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1@c This is part of the Emacs manual.
2@c Copyright (C) 1985, 86, 87, 93, 94, 95, 1997 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
3@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
4@node Command Arguments, Antinews, Service, Top
5@appendix Command Line Arguments
6@cindex command line arguments
7@cindex arguments (command line)
8@cindex options (command line)
9@cindex switches (command line)
10@cindex startup (command line arguments)
11
12 GNU Emacs supports command line arguments to request various actions
13when invoking Emacs. These are for compatibility with other editors and
14for sophisticated activities. We don't recommend using them for
15ordinary editing.
16
17 Arguments starting with @samp{-} are @dfn{options}. Other arguments
18specify files to visit. Emacs visits the specified files while it
19starts up. The last file name on your command line becomes the current
20buffer; the other files are also present in other buffers. As usual,
21the special argument @samp{--} says that all subsequent arguments
22are file names, not options, even if they start with @samp{-}.
23
24 Emacs command options can specify many things, such as the size and
25position of the X window Emacs uses, its colors, and so on. A few
26options support advanced usage, such as running Lisp functions on files
27in batch mode. The sections of this chapter describe the available
28options, arranged according to their purpose.
29
30 There are two ways of writing options: the short forms that start with
31a single @samp{-}, and the long forms that start with @samp{--}. For
32example, @samp{-d} is a short form and @samp{--display} is the
33corresponding long form.
34
35 The long forms with @samp{--} are easier to remember, but longer to
36type. However, you don't have to spell out the whole option name; any
37unambiguous abbreviation is enough. When a long option takes an
38argument, you can use either a space or an equal sign to separate the
39option name and the argument. Thus, you can write either
40@samp{--display sugar-bombs:0.0} or @samp{--display=sugar-bombs:0.0}.
41We recommend an equal sign because it makes the relationship clearer,
42and the tables below always show an equal sign.
43
44@cindex initial options (command line)
45@cindex action options (command line)
46 Most options specify how to initialize Emacs, or set parameters for
47the Emacs session. We call them @dfn{initial options}. A few options
48specify things to do: for example, load libraries, call functions, or
49exit Emacs. These are called @dfn{action options}. These and file
50names together are called @dfn{action arguments}. Emacs processes all
51the action arguments in the order they are written.
52
53@menu
54* Action Arguments:: Arguments to visit files, load libraries,
55 and call functions.
56* Initial Options:: Arguments that take effect while starting Emacs.
57* Command Example:: Examples of using command line arguments.
58* Resume Arguments:: Specifying arguments when you resume a running Emacs.
59* Environment:: Environment variables that Emacs uses.
60
61* Display X:: Changing the default display and using remote login.
62* Font X:: Choosing a font for text, under X.
63* Colors X:: Choosing colors, under X.
64* Window Size X:: Start-up window size, under X.
65* Borders X:: Internal and external borders, under X.
66* Title X:: Specifying the initial frame's title.
67* Icons X:: Choosing what sort of icon to use, under X.
68* Resources X:: Advanced use of classes and resources, under X.
69* Lucid Resources:: X resources for Lucid menus.
70* Motif Resources:: X resources for Motif menus.
71@end menu
72
73@node Action Arguments
74@appendixsec Action Arguments
75
76 Here is a table of the action arguments and options:
77
78@table @samp
79@item @var{file}
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80@itemx --visit @var{file}
81@itemx --file @var{file}
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82Visit @var{file} using @code{find-file}. @xref{Visiting}.
83
84@item +@var{linenum} @var{file}
85Visit @var{file} using @code{find-file}, then go to line number
86@var{linenum} in it.
87
88@need 3000
89@item -l @var{file}
90@itemx --load=@var{file}
91Load a Lisp library named @var{file} with the function @code{load}.
92@xref{Lisp Libraries}. The library can be found either in the current
93directory, or in the Emacs library search path as specified
94with @code{EMACSLOADPATH} (@pxref{General Variables}).
95
96@item -f @var{function}
97@itemx --funcall=@var{function}
98Call Lisp function @var{function} with no arguments.
99
100@item --eval @var{expression}
ca99d4bd 101@itemx --execute @var{expression}
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102Evaluate Lisp expression @var{expression}.
103
104@item --insert=@var{file}
105Insert the contents of @var{file} into the current buffer. This is like
106what @kbd{M-x insert-file} does. @xref{Misc File Ops}.
107
108@item --kill
109Exit from Emacs without asking for confirmation.
110@end table
111
112@vindex command-line-args
113 The init file can access the values of the action arguments as the
114elements of a list in the variable @code{command-line-args}. The init
115file can override the normal processing of the action arguments, or
116define new ones, by reading and setting this variable.
117
118@node Initial Options
119@appendixsec Initial Options
120
121 The initial options specify parameters for the Emacs session. This
122section describes the more general initial options; some other options
123specifically related to X Windows appear in the following sections.
124
125 Some initial options affect the loading of init files. The normal
126actions of Emacs are to first load @file{site-start.el} if it exists,
127then your own init file @file{~/.emacs} if it exists, and finally
128@file{default.el} if it exists; certain options prevent loading of some
129of these files or substitute other files for them.
130
131@table @samp
132@item -t @var{device}
133@itemx --terminal=@var{device}
134Use @var{device} as the device for terminal input and output.
135
136@item -d @var{display}
137@itemx --display=@var{display}
138Use the X Window System and use the display named @var{display} to open
139the initial Emacs frame.
140
141@item -nw
142@itemx --no-windows
143Don't communicate directly with X, disregarding the @code{DISPLAY}
144environment variable even if it is set.
145
146@need 3000
147@cindex batch mode
148@item -batch
149@itemx --batch
150Run Emacs in @dfn{batch mode}, which means that the text being edited is
151not displayed and the standard terminal interrupt characters such as
152@kbd{C-z} and @kbd{C-c} continue to have their normal effect. Emacs in
153batch mode outputs to @code{stderr} only what would normally be printed
154in the echo area under program control.
155
156Batch mode is used for running programs written in Emacs Lisp from
157shell scripts, makefiles, and so on. Normally the @samp{-l} option
158or @samp{-f} option will be used as well, to invoke a Lisp program
159to do the batch processing.
160
161@samp{-batch} implies @samp{-q} (do not load an init file). It also causes
162Emacs to kill itself after all command options have been processed. In
163addition, auto-saving is not done except in buffers for which it has been
164explicitly requested.
165
166@item -q
167@itemx --no-init-file
168Do not load your Emacs init file @file{~/.emacs}, or @file{default.el}
169either.
170
171@item --no-site-file
172Do not load @file{site-start.el}. The options @samp{-q}, @samp{-u}
173and @samp{-batch} have no effect on the loading of this file---this is
174the only option that blocks it.
175
176@item -u @var{user}
177@itemx --user=@var{user}
178Load @var{user}'s Emacs init file @file{~@var{user}/.emacs} instead of
179your own.
180
181@item --debug-init
182Enable the Emacs Lisp debugger for errors in the init file.
183
184@item --unibyte
185@cindex unibyte operation
186Set up to do almost everything with single-byte buffers and strings.
187All buffers and strings are unibyte unless you (or a Lisp program)
188explicitly ask for a multibyte buffer or string. Setting the
189environment variable @code{EMACS_UNIBYTE} has the same effect.
190
191@item --multibyte
192Inhibit the effect of @code{EMACS_UNIBYTE}, so that Emacs
193uses multibyte characters by default, as usual.
194@end table
195
196@node Command Example
197@appendixsec Command Argument Example
198
199 Here is an example of using Emacs with arguments and options. It
200assumes you have a Lisp program file called @file{hack-c.el} which, when
201loaded, performs some useful operation on the current buffer, expected
202to be a C program.
203
204@example
205emacs -batch foo.c -l hack-c -f save-buffer >& log
206@end example
207
208@noindent
209This says to visit @file{foo.c}, load @file{hack-c.el} (which makes
210changes in the visited file), save @file{foo.c} (note that
211@code{save-buffer} is the function that @kbd{C-x C-s} is bound to), and
212then exit back to the shell (because of @samp{-batch}). @samp{-batch}
213also guarantees there will be no problem redirecting output to
214@file{log}, because Emacs will not assume that it has a display terminal
215to work with.
216
217@node Resume Arguments
218@appendixsec Resuming Emacs with Arguments
219
220 You can specify action arguments for Emacs when you resume it after
221a suspension. To prepare for this, put the following code in your
222@file{.emacs} file (@pxref{Hooks}):
223
224@example
225(add-hook 'suspend-hook 'resume-suspend-hook)
226(add-hook 'suspend-resume-hook 'resume-process-args)
227@end example
228
229 As further preparation, you must execute the shell script
230@file{emacs.csh} (if you use csh as your shell) or @file{emacs.bash} (if
231you use bash as your shell). These scripts define an alias named
232@code{edit}, which will resume Emacs giving it new command line
233arguments such as files to visit.
234
235 Only action arguments work properly when you resume Emacs. Initial
236arguments are not recognized---it's too late to execute them anyway.
237
238 Note that resuming Emacs (with or without arguments) must be done from
239within the shell that is the parent of the Emacs job. This is why
240@code{edit} is an alias rather than a program or a shell script. It is
241not possible to implement a resumption command that could be run from
242other subjobs of the shell; no way to define a command that could be
243made the value of @code{EDITOR}, for example. Therefore, this feature
244does not take the place of the Emacs Server feature (@pxref{Emacs
245Server}).
246
247 The aliases use the Emacs Server feature if you appear to have a
248server Emacs running. However, they cannot determine this with complete
249accuracy. They may think that a server is still running when in
250actuality you have killed that Emacs, because the file
251@file{/tmp/.esrv@dots{}} still exists. If this happens, find that
252file and delete it.
253
254@node Environment
255@appendixsec Environment Variables
256@cindex environment variables
257
258This appendix describes how Emacs uses environment variables. An
259environment variable is a string passed from the operating system to
260Emacs, and the collection of environment variables is known as the
261environment. Environment variable names are case sensitive and it is
262conventional to use upper case letters only.
263
264Because environment variables come from the operating system there is no
265general way to set them; it depends on the operating system and
266especially the shell that you are using. For example, here's how to set
267the environment variable @code{ORGANIZATION} to @samp{not very much}
268using bash:
269
270@example
271export ORGANIZATION="not very much"
272@end example
273
274@noindent
275and here's how to do it in csh or tcsh:
276
277@example
278setenv ORGANIZATION "not very much"
279@end example
280
281When Emacs is set-up to use the X windowing system, it inherits the
282use of a large number of environment variables from the X library. See
283the X documentation for more information.
284
285@menu
286* General Variables:: Environment variables that all versions of Emacs use.
287* Misc Variables:: Certain system-specific variables.
288@end menu
289
290@node General Variables
291@appendixsubsec General Variables
292
293@table @code
294@item AUTHORCOPY
295The name of a file used to archive news articles posted with the @sc{gnus}
296package.
297@item CDPATH
298Used by the @code{cd} command to search for the directory you specify,
299when you specify a relative directory name.
300@item DOMAINNAME
301The name of the Internet domain that the machine running Emacs is
302located in. Used by the @sc{gnus} package.
303@item EMACS_UNIBYTE
304@cindex unibyte operation
305Defining this environment variable directs Emacs to do almost everything
306with single-byte buffers and strings. It is equivalent to using the
307@samp{--unibyte} command-line option on each invocation. @xref{Initial
308Options}.
309@item EMACSDATA
310Used to initialize the variable @code{data-directory} used to locate the
311architecture-independent files that come with Emacs. Setting this
312variable overrides the setting in @file{paths.h} when Emacs was built.
313@item EMACSLOADPATH
314A colon-separated list of directories from which to load Emacs Lisp
315files. Setting this variable overrides the setting in @file{paths.h}
316when Emacs was built.
317@item EMACSLOCKDIR
318The directory that Emacs places lock files---files used to protect
319users from editing the same files simultaneously. Setting this variable
320overrides the setting in @file{paths.h} when Emacs was built.
321@item EMACSPATH
322The location of Emacs-specific binaries. Setting this variable
323overrides the setting in @file{paths.h} when Emacs was built.
324@item ESHELL
325Used for shell-mode to override the @code{SHELL} environment variable.
326@item HISTFILE
327The name of the file that shell commands are saved in between logins.
328This variable defaults to @file{~/.history} if you use (t)csh as shell,
329to @file{~/.bash_history} if you use bash, to @file{~/.sh_history} if
330you use ksh, and to @file{~/.history} otherwise.
331@item HOME
332The location of the user's files in the directory tree; used for
333expansion of file names starting with a tilde (@file{~}). On MS-DOS, it
334defaults to the directory from which Emacs was started, with @samp{/bin}
335removed from the end if it was present.
336@item HOSTNAME
337The name of the machine that Emacs is running on.
338@item INCPATH
339A colon-separated list of directories. Used by the @code{complete} package
340to search for files.
341@item INFOPATH
342A colon-separated list of directories holding info files. Setting this
343variable overrides the setting in @file{paths.el} when Emacs was built.
fbc164de 344@item LC_ALL
6bf7aab6 345@itemx LC_CTYPE
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346@itemx LANG
347@findex set-locale-environment
348@vindex locale-language-names
349@vindex locale-charset-language-names
350@vindex locale-preferred-coding-systems
351The user's locale, matched by @code{set-locale-environment} against
352entries in @code{locale-language-names},
353@code{locale-charset-language-names}, and
354@code{locale-preferred-coding-systems} to select a default language
355environment and coding system. The first of these environment variables
356with a nonempty value specifies the locale.
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357@item LOGNAME
358The user's login name. See also @code{USER}.
359@item MAIL
360The name of the user's system mail inbox.
361@item MAILRC
362Name of file containing mail aliases. This defaults to
363@file{~/.mailrc}.
364@item MH
365Name of setup file for the mh system. This defaults to
366@file{~/.mh_profile}.
367@item NAME
368The real-world name of the user.
369@item NNTPSERVER
370The name of the news server. Used by the mh and @sc{gnus} packages.
371@item ORGANIZATION
372The name of the organization to which you belong. Used for setting the
373`Organization:' header in your posts from the @sc{gnus} package.
374@item PATH
375A colon-separated list of directories in which executables reside. (On
376MS-DOS, it is semicolon-separated instead.) This variable is used to
377set the Emacs Lisp variable @code{exec-path} which you should consider
378to use instead.
379@item PWD
380If set, this should be the default directory when Emacs was started.
381@item REPLYTO
382If set, this specifies an initial value for the variable
383@code{mail-default-reply-to}. @xref{Mail Headers}.
384@item SAVEDIR
385The name of a directory in which news articles are saved by default.
386Used by the @sc{gnus} package.
387@item SHELL
388The name of an interpreter used to parse and execute programs run from
389inside Emacs.
390@item TERM
391The name of the terminal that Emacs is running on. The variable must be
392set unless Emacs is run in batch mode. On MS-DOS, it defaults to
393@samp{internal}, which specifies a built-in terminal emulation that
394handles the machine's own display.
395@item TERMCAP
396The name of the termcap library file describing how to program the
397terminal specified by the @code{TERM} variable. This defaults to
398@file{/etc/termcap}.
399@item TMPDIR
400Used by the Emerge package as a prefix for temporary files.
401@item TZ
402This specifies the current time zone and possibly also daylight savings
403information. On MS-DOS, the default is based on country code; see the
404file @file{msdos.c} for details.
405@item USER
406The user's login name. See also @code{LOGNAME}. On MS-DOS, this
407defaults to @samp{root}.
408@item VERSION_CONTROL
409Used to initialize the @code{version-control} variable (@pxref{Backup
410Names}).
411@end table
412
413@node Misc Variables
414@appendixsubsec Miscellaneous Variables
415
416These variables are used only on particular configurations:
417
418@table @code
419@item COMSPEC
420On MS-DOS, the name of the command interpreter to use. This is used to
421make a default value for the @code{SHELL} environment variable.
422
423@item NAME
424On MS-DOS, this variable defaults to the value of the @code{USER}
425variable.
426
427@item TEMP
428@itemx TMP
429On MS-DOS, these specify the name of the directory for storing temporary
430files in.
431
432@item EMACSTEST
433On MS-DOS, this specifies a file to use to log the operation of the
434internal terminal emulator. This feature is useful for submitting bug
435reports.
436
437@item EMACSCOLORS
438Used on MS-DOS systems to set screen colors early, so that the screen
439won't momentarily flash the default colors when Emacs starts up. The
440value of this variable should be two-character encoding of the
441foreground (the first character) and the background (the second
442character) colors of the default face. Each character should be the
443hexadecimal code for the desired color on a standard PC text-mode
444display.
445
446The PC display usually supports only eight background colors. However,
447Emacs switches the DOS display to a mode where all 16 colors can be used
448for the background, so all four bits of the background color are
449actually used.
450
451@item WINDOW_GFX
452Used when initializing the Sun windows system.
453@end table
454
455@node Display X
456@appendixsec Specifying the Display Name
457@cindex display name (X Windows)
458@cindex @code{DISPLAY} environment variable
459
460 The environment variable @code{DISPLAY} tells all X clients, including
461Emacs, where to display their windows. Its value is set up by default
462in ordinary circumstances, when you start an X server and run jobs
463locally. Occasionally you may need to specify the display yourself; for
464example, if you do a remote login and want to run a client program
465remotely, displaying on your local screen.
466
467 With Emacs, the main reason people change the default display is to
468let them log into another system, run Emacs on that system, but have the
469window displayed at their local terminal. You might need to use login
470to another system because the files you want to edit are there, or
471because the Emacs executable file you want to run is there.
472
473 The syntax of the @code{DISPLAY} environment variable is
474@samp{@var{host}:@var{display}.@var{screen}}, where @var{host} is the
475host name of the X Window System server machine, @var{display} is an
476arbitrarily-assigned number that distinguishes your server (X terminal)
477from other servers on the same machine, and @var{screen} is a
478rarely-used field that allows an X server to control multiple terminal
479screens. The period and the @var{screen} field are optional. If
480included, @var{screen} is usually zero.
481
482 For example, if your host is named @samp{glasperle} and your server is
483the first (or perhaps the only) server listed in the configuration, your
484@code{DISPLAY} is @samp{glasperle:0.0}.
485
486 You can specify the display name explicitly when you run Emacs, either
487by changing the @code{DISPLAY} variable, or with the option @samp{-d
488@var{display}} or @samp{--display=@var{display}}. Here is an example:
489
490@smallexample
491emacs --display=glasperle:0 &
492@end smallexample
493
494 You can inhibit the direct use of X with the @samp{-nw} option. This
495is also an initial option. It tells Emacs to display using ordinary
496ASCII on its controlling terminal.
497
498 Sometimes, security arrangements prevent a program on a remote system
499from displaying on your local system. In this case, trying to run Emacs
500produces messages like this:
501
502@smallexample
503Xlib: connection to "glasperle:0.0" refused by server
504@end smallexample
505
506@noindent
507You might be able to overcome this problem by using the @code{xhost}
508command on the local system to give permission for access from your
509remote machine.
510
511@node Font X
512@appendixsec Font Specification Options
513@cindex font name (X Windows)
514
515 By default, Emacs displays text in the font named @samp{9x15}, which
516makes each character nine pixels wide and fifteen pixels high. You can
517specify a different font on your command line through the option
518@samp{-fn @var{name}}.
519
520@table @samp
521@item -fn @var{name}
522Use font @var{name} as the default font.
523
524@item --font=@var{name}
525@samp{--font} is an alias for @samp{-fn}.
526@end table
527
528 Under X, each font has a long name which consists of eleven words or
529numbers, separated by dashes. Some fonts also have shorter
530nicknames---@samp{9x15} is such a nickname. You can use either kind of
531name. You can use wildcard patterns for the font name; then Emacs lets
532X choose one of the fonts that match the pattern. Here is an example,
533which happens to specify the font whose nickname is @samp{6x13}:
534
535@smallexample
536emacs -fn "-misc-fixed-medium-r-semicondensed--13-*-*-*-c-60-iso8859-1" &
537@end smallexample
538
539@noindent
540You can also specify the font in your @file{.Xdefaults} file:
541
542@smallexample
543emacs.font: -misc-fixed-medium-r-semicondensed--13-*-*-*-c-60-iso8859-1
544@end smallexample
545
546 A long font name has the following form:
547
548@smallexample
549-@var{maker}-@var{family}-@var{weight}-@var{slant}-@var{widthtype}-@var{style}@dots{}
550@dots{}-@var{pixels}-@var{height}-@var{horiz}-@var{vert}-@var{spacing}-@var{width}-@var{charset}
551@end smallexample
552
553@table @var
554@item family
555This is the name of the font family---for example, @samp{courier}.
556@item weight
557This is normally @samp{bold}, @samp{medium} or @samp{light}. Other
558words may appear here in some font names.
559@item slant
560This is @samp{r} (roman), @samp{i} (italic), @samp{o} (oblique),
561@samp{ri} (reverse italic), or @samp{ot} (other).
562@item widthtype
563This is normally @samp{condensed}, @samp{extended}, @samp{semicondensed}
564or @samp{normal}. Other words may appear here in some font names.
565@item style
566This is an optional additional style name. Usually it is empty---most
567long font names have two hyphens in a row at this point.
568@item pixels
569This is the font height, in pixels.
570@item height
571This is the font height on the screen, measured in tenths of a printer's
572point---approximately 1/720 of an inch. In other words, it is the point
573size of the font, times ten. For a given vertical resolution,
574@var{height} and @var{pixels} are proportional; therefore, it is common
575to specify just one of them and use @samp{*} for the other.
576@item horiz
577This is the horizontal resolution, in pixels per inch, of the screen for
578which the font is intended.
579@item vert
580This is the vertical resolution, in dots per inch, of the screen for
581which the font is intended. Normally the resolution of the fonts on
582your system is the right value for your screen; therefore, you normally
583specify @samp{*} for this and @var{horiz}.
584@item spacing
585This is @samp{m} (monospace), @samp{p} (proportional) or @samp{c}
586(character cell). Emacs can use @samp{m} and @samp{c} fonts.
587@item width
588This is the average character width, in pixels, multiplied by ten.
589@item charset
590This is the character set that the font depicts.
591Normally you should use @samp{iso8859-1}.
592@end table
593
594 Use only fixed-width fonts---that is, fonts in which all characters
595have the same width; Emacs cannot yet handle display properly for
596variable-width fonts. Any font with @samp{m} or @samp{c} in the
597@var{spacing} field of the long name is a fixed-width font. Here's how
598to use the @code{xlsfonts} program to list all the fixed-width fonts
599available on your system:
600
601@example
602xlsfonts -fn '*x*' | egrep "^[0-9]+x[0-9]+"
603xlsfonts -fn '*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-m*'
604xlsfonts -fn '*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-c*'
605@end example
606
607@noindent
608To see what a particular font looks like, use the @code{xfd} command.
609For example:
610
611@example
612xfd -fn 6x13
613@end example
614
615@noindent
616displays the entire font @samp{6x13}.
617
618 While running Emacs, you can set the font of the current frame
619(@pxref{Frame Parameters}) or for a specific kind of text
620(@pxref{Faces}).
621
622@node Colors X
623@appendixsec Window Color Options
624@cindex color of window (X Windows)
625
626 On a color display, you can specify which color to use for various
627parts of the Emacs display. To find out what colors are available on
628your system, look at the @file{/usr/lib/X11/rgb.txt} file. If you do
629not specify colors, the default for the background is white and the
630default for all other colors is black. On a monochrome display, the
631foreground is black, the background is white, and the border is gray if
632the display supports that.
633
634 Here is a list of the options for specifying colors:
635
636@table @samp
637@item -fg @var{color}
638@itemx --foreground-color=@var{color}
639Specify the foreground color.
640@item -bg @var{color}
641@itemx --background-color=@var{color}
642Specify the background color.
643@item -bd @var{color}
644@itemx --border-color=@var{color}
645Specify the color of the border of the X window.
646@item -cr @var{color}
647@itemx --cursor-color=@var{color}
648Specify the color of the Emacs cursor which indicates where point is.
649@item -ms @var{color}
650@itemx --mouse-color=@var{color}
651Specify the color for the mouse cursor when the mouse is in the Emacs window.
652@item -r
653@itemx --reverse-video
654Reverse video---swap the foreground and background colors.
655@end table
656
657 For example, to use a coral mouse cursor and a slate blue text cursor,
658enter:
659
660@example
661emacs -ms coral -cr 'slate blue' &
662@end example
663
664 You can reverse the foreground and background colors through the
665@samp{-r} option or with the X resource @samp{reverseVideo}.
666
667@node Window Size X
668@appendixsec Options for Window Geometry
669@cindex geometry (X Windows)
670
671 The @samp{-geometry} option controls the size and position of the
672initial Emacs frame. Here is the format for specifying the window
673geometry:
674
675@table @samp
676@item -g @var{width}x@var{height}@r{@{}+-@r{@}}@var{xoffset}@r{@{}+-@r{@}}@var{yoffset}
677Specify window size @var{width} and @var{height} (measured in character
678columns and lines), and positions @var{xoffset} and @var{yoffset}
679(measured in pixels).
680
681@item --geometry=@var{width}x@var{height}@r{@{}+-@r{@}}@var{xoffset}@r{@{}+-@r{@}}@var{yoffset}
682This is another way of writing the same thing.
683@end table
684
685@noindent
686@code{@r{@{}+-@r{@}}} means either a plus sign or a minus sign. A plus
687sign before @var{xoffset} means it is the distance from the left side of
688the screen; a minus sign means it counts from the right side. A plus
689sign before @var{yoffset} means it is the distance from the top of the
690screen, and a minus sign there indicates the distance from the bottom.
691The values @var{xoffset} and @var{yoffset} may themselves be positive or
692negative, but that doesn't change their meaning, only their direction.
693
694 Emacs uses the same units as @code{xterm} does to interpret the geometry.
695The @var{width} and @var{height} are measured in characters, so a large font
696creates a larger frame than a small font. The @var{xoffset} and
697@var{yoffset} are measured in pixels.
698
699 Since the mode line and the echo area occupy the last 2 lines of the
700frame, the height of the initial text window is 2 less than the height
701specified in your geometry. In non-X-toolkit versions of Emacs,
702the menu bar also takes one line of the specified number.
703
704 You do not have to specify all of the fields in the geometry
705specification.
706
707 If you omit both @var{xoffset} and @var{yoffset}, the window manager
708decides where to put the Emacs frame, possibly by letting you place
709it with the mouse. For example, @samp{164x55} specifies a window 164
710columns wide, enough for two ordinary width windows side by side, and 55
711lines tall.
712
713 The default width for Emacs is 80 characters and the default height is
71440 lines. You can omit either the width or the height or both. If
715you start the geometry with an integer, Emacs interprets it as the
716width. If you start with an @samp{x} followed by an integer, Emacs
717interprets it as the height. Thus, @samp{81} specifies just the width;
718@samp{x45} specifies just the height.
719
720 If you start with @samp{+} or @samp{-}, that introduces an offset,
721which means both sizes are omitted. Thus, @samp{-3} specifies the
722@var{xoffset} only. (If you give just one offset, it is always
723@var{xoffset}.) @samp{+3-3} specifies both the @var{xoffset} and the
724@var{yoffset}, placing the frame near the bottom left of the screen.
725
726 You can specify a default for any or all of the fields in
727@file{.Xdefaults} file, and then override selected fields with a
728@samp{--geometry} option.
729
730@node Borders X
731@appendixsec Internal and External Borders
732@cindex borders (X Windows)
733
734 An Emacs frame has an internal border and an external border. The
735internal border is an extra strip of the background color around all
736four edges of the frame. Emacs itself adds the internal border. The
737external border is added by the window manager outside the internal
738border; it may contain various boxes you can click on to move or iconify
739the window.
740
741@table @samp
742@item -ib @var{width}
743@itemx --internal-border=@var{width}
744Specify @var{width} as the width of the internal border.
745
746@item -bw @var{width}
747@itemx --border-width=@var{width}
748Specify @var{width} as the width of the main border.
749@end table
750
751 When you specify the size of the frame, that does not count the
752borders. The frame's position is measured from the outside edge of the
753external border.
754
755 Use the @samp{-ib @var{n}} option to specify an internal border
756@var{n} pixels wide. The default is 1. Use @samp{-bw @var{n}} to
757specify the width of the external border (though the window manager may
758not pay attention to what you specify). The default width of the
759external border is 2.
760
761@node Title X
762@appendixsec Frame Titles
763
764 An Emacs frame may or may not have a specified title. The frame
765title, if specified, appears in window decorations and icons as the name
766of the frame. If an Emacs frame has no specified title, the default
767title is the name of the executable program (if there is only one frame)
768or the selected window's buffer name (if there is more than one frame).
769
770 You can specify a title for the initial Emacs frame with a command
771line option:
772
773@table @samp
774@item -title @var{title}
775@itemx --title=@var{title}
776@itemx -T @var{title}
777Specify @var{title} as the title for the initial Emacs frame.
778@end table
779
780 The @samp{--name} option (@pxref{Resources X}) also specifies the title
781for the initial Emacs frame.
782
783@node Icons X
784@appendixsec Icons
785@cindex icons (X Windows)
786
787 Most window managers allow the user to ``iconify'' a frame, removing
788it from sight, and leaving a small, distinctive ``icon'' window in its
789place. Clicking on the icon window makes the frame itself appear again.
790If you have many clients running at once, you can avoid cluttering up
791the screen by iconifying most of the clients.
792
793@table @samp
794@item -i
795@itemx --icon-type
796Use a picture of a gnu as the Emacs icon.
797
798@item -iconic
799@itemx --iconic
800Start Emacs in iconified state.
801@end table
802
803 The @samp{-i} or @samp{--icon-type} option tells Emacs to use an icon
804window containing a picture of the GNU gnu. If omitted, Emacs lets the
805window manager choose what sort of icon to use---usually just a small
806rectangle containing the frame's title.
807
808 The @samp{-iconic} option tells Emacs to begin running as an icon,
809rather than opening a frame right away. In this situation, the icon
810window provides only indication that Emacs has started; the usual text
811frame doesn't appear until you deiconify it.
812
813@node Resources X
814@appendixsec X Resources
815@cindex resources
816
817 Programs running under the X Window System organize their user options
818under a hierarchy of classes and resources. You can specify default
819values for these options in your X resources file, usually named
820@file{~/.Xdefaults}.
821
822 Each line in the file specifies a value for one option or for a
823collection of related options, for one program or for several programs
824(optionally even for all programs).
825
826 Programs define named resources with particular meanings. They also
827define how to group resources into named classes. For instance, in
828Emacs, the @samp{internalBorder} resource controls the width of the
829internal border, and the @samp{borderWidth} resource controls the width
830of the external border. Both of these resources are part of the
831@samp{BorderWidth} class. Case distinctions are significant in these
832names.
833
834 In @file{~/.Xdefaults}, you can specify a value for a single resource
835on one line, like this:
836
837@example
838emacs.borderWidth: 2
839@end example
840
841@noindent
842Or you can use a class name to specify the same value for all resources
843in that class. Here's an example:
844
845@example
846emacs.BorderWidth: 2
847@end example
848
849 If you specify a value for a class, it becomes the default for all
850resources in that class. You can specify values for individual
851resources as well; these override the class value, for those particular
852resources. Thus, this example specifies 2 as the default width for all
853borders, but overrides this value with 4 for the external border:
854
855@example
856emacs.Borderwidth: 2
857emacs.borderwidth: 4
858@end example
859
860 The order in which the lines appear in the file does not matter.
861Also, command-line options always override the X resources file.
862
863 The string @samp{emacs} in the examples above is also a resource
864name. It actually represents the name of the executable file that you
865invoke to run Emacs. If Emacs is installed under a different name, it
866looks for resources under that name instead of @samp{emacs}.
867
868@table @samp
869@item -name @var{name}
870@itemx --name=@var{name}
871Use @var{name} as the resource name (and the title) for the initial
872Emacs frame. This option does not affect subsequent frames, but Lisp
873programs can specify frame names when they create frames.
874
875If you don't specify this option, the default is to use the Emacs
876executable's name as the resource name.
877
878@item -xrm @var{resource-values}
879@itemx --xrm=@var{resource-values}
880Specify X resource values for this Emacs job (see below).
881@end table
882
883 For consistency, @samp{-name} also specifies the name to use for
884other resource values that do not belong to any particular frame.
885
886 The resources that name Emacs invocations also belong to a class; its
887name is @samp{Emacs}. If you write @samp{Emacs} instead of
888@samp{emacs}, the resource applies to all frames in all Emacs jobs,
889regardless of frame titles and regardless of the name of the executable
890file. Here is an example:
891
892@example
893Emacs.BorderWidth: 2
894Emacs.borderWidth: 4
895@end example
896
897 You can specify a string of additional resource values for Emacs to
898use with the command line option @samp{-xrm @var{resources}}. The text
899@var{resources} should have the same format that you would use inside a file
900of X resources. To include multiple resource specifications in
901@var{data}, put a newline between them, just as you would in a file.
902You can also use @samp{#include "@var{filename}"} to include a file full
903of resource specifications. Resource values specified with @samp{-xrm}
904take precedence over all other resource specifications.
905
906 The following table lists the resource names that designate options
907for Emacs, each with the class that it belongs to:
908
909@table @asis
910@item @code{background} (class @code{Background})
911Background color name.
912
913@item @code{bitmapIcon} (class @code{BitmapIcon})
914Use a bitmap icon (a picture of a gnu) if @samp{on}, let the window
915manager choose an icon if @samp{off}.
916
917@item @code{borderColor} (class @code{BorderColor})
918Color name for the external border.
919
920@item @code{borderWidth} (class @code{BorderWidth})
921Width in pixels of the external border.
922
923@item @code{cursorColor} (class @code{Foreground})
924Color name for text cursor (point).
925
926@item @code{font} (class @code{Font})
927Font name for text (or fontset name, @pxref{Fontsets}).
928
929@item @code{foreground} (class @code{Foreground})
930Color name for text.
931
932@item @code{geometry} (class @code{Geometry})
933Window size and position. Be careful not to specify this resource as
934@samp{emacs*geometry}, because that may affect individual menus as well
935as the Emacs frame itself.
936
937If this resource specifies a position, that position applies only to the
938initial Emacs frame (or, in the case of a resource for a specific frame
939name, only that frame). However, the size if specified here applies to
940all frames.
941
942@item @code{iconName} (class @code{Title})
943Name to display in the icon.
944
945@item @code{internalBorder} (class @code{BorderWidth})
946Width in pixels of the internal border.
947
948@item @code{menuBar} (class @code{MenuBar})
949Give frames menu bars if @samp{on}; don't have menu bars if @samp{off}.
950
951@item @code{minibuffer} (class @code{Minibuffer})
952If @samp{none}, don't make a minibuffer in this frame.
953It will use a separate minibuffer frame instead.
954
955@item @code{paneFont} (class @code{Font})
956Font name for menu pane titles, in non-toolkit versions of Emacs.
957
958@item @code{pointerColor} (class @code{Foreground})
959Color of the mouse cursor.
960
961@item @code{reverseVideo} (class @code{ReverseVideo})
962Switch foreground and background default colors if @samp{on}, use colors as
963specified if @samp{off}.
964
965@item @code{verticalScrollBars} (class @code{ScrollBars})
966Give frames scroll bars if @samp{on}; don't have scroll bars if
967@samp{off}.
968
969@item @code{selectionFont} (class @code{Font})
970Font name for pop-up menu items, in non-toolkit versions of Emacs. (For
971toolkit versions, see @ref{Lucid Resources}, also see @ref{Motif
972Resources}.)
973
974@item @code{title} (class @code{Title})
975Name to display in the title bar of the initial Emacs frame.
976@end table
977
978 Here are resources for controlling the appearance of particular faces
979(@pxref{Faces}):
980
981@table @code
982@item @var{face}.attributeFont
983Font for face @var{face}.
984@item @var{face}.attributeForeground
985Foreground color for face @var{face}.
986@item @var{face}.attributeBackground
987Background color for face @var{face}.
988@item @var{face}.attributeUnderline
989Underline flag for face @var{face}. Use @samp{on} or @samp{true} for
990yes.
991@end table
992
993@node Lucid Resources
994@section Lucid Menu X Resources
995@cindex Menu X Resources (Lucid widgets)
996@cindex Lucid Widget X Resources
997
998 If the Emacs installed at your site was built to use the X toolkit
999with the Lucid menu widgets, then the menu bar is a separate widget and
1000has its own resources. The resource names contain @samp{pane.menubar}
1001(following, as always, the name of the Emacs invocation or @samp{Emacs}
1002which stands for all Emacs invocations). Specify them like this:
1003
1004@example
1005Emacs.pane.menubar.@var{resource}: @var{value}
1006@end example
1007
1008@noindent
1009For example, to specify the font @samp{8x16} for the menu-bar items,
1010write this:
1011
1012@example
1013Emacs.pane.menubar.font: 8x16
1014@end example
1015
1016@noindent
1017Resources for @emph{non-menubar} toolkit pop-up menus have
1018@samp{menu*}, in like fashion. For example, to specify the font
1019@samp{8x16} for the pop-up menu items, write this:
1020
1021@example
1022Emacs.menu*.font: 8x16
1023@end example
1024
1025@noindent
1026For dialog boxes, use @samp{dialog} instead of @samp{menu}:
1027
1028@example
1029Emacs.dialog*.font: 8x16
1030@end example
1031
1032@noindent
1033Experience shows that on some systems you may need to add
1034@samp{shell.}@: before the @samp{pane.menubar} or @samp{menu*}. On
1035some other systems, you must not add @samp{shell.}.
1036
1037 Here is a list of the specific resources for menu bars and pop-up menus:
1038
1039@table @code
1040@item font
1041Font for menu item text.
1042@item foreground
1043Color of the foreground.
1044@item background
1045Color of the background.
1046@item buttonForeground
1047In the menu bar, the color of the foreground for a selected item.
1048@item horizontalSpacing
1049Horizontal spacing in pixels between items. Default is 3.
1050@item verticalSpacing
1051Vertical spacing in pixels between items. Default is 1.
1052@item arrowSpacing
1053Horizontal spacing between the arrow (which indicates a submenu) and
1054the associated text. Default is 10.
1055@item shadowThickness
1056Thickness of shadow line around the widget.
1057@end table
1058
1059@node Motif Resources
1060@section Motif Menu X Resources
1061@cindex Menu X Resources (Motif widgets)
1062@cindex Motif Widget X Resources
1063
1064 If the Emacs installed at your site was built to use the X toolkit
1065with the Motif widgets, then the menu bar is a separate widget and has
1066its own resources. The resource names contain @samp{pane.menubar}
1067(following, as always, the name of the Emacs invocation or @samp{Emacs}
1068which stands for all Emacs invocations). Specify them like this:
1069
1070@smallexample
1071Emacs.pane.menubar.@var{subwidget}.@var{resource}: @var{value}
1072@end smallexample
1073
1074 Each individual string in the menu bar is a subwidget; the subwidget's
1075name is the same as the menu item string. For example, the word
1076@samp{Files} in the menu bar is part of a subwidget named
1077@samp{emacs.pane.menubar.Files}. Most likely, you want to specify the
1078same resources for the whole menu bar. To do this, use @samp{*} instead
1079of a specific subwidget name. For example, to specify the font
1080@samp{8x16} for the menu-bar items, write this:
1081
1082@smallexample
1083Emacs.pane.menubar.*.fontList: 8x16
1084@end smallexample
1085
1086@noindent
1087This also specifies the resource value for submenus.
1088
1089 Each item in a submenu in the menu bar also has its own name for X
1090resources; for example, the @samp{Files} submenu has an item named
1091@samp{Save Buffer}. A resource specification for a submenu item looks
1092like this:
1093
1094@smallexample
1095Emacs.pane.menubar.popup_*.@var{menu}.@var{item}.@var{resource}: @var{value}
1096@end smallexample
1097
1098@noindent
1099For example, here's how to specify the font for the @samp{Save Buffer}
1100item:
1101
1102@smallexample
1103Emacs.pane.menubar.popup_*.Files.Save Buffer.fontList: 8x16
1104@end smallexample
1105
1106@noindent
1107For an item in a second-level submenu, such as @samp{Check Message}
1108under @samp{Spell} under @samp{Edit}, the resource fits this template:
1109
1110@smallexample
1111Emacs.pane.menubar.popup_*.popup_*.@var{menu}.@var{resource}: @var{value}
1112@end smallexample
1113
1114@noindent
1115For example,
1116
1117@smallexample
1118Emacs.pane.menubar.popup_*.popup_*.Spell.Check Message: @var{value}
1119@end smallexample
1120
1121 It's impossible to specify a resource for all the menu-bar items
1122without also specifying it for the submenus as well. So if you want the
1123submenu items to look different from the menu bar itself, you must ask
1124for that in two steps. First, specify the resource for all of them;
1125then, override the value for submenus alone. Here is an example:
1126
1127@smallexample
1128Emacs.pane.menubar.*.fontList: 8x16
1129Emacs.pane.menubar.popup_*.fontList: 8x16
1130@end smallexample
1131
1132@noindent
1133For toolkit pop-up menus, use @samp{menu*} instead of
1134@samp{pane.menubar}. For example, to specify the font @samp{8x16} for
1135the pop-up menu items, write this:
1136
1137@smallexample
1138Emacs.menu*.fontList: 8x16
1139@end smallexample
1140
1141@iftex
1142@medbreak
1143@end iftex
1144 Here is a list of the specific resources for menu bars and pop-up menus:
1145
1146@table @code
1147@item armColor
1148The color to show in an armed button.
1149@item fontList
1150The font to use.
1151@item marginBottom
1152@itemx marginHeight
1153@itemx marginLeft
1154@itemx marginRight
1155@itemx marginTop
1156@itemx marginWidth
1157Amount of space to leave around the item, within the border.
1158@item borderWidth
1159The width of border around the menu item, on all sides.
1160@item shadowThickness
1161The width of the border shadow.
1162@item bottomShadowColor
1163The color for the border shadow, on the bottom and the right.
1164@item topShadowColor
1165The color for the border shadow, on the top and the left.
1166@end table