today's date or a specified date. To specify a date
496other than today, use @kbd{C-u M-x sunrise-sunset}, which prompts for
497the year, month, and day.
498
499 You can display the times of sunrise and sunset for any location and
500any date with @kbd{C-u C-u M-x sunrise-sunset}. This asks you for a
501longitude, latitude, number of minutes difference from Coordinated
502Universal Time, and date, and then tells you the times of sunrise and
503sunset for that location on that date.
504
505 Because the times of sunrise and sunset depend on the location on
506earth, you need to tell Emacs your latitude, longitude, and location
507name before using these commands. Here is an example of what to set:
508
509@vindex calendar-location-name
510@vindex calendar-longitude
511@vindex calendar-latitude
512@example
513(setq calendar-latitude 40.1)
514(setq calendar-longitude -88.2)
515(setq calendar-location-name "Urbana, IL")
516@end example
517
518@noindent
519Use one decimal place in the values of @code{calendar-latitude} and
520@code{calendar-longitude}.
521
522 Your time zone also affects the local time of sunrise and sunset.
523Emacs usually gets time zone information from the operating system, but
524if these values are not what you want (or if the operating system does
525not supply them), you must set them yourself. Here is an example:
526
527@vindex calendar-time-zone
528@vindex calendar-standard-time-zone-name
529@vindex calendar-daylight-time-zone-name
530@example
531(setq calendar-time-zone -360)
532(setq calendar-standard-time-zone-name "CST")
533(setq calendar-daylight-time-zone-name "CDT")
534@end example
535
536@noindent
537The value of @code{calendar-time-zone} is the number of minutes
538difference between your local standard time and Coordinated Universal
539Time (Greenwich time). The values of
540@code{calendar-standard-time-zone-name} and
541@code{calendar-daylight-time-zone-name} are the abbreviations used in
542your time zone. Emacs displays the times of sunrise and sunset
543@emph{corrected for daylight savings time}. @xref{Daylight Savings},
544for how daylight savings time is determined.
545
546 As a user, you might find it convenient to set the calendar location
547variables for your usual physical location in your @file{.emacs} file.
548And when you install Emacs on a machine, you can create a
549@file{default.el} file which sets them properly for the typical location
550of most users of that machine. @xref{Init File}.
551
552@node Lunar Phases
553@section Phases of the Moon
554@cindex phases of the moon
555@cindex moon, phases of
556
557 These calendar commands display the dates and times of the phases of
558the moon (new moon, first quarter, full moon, last quarter). This
559feature is useful for debugging problems that ``depend on the phase of
560the moon.''
561
562@table @kbd
563@item M
564Display the dates and times for all the quarters of the moon for the
565three-month period shown (@code{calendar-phases-of-moon}).
566@item M-x phases-of-moon
567Display dates and times of the quarters of the moon for three months around
568today's date.
569@end table
570
571@kindex M @r{(Calendar mode)}
572@findex calendar-phases-of-moon
573 Within the calendar, use the @kbd{M} command to display a separate
574buffer of the phases of the moon for the current three-month range. The
575dates and times listed are accurate to within a few minutes.
576
577@findex phases-of-moon
578 Outside the calendar, use the command @kbd{M-x phases-of-moon} to
579display the list of the phases of the moon for the current month and the
580preceding and succeeding months. For information about a different
581month, use @kbd{C-u M-x phases-of-moon}, which prompts for the month and
582year.
583
584 The dates and times given for the phases of the moon are given in
585local time (corrected for daylight savings, when appropriate); but if
586the variable @code{calendar-time-zone} is void, Coordinated Universal
587Time (the Greenwich time zone) is used. @xref{Daylight Savings}.
588
589@node Other Calendars
590@section Conversion To and From Other Calendars
591
592@cindex Gregorian calendar
593 The Emacs calendar displayed is @emph{always} the Gregorian calendar,
594sometimes called the ``new style'' calendar, which is used in most of
595the world today. However, this calendar did not exist before the
596sixteenth century and was not widely used before the eighteenth century;
597it did not fully displace the Julian calendar and gain universal
598acceptance until the early twentieth century. The Emacs calendar can
599display any month since January, year 1 of the current era, but the
600calendar displayed is the Gregorian, even for a date at which the
601Gregorian calendar did not exist.
602
603 While Emacs cannot display other calendars, it can convert dates to
604and from several other calendars.
605
606@menu
607* Calendar Systems:: The calendars Emacs understands
608 (aside from Gregorian).
609* To Other Calendar:: Converting the selected date to various calendars.
610* From Other Calendar:: Moving to a date specified in another calendar.
611* Mayan Calendar:: Moving to a date specified in a Mayan calendar.
612@end menu
613
614@node Calendar Systems
615@subsection Supported Calendar Systems
616
617@cindex ISO commercial calendar
618 The ISO commercial calendar is used largely in Europe.
619
620@cindex Julian calendar
621 The Julian calendar, named after Julius Caesar, was the one used in Europe
622throughout medieval times, and in many countries up until the nineteenth
623century.
624
625@cindex Julian day numbers
626@cindex astronomical day numbers
627 Astronomers use a simple counting of days elapsed since noon, Monday,
628January 1, 4713 B.C. on the Julian calendar. The number of days elapsed
4946337d 629is called the @dfn{Julian day number} or the @dfn{Astronomical day number}.
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630
631@cindex Hebrew calendar
632 The Hebrew calendar is used by tradition in the Jewish religion. The
633Emacs calendar program uses the Hebrew calendar to determine the dates
634of Jewish holidays. Hebrew calendar dates begin and end at sunset.
635
636@cindex Islamic calendar
637 The Islamic calendar is used in many predominantly Islamic countries.
638Emacs uses it to determine the dates of Islamic holidays. There is no
639universal agreement in the Islamic world about the calendar; Emacs uses
640a widely accepted version, but the precise dates of Islamic holidays
641often depend on proclamation by religious authorities, not on
642calculations. As a consequence, the actual dates of observance can vary
643slightly from the dates computed by Emacs. Islamic calendar dates begin
644and end at sunset.
645
646@cindex French Revolutionary calendar
647 The French Revolutionary calendar was created by the Jacobins after the 1789
648revolution, to represent a more secular and nature-based view of the annual
649cycle, and to install a 10-day week in a rationalization measure similar to
650the metric system. The French government officially abandoned this
651calendar at the end of 1805.
652
653@cindex Mayan calendar
654 The Maya of Central America used three separate, overlapping calendar
655systems, the @emph{long count}, the @emph{tzolkin}, and the @emph{haab}.
656Emacs knows about all three of these calendars. Experts dispute the
657exact correlation between the Mayan calendar and our calendar; Emacs uses the
658Goodman-Martinez-Thompson correlation in its calculations.
659
660@cindex Coptic calendar
661@cindex Ethiopic calendar
662 The Copts use a calendar based on the ancient Egyptian solar calendar.
663Their calendar consists of twelve 30-day months followed by an extra
664five-day period. Once every fourth year they add a leap day to this
665extra period to make it six days. The Ethiopic calendar is identical in
666structure, but has different year numbers and month names.
667
668@cindex Persian calendar
669 The Persians use a solar calendar based on a design of Omar Khayyam.
670Their calendar consists of twelve months of which the first six have 31
671days, the next five have 30 days, and the last has 29 in ordinary years
672and 30 in leap years. Leap years occur in a complicated pattern every
673four or five years.
674
675@cindex Chinese calendar
676 The Chinese calendar is a complicated system of lunar months arranged
677into solar years. The years go in cycles of sixty, each year containing
678either twelve months in an ordinary year or thirteen months in a leap
679year; each month has either 29 or 30 days. Years, ordinary months, and
680days are named by combining one of ten ``celestial stems'' with one of
681twelve ``terrestrial branches'' for a total of sixty names that are
682repeated in a cycle of sixty.
683
684@node To Other Calendar
685@subsection Converting To Other Calendars
686
687 The following commands describe the selected date (the date at point)
688in various other calendar systems:
689
690@table @kbd
505b55e6 691@item Mouse-2 Other calendars
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692Display the date that you click on, expressed in various other calendars.
693@kindex p @r{(Calendar mode)}
694@findex calendar-print-iso-date
695@item p c
696Display ISO commercial calendar equivalent for selected day
697(@code{calendar-print-iso-date}).
698@findex calendar-print-julian-date
699@item p j
700Display Julian date for selected day (@code{calendar-print-julian-date}).
701@findex calendar-print-astro-day-number
702@item p a
703Display astronomical (Julian) day number for selected day
704(@code{calendar-print-astro-day-number}).
705@findex calendar-print-hebrew-date
706@item p h
707Display Hebrew date for selected day (@code{calendar-print-hebrew-date}).
708@findex calendar-print-islamic-date
709@item p i
710Display Islamic date for selected day (@code{calendar-print-islamic-date}).
711@findex calendar-print-french-date
712@item p f
713Display French Revolutionary date for selected day
714(@code{calendar-print-french-date}).
715@findex calendar-print-chinese-date
716@item p C
717Display Chinese date for selected day
718(@code{calendar-print-chinese-date}).
719@findex calendar-print-coptic-date
720@item p k
721Display Coptic date for selected day
722(@code{calendar-print-coptic-date}).
723@findex calendar-print-ethiopic-date
724@item p e
725Display Ethiopic date for selected day
726(@code{calendar-print-ethiopic-date}).
727@findex calendar-print-persian-date
728@item p p
729Display Persian date for selected day
730(@code{calendar-print-persian-date}).
731@findex calendar-print-mayan-date
732@item p m
733Display Mayan date for selected day (@code{calendar-print-mayan-date}).
734@end table
735
736 If you are using X, the easiest way to translate a date into other
737calendars is to click on it with @kbd{Mouse-2}, then choose @kbd{Other
505b55e6 738calendars} from the menu that appears. This displays the equivalent
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739forms of the date in all the calendars Emacs understands, in the form of
740a menu. (Choosing an alternative from this menu doesn't actually do
741anything---the menu is used only for display.)
742
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743 Otherwise, move point to the date you want to convert, then type the
744appropriate command starting with @kbd{p} from the table above. The
745prefix @kbd{p} is a mnemonic for ``print,'' since Emacs ``prints'' the
746equivalent date in the echo area.
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747
748@node From Other Calendar
749@subsection Converting From Other Calendars
750
751 You can use the other supported calendars to specify a date to move
752to. This section describes the commands for doing this using calendars
753other than Mayan; for the Mayan calendar, see the following section.
754
755@kindex g @var{char} @r{(Calendar mode)}
756@findex calendar-goto-iso-date
757@findex calendar-goto-julian-date
758@findex calendar-goto-astro-day-number
759@findex calendar-goto-hebrew-date
760@findex calendar-goto-islamic-date
761@findex calendar-goto-french-date
762@findex calendar-goto-chinese-date
763@findex calendar-goto-persian-date
764@findex calendar-goto-coptic-date
765@findex calendar-goto-ethiopic-date
766@table @kbd
767@item g c
768Move to a date specified in the ISO commercial calendar
769(@code{calendar-goto-iso-date}).
770@item g j
771Move to a date specified in the Julian calendar
772(@code{calendar-goto-julian-date}).
773@item g a
bb124d48 774Move to a date specified with an astronomical (Julian) day number
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775(@code{calendar-goto-astro-day-number}).
776@item g h
777Move to a date specified in the Hebrew calendar
778(@code{calendar-goto-hebrew-date}).
779@item g i
780Move to a date specified in the Islamic calendar
781(@code{calendar-goto-islamic-date}).
782@item g f
783Move to a date specified in the French Revolutionary calendar
784(@code{calendar-goto-french-date}).
785@item g C
786Move to a date specified in the Chinese calendar
787(@code{calendar-goto-chinese-date}).
788@item g p
789Move to a date specified in the Persian calendar
790(@code{calendar-goto-persian-date}).
791@item g k
792Move to a date specified in the Coptic calendar
793(@code{calendar-goto-coptic-date}).
794@item g e
795Move to a date specified in the Ethiopic calendar
796(@code{calendar-goto-ethiopic-date}).
797@end table
798
799 These commands ask you for a date on the other calendar, move point to
800the Gregorian calendar date equivalent to that date, and display the
801other calendar's date in the echo area. Emacs uses strict completion
802(@pxref{Completion}) whenever it asks you to type a month name, so you
3ade370a 803don't have to worry about the spelling of Hebrew, Islamic, or French names.
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804
805@findex list-yahrzeit-dates
806@cindex yahrzeits
807 One common question concerning the Hebrew calendar is the computation
808of the anniversary of a date of death, called a ``yahrzeit.'' The Emacs
809calendar includes a facility for such calculations. If you are in the
810calendar, the command @kbd{M-x list-yahrzeit-dates} asks you for a
811range of years and then displays a list of the yahrzeit dates for those
812years for the date given by point. If you are not in the calendar,
813this command first asks you for the date of death and the range of
814years, and then displays the list of yahrzeit dates.
815
816@node Mayan Calendar
817@subsection Converting from the Mayan Calendar
818
819 Here are the commands to select dates based on the Mayan calendar:
820
821@table @kbd
822@item g m l
823Move to a date specified by the long count calendar
824(@code{calendar-goto-mayan-long-count-date}).
825@item g m n t
826Move to the next occurrence of a place in the
827tzolkin calendar (@code{calendar-next-tzolkin-date}).
828@item g m p t
829Move to the previous occurrence of a place in the
830tzolkin calendar (@code{calendar-previous-tzolkin-date}).
831@item g m n h
832Move to the next occurrence of a place in the
833haab calendar (@code{calendar-next-haab-date}).
834@item g m p h
835Move to the previous occurrence of a place in the
836haab calendar (@code{calendar-previous-haab-date}).
837@item g m n c
838Move to the next occurrence of a place in the
839calendar round (@code{calendar-next-calendar-round-date}).
840@item g m p c
841Move to the previous occurrence of a place in the
842calendar round (@code{calendar-previous-calendar-round-date}).
843@end table
844
845@cindex Mayan long count
846 To understand these commands, you need to understand the Mayan calendars.
847The @dfn{long count} is a counting of days with these units:
848
849@display
8501 kin = 1 day@ @ @ 1 uinal = 20 kin@ @ @ 1 tun = 18 uinal
8511 katun = 20 tun@ @ @ 1 baktun = 20 katun
852@end display
853
854@kindex g m @r{(Calendar mode)}
855@findex calendar-goto-mayan-long-count-date
856@noindent
857Thus, the long count date 12.16.11.16.6 means 12 baktun, 16 katun, 11
858tun, 16 uinal, and 6 kin. The Emacs calendar can handle Mayan long
859count dates as early as 7.17.18.13.1, but no earlier. When you use the
860@kbd{g m l} command, type the Mayan long count date with the baktun,
861katun, tun, uinal, and kin separated by periods.
862
863@findex calendar-previous-tzolkin-date
864@findex calendar-next-tzolkin-date
865@cindex Mayan tzolkin calendar
866 The Mayan tzolkin calendar is a cycle of 260 days formed by a pair of
867independent cycles of 13 and 20 days. Since this cycle repeats
868endlessly, Emacs provides commands to move backward and forward to the
869previous or next point in the cycle. Type @kbd{g m p t} to go to the
870previous tzolkin date; Emacs asks you for a tzolkin date and moves point
871to the previous occurrence of that date. Similarly, type @kbd{g m n t}
872to go to the next occurrence of a tzolkin date.
873
874@findex calendar-previous-haab-date
875@findex calendar-next-haab-date
876@cindex Mayan haab calendar
877 The Mayan haab calendar is a cycle of 365 days arranged as 18 months
878of 20 days each, followed a 5-day monthless period. Like the tzolkin
879cycle, this cycle repeats endlessly, and there are commands to move
880backward and forward to the previous or next point in the cycle. Type
881@kbd{g m p h} to go to the previous haab date; Emacs asks you for a haab
882date and moves point to the previous occurrence of that date.
883Similarly, type @kbd{g m n h} to go to the next occurrence of a haab
884date.
885
886@c This is omitted because it is too long for smallbook format.
887@c @findex calendar-previous-calendar-round-date
888@findex calendar-next-calendar-round-date
889@cindex Mayan calendar round
890 The Maya also used the combination of the tzolkin date and the haab
891date. This combination is a cycle of about 52 years called a
892@emph{calendar round}. If you type @kbd{g m p c}, Emacs asks you for
893both a haab and a tzolkin date and then moves point to the previous
894occurrence of that combination. Use @kbd{g m n c} to move point to the
895next occurrence of a combination. These commands signal an error if the
896haab/tzolkin date combination you have typed is impossible.
897
898 Emacs uses strict completion (@pxref{Strict Completion}) whenever it
899asks you to type a Mayan name, so you don't have to worry about
900spelling.
901
902@node Diary
903@section The Diary
904@cindex diary
905
906 The Emacs diary keeps track of appointments or other events on a daily
907basis, in conjunction with the calendar. To use the diary feature, you
908must first create a @dfn{diary file} containing a list of events and
909their dates. Then Emacs can automatically pick out and display the
910events for today, for the immediate future, or for any specified
911date.
912
913 By default, Emacs uses @file{~/diary} as the diary file. This is the
914same file that the @code{calendar} utility uses. A sample
915@file{~/diary} file is:
916
917@example
91812/22/1988 Twentieth wedding anniversary!!
919&1/1. Happy New Year!
92010/22 Ruth's birthday.
921* 21, *: Payday
922Tuesday--weekly meeting with grad students at 10am
923 Supowit, Shen, Bitner, and Kapoor to attend.
9241/13/89 Friday the thirteenth!!
925&thu 4pm squash game with Lloyd.
926mar 16 Dad's birthday
927April 15, 1989 Income tax due.
928&* 15 time cards due.
929@end example
930
931@noindent
932This example uses extra spaces to align the event descriptions of most
933of the entries. Such formatting is purely a matter of taste.
934
935 Although you probably will start by creating a diary manually, Emacs
936provides a number of commands to let you view, add, and change diary
937entries.
938
939@menu
940* Diary Commands:: Viewing diary entries and associated calendar dates.
941* Format of Diary File:: Entering events in your diary.
942* Date Formats:: Various ways you can specify dates.
943* Adding to Diary:: Commands to create diary entries.
944* Special Diary Entries:: Anniversaries, blocks of dates, cyclic entries, etc.
945@end menu
946
947@node Diary Commands
948@subsection Commands Displaying Diary Entries
949
950 Once you have created a @file{~/diary} file, you can use the calendar
951to view it. You can also view today's events outside of Calendar mode.
952
953@table @kbd
954@item d
955Display all diary entries for the selected date
956(@code{view-diary-entries}).
957@item Mouse-2 Diary
958Display all diary entries for the date you click on.
959@item s
960Display the entire diary file (@code{show-all-diary-entries}).
961@item m
962Mark all visible dates that have diary entries
963(@code{mark-diary-entries}).
964@item u
965Unmark the calendar window (@code{calendar-unmark}).
966@item M-x print-diary-entries
967Print hard copy of the diary display as it appears.
968@item M-x diary
969Display all diary entries for today's date.
970@item M-x diary-mail-entries
971Mail yourself email reminders about upcoming diary entries.
972@end table
973
974@kindex d @r{(Calendar mode)}
975@findex view-diary-entries
976 Displaying the diary entries with @kbd{d} shows in a separate window
977the diary entries for the selected date in the calendar. The mode line
978of the new window shows the date of the diary entries and any holidays
979that fall on that date. If you specify a numeric argument with @kbd{d},
980it shows all the diary entries for that many successive days. Thus,
981@kbd{2 d} displays all the entries for the selected date and for the
982following day.
983
984 Another way to display the diary entries for a date is to click
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985@kbd{Mouse-2} on the date, and then choose @kbd{Diary entries} from
986the menu that appears.
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987
988@kindex m @r{(Calendar mode)}
989@findex mark-diary-entries
990 To get a broader view of which days are mentioned in the diary, use
991the @kbd{m} command. This displays the dates that have diary entries
992in a different face (or places a @samp{+} after these dates, if
993display with multiple faces is not available). The command applies both
994to the currently visible months and to other months that subsequently
995become visible by scrolling. To turn marking off and erase the current
996marks, type @kbd{u}, which also turns off holiday marks
997(@pxref{Holidays}).
998
999@kindex s @r{(Calendar mode)}
1000@findex show-all-diary-entries
1001 To see the full diary file, rather than just some of the entries, use
1002the @kbd{s} command.
1003
1004 Display of selected diary entries uses the selective display feature
1005to hide entries that don't apply.
1006
1007 The diary buffer as you see it is an illusion, so simply printing the
1008buffer does not print what you see on your screen. There is a special
1009command to print hard copy of the diary buffer @emph{as it appears};
1010this command is @kbd{M-x print-diary-entries}. It sends the data
1011directly to the printer. You can customize it like @code{lpr-region}
1012(@pxref{Hardcopy}).
1013
1014@findex diary
1015 The command @kbd{M-x diary} displays the diary entries for the current
1016date, independently of the calendar display, and optionally for the next
1017few days as well; the variable @code{number-of-diary-entries} specifies
1018how many days to include. @xref{Calendar, Customizing the Calendar
1019and Diary,, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
1020
1021 If you put @code{(diary)} in your @file{.emacs} file, this
1022automatically displays a window with the day's diary entries, when you
1023enter Emacs. The mode line of the displayed window shows the date and
1024any holidays that fall on that date.
1025
1026@findex diary-mail-entries
1027@vindex diary-mail-days
1028 Many users like to receive notice of events in their diary as email.
1029To send such mail to yourself, use the command @kbd{M-x
1030diary-mail-entries}. A prefix argument specifies how many days
1031(starting with today) to check; otherwise, the variable
1032@code{diary-mail-days} says how many days.
1033
1034@node Format of Diary File
1035@subsection The Diary File
1036@cindex diary file
1037
1038@vindex diary-file
1039 Your @dfn{diary file} is a file that records events associated with
1040particular dates. The name of the diary file is specified by the
1041variable @code{diary-file}; @file{~/diary} is the default. The
1042@code{calendar} utility program supports a subset of the format allowed
1043by the Emacs diary facilities, so you can use that utility to view the
1044diary file, with reasonable results aside from the entries it cannot
1045understand.
1046
1047 Each entry in the diary file describes one event and consists of one
1048or more lines. An entry always begins with a date specification at the
1049left margin. The rest of the entry is simply text to describe the
1050event. If the entry has more than one line, then the lines after the
1051first must begin with whitespace to indicate they continue a previous
1052entry. Lines that do not begin with valid dates and do not continue a
1053preceding entry are ignored.
1054
1055 You can inhibit the marking of certain diary entries in the calendar
1056window; to do this, insert an ampersand (@samp{&}) at the beginning of
1057the entry, before the date. This has no effect on display of the entry
1058in the diary window; it affects only marks on dates in the calendar
1059window. Nonmarking entries are especially useful for generic entries
1060that would otherwise mark many different dates.
1061
1062 If the first line of a diary entry consists only of the date or day
1063name with no following blanks or punctuation, then the diary window
1064display doesn't include that line; only the continuation lines appear.
1065For example, this entry:
1066
1067@example
106802/11/1989
1069 Bill B. visits Princeton today
1070 2pm Cognitive Studies Committee meeting
1071 2:30-5:30 Liz at Lawrenceville
1072 4:00pm Dentist appt
1073 7:30pm Dinner at George's
1074 8:00-10:00pm concert
1075@end example
1076
1077@noindent
1078appears in the diary window without the date line at the beginning.
1079This style of entry looks neater when you display just a single day's
1080entries, but can cause confusion if you ask for more than one day's
1081entries.
1082
1083 You can edit the diary entries as they appear in the window, but it is
1084important to remember that the buffer displayed contains the @emph{entire}
1085diary file, with portions of it concealed from view. This means, for
1086instance, that the @kbd{C-f} (@code{forward-char}) command can put point
1087at what appears to be the end of the line, but what is in reality the
1088middle of some concealed line.
1089
1090 @emph{Be careful when editing the diary entries!} Inserting
1091additional lines or adding/deleting characters in the middle of a
1092visible line cannot cause problems, but editing at the end of a line may
1093not do what you expect. Deleting a line may delete other invisible
1094entries that follow it. Before editing the diary, it is best to display
1095the entire file with @kbd{s} (@code{show-all-diary-entries}).
1096
1097@node Date Formats
1098@subsection Date Formats
1099
1100 Here are some sample diary entries, illustrating different ways of
1101formatting a date. The examples all show dates in American order
1102(month, day, year), but Calendar mode supports European order (day,
1103month, year) as an option.
1104
1105@example
11064/20/93 Switch-over to new tabulation system
1107apr. 25 Start tabulating annual results
11084/30 Results for April are due
1109*/25 Monthly cycle finishes
1110Friday Don't leave without backing up files
1111@end example
1112
1113 The first entry appears only once, on April 20, 1993. The second and
1114third appear every year on the specified dates, and the fourth uses a
1115wildcard (asterisk) for the month, so it appears on the 25th of every
1116month. The final entry appears every week on Friday.
1117
1118 You can use just numbers to express a date, as in
1119@samp{@var{month}/@var{day}} or @samp{@var{month}/@var{day}/@var{year}}.
1120This must be followed by a nondigit. In the date itself, @var{month}
1121and @var{day} are numbers of one or two digits. The optional @var{year}
1122is also a number, and may be abbreviated to the last two digits; that
1123is, you can use @samp{11/12/1989} or @samp{11/12/89}.
1124
1125 Dates can also have the form @samp{@var{monthname} @var{day}} or
1126@samp{@var{monthname} @var{day}, @var{year}}, where the month's name can
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1127be spelled in full or abbreviated (with or without a period). The
1128preferred abbreviations can be controlled using the variables
1129@code{calendar-abbrev-length}, @code{calendar-month-abbrev-array}, and
1130@code{calendar-day-abbrev-array}. The default is to use the first three
1131letters of a name as its abbreviation. Case is not significant.
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1132
1133 A date may be @dfn{generic}; that is, partially unspecified. Then the
1134entry applies to all dates that match the specification. If the date
1135does not contain a year, it is generic and applies to any year.
1136Alternatively, @var{month}, @var{day}, or @var{year} can be a @samp{*};
1137this matches any month, day, or year, respectively. Thus, a diary entry
1138@samp{3/*/*} matches any day in March of any year; so does @samp{march
1139*}.
1140
1141@vindex european-calendar-style
1142@findex european-calendar
1143@findex american-calendar
1144 If you prefer the European style of writing dates---in which the day
1145comes before the month---type @kbd{M-x european-calendar} while in the
1146calendar, or set the variable @code{european-calendar-style} to @code{t}
1147@emph{before} using any calendar or diary command. This mode interprets
1148all dates in the diary in the European manner, and also uses European
1149style for displaying diary dates. (Note that there is no comma after
1150the @var{monthname} in the European style.) To go back to the (default)
1151American style of writing dates, type @kbd{M-x american-calendar}.
1152
1153 You can use the name of a day of the week as a generic date which
1154applies to any date falling on that day of the week. You can abbreviate
1155the day of the week to three letters (with or without a period) or spell
1156it in full; case is not significant.
1157
1158@node Adding to Diary
1159@subsection Commands to Add to the Diary
1160
1161 While in the calendar, there are several commands to create diary
1162entries:
1163
1164@table @kbd
1165@item i d
1166Add a diary entry for the selected date (@code{insert-diary-entry}).
1167@item i w
1168Add a diary entry for the selected day of the week (@code{insert-weekly-diary-entry}).
1169@item i m
1170Add a diary entry for the selected day of the month (@code{insert-monthly-diary-entry}).
1171@item i y
1172Add a diary entry for the selected day of the year (@code{insert-yearly-diary-entry}).
1173@end table
1174
1175@kindex i d @r{(Calendar mode)}
1176@findex insert-diary-entry
1177 You can make a diary entry for a specific date by selecting that date
1178in the calendar window and typing the @kbd{i d} command. This command
1179displays the end of your diary file in another window and inserts the
1180date; you can then type the rest of the diary entry.
1181
1182@kindex i w @r{(Calendar mode)}
1183@findex insert-weekly-diary-entry
1184@kindex i m @r{(Calendar mode)}
1185@findex insert-monthly-diary-entry
1186@kindex i y @r{(Calendar mode)}
1187@findex insert-yearly-diary-entry
1188 If you want to make a diary entry that applies to a specific day of
1189the week, select that day of the week (any occurrence will do) and type
1190@kbd{i w}. This inserts the day-of-week as a generic date; you can then
1191type the rest of the diary entry. You can make a monthly diary entry in
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1192the same fashion: select the day of the month, use the @kbd{i m}
1193command, and type the rest of the entry. Similarly, you can insert a
1194yearly diary entry with the @kbd{i y} command.
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1195
1196 All of the above commands make marking diary entries by default. To
1197make a nonmarking diary entry, give a numeric argument to the command.
1198For example, @kbd{C-u i w} makes a nonmarking weekly diary entry.
1199
1200 When you modify the diary file, be sure to save the file before
1201exiting Emacs.
1202
1203@node Special Diary Entries
1204@subsection Special Diary Entries
1205
1206 In addition to entries based on calendar dates, the diary file can
1207contain @dfn{sexp entries} for regular events such as anniversaries.
1208These entries are based on Lisp expressions (sexps) that Emacs evaluates
1209as it scans the diary file. Instead of a date, a sexp entry contains
1210@samp{%%} followed by a Lisp expression which must begin and end with
1211parentheses. The Lisp expression determines which dates the entry
1212applies to.
1213
1214 Calendar mode provides commands to insert certain commonly used
1215sexp entries:
1216
1217@table @kbd
1218@item i a
1219Add an anniversary diary entry for the selected date
1220(@code{insert-anniversary-diary-entry}).
1221@item i b
1222Add a block diary entry for the current region
1223(@code{insert-block-diary-entry}).
1224@item i c
1225Add a cyclic diary entry starting at the date
1226(@code{insert-cyclic-diary-entry}).
1227@end table
1228
1229@kindex i a @r{(Calendar mode)}
1230@findex insert-anniversary-diary-entry
1231 If you want to make a diary entry that applies to the anniversary of a
1232specific date, move point to that date and use the @kbd{i a} command.
1233This displays the end of your diary file in another window and inserts
1234the anniversary description; you can then type the rest of the diary
1235entry. The entry looks like this:
1236
1237@findex diary-anniversary
1238@example
1239%%(diary-anniversary 10 31 1948) Arthur's birthday
1240@end example
1241
1242@noindent
1243This entry applies to October 31 in any year after 1948; @samp{10 31
12441948} specifies the date. (If you are using the European calendar
1245style, the month and day are interchanged.) The reason this expression
1246requires a beginning year is that advanced diary functions can use it to
1247calculate the number of elapsed years.
1248
1249 A @dfn{block} diary entry applies to a specified range of consecutive
1250dates. Here is a block diary entry that applies to all dates from June
125124, 1990 through July 10, 1990:
1252
1253@findex diary-block
1254@example
1255%%(diary-block 6 24 1990 7 10 1990) Vacation
1256@end example
1257
1258@noindent
1259The @samp{6 24 1990} indicates the starting date and the @samp{7 10 1990}
1260indicates the stopping date. (Again, if you are using the European calendar
1261style, the month and day are interchanged.)
1262
1263@kindex i b @r{(Calendar mode)}
1264@findex insert-block-diary-entry
1265 To insert a block entry, place point and the mark on the two
1266dates that begin and end the range, and type @kbd{i b}. This command
1267displays the end of your diary file in another window and inserts the
1268block description; you can then type the diary entry.
1269
1270@kindex i c @r{(Calendar mode)}
1271@findex insert-cyclic-diary-entry
1272 @dfn{Cyclic} diary entries repeat after a fixed interval of days. To
1273create one, select the starting date and use the @kbd{i c} command. The
1274command prompts for the length of interval, then inserts the entry,
1275which looks like this:
1276
1277@findex diary-cyclic
1278@example
1279%%(diary-cyclic 50 3 1 1990) Renew medication
1280@end example
1281
1282@noindent
1283This entry applies to March 1, 1990 and every 50th day following;
1284@samp{3 1 1990} specifies the starting date. (If you are using the
1285European calendar style, the month and day are interchanged.)
1286
1287 All three of these commands make marking diary entries. To insert a
1288nonmarking entry, give a numeric argument to the command. For example,
1289@kbd{C-u i a} makes a nonmarking anniversary diary entry.
1290
1291 Marking sexp diary entries in the calendar is @emph{extremely}
1292time-consuming, since every date visible in the calendar window must be
1293individually checked. So it's a good idea to make sexp diary entries
1294nonmarking (with @samp{&}) when possible.
1295
1296 Another sophisticated kind of sexp entry, a @dfn{floating} diary entry,
1297specifies a regularly occurring event by offsets specified in days,
1298weeks, and months. It is comparable to a crontab entry interpreted by
1299the @code{cron} utility. Here is a nonmarking, floating diary entry
1300that applies to the last Thursday in November:
1301
1302@findex diary-float
1303@example
1304&%%(diary-float 11 4 -1) American Thanksgiving
1305@end example
1306
1307@noindent
1308The 11 specifies November (the eleventh month), the 4 specifies Thursday
1309(the fourth day of the week, where Sunday is numbered zero), and the
1310@minus{}1 specifies ``last'' (1 would mean ``first,'' 2 would mean
1311``second,'' @minus{}2 would mean ``second-to-last,'' and so on). The
1312month can be a single month or a list of months. Thus you could change
1313the 11 above to @samp{'(1 2 3)} and have the entry apply to the last
1314Thursday of January, February, and March. If the month is @code{t}, the
1315entry applies to all months of the year.@refill
1316
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1317 Each of the standard sexp diary entries takes an optional parameter
1318specifying the name of a face or a single-character string to use when
1319marking the entry in the calendar. Most generally, sexp diary entries
1320can perform arbitrary computations to determine when they apply.
1321@xref{Sexp Diary Entries,, Sexp Diary Entries, elisp, The Emacs Lisp
1322Reference Manual}.
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1323
1324@node Appointments
1325@section Appointments
1326@cindex appointment notification
1327
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1328@vindex appt-display-format
1329@vindex appt-audible
6bf7aab6 1330 If you have a diary entry for an appointment, and that diary entry
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1331begins with a recognizable time of day, Emacs can warn you several
1332minutes beforehand that that appointment is pending. Emacs alerts you
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1333to the appointment by displaying a message in your chosen format, as
1334specified by the variable @code{appt-display-format}. If the value
1335of @code{appt-audible} is non-nil, an audible reminder is also given.
1336
1337@findex appt-activate
1338 To enable appointment notification, call the function
1339@code{appt-activate} with a positive argument. This sets up an
1340appointment list for today from the diary file, giving all diary entries
1341found with recognizable times of day, and reminds you just before each
1342of them. Calling @code{appt-activate} with a negative argument disables
1343the appointment package.
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1344
1345 For example, suppose the diary file contains these lines:
1346
1347@example
1348Monday
1349 9:30am Coffee break
177c0ea7 1350 12:00pm Lunch
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1351@end example
1352
6b61353c 1353@vindex appt-message-warning-time
6bf7aab6 1354@noindent
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1355Then on Mondays, you will be reminded at around 9:20am about your coffee
1356break and at around 11:50am about lunch. How many minutes in advance you
1357are first warned is determined by the value of
1358@code{appt-message-warning-time}.
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1359
1360 You can write times in am/pm style (with @samp{12:00am} standing
1361for midnight and @samp{12:00pm} standing for noon), or 24-hour
1362European/military style. You need not be consistent; your diary file
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1363can have a mixture of the two styles. Times must be at the beginning
1364of lines if they are to be recognized.
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1365
1366@vindex appt-display-diary
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1367 Emacs updates the appointments list from the diary file automatically
1368just after midnight. An update can be forced at any time by
1369re-activating the appointment package. Both these actions also display
1370the day's diary buffer, unless you set @code{appt-display-diary} to
1371@code{nil}. The appointments list is also updated whenever the
1372diary file is saved.
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1373
1374@findex appt-add
1375@findex appt-delete
1376@cindex alarm clock
1377 You can also use the appointment notification facility like an alarm
1378clock. The command @kbd{M-x appt-add} adds entries to the appointment
1379list without affecting your diary file. You delete entries from the
1380appointment list with @kbd{M-x appt-delete}.
1381
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1382@node Daylight Savings
1383@section Daylight Savings Time
1384@cindex daylight savings time
1385
1386 Emacs understands the difference between standard time and daylight
1387savings time---the times given for sunrise, sunset, solstices,
1388equinoxes, and the phases of the moon take that into account. The rules
1389for daylight savings time vary from place to place and have also varied
1390historically from year to year. To do the job properly, Emacs needs to
1391know which rules to use.
1392
1393@vindex calendar-daylight-savings-starts
1394@vindex calendar-daylight-savings-ends
1395 Some operating systems keep track of the rules that apply to the place
1396where you are; on these systems, Emacs gets the information it needs
1397from the system automatically. If some or all of this information is
1398missing, Emacs fills in the gaps with the rules currently used in
1399Cambridge, Massachusetts. If the resulting rules are not what you want,
1400you can tell Emacs the rules to use by setting certain variables:
1401@code{calendar-daylight-savings-starts} and
1402@code{calendar-daylight-savings-ends}.
1403
1404 These values should be Lisp expressions that refer to the variable
1405@code{year}, and evaluate to the Gregorian date on which daylight
1406savings time starts or (respectively) ends, in the form of a list
1407@code{(@var{month} @var{day} @var{year})}. The values should be
1408@code{nil} if your area does not use daylight savings time.
1409
1410 Emacs uses these expressions to determine the starting date of
1411daylight savings time for the holiday list and for correcting times of
1412day in the solar and lunar calculations.
1413
1414 The values for Cambridge, Massachusetts are as follows:
1415
1416@example
1417(calendar-nth-named-day 1 0 4 year)
1418(calendar-nth-named-day -1 0 10 year)
1419@end example
1420
1421@noindent
1422That is, the first 0th day (Sunday) of the fourth month (April) in
1423the year specified by @code{year}, and the last Sunday of the tenth month
1424(October) of that year. If daylight savings time were
1425changed to start on October 1, you would set
1426@code{calendar-daylight-savings-starts} to this:
1427
1428@example
1429(list 10 1 year)
1430@end example
1431
1432 If there is no daylight savings time at your location, or if you want
1433all times in standard time, set @code{calendar-daylight-savings-starts}
1434and @code{calendar-daylight-savings-ends} to @code{nil}.
1435
1436@vindex calendar-daylight-time-offset
1437 The variable @code{calendar-daylight-time-offset} specifies the
1438difference between daylight savings time and standard time, measured in
1439minutes. The value for Cambridge, Massachusetts is 60.
1440
1441@c @vindex calendar-daylight-savings-starts-time too long!
1442@vindex calendar-daylight-savings-ends-time
1443 The two variables @code{calendar-daylight-savings-starts-time} and
1444@code{calendar-daylight-savings-ends-time} specify the number of minutes
1445after midnight local time when the transition to and from daylight
1446savings time should occur. For Cambridge, Massachusetts both variables'
1447values are 120.
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1448
1449@node Time Intervals
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1450@section Summing Time Intervals
1451@cindex time intervals, summing
1452@cindex summing time intervals
1453@cindex timeclock
c1ec1a77 1454
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1455 The timeclock feature adds up time intervals, so you can (for
1456instance) keep track of how much time you spend working.
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1457
1458@findex timeclock-in
1459@findex timeclock-out
1460@findex timeclock-workday-remaining
1461@findex timeclock-when-to-leave
1462 Use the @kbd{M-x timeclock-in} command when you start working on a
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1463project, and @kbd{M-x timeclock-out} command when you're done. Each
1464time you do this, it adds one time interval to the record of the project.
1465
1466 Once you've collected data from a number of time intervals, you can use
1467@kbd{M-x timeclock-workday-remaining} to see how much time is left to
1468work today (assuming a typical average of 8 hours a day), and @kbd{M-x
1469timeclock-when-to-leave} which will calculate when you're ``done.''
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1470
1471@vindex timeclock-modeline-display
1472@findex timeclock-modeline-display
1473 If you want Emacs to display the amount of time ``left'' of your
1474workday in the mode line, either customize the
1475@code{timeclock-modeline-display} variable and set its value to
1476@code{t}, or invoke the @kbd{M-x timeclock-modeline-display} command.
1477
1478@vindex timeclock-ask-before-exiting
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1479 Terminating the current Emacs session might or might not mean that
1480you have stopped working on the project. If you'd like Emacs to ask
1481you about this, set the value of the variable
1482@code{timeclock-ask-before-exiting} to @code{t} (via @kbd{M-x
1483customize}). By default, only an explicit @kbd{M-x timeclock-out}
1484tells Emacs that the current interval is over.
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1485
1486@cindex @file{.timelog} file
1487@vindex timeclock-file
1488@findex timeclock-reread-log
505b55e6 1489 The timeclock functions work by accumulating the data in a file
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1490called @file{.timelog} in your home directory. (On MS-DOS, this file
1491is called @file{_timelog}, since an initial period is not allowed in
1492file names on MS-DOS.) You can specify a different name for this file
1493by customizing the variable @code{timeclock-file}. If you edit the
1494timeclock file manually, or if you change the value of any of
1495timeclock's customizable variables, you should run the command
1496@kbd{M-x timeclock-reread-log} to update the data in Emacs from the
1497file.
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1498
1499@ignore
1500 arch-tag: 4531ef09-9df3-449d-9c52-2b5a4a337f92
1501@end ignore