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