@c This is part of the Emacs manual.
-@c Copyright (C) 1985, 86, 87, 93, 94, 95, 1997 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+@c Copyright (C) 1985,86,87,93,94,95,1997,2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
@node Screen, User Input, Acknowledgments, Top
@chapter The Organization of the Screen
row of icons that perform editing commands if you click on them.
Below this, the window begins. The last line is a special @dfn{echo
area} or @dfn{minibuffer window}, where prompts appear and where you
-can enter information when Emacs asks for it. See below for more
+enter information when Emacs asks for it. See below for more
information about these special lines.
You can subdivide the large text window horizontally or vertically
file (@pxref{Windows}). In this manual, the word ``window'' always
refers to the subdivisions of a frame within Emacs.
- The window that the cursor is in is the @dfn{selected window}, in
-which editing takes place. Most Emacs commands implicitly apply to the
-text in the selected window (though mouse commands generally operate on
-whatever window you click them in, whether selected or not). The other
-windows display text for reference only, unless/until you select them.
-If you use multiple frames under the X Window System, then giving the
-input focus to a particular frame selects a window in that frame.
+ At any time, one window is the @dfn{selected window}; the most
+prominent cursor indicates which window is selected. Most Emacs
+commands implicitly apply to the text in the selected window (though
+mouse commands generally operate on whatever window you click them in,
+whether selected or not). The other windows display text for
+reference only, unless/until you select them. If you use multiple
+frames under the X Window System, then giving the input focus to a
+particular frame selects a window in that frame.
Each window's last line is a @dfn{mode line}, which describes what
is going on in that window. It appears in inverse video, if the
Sometimes people speak of ``the cursor'' when they mean ``point,'' or
speak of commands that move point as ``cursor motion'' commands.
- Terminals have only one cursor, and when output is in progress it must
-appear where the typing is being done. This does not mean that point is
-moving. It is only that Emacs has no way to show you the location of point
-except when the terminal is idle.
-
If you are editing several files in Emacs, each in its own buffer,
-each buffer has its own point location. A buffer that is not currently
-displayed remembers where point is in case you display it again later.
-
- When there are multiple windows in a frame, each window has its own
-point location. The cursor shows the location of point in the selected
-window. This also is how you can tell which window is selected. If the
-same buffer appears in more than one window, each window has its own
-position for point in that buffer.
-
- When there are multiple frames, each frame can display one cursor.
-The cursor in the selected frame is solid; the cursor in other frames is
-a hollow box, and appears in the window that would be selected if you
-give the input focus to that frame.
+each buffer has its own point location. A buffer that is not
+currently displayed remembers its point location in case you display
+it again later. When Emacs displays multiple windows, each window has
+its own point location. If the same buffer appears in more than one
+window, each window has its own position for point in that buffer, and
+(when possible) its own cursor.
+
+ A text-only terminal has just one cursor, so Emacs puts it
+in the selected window. The other windows do not show a cursor, even
+though they do have a location of point. When Emacs updates the
+screen on a text-only terminal, it has to put the cursor temporarily
+at the place the output goes. This doesn't mean point is there,
+though. Once display updating finishes, Emacs puts the cursor where
+point is.
+
+ On graphical terminals, Emacs shows a cursor in each window; the
+selected window's cursor is solid or blinking, and the other cursors
+are just hollow. Thus, the most striking cursor always shows you
+the selected window, on all kinds of terminals.
+
+ @xref{Cursor Display}, for customization options that control display
+of the cursor or cursors.
The term ``point'' comes from the character @samp{.}, which was the
command in TECO (the language in which the original Emacs was written)
next-to-last line in the frame. The mode line starts and ends with
dashes. On a text-mode display, the mode line is in inverse video if
the terminal supports that; on a graphics display, the mode line has a
-3D box appearence to help it stand out.
+3D box appearance to help it stand out. The mode line of the
+selected window has a slightly different appearance than those of
+other windows; see @ref{Optional Mode Line}, for more about this.
Normally, the mode line looks like this:
@example
--@var{cs}:@var{ch} @var{buf} (@var{major} @var{minor})--@var{line}--@var{pos}------
+-@var{cs}:@var{ch} @var{buf} @var{line} @var{pos} (@var{major} @var{minor})------
@end example
@noindent
HCoop / bpt / emacs.git / blobdiff