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1 @c This is part of the Emacs manual.
2 @c Copyright (C) 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001,
3 @c 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
4 @c Free Software Foundation, Inc.
5
6 @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
7 @node Display, Search, Registers, Top
8 @chapter Controlling the Display
9
10 Since only part of a large buffer fits in the window, Emacs tries to
11 show a part that is likely to be interesting. Display-control
12 commands and variables allow you to specify which part of the text you
13 want to see, and how to display it.
14
15 @menu
16 * Scrolling:: Commands to move text up and down in a window.
17 * Auto Scrolling:: Redisplay scrolls text automatically when needed.
18 * Horizontal Scrolling:: Moving text left and right in a window.
19 * Follow Mode:: Follow mode lets two windows scroll as one.
20 * Faces:: How to change the display style using faces.
21 * Standard Faces:: Emacs' predefined faces.
22 * Temporary Face Changes:: Commands to temporarily modify the default text face
23 * Font Lock:: Minor mode for syntactic highlighting using faces.
24 * Highlight Interactively:: Tell Emacs what text to highlight.
25 * Fringes:: Enabling or disabling window fringes.
26 * Displaying Boundaries:: Displaying top and bottom of the buffer.
27 * Useless Whitespace:: Showing possibly-spurious trailing whitespace.
28 * Selective Display:: Hiding lines with lots of indentation.
29 * Optional Mode Line:: Optional mode line display features.
30 * Text Display:: How text characters are normally displayed.
31 * Cursor Display:: Features for displaying the cursor.
32 * Line Truncation:: Truncating lines to fit the screen width instead
33 of continuing them to multiple screen lines.
34 * Visual Line Mode:: Word wrap and screen line-based editing.
35 * Display Custom:: Information on variables for customizing display.
36 @end menu
37
38 @node Scrolling
39 @section Scrolling
40
41 If a buffer contains text that is too large to fit entirely within a
42 window that is displaying the buffer, Emacs shows a contiguous portion of
43 the text. The portion shown always contains point.
44
45 @cindex scrolling
46 @dfn{Scrolling} means moving text up or down in the window so that
47 different parts of the text are visible. Scrolling ``forward'' or
48 ``up'' means that text moves up, and new text appears at the bottom.
49 Scrolling ``backward'' or ``down'' moves text down, and new text
50 appears at the top.
51
52 Scrolling happens automatically if you move point past the bottom or
53 top of the window. You can also scroll explicitly with these
54 commands:
55
56 @table @kbd
57 @item C-l
58 Scroll the selected window so that the current line is the center-most
59 text line; on subsequent consecutive invocations, make the current
60 line the top-most line, the bottom-most line, and so forth in cyclic
61 order; also, maybe redisplay the screen (@code{recenter-top-bottom}).
62 @item C-v
63 @itemx @key{next}
64 @itemx @key{PageDown}
65 Scroll forward by nearly a full window (@code{scroll-up}).
66 @item M-v
67 @itemx @key{prior}
68 @itemx @key{PageUp}
69 Scroll backward (@code{scroll-down}).
70 @item C-M-l
71 Scroll heuristically to bring useful information onto the screen
72 (@code{reposition-window}).
73 @end table
74
75 @kindex C-l
76 @findex recenter-top-bottom
77 @kbd{C-l} (@code{recenter-top-bottom}) is a basic scrolling command.
78 It @dfn{recenters} the selected window, scrolling it so that the
79 current screen line is exactly in the center of the window, or as
80 close to the center as possible.
81
82 Typing @kbd{C-l} twice in a row (@kbd{C-l C-l}) scrolls the window
83 so that point is on the topmost screen line. Typing a third @kbd{C-l}
84 scrolls the window so that point is on the bottom-most screen line.
85 Each successive @kbd{C-l} cycles through these three screen positions.
86
87 @vindex recenter-positions
88 You can change the cycling order by customizing the list variable
89 @code{recenter-positions}. Each list element should be the symbol
90 @code{top}, @code{middle}, or @code{bottom}, or a number; an integer
91 number means to move the line to the specified screen line, while a
92 floating-point number between 0.0 and 1.0 specifies a percentage of
93 the screen space from the top. The default, @code{(middle top
94 bottom)}, is the cycling order described above. Furthermore, if you
95 change the variable @code{scroll-margin} to a non-zero value @var{n},
96 Emacs always leaves @var{n} screen lines between point and the top or
97 bottom of the window (@pxref{Auto Scrolling}).
98
99 You can also supply @kbd{C-l} with a prefix argument. With a plain
100 prefix argument, @kbd{C-u C-l}, Emacs simply recenters point. With a
101 positive argument @var{n}, it scrolls to place point @var{n} lines
102 down from the top of the window. An argument of zero puts point on
103 the topmost line. A negative argument @var{-n} puts point @var{n}
104 lines from the bottom of the window. For example, @kbd{C-u - 1 C-l}
105 puts point on the bottom line, and @kbd{C-u - 5 C-l} puts it five
106 lines from the bottom. When given an argument, @kbd{C-l} does not
107 clear the screen or cycle through different screen positions.
108
109 The more primitive command @code{recenter} behaves like
110 @code{recenter-top-bottom}, but does not cycle among screen positions.
111 Prior to Emacs 23, @kbd{C-l} was bound to @code{recenter}.
112
113 @vindex recenter-redisplay
114 If the variable @code{recenter-redisplay} has a non-@code{nil}
115 value, Emacs clears and redisplays the screen each time @kbd{C-l}
116 recenters the window; the special value @code{tty} (the default) says
117 to do this on text-terminal frames only. Redisplaying is useful in
118 case the screen becomes garbled for any reason (@pxref{Screen
119 Garbled}).
120
121 @kindex C-v
122 @kindex M-v
123 @kindex next
124 @kindex prior
125 @kindex PageDown
126 @kindex PageUp
127 @findex scroll-up
128 @findex scroll-down
129 To read the buffer a windowful at a time, type @kbd{C-v}
130 (@code{scroll-up}). This scrolls forward by nearly the whole window
131 height. The effect is to take the two lines at the bottom of the
132 window and put them at the top, followed by lines that were not
133 previously visible. If point was in the text that scrolled off the
134 top, it ends up at the new top of the window.
135
136 @kbd{M-v} (@code{scroll-down}) scrolls backward in a similar way.
137
138 @vindex next-screen-context-lines
139 The variable @code{next-screen-context-lines} controls the number of
140 lines of overlap left by @kbd{C-v} or @kbd{M-v}; by default, it is 2.
141 The function keys @key{next} and @key{prior}, or @key{PageDown} and
142 @key{PageUp}, are equivalent to @kbd{C-v} and @kbd{M-v} respectively.
143
144 You can supply @kbd{C-v} or @kbd{M-v} with a numeric prefix argument
145 @var{n}. This scrolls the window by @var{n} lines, while attempting
146 to leave point unchanged (so that the text and point move up or down
147 together). @kbd{C-v} with a negative argument is like @kbd{M-v} and
148 vice versa.
149
150 The names of scroll commands are based on the direction that the
151 text moves in the window. Thus, the command to scroll forward is
152 called @code{scroll-up} because it moves the text upward on the
153 screen. The keys @key{PageUp} and @key{PageDown} derive their names
154 and customary meanings from a different convention that developed
155 elsewhere; hence the strange result that @key{PageDown} runs
156 @code{scroll-up}.
157
158 @vindex scroll-preserve-screen-position
159 Some users like the full-screen scroll commands to keep point at the
160 same screen position. To enable this behavior, set the variable
161 @code{scroll-preserve-screen-position} to a non-@code{nil} value.
162 Then, whenever a command scrolls the text around point offscreen (or
163 within @code{scroll-margin} lines of the edge), Emacs moves point to
164 keep it at the same vertical and horizontal position within the
165 window. This mode is convenient for browsing through a file by
166 scrolling by screenfuls; if you come back to the screen where you
167 started, point goes back to the line where it started.
168
169 @kindex C-M-l
170 @findex reposition-window
171 The @kbd{C-M-l} command (@code{reposition-window}) scrolls the current
172 window heuristically in a way designed to get useful information onto
173 the screen. For example, in a Lisp file, this command tries to get the
174 entire current defun onto the screen if possible.
175
176 @node Auto Scrolling
177 @section Automatic Scrolling
178
179 Emacs performs @dfn{automatic scrolling} when point moves out of the
180 visible portion of the text.
181
182 @vindex scroll-conservatively
183 Normally, this centers point vertically within the window. However,
184 if you set @code{scroll-conservatively} to a small number @var{n},
185 then if you move point just a little off the screen (less than @var{n}
186 lines), Emacs scrolls the text just far enough to bring point back on
187 screen. By default, @code{scroll-conservatively} is@tie{}0.
188
189 @cindex aggressive scrolling
190 @vindex scroll-up-aggressively
191 @vindex scroll-down-aggressively
192 When the window does scroll by a longer distance, you can control
193 how aggressively it scrolls by setting the variables
194 @code{scroll-up-aggressively} and @code{scroll-down-aggressively}.
195 The value of @code{scroll-up-aggressively} should be either
196 @code{nil}, or a fraction @var{f} between 0 and 1. A fraction
197 specifies where on the screen to put point when scrolling upward: when
198 a window scrolls up because point is above the window start, the new
199 start position is chosen to put point @var{f} parts of the window
200 height from the top. Thus, larger @var{f} means more aggressive
201 scrolling. The default value, @code{nil}, is equivalent to 0.5.
202
203 Likewise, @code{scroll-down-aggressively} is used for scrolling
204 down. The value specifies how far point should be placed from the
205 bottom of the window; thus, as with @code{scroll-up-aggressively}, a
206 larger value is more aggressive.
207
208 @vindex scroll-margin
209 The variable @code{scroll-margin} restricts how close point can come
210 to the top or bottom of a window. Its value is a number of screen
211 lines; if point comes within that many lines of the top or bottom of
212 the window, Emacs performs automatic scrolling. By default,
213 @code{scroll-margin} is 0.
214
215 @node Horizontal Scrolling
216 @section Horizontal Scrolling
217 @cindex horizontal scrolling
218
219 @vindex auto-hscroll-mode
220 @dfn{Horizontal scrolling} means shifting all the lines sideways
221 within a window, so that some of the text near the left margin is not
222 displayed. When the text in a window is scrolled horizontally, text
223 lines are truncated rather than continued (@pxref{Line Truncation}).
224 If a window shows truncated lines, Emacs performs automatic horizontal
225 scrolling whenever point moves off the left or right edge of the
226 screen. To disable automatic horizontal scrolling, set the variable
227 @code{auto-hscroll-mode} to @code{nil}. Note that when the automatic
228 horizontal scrolling is turned off, if point moves off the edge of the
229 screen, the cursor disappears to indicate that. (On text-mode
230 terminals, the cursor is left at the edge instead.)
231
232 @vindex hscroll-margin
233 The variable @code{hscroll-margin} controls how close point can get
234 to the window's edges before automatic scrolling occurs. It is
235 measured in columns. For example, if the value is 5, then moving
236 point within 5 columns of an edge causes horizontal scrolling away
237 from that edge.
238
239 @vindex hscroll-step
240 The variable @code{hscroll-step} determines how many columns to
241 scroll the window when point gets too close to the edge. Zero, the
242 default value, means to center point horizontally within the window.
243 A positive integer value specifies the number of columns to scroll by.
244 A floating-point number specifies the fraction of the window's width
245 to scroll by.
246
247 You can also perform explicit horizontal scrolling with the
248 following commands:
249
250 @table @kbd
251 @item C-x <
252 Scroll text in current window to the left (@code{scroll-left}).
253 @item C-x >
254 Scroll to the right (@code{scroll-right}).
255 @end table
256
257 @kindex C-x <
258 @kindex C-x >
259 @findex scroll-left
260 @findex scroll-right
261 @kbd{C-x <} (@code{scroll-left}) scrolls text in the selected window
262 to the left by the full width of the window, less two columns. (In
263 other words, the text in the window moves left relative to the
264 window.) With a numeric argument @var{n}, it scrolls by @var{n}
265 columns.
266
267 If the text is scrolled to the left, and point moves off the left
268 edge of the window, the cursor will freeze at the left edge of the
269 window, until point moves back to the displayed portion of the text.
270 This is independent of the current setting of
271 @code{auto-hscroll-mode}, which, for text scrolled to the left, only
272 affects the behavior at the right edge of the window.
273
274 @kbd{C-x >} (@code{scroll-right}) scrolls similarly to the right.
275 The window cannot be scrolled any farther to the right once it is
276 displayed normally, with each line starting at the window's left
277 margin; attempting to do so has no effect. This means that you don't
278 have to calculate the argument precisely for @w{@kbd{C-x >}}; any
279 sufficiently large argument will restore the normal display.
280
281 If you use those commands to scroll a window horizontally, that sets
282 a lower bound for automatic horizontal scrolling. Automatic scrolling
283 will continue to scroll the window, but never farther to the right
284 than the amount you previously set by @code{scroll-left}.
285
286 @node Follow Mode
287 @section Follow Mode
288 @cindex Follow mode
289 @cindex mode, Follow
290 @findex follow-mode
291 @cindex windows, synchronizing
292 @cindex synchronizing windows
293
294 @dfn{Follow mode} is a minor mode that makes two windows, both
295 showing the same buffer, scroll as a single tall ``virtual window.''
296 To use Follow mode, go to a frame with just one window, split it into
297 two side-by-side windows using @kbd{C-x 3}, and then type @kbd{M-x
298 follow-mode}. From then on, you can edit the buffer in either of the
299 two windows, or scroll either one; the other window follows it.
300
301 In Follow mode, if you move point outside the portion visible in one
302 window and into the portion visible in the other window, that selects
303 the other window---again, treating the two as if they were parts of
304 one large window.
305
306 To turn off Follow mode, type @kbd{M-x follow-mode} a second time.
307
308 @node Faces
309 @section Faces: Controlling Text Display Style
310 @cindex faces
311
312 Emacs can display text in several different styles, which are called
313 @dfn{faces}. Each face can specify various @dfn{face attributes},
314 such as the font, height, weight and slant, the foreground and
315 background color, and underlining or overlining. A face does not have
316 to specify all of these attributes; often it inherits most of them
317 from another face.
318
319 On a text-only terminal, not all face attributes are meaningful.
320 Some text-only terminals support inverse video, bold, and underline
321 attributes; some support colors. Text-only terminals generally do not
322 support changing the height, width or font.
323
324 Most major modes assign faces to the text automatically through the
325 work of Font Lock mode. @xref{Font Lock}, for more information about
326 Font Lock mode and syntactic highlighting. You can print the current
327 buffer with the highlighting that appears on your screen using the
328 command @code{ps-print-buffer-with-faces}. @xref{PostScript}.
329
330 Enriched mode, the mode for editing formatted text, provides
331 commands and menus for specifying faces for text in the buffer.
332 @xref{Format Faces}.
333
334 @cindex face colors, setting
335 To alter the appearance of a face, use the customization buffer.
336 @xref{Face Customization}. You can also use X resources to specify
337 attributes of any particular face (@pxref{Resources}). When
338 displaying a character, any attribute that isn't specified by its face
339 is taken from the @code{default} face, whose attributes reflect the
340 default settings of the frame itself.
341
342 @findex set-face-foreground
343 @findex set-face-background
344 You can also change the foreground and background colors of a
345 specific face with @kbd{M-x set-face-foreground} and @kbd{M-x
346 set-face-background}. These commands prompt in the minibuffer for a
347 face name and a color name, with completion, and then set that face to
348 use the specified color. @xref{Face Customization}, for information
349 about color names. These commands affect the face colors on all
350 frames, both existing and those to be created in the future. These
351 changes do not, however, persist for future Emacs sessions; to make
352 lasting changes, use the customization buffer (@pxref{Face
353 Customization}).
354
355 You can also set foreground and background colors for the current
356 frame only; see @ref{Frame Parameters}.
357
358 Emacs can display variable-width fonts, but some of the Emacs
359 commands that calculate width and indentation do not know how to
360 calculate variable widths. This can sometimes lead to incorrect
361 results when you use variable-width fonts. In particular, indentation
362 commands can give inconsistent results, so we recommend you avoid
363 variable-width fonts, especially for editing program source code.
364
365 @node Standard Faces
366 @section Standard Faces
367
368 @findex list-faces-display
369 To see what faces are currently defined, and what they look like,
370 type @kbd{M-x list-faces-display}. It's possible for a given face to
371 look different in different frames; this command shows the appearance
372 in the frame in which you type it. With a prefix argument, this
373 prompts for a regular expression, and displays only faces with names
374 matching that regular expression.
375
376 Here are the standard faces for specifying text appearance. You can
377 apply them to specific text when you want the effects they produce.
378
379 @table @code
380 @item default
381 This face is used for ordinary text that doesn't specify any face.
382 @item bold
383 This face uses a bold variant of the default font.
384 @item italic
385 This face uses an italic variant of the default font.
386 @item bold-italic
387 This face uses a bold italic variant of the default font.
388 @item underline
389 This face underlines text.
390 @item fixed-pitch
391 This face forces use of a fixed-width font. It's reasonable to
392 customize this face to use a different fixed-width font, if you like,
393 but you should not make it a variable-width font.
394 @item variable-pitch
395 This face forces use of a variable-width font.
396 @item shadow
397 This face is used for making the text less noticeable than the surrounding
398 ordinary text. Usually this can be achieved by using shades of gray in
399 contrast with either black or white default foreground color.
400 @end table
401
402 Here's an incomplete list of faces used to highlight parts of the
403 text temporarily for specific purposes. (Many other modes define
404 their own faces for this purpose.)
405
406 @table @code
407 @item highlight
408 This face is used for highlighting portions of text, in various modes.
409 For example, mouse-sensitive text is highlighted using this face.
410 @item isearch
411 This face is used for highlighting the current Isearch match
412 (@pxref{Incremental Search}).
413 @item query-replace
414 This face is used for highlighting the current Query Replace match
415 (@pxref{Replace}).
416 @item lazy-highlight
417 This face is used for lazy highlighting of Isearch and Query Replace
418 matches other than the current one.
419 @item region
420 This face is used for displaying a selected region (@pxref{Mark}).
421 @item secondary-selection
422 This face is used for displaying a secondary X selection (@pxref{Secondary
423 Selection}).
424 @item trailing-whitespace
425 The face for highlighting excess spaces and tabs at the end of a line
426 when @code{show-trailing-whitespace} is non-@code{nil}; see
427 @ref{Useless Whitespace}.
428 @item nobreak-space
429 The face for displaying the character ``nobreak space.''
430 @item escape-glyph
431 The face for highlighting the @samp{\} or @samp{^} that indicates
432 a control character. It's also used when @samp{\} indicates a
433 nobreak space or nobreak (soft) hyphen.
434 @end table
435
436 These faces control the appearance of parts of the Emacs frame.
437 They exist as faces to provide a consistent way to customize the
438 appearance of these parts of the frame.
439
440 @table @code
441 @item mode-line
442 This face is used for the mode line of the currently selected window,
443 and for menu bars when toolkit menus are not used. By default, it's
444 drawn with shadows for a ``raised'' effect on graphical displays, and
445 drawn as the inverse of the default face on non-windowed terminals.
446 @item mode-line-inactive
447 Like @code{mode-line}, but used for mode lines of the windows other
448 than the selected one (if @code{mode-line-in-non-selected-windows} is
449 non-@code{nil}). This face inherits from @code{mode-line}, so changes
450 in that face affect mode lines in all windows.
451 @item mode-line-highlight
452 Like @code{highlight}, but used for portions of text on mode lines.
453 @item mode-line-buffer-id
454 This face is used for buffer identification parts in the mode line.
455 @item header-line
456 Similar to @code{mode-line} for a window's header line, which appears
457 at the top of a window just as the mode line appears at the bottom.
458 Most windows do not have a header line---only some special modes, such
459 Info mode, create one.
460 @item vertical-border
461 This face is used for the vertical divider between windows.
462 By default this face inherits from the @code{mode-line-inactive} face
463 on character terminals. On graphical displays the foreground color of
464 this face is used for the vertical line between windows without
465 scrollbars.
466 @item minibuffer-prompt
467 @cindex @code{minibuffer-prompt} face
468 @vindex minibuffer-prompt-properties
469 This face is used for the prompt strings displayed in the minibuffer.
470 By default, Emacs automatically adds this face to the value of
471 @code{minibuffer-prompt-properties}, which is a list of text
472 properties used to display the prompt text. (This variable takes
473 effect when you enter the minibuffer.)
474 @item fringe
475 @cindex @code{fringe} face
476 The face for the fringes to the left and right of windows on graphic
477 displays. (The fringes are the narrow portions of the Emacs frame
478 between the text area and the window's right and left borders.)
479 @xref{Fringes}.
480 @item scroll-bar
481 This face determines the visual appearance of the scroll bar.
482 @xref{Scroll Bars}.
483 @item border
484 This face determines the color of the frame border.
485 @item cursor
486 This face determines the color of the cursor.
487 @item mouse
488 This face determines the color of the mouse pointer.
489 @item tool-bar
490 This face determines the color of tool bar icons. @xref{Tool Bars}.
491 @item tooltip
492 This face is used for tooltips. @xref{Tooltips}.
493 @item menu
494 @cindex menu bar appearance
495 @cindex @code{menu} face, no effect if customized
496 @cindex customization of @code{menu} face
497 This face determines the colors and font of Emacs's menus. @xref{Menu
498 Bars}. This has no effect in Emacs built with GTK and in the
499 MS-Windows/Mac ports; you need to use system-wide styles and options
500 to change the appearance of GTK, Windows, or Mac menus. Setting the
501 font of LessTif/Motif menus is currently not supported; attempts to
502 set the font are ignored in this case.
503 @end table
504
505 @node Temporary Face Changes
506 @section Temporary Face Changes
507
508 The following commands change the default face within a buffer.
509
510 @cindex adjust buffer face height
511 @findex text-scale-adjust
512 @kindex C-x C-+
513 @kindex C-x C--
514 @kindex C-x C-=
515 @kindex C-x C-0
516 To increase the height of the default face in the current buffer,
517 type @kbd{C-x C-+} or @kbd{C-x C-=}. To decrease it, type @kbd{C-x
518 C--}. To restore the default (global) face height, type @kbd{C-x
519 C-0}. These keys are all bound to the same command,
520 @code{text-scale-adjust}, which looks at the last key typed to
521 determine which action to take.
522
523 The final key of these commands may be repeated without the leading
524 @kbd{C-x}. For instance, @kbd{C-x C-= C-= C-=} increases the face
525 height by three steps. Each step scales the height of the default
526 face by the value of the variable @code{text-scale-mode-step}. As a
527 special case, an argument of 0 removes any scaling currently active.
528
529 @cindex increase buffer face height
530 @findex text-scale-increase
531 @cindex decrease buffer face height
532 @findex text-scale-decrease
533 The commands @code{text-scale-increase} and
534 @code{text-scale-decrease} increase or decrease the height of the
535 default face, just like @kbd{C-x C-+} and @kbd{C-x C--} respectively.
536 You may find it convenient to bind to these commands, rather than
537 @code{text-scale-adjust}.
538
539 @cindex set buffer face height
540 @findex text-scale-set
541 The command @code{text-scale-set} sets the height of the default face
542 in the current buffer to an absolute level specified by its prefix
543 argument.
544
545 @findex text-scale-mode
546 The above commands automatically enable or disable the minor mode
547 @code{text-scale-mode}, depending on whether the current font scaling
548 is other than 1 or not.
549
550 @cindex variable pitch mode
551 @findex variable-pitch-mode
552 To temporarily change the face in the current buffer to a
553 variable-pitch (``proportional'') font, use the command @kbd{M-x
554 variable-pitch-mode} to enable or disable the Variable Pitch minor
555 mode.
556
557 @node Font Lock
558 @section Font Lock mode
559 @cindex Font Lock mode
560 @cindex mode, Font Lock
561 @cindex syntax highlighting and coloring
562
563 Font Lock mode is a minor mode, always local to a particular buffer,
564 which highlights (or ``fontifies'') the buffer contents according to
565 the syntax of the text you are editing. It can recognize comments and
566 strings in most programming languages; in several languages, it can
567 also recognize and properly highlight various other important
568 constructs, such as names of functions being defined or reserved
569 keywords. Some special modes, such as Occur mode and Info mode, have
570 completely specialized ways of assigning fonts for Font Lock mode.
571
572 @findex font-lock-mode
573 Font Lock mode is turned on by default in all modes which support it.
574 You can toggle font-lock for each buffer with the command @kbd{M-x
575 font-lock-mode}. Using a positive argument unconditionally turns Font
576 Lock mode on, and a negative or zero argument turns it off.
577
578 @findex global-font-lock-mode
579 @vindex global-font-lock-mode
580 If you do not wish Font Lock mode to be turned on by default,
581 customize the variable @code{global-font-lock-mode} using the Customize
582 interface (@pxref{Easy Customization}), or use the function
583 @code{global-font-lock-mode} in your @file{.emacs} file, like this:
584
585 @example
586 (global-font-lock-mode 0)
587 @end example
588
589 @noindent
590 This variable, like all the variables that control Font Lock mode,
591 take effect whenever fontification is done; that is, potentially at
592 any time.
593
594 @findex turn-on-font-lock
595 If you have disabled Global Font Lock mode, you can still enable Font
596 Lock for specific major modes by adding the function
597 @code{turn-on-font-lock} to the mode hooks (@pxref{Hooks}). For
598 example, to enable Font Lock mode for editing C files, you can do this:
599
600 @example
601 (add-hook 'c-mode-hook 'turn-on-font-lock)
602 @end example
603
604 Font Lock mode uses several specifically named faces to do its job,
605 including @code{font-lock-string-face}, @code{font-lock-comment-face},
606 and others. The easiest way to find them all is to use @kbd{M-x
607 customize-group @key{RET} font-lock-faces @key{RET}}. You can then
608 use that customization buffer to customize the appearance of these
609 faces. @xref{Face Customization}.
610
611 @vindex font-lock-maximum-decoration
612 The variable @code{font-lock-maximum-decoration} specifies the
613 preferred level of fontification, for modes that provide multiple
614 levels. Level 1 is the least amount of fontification; some modes
615 support levels as high as 3. The normal default is ``as high as
616 possible.'' You can specify an integer, which applies to all modes, or
617 you can specify different numbers for particular major modes; for
618 example, to use level 1 for C/C++ modes, and the default level
619 otherwise, use this:
620
621 @example
622 (setq font-lock-maximum-decoration
623 '((c-mode . 1) (c++-mode . 1)))
624 @end example
625
626 @vindex font-lock-maximum-size
627 Fontification can be too slow for large buffers, so you can suppress
628 it for buffers above a certain size. The variable
629 @code{font-lock-maximum-size} specifies a buffer size, beyond which
630 buffer fontification is suppressed.
631
632 @c @w is used below to prevent a bad page-break.
633 @vindex font-lock-beginning-of-syntax-function
634 @cindex incorrect fontification
635 @cindex parenthesis in column zero and fontification
636 @cindex brace in column zero and fontification
637 Comment and string fontification (or ``syntactic'' fontification)
638 relies on analysis of the syntactic structure of the buffer text. For
639 the sake of speed, some modes, including Lisp mode, rely on a special
640 convention: an open-parenthesis or open-brace in the leftmost column
641 always defines the @w{beginning} of a defun, and is thus always
642 outside any string or comment. (@xref{Left Margin Paren}.) If you
643 don't follow this convention, Font Lock mode can misfontify the text
644 that follows an open-parenthesis or open-brace in the leftmost column
645 that is inside a string or comment.
646
647 @cindex slow display during scrolling
648 The variable @code{font-lock-beginning-of-syntax-function} (always
649 buffer-local) specifies how Font Lock mode can find a position
650 guaranteed to be outside any comment or string. In modes which use the
651 leftmost column parenthesis convention, the default value of the variable
652 is @code{beginning-of-defun}---that tells Font Lock mode to use the
653 convention. If you set this variable to @code{nil}, Font Lock no longer
654 relies on the convention. This avoids incorrect results, but the price
655 is that, in some cases, fontification for a changed text must rescan
656 buffer text from the beginning of the buffer. This can considerably
657 slow down redisplay while scrolling, particularly if you are close to
658 the end of a large buffer.
659
660 @findex font-lock-add-keywords
661 Font Lock highlighting patterns already exist for many modes, but you
662 may want to fontify additional patterns. You can use the function
663 @code{font-lock-add-keywords}, to add your own highlighting patterns for
664 a particular mode. For example, to highlight @samp{FIXME:} words in C
665 comments, use this:
666
667 @example
668 (add-hook 'c-mode-hook
669 (lambda ()
670 (font-lock-add-keywords nil
671 '(("\\<\\(FIXME\\):" 1 font-lock-warning-face t)))))
672 @end example
673
674 @findex font-lock-remove-keywords
675 To remove keywords from the font-lock highlighting patterns, use the
676 function @code{font-lock-remove-keywords}. @xref{Search-based
677 Fontification,,, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
678
679 @cindex just-in-time (JIT) font-lock
680 @cindex background syntax highlighting
681 Fontifying large buffers can take a long time. To avoid large
682 delays when a file is visited, Emacs fontifies only the visible
683 portion of a buffer. As you scroll through the buffer, each portion
684 that becomes visible is fontified as soon as it is displayed; this
685 type of Font Lock is called @dfn{Just-In-Time} (or @dfn{JIT}) Lock.
686 You can control how JIT Lock behaves, including telling it to perform
687 fontification while idle, by customizing variables in the
688 customization group @samp{jit-lock}. @xref{Specific Customization}.
689
690 @node Highlight Interactively
691 @section Interactive Highlighting
692 @cindex highlighting by matching
693 @cindex interactive highlighting
694 @cindex Highlight Changes mode
695
696 @findex highlight-changes-mode
697 Highlight Changes mode is a minor mode that @dfn{highlights} the parts
698 of the buffer were changed most recently, by giving that text a
699 different face. To enable or disable Highlight Changes mode, use
700 @kbd{M-x highlight-changes-mode}.
701
702 @cindex Hi Lock mode
703 @findex hi-lock-mode
704 Hi Lock mode is a minor mode that highlights text that matches
705 regular expressions you specify. For example, you can use it to
706 highlight all the references to a certain variable in a program source
707 file, highlight certain parts in a voluminous output of some program,
708 or highlight certain names in an article. To enable or disable Hi
709 Lock mode, use the command @kbd{M-x hi-lock-mode}. To enable Hi Lock
710 mode for all buffers, use @kbd{M-x global-hi-lock-mode} or place
711 @code{(global-hi-lock-mode 1)} in your @file{.emacs} file.
712
713 Hi Lock mode works like Font Lock mode (@pxref{Font Lock}), except
714 that you specify explicitly the regular expressions to highlight. You
715 control them with these commands:
716
717 @table @kbd
718 @item C-x w h @var{regexp} @key{RET} @var{face} @key{RET}
719 @kindex C-x w h
720 @findex highlight-regexp
721 Highlight text that matches @var{regexp} using face @var{face}
722 (@code{highlight-regexp}). The highlighting will remain as long as
723 the buffer is loaded. For example, to highlight all occurrences of
724 the word ``whim'' using the default face (a yellow background)
725 @kbd{C-x w h whim @key{RET} @key{RET}}. Any face can be used for
726 highlighting, Hi Lock provides several of its own and these are
727 pre-loaded into a list of default values. While being prompted
728 for a face use @kbd{M-n} and @kbd{M-p} to cycle through them.
729
730 You can use this command multiple times, specifying various regular
731 expressions to highlight in different ways.
732
733 @item C-x w r @var{regexp} @key{RET}
734 @kindex C-x w r
735 @findex unhighlight-regexp
736 Unhighlight @var{regexp} (@code{unhighlight-regexp}).
737
738 If you invoke this from the menu, you select the expression to
739 unhighlight from a list. If you invoke this from the keyboard, you
740 use the minibuffer. It will show the most recently added regular
741 expression; use @kbd{M-p} to show the next older expression and
742 @kbd{M-n} to select the next newer expression. (You can also type the
743 expression by hand, with completion.) When the expression you want to
744 unhighlight appears in the minibuffer, press @kbd{@key{RET}} to exit
745 the minibuffer and unhighlight it.
746
747 @item C-x w l @var{regexp} @key{RET} @var{face} @key{RET}
748 @kindex C-x w l
749 @findex highlight-lines-matching-regexp
750 @cindex lines, highlighting
751 @cindex highlighting lines of text
752 Highlight entire lines containing a match for @var{regexp}, using face
753 @var{face} (@code{highlight-lines-matching-regexp}).
754
755 @item C-x w b
756 @kindex C-x w b
757 @findex hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns
758 Insert all the current highlighting regexp/face pairs into the buffer
759 at point, with comment delimiters to prevent them from changing your
760 program. (This key binding runs the
761 @code{hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns} command.)
762
763 These patterns are extracted from the comments, if appropriate, if you
764 invoke @kbd{M-x hi-lock-find-patterns}, or if you visit the file while
765 Hi Lock mode is enabled (since that runs @code{hi-lock-find-patterns}).
766
767 @item C-x w i
768 @kindex C-x w i
769 @findex hi-lock-find-patterns
770 Extract regexp/face pairs from comments in the current buffer
771 (@code{hi-lock-find-patterns}). Thus, you can enter patterns
772 interactively with @code{highlight-regexp}, store them into the file
773 with @code{hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns}, edit them (perhaps
774 including different faces for different parenthesized parts of the
775 match), and finally use this command (@code{hi-lock-find-patterns}) to
776 have Hi Lock highlight the edited patterns.
777
778 @vindex hi-lock-file-patterns-policy
779 The variable @code{hi-lock-file-patterns-policy} controls whether Hi
780 Lock mode should automatically extract and highlight patterns found in a
781 file when it is visited. Its value can be @code{nil} (never highlight),
782 @code{ask} (query the user), or a function. If it is a function,
783 @code{hi-lock-find-patterns} calls it with the patterns as argument; if
784 the function returns non-@code{nil}, the patterns are used. The default
785 is @code{ask}. Note that patterns are always highlighted if you call
786 @code{hi-lock-find-patterns} directly, regardless of the value of this
787 variable.
788
789 @vindex hi-lock-exclude-modes
790 Also, @code{hi-lock-find-patterns} does nothing if the current major
791 mode's symbol is a member of the list @code{hi-lock-exclude-modes}.
792 @end table
793
794 @node Fringes
795 @section Window Fringes
796 @cindex fringes
797
798 On a graphical display, each Emacs window normally has narrow
799 @dfn{fringes} on the left and right edges. The fringes are used to
800 display symbols that provide information about the text in the window.
801
802 The most common use of the fringes is to indicate a continuation
803 line, when one line of text is split into multiple lines on the
804 screen. The left fringe shows a curving arrow for each screen line
805 except the first, indicating that ``this is not the real beginning.''
806 The right fringe shows a curving arrow for each screen line except the
807 last, indicating that ``this is not the real end.''
808
809 The fringes indicate line truncation with short horizontal arrows
810 meaning ``there's more text on this line which is scrolled
811 horizontally out of view;'' clicking the mouse on one of the arrows
812 scrolls the display horizontally in the direction of the arrow. The
813 fringes can also indicate other things, such as empty lines, or where a
814 program you are debugging is executing (@pxref{Debuggers}).
815
816 @findex set-fringe-style
817 @findex fringe-mode
818 You can enable and disable the fringes for all frames using
819 @kbd{M-x fringe-mode}. To enable and disable the fringes
820 for the selected frame, use @kbd{M-x set-fringe-style}.
821
822 @node Displaying Boundaries
823 @section Displaying Boundaries
824
825 @vindex indicate-buffer-boundaries
826 On a graphical display, Emacs can indicate the buffer boundaries in
827 the fringes. It indicates the first line and the last line with
828 angle images in the fringes. This can be combined with up and down
829 arrow images which say whether it is possible to scroll the window up
830 and down.
831
832 The buffer-local variable @code{indicate-buffer-boundaries} controls
833 how the buffer boundaries and window scrolling is indicated in the
834 fringes. If the value is @code{left} or @code{right}, both angle and
835 arrow bitmaps are displayed in the left or right fringe, respectively.
836
837 If value is an alist, each element @code{(@var{indicator} .
838 @var{position})} specifies the position of one of the indicators.
839 The @var{indicator} must be one of @code{top}, @code{bottom},
840 @code{up}, @code{down}, or @code{t} which specifies the default
841 position for the indicators not present in the alist.
842 The @var{position} is one of @code{left}, @code{right}, or @code{nil}
843 which specifies not to show this indicator.
844
845 For example, @code{((top . left) (t . right))} places the top angle
846 bitmap in left fringe, the bottom angle bitmap in right fringe, and
847 both arrow bitmaps in right fringe. To show just the angle bitmaps in
848 the left fringe, but no arrow bitmaps, use @code{((top . left)
849 (bottom . left))}.
850
851 @node Useless Whitespace
852 @section Useless Whitespace
853
854 @cindex trailing whitespace
855 @cindex whitespace, trailing
856 @vindex show-trailing-whitespace
857 It is easy to leave unnecessary spaces at the end of a line, or
858 empty lines at the end of a file, without realizing it. In most
859 cases, this @dfn{trailing whitespace} has no effect, but there are
860 special circumstances where it matters, and it can be a nuisance.
861
862 You can make trailing whitespace at the end of a line visible by
863 setting the buffer-local variable @code{show-trailing-whitespace} to
864 @code{t}. Then Emacs displays trailing whitespace, using the face
865 @code{trailing-whitespace}.
866
867 This feature does not apply when point is at the end of the line
868 containing the whitespace. Strictly speaking, that is ``trailing
869 whitespace'' nonetheless, but displaying it specially in that case
870 looks ugly while you are typing in new text. In this special case,
871 the location of point is enough to show you that the spaces are
872 present.
873
874 @findex delete-trailing-whitespace
875 To delete all trailing whitespace within the buffer's accessible
876 portion (@pxref{Narrowing}), type @kbd{M-x delete-trailing-whitespace
877 @key{RET}}. This command does not remove newline characters.
878
879 @vindex indicate-empty-lines
880 @cindex unused lines
881 @cindex fringes, and unused line indication
882 Emacs can indicate unused lines at the end of the window with a
883 small image in the left fringe (@pxref{Fringes}). The image appears
884 for window lines that do not correspond to any buffer text. Blank
885 lines at the end of the buffer then stand out because they do not have
886 this image in the fringe.
887
888 To enable this feature, set the buffer-local variable
889 @code{indicate-empty-lines} to a non-@code{nil} value. You can enable
890 or disable this feature for all new buffers by setting the default
891 value of this variable, e.g.@: @code{(setq-default
892 indicate-empty-lines t)};. (This feature currently doesn't work on
893 text-only terminals.)
894
895 @node Selective Display
896 @section Selective Display
897 @cindex selective display
898 @findex set-selective-display
899 @kindex C-x $
900
901 Emacs has the ability to hide lines indented more than a given
902 number of columns. You can use this to get an overview of a part of a
903 program.
904
905 To hide lines in the current buffer, type @kbd{C-x $}
906 (@code{set-selective-display}) with a numeric argument @var{n}. Then
907 lines with at least @var{n} columns of indentation disappear from the
908 screen. The only indication of their presence is that three dots
909 (@samp{@dots{}}) appear at the end of each visible line that is
910 followed by one or more hidden ones.
911
912 The commands @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} move across the hidden lines as
913 if they were not there.
914
915 The hidden lines are still present in the buffer, and most editing
916 commands see them as usual, so you may find point in the middle of the
917 hidden text. When this happens, the cursor appears at the end of the
918 previous line, after the three dots. If point is at the end of the
919 visible line, before the newline that ends it, the cursor appears before
920 the three dots.
921
922 To make all lines visible again, type @kbd{C-x $} with no argument.
923
924 @vindex selective-display-ellipses
925 If you set the variable @code{selective-display-ellipses} to
926 @code{nil}, the three dots do not appear at the end of a line that
927 precedes hidden lines. Then there is no visible indication of the
928 hidden lines. This variable becomes local automatically when set.
929
930 See also @ref{Outline Mode} for another way to hide part of
931 the text in a buffer.
932
933 @node Optional Mode Line
934 @section Optional Mode Line Features
935
936 @cindex buffer size display
937 @cindex display of buffer size
938 @findex size-indication-mode
939 The buffer percentage @var{pos} indicates the percentage of the
940 buffer above the top of the window. You can additionally display the
941 size of the buffer by typing @kbd{M-x size-indication-mode} to turn on
942 Size Indication mode. The size will be displayed immediately
943 following the buffer percentage like this:
944
945 @example
946 @var{POS} of @var{SIZE}
947 @end example
948
949 @noindent
950 Here @var{SIZE} is the human readable representation of the number of
951 characters in the buffer, which means that @samp{k} for 10^3, @samp{M}
952 for 10^6, @samp{G} for 10^9, etc., are used to abbreviate.
953
954 @cindex line number display
955 @cindex display of line number
956 @findex line-number-mode
957 The current line number of point appears in the mode line when Line
958 Number mode is enabled. Use the command @kbd{M-x line-number-mode} to
959 turn this mode on and off; normally it is on. The line number appears
960 after the buffer percentage @var{pos}, with the letter @samp{L} to
961 indicate what it is.
962
963 @cindex Column Number mode
964 @cindex mode, Column Number
965 @findex column-number-mode
966 Similarly, you can display the current column number by turning on
967 Column number mode with @kbd{M-x column-number-mode}. The column
968 number is indicated by the letter @samp{C}. However, when both of
969 these modes are enabled, the line and column numbers are displayed in
970 parentheses, the line number first, rather than with @samp{L} and
971 @samp{C}. For example: @samp{(561,2)}. @xref{Minor Modes}, for more
972 information about minor modes and about how to use these commands.
973
974 @cindex narrowing, and line number display
975 If you have narrowed the buffer (@pxref{Narrowing}), the displayed
976 line number is relative to the accessible portion of the buffer.
977 Thus, it isn't suitable as an argument to @code{goto-line}. (Use
978 @code{what-line} command to see the line number relative to the whole
979 file.)
980
981 @vindex line-number-display-limit
982 If the buffer is very large (larger than the value of
983 @code{line-number-display-limit}), Emacs won't compute the line
984 number, because that would be too slow; therefore, the line number
985 won't appear on the mode-line. To remove this limit, set
986 @code{line-number-display-limit} to @code{nil}.
987
988 @vindex line-number-display-limit-width
989 Line-number computation can also be slow if the lines in the buffer
990 are too long. For this reason, Emacs doesn't display line numbers if
991 the average width, in characters, of lines near point is larger than
992 the value of @code{line-number-display-limit-width}. The default
993 value is 200 characters.
994
995 @findex display-time
996 @cindex time (on mode line)
997 Emacs can optionally display the time and system load in all mode
998 lines. To enable this feature, type @kbd{M-x display-time} or customize
999 the option @code{display-time-mode}. The information added to the mode
1000 line usually appears after the buffer name, before the mode names and
1001 their parentheses. It looks like this:
1002
1003 @example
1004 @var{hh}:@var{mm}pm @var{l.ll}
1005 @end example
1006
1007 @noindent
1008 @vindex display-time-24hr-format
1009 Here @var{hh} and @var{mm} are the hour and minute, followed always by
1010 @samp{am} or @samp{pm}. @var{l.ll} is the average number, collected
1011 for the last few minutes, of processes in the whole system that were
1012 either running or ready to run (i.e.@: were waiting for an available
1013 processor). (Some fields may be missing if your operating system
1014 cannot support them.) If you prefer time display in 24-hour format,
1015 set the variable @code{display-time-24hr-format} to @code{t}.
1016
1017 @cindex mail (on mode line)
1018 @vindex display-time-use-mail-icon
1019 @vindex display-time-mail-face
1020 @vindex display-time-mail-file
1021 @vindex display-time-mail-directory
1022 The word @samp{Mail} appears after the load level if there is mail
1023 for you that you have not read yet. On a graphical display you can use
1024 an icon instead of @samp{Mail} by customizing
1025 @code{display-time-use-mail-icon}; this may save some space on the mode
1026 line. You can customize @code{display-time-mail-face} to make the mail
1027 indicator prominent. Use @code{display-time-mail-file} to specify
1028 the mail file to check, or set @code{display-time-mail-directory}
1029 to specify the directory to check for incoming mail (any nonempty regular
1030 file in the directory is considered as ``newly arrived mail'').
1031
1032 @cindex mail (on mode line)
1033 @findex display-battery-mode
1034 @vindex display-battery-mode
1035 @vindex battery-mode-line-format
1036 When running Emacs on a laptop computer, you can display the battery
1037 charge on the mode-line, by using the command
1038 @code{display-battery-mode} or customizing the variable
1039 @code{display-battery-mode}. The variable
1040 @code{battery-mode-line-format} determines the way the battery charge
1041 is displayed; the exact mode-line message depends on the operating
1042 system, and it usually shows the current battery charge as a
1043 percentage of the total charge.
1044
1045 @cindex mode line, 3D appearance
1046 @cindex attributes of mode line, changing
1047 @cindex non-integral number of lines in a window
1048 By default, the mode line is drawn on graphics displays with
1049 3D-style highlighting, like that of a button when it is not being
1050 pressed. If you don't like this effect, you can disable the 3D
1051 highlighting of the mode line, by customizing the attributes of the
1052 @code{mode-line} face. @xref{Face Customization}.
1053
1054 @cindex non-selected windows, mode line appearance
1055 By default, the mode line of nonselected windows is displayed in a
1056 different face, called @code{mode-line-inactive}. Only the selected
1057 window is displayed in the @code{mode-line} face. This helps show
1058 which window is selected. When the minibuffer is selected, since
1059 it has no mode line, the window from which you activated the minibuffer
1060 has its mode line displayed using @code{mode-line}; as a result,
1061 ordinary entry to the minibuffer does not change any mode lines.
1062
1063 @vindex mode-line-in-non-selected-windows
1064 You can disable use of @code{mode-line-inactive} by setting variable
1065 @code{mode-line-in-non-selected-windows} to @code{nil}; then all mode
1066 lines are displayed in the @code{mode-line} face.
1067
1068 @vindex eol-mnemonic-unix
1069 @vindex eol-mnemonic-dos
1070 @vindex eol-mnemonic-mac
1071 @vindex eol-mnemonic-undecided
1072 You can customize the mode line display for each of the end-of-line
1073 formats by setting each of the variables @code{eol-mnemonic-unix},
1074 @code{eol-mnemonic-dos}, @code{eol-mnemonic-mac}, and
1075 @code{eol-mnemonic-undecided} to the strings you prefer.
1076
1077 @node Text Display
1078 @section How Text Is Displayed
1079 @cindex characters (in text)
1080
1081 @acronym{ASCII} printing characters (octal codes 040 through 0176) in Emacs
1082 buffers are displayed with their graphics, as are non-@acronym{ASCII} multibyte
1083 printing characters (octal codes above 0400).
1084
1085 @vindex tab-width
1086 Some @acronym{ASCII} control characters are displayed in special
1087 ways. The newline character (octal code 012) is displayed by starting
1088 a new line. The tab character (octal code 011) is displayed by moving
1089 to the next tab stop column (normally every 8 columns). The number of
1090 spaces per tab is controlled by the variable @code{tab-width}, which
1091 must have an integer value between 1 and 1000, inclusive, and is made
1092 buffer-local by changing it. Note that how the tab character in the buffer
1093 is displayed has nothing to do with the definition of @key{TAB} as a
1094 command.
1095
1096 Other @acronym{ASCII} control characters are normally displayed as a caret
1097 (@samp{^}) followed by the non-control version of the character; thus,
1098 control-A is displayed as @samp{^A}. The caret appears in face
1099 @code{escape-glyph}.
1100
1101 Non-@acronym{ASCII} characters 0200 through 0237 (octal) are
1102 displayed with octal escape sequences; thus, character code 0230
1103 (octal) is displayed as @samp{\230}. The backslash appears in face
1104 @code{escape-glyph}.
1105
1106 @vindex ctl-arrow
1107 If the variable @code{ctl-arrow} is @code{nil}, control characters in
1108 the buffer are displayed with octal escape sequences, except for newline
1109 and tab. Altering the value of @code{ctl-arrow} makes it local to the
1110 current buffer; until that time, the default value is in effect. The
1111 default is initially @code{t}.
1112
1113 The display of character codes 0240 through 0377 (octal) may be
1114 either as escape sequences or as graphics. They do not normally occur
1115 in multibyte buffers, but if they do, they are displayed as Latin-1
1116 graphics. In unibyte mode, if you enable European display they are
1117 displayed using their graphics (assuming your terminal supports them),
1118 otherwise as escape sequences. @xref{Unibyte Mode}.
1119
1120 @vindex nobreak-char-display
1121 @cindex no-break space, display
1122 @cindex no-break hyphen, display
1123 @cindex soft hyphen, display
1124 Some character sets define ``no-break'' versions of the space and
1125 hyphen characters, which are used where a line should not be broken.
1126 Emacs normally displays these characters with special faces
1127 (respectively, @code{nobreak-space} and @code{escape-glyph}) to
1128 distinguish them from ordinary spaces and hyphens. You can turn off
1129 this feature by setting the variable @code{nobreak-char-display} to
1130 @code{nil}. If you set the variable to any other value, that means to
1131 prefix these characters with an escape character.
1132
1133 You can customize the way any particular character code is displayed
1134 by means of a display table. @xref{Display Tables,, Display Tables,
1135 elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
1136
1137 @node Cursor Display
1138 @section Displaying the Cursor
1139
1140 @findex blink-cursor-mode
1141 @vindex blink-cursor-alist
1142 @cindex cursor, locating visually
1143 @cindex cursor, blinking
1144 You can customize the cursor's color, and whether it blinks, using
1145 the @code{cursor} Custom group (@pxref{Easy Customization}). On
1146 a graphical display, the command @kbd{M-x blink-cursor-mode} enables
1147 or disables the blinking of the cursor. (On text terminals, the
1148 terminal itself blinks the cursor, and Emacs has no control over it.)
1149 You can control how the cursor appears when it blinks off by setting
1150 the variable @code{blink-cursor-alist}.
1151
1152 @vindex visible-cursor
1153 Some text terminals offer two different cursors: the normal cursor
1154 and the very visible cursor, where the latter may be e.g. bigger or
1155 blinking. By default Emacs uses the very visible cursor, and switches
1156 to it when you start or resume Emacs. If the variable
1157 @code{visible-cursor} is @code{nil} when Emacs starts or resumes, it
1158 doesn't switch, so it uses the normal cursor.
1159
1160 @cindex cursor in non-selected windows
1161 @vindex cursor-in-non-selected-windows
1162 Normally, the cursor appears in non-selected windows without
1163 blinking, with the same appearance as when the blinking cursor blinks
1164 ``off.'' For a box cursor, this is a hollow box; for a bar cursor,
1165 this is a thinner bar. To turn off cursors in non-selected windows,
1166 customize the variable @code{cursor-in-non-selected-windows} and
1167 assign it a @code{nil} value.
1168
1169 @vindex x-stretch-cursor
1170 @cindex wide block cursor
1171 On graphical displays, Emacs can optionally draw the block cursor
1172 as wide as the character under the cursor---for example, if the cursor
1173 is on a tab character, it would cover the full width occupied by that
1174 tab character. To enable this feature, set the variable
1175 @code{x-stretch-cursor} to a non-@code{nil} value.
1176
1177 @findex hl-line-mode
1178 @findex global-hl-line-mode
1179 @cindex highlight current line
1180 To make the cursor even more visible, you can use HL Line mode, a
1181 minor mode that highlights the line containing point. Use @kbd{M-x
1182 hl-line-mode} to enable or disable it in the current buffer. @kbd{M-x
1183 global-hl-line-mode} enables or disables the same mode globally.
1184
1185 @node Line Truncation
1186 @section Truncation of Lines
1187
1188 @cindex truncation
1189 @cindex line truncation, and fringes
1190 As an alternative to continuation (@pxref{Continuation Lines}), Emacs
1191 can display long lines by @dfn{truncation}. This means that all the
1192 characters that do not fit in the width of the screen or window do not
1193 appear at all. On graphical displays, a small straight arrow in the
1194 fringe indicates truncation at either end of the line. On text-only
1195 terminals, @samp{$} appears in the first column when there is text
1196 truncated to the left, and in the last column when there is text
1197 truncated to the right.
1198
1199 @vindex truncate-lines
1200 @findex toggle-truncate-lines
1201 Horizontal scrolling automatically causes line truncation
1202 (@pxref{Horizontal Scrolling}). You can explicitly enable line
1203 truncation for a particular buffer with the command @kbd{M-x
1204 toggle-truncate-lines}. This works by locally changing the variable
1205 @code{truncate-lines}. If that variable is non-@code{nil}, long lines
1206 are truncated; if it is @code{nil}, they are continued onto multiple
1207 screen lines. Setting the variable @code{truncate-lines} in any way
1208 makes it local to the current buffer; until that time, the default
1209 value is in effect. The default value is normally @code{nil}.
1210
1211 @c @vindex truncate-partial-width-windows @c Idx entry is in Split Windows.
1212 If the variable @code{truncate-partial-width-windows} is
1213 non-@code{nil}, it forces truncation rather than continuation in any
1214 window less than the full width of the screen or frame, regardless of
1215 the value of @code{truncate-lines}. See also @ref{Display,, Display,
1216 elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.
1217
1218 @vindex overflow-newline-into-fringe
1219 If the variable @code{overflow-newline-into-fringe} is
1220 non-@code{nil} on a graphical display, then Emacs does not continue or
1221 truncate a line which is exactly as wide as the window. Instead, the
1222 newline overflows into the right fringe, and the cursor appears in the
1223 fringe when positioned on that newline.
1224
1225 @node Visual Line Mode
1226 @section Visual Line Mode
1227
1228 @cindex word wrap
1229 Another alternative to ordinary line continuation is to use
1230 @dfn{word wrap}. Here, each long logical line is divided into two or
1231 more screen lines, like in ordinary line continuation. However, Emacs
1232 attempts to wrap the line at word boundaries near the right window
1233 edge. This makes the text easier to read, as wrapping does not occur
1234 in the middle of words.
1235
1236 @cindex Visual Line mode
1237 @findex visual-line-mode
1238 @findex global-visual-line-mode
1239 Word wrap is enabled by Visual Line mode, an optional minor mode.
1240 To turn on Visual Line mode in the current buffer, type @kbd{M-x
1241 visual-line-mode}; repeating this command turns it off. You can also
1242 turn on Visual Line mode using the menu bar: in the Options menu,
1243 select the @samp{Line Wrapping in this Buffer} submenu, followed by
1244 the @samp{Word Wrap (Visual Line Mode)} menu item. While Visual Line
1245 mode is enabled, the mode-line shows the string @samp{wrap} in the
1246 mode display. The command @kbd{M-x global-visual-line-mode} toggles
1247 Visual Line mode in all buffers.
1248
1249 @findex beginning-of-visual-line
1250 @findex end-of-visual-line
1251 @findex next-logical-line
1252 @findex previous-logical-line
1253 In Visual Line mode, some editing commands work on screen lines
1254 instead of logical lines: @kbd{C-a} (@code{beginning-of-visual-line})
1255 moves to the beginning of the screen line, @kbd{C-e}
1256 (@code{end-of-visual-line}) moves to the end of the screen line, and
1257 @kbd{C-k} (@code{kill-visual-line}) kills text to the end of the
1258 screen line.
1259
1260 To move by logical lines, use the commands @kbd{M-x
1261 next-logical-line} and @kbd{M-x previous-logical-line}. These move
1262 point to the next logical line and the previous logical line
1263 respectively, regardless of whether Visual Line mode is enabled. If
1264 you use these commands frequently, it may be convenient to assign key
1265 bindings to them. @xref{Init Rebinding}.
1266
1267 By default, word-wrapped lines do not display fringe indicators.
1268 Visual Line mode is often used to edit files that contain many long
1269 logical lines, so having a fringe indicator for each wrapped line
1270 would be visually distracting. You can change this by customizing the
1271 variable @code{visual-line-fringe-indicators}.
1272
1273 @node Display Custom
1274 @section Customization of Display
1275
1276 This section describes variables (@pxref{Variables}) that you can
1277 change to customize how Emacs displays. Beginning users can skip
1278 it.
1279 @c the reason for that pxref is because an xref early in the
1280 @c ``echo area'' section leads here.
1281
1282 @vindex visible-bell
1283 If the variable @code{visible-bell} is non-@code{nil}, Emacs attempts
1284 to make the whole screen blink when it would normally make an audible bell
1285 sound. This variable has no effect if your terminal does not have a way
1286 to make the screen blink.
1287
1288 @vindex echo-keystrokes
1289 The variable @code{echo-keystrokes} controls the echoing of multi-character
1290 keys; its value is the number of seconds of pause required to cause echoing
1291 to start, or zero, meaning don't echo at all. The value takes effect when
1292 there is someting to echo. @xref{Echo Area}.
1293
1294 @vindex baud-rate
1295 The variable @anchor{baud-rate}@code{baud-rate} holds the output
1296 speed of the terminal. Setting this variable does not change the
1297 speed of actual data transmission, but the value is used for
1298 calculations. On text-only terminals, it affects padding, and
1299 decisions about whether to scroll part of the screen or redraw it
1300 instead. It also affects the behavior of incremental search. On
1301 graphical displays, @code{baud-rate} is only used to determine how
1302 frequently to look for pending input during display updating. A
1303 higher value of @code{baud-rate} means that check for pending input
1304 will be done less frequently.
1305
1306 @cindex mouse pointer
1307 @cindex hourglass pointer display
1308 @vindex display-hourglass
1309 @vindex hourglass-delay
1310 On graphical displays, Emacs displays the mouse pointer as an
1311 hourglass if Emacs is busy. To disable this feature, set the variable
1312 @code{display-hourglass} to @code{nil}. The variable
1313 @code{hourglass-delay} determines the number of seconds of ``busy
1314 time'' before the hourglass is shown; the default is 1.
1315
1316 @vindex make-pointer-invisible
1317 If the mouse pointer lies inside an Emacs frame, Emacs makes it
1318 invisible each time you type a character to insert text, to prevent it
1319 from obscuring the text. (To be precise, the hiding occurs when you
1320 type a ``self-inserting'' character. @xref{Inserting Text}.) Moving
1321 the mouse pointer makes it visible again. To disable this feature,
1322 set the variable @code{make-pointer-invisible} to @code{nil}.
1323
1324 @vindex underline-minimum-offset
1325 @vindex x-underline-at-descent-line
1326 On graphical displays, the variable @code{underline-minimum-offset}
1327 determines the minimum distance between the baseline and underline, in
1328 pixels, for underlined text. By default, the value is 1; increasing
1329 it may improve the legibility of underlined text for certain fonts.
1330 (However, Emacs will never draw the underline below the current line
1331 area.) The variable @code{x-underline-at-descent-line} determines how
1332 to draw underlined text. The default is @code{nil}, which means to
1333 draw it at the baseline level of the font; if you change it to
1334 @code{nil}, Emacs draws the underline at the same height as the font's
1335 descent line.
1336
1337 @vindex overline-margin
1338 The variable @code{overline-margin} specifies the vertical position
1339 of an overline above the text, including the height of the overline
1340 itself, in pixels; the default is 2.
1341
1342 @findex tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors
1343 On some text-only terminals, bold face and inverse video together
1344 result in text that is hard to read. Call the function
1345 @code{tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors} with a non-@code{nil}
1346 argument to suppress the effect of bold-face in this case.
1347
1348 @vindex no-redraw-on-reenter
1349 On a text-only terminal, when you reenter Emacs after suspending, Emacs
1350 normally clears the screen and redraws the entire display. On some
1351 terminals with more than one page of memory, it is possible to arrange
1352 the termcap entry so that the @samp{ti} and @samp{te} strings (output
1353 to the terminal when Emacs is entered and exited, respectively) switch
1354 between pages of memory so as to use one page for Emacs and another
1355 page for other output. On such terminals, you might want to set the variable
1356 @code{no-redraw-on-reenter} non-@code{nil}; this tells Emacs to
1357 assume, when resumed, that the screen page it is using still contains
1358 what Emacs last wrote there.
1359
1360 @ignore
1361 arch-tag: 2219f910-2ff0-4521-b059-1bd231a536c4
1362 @end ignore