Add lisp/face-remap.el and associated documentation
[bpt/emacs.git] / doc / emacs / display.texi
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802b0ea7 1@c This is part of the Emacs manual.
b65d8176 2@c Copyright (C) 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001,
3f548a7c 3@c 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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4@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
5@node Display, Search, Registers, Top
6@chapter Controlling the Display
7
8 Since only part of a large buffer fits in the window, Emacs tries to
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9show a part that is likely to be interesting. Display-control
10commands allow you to specify which part of the text you want to see,
11and how to display it. Many variables also affect the details of
12redisplay. Unless otherwise stated, the variables described in this
13chapter have their effect by customizing redisplay itself; therefore,
14their values only make a difference at the time of redisplay.
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15
16@menu
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17* Scrolling:: Commands to move text up and down in a window.
18* Auto Scrolling:: Redisplay scrolls text automatically when needed.
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19* Horizontal Scrolling:: Moving text left and right in a window.
20* Follow Mode:: Follow mode lets two windows scroll as one.
b8f3a9e3 21* Faces:: How to change the display style using faces.
43d08eb9 22* Standard Faces:: Emacs' predefined faces.
b8f3a9e3 23* Font Lock:: Minor mode for syntactic highlighting using faces.
b8f3a9e3 24* Highlight Interactively:: Tell Emacs what text to highlight.
fad78d58 25* Fringes:: Enabling or disabling window fringes.
9d2908a6 26* Displaying Boundaries:: Displaying top and bottom of the buffer.
fad78d58 27* Useless Whitespace:: Showing possibly-spurious trailing whitespace.
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28* Selective Display:: Hiding lines with lots of indentation.
29* Optional Mode Line:: Optional mode line display features.
30* Text Display:: How text characters are normally displayed.
099bfef9 31* Cursor Display:: Features for displaying the cursor.
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32* Line Truncation:: Truncating lines to fit the screen width instead
33 of continuing them to multiple screen lines.
9d3d42fb 34* Temporary Face Changes:: Commands to temporarily modify the default text face
0015d677 35* Display Custom:: Information on variables for customizing display.
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36@end menu
37
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38@node Scrolling
39@section Scrolling
40
41 If a buffer contains text that is too large to fit entirely within a
42window that is displaying the buffer, Emacs shows a contiguous portion of
43the text. The portion shown always contains point.
44
45@cindex scrolling
46 @dfn{Scrolling} means moving text up or down in the window so that
47different parts of the text are visible. Scrolling ``forward'' or
48``up'' means that text moves up, and new text appears at the bottom.
49Scrolling ``backward'' or ``down'' moves text down, and new text
50appears at the top.
51
52 Scrolling happens automatically if you move point past the bottom or
53top of the window. You can also scroll explicitly with the commands
54in this section.
55
56@table @kbd
57@item C-l
58Clear screen and redisplay, scrolling the selected window to center
59point vertically within it (@code{recenter}).
60@item C-v
61Scroll forward (a windowful or a specified number of lines) (@code{scroll-up}).
62@item @key{NEXT}
63@itemx @key{PAGEDOWN}
64Likewise, scroll forward.
65@item M-v
66Scroll backward (@code{scroll-down}).
67@item @key{PRIOR}
68@itemx @key{PAGEUP}
69Likewise, scroll backward.
70@item @var{arg} C-l
71Scroll so point is on line @var{arg} (@code{recenter}).
72@item C-M-l
73Scroll heuristically to bring useful information onto the screen
74(@code{reposition-window}).
75@end table
76
77@kindex C-l
78@findex recenter
79 The most basic scrolling command is @kbd{C-l} (@code{recenter}) with
80no argument. It scrolls the selected window so that point is halfway
81down from the top of the window. On a text terminal, it also clears
82the screen and redisplays all windows. That is useful in case the
83screen is garbled (@pxref{Screen Garbled}).
84
85@kindex C-v
86@kindex M-v
87@kindex NEXT
88@kindex PRIOR
89@kindex PAGEDOWN
90@kindex PAGEUP
91@findex scroll-up
92@findex scroll-down
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93 To read the buffer a windowful at a time, use @kbd{C-v}
94(@code{scroll-up}) with no argument. This scrolls forward by nearly
95the whole window height. The effect is to take the two lines at the
96bottom of the window and put them at the top, followed by nearly a
97whole windowful of lines that were not previously visible. If point
98was in the text that scrolled off the top, it ends up at the new top
99of the window.
100
43d67313 101@vindex next-screen-context-lines
dc917bd9 102 @kbd{M-v} (@code{scroll-down}) with no argument scrolls backward in
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103a similar way, also with overlap. The number of lines of overlap that
104the @kbd{C-v} or @kbd{M-v} commands leave is controlled by the
105variable @code{next-screen-context-lines}; by default, it is 2. The
106function keys @key{NEXT} and @key{PRIOR}, or @key{PAGEDOWN} and
107@key{PAGEUP}, are equivalent to @kbd{C-v} and @kbd{M-v}.
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108
109 The commands @kbd{C-v} and @kbd{M-v} with a numeric argument scroll
110the text in the selected window up or down a few lines. @kbd{C-v}
111with an argument moves the text and point up, together, that many
112lines; it brings the same number of new lines into view at the bottom
113of the window. @kbd{M-v} with numeric argument scrolls the text
114downward, bringing that many new lines into view at the top of the
115window. @kbd{C-v} with a negative argument is like @kbd{M-v} and vice
116versa.
117
118 The names of scroll commands are based on the direction that the
119text moves in the window. Thus, the command to scroll forward is
120called @code{scroll-up} because it moves the text upward on the
121screen. The keys @key{PAGEDOWN} and @key{PAGEUP} derive their names
122and customary meanings from a different convention that developed
123elsewhere; hence the strange result that @key{PAGEDOWN} runs
124@code{scroll-up}.
125
126@vindex scroll-preserve-screen-position
127 Some users like the full-screen scroll commands to keep point at the
128same screen line. To enable this behavior, set the variable
129@code{scroll-preserve-screen-position} to a non-@code{nil} value. In
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130this mode, when these commands would scroll the text around point off
131the screen, or within @code{scroll-margin} lines of the edge, they
c39bed4b 132move point to keep the same vertical position within the window.
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133This mode is convenient for browsing through a file by scrolling by
134screenfuls; if you come back to the screen where you started, point
135goes back to the line where it started. However, this mode is
136inconvenient when you move to the next screen in order to move point
137to the text there.
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138
139 Another way to do scrolling is with @kbd{C-l} with a numeric argument.
140@kbd{C-l} does not clear the screen when given an argument; it only scrolls
141the selected window. With a positive argument @var{n}, it repositions text
142to put point @var{n} lines down from the top. An argument of zero puts
143point on the very top line. Point does not move with respect to the text;
144rather, the text and point move rigidly on the screen. @kbd{C-l} with a
145negative argument puts point that many lines from the bottom of the window.
146For example, @kbd{C-u - 1 C-l} puts point on the bottom line, and @kbd{C-u
147- 5 C-l} puts it five lines from the bottom. @kbd{C-u C-l} scrolls to put
148point at the center (vertically) of the selected window.
149
150@kindex C-M-l
151@findex reposition-window
152 The @kbd{C-M-l} command (@code{reposition-window}) scrolls the current
153window heuristically in a way designed to get useful information onto
154the screen. For example, in a Lisp file, this command tries to get the
155entire current defun onto the screen if possible.
156
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157@node Auto Scrolling
158@section Automatic Scrolling
159
dc917bd9 160@vindex scroll-conservatively
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161 Redisplay scrolls the buffer automatically when point moves out of
162the visible portion of the text. The purpose of automatic scrolling
163is to make point visible, but you can customize many aspects of how
164this is done.
165
166 Normally, automatic scrolling centers point vertically within the
167window. However, if you set @code{scroll-conservatively} to a small
168number @var{n}, then if you move point just a little off the
169screen---less than @var{n} lines---then Emacs scrolls the text just
170far enough to bring point back on screen. By default,
9705fb37 171@code{scroll-conservatively} is@tie{}0.
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172
173@cindex aggressive scrolling
174@vindex scroll-up-aggressively
175@vindex scroll-down-aggressively
176 When the window does scroll by a longer distance, you can control
177how aggressively it scrolls, by setting the variables
178@code{scroll-up-aggressively} and @code{scroll-down-aggressively}.
179The value of @code{scroll-up-aggressively} should be either
180@code{nil}, or a fraction @var{f} between 0 and 1. A fraction
181specifies where on the screen to put point when scrolling upward.
182More precisely, when a window scrolls up because point is above the
183window start, the new start position is chosen to put point @var{f}
184part of the window height from the top. The larger @var{f}, the more
185aggressive the scrolling.
186
187 @code{nil}, which is the default, scrolls to put point at the center.
188So it is equivalent to .5.
189
190 Likewise, @code{scroll-down-aggressively} is used for scrolling
191down. The value, @var{f}, specifies how far point should be placed
192from the bottom of the window; thus, as with
193@code{scroll-up-aggressively}, a larger value is more aggressive.
194
195@vindex scroll-margin
196 The variable @code{scroll-margin} restricts how close point can come
197to the top or bottom of a window. Its value is a number of screen
198lines; if point comes within that many lines of the top or bottom of the
199window, Emacs recenters the window. By default, @code{scroll-margin} is
2000.
201
202@node Horizontal Scrolling
203@section Horizontal Scrolling
204@cindex horizontal scrolling
205
206 @dfn{Horizontal scrolling} means shifting all the lines sideways
207within a window---so that some of the text near the left margin is not
208displayed at all. When the text in a window is scrolled horizontally,
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209text lines are truncated rather than continued (@pxref{Line
210Truncation}). Whenever a window shows truncated lines, Emacs
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211automatically updates its horizontal scrolling whenever point moves
212off the left or right edge of the screen. You can also use these
213commands to do explicit horizontal scrolling.
214
215@table @kbd
216@item C-x <
217Scroll text in current window to the left (@code{scroll-left}).
218@item C-x >
219Scroll to the right (@code{scroll-right}).
220@end table
221
222@kindex C-x <
223@kindex C-x >
224@findex scroll-left
225@findex scroll-right
226 The command @kbd{C-x <} (@code{scroll-left}) scrolls the selected
227window to the left by @var{n} columns with argument @var{n}. This moves
228part of the beginning of each line off the left edge of the window.
229With no argument, it scrolls by almost the full width of the window (two
230columns less, to be precise).
231
232 @kbd{C-x >} (@code{scroll-right}) scrolls similarly to the right. The
233window cannot be scrolled any farther to the right once it is displayed
234normally (with each line starting at the window's left margin);
235attempting to do so has no effect. This means that you don't have to
236calculate the argument precisely for @w{@kbd{C-x >}}; any sufficiently large
237argument will restore the normal display.
238
239 If you use those commands to scroll a window horizontally, that sets
240a lower bound for automatic horizontal scrolling. Automatic scrolling
241will continue to scroll the window, but never farther to the right
242than the amount you previously set by @code{scroll-left}.
243
244@vindex hscroll-margin
245 The value of the variable @code{hscroll-margin} controls how close
246to the window's edges point is allowed to get before the window will
247be automatically scrolled. It is measured in columns. If the value
248is 5, then moving point within 5 columns of the edge causes horizontal
249scrolling away from that edge.
250
251@vindex hscroll-step
252 The variable @code{hscroll-step} determines how many columns to
253scroll the window when point gets too close to the edge. If it's
254zero, horizontal scrolling centers point horizontally within the
255window. If it's a positive integer, it specifies the number of
256columns to scroll by. If it's a floating-point number, it specifies
257the fraction of the window's width to scroll by. The default is zero.
258
259@vindex auto-hscroll-mode
260 To disable automatic horizontal scrolling, set the variable
261@code{auto-hscroll-mode} to @code{nil}.
262
263@node Follow Mode
264@section Follow Mode
265@cindex Follow mode
266@cindex mode, Follow
267@findex follow-mode
268@cindex windows, synchronizing
269@cindex synchronizing windows
270
271 @dfn{Follow mode} is a minor mode that makes two windows, both
272showing the same buffer, scroll as a single tall ``virtual window.''
273To use Follow mode, go to a frame with just one window, split it into
274two side-by-side windows using @kbd{C-x 3}, and then type @kbd{M-x
275follow-mode}. From then on, you can edit the buffer in either of the
276two windows, or scroll either one; the other window follows it.
277
278 In Follow mode, if you move point outside the portion visible in one
279window and into the portion visible in the other window, that selects
280the other window---again, treating the two as if they were parts of
281one large window.
282
283 To turn off Follow mode, type @kbd{M-x follow-mode} a second time.
284
b8f3a9e3 285@node Faces
b18a8f7f 286@section Faces: Controlling Text Display Style
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287@cindex faces
288
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289 You can specify various styles for displaying text using
290@dfn{faces}. Each face can specify various @dfn{face attributes},
291such as the font family, the height, weight and slant of the
292characters, the foreground and background color, and underlining or
293overlining. A face does not have to specify all of these attributes;
294often it inherits most of them from another face.
306da12e 295
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296 On graphical display, all the Emacs face attributes are meaningful.
297On a text-only terminal, only some of them work. Some text-only
306da12e 298terminals support inverse video, bold, and underline attributes; some
54952612 299support colors. Text-only terminals generally do not support changing
306da12e 300the height and width or the font family.
c1b45553 301
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302 Most major modes assign faces to the text automatically through the
303work of Font Lock mode. @xref{Font Lock}, for more information about
304Font Lock mode and syntactic highlighting. You can print the current
305buffer with the highlighting that appears on your screen using the
306command @code{ps-print-buffer-with-faces}. @xref{PostScript}.
43d08eb9 307
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308 You control the appearance of a part of the text in the buffer by
309specifying the face or faces to use for it. The style of display used
310for any given character is determined by combining the attributes of
311all the applicable faces specified for that character. Any attribute
0ec1f115 312that isn't specified by these faces is taken from the @code{default} face,
04d0b662 313whose attributes reflect the default settings of the frame itself.
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314
315 Enriched mode, the mode for editing formatted text, includes several
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316commands and menus for specifying faces for text in the buffer.
317@xref{Format Faces}, for how to specify the font for text in the
318buffer. @xref{Format Colors}, for how to specify the foreground and
319background color.
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320
321@cindex face colors, setting
322@findex set-face-foreground
323@findex set-face-background
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324 To alter the appearance of a face, use the customization buffer.
325@xref{Face Customization}. You can also use X resources to specify
186e9bcc 326attributes of particular faces (@pxref{Resources}). Alternatively,
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327you can change the foreground and background colors of a specific face
328with @kbd{M-x set-face-foreground} and @kbd{M-x set-face-background}.
329These commands prompt in the minibuffer for a face name and a color
330name, with completion, and then set that face to use the specified
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331color. Changing the colors of the @code{default} face also changes
332the foreground and background colors on all frames, both existing and
333those to be created in the future. (You can also set foreground and
334background colors for the current frame only; see @ref{Frame
335Parameters}.)
0073fd65 336
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337 If you want to alter the appearance of all Emacs frames, you need to
338customize the frame parameters in the variable
339@code{default-frame-alist}; see @ref{Creating Frames,
340default-frame-alist}.
341
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342 Emacs can correctly display variable-width fonts, but Emacs commands
343that calculate width and indentation do not know how to calculate
344variable widths. This can sometimes lead to incorrect results when
345you use variable-width fonts. In particular, indentation commands can
346give inconsistent results, so we recommend you avoid variable-width
347fonts for editing program source code. Filling will sometimes make
348lines too long or too short. We plan to address these issues in
349future Emacs versions.
b8f3a9e3 350
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351@node Standard Faces
352@section Standard Faces
353
b8f3a9e3 354@findex list-faces-display
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355 To see what faces are currently defined, and what they look like,
356type @kbd{M-x list-faces-display}. It's possible for a given face to
357look different in different frames; this command shows the appearance
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358in the frame in which you type it. With a prefix argument, this
359prompts for a regular expression, and displays only faces with names
360matching that regular expression.
3b91a16d 361
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362 Here are the standard faces for specifying text appearance. You can
363apply them to specific text when you want the effects they produce.
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364
365@table @code
366@item default
54952612 367This face is used for ordinary text that doesn't specify any face.
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368@item bold
369This face uses a bold variant of the default font, if it has one.
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370It's up to you to choose a default font that has a bold variant,
371if you want to use one.
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372@item italic
373This face uses an italic variant of the default font, if it has one.
374@item bold-italic
375This face uses a bold italic variant of the default font, if it has one.
376@item underline
377This face underlines text.
378@item fixed-pitch
3b91a16d 379This face forces use of a particular fixed-width font.
43d08eb9 380@item variable-pitch
3b91a16d 381This face forces use of a particular variable-width font. It's
54952612 382reasonable to customize this face to use a different variable-width font,
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383if you like, but you should not make it a fixed-width font.
384@item shadow
385This face is used for making the text less noticeable than the surrounding
386ordinary text. Usually this can be achieved by using shades of gray in
387contrast with either black or white default foreground color.
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388@end table
389
390 Here's an incomplete list of faces used to highlight parts of the
391text temporarily for specific purposes. (Many other modes define
392their own faces for this purpose.)
393
394@table @code
395@item highlight
396This face is used for highlighting portions of text, in various modes.
397For example, mouse-sensitive text is highlighted using this face.
43d08eb9 398@item isearch
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399This face is used for highlighting the current Isearch match.
400@item query-replace
401This face is used for highlighting the current Query Replace match.
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402@item lazy-highlight
403This face is used for lazy highlighting of Isearch and Query Replace
404matches other than the current one.
405@item region
04eaab7d 406This face is used for displaying a selected region (@pxref{Mark}).
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407@item secondary-selection
408This face is used for displaying a secondary X selection (@pxref{Secondary
409Selection}).
410@item trailing-whitespace
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411The face for highlighting excess spaces and tabs at the end of a line
412when @code{show-trailing-whitespace} is non-@code{nil}; see
413@ref{Useless Whitespace}.
43d08eb9 414@item nobreak-space
5a7f4c1b 415The face for displaying the character ``nobreak space.''
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416@item escape-glyph
417The face for highlighting the @samp{\} or @samp{^} that indicates
418a control character. It's also used when @samp{\} indicates a
419nobreak space or nobreak (soft) hyphen.
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420@end table
421
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422 These faces control the appearance of parts of the Emacs frame.
423They exist as faces to provide a consistent way to customize the
424appearance of these parts of the frame.
425
426@table @code
b8f3a9e3 427@item mode-line
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428@itemx modeline
429This face is used for the mode line of the currently selected window,
430and for menu bars when toolkit menus are not used. By default, it's
54952612 431drawn with shadows for a ``raised'' effect on graphical displays, and
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432drawn as the inverse of the default face on non-windowed terminals.
433@code{modeline} is an alias for the @code{mode-line} face, for
434compatibility with old Emacs versions.
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435@item mode-line-inactive
436Like @code{mode-line}, but used for mode lines of the windows other
437than the selected one (if @code{mode-line-in-non-selected-windows} is
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438non-@code{nil}). This face inherits from @code{mode-line}, so changes
439in that face affect mode lines in all windows.
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440@item mode-line-highlight
441Like @code{highlight}, but used for portions of text on mode lines.
442@item mode-line-buffer-id
443This face is used for buffer identification parts in the mode line.
b8f3a9e3 444@item header-line
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445Similar to @code{mode-line} for a window's header line, which appears
446at the top of a window just as the mode line appears at the bottom.
447Most windows do not have a header line---only some special modes, such
448Info mode, create one.
53abc3bf 449@item vertical-border
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450This face is used for the vertical divider between windows.
451By default this face inherits from the @code{mode-line-inactive} face
54952612 452on character terminals. On graphical displays the foreground color of
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453this face is used for the vertical line between windows without
454scrollbars.
3094ad7a 455@item minibuffer-prompt
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456@cindex @code{minibuffer-prompt} face
457@vindex minibuffer-prompt-properties
3094ad7a 458This face is used for the prompt strings displayed in the minibuffer.
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459By default, Emacs automatically adds this face to the value of
460@code{minibuffer-prompt-properties}, which is a list of text
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461properties used to display the prompt text. (This variable takes
462effect when you enter the minibuffer.)
b8f3a9e3 463@item fringe
3b91a16d 464@cindex @code{fringe} face
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465The face for the fringes to the left and right of windows on graphic
466displays. (The fringes are the narrow portions of the Emacs frame
940627fe 467between the text area and the window's right and left borders.)
43d08eb9 468@xref{Fringes}.
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469@item scroll-bar
470This face determines the visual appearance of the scroll bar.
43d08eb9 471@xref{Scroll Bars}.
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472@item border
473This face determines the color of the frame border.
474@item cursor
475This face determines the color of the cursor.
476@item mouse
477This face determines the color of the mouse pointer.
478@item tool-bar
54952612 479This face determines the color of tool bar icons. @xref{Tool Bars}.
b8f3a9e3 480@item tooltip
43d08eb9 481This face is used for tooltips. @xref{Tooltips}.
b8f3a9e3 482@item menu
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483@cindex menu bar appearance
484@cindex @code{menu} face, no effect if customized
485@cindex customization of @code{menu} face
486This face determines the colors and font of Emacs's menus. @xref{Menu
487Bars}. Setting the font of LessTif/Motif menus is currently not
488supported; attempts to set the font are ignored in this case.
489Likewise, attempts to customize this face in Emacs built with GTK and
461a3118 490in the MS-Windows/Mac ports are ignored by the respective GUI toolkits;
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491you need to use system-wide styles and options to change the
492appearance of the menus.
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493@end table
494
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495@node Font Lock
496@section Font Lock mode
497@cindex Font Lock mode
498@cindex mode, Font Lock
499@cindex syntax highlighting and coloring
500
8cc11660 501 Font Lock mode is a minor mode, always local to a particular buffer,
0015d677 502which highlights (or ``fontifies'') the buffer contents according to
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503the syntax of the text you are editing. It can recognize comments and
504strings in most languages; in several languages, it can also recognize
505and properly highlight various other important constructs---for
506example, names of functions being defined or reserved keywords.
507Some special modes, such as Occur mode and Info mode, have completely
508specialized ways of assigning fonts for Font Lock mode.
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509
510@findex font-lock-mode
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511 Font Lock mode is turned on by default in all modes which support it.
512You can toggle font-lock for each buffer with the command @kbd{M-x
513font-lock-mode}. Using a positive argument unconditionally turns Font
514Lock mode on, and a negative or zero argument turns it off.
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515
516@findex global-font-lock-mode
517@vindex global-font-lock-mode
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518 If you do not wish Font Lock mode to be turned on by default,
519customize the variable @code{global-font-lock-mode} using the Customize
520interface (@pxref{Easy Customization}), or use the function
d239287a 521@code{global-font-lock-mode} in your @file{.emacs} file, like this:
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522
523@example
c4e8acbc 524(global-font-lock-mode 0)
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525@end example
526
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527@noindent
528This variable, like all the variables that control Font Lock mode,
529take effect whenever fontification is done; that is, potentially at
530any time.
531
c4e8acbc 532@findex turn-on-font-lock
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533 If you have disabled Global Font Lock mode, you can still enable Font
534Lock for specific major modes by adding the function
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535@code{turn-on-font-lock} to the mode hooks (@pxref{Hooks}). For
536example, to enable Font Lock mode for editing C files, you can do this:
537
538@example
539(add-hook 'c-mode-hook 'turn-on-font-lock)
540@end example
0015d677 541
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542 Font Lock mode uses several specifically named faces to do its job,
543including @code{font-lock-string-face}, @code{font-lock-comment-face},
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544and others. The easiest way to find them all is to use @kbd{M-x
545customize-group @key{RET} font-lock-faces @key{RET}}. You can then
546use that customization buffer to customize the appearance of these
547faces. @xref{Face Customization}.
b8f3a9e3 548
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549 You can also customize these faces using @kbd{M-x
550set-face-foreground} or @kbd{M-x set-face-background}. @xref{Faces}.
b8f3a9e3 551
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552@vindex font-lock-maximum-decoration
553 The variable @code{font-lock-maximum-decoration} specifies the
554preferred level of fontification, for modes that provide multiple
555levels. Level 1 is the least amount of fontification; some modes
556support levels as high as 3. The normal default is ``as high as
557possible.'' You can specify an integer, which applies to all modes, or
558you can specify different numbers for particular major modes; for
559example, to use level 1 for C/C++ modes, and the default level
560otherwise, use this:
561
562@example
563(setq font-lock-maximum-decoration
564 '((c-mode . 1) (c++-mode . 1)))
565@end example
566
567@vindex font-lock-maximum-size
568 Fontification can be too slow for large buffers, so you can suppress
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569it for buffers above a certain size. The variable
570@code{font-lock-maximum-size} specifies a buffer size, beyond which
571buffer fontification is suppressed.
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572
573@c @w is used below to prevent a bad page-break.
574@vindex font-lock-beginning-of-syntax-function
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575@cindex incorrect fontification
576@cindex parenthesis in column zero and fontification
577@cindex brace in column zero and fontification
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578 Comment and string fontification (or ``syntactic'' fontification)
579relies on analysis of the syntactic structure of the buffer text. For
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580the sake of speed, some modes, including Lisp mode, rely on a special
581convention: an open-parenthesis or open-brace in the leftmost column
582always defines the @w{beginning} of a defun, and is thus always
583outside any string or comment. (@xref{Left Margin Paren}.) If you
584don't follow this convention, Font Lock mode can misfontify the text
585that follows an open-parenthesis or open-brace in the leftmost column
586that is inside a string or comment.
b8f3a9e3 587
6bb2ed9b 588@cindex slow display during scrolling
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589 The variable @code{font-lock-beginning-of-syntax-function} (always
590buffer-local) specifies how Font Lock mode can find a position
591guaranteed to be outside any comment or string. In modes which use the
592leftmost column parenthesis convention, the default value of the variable
593is @code{beginning-of-defun}---that tells Font Lock mode to use the
594convention. If you set this variable to @code{nil}, Font Lock no longer
595relies on the convention. This avoids incorrect results, but the price
596is that, in some cases, fontification for a changed text must rescan
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597buffer text from the beginning of the buffer. This can considerably
598slow down redisplay while scrolling, particularly if you are close to
599the end of a large buffer.
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600
601@findex font-lock-add-keywords
602 Font Lock highlighting patterns already exist for many modes, but you
603may want to fontify additional patterns. You can use the function
604@code{font-lock-add-keywords}, to add your own highlighting patterns for
605a particular mode. For example, to highlight @samp{FIXME:} words in C
606comments, use this:
607
608@example
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609(add-hook 'c-mode-hook
610 (lambda ()
611 (font-lock-add-keywords nil
612 '(("\\<\\(FIXME\\):" 1 font-lock-warning-face t)))))
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613@end example
614
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615@findex font-lock-remove-keywords
616 To remove keywords from the font-lock highlighting patterns, use the
cd77ce13 617function @code{font-lock-remove-keywords}. @xref{Search-based
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618Fontification,,, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}, for
619documentation of the format of this list.
4063fff3 620
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621@cindex just-in-time (JIT) font-lock
622@cindex background syntax highlighting
623 Fontifying large buffers can take a long time. To avoid large
624delays when a file is visited, Emacs fontifies only the visible
625portion of a buffer. As you scroll through the buffer, each portion
626that becomes visible is fontified as soon as it is displayed. The
627parts of the buffer that are not displayed are fontified
de4a4c41 628``stealthily,'' in the background, i.e.@: when Emacs is idle. You can
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629control this background fontification, also called @dfn{Just-In-Time}
630(or @dfn{JIT}) Lock, by customizing variables in the customization
631group @samp{jit-lock}. @xref{Specific Customization}.
3be9b0ca 632
b8f3a9e3 633@node Highlight Interactively
54952612 634@section Interactive Highlighting
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635@cindex highlighting by matching
636@cindex interactive highlighting
54952612 637@cindex Highlight Changes mode
b8f3a9e3 638
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639@findex highlight-changes-mode
640 Use @kbd{M-x highlight-changes-mode} to enable (or disable)
641Highlight Changes mode, a minor mode that uses faces (colors,
642typically) to indicate which parts of the buffer were changed most
643recently.
b8f3a9e3 644
54952612 645@cindex Hi Lock mode
b8f3a9e3 646@findex hi-lock-mode
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647 Hi Lock mode highlights text that matches regular expressions you
648specify. For example, you might wish to see all the references to a
649certain variable in a program source file, highlight certain parts in
650a voluminous output of some program, or make certain names stand out
651in an article. Use the @kbd{M-x hi-lock-mode} command to enable (or
652disable) Hi Lock mode. To enable Hi Lock mode for all buffers, use
653@kbd{M-x global-hi-lock-mode} or place @code{(global-hi-lock-mode 1)}
654in your @file{.emacs} file.
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655
656 Hi Lock mode works like Font Lock mode (@pxref{Font Lock}), except
657that you specify explicitly the regular expressions to highlight. You
658control them with these commands:
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659
660@table @kbd
661@item C-x w h @var{regexp} @key{RET} @var{face} @key{RET}
662@kindex C-x w h
663@findex highlight-regexp
cedf175b 664Highlight text that matches @var{regexp} using face @var{face}
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665(@code{highlight-regexp}). The highlighting will remain as long as
666the buffer is loaded. For example, to highlight all occurrences of
667the word ``whim'' using the default face (a yellow background)
668@kbd{C-x w h whim @key{RET} @key{RET}}. Any face can be used for
669highlighting, Hi Lock provides several of its own and these are
670pre-loaded into a history list. While being prompted for a face use
671@kbd{M-p} and @kbd{M-n} to cycle through them.
672
673You can use this command multiple times, specifying various regular
674expressions to highlight in different ways.
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675
676@item C-x w r @var{regexp} @key{RET}
677@kindex C-x w r
678@findex unhighlight-regexp
630acdcc 679Unhighlight @var{regexp} (@code{unhighlight-regexp}).
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680
681If you invoke this from the menu, you select the expression to
682unhighlight from a list. If you invoke this from the keyboard, you
683use the minibuffer. It will show the most recently added regular
684expression; use @kbd{M-p} to show the next older expression and
685@kbd{M-n} to select the next newer expression. (You can also type the
686expression by hand, with completion.) When the expression you want to
687unhighlight appears in the minibuffer, press @kbd{@key{RET}} to exit
688the minibuffer and unhighlight it.
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689
690@item C-x w l @var{regexp} @key{RET} @var{face} @key{RET}
691@kindex C-x w l
692@findex highlight-lines-matching-regexp
693@cindex lines, highlighting
694@cindex highlighting lines of text
04d0b662 695Highlight entire lines containing a match for @var{regexp}, using face
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GM
696@var{face} (@code{highlight-lines-matching-regexp}).
697
698@item C-x w b
699@kindex C-x w b
700@findex hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns
701Insert all the current highlighting regexp/face pairs into the buffer
702at point, with comment delimiters to prevent them from changing your
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703program. (This key binding runs the
704@code{hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns} command.)
b8f3a9e3 705
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706These patterns are extracted from the comments, if appropriate, if you
707invoke @kbd{M-x hi-lock-find-patterns}, or if you visit the file while
708Hi Lock mode is enabled (since that runs @code{hi-lock-find-patterns}).
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709
710@item C-x w i
711@kindex C-x w i
712@findex hi-lock-find-patterns
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713Extract regexp/face pairs from comments in the current buffer
714(@code{hi-lock-find-patterns}). Thus, you can enter patterns
715interactively with @code{highlight-regexp}, store them into the file
716with @code{hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns}, edit them (perhaps
cedf175b 717including different faces for different parenthesized parts of the
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718match), and finally use this command (@code{hi-lock-find-patterns}) to
719have Hi Lock highlight the edited patterns.
b8f3a9e3 720
3173ce7e 721@vindex hi-lock-file-patterns-policy
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722The variable @code{hi-lock-file-patterns-policy} controls whether Hi
723Lock mode should automatically extract and highlight patterns found in
724a file when it is visited. Its value can be @code{nil} (never
725highlight), @code{t} (highlight the patterns), @code{ask} (query the
726user), or a function. If it is a function,
3173ce7e 727@code{hi-lock-find-patterns} calls it with the patterns as argument;
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728if the function returns non-@code{nil}, the patterns are used. The
729default is @code{nil}. Note that patterns are always highlighted if
730you call @code{hi-lock-find-patterns} directly, regardless of the
731value of this variable.
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732
733@vindex hi-lock-exclude-modes
734Also, @code{hi-lock-find-patterns} does nothing if the current major
735mode's symbol is a member of the list @code{hi-lock-exclude-modes}.
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736@end table
737
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738@node Fringes
739@section Window Fringes
740@cindex fringes
741
742 On a graphical display, each Emacs window normally has narrow
743@dfn{fringes} on the left and right edges. The fringes display
744indications about the text in the window.
745
746 The most common use of the fringes is to indicate a continuation
747line, when one line of text is split into multiple lines on the
748screen. The left fringe shows a curving arrow for each screen line
749except the first, indicating that ``this is not the real beginning.''
750The right fringe shows a curving arrow for each screen line except the
751last, indicating that ``this is not the real end.''
752
566da2e7 753 The fringes indicate line truncation with short horizontal arrows
fad78d58 754meaning ``there's more text on this line which is scrolled
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755horizontally out of view;'' clicking the mouse on one of the arrows
756scrolls the display horizontally in the direction of the arrow. The
d239287a 757fringes can also indicate other things, such as empty lines, or where a
566da2e7 758program you are debugging is executing (@pxref{Debuggers}).
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759
760@findex set-fringe-style
761@findex fringe-mode
762 You can enable and disable the fringes for all frames using
763@kbd{M-x fringe-mode}. To enable and disable the fringes
764for the selected frame, use @kbd{M-x set-fringe-style}.
765
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766@node Displaying Boundaries
767@section Displaying Boundaries
768
769@vindex indicate-buffer-boundaries
770 On a graphical display, Emacs can indicate the buffer boundaries in
771the fringes. It indicates the first line and the last line with
772angle images in the fringes. This can be combined with up and down
773arrow images which say whether it is possible to scroll the window up
774and down.
775
776 The buffer-local variable @code{indicate-buffer-boundaries} controls
777how the buffer boundaries and window scrolling is indicated in the
778fringes. If the value is @code{left} or @code{right}, both angle and
779arrow bitmaps are displayed in the left or right fringe, respectively.
780
781 If value is an alist, each element @code{(@var{indicator} .
782@var{position})} specifies the position of one of the indicators.
783The @var{indicator} must be one of @code{top}, @code{bottom},
784@code{up}, @code{down}, or @code{t} which specifies the default
785position for the indicators not present in the alist.
786The @var{position} is one of @code{left}, @code{right}, or @code{nil}
787which specifies not to show this indicator.
788
789 For example, @code{((top . left) (t . right))} places the top angle
790bitmap in left fringe, the bottom angle bitmap in right fringe, and
791both arrow bitmaps in right fringe. To show just the angle bitmaps in
792the left fringe, but no arrow bitmaps, use @code{((top . left)
793(bottom . left))}.
794
795@vindex default-indicate-buffer-boundaries
796 The value of the variable @code{default-indicate-buffer-boundaries}
797is the default value for @code{indicate-buffer-boundaries} in buffers
798that do not override it.
799
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800@node Useless Whitespace
801@section Useless Whitespace
802
803@cindex trailing whitespace
804@cindex whitespace, trailing
805@vindex show-trailing-whitespace
806 It is easy to leave unnecessary spaces at the end of a line, or
807empty lines at the end of a file, without realizing it. In most
808cases, this @dfn{trailing whitespace} has no effect, but there are
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809special circumstances where it matters. It can also be a nuisance
810that the line has ``changed,'' when the change is just spaces added or
811removed at the end.
fad78d58
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812
813 You can make trailing whitespace at the end of a line visible on the
814screen by setting the buffer-local variable
815@code{show-trailing-whitespace} to @code{t}. Then Emacs displays
816trailing whitespace in the face @code{trailing-whitespace}.
817
818 This feature does not apply when point is at the end of the line
819containing the whitespace. Strictly speaking, that is ``trailing
820whitespace'' nonetheless, but displaying it specially in that case
821looks ugly while you are typing in new text. In this special case,
822the location of point is enough to show you that the spaces are
823present.
824
825@findex delete-trailing-whitespace
826 To delete all trailing whitespace within the current buffer's
827accessible portion (@pxref{Narrowing}), type @kbd{M-x
828delete-trailing-whitespace @key{RET}}. (This command does not remove
829the form-feed characters.)
830
23e3383d 831@vindex indicate-empty-lines
fad78d58 832@vindex default-indicate-empty-lines
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RS
833@cindex unused lines
834@cindex fringes, and unused line indication
835 Emacs can indicate unused lines at the end of the window with a
836small image in the left fringe (@pxref{Fringes}). The image appears
837for window lines that do not correspond to any buffer text. Blank
838lines at the end of the buffer then stand out because they do not have
839this image in the fringe.
840
841 To enable this feature, set the buffer-local variable
23e3383d 842@code{indicate-empty-lines} to a non-@code{nil} value. The default
877db12e 843value of this variable is controlled by the variable
23e3383d 844@code{default-indicate-empty-lines}; by setting that variable, you
877db12e 845can enable or disable this feature for all new buffers. (This feature
54952612 846currently doesn't work on text-only terminals.)
fad78d58 847
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848@node Selective Display
849@section Selective Display
4946337d 850@cindex selective display
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851@findex set-selective-display
852@kindex C-x $
853
854 Emacs has the ability to hide lines indented more than a certain number
855of columns (you specify how many columns). You can use this to get an
856overview of a part of a program.
857
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858 To hide lines in the current buffer, type @kbd{C-x $}
859(@code{set-selective-display}) with a numeric argument @var{n}. Then
860lines with at least @var{n} columns of indentation disappear from the
861screen. The only indication of their presence is that three dots
862(@samp{@dots{}}) appear at the end of each visible line that is
863followed by one or more hidden ones.
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864
865 The commands @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} move across the hidden lines as
866if they were not there.
867
868 The hidden lines are still present in the buffer, and most editing
869commands see them as usual, so you may find point in the middle of the
870hidden text. When this happens, the cursor appears at the end of the
871previous line, after the three dots. If point is at the end of the
872visible line, before the newline that ends it, the cursor appears before
873the three dots.
874
875 To make all lines visible again, type @kbd{C-x $} with no argument.
876
877@vindex selective-display-ellipses
878 If you set the variable @code{selective-display-ellipses} to
879@code{nil}, the three dots do not appear at the end of a line that
880precedes hidden lines. Then there is no visible indication of the
881hidden lines. This variable becomes local automatically when set.
882
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883 See also @ref{Outline Mode} for another way to hide part of
884the text in a buffer.
885
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886@node Optional Mode Line
887@section Optional Mode Line Features
888
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889@cindex buffer size display
890@cindex display of buffer size
891@findex size-indication-mode
892 The buffer percentage @var{pos} indicates the percentage of the
893buffer above the top of the window. You can additionally display the
894size of the buffer by typing @kbd{M-x size-indication-mode} to turn on
895Size Indication mode. The size will be displayed immediately
896following the buffer percentage like this:
897
898@example
899@var{POS} of @var{SIZE}
900@end example
901
902@noindent
903Here @var{SIZE} is the human readable representation of the number of
904characters in the buffer, which means that @samp{k} for 10^3, @samp{M}
905for 10^6, @samp{G} for 10^9, etc., are used to abbreviate.
906
907@cindex narrowing, and buffer size display
908 If you have narrowed the buffer (@pxref{Narrowing}), the size of the
909accessible part of the buffer is shown.
910
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911@cindex line number display
912@cindex display of line number
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913@findex line-number-mode
914 The current line number of point appears in the mode line when Line
915Number mode is enabled. Use the command @kbd{M-x line-number-mode} to
916turn this mode on and off; normally it is on. The line number appears
b213b767 917after the buffer percentage @var{pos}, with the letter @samp{L} to
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AM
918indicate what it is.
919
920@cindex Column Number mode
921@cindex mode, Column Number
922@findex column-number-mode
923 Similarly, you can display the current column number by turning on
924Column number mode with @kbd{M-x column-number-mode}. The column
925number is indicated by the letter @samp{C}. However, when both of
926these modes are enabled, the line and column numbers are displayed in
927parentheses, the line number first, rather than with @samp{L} and
928@samp{C}. For example: @samp{(561,2)}. @xref{Minor Modes}, for more
929information about minor modes and about how to use these commands.
6bf7aab6 930
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931@cindex narrowing, and line number display
932 If you have narrowed the buffer (@pxref{Narrowing}), the displayed
933line number is relative to the accessible portion of the buffer.
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934Thus, it isn't suitable as an argument to @code{goto-line}. (Use
935@code{what-line} command to see the line number relative to the whole
936file.)
43f971ab 937
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938@vindex line-number-display-limit
939 If the buffer is very large (larger than the value of
940@code{line-number-display-limit}), then the line number doesn't appear.
941Emacs doesn't compute the line number when the buffer is large, because
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942that would be too slow. Set it to @code{nil} to remove the limit.
943
944@vindex line-number-display-limit-width
945 Line-number computation can also be slow if the lines in the buffer
946are too long. For this reason, Emacs normally doesn't display line
947numbers if the average width, in characters, of lines near point is
948larger than the value of the variable
949@code{line-number-display-limit-width}. The default value is 200
950characters.
6bf7aab6 951
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952@findex display-time
953@cindex time (on mode line)
954 Emacs can optionally display the time and system load in all mode
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955lines. To enable this feature, type @kbd{M-x display-time} or customize
956the option @code{display-time-mode}. The information added to the mode
957line usually appears after the buffer name, before the mode names and
958their parentheses. It looks like this:
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959
960@example
961@var{hh}:@var{mm}pm @var{l.ll}
962@end example
963
964@noindent
965@vindex display-time-24hr-format
966Here @var{hh} and @var{mm} are the hour and minute, followed always by
967@samp{am} or @samp{pm}. @var{l.ll} is the average number of running
968processes in the whole system recently. (Some fields may be missing if
969your operating system cannot support them.) If you prefer time display
970in 24-hour format, set the variable @code{display-time-24hr-format}
971to @code{t}.
972
973@cindex mail (on mode line)
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974@vindex display-time-use-mail-icon
975@vindex display-time-mail-face
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976@vindex display-time-mail-file
977@vindex display-time-mail-directory
6bf7aab6 978 The word @samp{Mail} appears after the load level if there is mail
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979for you that you have not read yet. On a graphical display you can use
980an icon instead of @samp{Mail} by customizing
981@code{display-time-use-mail-icon}; this may save some space on the mode
982line. You can customize @code{display-time-mail-face} to make the mail
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983indicator prominent. Use @code{display-time-mail-file} to specify
984the mail file to check, or set @code{display-time-mail-directory}
985to specify the directory to check for incoming mail (any nonempty regular
986file in the directory is considered as ``newly arrived mail'').
6bf7aab6 987
47d7776c 988@cindex mode line, 3D appearance
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989@cindex attributes of mode line, changing
990@cindex non-integral number of lines in a window
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991 By default, the mode line is drawn on graphics displays with
9923D-style highlighting, like that of a button when it is not being
993pressed. If you don't like this effect, you can disable the 3D
994highlighting of the mode line, by customizing the attributes of the
54952612 995@code{mode-line} face. @xref{Face Customization}.
bd3ead08 996
b9e58bf2 997@cindex non-selected windows, mode line appearance
ac6875fc 998 By default, the mode line of nonselected windows is displayed in a
1c9f5f23 999different face, called @code{mode-line-inactive}. Only the selected
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1000window is displayed in the @code{mode-line} face. This helps show
1001which window is selected. When the minibuffer is selected, since
1002it has no mode line, the window from which you activated the minibuffer
1003has its mode line displayed using @code{mode-line}; as a result,
1004ordinary entry to the minibuffer does not change any mode lines.
1005
1006@vindex mode-line-in-non-selected-windows
1007 You can disable use of @code{mode-line-inactive} by setting variable
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1008@code{mode-line-in-non-selected-windows} to @code{nil}; then all mode
1009lines are displayed in the @code{mode-line} face.
b9e58bf2 1010
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1011@vindex eol-mnemonic-unix
1012@vindex eol-mnemonic-dos
1013@vindex eol-mnemonic-mac
1014@vindex eol-mnemonic-undecided
1015 You can customize the mode line display for each of the end-of-line
1016formats by setting each of the variables @code{eol-mnemonic-unix},
1017@code{eol-mnemonic-dos}, @code{eol-mnemonic-mac}, and
54952612 1018@code{eol-mnemonic-undecided} to the strings you prefer.
589a3f9f 1019
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1020@node Text Display
1021@section How Text Is Displayed
1022@cindex characters (in text)
1023
76dd3692 1024 @acronym{ASCII} printing characters (octal codes 040 through 0176) in Emacs
13b9ee95 1025buffers are displayed with their graphics, as are non-ASCII multibyte
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1026printing characters (octal codes above 0400).
1027
76dd3692 1028 Some @acronym{ASCII} control characters are displayed in special ways. The
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1029newline character (octal code 012) is displayed by starting a new line.
1030The tab character (octal code 011) is displayed by moving to the next
1031tab stop column (normally every 8 columns).
1032
76dd3692 1033 Other @acronym{ASCII} control characters are normally displayed as a caret
6bf7aab6 1034(@samp{^}) followed by the non-control version of the character; thus,
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1035control-A is displayed as @samp{^A}. The caret appears in face
1036@code{escape-glyph}.
1037
1038 Non-@acronym{ASCII} characters 0200 through 0237 (octal) are
1039displayed with octal escape sequences; thus, character code 0230
1040(octal) is displayed as @samp{\230}. The backslash appears in face
1041@code{escape-glyph}.
1042
1043@vindex ctl-arrow
1044 If the variable @code{ctl-arrow} is @code{nil}, control characters in
1045the buffer are displayed with octal escape sequences, except for newline
1046and tab. Altering the value of @code{ctl-arrow} makes it local to the
1047current buffer; until that time, the default value is in effect. The
1048default is initially @code{t}.
1049
1050 The display of character codes 0240 through 0377 (octal) may be
1051either as escape sequences or as graphics. They do not normally occur
1052in multibyte buffers, but if they do, they are displayed as Latin-1
1053graphics. In unibyte mode, if you enable European display they are
1054displayed using their graphics (assuming your terminal supports them),
662286c3 1055otherwise as escape sequences. @xref{Unibyte Mode}.
6bf7aab6 1056
470a11a3 1057@vindex nobreak-char-display
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1058@cindex no-break space, display
1059@cindex no-break hyphen, display
1060@cindex soft hyphen, display
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1061 Some character sets define ``no-break'' versions of the space and
1062hyphen characters, which are used where a line should not be broken.
1063Emacs normally displays these characters with special faces
1064(respectively, @code{nobreak-space} and @code{escape-glyph}) to
1065distinguish them from ordinary spaces and hyphens. You can turn off
1066this feature by setting the variable @code{nobreak-char-display} to
1067@code{nil}. If you set the variable to any other value, that means to
1068prefix these characters with an escape character.
b5cced4b 1069
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1070@vindex tab-width
1071@vindex default-tab-width
1072 Normally, a tab character in the buffer is displayed as whitespace which
1073extends to the next display tab stop position, and display tab stops come
1074at intervals equal to eight spaces. The number of spaces per tab is
1075controlled by the variable @code{tab-width}, which is made local by
1076changing it. Note that how the tab character
1077in the buffer is displayed has nothing to do with the definition of
1078@key{TAB} as a command. The variable @code{tab-width} must have an
1079integer value between 1 and 1000, inclusive. The variable
1080@code{default-tab-width} controls the default value of this variable
1081for buffers where you have not set it locally.
1082
1083 You can customize the way any particular character code is displayed
1084by means of a display table. @xref{Display Tables,, Display Tables,
1085elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
1086
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1087@node Cursor Display
1088@section Displaying the Cursor
1089
1090@findex blink-cursor-mode
1091@vindex blink-cursor-alist
1092@cindex cursor, locating visually
1093@cindex cursor, blinking
1094 You can customize the cursor's color, and whether it blinks, using
1095the @code{cursor} Custom group (@pxref{Easy Customization}). On
098199b1 1096a graphical display, the command @kbd{M-x blink-cursor-mode} enables
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1097or disables the blinking of the cursor. (On text terminals, the
1098terminal itself blinks the cursor, and Emacs has no control over it.)
1099You can control how the cursor appears when it blinks off by setting
1100the variable @code{blink-cursor-alist}.
1101
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1102@vindex visible-cursor
1103 Some text terminals offer two different cursors: the normal cursor
1104and the very visible cursor, where the latter may be e.g. bigger or
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1105blinking. By default Emacs uses the very visible cursor, and switches
1106to it when you start or resume Emacs. If the variable
1107@code{visible-cursor} is @code{nil} when Emacs starts or resumes, it
1108doesn't switch, so it uses the normal cursor.
468160b7 1109
0015d677
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1110@cindex cursor in non-selected windows
1111@vindex cursor-in-non-selected-windows
93870ce2
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1112 Normally, the cursor appears in non-selected windows without
1113blinking, with the same appearance as when the blinking cursor blinks
5a7f4c1b 1114``off.'' For a box cursor, this is a hollow box; for a bar cursor,
0015d677 1115this is a thinner bar. To turn off cursors in non-selected windows,
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1116customize the variable @code{cursor-in-non-selected-windows} and
1117assign it a @code{nil} value.
0015d677
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1118
1119@vindex x-stretch-cursor
1120@cindex wide block cursor
098199b1 1121 On graphical displays, Emacs can optionally draw the block cursor
0015d677
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1122as wide as the character under the cursor---for example, if the cursor
1123is on a tab character, it would cover the full width occupied by that
1124tab character. To enable this feature, set the variable
1125@code{x-stretch-cursor} to a non-@code{nil} value.
1126
1127@findex hl-line-mode
1128@findex global-hl-line-mode
1129@cindex highlight current line
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1130 To make the cursor even more visible, you can use HL Line mode, a
1131minor mode that highlights the line containing point. Use @kbd{M-x
0015d677
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1132hl-line-mode} to enable or disable it in the current buffer. @kbd{M-x
1133global-hl-line-mode} enables or disables the same mode globally.
1134
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1135@node Line Truncation
1136@section Truncation of Lines
0015d677
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1137
1138@cindex truncation
1139@cindex line truncation, and fringes
1140 As an alternative to continuation, Emacs can display long lines by
1141@dfn{truncation}. This means that all the characters that do not fit
1142in the width of the screen or window do not appear at all. On
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1143graphical displays, a small straight arrow in the fringe indicates
1144truncation at either end of the line. On text-only terminals, @samp{$}
0015d677
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1145appears in the first column when there is text truncated to the left,
1146and in the last column when there is text truncated to the right.
1147
1148@vindex truncate-lines
1149@findex toggle-truncate-lines
1150 Horizontal scrolling automatically causes line truncation
1151(@pxref{Horizontal Scrolling}). You can explicitly enable line
1152truncation for a particular buffer with the command @kbd{M-x
1153toggle-truncate-lines}. This works by locally changing the variable
1154@code{truncate-lines}. If that variable is non-@code{nil}, long lines
1155are truncated; if it is @code{nil}, they are continued onto multiple
1156screen lines. Setting the variable @code{truncate-lines} in any way
1157makes it local to the current buffer; until that time, the default
1158value is in effect. The default value is normally @code{nil}.
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1159
1160@c @vindex truncate-partial-width-windows @c Idx entry is in Split Windows.
1161 If the variable @code{truncate-partial-width-windows} is
1162non-@code{nil}, it forces truncation rather than continuation in any
1163window less than the full width of the screen or frame, regardless of
1164the value of @code{truncate-lines}. For information about side-by-side
1165windows, see @ref{Split Window}. See also @ref{Display,, Display,
1166elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
1167
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1168@vindex overflow-newline-into-fringe
1169 If the variable @code{overflow-newline-into-fringe} is
54952612
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1170non-@code{nil} on a graphical display, then Emacs does not continue or
1171truncate a line which is exactly as wide as the window. Instead, the
1172newline overflows into the right fringe, and the cursor appears in the
1173fringe when positioned on that newline.
80174a97 1174
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1175@node Temporary Face Changes
1176@section Temporary Face Changes
1177
1178These are commands which temporarily change the default face used to
1179display text in a buffer.
1180
1181@cindex increase buffer face height
1182@findex increase-buffer-face-height
1183@cindex decrease buffer face height
1184@findex decrease-buffer-face-height
1185@findex text-scale-mode
1186To increase the size of the font used to display text in the current
1187buffer, type @kbd{C-=} or @kbd{C-+}
1188(@code{increase-buffer-face-height}). With a numeric prefix argument,
1189the size will be increased by that many steps (the default is 1 step);
1190each step scales the font height by the value of the variable
1191@code{text-scale-mode-step}. If repeated, this command has a
1192cumulative effect. As a special case, a prefix argument of 0 will
1193remove any scaling currently active.
1194
1195To decrease the size of the text, type @kbd{C--}
1196(@code{decrease-buffer-face-height}). The behavior is similar to that
1197of @code{increase-buffer-face-height}, but in reverse.
1198
1199These commands automatically enable or disable the
1200@code{text-scale-mode} minor-mode, depending on whether the current
1201font scaling is other than 1 or not.
1202
1203@cindex variable pitch mode
1204@findex variable-pitch-mode
1205To temporarily change the display face in the current buffer to a
1206variable-pitch (``proportional'') font, use the command @kbd{M-x
1207variable-pitch-mode} to enable or disable the Variable Pitch minor
1208mode.
1209
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1210@node Display Custom
1211@section Customization of Display
80174a97 1212
9d2908a6
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1213 This section describes variables (@pxref{Variables}) that you can
1214change to customize how Emacs displays. Beginning users can skip
1215it.
1216@c the reason for that pxref is because an xref early in the
1217@c ``echo area'' section leads here.
62ea61af 1218
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1219@vindex inverse-video
1220 If the variable @code{inverse-video} is non-@code{nil}, Emacs attempts
1221to invert all the lines of the display from what they normally are.
62ea61af 1222
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1223@vindex visible-bell
1224 If the variable @code{visible-bell} is non-@code{nil}, Emacs attempts
1225to make the whole screen blink when it would normally make an audible bell
1226sound. This variable has no effect if your terminal does not have a way
1227to make the screen blink.
80174a97 1228
9d2908a6
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1229@vindex echo-keystrokes
1230 The variable @code{echo-keystrokes} controls the echoing of multi-character
1231keys; its value is the number of seconds of pause required to cause echoing
1232to start, or zero, meaning don't echo at all. The value takes effect when
1233there is someting to echo. @xref{Echo Area}.
80174a97 1234
6bf7aab6 1235@vindex baud-rate
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1236 The variable @anchor{baud-rate}@code{baud-rate} holds the output
1237speed of the terminal, as far as Emacs knows. Setting this variable
1238does not change the speed of actual data transmission, but the value
1239is used for calculations. On text-only terminals, it affects padding,
1240and decisions about whether to scroll part of the screen or redraw it
1241instead. It also affects the behavior of incremental search.
1242
1243 On graphical displays, @code{baud-rate} is only used to determine
1244how frequently to look for pending input during display updating. A
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1245higher value of @code{baud-rate} means that check for pending input
1246will be done less frequently.
6bf7aab6 1247
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1248@cindex hourglass pointer display
1249@vindex hourglass-delay
54952612 1250 On graphical display, Emacs can optionally display the mouse pointer
099bfef9
RS
1251in a special shape to say that Emacs is busy. To turn this feature on
1252or off, customize the group @code{cursor}. You can also control the
1253amount of time Emacs must remain busy before the busy indicator is
62095f01 1254displayed, by setting the variable @code{hourglass-delay}.
099bfef9 1255
9d2908a6 1256@vindex overline-margin
3ae8f876 1257 On graphical display, the variable @code{overline-margin} specifies the vertical position
9d2908a6
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1258of an overline above the text, including the height of the overline
1259itself (1 pixel). The default value is 2 pixels.
1260
1261@vindex x-underline-at-descent-line
1262 On graphical display, Emacs normally draws an underline at the
1263baseline level of the font. If @code{x-underline-at-descent-line} is
1264non-@code{nil}, Emacs draws the underline at the same height as the
1265font's descent line.
1266
a66b12be
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1267@findex tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors
1268 On some text-only terminals, bold face and inverse video together
1269result in text that is hard to read. Call the function
1270@code{tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors} with a non-@code{nil}
1271argument to suppress the effect of bold-face in this case.
1272
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1273@vindex no-redraw-on-reenter
1274 On a text-only terminal, when you reenter Emacs after suspending, Emacs
1275normally clears the screen and redraws the entire display. On some
1276terminals with more than one page of memory, it is possible to arrange
1277the termcap entry so that the @samp{ti} and @samp{te} strings (output
1278to the terminal when Emacs is entered and exited, respectively) switch
1279between pages of memory so as to use one page for Emacs and another
43d67313 1280page for other output. On such terminals, you might want to set the variable
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1281@code{no-redraw-on-reenter} non-@code{nil}; this tells Emacs to
1282assume, when resumed, that the screen page it is using still contains
1283what Emacs last wrote there.
1284
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1285@ignore
1286 arch-tag: 2219f910-2ff0-4521-b059-1bd231a536c4
1287@end ignore