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1 @c This is part of the Emacs manual.
2 @c Copyright (C) 1985,86,87,93,94,95,1997,2000,2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
3 @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
4 @node Calendar/Diary, Gnus, Dired, Top
5 @chapter The Calendar and the Diary
6 @cindex calendar
7 @findex calendar
8
9 Emacs provides the functions of a desk calendar, with a diary of
10 planned or past events. It also has facilities for managing your
11 appointments, and keeping track of how much time you spend working on
12 certain projects.
13
14 To enter the calendar, type @kbd{M-x calendar}; this displays a
15 three-month calendar centered on the current month, with point on the
16 current date. With a numeric argument, as in @kbd{C-u M-x calendar}, it
17 prompts you for the month and year to be the center of the three-month
18 calendar. The calendar uses its own buffer, whose major mode is
19 Calendar mode.
20
21 @kbd{Mouse-2} in the calendar brings up a menu of operations on a
22 particular date; @kbd{C-Mouse-3} brings up a menu of commonly used
23 calendar features that are independent of any particular date. To exit
24 the calendar, type @kbd{q}. @xref{Calendar, Customizing the Calendar
25 and Diary,, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}, for customization
26 information about the calendar and diary.
27
28 @menu
29 * Calendar Motion:: Moving through the calendar; selecting a date.
30 * Scroll Calendar:: Bringing earlier or later months onto the screen.
31 * Counting Days:: How many days are there between two dates?
32 * General Calendar:: Exiting or recomputing the calendar.
33 * LaTeX Calendar:: Print a calendar using LaTeX.
34 * Holidays:: Displaying dates of holidays.
35 * Sunrise/Sunset:: Displaying local times of sunrise and sunset.
36 * Lunar Phases:: Displaying phases of the moon.
37 * Other Calendars:: Converting dates to other calendar systems.
38 * Diary:: Displaying events from your diary.
39 * Appointments:: Reminders when it's time to do something.
40 * Daylight Savings:: How to specify when daylight savings time is active.
41 * Time Intervals:: Keeping track of time intervals.
42 @end menu
43
44 @node Calendar Motion
45 @section Movement in the Calendar
46
47 @cindex moving inside the calendar
48 Calendar mode lets you move through the calendar in logical units of
49 time such as days, weeks, months, and years. If you move outside the
50 three months originally displayed, the calendar display ``scrolls''
51 automatically through time to make the selected date visible. Moving to
52 a date lets you view its holidays or diary entries, or convert it to other
53 calendars; moving longer time periods is also useful simply to scroll the
54 calendar.
55
56 @menu
57 * Calendar Unit Motion:: Moving by days, weeks, months, and years.
58 * Move to Beginning or End:: Moving to start/end of weeks, months, and years.
59 * Specified Dates:: Moving to the current date or another
60 specific date.
61 @end menu
62
63 @node Calendar Unit Motion
64 @subsection Motion by Standard Lengths of Time
65
66 The commands for movement in the calendar buffer parallel the
67 commands for movement in text. You can move forward and backward by
68 days, weeks, months, and years.
69
70 @table @kbd
71 @item C-f
72 Move point one day forward (@code{calendar-forward-day}).
73 @item C-b
74 Move point one day backward (@code{calendar-backward-day}).
75 @item C-n
76 Move point one week forward (@code{calendar-forward-week}).
77 @item C-p
78 Move point one week backward (@code{calendar-backward-week}).
79 @item M-@}
80 Move point one month forward (@code{calendar-forward-month}).
81 @item M-@{
82 Move point one month backward (@code{calendar-backward-month}).
83 @item C-x ]
84 Move point one year forward (@code{calendar-forward-year}).
85 @item C-x [
86 Move point one year backward (@code{calendar-backward-year}).
87 @end table
88
89 @kindex C-f @r{(Calendar mode)}
90 @findex calendar-forward-day
91 @kindex C-b @r{(Calendar mode)}
92 @findex calendar-backward-day
93 @kindex C-n @r{(Calendar mode)}
94 @findex calendar-forward-week
95 @kindex C-p @r{(Calendar mode)}
96 @findex calendar-backward-week
97 The day and week commands are natural analogues of the usual Emacs
98 commands for moving by characters and by lines. Just as @kbd{C-n}
99 usually moves to the same column in the following line, in Calendar
100 mode it moves to the same day in the following week. And @kbd{C-p}
101 moves to the same day in the previous week.
102
103 The arrow keys are equivalent to @kbd{C-f}, @kbd{C-b}, @kbd{C-n} and
104 @kbd{C-p}, just as they normally are in other modes.
105
106 @kindex M-@} @r{(Calendar mode)}
107 @findex calendar-forward-month
108 @kindex M-@{ @r{(Calendar mode)}
109 @findex calendar-backward-month
110 @kindex C-x ] @r{(Calendar mode)}
111 @findex calendar-forward-year
112 @kindex C-x [ @r{(Calendar mode)}
113 @findex calendar-forward-year
114 The commands for motion by months and years work like those for
115 weeks, but move a larger distance. The month commands @kbd{M-@}} and
116 @kbd{M-@{} move forward or backward by an entire month's time. The
117 year commands @kbd{C-x ]} and @w{@kbd{C-x [}} move forward or backward a
118 whole year.
119
120 The easiest way to remember these commands is to consider months and
121 years analogous to paragraphs and pages of text, respectively. But the
122 commands themselves are not quite analogous. The ordinary Emacs paragraph
123 commands move to the beginning or end of a paragraph, whereas these month
124 and year commands move by an entire month or an entire year, which usually
125 involves skipping across the end of a month or year.
126
127 All these commands accept a numeric argument as a repeat count.
128 For convenience, the digit keys and the minus sign specify numeric
129 arguments in Calendar mode even without the Meta modifier. For example,
130 @kbd{100 C-f} moves point 100 days forward from its present location.
131
132 @node Move to Beginning or End
133 @subsection Beginning or End of Week, Month or Year
134
135 A week (or month, or year) is not just a quantity of days; we think of
136 weeks (months, years) as starting on particular dates. So Calendar mode
137 provides commands to move to the beginning or end of a week, month or
138 year:
139
140 @table @kbd
141 @kindex C-a @r{(Calendar mode)}
142 @findex calendar-beginning-of-week
143 @item C-a
144 Move point to start of week (@code{calendar-beginning-of-week}).
145 @kindex C-e @r{(Calendar mode)}
146 @findex calendar-end-of-week
147 @item C-e
148 Move point to end of week (@code{calendar-end-of-week}).
149 @kindex M-a @r{(Calendar mode)}
150 @findex calendar-beginning-of-month
151 @item M-a
152 Move point to start of month (@code{calendar-beginning-of-month}).
153 @kindex M-e @r{(Calendar mode)}
154 @findex calendar-end-of-month
155 @item M-e
156 Move point to end of month (@code{calendar-end-of-month}).
157 @kindex M-< @r{(Calendar mode)}
158 @findex calendar-beginning-of-year
159 @item M-<
160 Move point to start of year (@code{calendar-beginning-of-year}).
161 @kindex M-> @r{(Calendar mode)}
162 @findex calendar-end-of-year
163 @item M->
164 Move point to end of year (@code{calendar-end-of-year}).
165 @end table
166
167 These commands also take numeric arguments as repeat counts, with the
168 repeat count indicating how many weeks, months, or years to move
169 backward or forward.
170
171 @vindex calendar-week-start-day
172 @cindex weeks, which day they start on
173 @cindex calendar, first day of week
174 By default, weeks begin on Sunday. To make them begin on Monday
175 instead, set the variable @code{calendar-week-start-day} to 1.
176
177 @node Specified Dates
178 @subsection Specified Dates
179
180 Calendar mode provides commands for moving to a particular date
181 specified in various ways.
182
183 @table @kbd
184 @item g d
185 Move point to specified date (@code{calendar-goto-date}).
186 @item o
187 Center calendar around specified month (@code{calendar-other-month}).
188 @item .
189 Move point to today's date (@code{calendar-goto-today}).
190 @end table
191
192 @kindex g d @r{(Calendar mode)}
193 @findex calendar-goto-date
194 @kbd{g d} (@code{calendar-goto-date}) prompts for a year, a month, and a day
195 of the month, and then moves to that date. Because the calendar includes all
196 dates from the beginning of the current era, you must type the year in its
197 entirety; that is, type @samp{1990}, not @samp{90}.
198
199 @kindex o @r{(Calendar mode)}
200 @findex calendar-other-month
201 @kbd{o} (@code{calendar-other-month}) prompts for a month and year,
202 then centers the three-month calendar around that month.
203
204 @kindex . @r{(Calendar mode)}
205 @findex calendar-goto-today
206 You can return to today's date with @kbd{.}@:
207 (@code{calendar-goto-today}).
208
209 @node Scroll Calendar
210 @section Scrolling in the Calendar
211
212 @cindex scrolling in the calendar
213 The calendar display scrolls automatically through time when you
214 move out of the visible portion. You can also scroll it manually.
215 Imagine that the calendar window contains a long strip of paper with
216 the months on it. Scrolling the calendar means moving the strip
217 horizontally, so that new months become visible in the window.
218
219 @table @kbd
220 @item C-x <
221 Scroll calendar one month forward (@code{scroll-calendar-left}).
222 @item C-x >
223 Scroll calendar one month backward (@code{scroll-calendar-right}).
224 @item C-v
225 @itemx @key{NEXT}
226 Scroll calendar three months forward
227 (@code{scroll-calendar-left-three-months}).
228 @item M-v
229 @itemx @key{PRIOR}
230 Scroll calendar three months backward
231 (@code{scroll-calendar-right-three-months}).
232 @end table
233
234 @kindex C-x < @r{(Calendar mode)}
235 @findex scroll-calendar-left
236 @kindex C-x > @r{(Calendar mode)}
237 @findex scroll-calendar-right
238 The most basic calendar scroll commands scroll by one month at a
239 time. This means that there are two months of overlap between the
240 display before the command and the display after. @kbd{C-x <} scrolls
241 the calendar contents one month to the left; that is, it moves the
242 display forward in time. @kbd{C-x >} scrolls the contents to the
243 right, which moves backwards in time.
244
245 @kindex C-v @r{(Calendar mode)}
246 @findex scroll-calendar-left-three-months
247 @kindex M-v @r{(Calendar mode)}
248 @findex scroll-calendar-right-three-months
249 The commands @kbd{C-v} and @kbd{M-v} scroll the calendar by an entire
250 ``screenful''---three months---in analogy with the usual meaning of
251 these commands. @kbd{C-v} makes later dates visible and @kbd{M-v} makes
252 earlier dates visible. These commands take a numeric argument as a
253 repeat count; in particular, since @kbd{C-u} multiplies the next command
254 by four, typing @kbd{C-u C-v} scrolls the calendar forward by a year and
255 typing @kbd{C-u M-v} scrolls the calendar backward by a year.
256
257 The function keys @key{NEXT} and @key{PRIOR} are equivalent to
258 @kbd{C-v} and @kbd{M-v}, just as they are in other modes.
259
260 @node Counting Days
261 @section Counting Days
262
263 @table @kbd
264 @item M-=
265 Display the number of days in the current region
266 (@code{calendar-count-days-region}).
267 @end table
268
269 @kindex M-= @r{(Calendar mode)}
270 @findex calendar-count-days-region
271 To determine the number of days in the region, type @kbd{M-=}
272 (@code{calendar-count-days-region}). The numbers of days shown is
273 @emph{inclusive}; that is, it includes the days specified by mark and
274 point.
275
276 @node General Calendar
277 @section Miscellaneous Calendar Commands
278
279 @table @kbd
280 @item p d
281 Display day-in-year (@code{calendar-print-day-of-year}).
282 @item C-c C-l
283 Regenerate the calendar window (@code{redraw-calendar}).
284 @item SPC
285 Scroll the next window (@code{scroll-other-window}).
286 @item q
287 Exit from calendar (@code{exit-calendar}).
288 @end table
289
290 @kindex p d @r{(Calendar mode)}
291 @cindex day of year
292 @findex calendar-print-day-of-year
293 To display the number of days elapsed since the start of the year, or
294 the number of days remaining in the year, type the @kbd{p d} command
295 (@code{calendar-print-day-of-year}). This displays both of those
296 numbers in the echo area. The number of days elapsed includes the
297 selected date. The number of days remaining does not include that
298 date.
299
300 @kindex C-c C-l @r{(Calendar mode)}
301 @findex redraw-calendar
302 If the calendar window text gets corrupted, type @kbd{C-c C-l}
303 (@code{redraw-calendar}) to redraw it. (This can only happen if you use
304 non-Calendar-mode editing commands.)
305
306 @kindex SPC @r{(Calendar mode)}
307 In Calendar mode, you can use @kbd{SPC} (@code{scroll-other-window})
308 to scroll the other window. This is handy when you display a list of
309 holidays or diary entries in another window.
310
311 @kindex q @r{(Calendar mode)}
312 @findex exit-calendar
313 To exit from the calendar, type @kbd{q} (@code{exit-calendar}). This
314 buries all buffers related to the calendar, selecting other buffers.
315 (If a frame contains a dedicated calendar window, exiting from the
316 calendar iconifies that frame.)
317
318 @node LaTeX Calendar
319 @section LaTeX Calendar
320 @cindex calendar and La@TeX{}
321
322 The Calendar La@TeX{} commands produce a buffer of La@TeX{} code that
323 prints as a calendar. Depending on the command you use, the printed
324 calendar covers the day, week, month or year that point is in.
325
326 @kindex t @r{(Calendar mode)}
327 @table @kbd
328 @item t m
329 Generate a one-month calendar (@code{cal-tex-cursor-month}).
330 @item t M
331 Generate a sideways-printing one-month calendar
332 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-month-landscape}).
333 @item t d
334 Generate a one-day calendar
335 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-day}).
336 @item t w 1
337 Generate a one-page calendar for one week
338 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-week}).
339 @item t w 2
340 Generate a two-page calendar for one week
341 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-week2}).
342 @item t w 3
343 Generate an ISO-style calendar for one week
344 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-week-iso}).
345 @item t w 4
346 Generate a calendar for one Monday-starting week
347 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-week-monday}).
348 @item t f w
349 Generate a Filofax-style two-weeks-at-a-glance calendar
350 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-filofax-2week}).
351 @item t f W
352 Generate a Filofax-style one-week-at-a-glance calendar
353 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-filofax-week}).
354 @item t y
355 Generate a calendar for one year
356 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-year}).
357 @item t Y
358 Generate a sideways-printing calendar for one year
359 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-year-landscape}).
360 @item t f y
361 Generate a Filofax-style calendar for one year
362 (@code{cal-tex-cursor-filofax-year}).
363 @end table
364
365 Some of these commands print the calendar sideways (in ``landscape
366 mode''), so it can be wider than it is long. Some of them use Filofax
367 paper size (3.75in x 6.75in). All of these commands accept a prefix
368 argument which specifies how many days, weeks, months or years to print
369 (starting always with the selected one).
370
371 If the variable @code{cal-tex-holidays} is non-@code{nil} (the default),
372 then the printed calendars show the holidays in @code{calendar-holidays}.
373 If the variable @code{cal-tex-diary} is non-@code{nil} (the default is
374 @code{nil}), diary entries are included also (in weekly and monthly
375 calendars only). If the variable @code{cal-tex-rules} is non-@code{nil}
376 (the default is @code{nil}), the calendar displays ruled pages
377 in styles that have sufficient room.
378
379 @node Holidays
380 @section Holidays
381 @cindex holidays
382
383 The Emacs calendar knows about all major and many minor holidays,
384 and can display them.
385
386 @table @kbd
387 @item h
388 Display holidays for the selected date
389 (@code{calendar-cursor-holidays}).
390 @item Mouse-2 Holidays
391 Display any holidays for the date you click on.
392 @item x
393 Mark holidays in the calendar window (@code{mark-calendar-holidays}).
394 @item u
395 Unmark calendar window (@code{calendar-unmark}).
396 @item a
397 List all holidays for the displayed three months in another window
398 (@code{list-calendar-holidays}).
399 @item M-x holidays
400 List all holidays for three months around today's date in another
401 window.
402 @item M-x list-holidays
403 List holidays in another window for a specified range of years.
404 @end table
405
406 @kindex h @r{(Calendar mode)}
407 @findex calendar-cursor-holidays
408 To see if any holidays fall on a given date, position point on that
409 date in the calendar window and use the @kbd{h} command. Alternatively,
410 click on that date with @kbd{Mouse-2} and then choose @kbd{Holidays}
411 from the menu that appears. Either way, this displays the holidays for
412 that date, in the echo area if they fit there, otherwise in a separate
413 window.
414
415 @kindex x @r{(Calendar mode)}
416 @findex mark-calendar-holidays
417 @kindex u @r{(Calendar mode)}
418 @findex calendar-unmark
419 To view the distribution of holidays for all the dates shown in the
420 calendar, use the @kbd{x} command. This displays the dates that are
421 holidays in a different face (or places a @samp{*} after these dates, if
422 display with multiple faces is not available). The command applies both
423 to the currently visible months and to other months that subsequently
424 become visible by scrolling. To turn marking off and erase the current
425 marks, type @kbd{u}, which also erases any diary marks (@pxref{Diary}).
426
427 @kindex a @r{(Calendar mode)}
428 @findex list-calendar-holidays
429 To get even more detailed information, use the @kbd{a} command, which
430 displays a separate buffer containing a list of all holidays in the
431 current three-month range. You can use @key{SPC} in the calendar window
432 to scroll that list.
433
434 @findex holidays
435 The command @kbd{M-x holidays} displays the list of holidays for the
436 current month and the preceding and succeeding months; this works even
437 if you don't have a calendar window. If you want the list of holidays
438 centered around a different month, use @kbd{C-u M-x holidays}, which
439 prompts for the month and year.
440
441 The holidays known to Emacs include United States holidays and the
442 major Christian, Jewish, and Islamic holidays; also the solstices and
443 equinoxes.
444
445 @findex list-holidays
446 The command @kbd{M-x list-holidays} displays the list of holidays for
447 a range of years. This function asks you for the starting and stopping
448 years, and allows you to choose all the holidays or one of several
449 categories of holidays. You can use this command even if you don't have
450 a calendar window.
451
452 The dates used by Emacs for holidays are based on @emph{current
453 practice}, not historical fact. Historically, for instance, the start
454 of daylight savings time and even its existence have varied from year to
455 year, but present United States law mandates that daylight savings time
456 begins on the first Sunday in April. When the daylight savings rules
457 are set up for the United States, Emacs always uses the present
458 definition, even though it is wrong for some prior years.
459
460 @node Sunrise/Sunset
461 @section Times of Sunrise and Sunset
462 @cindex sunrise and sunset
463
464 Special calendar commands can tell you, to within a minute or two, the
465 times of sunrise and sunset for any date.
466
467 @table @kbd
468 @item S
469 Display times of sunrise and sunset for the selected date
470 (@code{calendar-sunrise-sunset}).
471 @item Mouse-2 Sunrise/sunset
472 Display times of sunrise and sunset for the date you click on.
473 @item M-x sunrise-sunset
474 Display times of sunrise and sunset for today's date.
475 @item C-u M-x sunrise-sunset
476 Display times of sunrise and sunset for a specified date.
477 @end table
478
479 @kindex S @r{(Calendar mode)}
480 @findex calendar-sunrise-sunset
481 @findex sunrise-sunset
482 Within the calendar, to display the @emph{local times} of sunrise and
483 sunset in the echo area, move point to the date you want, and type
484 @kbd{S}. Alternatively, click @kbd{Mouse-2} on the date, then choose
485 @samp{Sunrise/sunset} from the menu that appears. The command @kbd{M-x
486 sunrise-sunset} is available outside the calendar to display this
487 information for today's date or a specified date. To specify a date
488 other than today, use @kbd{C-u M-x sunrise-sunset}, which prompts for
489 the year, month, and day.
490
491 You can display the times of sunrise and sunset for any location and
492 any date with @kbd{C-u C-u M-x sunrise-sunset}. This asks you for a
493 longitude, latitude, number of minutes difference from Coordinated
494 Universal Time, and date, and then tells you the times of sunrise and
495 sunset for that location on that date.
496
497 Because the times of sunrise and sunset depend on the location on
498 earth, you need to tell Emacs your latitude, longitude, and location
499 name before using these commands. Here is an example of what to set:
500
501 @vindex calendar-location-name
502 @vindex calendar-longitude
503 @vindex calendar-latitude
504 @example
505 (setq calendar-latitude 40.1)
506 (setq calendar-longitude -88.2)
507 (setq calendar-location-name "Urbana, IL")
508 @end example
509
510 @noindent
511 Use one decimal place in the values of @code{calendar-latitude} and
512 @code{calendar-longitude}.
513
514 Your time zone also affects the local time of sunrise and sunset.
515 Emacs usually gets time zone information from the operating system, but
516 if these values are not what you want (or if the operating system does
517 not supply them), you must set them yourself. Here is an example:
518
519 @vindex calendar-time-zone
520 @vindex calendar-standard-time-zone-name
521 @vindex calendar-daylight-time-zone-name
522 @example
523 (setq calendar-time-zone -360)
524 (setq calendar-standard-time-zone-name "CST")
525 (setq calendar-daylight-time-zone-name "CDT")
526 @end example
527
528 @noindent
529 The value of @code{calendar-time-zone} is the number of minutes
530 difference between your local standard time and Coordinated Universal
531 Time (Greenwich time). The values of
532 @code{calendar-standard-time-zone-name} and
533 @code{calendar-daylight-time-zone-name} are the abbreviations used in
534 your time zone. Emacs displays the times of sunrise and sunset
535 @emph{corrected for daylight savings time}. @xref{Daylight Savings},
536 for how daylight savings time is determined.
537
538 As a user, you might find it convenient to set the calendar location
539 variables for your usual physical location in your @file{.emacs} file.
540 And when you install Emacs on a machine, you can create a
541 @file{default.el} file which sets them properly for the typical location
542 of most users of that machine. @xref{Init File}.
543
544 @node Lunar Phases
545 @section Phases of the Moon
546 @cindex phases of the moon
547 @cindex moon, phases of
548
549 These calendar commands display the dates and times of the phases of
550 the moon (new moon, first quarter, full moon, last quarter). This
551 feature is useful for debugging problems that ``depend on the phase of
552 the moon.''
553
554 @table @kbd
555 @item M
556 Display the dates and times for all the quarters of the moon for the
557 three-month period shown (@code{calendar-phases-of-moon}).
558 @item M-x phases-of-moon
559 Display dates and times of the quarters of the moon for three months around
560 today's date.
561 @end table
562
563 @kindex M @r{(Calendar mode)}
564 @findex calendar-phases-of-moon
565 Within the calendar, use the @kbd{M} command to display a separate
566 buffer of the phases of the moon for the current three-month range. The
567 dates and times listed are accurate to within a few minutes.
568
569 @findex phases-of-moon
570 Outside the calendar, use the command @kbd{M-x phases-of-moon} to
571 display the list of the phases of the moon for the current month and the
572 preceding and succeeding months. For information about a different
573 month, use @kbd{C-u M-x phases-of-moon}, which prompts for the month and
574 year.
575
576 The dates and times given for the phases of the moon are given in
577 local time (corrected for daylight savings, when appropriate); but if
578 the variable @code{calendar-time-zone} is void, Coordinated Universal
579 Time (the Greenwich time zone) is used. @xref{Daylight Savings}.
580
581 @node Other Calendars
582 @section Conversion To and From Other Calendars
583
584 @cindex Gregorian calendar
585 The Emacs calendar displayed is @emph{always} the Gregorian calendar,
586 sometimes called the ``new style'' calendar, which is used in most of
587 the world today. However, this calendar did not exist before the
588 sixteenth century and was not widely used before the eighteenth century;
589 it did not fully displace the Julian calendar and gain universal
590 acceptance until the early twentieth century. The Emacs calendar can
591 display any month since January, year 1 of the current era, but the
592 calendar displayed is the Gregorian, even for a date at which the
593 Gregorian calendar did not exist.
594
595 While Emacs cannot display other calendars, it can convert dates to
596 and from several other calendars.
597
598 @menu
599 * Calendar Systems:: The calendars Emacs understands
600 (aside from Gregorian).
601 * To Other Calendar:: Converting the selected date to various calendars.
602 * From Other Calendar:: Moving to a date specified in another calendar.
603 * Mayan Calendar:: Moving to a date specified in a Mayan calendar.
604 @end menu
605
606 @node Calendar Systems
607 @subsection Supported Calendar Systems
608
609 @cindex ISO commercial calendar
610 The ISO commercial calendar is used largely in Europe.
611
612 @cindex Julian calendar
613 The Julian calendar, named after Julius Caesar, was the one used in Europe
614 throughout medieval times, and in many countries up until the nineteenth
615 century.
616
617 @cindex Julian day numbers
618 @cindex astronomical day numbers
619 Astronomers use a simple counting of days elapsed since noon, Monday,
620 January 1, 4713 B.C. on the Julian calendar. The number of days elapsed
621 is called the @dfn{Julian day number} or the @dfn{Astronomical day number}.
622
623 @cindex Hebrew calendar
624 The Hebrew calendar is used by tradition in the Jewish religion. The
625 Emacs calendar program uses the Hebrew calendar to determine the dates
626 of Jewish holidays. Hebrew calendar dates begin and end at sunset.
627
628 @cindex Islamic calendar
629 The Islamic calendar is used in many predominantly Islamic countries.
630 Emacs uses it to determine the dates of Islamic holidays. There is no
631 universal agreement in the Islamic world about the calendar; Emacs uses
632 a widely accepted version, but the precise dates of Islamic holidays
633 often depend on proclamation by religious authorities, not on
634 calculations. As a consequence, the actual dates of observance can vary
635 slightly from the dates computed by Emacs. Islamic calendar dates begin
636 and end at sunset.
637
638 @cindex French Revolutionary calendar
639 The French Revolutionary calendar was created by the Jacobins after the 1789
640 revolution, to represent a more secular and nature-based view of the annual
641 cycle, and to install a 10-day week in a rationalization measure similar to
642 the metric system. The French government officially abandoned this
643 calendar at the end of 1805.
644
645 @cindex Mayan calendar
646 The Maya of Central America used three separate, overlapping calendar
647 systems, the @emph{long count}, the @emph{tzolkin}, and the @emph{haab}.
648 Emacs knows about all three of these calendars. Experts dispute the
649 exact correlation between the Mayan calendar and our calendar; Emacs uses the
650 Goodman-Martinez-Thompson correlation in its calculations.
651
652 @cindex Coptic calendar
653 @cindex Ethiopic calendar
654 The Copts use a calendar based on the ancient Egyptian solar calendar.
655 Their calendar consists of twelve 30-day months followed by an extra
656 five-day period. Once every fourth year they add a leap day to this
657 extra period to make it six days. The Ethiopic calendar is identical in
658 structure, but has different year numbers and month names.
659
660 @cindex Persian calendar
661 The Persians use a solar calendar based on a design of Omar Khayyam.
662 Their calendar consists of twelve months of which the first six have 31
663 days, the next five have 30 days, and the last has 29 in ordinary years
664 and 30 in leap years. Leap years occur in a complicated pattern every
665 four or five years.
666
667 @cindex Chinese calendar
668 The Chinese calendar is a complicated system of lunar months arranged
669 into solar years. The years go in cycles of sixty, each year containing
670 either twelve months in an ordinary year or thirteen months in a leap
671 year; each month has either 29 or 30 days. Years, ordinary months, and
672 days are named by combining one of ten ``celestial stems'' with one of
673 twelve ``terrestrial branches'' for a total of sixty names that are
674 repeated in a cycle of sixty.
675
676 @node To Other Calendar
677 @subsection Converting To Other Calendars
678
679 The following commands describe the selected date (the date at point)
680 in various other calendar systems:
681
682 @table @kbd
683 @item Mouse-2 Other calendars
684 Display the date that you click on, expressed in various other calendars.
685 @kindex p @r{(Calendar mode)}
686 @findex calendar-print-iso-date
687 @item p c
688 Display ISO commercial calendar equivalent for selected day
689 (@code{calendar-print-iso-date}).
690 @findex calendar-print-julian-date
691 @item p j
692 Display Julian date for selected day (@code{calendar-print-julian-date}).
693 @findex calendar-print-astro-day-number
694 @item p a
695 Display astronomical (Julian) day number for selected day
696 (@code{calendar-print-astro-day-number}).
697 @findex calendar-print-hebrew-date
698 @item p h
699 Display Hebrew date for selected day (@code{calendar-print-hebrew-date}).
700 @findex calendar-print-islamic-date
701 @item p i
702 Display Islamic date for selected day (@code{calendar-print-islamic-date}).
703 @findex calendar-print-french-date
704 @item p f
705 Display French Revolutionary date for selected day
706 (@code{calendar-print-french-date}).
707 @findex calendar-print-chinese-date
708 @item p C
709 Display Chinese date for selected day
710 (@code{calendar-print-chinese-date}).
711 @findex calendar-print-coptic-date
712 @item p k
713 Display Coptic date for selected day
714 (@code{calendar-print-coptic-date}).
715 @findex calendar-print-ethiopic-date
716 @item p e
717 Display Ethiopic date for selected day
718 (@code{calendar-print-ethiopic-date}).
719 @findex calendar-print-persian-date
720 @item p p
721 Display Persian date for selected day
722 (@code{calendar-print-persian-date}).
723 @findex calendar-print-mayan-date
724 @item p m
725 Display Mayan date for selected day (@code{calendar-print-mayan-date}).
726 @end table
727
728 If you are using X, the easiest way to translate a date into other
729 calendars is to click on it with @kbd{Mouse-2}, then choose @kbd{Other
730 calendars} from the menu that appears. This displays the equivalent
731 forms of the date in all the calendars Emacs understands, in the form of
732 a menu. (Choosing an alternative from this menu doesn't actually do
733 anything---the menu is used only for display.)
734
735 Otherwise, move point to the date you want to convert, then type the
736 appropriate command starting with @kbd{p} from the table above. The
737 prefix @kbd{p} is a mnemonic for ``print,'' since Emacs ``prints'' the
738 equivalent date in the echo area.
739
740 @node From Other Calendar
741 @subsection Converting From Other Calendars
742
743 You can use the other supported calendars to specify a date to move
744 to. This section describes the commands for doing this using calendars
745 other than Mayan; for the Mayan calendar, see the following section.
746
747 @kindex g @var{char} @r{(Calendar mode)}
748 @findex calendar-goto-iso-date
749 @findex calendar-goto-julian-date
750 @findex calendar-goto-astro-day-number
751 @findex calendar-goto-hebrew-date
752 @findex calendar-goto-islamic-date
753 @findex calendar-goto-french-date
754 @findex calendar-goto-chinese-date
755 @findex calendar-goto-persian-date
756 @findex calendar-goto-coptic-date
757 @findex calendar-goto-ethiopic-date
758 @table @kbd
759 @item g c
760 Move to a date specified in the ISO commercial calendar
761 (@code{calendar-goto-iso-date}).
762 @item g j
763 Move to a date specified in the Julian calendar
764 (@code{calendar-goto-julian-date}).
765 @item g a
766 Move to a date specified with an astronomical (Julian) day number
767 (@code{calendar-goto-astro-day-number}).
768 @item g h
769 Move to a date specified in the Hebrew calendar
770 (@code{calendar-goto-hebrew-date}).
771 @item g i
772 Move to a date specified in the Islamic calendar
773 (@code{calendar-goto-islamic-date}).
774 @item g f
775 Move to a date specified in the French Revolutionary calendar
776 (@code{calendar-goto-french-date}).
777 @item g C
778 Move to a date specified in the Chinese calendar
779 (@code{calendar-goto-chinese-date}).
780 @item g p
781 Move to a date specified in the Persian calendar
782 (@code{calendar-goto-persian-date}).
783 @item g k
784 Move to a date specified in the Coptic calendar
785 (@code{calendar-goto-coptic-date}).
786 @item g e
787 Move to a date specified in the Ethiopic calendar
788 (@code{calendar-goto-ethiopic-date}).
789 @end table
790
791 These commands ask you for a date on the other calendar, move point to
792 the Gregorian calendar date equivalent to that date, and display the
793 other calendar's date in the echo area. Emacs uses strict completion
794 (@pxref{Completion}) whenever it asks you to type a month name, so you
795 don't have to worry about the spelling of Hebrew, Islamic, or French names.
796
797 @findex list-yahrzeit-dates
798 @cindex yahrzeits
799 One common question concerning the Hebrew calendar is the computation
800 of the anniversary of a date of death, called a ``yahrzeit.'' The Emacs
801 calendar includes a facility for such calculations. If you are in the
802 calendar, the command @kbd{M-x list-yahrzeit-dates} asks you for a
803 range of years and then displays a list of the yahrzeit dates for those
804 years for the date given by point. If you are not in the calendar,
805 this command first asks you for the date of death and the range of
806 years, and then displays the list of yahrzeit dates.
807
808 @node Mayan Calendar
809 @subsection Converting from the Mayan Calendar
810
811 Here are the commands to select dates based on the Mayan calendar:
812
813 @table @kbd
814 @item g m l
815 Move to a date specified by the long count calendar
816 (@code{calendar-goto-mayan-long-count-date}).
817 @item g m n t
818 Move to the next occurrence of a place in the
819 tzolkin calendar (@code{calendar-next-tzolkin-date}).
820 @item g m p t
821 Move to the previous occurrence of a place in the
822 tzolkin calendar (@code{calendar-previous-tzolkin-date}).
823 @item g m n h
824 Move to the next occurrence of a place in the
825 haab calendar (@code{calendar-next-haab-date}).
826 @item g m p h
827 Move to the previous occurrence of a place in the
828 haab calendar (@code{calendar-previous-haab-date}).
829 @item g m n c
830 Move to the next occurrence of a place in the
831 calendar round (@code{calendar-next-calendar-round-date}).
832 @item g m p c
833 Move to the previous occurrence of a place in the
834 calendar round (@code{calendar-previous-calendar-round-date}).
835 @end table
836
837 @cindex Mayan long count
838 To understand these commands, you need to understand the Mayan calendars.
839 The @dfn{long count} is a counting of days with these units:
840
841 @display
842 1 kin = 1 day@ @ @ 1 uinal = 20 kin@ @ @ 1 tun = 18 uinal
843 1 katun = 20 tun@ @ @ 1 baktun = 20 katun
844 @end display
845
846 @kindex g m @r{(Calendar mode)}
847 @findex calendar-goto-mayan-long-count-date
848 @noindent
849 Thus, the long count date 12.16.11.16.6 means 12 baktun, 16 katun, 11
850 tun, 16 uinal, and 6 kin. The Emacs calendar can handle Mayan long
851 count dates as early as 7.17.18.13.1, but no earlier. When you use the
852 @kbd{g m l} command, type the Mayan long count date with the baktun,
853 katun, tun, uinal, and kin separated by periods.
854
855 @findex calendar-previous-tzolkin-date
856 @findex calendar-next-tzolkin-date
857 @cindex Mayan tzolkin calendar
858 The Mayan tzolkin calendar is a cycle of 260 days formed by a pair of
859 independent cycles of 13 and 20 days. Since this cycle repeats
860 endlessly, Emacs provides commands to move backward and forward to the
861 previous or next point in the cycle. Type @kbd{g m p t} to go to the
862 previous tzolkin date; Emacs asks you for a tzolkin date and moves point
863 to the previous occurrence of that date. Similarly, type @kbd{g m n t}
864 to go to the next occurrence of a tzolkin date.
865
866 @findex calendar-previous-haab-date
867 @findex calendar-next-haab-date
868 @cindex Mayan haab calendar
869 The Mayan haab calendar is a cycle of 365 days arranged as 18 months
870 of 20 days each, followed a 5-day monthless period. Like the tzolkin
871 cycle, this cycle repeats endlessly, and there are commands to move
872 backward and forward to the previous or next point in the cycle. Type
873 @kbd{g m p h} to go to the previous haab date; Emacs asks you for a haab
874 date and moves point to the previous occurrence of that date.
875 Similarly, type @kbd{g m n h} to go to the next occurrence of a haab
876 date.
877
878 @c This is omitted because it is too long for smallbook format.
879 @c @findex calendar-previous-calendar-round-date
880 @findex calendar-next-calendar-round-date
881 @cindex Mayan calendar round
882 The Maya also used the combination of the tzolkin date and the haab
883 date. This combination is a cycle of about 52 years called a
884 @emph{calendar round}. If you type @kbd{g m p c}, Emacs asks you for
885 both a haab and a tzolkin date and then moves point to the previous
886 occurrence of that combination. Use @kbd{g m n c} to move point to the
887 next occurrence of a combination. These commands signal an error if the
888 haab/tzolkin date combination you have typed is impossible.
889
890 Emacs uses strict completion (@pxref{Strict Completion}) whenever it
891 asks you to type a Mayan name, so you don't have to worry about
892 spelling.
893
894 @node Diary
895 @section The Diary
896 @cindex diary
897
898 The Emacs diary keeps track of appointments or other events on a daily
899 basis, in conjunction with the calendar. To use the diary feature, you
900 must first create a @dfn{diary file} containing a list of events and
901 their dates. Then Emacs can automatically pick out and display the
902 events for today, for the immediate future, or for any specified
903 date.
904
905 By default, Emacs uses @file{~/diary} as the diary file. This is the
906 same file that the @code{calendar} utility uses. A sample
907 @file{~/diary} file is:
908
909 @example
910 12/22/1988 Twentieth wedding anniversary!!
911 &1/1. Happy New Year!
912 10/22 Ruth's birthday.
913 * 21, *: Payday
914 Tuesday--weekly meeting with grad students at 10am
915 Supowit, Shen, Bitner, and Kapoor to attend.
916 1/13/89 Friday the thirteenth!!
917 &thu 4pm squash game with Lloyd.
918 mar 16 Dad's birthday
919 April 15, 1989 Income tax due.
920 &* 15 time cards due.
921 @end example
922
923 @noindent
924 This example uses extra spaces to align the event descriptions of most
925 of the entries. Such formatting is purely a matter of taste.
926
927 Although you probably will start by creating a diary manually, Emacs
928 provides a number of commands to let you view, add, and change diary
929 entries.
930
931 @menu
932 * Diary Commands:: Viewing diary entries and associated calendar dates.
933 * Format of Diary File:: Entering events in your diary.
934 * Date Formats:: Various ways you can specify dates.
935 * Adding to Diary:: Commands to create diary entries.
936 * Special Diary Entries:: Anniversaries, blocks of dates, cyclic entries, etc.
937 @end menu
938
939 @node Diary Commands
940 @subsection Commands Displaying Diary Entries
941
942 Once you have created a @file{~/diary} file, you can use the calendar
943 to view it. You can also view today's events outside of Calendar mode.
944
945 @table @kbd
946 @item d
947 Display all diary entries for the selected date
948 (@code{view-diary-entries}).
949 @item Mouse-2 Diary
950 Display all diary entries for the date you click on.
951 @item s
952 Display the entire diary file (@code{show-all-diary-entries}).
953 @item m
954 Mark all visible dates that have diary entries
955 (@code{mark-diary-entries}).
956 @item u
957 Unmark the calendar window (@code{calendar-unmark}).
958 @item M-x print-diary-entries
959 Print hard copy of the diary display as it appears.
960 @item M-x diary
961 Display all diary entries for today's date.
962 @item M-x diary-mail-entries
963 Mail yourself email reminders about upcoming diary entries.
964 @end table
965
966 @kindex d @r{(Calendar mode)}
967 @findex view-diary-entries
968 Displaying the diary entries with @kbd{d} shows in a separate window
969 the diary entries for the selected date in the calendar. The mode line
970 of the new window shows the date of the diary entries and any holidays
971 that fall on that date. If you specify a numeric argument with @kbd{d},
972 it shows all the diary entries for that many successive days. Thus,
973 @kbd{2 d} displays all the entries for the selected date and for the
974 following day.
975
976 Another way to display the diary entries for a date is to click
977 @kbd{Mouse-2} on the date, and then choose @kbd{Diary entries} from
978 the menu that appears.
979
980 @kindex m @r{(Calendar mode)}
981 @findex mark-diary-entries
982 To get a broader view of which days are mentioned in the diary, use
983 the @kbd{m} command. This displays the dates that have diary entries
984 in a different face (or places a @samp{+} after these dates, if
985 display with multiple faces is not available). The command applies both
986 to the currently visible months and to other months that subsequently
987 become visible by scrolling. To turn marking off and erase the current
988 marks, type @kbd{u}, which also turns off holiday marks
989 (@pxref{Holidays}).
990
991 @kindex s @r{(Calendar mode)}
992 @findex show-all-diary-entries
993 To see the full diary file, rather than just some of the entries, use
994 the @kbd{s} command.
995
996 Display of selected diary entries uses the selective display feature
997 to hide entries that don't apply.
998
999 The diary buffer as you see it is an illusion, so simply printing the
1000 buffer does not print what you see on your screen. There is a special
1001 command to print hard copy of the diary buffer @emph{as it appears};
1002 this command is @kbd{M-x print-diary-entries}. It sends the data
1003 directly to the printer. You can customize it like @code{lpr-region}
1004 (@pxref{Hardcopy}).
1005
1006 @findex diary
1007 The command @kbd{M-x diary} displays the diary entries for the current
1008 date, independently of the calendar display, and optionally for the next
1009 few days as well; the variable @code{number-of-diary-entries} specifies
1010 how many days to include. @xref{Calendar, Customizing the Calendar
1011 and Diary,, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
1012
1013 If you put @code{(diary)} in your @file{.emacs} file, this
1014 automatically displays a window with the day's diary entries, when you
1015 enter Emacs. The mode line of the displayed window shows the date and
1016 any holidays that fall on that date.
1017
1018 @findex diary-mail-entries
1019 @vindex diary-mail-days
1020 Many users like to receive notice of events in their diary as email.
1021 To send such mail to yourself, use the command @kbd{M-x
1022 diary-mail-entries}. A prefix argument specifies how many days
1023 (starting with today) to check; otherwise, the variable
1024 @code{diary-mail-days} says how many days.
1025
1026 @node Format of Diary File
1027 @subsection The Diary File
1028 @cindex diary file
1029
1030 @vindex diary-file
1031 Your @dfn{diary file} is a file that records events associated with
1032 particular dates. The name of the diary file is specified by the
1033 variable @code{diary-file}; @file{~/diary} is the default. The
1034 @code{calendar} utility program supports a subset of the format allowed
1035 by the Emacs diary facilities, so you can use that utility to view the
1036 diary file, with reasonable results aside from the entries it cannot
1037 understand.
1038
1039 Each entry in the diary file describes one event and consists of one
1040 or more lines. An entry always begins with a date specification at the
1041 left margin. The rest of the entry is simply text to describe the
1042 event. If the entry has more than one line, then the lines after the
1043 first must begin with whitespace to indicate they continue a previous
1044 entry. Lines that do not begin with valid dates and do not continue a
1045 preceding entry are ignored.
1046
1047 You can inhibit the marking of certain diary entries in the calendar
1048 window; to do this, insert an ampersand (@samp{&}) at the beginning of
1049 the entry, before the date. This has no effect on display of the entry
1050 in the diary window; it affects only marks on dates in the calendar
1051 window. Nonmarking entries are especially useful for generic entries
1052 that would otherwise mark many different dates.
1053
1054 If the first line of a diary entry consists only of the date or day
1055 name with no following blanks or punctuation, then the diary window
1056 display doesn't include that line; only the continuation lines appear.
1057 For example, this entry:
1058
1059 @example
1060 02/11/1989
1061 Bill B. visits Princeton today
1062 2pm Cognitive Studies Committee meeting
1063 2:30-5:30 Liz at Lawrenceville
1064 4:00pm Dentist appt
1065 7:30pm Dinner at George's
1066 8:00-10:00pm concert
1067 @end example
1068
1069 @noindent
1070 appears in the diary window without the date line at the beginning.
1071 This style of entry looks neater when you display just a single day's
1072 entries, but can cause confusion if you ask for more than one day's
1073 entries.
1074
1075 You can edit the diary entries as they appear in the window, but it is
1076 important to remember that the buffer displayed contains the @emph{entire}
1077 diary file, with portions of it concealed from view. This means, for
1078 instance, that the @kbd{C-f} (@code{forward-char}) command can put point
1079 at what appears to be the end of the line, but what is in reality the
1080 middle of some concealed line.
1081
1082 @emph{Be careful when editing the diary entries!} Inserting
1083 additional lines or adding/deleting characters in the middle of a
1084 visible line cannot cause problems, but editing at the end of a line may
1085 not do what you expect. Deleting a line may delete other invisible
1086 entries that follow it. Before editing the diary, it is best to display
1087 the entire file with @kbd{s} (@code{show-all-diary-entries}).
1088
1089 @node Date Formats
1090 @subsection Date Formats
1091
1092 Here are some sample diary entries, illustrating different ways of
1093 formatting a date. The examples all show dates in American order
1094 (month, day, year), but Calendar mode supports European order (day,
1095 month, year) as an option.
1096
1097 @example
1098 4/20/93 Switch-over to new tabulation system
1099 apr. 25 Start tabulating annual results
1100 4/30 Results for April are due
1101 */25 Monthly cycle finishes
1102 Friday Don't leave without backing up files
1103 @end example
1104
1105 The first entry appears only once, on April 20, 1993. The second and
1106 third appear every year on the specified dates, and the fourth uses a
1107 wildcard (asterisk) for the month, so it appears on the 25th of every
1108 month. The final entry appears every week on Friday.
1109
1110 You can use just numbers to express a date, as in
1111 @samp{@var{month}/@var{day}} or @samp{@var{month}/@var{day}/@var{year}}.
1112 This must be followed by a nondigit. In the date itself, @var{month}
1113 and @var{day} are numbers of one or two digits. The optional @var{year}
1114 is also a number, and may be abbreviated to the last two digits; that
1115 is, you can use @samp{11/12/1989} or @samp{11/12/89}.
1116
1117 Dates can also have the form @samp{@var{monthname} @var{day}} or
1118 @samp{@var{monthname} @var{day}, @var{year}}, where the month's name can
1119 be spelled in full or abbreviated (with or without a period). The
1120 preferred abbreviations can be controlled using the variables
1121 @code{calendar-abbrev-length}, @code{calendar-month-abbrev-array}, and
1122 @code{calendar-day-abbrev-array}. The default is to use the first three
1123 letters of a name as its abbreviation. Case is not significant.
1124
1125 A date may be @dfn{generic}; that is, partially unspecified. Then the
1126 entry applies to all dates that match the specification. If the date
1127 does not contain a year, it is generic and applies to any year.
1128 Alternatively, @var{month}, @var{day}, or @var{year} can be a @samp{*};
1129 this matches any month, day, or year, respectively. Thus, a diary entry
1130 @samp{3/*/*} matches any day in March of any year; so does @samp{march
1131 *}.
1132
1133 @vindex european-calendar-style
1134 @findex european-calendar
1135 @findex american-calendar
1136 If you prefer the European style of writing dates---in which the day
1137 comes before the month---type @kbd{M-x european-calendar} while in the
1138 calendar, or set the variable @code{european-calendar-style} to @code{t}
1139 @emph{before} using any calendar or diary command. This mode interprets
1140 all dates in the diary in the European manner, and also uses European
1141 style for displaying diary dates. (Note that there is no comma after
1142 the @var{monthname} in the European style.) To go back to the (default)
1143 American style of writing dates, type @kbd{M-x american-calendar}.
1144
1145 You can use the name of a day of the week as a generic date which
1146 applies to any date falling on that day of the week. You can abbreviate
1147 the day of the week to three letters (with or without a period) or spell
1148 it in full; case is not significant.
1149
1150 @node Adding to Diary
1151 @subsection Commands to Add to the Diary
1152
1153 While in the calendar, there are several commands to create diary
1154 entries:
1155
1156 @table @kbd
1157 @item i d
1158 Add a diary entry for the selected date (@code{insert-diary-entry}).
1159 @item i w
1160 Add a diary entry for the selected day of the week (@code{insert-weekly-diary-entry}).
1161 @item i m
1162 Add a diary entry for the selected day of the month (@code{insert-monthly-diary-entry}).
1163 @item i y
1164 Add a diary entry for the selected day of the year (@code{insert-yearly-diary-entry}).
1165 @end table
1166
1167 @kindex i d @r{(Calendar mode)}
1168 @findex insert-diary-entry
1169 You can make a diary entry for a specific date by selecting that date
1170 in the calendar window and typing the @kbd{i d} command. This command
1171 displays the end of your diary file in another window and inserts the
1172 date; you can then type the rest of the diary entry.
1173
1174 @kindex i w @r{(Calendar mode)}
1175 @findex insert-weekly-diary-entry
1176 @kindex i m @r{(Calendar mode)}
1177 @findex insert-monthly-diary-entry
1178 @kindex i y @r{(Calendar mode)}
1179 @findex insert-yearly-diary-entry
1180 If you want to make a diary entry that applies to a specific day of
1181 the week, select that day of the week (any occurrence will do) and type
1182 @kbd{i w}. This inserts the day-of-week as a generic date; you can then
1183 type the rest of the diary entry. You can make a monthly diary entry in
1184 the same fashion: select the day of the month, use the @kbd{i m}
1185 command, and type the rest of the entry. Similarly, you can insert a
1186 yearly diary entry with the @kbd{i y} command.
1187
1188 All of the above commands make marking diary entries by default. To
1189 make a nonmarking diary entry, give a numeric argument to the command.
1190 For example, @kbd{C-u i w} makes a nonmarking weekly diary entry.
1191
1192 When you modify the diary file, be sure to save the file before
1193 exiting Emacs.
1194
1195 @node Special Diary Entries
1196 @subsection Special Diary Entries
1197
1198 In addition to entries based on calendar dates, the diary file can
1199 contain @dfn{sexp entries} for regular events such as anniversaries.
1200 These entries are based on Lisp expressions (sexps) that Emacs evaluates
1201 as it scans the diary file. Instead of a date, a sexp entry contains
1202 @samp{%%} followed by a Lisp expression which must begin and end with
1203 parentheses. The Lisp expression determines which dates the entry
1204 applies to.
1205
1206 Calendar mode provides commands to insert certain commonly used
1207 sexp entries:
1208
1209 @table @kbd
1210 @item i a
1211 Add an anniversary diary entry for the selected date
1212 (@code{insert-anniversary-diary-entry}).
1213 @item i b
1214 Add a block diary entry for the current region
1215 (@code{insert-block-diary-entry}).
1216 @item i c
1217 Add a cyclic diary entry starting at the date
1218 (@code{insert-cyclic-diary-entry}).
1219 @end table
1220
1221 @kindex i a @r{(Calendar mode)}
1222 @findex insert-anniversary-diary-entry
1223 If you want to make a diary entry that applies to the anniversary of a
1224 specific date, move point to that date and use the @kbd{i a} command.
1225 This displays the end of your diary file in another window and inserts
1226 the anniversary description; you can then type the rest of the diary
1227 entry. The entry looks like this:
1228
1229 @findex diary-anniversary
1230 @example
1231 %%(diary-anniversary 10 31 1948) Arthur's birthday
1232 @end example
1233
1234 @noindent
1235 This entry applies to October 31 in any year after 1948; @samp{10 31
1236 1948} specifies the date. (If you are using the European calendar
1237 style, the month and day are interchanged.) The reason this expression
1238 requires a beginning year is that advanced diary functions can use it to
1239 calculate the number of elapsed years.
1240
1241 A @dfn{block} diary entry applies to a specified range of consecutive
1242 dates. Here is a block diary entry that applies to all dates from June
1243 24, 1990 through July 10, 1990:
1244
1245 @findex diary-block
1246 @example
1247 %%(diary-block 6 24 1990 7 10 1990) Vacation
1248 @end example
1249
1250 @noindent
1251 The @samp{6 24 1990} indicates the starting date and the @samp{7 10 1990}
1252 indicates the stopping date. (Again, if you are using the European calendar
1253 style, the month and day are interchanged.)
1254
1255 @kindex i b @r{(Calendar mode)}
1256 @findex insert-block-diary-entry
1257 To insert a block entry, place point and the mark on the two
1258 dates that begin and end the range, and type @kbd{i b}. This command
1259 displays the end of your diary file in another window and inserts the
1260 block description; you can then type the diary entry.
1261
1262 @kindex i c @r{(Calendar mode)}
1263 @findex insert-cyclic-diary-entry
1264 @dfn{Cyclic} diary entries repeat after a fixed interval of days. To
1265 create one, select the starting date and use the @kbd{i c} command. The
1266 command prompts for the length of interval, then inserts the entry,
1267 which looks like this:
1268
1269 @findex diary-cyclic
1270 @example
1271 %%(diary-cyclic 50 3 1 1990) Renew medication
1272 @end example
1273
1274 @noindent
1275 This entry applies to March 1, 1990 and every 50th day following;
1276 @samp{3 1 1990} specifies the starting date. (If you are using the
1277 European calendar style, the month and day are interchanged.)
1278
1279 All three of these commands make marking diary entries. To insert a
1280 nonmarking entry, give a numeric argument to the command. For example,
1281 @kbd{C-u i a} makes a nonmarking anniversary diary entry.
1282
1283 Marking sexp diary entries in the calendar is @emph{extremely}
1284 time-consuming, since every date visible in the calendar window must be
1285 individually checked. So it's a good idea to make sexp diary entries
1286 nonmarking (with @samp{&}) when possible.
1287
1288 Another sophisticated kind of sexp entry, a @dfn{floating} diary entry,
1289 specifies a regularly occurring event by offsets specified in days,
1290 weeks, and months. It is comparable to a crontab entry interpreted by
1291 the @code{cron} utility. Here is a nonmarking, floating diary entry
1292 that applies to the last Thursday in November:
1293
1294 @findex diary-float
1295 @example
1296 &%%(diary-float 11 4 -1) American Thanksgiving
1297 @end example
1298
1299 @noindent
1300 The 11 specifies November (the eleventh month), the 4 specifies Thursday
1301 (the fourth day of the week, where Sunday is numbered zero), and the
1302 @minus{}1 specifies ``last'' (1 would mean ``first,'' 2 would mean
1303 ``second,'' @minus{}2 would mean ``second-to-last,'' and so on). The
1304 month can be a single month or a list of months. Thus you could change
1305 the 11 above to @samp{'(1 2 3)} and have the entry apply to the last
1306 Thursday of January, February, and March. If the month is @code{t}, the
1307 entry applies to all months of the year.@refill
1308
1309 Each of the standard sexp diary entries takes an optional parameter
1310 specifying the name of a face or a single-character string to use when
1311 marking the entry in the calendar. Most generally, sexp diary entries
1312 can perform arbitrary computations to determine when they apply.
1313 @xref{Sexp Diary Entries,, Sexp Diary Entries, elisp, The Emacs Lisp
1314 Reference Manual}.
1315
1316 @node Appointments
1317 @section Appointments
1318 @cindex appointment notification
1319
1320 If you have a diary entry for an appointment, and that diary entry
1321 begins with a recognizable time of day, Emacs can warn you several
1322 minutes beforehand that that appointment is pending. Emacs alerts you
1323 to the appointment by displaying a message in the mode line.
1324
1325 @vindex diary-hook
1326 @findex appt-make-list
1327 To enable appointment notification, you must enable the time display
1328 feature of Emacs, @kbd{M-x display-time} (@pxref{Mode Line}). You must
1329 also add the function @code{appt-make-list} to the
1330 @code{diary-hook}, like this:
1331
1332 @example
1333 (add-hook 'diary-hook 'appt-make-list)
1334 @end example
1335
1336 @noindent
1337 Adding this text to your @file{.emacs} file does the whole job:
1338
1339 @example
1340 (display-time)
1341 (add-hook 'diary-hook 'appt-make-list)
1342 (diary 0)
1343 @end example
1344
1345 With these preparations done, when you display the diary (either with
1346 the @kbd{d} command in the calendar window or with the @kbd{M-x diary}
1347 command), it sets up an appointment list of all the diary entries found
1348 with recognizable times of day, and reminds you just before each of
1349 them.
1350
1351 For example, suppose the diary file contains these lines:
1352
1353 @example
1354 Monday
1355 9:30am Coffee break
1356 12:00pm Lunch
1357 @end example
1358
1359 @noindent
1360 Then on Mondays, after you have displayed the diary, you will be
1361 reminded at 9:20am about your coffee break and at 11:50am about lunch.
1362
1363 You can write times in am/pm style (with @samp{12:00am} standing
1364 for midnight and @samp{12:00pm} standing for noon), or 24-hour
1365 European/military style. You need not be consistent; your diary file
1366 can have a mixture of the two styles.
1367
1368 @vindex appt-display-diary
1369 Emacs updates the appointments list automatically just after
1370 midnight. This also displays the next day's diary entries in the diary
1371 buffer, unless you set @code{appt-display-diary} to @code{nil}.
1372
1373 @findex appt-add
1374 @findex appt-delete
1375 @cindex alarm clock
1376 You can also use the appointment notification facility like an alarm
1377 clock. The command @kbd{M-x appt-add} adds entries to the appointment
1378 list without affecting your diary file. You delete entries from the
1379 appointment list with @kbd{M-x appt-delete}.
1380
1381 @vindex appt-issue-message
1382 You can turn off the appointment notification feature at any time by
1383 setting @code{appt-issue-message} to @code{nil}.
1384
1385 @node Daylight Savings
1386 @section Daylight Savings Time
1387 @cindex daylight savings time
1388
1389 Emacs understands the difference between standard time and daylight
1390 savings time---the times given for sunrise, sunset, solstices,
1391 equinoxes, and the phases of the moon take that into account. The rules
1392 for daylight savings time vary from place to place and have also varied
1393 historically from year to year. To do the job properly, Emacs needs to
1394 know which rules to use.
1395
1396 @vindex calendar-daylight-savings-starts
1397 @vindex calendar-daylight-savings-ends
1398 Some operating systems keep track of the rules that apply to the place
1399 where you are; on these systems, Emacs gets the information it needs
1400 from the system automatically. If some or all of this information is
1401 missing, Emacs fills in the gaps with the rules currently used in
1402 Cambridge, Massachusetts. If the resulting rules are not what you want,
1403 you can tell Emacs the rules to use by setting certain variables:
1404 @code{calendar-daylight-savings-starts} and
1405 @code{calendar-daylight-savings-ends}.
1406
1407 These values should be Lisp expressions that refer to the variable
1408 @code{year}, and evaluate to the Gregorian date on which daylight
1409 savings time starts or (respectively) ends, in the form of a list
1410 @code{(@var{month} @var{day} @var{year})}. The values should be
1411 @code{nil} if your area does not use daylight savings time.
1412
1413 Emacs uses these expressions to determine the starting date of
1414 daylight savings time for the holiday list and for correcting times of
1415 day in the solar and lunar calculations.
1416
1417 The values for Cambridge, Massachusetts are as follows:
1418
1419 @example
1420 (calendar-nth-named-day 1 0 4 year)
1421 (calendar-nth-named-day -1 0 10 year)
1422 @end example
1423
1424 @noindent
1425 That is, the first 0th day (Sunday) of the fourth month (April) in
1426 the year specified by @code{year}, and the last Sunday of the tenth month
1427 (October) of that year. If daylight savings time were
1428 changed to start on October 1, you would set
1429 @code{calendar-daylight-savings-starts} to this:
1430
1431 @example
1432 (list 10 1 year)
1433 @end example
1434
1435 If there is no daylight savings time at your location, or if you want
1436 all times in standard time, set @code{calendar-daylight-savings-starts}
1437 and @code{calendar-daylight-savings-ends} to @code{nil}.
1438
1439 @vindex calendar-daylight-time-offset
1440 The variable @code{calendar-daylight-time-offset} specifies the
1441 difference between daylight savings time and standard time, measured in
1442 minutes. The value for Cambridge, Massachusetts is 60.
1443
1444 @c @vindex calendar-daylight-savings-starts-time too long!
1445 @vindex calendar-daylight-savings-ends-time
1446 The two variables @code{calendar-daylight-savings-starts-time} and
1447 @code{calendar-daylight-savings-ends-time} specify the number of minutes
1448 after midnight local time when the transition to and from daylight
1449 savings time should occur. For Cambridge, Massachusetts both variables'
1450 values are 120.
1451
1452 @node Time Intervals
1453 @section Summing Time Intervals
1454 @cindex time intervals, summing
1455 @cindex summing time intervals
1456 @cindex timeclock
1457
1458 The timeclock feature adds up time intervals, so you can (for
1459 instance) keep track of how much time you spend working.
1460
1461 @findex timeclock-in
1462 @findex timeclock-out
1463 @findex timeclock-workday-remaining
1464 @findex timeclock-when-to-leave
1465 Use the @kbd{M-x timeclock-in} command when you start working on a
1466 project, and @kbd{M-x timeclock-out} command when you're done. Each
1467 time you do this, it adds one time interval to the record of the project.
1468
1469 Once you've collected data from a number of time intervals, you can use
1470 @kbd{M-x timeclock-workday-remaining} to see how much time is left to
1471 work today (assuming a typical average of 8 hours a day), and @kbd{M-x
1472 timeclock-when-to-leave} which will calculate when you're ``done.''
1473
1474 @vindex timeclock-modeline-display
1475 @findex timeclock-modeline-display
1476 If you want Emacs to display the amount of time ``left'' of your
1477 workday in the mode line, either customize the
1478 @code{timeclock-modeline-display} variable and set its value to
1479 @code{t}, or invoke the @kbd{M-x timeclock-modeline-display} command.
1480
1481 @vindex timeclock-ask-before-exiting
1482 Terminating the current Emacs session might or might not mean that
1483 you have stopped working on the project. If you'd like Emacs to ask
1484 you about this, set the value of the variable
1485 @code{timeclock-ask-before-exiting} to @code{t} (via @kbd{M-x
1486 customize}). By default, only an explicit @kbd{M-x timeclock-out}
1487 tells Emacs that the current interval is over.
1488
1489 @cindex @file{.timelog} file
1490 @vindex timeclock-file
1491 @findex timeclock-reread-log
1492 The timeclock functions work by accumulating the data in a file
1493 called @file{.timelog} in your home directory. (On MS-DOS, this file
1494 is called @file{_timelog}, since an initial period is not allowed in
1495 file names on MS-DOS.) You can specify a different name for this file
1496 by customizing the variable @code{timeclock-file}. If you edit the
1497 timeclock file manually, or if you change the value of any of
1498 timeclock's customizable variables, you should run the command
1499 @kbd{M-x timeclock-reread-log} to update the data in Emacs from the
1500 file.