1 @c This is part of the Emacs manual.
2 @c Copyright (C) 1985,86,87,93,94,95,1997,2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
3 @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
4 @node Command Arguments, X Resources, Service, Top
5 @appendix Command Line Arguments
6 @cindex command line arguments
7 @cindex arguments (command line)
8 @cindex options (command line)
9 @cindex switches (command line)
10 @cindex startup (command line arguments)
12 GNU Emacs supports command line arguments to request various actions
13 when invoking Emacs. These are for compatibility with other editors and
14 for sophisticated activities. We don't recommend using them for
17 Arguments starting with @samp{-} are @dfn{options}. Other arguments
18 specify files to visit. Emacs visits the specified files while it
19 starts up. The last file name on your command line becomes the
20 current buffer; the other files are also visited in other buffers. If
21 there are two files, they are both displayed; otherwise the last file
22 is displayed along with a buffer list that shows what other buffers
23 there are. As with most programs, the special argument @samp{--} says
24 that all subsequent arguments are file names, not options, even if
25 they start with @samp{-}.
27 Emacs command options can specify many things, such as the size and
28 position of the X window Emacs uses, its colors, and so on. A few
29 options support advanced usage, such as running Lisp functions on files
30 in batch mode. The sections of this chapter describe the available
31 options, arranged according to their purpose.
33 There are two ways of writing options: the short forms that start with
34 a single @samp{-}, and the long forms that start with @samp{--}. For
35 example, @samp{-d} is a short form and @samp{--display} is the
36 corresponding long form.
38 The long forms with @samp{--} are easier to remember, but longer to
39 type. However, you don't have to spell out the whole option name; any
40 unambiguous abbreviation is enough. When a long option takes an
41 argument, you can use either a space or an equal sign to separate the
42 option name and the argument. Thus, you can write either
43 @samp{--display sugar-bombs:0.0} or @samp{--display=sugar-bombs:0.0}.
44 We recommend an equal sign because it makes the relationship clearer,
45 and the tables below always show an equal sign.
47 @cindex initial options (command line)
48 @cindex action options (command line)
49 Most options specify how to initialize Emacs, or set parameters for
50 the Emacs session. We call them @dfn{initial options}. A few options
51 specify things to do: for example, load libraries, call functions, or
52 terminate Emacs. These are called @dfn{action options}. These and file
53 names together are called @dfn{action arguments}. Emacs processes all
54 the action arguments in the order they are written.
57 * Action Arguments:: Arguments to visit files, load libraries,
59 * Initial Options:: Arguments that take effect while starting Emacs.
60 * Command Example:: Examples of using command line arguments.
61 * Resume Arguments:: Specifying arguments when you resume a running Emacs.
62 * Environment:: Environment variables that Emacs uses.
63 * Display X:: Changing the default display and using remote login.
64 * Font X:: Choosing a font for text, under X.
65 * Colors:: Choosing display colors.
66 * Window Size X:: Start-up window size, under X.
67 * Borders X:: Internal and external borders, under X.
68 * Title X:: Specifying the initial frame's title.
69 * Icons X:: Choosing what sort of icon to use, under X.
72 @node Action Arguments
73 @appendixsec Action Arguments
75 Here is a table of the action arguments and options:
80 @itemx --visit=@var{file}
82 @itemx --file=@var{file}
83 @cindex visiting files, command-line argument
84 Visit @var{file} using @code{find-file}. @xref{Visiting}.
86 @item +@var{linenum} @var{file}
87 @opindex +@var{linenum}
88 Visit @var{file} using @code{find-file}, then go to line number
91 @item +@var{linenum}:@var{columnnum} @var{file}
92 Visit @var{file} using @code{find-file}, then go to line number
93 @var{linenum} and put point at column number @var{columnnum}.
98 @itemx --load=@var{file}
100 @cindex loading Lisp libraries, command-line argument
101 Load a Lisp library named @var{file} with the function @code{load}.
102 @xref{Lisp Libraries}. The library can be found either in the current
103 directory, or in the Emacs library search path as specified
104 with @env{EMACSLOADPATH} (@pxref{General Variables}).
106 @item -f @var{function}
108 @itemx --funcall=@var{function}
110 @cindex call Lisp functions, command-line argument
111 Call Lisp function @var{function} with no arguments.
113 @item --eval=@var{expression}
115 @itemx --execute=@var{expression}
117 @cindex evaluate expression, command-line argument
118 Evaluate Lisp expression @var{expression}.
120 @item --insert=@var{file}
122 @cindex insert file contents, command-line argument
123 Insert the contents of @var{file} into the current buffer. This is like
124 what @kbd{M-x insert-file} does. @xref{Misc File Ops}.
128 Exit from Emacs without asking for confirmation.
131 @vindex command-line-args
132 The init file can access the values of the action arguments as the
133 elements of a list in the variable @code{command-line-args}. The init
134 file can override the normal processing of the action arguments, or
135 define new ones, by reading and setting this variable.
137 @node Initial Options
138 @appendixsec Initial Options
140 The initial options specify parameters for the Emacs session. This
141 section describes the more general initial options; some other options
142 specifically related to the X Window System appear in the following
145 Some initial options affect the loading of init files. The normal
146 actions of Emacs are to first load @file{site-start.el} if it exists,
147 then your own init file @file{~/.emacs} if it exists, and finally
148 @file{default.el} if it exists; certain options prevent loading of some
149 of these files or substitute other files for them.
152 @item -t @var{device}
154 @itemx --terminal=@var{device}
156 @cindex device for Emacs terminal I/O
157 Use @var{device} as the device for terminal input and output.
159 @item -d @var{display}
161 @itemx --display=@var{display}
163 @cindex display for Emacs frame
164 Use the X Window System and use the display named @var{display} to open
165 the initial Emacs frame. @xref{Display X}, for more details.
169 @itemx --no-window-system
170 @opindex --no-window-system
171 @cindex disable window system
172 Don't communicate directly with the window system, disregarding the
173 @env{DISPLAY} environment variable even if it is set. This means that
174 Emacs uses the terminal from which it was launched for all its display
182 Run Emacs in @dfn{batch mode}, which means that the text being edited is
183 not displayed and the standard terminal interrupt characters such as
184 @kbd{C-z} and @kbd{C-c} continue to have their normal effect. Emacs in
185 batch mode outputs to @code{stderr} only what would normally be displayed
186 in the echo area under program control, and functions which would
187 normally read from the minibuffer take their input from @code{stdin}.
189 Batch mode is used for running programs written in Emacs Lisp from
190 shell scripts, makefiles, and so on. Normally the @samp{-l} option
191 or @samp{-f} option will be used as well, to invoke a Lisp program
192 to do the batch processing.
194 @samp{-batch} implies @samp{-q} (do not load an init file). It also
195 causes Emacs to exit after processing all the command options. In
196 addition, it disables auto-saving except in buffers for which it has
197 been explicitly requested.
201 @itemx --no-init-file
202 @opindex --no-init-file
203 @cindex bypassing init and site-start file
204 @cindex init file, not loading
205 @cindex @file{default.el} file, not loading
206 Do not load your Emacs init file @file{~/.emacs}, or @file{default.el}
207 either. When invoked like this, Emacs does not allow saving options
208 changed with the @kbd{M-x customize} command and its variants.
209 @xref{Easy Customization}.
212 @opindex --no-site-file
213 @cindex @file{site-start.el} file, not loading
214 Do not load @file{site-start.el}. The options @samp{-q}, @samp{-u}
215 and @samp{-batch} have no effect on the loading of this file---this is
216 the only option that blocks it.
220 @vindex inhibit-startup-message
221 Do not display a splash screen on startup; this is equivlaent to
222 setting the variable @code{inhibit-startup-message} to non-nil.
226 @itemx --user=@var{user}
228 @cindex load init file of another user
229 Load @var{user}'s Emacs init file @file{~@var{user}/.emacs} instead of
233 @opindex --debug-init
234 @cindex errors in init file
235 Enable the Emacs Lisp debugger for errors in the init file.
239 @cindex unibyte operation, command-line argument
240 Do almost everything with single-byte buffers and strings.
241 All buffers and strings are unibyte unless you (or a Lisp program)
242 explicitly ask for a multibyte buffer or string. (Note that Emacs
243 always loads Lisp files in multibyte mode, even if @samp{--unibyte} is
244 specified; see @ref{Enabling Multibyte}.) Setting the environment
245 variable @env{EMACS_UNIBYTE} has the same effect.
249 Inhibit the effect of @env{EMACS_UNIBYTE}, so that Emacs
250 uses multibyte characters by default, as usual.
253 @node Command Example
254 @appendixsec Command Argument Example
256 Here is an example of using Emacs with arguments and options. It
257 assumes you have a Lisp program file called @file{hack-c.el} which, when
258 loaded, performs some useful operation on the current buffer, expected
262 emacs -batch foo.c -l hack-c -f save-buffer >& log
266 This says to visit @file{foo.c}, load @file{hack-c.el} (which makes
267 changes in the visited file), save @file{foo.c} (note that
268 @code{save-buffer} is the function that @kbd{C-x C-s} is bound to), and
269 then exit back to the shell (because of @samp{-batch}). @samp{-batch}
270 also guarantees there will be no problem redirecting output to
271 @file{log}, because Emacs will not assume that it has a display terminal
274 @node Resume Arguments
275 @appendixsec Resuming Emacs with Arguments
277 You can specify action arguments for Emacs when you resume it after
278 a suspension. To prepare for this, put the following code in your
279 @file{.emacs} file (@pxref{Hooks}):
281 @c `resume-suspend-hook' is correct. It is the name of a function.
283 (add-hook 'suspend-hook 'resume-suspend-hook)
284 (add-hook 'suspend-resume-hook 'resume-process-args)
287 As further preparation, you must execute the shell script
288 @file{emacs.csh} (if you use csh as your shell) or @file{emacs.bash}
289 (if you use bash as your shell). These scripts define an alias named
290 @code{edit}, which will resume Emacs giving it new command line
291 arguments such as files to visit. The scripts are found in the
292 @file{etc} subdirectory of the Emacs distribution.
294 Only action arguments work properly when you resume Emacs. Initial
295 arguments are not recognized---it's too late to execute them anyway.
297 Note that resuming Emacs (with or without arguments) must be done from
298 within the shell that is the parent of the Emacs job. This is why
299 @code{edit} is an alias rather than a program or a shell script. It is
300 not possible to implement a resumption command that could be run from
301 other subjobs of the shell; there is no way to define a command that could
302 be made the value of @env{EDITOR}, for example. Therefore, this feature
303 does not take the place of the Emacs Server feature (@pxref{Emacs
306 The aliases use the Emacs Server feature if you appear to have a
307 server Emacs running. However, they cannot determine this with complete
308 accuracy. They may think that a server is still running when in
309 actuality you have killed that Emacs, because the file
310 @file{/tmp/esrv@dots{}} still exists. If this happens, find that
314 @appendixsec Environment Variables
315 @cindex environment variables
317 The @dfn{environment} is a feature of the operating system; it
318 consists of a collection of variables with names and values. Each
319 variable is called an @dfn{environment variable}; environment variable
320 names are case-sensitive, and it is conventional to use upper case
321 letters only. The values are all text strings.
323 What makes the environment useful is that subprocesses inherit the
324 environment automatically from their parent process. This means you
325 can set up an environment variable in your login shell, and all the
326 programs you run (including Emacs) will automatically see it.
327 Subprocesses of Emacs (such as shells, compilers, and version-control
328 software) inherit the environment from Emacs, too.
332 Inside Emacs, the command @kbd{M-x getenv} gets the value of an
333 environment variable. @kbd{M-x setenv} sets a variable in the Emacs
334 environment. The way to set environment variables outside of Emacs
335 depends on the operating system, and especially the shell that you are
336 using. For example, here's how to set the environment variable
337 @env{ORGANIZATION} to @samp{not very much} using Bash:
340 export ORGANIZATION="not very much"
344 and here's how to do it in csh or tcsh:
347 setenv ORGANIZATION "not very much"
350 When Emacs is uses the X Window System, it inherits the use
351 of a large number of environment variables from the X libraries. See
352 the X documentation for more information.
355 * General Variables:: Environment variables that all versions of Emacs use.
356 * Misc Variables:: Certain system-specific variables.
359 @node General Variables
360 @appendixsubsec General Variables
362 Here is an alphabetical list of specific environment variables that
363 have special meanings in Emacs, giving the name of each variable and
364 its meaning. Most of these variables are also used by some other
365 programs. Emacs does not require any of these environment variables
366 to be set, but it uses their values if they are set.
370 Used by the @code{cd} command to search for the directory you specify,
371 when you specify a relative directory name.
373 @cindex unibyte operation, environment variable
374 Defining this environment variable with a nonempty value directs Emacs
375 to do almost everything with single-byte buffers and strings. It is
376 equivalent to using the @samp{--unibyte} command-line option on each
377 invocation. @xref{Initial Options}.
379 Directory for the architecture-independent files that come with Emacs.
380 This is used to initialize the Lisp variable @code{data-directory}.
382 Directory for the documentation string file,
383 @file{DOC-@var{emacsversion}}. This is used to initialize the Lisp
384 variable @code{doc-directory}.
386 A colon-separated list of directories@footnote{
387 Here and below, whenever we say ``colon-separated list of directories'',
388 it pertains to Unix and GNU/Linux systems. On MS-DOS and MS-Windows,
389 the directories are separated by semi-colons instead, since DOS/Windows
390 file names might include a colon after a drive letter.}
391 to search for Emacs Lisp files---used to initialize @code{load-path}.
393 A colon-separated list of directories to search for executable
394 files---used to initialize @code{exec-path}.
396 Used for shell-mode to override the @env{SHELL} environment variable.
398 The name of the file that shell commands are saved in between logins.
399 This variable defaults to @file{~/.bash_history} if you use Bash, to
400 @file{~/.sh_history} if you use ksh, and to @file{~/.history}
403 The location of the user's files in the directory tree; used for
404 expansion of file names starting with a tilde (@file{~}). On MS-DOS, it
405 defaults to the directory from which Emacs was started, with @samp{/bin}
406 removed from the end if it was present. On Windows, the default value
407 of @code{HOME} is @file{C:/}, the root directory of drive @file{C:}.
409 The name of the machine that Emacs is running on.
411 A colon-separated list of directories. Used by the @code{complete} package
414 A colon-separated list of directories in which to search for Info files.
423 The user's preferred locale. The locale has six categories, specified
424 by the environment variables @env{LC_COLLATE} for sorting,
425 @env{LC_CTYPE} for character encoding, @env{LC_MESSAGES} for system
426 messages, @env{LC_MONETARY} for monetary formats, @env{LC_NUMERIC} for
427 numbers, and @env{LC_TIME} for dates and times. If one of these
428 variables is not set, the category defaults to the value of the
429 @env{LANG} environment variable, or to the default @samp{C} locale if
430 @env{LANG} is not set. But if @env{LC_ALL} is specified, it overrides
431 the settings of all the other locale environment variables.
433 The value of the LC_CTYPE category is
434 matched against entries in @code{locale-language-names},
435 @code{locale-charset-language-names}, and
436 @code{locale-preferred-coding-systems}, to select a default language
437 environment and coding system. @xref{Language Environments}.
439 The user's login name. See also @env{USER}.
441 The name of the user's system mail inbox.
443 Name of file containing mail aliases. (The default is
446 Name of setup file for the mh system. (The default is @file{~/.mh_profile}.)
448 The real-world name of the user.
450 The name of the news server. Used by the mh and Gnus packages.
452 The name of the organization to which you belong. Used for setting the
453 `Organization:' header in your posts from the Gnus package.
455 A colon-separated list of directories in which executables reside. This
456 is used to initialize the Emacs Lisp variable @code{exec-path}.
458 If set, this should be the default directory when Emacs was started.
460 If set, this specifies an initial value for the variable
461 @code{mail-default-reply-to}. @xref{Mail Headers}.
463 The name of a directory in which news articles are saved by default.
464 Used by the Gnus package.
466 The name of an interpreter used to parse and execute programs run from
468 @cindex background mode, on @code{xterm}
470 The type of the terminal that Emacs is using. This variable must be
471 set unless Emacs is run in batch mode. On MS-DOS, it defaults to
472 @samp{internal}, which specifies a built-in terminal emulation that
473 handles the machine's own display. If the value of @env{TERM} indicates
474 that Emacs runs in non-windowed mode from @code{xterm} or a similar
475 terminal emulator, the background mode defaults to @samp{light}, and
476 Emacs will choose colors that are appropriate for a light background.
478 The name of the termcap library file describing how to program the
479 terminal specified by the @env{TERM} variable. This defaults to
482 Used by the Emerge package as a prefix for temporary files.
484 This specifies the current time zone and possibly also daylight
485 saving time information. On MS-DOS, if @code{TZ} is not set in the
486 environment when Emacs starts, Emacs defines a default value as
487 appropriate for the country code returned by DOS. On MS-Windows, Emacs
488 does not use @code{TZ} at all.
490 The user's login name. See also @env{LOGNAME}. On MS-DOS, this
491 defaults to @samp{root}.
492 @item VERSION_CONTROL
493 Used to initialize the @code{version-control} variable (@pxref{Backup
498 @appendixsubsec Miscellaneous Variables
500 These variables are used only on particular configurations:
504 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows, the name of the command interpreter to use
505 when invoking batch files and commands internal to the shell. On MS-DOS
506 this is also used to make a default value for the @env{SHELL} environment
510 On MS-DOS, this variable defaults to the value of the @env{USER}
515 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows, these specify the name of the directory for
516 storing temporary files in.
519 On MS-DOS, this specifies a file to use to log the operation of the
520 internal terminal emulator. This feature is useful for submitting bug
524 On MS-DOS, this specifies the screen colors. It is useful to set them
525 this way, since otherwise Emacs would display the default colors
526 momentarily when it starts up.
528 The value of this variable should be the two-character encoding of the
529 foreground (the first character) and the background (the second
530 character) colors of the default face. Each character should be the
531 hexadecimal code for the desired color on a standard PC text-mode
532 display. For example, to get blue text on a light gray background,
533 specify @samp{EMACSCOLORS=17}, since 1 is the code of the blue color and
534 7 is the code of the light gray color.
536 The PC display usually supports only eight background colors. However,
537 Emacs switches the DOS display to a mode where all 16 colors can be used
538 for the background, so all four bits of the background color are
542 Used when initializing the Sun windows system.
546 @appendixsec Specifying the Display Name
547 @cindex display name (X Window System)
548 @cindex @env{DISPLAY} environment variable
550 The environment variable @env{DISPLAY} tells all X clients, including
551 Emacs, where to display their windows. Its value is set by default
552 in ordinary circumstances, when you start an X server and run jobs
553 locally. Occasionally you may need to specify the display yourself; for
554 example, if you do a remote login and want to run a client program
555 remotely, displaying on your local screen.
557 With Emacs, the main reason people change the default display is to
558 let them log into another system, run Emacs on that system, but have the
559 window displayed at their local terminal. You might need to log in
560 to another system because the files you want to edit are there, or
561 because the Emacs executable file you want to run is there.
563 The syntax of the @env{DISPLAY} environment variable is
564 @samp{@var{host}:@var{display}.@var{screen}}, where @var{host} is the
565 host name of the X Window System server machine, @var{display} is an
566 arbitrarily-assigned number that distinguishes your server (X terminal)
567 from other servers on the same machine, and @var{screen} is a
568 rarely-used field that allows an X server to control multiple terminal
569 screens. The period and the @var{screen} field are optional. If
570 included, @var{screen} is usually zero.
572 For example, if your host is named @samp{glasperle} and your server is
573 the first (or perhaps the only) server listed in the configuration, your
574 @env{DISPLAY} is @samp{glasperle:0.0}.
576 You can specify the display name explicitly when you run Emacs, either
577 by changing the @env{DISPLAY} variable, or with the option @samp{-d
578 @var{display}} or @samp{--display=@var{display}}. Here is an example:
581 emacs --display=glasperle:0 &
584 You can inhibit the direct use of the window system and GUI with the
585 @samp{-nw} option. It tells Emacs to display using ordinary ASCII on
586 its controlling terminal. This is also an initial option.
588 Sometimes, security arrangements prevent a program on a remote system
589 from displaying on your local system. In this case, trying to run Emacs
590 produces messages like this:
593 Xlib: connection to "glasperle:0.0" refused by server
597 You might be able to overcome this problem by using the @code{xhost}
598 command on the local system to give permission for access from your
602 @appendixsec Font Specification Options
603 @cindex font name (X Window System)
605 By default, Emacs displays text in the font named @samp{9x15}, which
606 makes each character nine pixels wide and fifteen pixels high. You can
607 specify a different font on your command line through the option
608 @samp{-fn @var{name}} (or @samp{--font}, which is an alias for
614 @itemx --font=@var{name}
616 @cindex specify default font from the command line
617 Use font @var{name} as the default font.
620 Under X, each font has a long name which consists of eleven words or
621 numbers, separated by dashes. Some fonts also have shorter
622 nicknames---@samp{9x15} is such a nickname. You can use either kind of
623 name. You can use wildcard patterns for the font name; then Emacs lets
624 X choose one of the fonts that match the pattern. Here is an example,
625 which happens to specify the font whose nickname is @samp{6x13}:
629 "-misc-fixed-medium-r-semicondensed--13-*-*-*-c-60-iso8859-1" &
633 You can also specify the font in your @file{.Xdefaults} file:
636 emacs.font: -misc-fixed-medium-r-semicondensed--13-*-*-*-c-60-iso8859-1
639 A long font name has the following form:
642 -@var{maker}-@var{family}-@var{weight}-@var{slant}-@var{widthtype}-@var{style}@dots{}
643 @dots{}-@var{pixels}-@var{height}-@var{horiz}-@var{vert}-@var{spacing}-@var{width}-@var{charset}
648 This is the name of the font manufacturer.
650 This is the name of the font family---for example, @samp{courier}.
652 This is normally @samp{bold}, @samp{medium} or @samp{light}. Other
653 words may appear here in some font names.
655 This is @samp{r} (roman), @samp{i} (italic), @samp{o} (oblique),
656 @samp{ri} (reverse italic), or @samp{ot} (other).
658 This is normally @samp{condensed}, @samp{extended}, @samp{semicondensed}
659 or @samp{normal}. Other words may appear here in some font names.
661 This is an optional additional style name. Usually it is empty---most
662 long font names have two hyphens in a row at this point.
664 This is the font height, in pixels.
666 This is the font height on the screen, measured in tenths of a printer's
667 point---approximately 1/720 of an inch. In other words, it is the point
668 size of the font, times ten. For a given vertical resolution,
669 @var{height} and @var{pixels} are proportional; therefore, it is common
670 to specify just one of them and use @samp{*} for the other.
672 This is the horizontal resolution, in pixels per inch, of the screen for
673 which the font is intended.
675 This is the vertical resolution, in pixels per inch, of the screen for
676 which the font is intended. Normally the resolution of the fonts on
677 your system is the right value for your screen; therefore, you normally
678 specify @samp{*} for this and @var{horiz}.
680 This is @samp{m} (monospace), @samp{p} (proportional) or @samp{c}
683 This is the average character width, in pixels, multiplied by ten.
685 This is the character set that the font depicts.
686 Normally you should use @samp{iso8859-1}.
689 @cindex listing system fonts
690 You will probably want to use a fixed-width default font---that is,
691 a font in which all characters have the same width. Any font with
692 @samp{m} or @samp{c} in the @var{spacing} field of the long name is a
693 fixed-width font. Here's how to use the @code{xlsfonts} program to
694 list all the fixed-width fonts available on your system:
697 xlsfonts -fn '*x*' | egrep "^[0-9]+x[0-9]+"
698 xlsfonts -fn '*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-m*'
699 xlsfonts -fn '*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-c*'
703 To see what a particular font looks like, use the @code{xfd} command.
711 displays the entire font @samp{6x13}.
713 While running Emacs, you can set the font of the current frame
714 (@pxref{Frame Parameters}) or for a specific kind of text
718 @appendixsec Window Color Options
719 @cindex color of window
720 @cindex text colors, from command line
722 @findex list-colors-display
723 @cindex available colors
724 On a color display, you can specify which color to use for various
725 parts of the Emacs display. To find out what colors are available on
726 your system, type @kbd{M-x list-colors-display}, or press
727 @kbd{C-Mouse-2} and select @samp{Display Colors} from the pop-up menu.
728 If you do not specify colors, on windowed displays the default for the
729 background is white and the default for all other colors is black. On a
730 monochrome display, the foreground is black, the background is white,
731 and the border is gray if the display supports that. On terminals, the
732 background is usually black and the foreground is white.
734 Here is a list of the command-line options for specifying colors:
737 @item -fg @var{color}
739 @itemx --foreground-color=@var{color}
740 @opindex --foreground-color
741 @cindex foreground color, command-line argument
742 Specify the foreground color. @var{color} should be a standard color
743 name, or a numeric specification of the color's red, green, and blue
744 components as in @samp{#4682B4} or @samp{RGB:46/82/B4}.
745 @item -bg @var{color}
747 @itemx --background-color=@var{color}
748 @opindex --background-color
749 @cindex background color, command-line argument
750 Specify the background color.
751 @item -bd @var{color}
753 @itemx --border-color=@var{color}
754 @opindex --border-color
755 @cindex border color, command-line argument
756 Specify the color of the border of the X window.
757 @item -cr @var{color}
759 @itemx --cursor-color=@var{color}
760 @opindex --cursor-color
761 @cindex cursor color, command-line argument
762 Specify the color of the Emacs cursor which indicates where point is.
763 @item -ms @var{color}
765 @itemx --mouse-color=@var{color}
766 @opindex --mouse-color
767 @cindex mouse pointer color, command-line argument
768 Specify the color for the mouse cursor when the mouse is in the Emacs window.
773 @itemx --reverse-video
774 @opindex --reverse-video
775 @cindex reverse video, command-line argument
776 Reverse video---swap the foreground and background colors.
777 @item --color=@var{mode}
779 @cindex standard colors on a character terminal
780 For a character terminal only, specify the mode of color support. The
781 parameter @var{mode} can be one of the following:
785 Don't use colors even if the terminal's capabilities specify color
789 Same as when @option{--color} is not used at all: Emacs detects at
790 startup whether the terminal supports colors, and if it does, turns on
795 Turn on the color support unconditionally, and use color commands
796 specified by the ANSI escape sequences for the 8 standard colors.
798 Use color mode for @var{num} colors. If @var{num} is -1, turn off
799 color support (equivalent to @samp{never}); if it is 0, use the
800 default color support for this terminal (equivalent to @samp{auto});
801 otherwise use an appropriate standard mode for @var{num} colors. If
802 there is no mode that supports @var{num} colors, Emacs acts as if
803 @var{num} were 0, i.e.@: it uses the terminal's default color support
806 If @var{mode} is omitted, it defaults to @var{ansi8}.
809 For example, to use a coral mouse cursor and a slate blue text cursor,
813 emacs -ms coral -cr 'slate blue' &
816 You can reverse the foreground and background colors through the
817 @samp{-rv} option or with the X resource @samp{reverseVideo}.
819 The @samp{-fg}, @samp{-bg}, and @samp{-rv} options function on
820 text-only terminals as well as on window systems.
823 @appendixsec Options for Window Size and Position
824 @cindex geometry of Emacs window
825 @cindex position and size of Emacs frame
826 @cindex width and height of Emacs frame
827 @cindex specifying fullscreen for Emacs frame
829 Here is a list of the command-line options for specifying size and
830 position of the initial Emacs frame:
833 @item -g @var{width}x@var{height}@r{[@{}+-@r{@}}@var{xoffset}@r{@{}+-@r{@}}@var{yoffset}@r{]]}
835 Specify window size @var{width} and @var{height} (measured in character
836 columns and lines), and positions @var{xoffset} and @var{yoffset}
837 (measured in pixels).
839 @item --geometry=@var{width}x@var{height}@r{[@{}+-@r{@}}@var{xoffset}@r{@{}+-@r{@}}@var{yoffset}@r{]]}
841 This is another way of writing the same thing.
846 @opindex --fullscreen
847 @cindex fullscreen, command-line argument
848 Specify that width and height shall be the size of the screen.
853 @opindex --fullheight
854 @cindex fullheight, command-line argument
855 Specify that the height shall be the height of the screen.
861 @cindex fullwidth, command-line argument
862 Specify that the width shall be the width of the screen.
867 In the @samp{--geometry} option, @code{@r{@{}+-@r{@}}} means either a plus
868 sign or a minus sign. A plus
869 sign before @var{xoffset} means it is the distance from the left side of
870 the screen; a minus sign means it counts from the right side. A plus
871 sign before @var{yoffset} means it is the distance from the top of the
872 screen, and a minus sign there indicates the distance from the bottom.
873 The values @var{xoffset} and @var{yoffset} may themselves be positive or
874 negative, but that doesn't change their meaning, only their direction.
876 Emacs uses the same units as @code{xterm} does to interpret the geometry.
877 The @var{width} and @var{height} are measured in characters, so a large font
878 creates a larger frame than a small font. (If you specify a proportional
879 font, Emacs uses its maximum bounds width as the width unit.) The
880 @var{xoffset} and @var{yoffset} are measured in pixels.
882 Since the mode line and the echo area occupy the last 2 lines of the
883 frame, the height of the initial text window is 2 less than the height
884 specified in your geometry. In non-X-toolkit versions of Emacs, the
885 menu bar also takes one line of the specified number. But in the X
886 toolkit version, the menu bar is additional and does not count against
887 the specified height. The tool bar, if present, is also additional.
889 You do not have to specify all of the fields in the geometry
892 If you omit both @var{xoffset} and @var{yoffset}, the window manager
893 decides where to put the Emacs frame, possibly by letting you place
894 it with the mouse. For example, @samp{164x55} specifies a window 164
895 columns wide, enough for two ordinary width windows side by side, and 55
898 The default width for Emacs is 80 characters and the default height is
899 40 lines. You can omit either the width or the height or both. If
900 you start the geometry with an integer, Emacs interprets it as the
901 width. If you start with an @samp{x} followed by an integer, Emacs
902 interprets it as the height. Thus, @samp{81} specifies just the width;
903 @samp{x45} specifies just the height.
905 If you start with @samp{+} or @samp{-}, that introduces an offset,
906 which means both sizes are omitted. Thus, @samp{-3} specifies the
907 @var{xoffset} only. (If you give just one offset, it is always
908 @var{xoffset}.) @samp{+3-3} specifies both the @var{xoffset} and the
909 @var{yoffset}, placing the frame near the bottom left of the screen.
911 You can specify a default for any or all of the fields in
912 @file{.Xdefaults} file, and then override selected fields with a
913 @samp{--geometry} option.
916 When using one of @samp{--fullscreen}, @samp{--fullwidth} or
917 @samp{--fullheight} there may be some space around the frame
918 anyway. That is because Emacs rounds the sizes so they are an
919 even number of character heights and widths.
921 Some window managers have options that can make them ignore both
922 program-specified and user-specified positions (sawfish is one).
923 If these are set, Emacs fails to position the window correctly.
926 @appendixsec Internal and External Borders
927 @cindex borders (X Window System)
929 An Emacs frame has an internal border and an external border. The
930 internal border is an extra strip of the background color around the
931 text portion of the frame. Emacs itself draws the internal border.
932 The external border is added by the window manager outside the frame;
933 depending on the window manager you use, it may contain various boxes
934 you can click on to move or iconify the window.
937 @item -ib @var{width}
939 @itemx --internal-border=@var{width}
940 @opindex --internal-border
941 @cindex border width, command-line argument
942 Specify @var{width} as the width of the internal border, in pixels.
944 @item -bw @var{width}
946 @itemx --border-width=@var{width}
947 @opindex --border-width
948 Specify @var{width} as the width of the main border, in pixels.
951 When you specify the size of the frame, that does not count the
952 borders. The frame's position is measured from the outside edge of the
955 Use the @samp{-ib @var{n}} option to specify an internal border
956 @var{n} pixels wide. The default is 1. Use @samp{-bw @var{n}} to
957 specify the width of the external border (though the window manager may
958 not pay attention to what you specify). The default width of the
959 external border is 2.
962 @appendixsec Frame Titles
964 An Emacs frame may or may not have a specified title. The frame
965 title, if specified, appears in window decorations and icons as the
966 name of the frame. If an Emacs frame has no specified title, the
967 default title has the form @samp{@var{invocation-name}@@@var{machine}}
968 (if there is only one frame) or the selected window's buffer name (if
969 there is more than one frame).
971 You can specify a title for the initial Emacs frame with a command
975 @item -title @var{title}
977 @itemx --title=@var{title}
978 @itemx -T @var{title}
980 @cindex frame title, command-line argument
981 Specify @var{title} as the title for the initial Emacs frame.
984 The @samp{--name} option (@pxref{Resources}) also specifies the title
985 for the initial Emacs frame.
989 @cindex icons (X Window System)
991 Most window managers allow the user to ``iconify'' a frame, removing
992 it from sight, and leaving a small, distinctive ``icon'' window in its
993 place. Clicking on the icon window makes the frame itself appear again.
994 If you have many clients running at once, you can avoid cluttering up
995 the screen by iconifying most of the clients.
1001 @opindex --icon-type
1002 @cindex Emacs icon, a gnu
1003 Use a picture of a gnu as the Emacs icon.
1008 @cindex start iconified, command-line argument
1009 Start Emacs in iconified state.
1012 The @samp{-i} or @samp{--icon-type} option tells Emacs to use an icon
1013 window containing a picture of the GNU gnu. If omitted, Emacs lets the
1014 window manager choose what sort of icon to use---usually just a small
1015 rectangle containing the frame's title.
1017 The @samp{-iconic} option tells Emacs to begin running as an icon,
1018 rather than showing a frame right away. In this situation, the icon
1019 is the only indication that Emacs has started; the text frame doesn't
1020 appear until you deiconify it.