@c This is part of the Emacs manual. @c Copyright (C) 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, @c 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc. @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions. @node Display, Search, Registers, Top @chapter Controlling the Display Since only part of a large buffer fits in the window, Emacs tries to show a part that is likely to be interesting. Display-control commands and variables allow you to specify which part of the text you want to see, and how to display it. @menu * Scrolling:: Commands to move text up and down in a window. * Auto Scrolling:: Redisplay scrolls text automatically when needed. * Horizontal Scrolling:: Moving text left and right in a window. * Follow Mode:: Follow mode lets two windows scroll as one. * Faces:: How to change the display style using faces. * Standard Faces:: Emacs' predefined faces. * Temporary Face Changes:: Commands to temporarily modify the default text face * Font Lock:: Minor mode for syntactic highlighting using faces. * Highlight Interactively:: Tell Emacs what text to highlight. * Fringes:: Enabling or disabling window fringes. * Displaying Boundaries:: Displaying top and bottom of the buffer. * Useless Whitespace:: Showing possibly-spurious trailing whitespace. * Selective Display:: Hiding lines with lots of indentation. * Optional Mode Line:: Optional mode line display features. * Text Display:: How text characters are normally displayed. * Cursor Display:: Features for displaying the cursor. * Line Truncation:: Truncating lines to fit the screen width instead of continuing them to multiple screen lines. * Visual Line Mode:: Word wrap and screen line-based editing. * Display Custom:: Information on variables for customizing display. @end menu @node Scrolling @section Scrolling If a buffer contains text that is too large to fit entirely within a window that is displaying the buffer, Emacs shows a contiguous portion of the text. The portion shown always contains point. @cindex scrolling @dfn{Scrolling} means moving text up or down in the window so that different parts of the text are visible. Scrolling ``forward'' or ``up'' means that text moves up, and new text appears at the bottom. Scrolling ``backward'' or ``down'' moves text down, and new text appears at the top. Scrolling happens automatically if you move point past the bottom or top of the window. You can also scroll explicitly with these commands: @table @kbd @item C-l Scroll the selected window to center point vertically within it and redisplay the screen (@code{recenter-top-bottom}). @item C-v @itemx @key{NEXT} @itemx @key{PAGEDOWN} Scroll forward by nearly a full window (@code{scroll-up}). @item M-v @itemx @key{PRIOR} @itemx @key{PAGEUP} Scroll backward (@code{scroll-down}). @item C-M-l Scroll heuristically to bring useful information onto the screen (@code{reposition-window}). @end table @kindex C-l @findex recenter-top-bottom The most basic scrolling command is @kbd{C-l} (@code{recenter-top-bottom}). This @dfn{recenters} the selected window, scrolling it so that the current screen line is exactly in the center of the window, or as close to the center as possible. It also clears the screen and redisplays all windows; this is useful in case the screen becomes garbled for any reason (@pxref{Screen Garbled}). Typing @kbd{C-l} twice in a row (@kbd{C-l C-l}) scrolls the window so that point is on the topmost screen line. Typing a third @kbd{C-l} scrolls the window so that point is on the bottom-most screen line. Each successive @kbd{C-l} cycles through these three screen positions. (If you change the variable @code{scroll-margin} to a non-zero value @var{n}, Emacs leaves @var{n} screen lines between point and the top or bottom of the window. @xref{Auto Scrolling}.) You can also supply @kbd{C-l} with a prefix argument. With a plain prefix argument, @kbd{C-u C-l}, Emacs simply recenters point. With a positive argument @var{n}, it scrolls to place point @var{n} lines down from the top of the window. An argument of zero puts point on the topmost line. A negative argument @var{-n} puts point @var{n} lines from the bottom of the window. For example, @kbd{C-u - 1 C-l} puts point on the bottom line, and @kbd{C-u - 5 C-l} puts it five lines from the bottom. When given an argument, @kbd{C-l} does not clear the screen or cycle through different screen positions. @kindex C-v @kindex M-v @kindex NEXT @kindex PRIOR @kindex PAGEDOWN @kindex PAGEUP @findex scroll-up @findex scroll-down To read the buffer a windowful at a time, use @kbd{C-v} (@code{scroll-up}). This scrolls forward by nearly the whole window height. The effect is to take the two lines at the bottom of the window and put them at the top, followed by lines that were not previously visible. If point was in the text that scrolled off the top, it ends up at the new top of the window. @kbd{M-v} (@code{scroll-down}) scrolls backward in a similar way. @vindex next-screen-context-lines The variable @code{next-screen-context-lines} controls the number of lines of overlap left by @kbd{C-v} or @kbd{M-v}; by default, it is 2. The function keys @key{NEXT} and @key{PRIOR}, or @key{PageDown} and @key{PageUp}, are equivalent to @kbd{C-v} and @kbd{M-v} respectively. You can supply @kbd{C-v} or @kbd{M-v} with a numeric prefix argument @var{n}. This scrolls the window by @var{n} lines, while attempting to leave point unchanged (so that the text and point move up or down together). @kbd{C-v} with a negative argument is like @kbd{M-v} and vice versa. The names of scroll commands are based on the direction that the text moves in the window. Thus, the command to scroll forward is called @code{scroll-up} because it moves the text upward on the screen. The keys @key{PageUp} and @key{PageDown} derive their names and customary meanings from a different convention that developed elsewhere; hence the strange result that @key{PageDown} runs @code{scroll-up}. @vindex scroll-preserve-screen-position Some users like the full-screen scroll commands to keep point at the same screen position. To enable this behavior, set the variable @code{scroll-preserve-screen-position} to a non-@code{nil} value. Then, whenever a command scrolls the text around point offscreen (or within @code{scroll-margin} lines of the edge), Emacs moves point to keep it at the same vertical and horizontal position within the window. This mode is convenient for browsing through a file by scrolling by screenfuls; if you come back to the screen where you started, point goes back to the line where it started. @kindex C-M-l @findex reposition-window The @kbd{C-M-l} command (@code{reposition-window}) scrolls the current window heuristically in a way designed to get useful information onto the screen. For example, in a Lisp file, this command tries to get the entire current defun onto the screen if possible. @node Auto Scrolling @section Automatic Scrolling Emacs performs @dfn{automatic scrolling} when point moves out of the visible portion of the text. @vindex scroll-conservatively Normally, this centers point vertically within the window. However, if you set @code{scroll-conservatively} to a small number @var{n}, then if you move point just a little off the screen (less than @var{n} lines), Emacs scrolls the text just far enough to bring point back on screen. By default, @code{scroll-conservatively} is@tie{}0. @cindex aggressive scrolling @vindex scroll-up-aggressively @vindex scroll-down-aggressively When the window does scroll by a longer distance, you can control how aggressively it scrolls by setting the variables @code{scroll-up-aggressively} and @code{scroll-down-aggressively}. The value of @code{scroll-up-aggressively} should be either @code{nil}, or a fraction @var{f} between 0 and 1. A fraction specifies where on the screen to put point when scrolling upward: when a window scrolls up because point is above the window start, the new start position is chosen to put point @var{f} parts of the window height from the top. Thus, larger @var{f} means more aggressive scrolling. The default value, @code{nil}, is equivalent to 0.5. Likewise, @code{scroll-down-aggressively} is used for scrolling down. The value specifies how far point should be placed from the bottom of the window; thus, as with @code{scroll-up-aggressively}, a larger value is more aggressive. @vindex scroll-margin The variable @code{scroll-margin} restricts how close point can come to the top or bottom of a window. Its value is a number of screen lines; if point comes within that many lines of the top or bottom of the window, Emacs performs automatic scrolling. By default, @code{scroll-margin} is 0. @node Horizontal Scrolling @section Horizontal Scrolling @cindex horizontal scrolling @vindex auto-hscroll-mode @dfn{Horizontal scrolling} means shifting all the lines sideways within a window, so that some of the text near the left margin is not displayed. When the text in a window is scrolled horizontally, text lines are truncated rather than continued (@pxref{Line Truncation}). If a window shows truncated lines, Emacs performs automatic horizontal scrolling whenever point moves off the left or right edge of the screen. To disable automatic horizontal scrolling, set the variable @code{auto-hscroll-mode} to @code{nil}. @vindex hscroll-margin The variable @code{hscroll-margin} controls how close point can get to the window's edges before the window is automatically scrolled. It is measured in columns. If the value is 5, then moving point within 5 columns of the edge causes horizontal scrolling away from that edge. @vindex hscroll-step The variable @code{hscroll-step} determines how many columns to scroll the window when point gets too close to the edge. Zero, the default value, means to center point horizontally within the window. A positive integer value specifies the number of columns to scroll by. A floating-point number specifies the fraction of the window's width to scroll by. You can also perform explicit horizontal scrolling with the following commands: @table @kbd @item C-x < Scroll text in current window to the left (@code{scroll-left}). @item C-x > Scroll to the right (@code{scroll-right}). @end table @kindex C-x < @kindex C-x > @findex scroll-left @findex scroll-right @kbd{C-x <} (@code{scroll-left}) scrolls the selected window to the left by the full width of the window, less two columns. (In other words, the text in the window moves left relative to the window.) With a numeric argument @var{n}, it scrolls by @var{n} columns. @kbd{C-x >} (@code{scroll-right}) scrolls similarly to the right. The window cannot be scrolled any farther to the right once it is displayed normally, with each line starting at the window's left margin; attempting to do so has no effect. This means that you don't have to calculate the argument precisely for @w{@kbd{C-x >}}; any sufficiently large argument will restore the normal display. If you use those commands to scroll a window horizontally, that sets a lower bound for automatic horizontal scrolling. Automatic scrolling will continue to scroll the window, but never farther to the right than the amount you previously set by @code{scroll-left}. @node Follow Mode @section Follow Mode @cindex Follow mode @cindex mode, Follow @findex follow-mode @cindex windows, synchronizing @cindex synchronizing windows @dfn{Follow mode} is a minor mode that makes two windows, both showing the same buffer, scroll as a single tall ``virtual window.'' To use Follow mode, go to a frame with just one window, split it into two side-by-side windows using @kbd{C-x 3}, and then type @kbd{M-x follow-mode}. From then on, you can edit the buffer in either of the two windows, or scroll either one; the other window follows it. In Follow mode, if you move point outside the portion visible in one window and into the portion visible in the other window, that selects the other window---again, treating the two as if they were parts of one large window. To turn off Follow mode, type @kbd{M-x follow-mode} a second time. @node Faces @section Faces: Controlling Text Display Style @cindex faces Emacs can display text in several different styles, which are called @dfn{faces}. Each face can specify various @dfn{face attributes}, such as the font, height, weight and slant, the foreground and background color, and underlining or overlining. A face does not have to specify all of these attributes; often it inherits most of them from another face. On a text-only terminal, not all face attributes are meaningful. Some text-only terminals support inverse video, bold, and underline attributes; some support colors. Text-only terminals generally do not support changing the height, width or font. Most major modes assign faces to the text automatically through the work of Font Lock mode. @xref{Font Lock}, for more information about Font Lock mode and syntactic highlighting. You can print the current buffer with the highlighting that appears on your screen using the command @code{ps-print-buffer-with-faces}. @xref{PostScript}. Enriched mode, the mode for editing formatted text, provides commands and menus for specifying faces for text in the buffer. @xref{Format Faces}. @cindex face colors, setting To alter the appearance of a face, use the customization buffer. @xref{Face Customization}. You can also use X resources to specify attributes of any particular face (@pxref{Resources}). When displaying a character, any attribute that isn't specified by its face is taken from the @code{default} face, whose attributes reflect the default settings of the frame itself. @findex set-face-foreground @findex set-face-background You can also change the foreground and background colors of a specific face with @kbd{M-x set-face-foreground} and @kbd{M-x set-face-background}. These commands prompt in the minibuffer for a face name and a color name, with completion, and then set that face to use the specified color. @xref{Face Customization}, for information about color names. These commands affect the face colors on all frames, both existing and those to be created in the future. These changes do not, however, persist for future Emacs sessions; to make lasting changes, use the customization buffer (@pxref{Face Customization}). You can also set foreground and background colors for the current frame only; see @ref{Frame Parameters}. Emacs can display variable-width fonts, but some of the Emacs commands that calculate width and indentation do not know how to calculate variable widths. This can sometimes lead to incorrect results when you use variable-width fonts. In particular, indentation commands can give inconsistent results, so we recommend you avoid variable-width fonts, especially for editing program source code. @node Standard Faces @section Standard Faces @findex list-faces-display To see what faces are currently defined, and what they look like, type @kbd{M-x list-faces-display}. It's possible for a given face to look different in different frames; this command shows the appearance in the frame in which you type it. With a prefix argument, this prompts for a regular expression, and displays only faces with names matching that regular expression. Here are the standard faces for specifying text appearance. You can apply them to specific text when you want the effects they produce. @table @code @item default This face is used for ordinary text that doesn't specify any face. @item bold This face uses a bold variant of the default font. @item italic This face uses an italic variant of the default font. @item bold-italic This face uses a bold italic variant of the default font. @item underline This face underlines text. @item fixed-pitch This face forces use of a fixed-width font. It's reasonable to customize this face to use a different fixed-width font, if you like, but you should not make it a variable-width font. @item variable-pitch This face forces use of a variable-width font. @item shadow This face is used for making the text less noticeable than the surrounding ordinary text. Usually this can be achieved by using shades of gray in contrast with either black or white default foreground color. @end table Here's an incomplete list of faces used to highlight parts of the text temporarily for specific purposes. (Many other modes define their own faces for this purpose.) @table @code @item highlight This face is used for highlighting portions of text, in various modes. For example, mouse-sensitive text is highlighted using this face. @item isearch This face is used for highlighting the current Isearch match (@pxref{Incremental Search}). @item query-replace This face is used for highlighting the current Query Replace match (@pxref{Replace}). @item lazy-highlight This face is used for lazy highlighting of Isearch and Query Replace matches other than the current one. @item region This face is used for displaying a selected region (@pxref{Mark}). @item secondary-selection This face is used for displaying a secondary X selection (@pxref{Secondary Selection}). @item trailing-whitespace The face for highlighting excess spaces and tabs at the end of a line when @code{show-trailing-whitespace} is non-@code{nil}; see @ref{Useless Whitespace}. @item nobreak-space The face for displaying the character ``nobreak space.'' @item escape-glyph The face for highlighting the @samp{\} or @samp{^} that indicates a control character. It's also used when @samp{\} indicates a nobreak space or nobreak (soft) hyphen. @end table These faces control the appearance of parts of the Emacs frame. They exist as faces to provide a consistent way to customize the appearance of these parts of the frame. @table @code @item mode-line This face is used for the mode line of the currently selected window, and for menu bars when toolkit menus are not used. By default, it's drawn with shadows for a ``raised'' effect on graphical displays, and drawn as the inverse of the default face on non-windowed terminals. @item mode-line-inactive Like @code{mode-line}, but used for mode lines of the windows other than the selected one (if @code{mode-line-in-non-selected-windows} is non-@code{nil}). This face inherits from @code{mode-line}, so changes in that face affect mode lines in all windows. @item mode-line-highlight Like @code{highlight}, but used for portions of text on mode lines. @item mode-line-buffer-id This face is used for buffer identification parts in the mode line. @item header-line Similar to @code{mode-line} for a window's header line, which appears at the top of a window just as the mode line appears at the bottom. Most windows do not have a header line---only some special modes, such Info mode, create one. @item vertical-border This face is used for the vertical divider between windows. By default this face inherits from the @code{mode-line-inactive} face on character terminals. On graphical displays the foreground color of this face is used for the vertical line between windows without scrollbars. @item minibuffer-prompt @cindex @code{minibuffer-prompt} face @vindex minibuffer-prompt-properties This face is used for the prompt strings displayed in the minibuffer. By default, Emacs automatically adds this face to the value of @code{minibuffer-prompt-properties}, which is a list of text properties used to display the prompt text. (This variable takes effect when you enter the minibuffer.) @item fringe @cindex @code{fringe} face The face for the fringes to the left and right of windows on graphic displays. (The fringes are the narrow portions of the Emacs frame between the text area and the window's right and left borders.) @xref{Fringes}. @item scroll-bar This face determines the visual appearance of the scroll bar. @xref{Scroll Bars}. @item border This face determines the color of the frame border. @item cursor This face determines the color of the cursor. @item mouse This face determines the color of the mouse pointer. @item tool-bar This face determines the color of tool bar icons. @xref{Tool Bars}. @item tooltip This face is used for tooltips. @xref{Tooltips}. @item menu @cindex menu bar appearance @cindex @code{menu} face, no effect if customized @cindex customization of @code{menu} face This face determines the colors and font of Emacs's menus. @xref{Menu Bars}. This has no effect in Emacs built with GTK and in the MS-Windows/Mac ports; you need to use system-wide styles and options to change the appearance of GTK, Windows, or Mac menus. Setting the font of LessTif/Motif menus is currently not supported; attempts to set the font are ignored in this case. @end table @node Temporary Face Changes @section Temporary Face Changes The following commands change the default face within a buffer. @cindex adjust buffer face height @findex text-scale-adjust @kindex C-x C-+ @kindex C-x C-- @kindex C-x C-= @kindex C-x C-0 To increase the height of the default face in the current buffer, type @kbd{C-x C-+} or @kbd{C-x C-=}. To decrease it, type @kbd{C-x C--}. To restore the default (global) face height, type @kbd{C-x C-0}. These keys are all bound to the same command, @code{text-scale-adjust}, which looks at the last key typed to determine which action to take. The final key of these commands may be repeated without the leading @kbd{C-x}. For instance, @kbd{C-x C-= C-= C-=} increases the face height by three steps. Each step scales the height of the default face by the value of the variable @code{text-scale-mode-step}. As a special case, an argument of 0 removes any scaling currently active. @cindex increase buffer face height @findex text-scale-increase @cindex decrease buffer face height @findex text-scale-decrease The commands @code{text-scale-increase} and @code{text-scale-decrease} increase or decrease the height of the default face, just like @kbd{C-x C-+} and @kbd{C-x C--} respectively. You may find it convenient to bind to these commands, rather than @code{text-scale-adjust}. @findex text-scale-mode The above commands automatically enable or disable the minor mode @code{text-scale-mode}, depending on whether the current font scaling is other than 1 or not. @cindex variable pitch mode @findex variable-pitch-mode To temporarily change the face in the current buffer to a variable-pitch (``proportional'') font, use the command @kbd{M-x variable-pitch-mode} to enable or disable the Variable Pitch minor mode. @node Font Lock @section Font Lock mode @cindex Font Lock mode @cindex mode, Font Lock @cindex syntax highlighting and coloring Font Lock mode is a minor mode, always local to a particular buffer, which highlights (or ``fontifies'') the buffer contents according to the syntax of the text you are editing. It can recognize comments and strings in most programming languages; in several languages, it can also recognize and properly highlight various other important constructs, such as names of functions being defined or reserved keywords. Some special modes, such as Occur mode and Info mode, have completely specialized ways of assigning fonts for Font Lock mode. @findex font-lock-mode Font Lock mode is turned on by default in all modes which support it. You can toggle font-lock for each buffer with the command @kbd{M-x font-lock-mode}. Using a positive argument unconditionally turns Font Lock mode on, and a negative or zero argument turns it off. @findex global-font-lock-mode @vindex global-font-lock-mode If you do not wish Font Lock mode to be turned on by default, customize the variable @code{global-font-lock-mode} using the Customize interface (@pxref{Easy Customization}), or use the function @code{global-font-lock-mode} in your @file{.emacs} file, like this: @example (global-font-lock-mode 0) @end example @noindent This variable, like all the variables that control Font Lock mode, take effect whenever fontification is done; that is, potentially at any time. @findex turn-on-font-lock If you have disabled Global Font Lock mode, you can still enable Font Lock for specific major modes by adding the function @code{turn-on-font-lock} to the mode hooks (@pxref{Hooks}). For example, to enable Font Lock mode for editing C files, you can do this: @example (add-hook 'c-mode-hook 'turn-on-font-lock) @end example Font Lock mode uses several specifically named faces to do its job, including @code{font-lock-string-face}, @code{font-lock-comment-face}, and others. The easiest way to find them all is to use @kbd{M-x customize-group @key{RET} font-lock-faces @key{RET}}. You can then use that customization buffer to customize the appearance of these faces. @xref{Face Customization}. @vindex font-lock-maximum-decoration The variable @code{font-lock-maximum-decoration} specifies the preferred level of fontification, for modes that provide multiple levels. Level 1 is the least amount of fontification; some modes support levels as high as 3. The normal default is ``as high as possible.'' You can specify an integer, which applies to all modes, or you can specify different numbers for particular major modes; for example, to use level 1 for C/C++ modes, and the default level otherwise, use this: @example (setq font-lock-maximum-decoration '((c-mode . 1) (c++-mode . 1))) @end example @vindex font-lock-maximum-size Fontification can be too slow for large buffers, so you can suppress it for buffers above a certain size. The variable @code{font-lock-maximum-size} specifies a buffer size, beyond which buffer fontification is suppressed. @c @w is used below to prevent a bad page-break. @vindex font-lock-beginning-of-syntax-function @cindex incorrect fontification @cindex parenthesis in column zero and fontification @cindex brace in column zero and fontification Comment and string fontification (or ``syntactic'' fontification) relies on analysis of the syntactic structure of the buffer text. For the sake of speed, some modes, including Lisp mode, rely on a special convention: an open-parenthesis or open-brace in the leftmost column always defines the @w{beginning} of a defun, and is thus always outside any string or comment. (@xref{Left Margin Paren}.) If you don't follow this convention, Font Lock mode can misfontify the text that follows an open-parenthesis or open-brace in the leftmost column that is inside a string or comment. @cindex slow display during scrolling The variable @code{font-lock-beginning-of-syntax-function} (always buffer-local) specifies how Font Lock mode can find a position guaranteed to be outside any comment or string. In modes which use the leftmost column parenthesis convention, the default value of the variable is @code{beginning-of-defun}---that tells Font Lock mode to use the convention. If you set this variable to @code{nil}, Font Lock no longer relies on the convention. This avoids incorrect results, but the price is that, in some cases, fontification for a changed text must rescan buffer text from the beginning of the buffer. This can considerably slow down redisplay while scrolling, particularly if you are close to the end of a large buffer. @findex font-lock-add-keywords Font Lock highlighting patterns already exist for many modes, but you may want to fontify additional patterns. You can use the function @code{font-lock-add-keywords}, to add your own highlighting patterns for a particular mode. For example, to highlight @samp{FIXME:} words in C comments, use this: @example (add-hook 'c-mode-hook (lambda () (font-lock-add-keywords nil '(("\\<\\(FIXME\\):" 1 font-lock-warning-face t))))) @end example @findex font-lock-remove-keywords To remove keywords from the font-lock highlighting patterns, use the function @code{font-lock-remove-keywords}. @xref{Search-based Fontification,,, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}. @cindex just-in-time (JIT) font-lock @cindex background syntax highlighting Fontifying large buffers can take a long time. To avoid large delays when a file is visited, Emacs fontifies only the visible portion of a buffer. As you scroll through the buffer, each portion that becomes visible is fontified as soon as it is displayed; this type of Font Lock is called @dfn{Just-In-Time} (or @dfn{JIT}) Lock. You can control how JIT Lock behaves, including telling it to perform fontification while idle, by customizing variables in the customization group @samp{jit-lock}. @xref{Specific Customization}. @node Highlight Interactively @section Interactive Highlighting @cindex highlighting by matching @cindex interactive highlighting @cindex Highlight Changes mode @findex highlight-changes-mode Highlight Changes mode is a minor mode that @dfn{highlights} the parts of the buffer were changed most recently, by giving that text a different face. To enable or disable Highlight Changes mode, use @kbd{M-x highlight-changes-mode}. @cindex Hi Lock mode @findex hi-lock-mode Hi Lock mode is a minor mode that highlights text that matches regular expressions you specify. For example, you can use it to highlight all the references to a certain variable in a program source file, highlight certain parts in a voluminous output of some program, or highlight certain names in an article. To enable or disable Hi Lock mode, use the command @kbd{M-x hi-lock-mode}. To enable Hi Lock mode for all buffers, use @kbd{M-x global-hi-lock-mode} or place @code{(global-hi-lock-mode 1)} in your @file{.emacs} file. Hi Lock mode works like Font Lock mode (@pxref{Font Lock}), except that you specify explicitly the regular expressions to highlight. You control them with these commands: @table @kbd @item C-x w h @var{regexp} @key{RET} @var{face} @key{RET} @kindex C-x w h @findex highlight-regexp Highlight text that matches @var{regexp} using face @var{face} (@code{highlight-regexp}). The highlighting will remain as long as the buffer is loaded. For example, to highlight all occurrences of the word ``whim'' using the default face (a yellow background) @kbd{C-x w h whim @key{RET} @key{RET}}. Any face can be used for highlighting, Hi Lock provides several of its own and these are pre-loaded into a history list. While being prompted for a face use @kbd{M-p} and @kbd{M-n} to cycle through them. You can use this command multiple times, specifying various regular expressions to highlight in different ways. @item C-x w r @var{regexp} @key{RET} @kindex C-x w r @findex unhighlight-regexp Unhighlight @var{regexp} (@code{unhighlight-regexp}). If you invoke this from the menu, you select the expression to unhighlight from a list. If you invoke this from the keyboard, you use the minibuffer. It will show the most recently added regular expression; use @kbd{M-p} to show the next older expression and @kbd{M-n} to select the next newer expression. (You can also type the expression by hand, with completion.) When the expression you want to unhighlight appears in the minibuffer, press @kbd{@key{RET}} to exit the minibuffer and unhighlight it. @item C-x w l @var{regexp} @key{RET} @var{face} @key{RET} @kindex C-x w l @findex highlight-lines-matching-regexp @cindex lines, highlighting @cindex highlighting lines of text Highlight entire lines containing a match for @var{regexp}, using face @var{face} (@code{highlight-lines-matching-regexp}). @item C-x w b @kindex C-x w b @findex hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns Insert all the current highlighting regexp/face pairs into the buffer at point, with comment delimiters to prevent them from changing your program. (This key binding runs the @code{hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns} command.) These patterns are extracted from the comments, if appropriate, if you invoke @kbd{M-x hi-lock-find-patterns}, or if you visit the file while Hi Lock mode is enabled (since that runs @code{hi-lock-find-patterns}). @item C-x w i @kindex C-x w i @findex hi-lock-find-patterns Extract regexp/face pairs from comments in the current buffer (@code{hi-lock-find-patterns}). Thus, you can enter patterns interactively with @code{highlight-regexp}, store them into the file with @code{hi-lock-write-interactive-patterns}, edit them (perhaps including different faces for different parenthesized parts of the match), and finally use this command (@code{hi-lock-find-patterns}) to have Hi Lock highlight the edited patterns. @vindex hi-lock-file-patterns-policy The variable @code{hi-lock-file-patterns-policy} controls whether Hi Lock mode should automatically extract and highlight patterns found in a file when it is visited. Its value can be @code{nil} (never highlight), @code{t} (highlight the patterns), @code{ask} (query the user), or a function. If it is a function, @code{hi-lock-find-patterns} calls it with the patterns as argument; if the function returns non-@code{nil}, the patterns are used. The default is @code{nil}. Note that patterns are always highlighted if you call @code{hi-lock-find-patterns} directly, regardless of the value of this variable. @vindex hi-lock-exclude-modes Also, @code{hi-lock-find-patterns} does nothing if the current major mode's symbol is a member of the list @code{hi-lock-exclude-modes}. @end table @node Fringes @section Window Fringes @cindex fringes On a graphical display, each Emacs window normally has narrow @dfn{fringes} on the left and right edges. The fringes are used to display symbols that provide information about the text in the window. The most common use of the fringes is to indicate a continuation line, when one line of text is split into multiple lines on the screen. The left fringe shows a curving arrow for each screen line except the first, indicating that ``this is not the real beginning.'' The right fringe shows a curving arrow for each screen line except the last, indicating that ``this is not the real end.'' The fringes indicate line truncation with short horizontal arrows meaning ``there's more text on this line which is scrolled horizontally out of view;'' clicking the mouse on one of the arrows scrolls the display horizontally in the direction of the arrow. The fringes can also indicate other things, such as empty lines, or where a program you are debugging is executing (@pxref{Debuggers}). @findex set-fringe-style @findex fringe-mode You can enable and disable the fringes for all frames using @kbd{M-x fringe-mode}. To enable and disable the fringes for the selected frame, use @kbd{M-x set-fringe-style}. @node Displaying Boundaries @section Displaying Boundaries @vindex indicate-buffer-boundaries On a graphical display, Emacs can indicate the buffer boundaries in the fringes. It indicates the first line and the last line with angle images in the fringes. This can be combined with up and down arrow images which say whether it is possible to scroll the window up and down. The buffer-local variable @code{indicate-buffer-boundaries} controls how the buffer boundaries and window scrolling is indicated in the fringes. If the value is @code{left} or @code{right}, both angle and arrow bitmaps are displayed in the left or right fringe, respectively. If value is an alist, each element @code{(@var{indicator} . @var{position})} specifies the position of one of the indicators. The @var{indicator} must be one of @code{top}, @code{bottom}, @code{up}, @code{down}, or @code{t} which specifies the default position for the indicators not present in the alist. The @var{position} is one of @code{left}, @code{right}, or @code{nil} which specifies not to show this indicator. For example, @code{((top . left) (t . right))} places the top angle bitmap in left fringe, the bottom angle bitmap in right fringe, and both arrow bitmaps in right fringe. To show just the angle bitmaps in the left fringe, but no arrow bitmaps, use @code{((top . left) (bottom . left))}. @vindex default-indicate-buffer-boundaries The value of the variable @code{default-indicate-buffer-boundaries} is the default value for @code{indicate-buffer-boundaries} in buffers that do not override it. @node Useless Whitespace @section Useless Whitespace @cindex trailing whitespace @cindex whitespace, trailing @vindex show-trailing-whitespace It is easy to leave unnecessary spaces at the end of a line, or empty lines at the end of a file, without realizing it. In most cases, this @dfn{trailing whitespace} has no effect, but there are special circumstances where it matters, and it can be a nuisance. You can make trailing whitespace at the end of a line visible by setting the buffer-local variable @code{show-trailing-whitespace} to @code{t}. Then Emacs displays trailing whitespace, using the face @code{trailing-whitespace}. This feature does not apply when point is at the end of the line containing the whitespace. Strictly speaking, that is ``trailing whitespace'' nonetheless, but displaying it specially in that case looks ugly while you are typing in new text. In this special case, the location of point is enough to show you that the spaces are present. @findex delete-trailing-whitespace To delete all trailing whitespace within the buffer's accessible portion (@pxref{Narrowing}), type @kbd{M-x delete-trailing-whitespace @key{RET}}. This command does not remove newline characters. @vindex indicate-empty-lines @vindex default-indicate-empty-lines @cindex unused lines @cindex fringes, and unused line indication Emacs can indicate unused lines at the end of the window with a small image in the left fringe (@pxref{Fringes}). The image appears for window lines that do not correspond to any buffer text. Blank lines at the end of the buffer then stand out because they do not have this image in the fringe. To enable this feature, set the buffer-local variable @code{indicate-empty-lines} to a non-@code{nil} value. The default value of this variable is controlled by the variable @code{default-indicate-empty-lines}; by setting that variable, you can enable or disable this feature for all new buffers. (This feature currently doesn't work on text-only terminals.) @node Selective Display @section Selective Display @cindex selective display @findex set-selective-display @kindex C-x $ Emacs has the ability to hide lines indented more than a given number of columns. You can use this to get an overview of a part of a program. To hide lines in the current buffer, type @kbd{C-x $} (@code{set-selective-display}) with a numeric argument @var{n}. Then lines with at least @var{n} columns of indentation disappear from the screen. The only indication of their presence is that three dots (@samp{@dots{}}) appear at the end of each visible line that is followed by one or more hidden ones. The commands @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} move across the hidden lines as if they were not there. The hidden lines are still present in the buffer, and most editing commands see them as usual, so you may find point in the middle of the hidden text. When this happens, the cursor appears at the end of the previous line, after the three dots. If point is at the end of the visible line, before the newline that ends it, the cursor appears before the three dots. To make all lines visible again, type @kbd{C-x $} with no argument. @vindex selective-display-ellipses If you set the variable @code{selective-display-ellipses} to @code{nil}, the three dots do not appear at the end of a line that precedes hidden lines. Then there is no visible indication of the hidden lines. This variable becomes local automatically when set. See also @ref{Outline Mode} for another way to hide part of the text in a buffer. @node Optional Mode Line @section Optional Mode Line Features @cindex buffer size display @cindex display of buffer size @findex size-indication-mode The buffer percentage @var{pos} indicates the percentage of the buffer above the top of the window. You can additionally display the size of the buffer by typing @kbd{M-x size-indication-mode} to turn on Size Indication mode. The size will be displayed immediately following the buffer percentage like this: @example @var{POS} of @var{SIZE} @end example @noindent Here @var{SIZE} is the human readable representation of the number of characters in the buffer, which means that @samp{k} for 10^3, @samp{M} for 10^6, @samp{G} for 10^9, etc., are used to abbreviate. @cindex line number display @cindex display of line number @findex line-number-mode The current line number of point appears in the mode line when Line Number mode is enabled. Use the command @kbd{M-x line-number-mode} to turn this mode on and off; normally it is on. The line number appears after the buffer percentage @var{pos}, with the letter @samp{L} to indicate what it is. @cindex Column Number mode @cindex mode, Column Number @findex column-number-mode Similarly, you can display the current column number by turning on Column number mode with @kbd{M-x column-number-mode}. The column number is indicated by the letter @samp{C}. However, when both of these modes are enabled, the line and column numbers are displayed in parentheses, the line number first, rather than with @samp{L} and @samp{C}. For example: @samp{(561,2)}. @xref{Minor Modes}, for more information about minor modes and about how to use these commands. @cindex narrowing, and line number display If you have narrowed the buffer (@pxref{Narrowing}), the displayed line number is relative to the accessible portion of the buffer. Thus, it isn't suitable as an argument to @code{goto-line}. (Use @code{what-line} command to see the line number relative to the whole file.) @vindex line-number-display-limit If the buffer is very large (larger than the value of @code{line-number-display-limit}), Emacs won't compute the line number, because that would be too slow; therefore, the line number won't appear on the mode-line. To remove this limit, set @code{line-number-display-limit} to @code{nil}. @vindex line-number-display-limit-width Line-number computation can also be slow if the lines in the buffer are too long. For this reason, Emacs doesn't display line numbers if the average width, in characters, of lines near point is larger than the value of @code{line-number-display-limit-width}. The default value is 200 characters. @findex display-time @cindex time (on mode line) Emacs can optionally display the time and system load in all mode lines. To enable this feature, type @kbd{M-x display-time} or customize the option @code{display-time-mode}. The information added to the mode line usually appears after the buffer name, before the mode names and their parentheses. It looks like this: @example @var{hh}:@var{mm}pm @var{l.ll} @end example @noindent @vindex display-time-24hr-format Here @var{hh} and @var{mm} are the hour and minute, followed always by @samp{am} or @samp{pm}. @var{l.ll} is the average number of running processes in the whole system recently. (Some fields may be missing if your operating system cannot support them.) If you prefer time display in 24-hour format, set the variable @code{display-time-24hr-format} to @code{t}. @cindex mail (on mode line) @vindex display-time-use-mail-icon @vindex display-time-mail-face @vindex display-time-mail-file @vindex display-time-mail-directory The word @samp{Mail} appears after the load level if there is mail for you that you have not read yet. On a graphical display you can use an icon instead of @samp{Mail} by customizing @code{display-time-use-mail-icon}; this may save some space on the mode line. You can customize @code{display-time-mail-face} to make the mail indicator prominent. Use @code{display-time-mail-file} to specify the mail file to check, or set @code{display-time-mail-directory} to specify the directory to check for incoming mail (any nonempty regular file in the directory is considered as ``newly arrived mail''). @cindex mail (on mode line) @findex display-battery-mode @vindex display-battery-mode @vindex battery-mode-line-format When running Emacs on a laptop computer, you can display the battery charge on the mode-line, by using the command @code{display-battery-mode} or customizing the variable @code{display-battery-mode}. The variable @code{battery-mode-line-format} determines the way the battery charge is displayed; the exact mode-line message depends on the operating system, and it usually shows the current battery charge as a percentage of the total charge. @cindex mode line, 3D appearance @cindex attributes of mode line, changing @cindex non-integral number of lines in a window By default, the mode line is drawn on graphics displays with 3D-style highlighting, like that of a button when it is not being pressed. If you don't like this effect, you can disable the 3D highlighting of the mode line, by customizing the attributes of the @code{mode-line} face. @xref{Face Customization}. @cindex non-selected windows, mode line appearance By default, the mode line of nonselected windows is displayed in a different face, called @code{mode-line-inactive}. Only the selected window is displayed in the @code{mode-line} face. This helps show which window is selected. When the minibuffer is selected, since it has no mode line, the window from which you activated the minibuffer has its mode line displayed using @code{mode-line}; as a result, ordinary entry to the minibuffer does not change any mode lines. @vindex mode-line-in-non-selected-windows You can disable use of @code{mode-line-inactive} by setting variable @code{mode-line-in-non-selected-windows} to @code{nil}; then all mode lines are displayed in the @code{mode-line} face. @vindex eol-mnemonic-unix @vindex eol-mnemonic-dos @vindex eol-mnemonic-mac @vindex eol-mnemonic-undecided You can customize the mode line display for each of the end-of-line formats by setting each of the variables @code{eol-mnemonic-unix}, @code{eol-mnemonic-dos}, @code{eol-mnemonic-mac}, and @code{eol-mnemonic-undecided} to the strings you prefer. @node Text Display @section How Text Is Displayed @cindex characters (in text) @acronym{ASCII} printing characters (octal codes 040 through 0176) in Emacs buffers are displayed with their graphics, as are non-ASCII multibyte printing characters (octal codes above 0400). @vindex tab-width @vindex default-tab-width Some @acronym{ASCII} control characters are displayed in special ways. The newline character (octal code 012) is displayed by starting a new line. The tab character (octal code 011) is displayed by moving to the next tab stop column (normally every 8 columns). The number of spaces per tab is controlled by the variable @code{tab-width}, which must have an integer value between 1 and 1000, inclusive, and is made local by changing it. Note that how the tab character in the buffer is displayed has nothing to do with the definition of @key{TAB} as a command. The variable @code{default-tab-width} controls the default value of this variable for buffers where you have not set it locally. Other @acronym{ASCII} control characters are normally displayed as a caret (@samp{^}) followed by the non-control version of the character; thus, control-A is displayed as @samp{^A}. The caret appears in face @code{escape-glyph}. Non-@acronym{ASCII} characters 0200 through 0237 (octal) are displayed with octal escape sequences; thus, character code 0230 (octal) is displayed as @samp{\230}. The backslash appears in face @code{escape-glyph}. @vindex ctl-arrow If the variable @code{ctl-arrow} is @code{nil}, control characters in the buffer are displayed with octal escape sequences, except for newline and tab. Altering the value of @code{ctl-arrow} makes it local to the current buffer; until that time, the default value is in effect. The default is initially @code{t}. The display of character codes 0240 through 0377 (octal) may be either as escape sequences or as graphics. They do not normally occur in multibyte buffers, but if they do, they are displayed as Latin-1 graphics. In unibyte mode, if you enable European display they are displayed using their graphics (assuming your terminal supports them), otherwise as escape sequences. @xref{Unibyte Mode}. @vindex nobreak-char-display @cindex no-break space, display @cindex no-break hyphen, display @cindex soft hyphen, display Some character sets define ``no-break'' versions of the space and hyphen characters, which are used where a line should not be broken. Emacs normally displays these characters with special faces (respectively, @code{nobreak-space} and @code{escape-glyph}) to distinguish them from ordinary spaces and hyphens. You can turn off this feature by setting the variable @code{nobreak-char-display} to @code{nil}. If you set the variable to any other value, that means to prefix these characters with an escape character. You can customize the way any particular character code is displayed by means of a display table. @xref{Display Tables,, Display Tables, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}. @node Cursor Display @section Displaying the Cursor @findex blink-cursor-mode @vindex blink-cursor-alist @cindex cursor, locating visually @cindex cursor, blinking You can customize the cursor's color, and whether it blinks, using the @code{cursor} Custom group (@pxref{Easy Customization}). On a graphical display, the command @kbd{M-x blink-cursor-mode} enables or disables the blinking of the cursor. (On text terminals, the terminal itself blinks the cursor, and Emacs has no control over it.) You can control how the cursor appears when it blinks off by setting the variable @code{blink-cursor-alist}. @vindex visible-cursor Some text terminals offer two different cursors: the normal cursor and the very visible cursor, where the latter may be e.g. bigger or blinking. By default Emacs uses the very visible cursor, and switches to it when you start or resume Emacs. If the variable @code{visible-cursor} is @code{nil} when Emacs starts or resumes, it doesn't switch, so it uses the normal cursor. @cindex cursor in non-selected windows @vindex cursor-in-non-selected-windows Normally, the cursor appears in non-selected windows without blinking, with the same appearance as when the blinking cursor blinks ``off.'' For a box cursor, this is a hollow box; for a bar cursor, this is a thinner bar. To turn off cursors in non-selected windows, customize the variable @code{cursor-in-non-selected-windows} and assign it a @code{nil} value. @vindex x-stretch-cursor @cindex wide block cursor On graphical displays, Emacs can optionally draw the block cursor as wide as the character under the cursor---for example, if the cursor is on a tab character, it would cover the full width occupied by that tab character. To enable this feature, set the variable @code{x-stretch-cursor} to a non-@code{nil} value. @findex hl-line-mode @findex global-hl-line-mode @cindex highlight current line To make the cursor even more visible, you can use HL Line mode, a minor mode that highlights the line containing point. Use @kbd{M-x hl-line-mode} to enable or disable it in the current buffer. @kbd{M-x global-hl-line-mode} enables or disables the same mode globally. @node Line Truncation @section Truncation of Lines @cindex truncation @cindex line truncation, and fringes As an alternative to continuation (@pxref{Continuation Lines}), Emacs can display long lines by @dfn{truncation}. This means that all the characters that do not fit in the width of the screen or window do not appear at all. On graphical displays, a small straight arrow in the fringe indicates truncation at either end of the line. On text-only terminals, @samp{$} appears in the first column when there is text truncated to the left, and in the last column when there is text truncated to the right. @vindex truncate-lines @findex toggle-truncate-lines Horizontal scrolling automatically causes line truncation (@pxref{Horizontal Scrolling}). You can explicitly enable line truncation for a particular buffer with the command @kbd{M-x toggle-truncate-lines}. This works by locally changing the variable @code{truncate-lines}. If that variable is non-@code{nil}, long lines are truncated; if it is @code{nil}, they are continued onto multiple screen lines. Setting the variable @code{truncate-lines} in any way makes it local to the current buffer; until that time, the default value is in effect. The default value is normally @code{nil}. @c @vindex truncate-partial-width-windows @c Idx entry is in Split Windows. If the variable @code{truncate-partial-width-windows} is non-@code{nil}, it forces truncation rather than continuation in any window less than the full width of the screen or frame, regardless of the value of @code{truncate-lines}. See also @ref{Display,, Display, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}. @vindex overflow-newline-into-fringe If the variable @code{overflow-newline-into-fringe} is non-@code{nil} on a graphical display, then Emacs does not continue or truncate a line which is exactly as wide as the window. Instead, the newline overflows into the right fringe, and the cursor appears in the fringe when positioned on that newline. @node Visual Line Mode @section Visual Line Mode @cindex word wrap Another alternative to ordinary line continuation is to use @dfn{word wrap}. Here, each long logical line is divided into two or more screen lines, like in ordinary line continuation. However, Emacs attempts to wrap the line at word boundaries near the right window edge. This makes the text easier to read, as wrapping does not occur in the middle of words. @cindex Visual Line mode @findex visual-line-mode @findex global-visual-line-mode Word wrap is enabled by Visual Line mode, an optional minor mode. To turn on Visual Line mode in the current buffer, type @kbd{M-x visual-line-mode}; repeating this command turns it off. You can also turn on Visual Line mode using the menu bar: in the Options menu, select the @samp{Line Wrapping in this Buffer} submenu, followed by the @samp{Word Wrap (Visual Line Mode)} menu item. While Visual Line mode is enabled, the mode-line shows the string @samp{wrap} in the mode display. The command @kbd{M-x global-visual-line-mode} toggles Visual Line mode in all buffers. @findex beginning-of-visual-line @findex end-of-visual-line @findex next-logical-line @findex previous-logical-line In Visual Line mode, some editing commands work on screen lines instead of logical lines: @kbd{C-a} (@code{beginning-of-visual-line}) moves to the beginning of the screen line, @kbd{C-e} (@code{end-of-visual-line}) moves to the end of the screen line, and @kbd{C-k} (@code{kill-visual-line}) kills text to the end of the screen line. Furthermore, the commands @kbd{M-]} (@code{next-logical-line}) and @kbd{M-[} (@code{previous-logical-line}) move point to the next logical line and previous logical line respectively. By default, word-wrapped lines do not display fringe indicators. Visual Line mode is often used to edit files that contain many long logical lines, so having a fringe indicator for each wrapped line would be visually distracting. You can change this by customizing the variable @code{visual-line-fringe-indicators}. @node Display Custom @section Customization of Display This section describes variables (@pxref{Variables}) that you can change to customize how Emacs displays. Beginning users can skip it. @c the reason for that pxref is because an xref early in the @c ``echo area'' section leads here. @vindex inverse-video If the variable @code{inverse-video} is non-@code{nil}, Emacs attempts to invert all the lines of the display from what they normally are. @vindex visible-bell If the variable @code{visible-bell} is non-@code{nil}, Emacs attempts to make the whole screen blink when it would normally make an audible bell sound. This variable has no effect if your terminal does not have a way to make the screen blink. @vindex echo-keystrokes The variable @code{echo-keystrokes} controls the echoing of multi-character keys; its value is the number of seconds of pause required to cause echoing to start, or zero, meaning don't echo at all. The value takes effect when there is someting to echo. @xref{Echo Area}. @vindex baud-rate The variable @anchor{baud-rate}@code{baud-rate} holds the output speed of the terminal, as far as Emacs knows. Setting this variable does not change the speed of actual data transmission, but the value is used for calculations. On text-only terminals, it affects padding, and decisions about whether to scroll part of the screen or redraw it instead. It also affects the behavior of incremental search. On graphical displays, @code{baud-rate} is only used to determine how frequently to look for pending input during display updating. A higher value of @code{baud-rate} means that check for pending input will be done less frequently. @cindex hourglass pointer display @vindex hourglass-delay On graphical displays, Emacs can optionally display the mouse pointer in a special shape to say that Emacs is busy. To turn this feature on or off, customize the group @code{cursor}. You can also control the amount of time Emacs must remain busy before the busy indicator is displayed, by setting the variable @code{hourglass-delay}. @vindex overline-margin On graphical displays, the variable @code{overline-margin} specifies the vertical position of an overline above the text, including the height of the overline itself, in pixels. The default value is 2. @vindex x-underline-at-descent-line On graphical displays, Emacs normally draws an underline at the baseline level of the font. If @code{x-underline-at-descent-line} is non-@code{nil}, Emacs draws the underline at the same height as the font's descent line. @findex tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors On some text-only terminals, bold face and inverse video together result in text that is hard to read. Call the function @code{tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors} with a non-@code{nil} argument to suppress the effect of bold-face in this case. @vindex no-redraw-on-reenter On a text-only terminal, when you reenter Emacs after suspending, Emacs normally clears the screen and redraws the entire display. On some terminals with more than one page of memory, it is possible to arrange the termcap entry so that the @samp{ti} and @samp{te} strings (output to the terminal when Emacs is entered and exited, respectively) switch between pages of memory so as to use one page for Emacs and another page for other output. On such terminals, you might want to set the variable @code{no-redraw-on-reenter} non-@code{nil}; this tells Emacs to assume, when resumed, that the screen page it is using still contains what Emacs last wrote there. @ignore arch-tag: 2219f910-2ff0-4521-b059-1bd231a536c4 @end ignore