Update Indentation chapter of Emacs manual.
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6bf7aab6 1@c This is part of the Emacs manual.
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2@c Copyright (C) 1985-1987, 1993-1995, 1997, 2000-2011
3@c Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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4@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
5@node Windows, Frames, Buffers, Top
6@chapter Multiple Windows
7@cindex windows in Emacs
8@cindex multiple windows in Emacs
9
10 Emacs can split a frame into two or many windows. Multiple windows
11can display parts of different buffers, or different parts of one
12buffer. Multiple frames always imply multiple windows, because each
13frame has its own set of windows. Each window belongs to one and only
14one frame.
15
16@menu
17* Basic Window:: Introduction to Emacs windows.
18* Split Window:: New windows are made by splitting existing windows.
19* Other Window:: Moving to another window or doing something to it.
20* Pop Up Window:: Finding a file or buffer in another window.
6bf7aab6 21* Change Window:: Deleting windows and changing their sizes.
0a2132ba 22* Displaying Buffers:: How Emacs picks a window for displaying a buffer.
88968b11 23* Window Convenience:: Convenience functions for window handling.
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24@end menu
25
26@node Basic Window
27@section Concepts of Emacs Windows
28
29 Each Emacs window displays one Emacs buffer at any time. A single
30buffer may appear in more than one window; if it does, any changes in
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31its text are displayed in all the windows where it appears. But these
32windows can show different parts of the buffer, because each window
33has its own value of point.
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34
35@cindex selected window
3b47541d 36 At any time, one Emacs window is the @dfn{selected window}; the
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37buffer this window is displaying is the current buffer. On graphical
38displays, the point is indicated by a solid blinking cursor in the
39selected window, and by a hollow box in non-selected windows. On
40text-only terminals, the cursor is drawn only in the selected window.
41@xref{Cursor Display}.
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42
43 Commands to move point affect the value of point for the selected
44Emacs window only. They do not change the value of point in other
45Emacs windows, even those showing the same buffer. The same is true
46for buffer-switching commands such as @kbd{C-x b}; they do not affect
47other windows at all. However, there are other commands such as
48@kbd{C-x 4 b} that select a different window and switch buffers in it.
49Also, all commands that display information in a window, including
6bf7aab6 50(for example) @kbd{C-h f} (@code{describe-function}) and @kbd{C-x C-b}
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51(@code{list-buffers}), work by switching buffers in a nonselected
52window without affecting the selected window.
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53
54 When multiple windows show the same buffer, they can have different
55regions, because they can have different values of point. However,
56they all have the same value for the mark, because each buffer has
57only one mark position.
58
59 Each window has its own mode line, which displays the buffer name,
60modification status and major and minor modes of the buffer that is
a08ff74c 61displayed in the window. The selected window's mode line appears in a
291d142b 62different color. @xref{Mode Line}, for details.
6bf7aab6 63
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64@node Split Window
65@section Splitting Windows
66
67@table @kbd
68@item C-x 2
69Split the selected window into two windows, one above the other
291d142b 70(@code{split-window-below}).
6bf7aab6 71@item C-x 3
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72Split the selected window into two windows, positioned side by side
73(@code{split-window-right}).
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74@item C-Mouse-2
75In the mode line or scroll bar of a window, split that window.
76@end table
77
78@kindex C-x 2
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79@findex split-window-below
80 @kbd{C-x 2} (@code{split-window-below}) splits the selected window
81into two windows, one above the other. After splitting, the selected
82window is the upper one, and the newly split-off window is below.
83Both windows have the same value of point as before, and display the
84same portion of the buffer (or as close to it as possible). If
85necessary, the windows are scrolled to keep point on-screen. By
86default, the two windows each get half the height of the original
87window. A positive numeric argument specifies how many lines to give
88to the top window; a negative numeric argument specifies how many
89lines to give to the bottom window.
6bf7aab6 90
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91@vindex split-window-keep-point
92 If you change the variable @code{split-window-keep-point} to
93@code{nil}, @kbd{C-x 2} instead adjusts the portion of the buffer
94displayed by the two windows, as well as the value of point in each
95window, in order to keep the text on the screen as close as possible
96to what it was before; furthermore, if point was in the lower half of
97the original window, the bottom window is selected instead of the
98upper one.
6bf7aab6 99
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100@kindex C-x 3
101@findex split-window-right
102 @kbd{C-x 3} (@code{split-window-right}) splits the selected window
103into two side-by-side windows. The left window is the selected one;
104the right window displays the same portion of the same buffer, and has
105the same value of point. A positive numeric argument specifies how
106many columns to give the left window; a negative numeric argument
107specifies how many columns to give the right window.
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108
109@vindex truncate-partial-width-windows
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110 When you split a window with @kbd{C-x 3}, each resulting window
111occupies less than the full width of the frame. If it becomes too
112narrow, the buffer may be difficult to read if continuation lines are
113in use (@pxref{Continuation Lines}). Therefore, Emacs automatically
114switches to line truncation if the window width becomes narrower than
11550 columns. This truncation occurs regardless of the value of the
116variable @code{truncate-lines} (@pxref{Line Truncation}); it is
117instead controlled by the variable
118@code{truncate-partial-width-windows}. If the value of this variable
119is a positive integer (the default is 50), that specifies the minimum
120width for a partial-width window before automatic line truncation
121occurs; if the value is @code{nil}, automatic line truncation is
122disabled; and for any other non-@code{nil} value, Emacs truncates
123lines in every partial-width window regardless of its width.
124
125 On text terminals, side-by-side windows are separated by a vertical
126divider which is drawn using the @code{vertical-border} face.
6bf7aab6 127
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128@kindex C-Mouse-2 @r{(scroll bar)}
129 You can also split a window horizontally or vertically by clicking
130@kbd{C-Mouse-2} in the mode line or the scroll bar. If you click on
131the mode line, that puts the vertical divider where you click; if you
132click in the scroll bar, that puts the new mode-line where you click.
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133
134@node Other Window
135@section Using Other Windows
136
137@table @kbd
138@item C-x o
291d142b 139Select another window (@code{other-window}).
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140@item C-M-v
141Scroll the next window (@code{scroll-other-window}).
6bf7aab6 142@item Mouse-1
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143@kbd{Mouse-1}, in the text area of a window, selects the window and
144moves point to the position clicked. Clicking in the mode line
145selects the window without moving point in it.
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146@end table
147
148@kindex C-x o
149@findex other-window
291d142b 150With the keyboard, you can switch windows by typing @kbd{C-x o}
2684ed46 151(@code{other-window}). That is an @kbd{o}, for ``other,'' not a zero.
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152When there are more than two windows, this command moves through all the
153windows in a cyclic order, generally top to bottom and left to right.
154After the rightmost and bottommost window, it goes back to the one at
155the upper left corner. A numeric argument means to move several steps
156in the cyclic order of windows. A negative argument moves around the
157cycle in the opposite order. When the minibuffer is active, the
158minibuffer is the last window in the cycle; you can switch from the
159minibuffer window to one of the other windows, and later switch back and
160finish supplying the minibuffer argument that is requested.
161@xref{Minibuffer Edit}.
162
163@kindex C-M-v
164@findex scroll-other-window
165 The usual scrolling commands (@pxref{Display}) apply to the selected
166window only, but there is one command to scroll the next window.
167@kbd{C-M-v} (@code{scroll-other-window}) scrolls the window that
168@kbd{C-x o} would select. It takes arguments, positive and negative,
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169like @kbd{C-v}. (In the minibuffer, @kbd{C-M-v} scrolls the help
170window associated with the minibuffer, if any, rather than the next
171window in the standard cyclic order; @pxref{Minibuffer Edit}.)
6bf7aab6 172
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173@vindex mouse-autoselect-window
174 If you set @code{mouse-autoselect-window} to a non-@code{nil} value,
291d142b 175moving the mouse over a different window selects that window. This
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176feature is off by default.
177
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178@node Pop Up Window
179@section Displaying in Another Window
180
181@cindex selecting buffers in other windows
182@kindex C-x 4
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183 @kbd{C-x 4} is a prefix key for a variety of commands that switch to
184a buffer in a different window---either another existing window, or a
185new window created by splitting the selected window. @xref{Window
186Choice}, for how Emacs picks or creates the window to use.
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187
188@table @kbd
0a2132ba 189@findex switch-to-buffer-other-window
6bf7aab6 190@item C-x 4 b @var{bufname} @key{RET}
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191Select buffer @var{bufname} in another window
192(@code{switch-to-buffer-other-window}).
193
194@findex display-buffer
6bf7aab6 195@item C-x 4 C-o @var{bufname} @key{RET}
6d262977 196@kindex C-x 4 C-o
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197Display buffer @var{bufname} in some window, without trying to select
198it (@code{display-buffer}). @xref{Displaying Buffers}, for details
199about how the window is chosen.
200
201@findex find-file-other-window
6bf7aab6 202@item C-x 4 f @var{filename} @key{RET}
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203Visit file @var{filename} and select its buffer in another window
204(@code{find-file-other-window}). @xref{Visiting}.
205
206@findex dired-other-window
6bf7aab6 207@item C-x 4 d @var{directory} @key{RET}
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208Select a Dired buffer for directory @var{directory} in another window
209(@code{dired-other-window}). @xref{Dired}.
210
211@findex mail-other-window
6bf7aab6 212@item C-x 4 m
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213Start composing a mail message, similar to @kbd{C-x m} (@pxref{Sending
214Mail}), but in another window (@code{mail-other-window}).
215
216@findex find-tag-other-window
6bf7aab6 217@item C-x 4 .
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218Find a tag in the current tags table, similar to @kbd{M-.}
219(@pxref{Tags}), but in another window (@code{find-tag-other-window}).
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220@item C-x 4 r @var{filename} @key{RET}
221Visit file @var{filename} read-only, and select its buffer in another
0a2132ba 222window (@code{find-file-read-only-other-window}). @xref{Visiting}.
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223@end table
224
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225@node Change Window
226@section Deleting and Rearranging Windows
227
228@table @kbd
229@item C-x 0
291d142b 230Delete the selected window (@code{delete-window}).
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231@item C-x 1
232Delete all windows in the selected frame except the selected window
233(@code{delete-other-windows}).
234@item C-x 4 0
235Delete the selected window and kill the buffer that was showing in it
236(@code{kill-buffer-and-window}). The last character in this key
237sequence is a zero.
238@item C-x ^
239Make selected window taller (@code{enlarge-window}).
240@item C-x @}
241Make selected window wider (@code{enlarge-window-horizontally}).
242@item C-x @{
243Make selected window narrower (@code{shrink-window-horizontally}).
244@item C-x -
245Shrink this window if its buffer doesn't need so many lines
246(@code{shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer}).
247@item C-x +
248Make all windows the same height (@code{balance-windows}).
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249@end table
250
251@kindex C-x 0
252@findex delete-window
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253 To delete the selected window, type @kbd{C-x 0}
254(@code{delete-window}). (That is a zero.) Once a window is deleted,
255the space that it occupied is given to an adjacent window (but not the
256minibuffer window, even if that is active at the time). Deleting the
6bf7aab6 257window has no effect on the buffer it used to display; the buffer
291d142b 258continues to exist, and you can still switch to with @kbd{C-x b}.
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259
260@findex kill-buffer-and-window
261@kindex C-x 4 0
262 @kbd{C-x 4 0} (@code{kill-buffer-and-window}) is a stronger command
263than @kbd{C-x 0}; it kills the current buffer and then deletes the
264selected window.
265
266@kindex C-x 1
267@findex delete-other-windows
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268 @kbd{C-x 1} (@code{delete-other-windows}) deletes all the windows,
269@emph{except} the selected one; the selected window expands to use the
270whole frame. (This command cannot be used while the minibuffer window
271is active; attempting to do so signals an error.)
6bf7aab6 272
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273@kindex C-x ^
274@findex enlarge-window
275@kindex C-x @}
6bf7aab6 276@vindex window-min-height
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277 The command @kbd{C-x ^} (@code{enlarge-window}) makes the selected
278window one line taller, taking space from a vertically adjacent window
279without changing the height of the frame. With a positive numeric
280argument, this command increases the window height by that many lines;
281with a negative argument, it reduces the height by that many lines.
282If there are no vertically adjacent windows (i.e. the window is at the
283full frame height), that signals an error. The command also signals
284an error if you attempt to reduce the height of any window below a
285certain minimum number of lines, specified by the variable
286@code{window-min-height} (the default is 4).
287
288@findex enlarge-window-horizontally
289@findex shrink-window-horizontally
6bf7aab6 290@vindex window-min-width
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291 Similarly, @kbd{C-x @}} (@code{enlarge-window-horizontally}) makes
292the selected window wider, and @kbd{C-x @{}
293(@code{shrink-window-horizontally}) makes it narrower. These commands
294signal an error if you attempt to reduce the width of any window below
295a certain minimum number of columns, specified by the variable
296@code{window-min-width} (the default is 10).
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297
298@kindex C-x -
299@findex shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
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300 @kbd{C-x -} (@code{shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer}) reduces the
301height of the selected window, if it is taller than necessary to show
302the whole text of the buffer it is displaying. It gives the extra
303lines to other windows in the frame.
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304
305@kindex C-x +
306@findex balance-windows
307 You can also use @kbd{C-x +} (@code{balance-windows}) to even out the
308heights of all the windows in the selected frame.
309
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310 Mouse clicks on the mode line provide another way to change window
311heights and to delete windows. @xref{Mode Line Mouse}.
312
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313@node Displaying Buffers
314@section Displaying a Buffer in a Window
315
316 It is a common Emacs operation to display or ``pop up'' some buffer
291d142b 317in response to a user command. There are several different ways in
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318which commands do this.
319
320 Many commands, like @kbd{C-x C-f} (@code{find-file}), display the
321buffer by ``taking over'' the selected window, expecting that the
322user's attention will be diverted to that buffer. These commands
323usually work by calling @code{switch-to-buffer} internally
324(@pxref{Select Buffer}).
325
326@findex display-buffer
327 Some commands try to display ``intelligently'', trying not to take
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328over the selected window, e.g. by splitting off a new window and
329displaying the desired buffer there. Such commands, which include the
330various help commands (@pxref{Help}), work by calling
331@code{display-buffer} internally. @xref{Window Choice}, for details.
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332
333 Other commands do the same as @code{display-buffer}, and
334additionally select the displaying window so that you can begin
335editing its buffer. The command @kbd{C-x `} (@code{next-error}) is
336one example (@pxref{Compilation Mode}). Such commands work by calling
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337the function @code{pop-to-buffer} internally. @xref{Switching
338Buffers,,Switching to a Buffer in a Window, elisp, The Emacs Lisp
339Reference Manual}.
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340
341 Commands with names ending in @code{-other-window} behave like
342@code{display-buffer}, except that they never display in the selected
343window. Several of these commands are bound in the @kbd{C-x 4} prefix
344key (@pxref{Pop Up Window}).
345
346 Commands with names ending in @code{-other-frame} behave like
347@code{display-buffer}, except that they (i) never display in the
348selected window and (ii) prefer to create a new frame to display the
349desired buffer instead of splitting a window---as though the variable
350@code{pop-up-frames} is set to @code{t} (@pxref{Window Choice}).
351Several of these commands are bound in the @kbd{C-x 5} prefix key.
352
353@menu
354* Window Choice:: How @code{display-buffer} works.
355@end menu
356
357@node Window Choice
358@subsection How @code{display-buffer} works
359@findex display-buffer
360
361The @code{display-buffer} command (as well as commands that call it
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362internally) chooses a window to display by following the steps given
363below. @xref{Choosing Window,,Choosing a Window for Display, elisp,
364The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}, for details about how to alter this
365sequence of steps.
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366
367@itemize
368@vindex same-window-buffer-names
369@vindex same-window-regexps
370@item
371First, check if the buffer should be displayed in the selected window
372regardless of other considerations. You can tell Emacs to do this by
373adding the desired buffer's name to the list
374@code{same-window-buffer-names}, or adding a matching regular
375expression to the list @code{same-window-regexps}. By default, these
376variables are @code{nil}, so this step is skipped.
377
378@vindex display-buffer-reuse-frames
379@item
380Otherwise, if the buffer is already displayed in an existing window,
381``reuse'' that window. Normally, only windows on the selected frame
382are considered, but windows on other frames are also reusable if you
383change @code{display-buffer-reuse-frames} to @code{t}, or if you
384change @code{pop-up-frames} (see below) to @code{t}.
385
386@item
387Otherwise, if you specified that the buffer should be displayed in a
388special frame by customizing @code{special-display-buffer-names} or
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389@code{special-display-regexps}, do so. @xref{Choosing Window
390Options,,, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
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391
392@vindex pop-up-frames
393@item
394Otherwise, optionally create a new frame and display the buffer there.
395By default, this step is skipped. To enable it, change the variable
396@code{pop-up-frames} to a non-@code{nil} value. The special value
397@code{graphic-only} means to do this only on graphical displays.
398
399@item
400Otherwise, try to create a new window by splitting the selected
401window, and display the buffer in that new window.
402
403@vindex split-height-threshold
404@vindex split-width-threshold
405The split can be either vertical or horizontal, depending on the
406variables @code{split-height-threshold} and
407@code{split-width-threshold}. These variables should have integer
408values. If @code{split-height-threshold} is smaller than the selected
409window's height, the split puts the new window below. Otherwise, if
410@code{split-width-threshold} is smaller than the window's width, the
411split puts the new window on the right. If neither condition holds,
412Emacs tries to split so that the new window is below---but only if the
413window was not split before (to avoid excessive splitting).
414
415@item
416Otherwise, display the buffer in an existing window on the selected
417frame.
418
419@item
420If all the above methods fail for whatever reason, create a new frame
421and display the buffer there.
422@end itemize
423
88968b11 424@node Window Convenience
6d262977 425@section Convenience Features for Window Handling
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426
427@findex winner-mode
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428@cindex Winner mode
429@cindex mode, Winner
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430@cindex undoing window configuration changes
431@cindex window configuration changes, undoing
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432 Winner mode is a global minor mode that records the changes in the
433window configuration (i.e. how the frames are partitioned into
434windows), so that you can ``undo'' them. You can toggle Winner mode
435with @kbd{M-x winner-mode}, or by customizing the variable
436@code{winner-mode}. When the mode is enabled, @kbd{C-c left}
437(@code{winner-undo}) undoes the last window configuration change. If
438you change your mind while undoing, you can redo the changes you had
439undone using @kbd{C-c right} (@code{M-x winner-redo}).
440
441 Follow mode (@kbd{M-x follow-mode}) synchronizes several windows on
442the same buffer so that they always display adjacent sections of that
443buffer. @xref{Follow Mode}.
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444
445@cindex Windmove package
446@cindex directional window selection
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447@findex windmove-right
448@findex windmove-default-keybindings
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449 The Windmove package defines commands for moving directionally
450between neighboring windows in a frame. @kbd{M-x windmove-right}
451selects the window immediately to the right of the currently selected
452one, and similarly for the ``left,'' ``up,'' and ``down''
453counterparts. @kbd{M-x windmove-default-keybindings} binds these
454commands to @kbd{S-right} etc.; doing so disables shift selection for
455those keys (@pxref{Shift Selection}).
88968b11 456
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457 The command @kbd{M-x compare-windows} lets you compare the text
458shown in different windows. @xref{Comparing Files}.
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459
460@vindex scroll-all-mode
461@cindex scrolling windows together
462@cindex Scroll-all mode
463@cindex mode, Scroll-all
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464 Scroll All mode (@kbd{M-x scroll-all-mode}) is a global minor mode
465that causes scrolling commands and point motion commands to apply to
466every single window.