1 GNU Emacs NEWS -- history of user-visible changes. 2000-09-27
2 Copyright (C) 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
3 See the end for copying conditions.
5 Please send Emacs bug reports to bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org.
6 For older news, see the file ONEWS
9 * Installation Changes in Emacs 21.1
11 ** Support for GNU/Linux on IA64 machines has been added.
13 ** Support for LynxOS has been added.
15 ** `movemail' defaults to supporting POP. You can turn this off using
16 the --without-pop configure option, should that be necessary.
18 ** There are new configure options associated with the support for
19 images and toolkit scrollbars. Use the --help option in `configure'
22 ** There is a new configure option `--without-xim' that instructs
23 Emacs to not use X Input Methods (XIM), if these are available.
25 ** There is a new configure option `--disable-largefile' to omit
26 Unix-98-style support for large files if that is available.
28 ** You can build a 64-bit Emacs for SPARC/Solaris systems which
29 support 64-bit executables and also on Irix 6.5. This increases the
30 maximum buffer size. See etc/MACHINES for instructions.
33 * Changes in Emacs 21.1
36 ** The new global minor mode `auto-image-file-mode' allows image files
37 to be visited as images.
39 ** The functions `keep-lines', `flush-lines' and `how-many' now
40 operate on the active region in Transient Mark mode.
42 ** The header line in an Info buffer is now displayed as an emacs header-line
43 (which is like a mode-line, but at the top of the window), so that it
44 remains visible even when the buffer has been scrolled. This behavior
45 may be disabled by customizing the option `Info-use-header-line'.
47 ** `gnus-user-agent' is a new possibility for `mail-user-agent'. It
48 is like `message-user-agent', but with all the Gnus paraphernalia.
51 ** The recommended way of using Iswitchb is via the new global minor
56 The Gnus NEWS entries are short, but they reflect sweeping changes in
57 four areas: Article display treatment, MIME treatment,
58 internationalization and mail-fetching.
60 *** The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
61 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
63 If you used procmail like in
65 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
66 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
67 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
68 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
70 this now has changed to
73 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
76 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
77 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
79 *** Gnus is now a MIME-capable reader. This affects many parts of
80 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
82 *** Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too many
83 parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
84 Separate MIME packages like SEMI will not work. There are built-in
85 facilities equivalent to those of gnus-mule.el, which is now just a
88 *** gnus-auto-select-first can now be a function to be
89 called to position point.
91 *** The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
92 summary buffers and NOV files.
94 *** `gnus-article-display-hook' has been removed. Instead, a number
95 of variables starting with `gnus-treat-' have been added.
97 *** The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now work in a
98 subtly different manner.
100 *** New web-based backends have been added: nnslashdot, nnwarchive
101 and nnultimate. nnweb has been revamped, again, to keep up with
102 ever-changing layouts.
104 *** Gnus can now read IMAP mail via nnimap.
106 *** There is image support.
108 ** When your terminal can't display characters from some of the ISO
109 8859 character sets but can display Latin-1, you can display
110 more-or-less mnemonic sequences of ASCII/Latin-1 characters instead of
111 empty boxes (under a window system) or question marks (not under a
112 window system). Customize the option `latin1-display' to turn this
115 ** The new user-option `find-file-suppress-same-file-warnings' can be
116 set to suppress warnings ``X and Y are the same file'' when visiting a
117 file that is already visited under a different name.
119 ** The new user-option `electric-help-shrink-window' can be set to
120 nil to prevent adjusting the help window size to the buffer size.
122 ** Emacs now checks for recursive loads of Lisp files. If the
123 recursion depth exceeds `recursive-load-depth-limit', an error is
126 ** The Strokes package has been updated. If your Emacs has XPM
127 support, you can use it for pictographic editing. In Strokes mode,
128 use C-mouse-2 to compose a complex stoke and insert it into the
129 buffer. You can encode or decode a strokes buffer with new commands
130 M-x strokes-encode-buffer and M-x strokes-decode-buffer. There is a
131 new command M-x strokes-list-strokes.
134 ** New command M-x describe-character-set reads a character set name
135 and displayes information about that.
137 ** When an error is signaled during the loading of the user's init
138 file, Emacs now pops up the *Messages* buffer.
140 ** Polish and German translations of Emacs' reference card have been
141 added. They are named `pl-refcard.tex' and `de-refcard.tex'.
142 Postscript files are included.
144 ** A reference card for Dired has been added. Its name is
147 ** The new variable `auto-mode-interpreter-regexp' contains a regular
148 expression matching interpreters, for file mode determination.
150 This regular expression is matched against the first line of a file to
151 determine the file's mode in `set-auto-mode' when Emacs can't deduce a
152 mode from the file's name. If it matches, the file is assumed to be
153 interpreted by the interpreter matched by the second group of the
154 regular expression. The mode is then determined as the mode
155 associated with that interpreter in `interpreter-mode-alist'.
158 ** C-down-mouse-3 is bound differently. Now if the menu bar is not
159 displayed it pops up a menu containing the items which would be on the
160 menu bar. If the menu bar is displayed, it pops up the major mode
161 menu or the Edit menu if there is no major mode menu.
163 ** Variable `load-path' is no longer customizable because it contains
164 a version-dependent component.
166 ** The <delete> function key is now bound to `delete-char' by default.
167 Note that this takes effect only on window systems. On TTYs, Emacs
168 will receive ASCII 127 when the DEL key is pressed. This
169 character is still bound as before.
171 ** Item Save Options on the Options menu allows saving options set
174 ** New function executable-make-buffer-file-executable-if-script-p is
175 suitable as an after-save-hook as an alternative to `executable-chmod'.
178 ** The most preferred coding-system is now used to save a buffer if
179 buffer-file-coding-system is `undecided' and it is safe for the buffer
180 contents. (The most preferred is set by set-language-environment or
181 by M-x prefer-coding-system.) Thus if you visit an ASCII file and
182 insert a non-ASCII character from your current language environment,
183 the file will be saved silently with the appropriate coding.
184 Previously you would be prompted for a safe coding system.
187 ** New variable `inhibit-iso-escape-detection' determines if Emacs'
188 coding system detection algorithm should pay attention to ISO2022's
189 escape sequences. If this variable is non-nil, the algorithm ignores
190 such escape sequences. The default value is nil, and it is
191 recommended not to change it except for the special case that you
192 always want to read any escape code verbatim. If you just want to
193 read a specific file without decoding escape codes, use C-x RET c
194 (`universal-coding-system-argument'). For instance, C-x RET c latin-1
195 RET C-x C-f filename RET.
197 ** Variable `default-korean-keyboard' is initialized properly from the
198 environment variable `HANGUL_KEYBOARD_TYPE'.
201 ** C-u C-x = provides detailed information about the character at
202 point in a pop-up window.
205 ** New command M-x list-charset-chars reads a character set name and
206 displays all characters in that character set.
208 ** M-x set-terminal-coding-system (C-x RET t) now allows CCL-based
209 coding systems such as cpXXX and cyrillic-koi8.
212 ** M-; now calls comment-dwim which tries to do something clever based
213 on the context. M-x kill-comment is now an alias to comment-kill,
214 defined on newcomment.el.
217 ** The function `getenv' is now callable interactively.
219 ** The many obsolete language `setup-...-environment' commands have
220 been removed -- use `set-language-environment'.
223 ** New user options `display-time-mail-face' and
224 `display-time-use-mail-icon' control the appearance of mode-line mail
225 indicator used by the display-time package. On a suitable display the
226 indicator can be an icon and is mouse-sensitive.
229 ** Emacs' auto-save list files are now by default stored in a
230 sub-directory `.emacs.d/auto-save-list/' of the user's home directory.
231 (On MS-DOS, this subdirectory's name is `_emacs.d/auto-save.list/'.)
232 You can customize `auto-save-list-prefix' to change this location.
235 ** On window-systems, additional space can be put between text lines
236 on the display using several methods
239 - By setting frame parameter `line-spacing' to PIXELS. PIXELS must be
240 a positive integer, and specifies that PIXELS number of pixels should
241 be put below text lines on the affected frame or frames.
244 - By setting X resource `lineSpacing', class `LineSpacing'. This is
245 equivalent ot specifying the frame parameter.
247 - By specifying `--line-spacing=N' or `-lsp N' on the command line.
249 - By setting buffer-local variable `line-spacing'. The meaning is
250 the same, but applies to the a particular buffer only.
253 ** The new command `clone-indirect-buffer' can be used to create
254 an indirect buffer that is a twin copy of the current buffer. The
255 command `clone-indirect-buffer-other-window', bound to C-x 4 c,
256 does the same but displays the indirect buffer in another window.
259 ** New user options `backup-directory-alist' and
260 `make-backup-file-name-function' control the placement of backups,
261 typically in a single directory or in an invisible sub-directory.
263 ** New commands iso-iso2sgml and iso-sgml2iso convert between Latin-1
264 characters and the corresponding SGML (HTML) entities.
267 ** Emacs now refuses to load compiled Lisp files which weren't
268 compiled with Emacs. Set `load-dangerous-libraries' to t to change
271 The reason for this change is an incompatible change in XEmacs' byte
272 compiler. Files compiled with XEmacs can contain byte codes that let
276 ** New X resources recognized
278 *** The X resource `synchronous', class `Synchronous', specifies
279 whether Emacs should run in synchronous mode. Synchronous mode
280 is useful for debugging X problems.
284 emacs.synchronous: true
286 *** The X resource `visualClass, class `VisualClass', specifies the
287 visual Emacs should use. The resource's value should be a string of
288 the form `CLASS-DEPTH', where CLASS is the name of the visual class,
289 and DEPTH is the requested color depth as a decimal number. Valid
290 visual class names are
299 Visual class names specified as X resource are case-insensitive, i.e.
300 `pseudocolor', `Pseudocolor' and `PseudoColor' all have the same
303 The program `xdpyinfo' can be used to list the visual classes
304 supported on your display, and which depths they have. If
305 `visualClass' is not specified, Emacs uses the display's default
310 emacs.visualClass: TrueColor-8
312 *** The X resource `privateColormap', class `PrivateColormap',
313 specifies that Emacs should use a private colormap if it is using the
314 default visual, and that visual is of class PseudoColor. Recognized
315 resource values are `true' or `on'.
319 emacs.privateColormap: true
321 ** The menu bar configuration has changed. The new configuration is
322 more CUA-compliant. The most significant change is that Options is
323 now a separate menu-bar item, with Mule and Customize as its submenus.
325 ** User-option `show-cursor-in-non-selected-windows' controls how to
326 display the cursor in non-selected windows. If nil, no cursor is
327 shown, if non-nil a hollow box cursor is shown. This option can
331 ** The variable `echo-keystrokes' may now have a floating point value.
334 ** C-x 5 1 runs the new command delete-other-frames which deletes
335 all frames except the selected one.
337 ** If your init file is compiled (.emacs.elc), `user-init-file' is set
338 to the source name (.emacs.el), if that exists, after loading it.
340 ** The help string specified for a menu-item whose definition contains
341 the property `:help HELP' is now displayed under X, on MS-Windows, and
342 MS-DOS, either in the echo area or with tooltips. Many standard menus
343 displayed by Emacs now have help strings.
346 ** Highlighting of mouse-sensitive regions is now supported in the
347 MS-DOS version of Emacs.
349 ** New user option `read-mail-command' specifies a command to use to
350 read mail from the menu etc.
353 ** Hexl contains a new command `hexl-insert-hex-string' which inserts
354 a string of hexadecimal numbers read from the mini-buffer.
356 ** Changes in Texinfo mode.
358 ** A couple of new key bindings have been added for inserting Texinfo
362 -------------------------
369 ** Changes in Outline mode.
371 There is now support for Imenu to index headings. A new command
372 `outline-headers-as-kill' copies the visible headings in the region to
373 the kill ring, e.g. to produce a table of contents.
375 ** Changes to Emacs Server
378 *** The new option `server-kill-new-buffers' specifies what to do
379 with buffers when done with them. If non-nil, the default, buffers
380 are killed, unless they were already present before visiting them with
381 Emacs Server. If nil, `server-temp-file-regexp' specifies which
382 buffers to kill, as before.
384 Please note that only buffers are killed that still have a client,
385 i.e. buffers visited with `emacsclient --no-wait' are never killed in
388 ** Changes to Show Paren mode.
390 *** Overlays used by Show Paren mode now use a priority property.
391 The new user option show-paren-priority specifies the priority to
392 use. Default is 1000.
395 ** New command M-x check-parens can be used to find unbalanced paren
396 groups and strings in buffers in Lisp mode (or other modes).
399 ** You can now easily create new *Info* buffers using either
400 M-x clone-buffer, C-u m <entry> RET or C-u g <entry> RET.
401 M-x clone-buffer can also be used on *Help* and several other special
405 ** Emacs can now support 'wheeled' mice (such as the MS IntelliMouse)
406 under XFree86. To enable this, simply put (mwheel-install) in your
409 The variables `mwheel-follow-mouse' and `mwheel-scroll-amount'
410 determine where and by how much buffers are scrolled.
412 ** Listing buffers with M-x list-buffers (C-x C-b) now shows
413 abbreviated file names. Abbreviations can be customized by changing
414 `directory-abbrev-alist'.
416 ** Faces and frame parameters.
418 There are four new faces `scroll-bar', `border', `cursor' and `mouse'.
419 Setting the frame parameters `scroll-bar-foreground' and
420 `scroll-bar-background' sets foreground and background color of face
421 `scroll-bar' and vice versa. Setting frame parameter `border-color'
422 sets the background color of face `border' and vice versa. Likewise
423 for frame parameters `cursor-color' and face `cursor', and frame
424 parameter `mouse-color' and face `mouse'.
426 Changing frame parameter `font' sets font-related attributes of the
427 `default' face and vice versa. Setting frame parameters
428 `foreground-color' or `background-color' sets the colors of the
429 `default' face and vice versa.
434 The face `menu' can be used to change colors and font of Emacs' menus.
435 Setting the font of LessTif/Motif menus is currently not supported;
436 attempts to set the font are ignored in this case.
439 ** New frame parameter `screen-gamma' for gamma correction.
441 The new frame parameter `screen-gamma' specifies gamma-correction for
442 colors. Its value may be nil, the default, in which case no gamma
443 correction occurs, or a number > 0, usually a float, that specifies
444 the screen gamma of a frame's display.
446 PC monitors usually have a screen gamma of 2.2. smaller values result
447 in darker colors. You might want to try a screen gamma of 1.5 for LCD
448 color displays. The viewing gamma Emacs uses is 0.4545. (1/2.2).
450 The X resource name of this parameter is `screenGamma', class
453 ** Emacs has a new redisplay engine.
455 The new redisplay handles characters of variable width and height.
456 Italic text can be used without redisplay problems. Fonts containing
457 oversized characters, i.e. characters larger than the logical height
458 of a font can be used. Images of various formats can be displayed in
461 ** Emacs has a new face implementation.
463 The new faces no longer fundamentally use X font names to specify the
464 font. Instead, each face has several independent attributes--family,
465 height, width, weight and slant--that it may or may not specify.
466 These attributes can be merged from various faces, and then together
469 Faces are supported on terminals that can display color or fonts.
470 These terminal capabilities are auto-detected. Details can be found
471 under Lisp changes, below.
473 ** New default font is Courier 12pt.
476 ** When using a windowing terminal, each Emacs window now has a cursor
477 of its own. When the window is selected, the cursor is solid;
478 otherwise, it is hollow.
480 ** Bitmap areas to the left and right of windows are used to display
481 truncation marks, continuation marks, overlay arrows and alike. The
482 foreground, background, and stipple of these areas can be changed by
483 customizing face `fringe'.
485 ** The mode line under X is now drawn with shadows by default. You
486 can change its appearance by modifying the face `modeline'.
490 Emacs now runs with the LessTif toolkit (see <http://www.lesstif.org>).
491 You will need a version 0.88.1 or later.
493 ** Toolkit scroll bars.
495 Emacs now uses toolkit scrollbars if available. When configured for
496 LessTif/Motif, it will use that toolkit's scrollbar. Otherwise, when
497 configured for Lucid and Athena widgets, it will use the Xaw3d scroll
498 bar if Xaw3d is available. You can turn off the use of toolkit scroll
499 bars by specifying `--with-toolkit-scroll-bars=no' when configuring
502 When you encounter problems with the Xaw3d scroll bar, watch out how
503 Xaw3d is compiled on your system. If the Makefile generated from
504 Xaw3d's Imakefile contains a `-DNARROWPROTO' compiler option, and your
505 Emacs system configuration file `s/your-system.h' does not contain a
506 define for NARROWPROTO, you might consider adding it. Take
507 `s/freebsd.h' as an example.
509 Alternatively, if you don't have access to the Xaw3d source code, take
510 a look at your system's imake configuration file, for example in the
511 directory `/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/config' (paths are different on
512 different systems). You will find files `*.cf' there. If your
513 system's cf-file contains a line like `#define NeedWidePrototypes NO',
514 add a `#define NARROWPROTO' to your Emacs system configuration file.
516 The reason for this is that one Xaw3d function uses `double' or
517 `float' function parameters depending on the setting of NARROWPROTO.
518 This is not a problem when Imakefiles are used because each system's
519 image configuration file contains the necessary information. Since
520 Emacs doesn't use imake, this has do be done manually.
522 ** Toggle buttons and radio buttons in menus.
524 When compiled with LessTif (or Motif) support, Emacs uses toolkit
525 widgets for radio and toggle buttons in menus. When configured for
526 Lucid, Emacs draws radio buttons and toggle buttons similar to Motif.
529 ** Highlighting of trailing whitespace.
531 When `show-trailing-whitespace' is non-nil, Emacs displays trailing
532 whitespace in the face `trailing-whitespace'. Trailing whitespace is
533 defined as spaces or tabs at the end of a line. To avoid busy
534 highlighting when entering new text, trailing whitespace is not
535 displayed if point is at the end of the line containing the
541 Emacs can optionally display a busy-cursor under X. You can turn the
542 display on or off by customizing group `cursor'.
547 M-x blink-cursor-mode toggles a blinking cursor under X and on
548 terminals having terminal capabilities `vi', `vs', and `ve'. Blinking
549 and related parameters like frequency and delay can be customized in
552 ** New font-lock support mode `jit-lock-mode'.
554 This support mode is roughly equivalent to `lazy-lock' but is
555 generally faster. It supports stealth and deferred fontification.
556 See the documentation of the function `jit-lock-mode' for more
559 Font-lock uses jit-lock-mode as default support mode, so you don't
560 have to do anything to activate it.
562 ** Tabs and variable-width text.
564 Tabs are now displayed with stretch properties; the width of a tab is
565 defined as a multiple of the normal character width of a frame, and is
566 independent of the fonts used in the text where the tab appears.
567 Thus, tabs can be used to line up text in different fonts.
569 ** Enhancements of the Lucid menu bar
572 *** The Lucid menu bar now supports the resource "margin".
574 emacs.pane.menubar.margin: 5
576 The default margin is 4 which makes the menu bar appear like the
579 *** Arrows that indicate sub-menus are now drawn with shadows, as in
583 ** Hscrolling in C code.
585 Horizontal scrolling now happens automatically if
586 `automatic-hscrolling' is set (the default). This setting can be
591 Emacs supports a tool bar at the top of a frame under X. For details
592 how to define a tool bar, see the page describing Lisp-level changes.
593 Tool-bar global minor mode controls whether or not it is displayed.
594 To make the tool bar more useful, we need contributions of extra icons
595 for specific modes (with copyright assignments).
598 ** Mouse-sensitive mode line.
600 Different parts of the mode line under X have been made
601 mouse-sensitive. Moving the mouse to a mouse-sensitive part in the mode
602 line changes the appearance of the mouse pointer to an arrow, and help
603 about available mouse actions is displayed either in the echo area, or
604 in the tooltip window if you have enabled one.
606 Currently, the following actions have been defined:
608 - Mouse-1 on the buffer name in the mode line switches between two
611 - Mouse-2 on the buffer-name switches to the next buffer, and
612 M-mouse-2 switches to the previous buffer in the buffer list.
614 - Mouse-3 on the buffer-name displays a buffer menu.
616 - Mouse-2 on the read-only or modified status in the mode line (`%' or
617 `*') toggles the status.
619 - Mouse-3 on the mode name display a minor-mode menu.
621 ** LessTif/Motif file selection dialog.
623 When Emacs is configured to use LessTif or Motif, reading a file name
624 from a menu will pop up a file selection dialog if `use-dialog-box' is
627 ** Emacs can display faces on TTY frames.
629 Emacs automatically detects terminals that are able to display colors.
630 Faces with a weight greater than normal are displayed extra-bright, if
631 the terminal supports it. Faces with a weight less than normal and
632 italic faces are displayed dimmed, if the terminal supports it.
633 Underlined faces are displayed underlined if possible. Other face
634 attributes such as `overline', `strike-through', and `box' are ignored
639 Emacs supports playing sound files on GNU/Linux and FreeBSD (Voxware
640 driver and native BSD driver, a.k.a. Luigi's driver). Currently
641 supported file formats are RIFF-WAVE (*.wav) and Sun Audio (*.au).
644 ** A new variable, backup-by-copying-when-privileged-mismatch, gives
645 the highest file uid for which backup-by-copying-when-mismatch will be
646 forced on. The assumption is that uids less than or equal to this
647 value are special uids (root, bin, daemon, etc.--not real system
648 users) and that files owned by these users should not change ownership,
649 even if your system policy allows users other than root to edit them.
651 The default is 200; set the variable to nil to disable the feature.
654 ** A block cursor can be drawn as wide as the glyph under it under X.
656 As an example: if a block cursor is over a tab character, it will be
657 drawn as wide as that tab on the display. To do this, set
658 `x-stretch-cursor' to a non-nil value.
661 ** Empty display lines at the end of a buffer may be marked with a
662 bitmap (this is similar to the tilde displayed by vi).
664 This behavior is activated by setting the buffer-local variable
665 `indicate-empty-lines' to a non-nil value. The default value of this
666 variable is found in `default-indicate-empty-lines'.
669 ** There is a new "aggressive" scrolling method.
671 When scrolling up because point is above the window start, if the
672 value of the buffer-local variable `scroll-up-aggessively' is a
673 number, Emacs chooses a new window start so that point ends up that
674 fraction of the window's height from the top of the window.
676 When scrolling down because point is below the window end, if the
677 value of the buffer-local variable `scroll-down-aggessively' is a
678 number, Emacs chooses a new window start so that point ends up that
679 fraction of the window's height from the bottom of the window.
681 ** The rectangle commands now avoid inserting undesirable spaces,
682 notably at the end of lines.
684 All these functions have been rewritten to avoid inserting unwanted
685 spaces, and an optional prefix now allows them to behave the old way.
688 There is a new command M-x replace-rectangle.
690 ** The new command M-x query-replace-regexp-eval acts like
691 query-replace-regexp, but takes a Lisp expression which is evaluated
692 after each match to get the replacement text.
695 ** M-x query-replace recognizes a new command `e' (or `E') that lets
696 you edit the replacement string.
698 ** The new command mail-abbrev-complete-alias, bound to `M-TAB', lets
699 you complete mail aliases in the text, analogous to
700 lisp-complete-symbol.
703 ** Emacs now resizes mini-windows if appropriate.
705 If a message is longer than one line, or minibuffer contents are
706 longer than one line, Emacs now resizes the minibuffer window unless
707 it is on a frame of its own. You can control the maximum minibuffer
708 window size by setting the following variable:
710 - User option: max-mini-window-height
712 Maximum height for resizing mini-windows. If a float, it specifies a
713 fraction of the mini-window frame's height. If an integer, it
714 specifies a number of lines. If nil, don't resize.
718 ** The command `Info-search' now uses a search history.
720 ** Changes to hideshow.el
722 Hideshow is now at version 5.x. It uses a new algorithms for block
723 selection and traversal, includes more isearch support, and has more
724 conventional keybindings.
726 *** Generalized block selection and traversal
728 A block is now recognized by three things: its start and end regexps
729 (both strings), and a match-data selector (an integer) specifying
730 which sub-expression in the start regexp serves as the place where a
731 `forward-sexp'-like function can operate. Hideshow always adjusts
732 point to this sub-expression before calling `hs-forward-sexp-func'
733 (which for most modes evaluates to `forward-sexp').
735 If the match-data selector is not specified, it defaults to zero,
736 i.e., the entire start regexp is valid, w/ no prefix. This is
737 backwards compatible with previous versions of hideshow. Please see
738 the docstring for variable `hs-special-modes-alist' for details.
740 *** Isearch support for updating mode line
742 During incremental search, if Hideshow minor mode is active, hidden
743 blocks are temporarily shown. The variable `hs-headline' records the
744 line at the beginning of the opened block (preceding the hidden
745 portion of the buffer), and the mode line is refreshed. When a block
746 is re-hidden, the variable is set to nil.
748 To show `hs-headline' in the mode line, you may wish to include
749 something like this in your .emacs.
751 (add-hook 'hs-minor-mode-hook
753 (add-to-list 'mode-line-format 'hs-headline)))
755 *** New customization var: `hs-hide-all-non-comment-function'
757 Normally, `hs-hide-all' hides everything, leaving only the
758 header lines of top-level forms (and comments, unless var
759 `hs-hide-comments-when-hiding-all' is non-nil). It does this by
760 moving point to each top-level block beginning and hiding the
761 block there. In some major modes (for example, Java), this
762 behavior results in few blocks left visible, which may not be so
765 You can now set var `hs-hide-all-non-comment-function' to a
766 function to be called at each top-level block beginning, instead
767 of the normal block-hiding function. For example, the following
768 code defines a function to hide one level down and move point
769 appropriately, and then tells hideshow to use the new function.
771 (defun ttn-hs-hide-level-1 ()
774 (setq hs-hide-all-non-comment-function 'ttn-hs-hide-level-1)
776 The name `hs-hide-all-non-comment-function' was chosen to
777 emphasize that this function is not called for comment blocks,
778 only for code blocks.
780 *** Command deleted: `hs-show-region'
782 Historical Note: This command was added to handle "unbalanced
783 parentheses" emergencies back when hideshow.el used selective
784 display for implementation.
786 *** Commands rebound to more conventional keys
788 The hideshow commands used to be bound to keys of the form "C-c
789 LETTER". This is contrary to the Emacs keybinding convention,
790 which reserves that space for user modification. Here are the
791 new bindings (which includes the addition of `hs-toggle-hiding'):
793 hs-hide-block C-c C-h
794 hs-show-block C-c C-s
795 hs-hide-all C-c C-M-h
796 hs-show-all C-c C-M-s
797 hs-hide-level C-c C-l
798 hs-toggle-hiding C-c C-c
799 hs-mouse-toggle-hiding [(shift button-2)]
801 These were chosen to roughly imitate those used by Outline mode.
803 ** Changes to Change Log mode and Add-Log functions
806 *** If you invoke `add-change-log-entry' from a backup file, it makes
807 an entry appropriate for the file's parent. This is useful for making
808 log entries by comparing a version with deleted functions.
811 **** New command M-x change-log-merge merges another log into the
815 *** New command M-x change-log-redate fixes any old-style date entries
819 *** Change Log mode now adds a file's version number to change log
820 entries if user-option `change-log-version-info-enabled' is non-nil.
823 *** Unless the file is under version control the search for a file's
824 version number is performed based on regular expressions from
825 `change-log-version-number-regexp-list' which can be cutomized.
826 Version numbers are only found in the first 10 percent of a file.
828 *** Change Log mode now defines its own faces for font-lock
831 ** Changes in Font Lock
833 *** The new function `font-lock-remove-keywords' can be used to remove
834 font-lock keywords from the current buffer or from a specific major
837 ** Comint (subshell) changes
839 By default, comint no longer uses the variable `comint-prompt-regexp' to
840 distinguish prompts from user-input. Instead, it notices which parts of
841 the text were output by the process, and which entered by the user, and
842 attaches `field' properties to allow emacs commands to use this information.
843 Common movement commands, notably beginning-of-line, respect field
844 boundaries in a fairly natural manner.
845 To disable this feature, and use the old behavior, set the variable
846 `comint-use-prompt-regexp-instead-of-fields' to a non-nil value.
848 Comint now includes new features to send commands to running processes
849 and redirect the output to a designated buffer or buffers.
851 The command M-x comint-redirect-send-command reads a command and
852 buffer name from the mini-buffer. The command is sent to the current
853 buffer's process, and its output is inserted into the specified buffer.
855 The command M-x comint-redirect-send-command-to-process acts like
856 M-x comint-redirect-send-command but additionally reads the name of
857 the buffer whose process should be used from the mini-buffer.
859 Packages based on comint.el like shell-mode, and scheme-interaction-mode
860 now highlight user input and program prompts, and support choosing
861 previous input with mouse-2. To control these feature, see the
862 user-options `comint-highlight-input' and `comint-highlight-prompt'.
864 ** Changes to Rmail mode
866 *** The new user-option rmail-rmail-user-mail-address-regexp can be
867 set to fine tune the identification of of the correspondent when
868 receiving new mail. If it matches the address of the sender, the
869 recipient is taken as correspondent of a mail. If nil, the default,
870 `user-login-name' and `user-mail-address' are used to exclude yourself
873 Usually you don't have to set this variable, except if you collect
874 mails sent by you under different user names. Then it should be a
875 regexp matching your mail addresses.
877 *** The new user-option rmail-confirm-expunge controls whether and how
878 to ask for confirmation before expunging deleted messages from an
879 Rmail file. You can choose between no confirmation, confirmation
880 with y-or-n-p, or confirmation with yes-or-no-p. Default is to ask
881 for confirmation with yes-or-no-p.
883 *** RET is now bound in the Rmail summary to rmail-summary-goto-msg,
886 *** There is a new user option `rmail-digest-end-regexps' that
887 specifies the regular expressions to detect the line that ends a
890 *** The new user option `rmail-automatic-folder-directives' specifies
891 in which folder to put messages automatically.
893 ** Changes to TeX mode
895 The default mode has been changed from `plain-tex-mode' to
898 ** Changes to RefTeX mode
900 *** RefTeX has new support for index generation. Index entries can be
901 created with `C-c <', with completion available on index keys.
902 Pressing `C-c /' indexes the word at the cursor with a default
903 macro. `C-c >' compiles all index entries into an alphabetically
904 sorted *Index* buffer which looks like the final index. Entries
905 can be edited from that buffer.
907 *** Label and citation key selection now allow to select several
908 items and reference them together (use `m' to mark items, `a' or
909 `A' to use all marked entries).
911 *** reftex.el has been split into a number of smaller files to reduce
912 memory use when only a part of RefTeX is being used.
914 *** a new command `reftex-view-crossref-from-bibtex' (bound to `C-c &'
915 in BibTeX-mode) can be called in a BibTeX database buffer in order
916 to show locations in LaTeX documents where a particular entry has
919 ** Emacs Lisp mode now allows multiple levels of outline headings.
920 The level of a heading is determined from the number of leading
921 semicolons in a heading line. Toplevel forms starting with a `('
922 in column 1 are always made leaves.
924 ** The M-x time-stamp command (most commonly used on write-file-hooks)
925 has the following new features:
927 *** The patterns for finding the time stamp and for updating a pattern
928 may match text spanning multiple lines. For example, some people like
929 to have the filename and date on separate lines. The new variable
930 time-stamp-inserts-lines controls the matching for multi-line patterns.
932 *** More than one time stamp can be updated in the same file. This
933 feature is useful if you need separate time stamps in a program source
934 file to both include in formatted documentation and insert in the
935 compiled binary. The same time-stamp will be written at each matching
936 pattern. The variable time-stamp-count enables this new feature; it
939 ** Partial Completion mode now completes environment variables in
945 Tooltips are small X windows displaying a help string at the current
946 mouse position. To use them, use the Lisp package `tooltip' which you
947 can access via the user option `tooltip-mode'.
949 Tooltips also provides support for GUD debugging. If activated,
950 variable values can be displayed in tooltips by pointing at them with
951 the mouse in source buffers. You can customize various aspects of the
952 tooltip display in the group `tooltip'.
957 *** Customize now supports comments about customized items. Use the
958 `State' menu to add comments. Note that customization comments will
959 cause the customizations to fail in earlier versions of Emacs.
961 *** The new option `custom-buffer-done-function' says whether to kill
962 Custom buffers when you've done with them or just bury them (the
965 *** The keyword :set-after in defcustom allows to specify dependencies
966 between custom options. Example:
968 (defcustom default-input-method nil
969 "*Default input method for multilingual text (a string).
970 This is the input method activated automatically by the command
971 `toggle-input-method' (\\[toggle-input-method])."
973 :type '(choice (const nil) string)
974 :set-after '(current-language-environment))
976 This specifies that default-input-method should be set after
977 current-language-environment even if default-input-method appears
978 first in a custom-set-variables statement.
980 ** New features in evaluation commands
982 *** The commands to evaluate Lisp expressions, such as C-M-x in Lisp
983 modes, C-j in Lisp Interaction mode, and M-:, now bind the variables
984 print-level, print-length, and debug-on-error based on the
985 customizable variables eval-expression-print-level,
986 eval-expression-print-length, and eval-expression-debug-on-error.
988 *** The function `eval-defun' (M-C-x) now loads Edebug and instruments
989 code when called with a prefix argument.
994 *** The command `ispell' now spell-checks a region if
995 transient-mark-mode is on, and the mark is active. Otherwise it
996 spell-checks the current buffer.
999 *** Support for synchronous subprocesses - DOS/Windoze - has been
1002 *** An "alignment error" bug was fixed when a manual spelling
1003 correction is made and re-checked.
1005 *** An Italian and a Portuguese dictionary definition has been added.
1007 *** Region skipping performance has been vastly improved in some
1010 *** Spell checking HTML buffers has been improved and isn't so strict
1013 *** The buffer-local words are now always placed on a new line at the
1018 *** New variable `dired-recursive-deletes' determines if the delete
1019 command will delete non-empty directories recursively. The default
1020 is, delete only empty directories.
1022 *** New variable `dired-recursive-copies' determines if the copy
1023 command will copy directories recursively. The default is, do not
1024 copy directories recursively.
1026 *** In command `dired-do-shell-command' (usually bound to `!') a `?'
1027 in the shell command has a special meaning similar to `*', but with
1028 the difference that the command will be run on each file individually.
1030 *** The new command `dired-find-alternate-file' (usually bound to `a')
1031 replaces the Dired buffer with the buffer for an alternate file or
1034 *** The new command `dired-show-file-type' (usually bound to `w') shows
1035 a message in the echo area describing what type of file the point is on.
1036 This command invokes the external program `file' do its work, and so
1037 will only work on systems with that program, and will be only as
1038 accurate or inaccurate as it is.
1040 *** Dired now properly handles undo changes of adding/removing `-R'
1043 ** The variable mail-specify-envelope-from controls whether to
1044 use the -f option when sending mail.
1048 Note: This release contains changes that might not be compatible with
1049 current user setups (although it's believed that these
1050 incompatibilities will only show in very uncommon circumstances).
1051 However, since the impact is uncertain, these changes may be rolled
1052 back depending on user feedback. Therefore there's no forward
1053 compatibility guarantee wrt the new features introduced in this
1056 *** c-style-variables-are-local-p now defaults to t.
1057 This is an incompatible change that has been made to make the behavior
1058 of the style system wrt global variable settings less confusing for
1059 non-advanced users. If you know what this variable does you might
1060 want to set it to nil in your .emacs, otherwise you probably don't
1063 Defaulting c-style-variables-are-local-p to t avoids the confusing
1064 situation that occurs when a user sets some style variables globally
1065 and edits both a Java and a non-Java file in the same Emacs session.
1066 If the style variables aren't buffer local in this case, loading of
1067 the second file will cause the default style (either "gnu" or "java"
1068 by default) to override the global settings made by the user.
1070 *** New initialization procedure for the style system.
1071 When the initial style for a buffer is determined by CC Mode (from the
1072 variable c-default-style), the global values of style variables now
1073 take precedence over the values specified by the chosen style. This
1074 is different than the old behavior: previously, the style-specific
1075 settings would override the global settings. This change makes it
1076 possible to do simple configuration in the intuitive way with
1077 Customize or with setq lines in one's .emacs file.
1079 By default, the global value of every style variable is the new
1080 special symbol set-from-style, which causes the value to be taken from
1081 the style system. This means that in effect, only an explicit setting
1082 of a style variable will cause the "overriding" behavior described
1085 Also note that global settings override style-specific settings *only*
1086 when the initial style of a buffer is chosen by a CC Mode major mode
1087 function. When a style is chosen in other ways --- for example, by a
1088 call like (c-set-style "gnu") in a hook, or via M-x c-set-style ---
1089 then the style-specific values take precedence over any global style
1090 values. In Lisp terms, global values override style-specific values
1091 only when the new second argument to c-set-style is non-nil; see the
1092 function documentation for more info.
1094 The purpose of these changes is to make it easier for users,
1095 especially novice users, to do simple customizations with Customize or
1096 with setq in their .emacs files. On the other hand, the new system is
1097 intended to be compatible with advanced users' customizations as well,
1098 such as those that choose styles in hooks or whatnot. This new system
1099 is believed to be almost entirely compatible with current
1100 configurations, in spite of the changed precedence between style and
1101 global variable settings when a buffer's default style is set.
1103 (Thanks to Eric Eide for clarifying this explanation a bit.)
1105 **** c-offsets-alist is now a customizable variable.
1106 This became possible as a result of the new initialization behavior.
1108 This variable is treated slightly differently from the other style
1109 variables; instead of using the symbol set-from-style, it will be
1110 completed with the syntactic symbols it doesn't already contain when
1111 the style is first initialized. This means it now defaults to the
1112 empty list to make all syntactic elements get their values from the
1115 **** Compatibility variable to restore the old behavior.
1116 In case your configuration doesn't work with this change, you can set
1117 c-old-style-variable-behavior to non-nil to get the old behavior back
1120 *** Improvements to line breaking and text filling.
1121 CC Mode now handles this more intelligently and seamlessly wrt the
1122 surrounding code, especially inside comments. For details see the new
1123 chapter about this in the manual.
1125 **** New variable to recognize comment line prefix decorations.
1126 The variable c-comment-prefix-regexp has been added to properly
1127 recognize the line prefix in both block and line comments. It's
1128 primarily used to initialize the various paragraph recognition and
1129 adaptive filling variables that the text handling functions uses.
1131 **** New variable c-block-comment-prefix.
1132 This is a generalization of the now obsolete variable
1133 c-comment-continuation-stars to handle arbitrary strings.
1135 **** CC Mode now uses adaptive fill mode.
1136 This to make it adapt better to the paragraph style inside comments.
1138 It's also possible to use other adaptive filling packages inside CC
1139 Mode, notably Kyle E. Jones' Filladapt mode (http://wonderworks.com/).
1140 A new convenience function c-setup-filladapt sets up Filladapt for use
1143 Note though that the 2.12 version of Filladapt lacks a feature that
1144 causes it to work suboptimally when c-comment-prefix-regexp can match
1145 the empty string (which it commonly does). A patch for that is
1146 available from the CC Mode web site (http://www.python.org/emacs/
1149 **** It's now possible to selectively turn off auto filling.
1150 The variable c-ignore-auto-fill is used to ignore auto fill mode in
1151 specific contexts, e.g. in preprocessor directives and in string
1154 **** New context sensitive line break function c-context-line-break.
1155 It works like newline-and-indent in normal code, and adapts the line
1156 prefix according to the comment style when used inside comments. If
1157 you're normally using newline-and-indent, you might want to switch to
1160 *** Fixes to IDL mode.
1161 It now does a better job in recognizing only the constructs relevant
1162 to IDL. E.g. it no longer matches "class" as the beginning of a
1163 struct block, but it does match the CORBA 2.3 "valuetype" keyword.
1164 Thanks to Eric Eide.
1166 *** Improvements to the Whitesmith style.
1167 It now keeps the style consistently on all levels and both when
1168 opening braces hangs and when they don't.
1170 **** New lineup function c-lineup-whitesmith-in-block.
1172 *** New lineup functions c-lineup-template-args and c-indent-multi-line-block.
1173 See their docstrings for details. c-lineup-template-args does a
1174 better job of tracking the brackets used as parens in C++ templates,
1175 and is used by default to line up continued template arguments.
1177 *** c-lineup-comment now preserves alignment with a comment on the
1178 previous line. It used to instead preserve comments that started in
1179 the column specified by comment-column.
1181 *** c-lineup-C-comments handles "free form" text comments.
1182 In comments with a long delimiter line at the start, the indentation
1183 is kept unchanged for lines that start with an empty comment line
1184 prefix. This is intended for the type of large block comments that
1185 contain documentation with its own formatting. In these you normally
1186 don't want CC Mode to change the indentation.
1188 *** The `c' syntactic symbol is now relative to the comment start
1189 instead of the previous line, to make integers usable as lineup
1192 *** All lineup functions have gotten docstrings.
1194 *** More preprocessor directive movement functions.
1195 c-down-conditional does the reverse of c-up-conditional.
1196 c-up-conditional-with-else and c-down-conditional-with-else are
1197 variants of these that also stops at "#else" lines (suggested by Don
1200 *** Minor improvements to many movement functions in tricky situations.
1202 ** Makefile mode changes
1204 *** The mode now uses the abbrev table `makefile-mode-abbrev-table'.
1206 *** Conditionals and include statements are now highlighted when
1207 Fontlock mode is active.
1211 *** Isearch now puts a call to `isearch-resume' in the command history,
1212 so that searches can be resumed.
1214 *** In Isearch mode, M-C-s and M-C-r are now bound like C-s and C-r,
1215 respectively, i.e. you can repeat a regexp isearch with the same keys
1216 that started the search.
1218 *** In Isearch mode, mouse-2 in the echo area now yanks the current
1219 selection into the search string rather than giving an error.
1222 *** There is a new lazy highlighting feature in incremental search.
1224 Lazy highlighting is switched on/off by customizing variable
1225 `isearch-lazy-highlight'. When active, all matches for the current
1226 search string are highlighted. The current match is highlighted as
1227 before using face `isearch' or `region'. All other matches are
1228 highlighted using face `isearch-lazy-highlight-face' which defaults to
1229 `secondary-selection'.
1231 The extra highlighting makes it easier to anticipate where the cursor
1232 will end up each time you press C-s or C-r to repeat a pending search.
1233 Highlighting of these additional matches happens in a deferred fashion
1234 using "idle timers," so the cycles needed do not rob isearch of its
1235 usual snappy response.
1237 If `isearch-lazy-highlight-cleanup' is set to t, highlights for
1238 matches are automatically cleared when you end the search. If it is
1239 set to nil, you can remove the highlights manually with `M-x
1240 isearch-lazy-highlight-cleanup'.
1243 ** Changes in sort.el
1245 The function sort-numeric-fields interprets numbers starting with `0'
1246 as octal and numbers starting with `0x' or `0X' as hexadecimal. The
1247 new user-option sort-numeric-base can be used to specify a default
1250 ** Changes to Ange-ftp
1253 *** Ange-ftp allows you to specify of a port number in remote file
1254 names cleanly. It is appended to the host name, separated by a hash
1255 sign, e.g. `/foo@bar.org#666:mumble'. (This syntax comes from EFS.)
1257 *** If the new user-option `ange-ftp-try-passive-mode' is set, passive
1258 ftp mode will be used if the ftp client supports that.
1260 *** Ange-ftp handles the output of the w32-style clients which
1261 output ^M at the end of lines.
1263 ** Shell script mode changes.
1265 Shell script mode (sh-script) can now indent scripts for shells
1266 derived from sh and rc. The indentation style is customizeable, and
1267 sh-script can attempt to "learn" the current buffer's style.
1271 *** In DOS, etags looks for file.cgz if it cannot find file.c.
1273 *** New option --ignore-case-regex is an alternative to --regex. It is now
1274 possible to bind a regexp to a language, by prepending the regexp with
1275 {lang}, where lang is one of the languages that `etags --help' prints out.
1276 This feature is useful especially for regex files, where each line contains
1277 a regular expression. The manual contains details.
1279 *** In C and derived languages, etags creates tags for function
1280 declarations when given the --declarations option.
1282 *** In C++, tags are created for "operator". The tags have the form
1283 "operator+", without spaces between the keyword and the operator.
1285 *** New language Ada: tags are functions, procedures, packages, tasks, and
1288 *** In Fortran, `procedure' is not tagged.
1290 *** In Java, tags are created for "interface".
1292 *** In Lisp, "(defstruct (foo", "(defun (operator" and similar constructs
1295 *** In Perl, the --globals option tags global variables. my and local
1296 variables are tagged.
1298 *** New language Python: def and class at the beginning of a line are tags.
1300 *** .ss files are Scheme files, .pdb is Postscript with C syntax, .psw is
1304 ** Changes in etags.el
1306 *** The new user-option tags-case-fold-search can be used to make
1307 tags operations case-sensitive or case-insensitive. The default
1308 is to use the same setting as case-fold-search.
1310 *** You can display additional output with M-x tags-apropos by setting
1311 the new variable tags-apropos-additional-actions.
1313 If non-nil, the variable's value should be a list of triples (TITLE
1314 FUNCTION TO-SEARCH). For each triple, M-x tags-apropos processes
1315 TO-SEARCH and lists tags from it. TO-SEARCH should be an alist,
1316 obarray, or symbol. If it is a symbol, the symbol's value is used.
1318 TITLE is a string to use to label the list of tags from TO-SEARCH.
1320 FUNCTION is a function to call when an entry is selected in the Tags
1321 List buffer. It is called with one argument, the selected symbol.
1323 A useful example value for this variable might be something like:
1325 '(("Emacs Lisp" Info-goto-emacs-command-node obarray)
1326 ("Common Lisp" common-lisp-hyperspec common-lisp-hyperspec-obarray)
1327 ("SCWM" scwm-documentation scwm-obarray))
1329 *** The face tags-tag-face can be used to customize the appearance
1330 of tags in the output of M-x tags-apropos.
1332 *** Setting tags-apropos-verbose to a non-nil value displays the
1333 names of tags files in the *Tags List* buffer.
1336 ** Emacs now attempts to determine the initial language environment
1337 and preferred and locale coding systems systematically from the
1338 LC_ALL, LC_CTYPE, and LANG environment variables during startup.
1341 ** New language environments `Polish', `Latin-8' and `Latin-9'.
1342 Latin-8 and Latin-9 correspond respectively to the ISO character sets
1343 8859-14 (Celtic) and 8859-15 (updated Latin-1, with the Euro sign).
1344 GNU Intlfonts doesn't support these yet; there are basic 8859-14 and
1345 8859-15 fonts at <URL:http://czyborra.com/charsets/> and recent X
1346 releases have 8859-15. There are new Latin-8 and Latin-9 prefix
1347 (only) and Polish slash input methods in Leim.
1350 ** Fortran mode has a new command `fortran-strip-sequence-nos' to
1351 remove text past column 72. The syntax class of `\' in Fortran is now
1352 appropriate for C-style escape sequences in strings.
1354 ** SGML mode's default `sgml-validate-command' is now `nsgmls'.
1357 ** A new command `view-emacs-problems' (C-h P) displays the PROBLEMS file.
1360 ** The Dabbrev package has a new user-option `dabbrev-ignored-regexps'
1361 containing a list of regular expressions. Buffers matching a regular
1362 expression from that list, are not checked.
1364 ** Emacs can now figure out modification times of remote files.
1365 When you do C-x C-f /user@host:/path/file RET and edit the file,
1366 and someone else modifies the file, you will be prompted to revert
1367 the buffer, just like for the local files.
1369 ** The buffer menu (C-x C-b) no longer lists the *Buffer List* buffer.
1372 ** When invoked with a prefix argument, the command `list-abbrevs' now
1373 displays local abbrevs, only.
1377 VC has been overhauled internally. It is now modular, making it
1378 easier to plug-in arbitrary version control backends. (See Lisp
1379 Changes for details on the new structure.) As a result, the mechanism
1380 to enable and disable support for particular version systems has
1381 changed: everything is now controlled by the new variable
1382 `vc-handled-backends'. Its value is a list of atoms that identify
1383 version systems; the default is '(RCS CVS SCCS). When finding a file,
1384 each of the backends in that list is tried in order to see whether the
1385 file is registered in that backend.
1387 When registering a new file, VC first tries each of the listed
1388 backends to see if any of them considers itself "responsible" for the
1389 directory of the file (e.g. because a corresponding subdirectory for
1390 master files exists). If none of the backends is responsible, then
1391 the first backend in the list that could register the file is chosen.
1392 As a consequence, the variable `vc-default-back-end' is now obsolete.
1394 The old variable `vc-master-templates' is also obsolete, although VC
1395 still supports it for backward compatibility. To define templates for
1396 RCS or SCCS, you should rather use the new variables
1397 vc-{rcs,sccs}-master-templates. (There is no such feature under CVS
1398 where it doesn't make sense.)
1400 The variables `vc-ignore-vc-files' and `vc-handle-cvs' are also
1401 obsolete now, you must set `vc-handled-backends' to nil or exclude
1402 `CVS' from the list, respectively, to achieve their effect now.
1406 The variable `vc-checkout-carefully' is obsolete: the corresponding
1407 checks are always done now.
1409 VC Dired buffers are now kept up-to-date during all version control
1414 There is a new user option, `vc-cvs-stay-local'. If it is `t' (the
1415 default), then VC avoids network queries for files registered in
1416 remote repositories. The state of such files is then only determined
1417 by heuristics and past information. `vc-cvs-stay-local' can also be a
1418 regexp to match against repository hostnames; only files from hosts
1419 that match it are treated locally. If the variable is nil, then VC
1420 queries the repository just as often as it does for local files.
1422 If `vc-cvs-stay-local' is on, and there have been changes in the
1423 repository, VC notifies you about it when you actually try to commit.
1424 If you want to check for updates from the repository without trying to
1425 commit, you can either use C-u C-x v m to perform an update on the
1426 current file, or you can use C-x v r RET to get an update for an
1427 entire directory tree.
1429 The new user option `vc-cvs-use-edit' indicates whether VC should call
1430 "cvs edit" to make files writeable; it defaults to `t'. (This option
1431 is only meaningful if the CVSREAD variable is set, or if files are
1432 "watched" by other developers.)
1434 *** Lisp Changes in VC
1436 VC has been restructured internally to make it modular. You can now
1437 add support for arbitrary version control backends by writing a
1438 library that provides a certain set of backend-specific functions, and
1439 then telling VC to use that library. For example, to add support for
1440 a version system named FOO, you write a library named vc-foo.el, which
1441 provides a number of functions vc-foo-... (see commentary at the end
1442 of vc.el for a detailed list of them). To make VC use that library,
1443 you need to put it somewhere into Emacs' load path and add the atom
1444 `FOO' to the list `vc-handled-backends'.
1446 ** New modes and packages
1449 *** The new package timeclock.el is a mode is for keeping track of time
1450 intervals. You can use it for whatever purpose you like, but the
1451 typical scenario is to keep track of how much time you spend working
1452 on certain projects.
1455 *** The new package hi-lock.el, text matching interactively entered
1456 regexp's can be highlighted. For example,
1458 M-x highlight-regexp RET clearly RET RET
1460 will highlight all occurrences of `clearly' using a yellow background
1461 face. New occurrences of `clearly' will be highlighted as they are
1462 typed. `M-x unhighlight-regexp RET' will remove the highlighting.
1463 Any existing face can be used for highlighting and a set of
1464 appropriate faces is provided. The regexps can be written into the
1465 current buffer in a form that will be recognized the next time the
1466 corresponding file is read.
1469 *** The new package zone.el plays games with Emacs' display when
1472 *** The new package xml.el provides a simple but generic XML
1473 parser. It doesn't parse the DTDs however.
1475 *** The comment operations are now provided by the newcomment.el
1476 package which allows different styles of comment-region and should
1477 be more robust while offering the same functionality.
1480 *** The Ebrowse package implements a C++ class browser and tags
1481 facilities tailored for use with C++. It is documented in a
1482 separate Texinfo file.
1485 *** The PCL-CVS package available by either running M-x cvs-examine or
1486 by visiting a CVS administrative directory (with a prefix argument)
1487 provides an alternative interface to VC-dired for CVS. It comes with
1488 `log-view-mode' to view RCS and SCCS logs and `log-edit-mode' used to
1489 enter checkin log messages.
1492 *** The new package called `woman' allows to browse Unix man pages
1493 without invoking external programs.
1495 The command `M-x woman' formats manual pages entirely in Emacs Lisp
1496 and then displays them, like `M-x manual-entry' does. Unlike
1497 `manual-entry', `woman' does not invoke any external programs, so it
1498 is useful on systems such as MS-DOS/MS-Windows where the `man' and
1499 Groff or `troff' commands are not readily available.
1501 The command `M-x woman-find-file' asks for the file name of a man
1502 page, then formats and displays it like `M-x woman' does.
1505 *** The new command M-x re-builder offers a convenient interface for
1506 authoring regular expressions with immediate visual feedback.
1508 The buffer from which the command was called becomes the target for
1509 the regexp editor popping up in a separate window. Matching text in
1510 the target buffer is immediately color marked during the editing.
1511 Each sub-expression of the regexp will show up in a different face so
1512 even complex regexps can be edited and verified on target data in a
1515 On displays not supporting faces the matches instead blink like
1516 matching parens to make them stand out. On such a setup you will
1517 probably also want to use the sub-expression mode when the regexp
1518 contains such to get feedback about their respective limits.
1521 *** glasses-mode is a minor mode that makes
1522 unreadableIdentifiersLikeThis readable. It works as glasses, without
1523 actually modifying content of a buffer.
1525 *** The package ebnf2ps translates an EBNF to a syntactic chart in
1528 Currently accepts ad-hoc EBNF, ISO EBNF and Bison/Yacc.
1530 The ad-hoc default EBNF syntax has the following elements:
1532 ; comment (until end of line)
1536 $A default non-terminal
1537 $"C" default terminal
1538 $?C? default special
1539 A = B. production (A is the header and B the body)
1540 C D sequence (C occurs before D)
1541 C | D alternative (C or D occurs)
1542 A - B exception (A excluding B, B without any non-terminal)
1543 n * A repetition (A repeats n (integer) times)
1544 (C) group (expression C is grouped together)
1545 [C] optional (C may or not occurs)
1546 C+ one or more occurrences of C
1547 {C}+ one or more occurrences of C
1548 {C}* zero or more occurrences of C
1549 {C} zero or more occurrences of C
1550 C / D equivalent to: C {D C}*
1551 {C || D}+ equivalent to: C {D C}*
1552 {C || D}* equivalent to: [C {D C}*]
1553 {C || D} equivalent to: [C {D C}*]
1555 Please, see ebnf2ps documentation for EBNF syntax and how to use it.
1557 *** The package align.el will align columns within a region, using M-x
1558 align. Its mode-specific rules, based on regular expressions,
1559 determine where the columns should be split. In C and C++, for
1560 example, it will align variable names in declaration lists, or the
1561 equal signs of assignments.
1564 *** `paragraph-indent-minor-mode' is a new minor mode supporting
1565 paragraphs in the same style as `paragraph-indent-text-mode'.
1568 *** bs.el is a new package for buffer selection similar to
1569 list-buffers or electric-buffer-list. Use M-x bs-show to display a
1570 buffer menu with this package. You can use M-x bs-customize to
1571 customize the package.
1573 *** find-lisp.el is a package emulating the Unix find command in Lisp.
1575 *** calculator.el is a small calculator package that is intended to
1576 replace desktop calculators such as xcalc and calc.exe. Actually, it
1577 is not too small - it has more features than most desktop calculators,
1578 and can be customized easily to get many more functions. It should
1579 not be confused with "calc" which is a much bigger mathematical tool
1580 which answers different needs.
1583 *** The minor modes cwarn-mode and global-cwarn-mode highlights
1584 suspicious C and C++ constructions. Currently, assignments inside
1585 expressions, semicolon following `if', `for' and `while' (except, of
1586 course, after a `do .. while' statement), and C++ functions with
1587 reference parameters are recognized. The modes require font-lock mode
1591 *** smerge-mode.el provides `smerge-mode', a simple minor-mode for files
1592 containing diff3-style conflict markers, such as generated by RCS.
1595 *** 5x5.el is a simple puzzle game.
1598 *** hl-line.el provides a minor mode to highlight the current line.
1600 *** ansi-color.el translates ANSI terminal escapes into text-properties.
1602 Please note: if `ansi-color-for-shell-mode' and
1603 `global-font-lock-mode' are non-nil, loading ansi-color.el will
1604 disable font-lock and add `ansi-color-apply' to
1605 `comint-preoutput-filter-functions' for all shell-mode buffers. This
1606 displays the output of "ls --color=yes" using the correct foreground
1607 and background colors.
1609 *** delphi.el provides a major mode for editing the Delphi (Object
1613 *** quickurl.el provides a simple method of inserting a URL based on
1616 *** sql.el provides an interface to SQL data bases.
1619 *** fortune.el uses the fortune program to create mail/news signatures.
1621 *** whitespace.el ???
1623 *** PostScript mode (ps-mode) is a new major mode for editing PostScript
1624 files. It offers: interaction with a PostScript interpreter, including
1625 (very basic) error handling; fontification, easily customizable for
1626 interpreter messages; auto-indentation; insertion of EPSF templates and
1627 often used code snippets; viewing of BoundingBox; commenting out /
1628 uncommenting regions; conversion of 8bit characters to PostScript octal
1629 codes. All functionality is accessible through a menu.
1631 *** delim-col helps to prettify columns in a text region or rectangle.
1633 Here is an example of columns:
1636 dog pineapple car EXTRA
1637 porcupine strawberry airplane
1639 Doing the following settings:
1641 (setq delimit-columns-str-before "[ ")
1642 (setq delimit-columns-str-after " ]")
1643 (setq delimit-columns-str-separator ", ")
1644 (setq delimit-columns-separator "\t")
1647 Selecting the lines above and typing:
1649 M-x delimit-columns-region
1653 [ horse , apple , bus , ]
1654 [ dog , pineapple , car , EXTRA ]
1655 [ porcupine, strawberry, airplane, ]
1657 delim-col has the following options:
1659 delimit-columns-str-before Specify a string to be inserted
1662 delimit-columns-str-separator Specify a string to be inserted
1663 between each column.
1665 delimit-columns-str-after Specify a string to be inserted
1668 delimit-columns-separator Specify a regexp which separates
1671 delim-col has the following commands:
1673 delimit-columns-region Prettify all columns in a text region.
1674 delimit-columns-rectangle Prettify all columns in a text rectangle.
1677 *** The package recentf.el maintains a menu for visiting files that
1678 were operated on recently.
1680 M-x recentf-mode RET toggles recentf mode.
1682 M-x customize-variable RET recentf-mode RET can be used to enable
1683 recentf at Emacs startup.
1685 M-x customize-variable RET recentf-menu-filter RET to specify a menu
1686 filter function to change the menu appearance. For example, the recent
1687 file list can be displayed:
1689 - organized by major modes, directories or user defined rules.
1690 - sorted by file pathes, file names, ascending or descending.
1691 - showing pathes relative to the current default-directory
1693 The `recentf-filter-changer' menu filter function allows to
1694 dynamically change the menu appearance.
1696 *** elide-head.el provides a mechanism for eliding boilerplate header
1700 *** footnote.el provides `footnote-mode', a minor mode supporting use
1701 of footnotes. It is intended for use with Message mode, but isn't
1702 specific to Message mode.
1705 *** diff-mode.el provides `diff-mode', a major mode for
1706 viewing/editing context diffs (patches). It is selected for files
1707 with extension `.diff', `.diffs', `.patch' and `.rej'.
1710 *** EUDC, the Emacs Unified Directory Client, provides a common user
1711 interface to access directory servers using different directory
1712 protocols. It has a separate manual.
1714 *** autoconf.el provides a major mode for editing configure.in files
1715 for Autoconf, selected automatically.
1718 *** windmove.el provides moving between windows.
1720 *** crm.el provides a facility to read multiple strings from the
1721 minibuffer with completion.
1723 *** todo-mode.el provides management of TODO lists and integration
1724 with the diary features.
1726 *** autoarg.el provides a feature reported from Twenex Emacs whereby
1727 numeric keys supply prefix args rather than self inserting.
1729 *** The function `turn-off-auto-fill' unconditionally turns off Auto
1732 *** gnus-mule.el is now just a compatibility layer over the built-in
1735 ** Withdrawn packages
1737 *** mldrag.el has been removed. mouse.el provides the same
1738 functionality with aliases for the mldrag functions.
1740 *** eval-reg.el has been obsoleted by changes to edebug.el and removed.
1742 *** ph.el has been obsoleted by EUDC and removed.
1745 * Lisp changes made after edition 2.6 of the Emacs Lisp Manual,
1746 (Display-related features are described in a page of their own below.)
1749 ** The new function `display-message-or-buffer' displays a message in
1750 the echo area or pops up a buffer, depending on the length of the
1753 ** The new macro `with-auto-compression-mode' allows evaluating an
1754 expression with auto-compression-mode enabled.
1756 ** In image specifications, `:heuristic-mask' has been replaced
1757 with the more general `:mask' property.
1759 ** Image specifications accept more `:algorithm's.
1761 ** A `?' can be used in a symbol name without escaping it with a
1765 ** Reading from the mini-buffer now reads from standard input if Emacs
1766 is running in batch mode. For example,
1768 (message "%s" (read t))
1770 will read a Lisp expression from standard input and print the result
1774 ** The argument of `down-list', `backward-up-list', `up-list',
1775 `kill-sexp', `backward-kill-sexp' and `mark-sexp' is now optional.
1777 ** If `display-buffer-reuse-frames' is set, function `display-buffer'
1778 will raise frames displaying a buffer, instead of creating a new
1782 ** Two new functions for removing elements from lists/sequences
1785 - Function: remove ELT SEQ
1787 Return a copy of SEQ with all occurences of ELT removed. SEQ must be
1788 a list, vector, or string. The comparison is done with `equal'.
1790 - Function: remq ELT LIST
1792 Return a copy of LIST with all occurences of ELT removed. The
1793 comparison is done with `eq'.
1795 ** The function `delete' now also works with vectors and strings.
1797 ** The meaning of the `:weakness WEAK' argument of make-hash-table
1801 ** Function `aset' stores any multibyte character in any string
1802 without signaling "Attempt to change char length of a string". It may
1803 convert a unibyte string to multibyte if necessary.
1805 ** The value of the `help-echo' text property is called as a function
1806 or evaluated, if it is not a string already, to obtain a help string.
1808 ** Function `make-obsolete' now has an optional arg to say when the
1809 function was declared obsolete.
1811 ** Function `plist-member' is renamed from `widget-plist-member' (which is
1812 retained as an alias).
1814 ** Easy-menu's :filter now works as in XEmacs.
1815 It takes the unconverted (i.e. XEmacs) form of the menu and the result
1816 is automatically converted to Emacs' form.
1818 ** The new function `window-list' has been defined
1820 - Function: window-list &optional WINDOW MINIBUF ALL-FRAMES
1822 Return a list of windows in canonical order. The parameters WINDOW,
1823 MINIBUF and ALL-FRAMES are defined like for `next-window'.
1825 ** There's a new function `some-window' defined as follows
1827 - Function: some-window PREDICATE &optional MINIBUF ALL-FRAMES DEFAULT
1829 Return a window satisfying PREDICATE.
1831 This function cycles through all visible windows using `walk-windows',
1832 calling PREDICATE on each one. PREDICATE is called with a window as
1833 argument. The first window for which PREDICATE returns a non-nil
1834 value is returned. If no window satisfies PREDICATE, DEFAULT is
1837 Optional second arg MINIBUF t means count the minibuffer window even
1838 if not active. MINIBUF nil or omitted means count the minibuffer iff
1839 it is active. MINIBUF neither t nor nil means not to count the
1840 minibuffer even if it is active.
1842 Several frames may share a single minibuffer; if the minibuffer
1843 counts, all windows on all frames that share that minibuffer count
1844 too. Therefore, if you are using a separate minibuffer frame
1845 and the minibuffer is active and MINIBUF says it counts,
1846 `walk-windows' includes the windows in the frame from which you
1847 entered the minibuffer, as well as the minibuffer window.
1849 ALL-FRAMES is the optional third argument.
1850 ALL-FRAMES nil or omitted means cycle within the frames as specified above.
1851 ALL-FRAMES = `visible' means include windows on all visible frames.
1852 ALL-FRAMES = 0 means include windows on all visible and iconified frames.
1853 ALL-FRAMES = t means include windows on all frames including invisible frames.
1854 If ALL-FRAMES is a frame, it means include windows on that frame.
1855 Anything else means restrict to the selected frame.
1857 ** The function `single-key-description' now encloses function key and
1858 event names in angle brackets. When called with a second optional
1859 argument non-nil, angle brackets won't be printed.
1861 ** If the variable `message-truncate-lines' is bound to t around a
1862 call to `message', the echo area will not be resized to display that
1863 message; it will be truncated instead, as it was done in 20.x.
1864 Default value is nil.
1866 ** The user option `line-number-display-limit' can now be set to nil,
1869 ** `select-safe-coding-system' now also checks the most preferred
1870 coding-system if buffer-file-coding-system is `undecided' and
1871 DEFAULT-CODING-SYSTEM is not specified,
1873 ** The function `subr-arity' provides information on the argument list
1876 ** The text property `keymap' specifies a key map which overrides the
1877 buffer's local map and the map specified by the `local-map' property.
1878 This is probably what most current uses of `local-map' want, rather
1879 than replacing the local map.
1881 ** The obsolete variables before-change-function and
1882 after-change-function are no longer acted upon and have been removed.
1884 ** The function `apropos-mode' runs the hook `apropos-mode-hook'.
1887 ** `concat' no longer accepts individual integer arguments, as
1890 ** The new function `float-time' returns the current time as a float.
1892 * Lisp changes in Emacs 21.1 (see following page for display-related features)
1894 Note that +++ before an item means the Lisp manual has been updated.
1895 --- means that I have decided it does not need to be in the Lisp manual.
1896 When you add a new item, please add it without either +++ or ---
1897 so I will know I still need to look at it -- rms.
1899 *** The special form `save-restriction' now works correctly even if the
1900 buffer is widened inside the save-restriction and changes made outside
1901 the original restriction. Previously, doing this would cause the saved
1902 restriction to be restored incorrectly.
1904 *** The functions `find-charset-region' and `find-charset-string' include
1905 `eight-bit-control' and/or `eight-bit-graphic' in the returned list
1906 when it finds 8-bit characters. Previously, it included `ascii' in a
1907 multibyte buffer and `unknown' in a unibyte buffer.
1909 *** The functions `set-buffer-modified', `string-as-multibyte' and
1910 `string-as-unibyte' change the byte sequence of a buffer if it
1911 contains a character from the `eight-bit-control' character set.
1913 *** The handling of multibyte sequences in a multibyte buffer is
1914 changed. Previously, a byte sequence matching the pattern
1915 [\200-\237][\240-\377]+ was interpreted as a single character
1916 regardless of the length of the trailing bytes [\240-\377]+. Thus, if
1917 the sequence was longer than what the leading byte indicated, the
1918 extra trailing bytes were ignored by Lisp functions. Now such extra
1919 bytes are independent 8-bit characters belonging to the charset
1922 ** Fontsets are now implemented using char-tables.
1924 A fontset can now be specified for for each independent character, for
1925 a group of characters or for a character set rather than just for a
1926 character set as previously.
1928 *** The arguments of the function `set-fontset-font' are changed.
1929 They are NAME, CHARACTER, FONTNAME, and optional FRAME. The function
1930 modifies fontset NAME to use FONTNAME for CHARACTER.
1932 CHARACTER may be a cons (FROM . TO), where FROM and TO are non-generic
1933 characters. In that case FONTNAME is used for all characters in the
1934 range FROM and TO (inclusive). CHARACTER may be a charset. In that
1935 case FONTNAME is used for all character in the charset.
1937 FONTNAME may be a cons (FAMILY . REGISTRY), where FAMILY is the family
1938 name of a font and REGSITRY is a registry name of a font.
1940 *** Variable x-charset-registry has been deleted. The default charset
1941 registries of character sets are set in the default fontset
1944 *** The function `create-fontset-from-fontset-spec' ignores the second
1945 argument STYLE-VARIANT. It never creates style-variant fontsets.
1947 ** The method of composing characters is changed. Now character
1948 composition is done by a special text property `composition' in
1949 buffers and strings.
1951 *** Charset composition is deleted. Emacs never creates a `composite
1952 character' which is an independent character with a unique character
1953 code. Thus the following functions handling `composite characters'
1954 have been deleted: composite-char-component,
1955 composite-char-component-count, composite-char-composition-rule,
1956 composite-char-composition-rule and decompose-composite-char delete.
1957 The variables leading-code-composition and min-composite-char have
1960 *** Three more glyph reference points are added. They can be used to
1961 specify a composition rule. See the documentation of the variable
1962 `reference-point-alist' for more detail.
1964 *** The function `compose-region' takes new arguments COMPONENTS and
1965 MODIFICATION-FUNC. With COMPONENTS, you can specify not only a
1966 composition rule but also characters to be composed. Such characters
1967 may differ between buffer and string text.
1969 *** The function `compose-string' takes new arguments START, END,
1970 COMPONENTS, and MODIFICATION-FUNC.
1972 *** The function `compose-string' puts text property `composition'
1973 directly on the argument STRING instead of returning a new string.
1974 Likewise, the function `decompose-string' just removes text property
1975 `composition' from STRING.
1977 *** The new function `find-composition' returns information about
1978 a composition at a specified position in a buffer or a string.
1980 *** The function `decompose-composite-char' is now labeled as
1983 ** The new character set `mule-unicode-0100-24ff' is introduced for
1984 Unicode characters of the range U+0100..U+24FF. Currently, this
1985 character set is not used.
1987 ** The new character sets `japanese-jisx0213-1' and
1988 `japanese-jisx0213-2' are introduced for the new Japanese standard JIS
1989 X 0213 Plane 1 and Plane 2.
1992 ** The new character sets `eight-bit-control' and `eight-bit-graphic'
1993 are introduced for 8-bit characters in the ranges 0x80..0x9F and
1994 0xA0..0xFF respectively.
1997 ** If the APPEND argument of `write-region' is an integer, it seeks to
1998 that offset in the file before writing.
2000 ** The function `add-minor-mode' has been added for convenience and
2001 compatibility with XEmacs (and is used internally by define-minor-mode).
2003 ** The function `shell-command' now sets the default directory of the
2004 `*Shell Command Output*' buffer to the default directory of the buffer
2005 from which the command was issued.
2007 ** The functions `query-replace', `query-replace-regexp',
2008 `query-replace-regexp-eval' `map-query-replace-regexp',
2009 `replace-string', `replace-regexp', and `perform-replace' take two
2010 additional optional arguments START and END that specify the region to
2013 ** The new function `count-screen-lines' is a more flexible alternative
2014 to `window-buffer-height'.
2016 - Function: count-screen-lines &optional BEG END COUNT-FINAL-NEWLINE WINDOW
2018 Return the number of screen lines in the region between BEG and END.
2019 The number of screen lines may be different from the number of actual
2020 lines, due to line breaking, display table, etc.
2022 Optional arguments BEG and END default to `point-min' and `point-max'
2025 If region ends with a newline, ignore it unless optinal third argument
2026 COUNT-FINAL-NEWLINE is non-nil.
2028 The optional fourth argument WINDOW specifies the window used for
2029 obtaining parameters such as width, horizontal scrolling, and so
2030 on. The default is to use the selected window's parameters.
2032 Like `vertical-motion', `count-screen-lines' always uses the current
2033 buffer, regardless of which buffer is displayed in WINDOW. This makes
2034 possible to use `count-screen-lines' in any buffer, whether or not it
2035 is currently displayed in some window.
2037 ** The new function `mapc' is like `mapcar' but doesn't collect the
2038 argument function's results.
2040 ** The functions base64-decode-region and base64-decode-string now
2041 signal an error instead of returning nil if decoding fails.
2043 ** The function sendmail-user-agent-compose now recognizes a `body'
2044 header in the list of headers passed to it.
2046 ** The new function member-ignore-case works like `member', but
2047 ignores differences in case and text representation.
2049 ** The buffer-local variable cursor-type can be used to specify the
2050 cursor to use in windows displaying a buffer. Values are interpreted
2053 t use the cursor specified for the frame (default)
2054 nil don't display a cursor
2055 `bar' display a bar cursor with default width
2056 (bar . WIDTH) display a bar cursor with width WIDTH
2057 others display a box cursor.
2059 ** The variable open-paren-in-column-0-is-defun-start controls whether
2060 an open parenthesis in column 0 is considered to be the start of a
2061 defun. If set, the default, it is considered a defun start. If not
2062 set, an open parenthesis in column 0 has no special meaning.
2064 ** The new function `string-to-syntax' can be used to translate syntax
2065 specifications in string form as accepted by `modify-syntax-entry' to
2066 the cons-cell form that is used for the values of the `syntax-table'
2067 text property, and in `font-lock-syntactic-keywords'.
2071 (string-to-syntax "()")
2074 ** Emacs' reader supports CL read syntax for integers in bases
2077 *** `#BINTEGER' or `#bINTEGER' reads INTEGER in binary (radix 2).
2078 INTEGER optionally contains a sign.
2085 *** `#OINTEGER' or `#oINTEGER' reads INTEGER in octal (radix 8).
2090 *** `#XINTEGER' or `#xINTEGER' reads INTEGER in hexadecimal (radix 16).
2095 *** `#RADIXrINTEGER' reads INTEGER in radix RADIX, 2 <= RADIX <= 36.
2102 ** The function `documentation-property' now evaluates the value of
2103 the given property to obtain a string if it doesn't refer to etc/DOC
2106 ** If called for a symbol, the function `documentation' now looks for
2107 a `function-documentation' property of that symbol. If it has a non-nil
2108 value, the documentation is taken from that value. If the value is
2109 not a string, it is evaluated to obtain a string.
2112 ** The last argument of `define-key-after' defaults to t for convenience.
2114 ** The new function `replace-regexp-in-string' replaces all matches
2115 for a regexp in a string.
2117 ** `mouse-position' now runs the abnormal hook
2118 `mouse-position-function'.
2120 ** The function string-to-number now returns a float for numbers
2121 that don't fit into a Lisp integer.
2123 ** The variable keyword-symbols-constants-flag has been removed.
2124 Keywords are now always considered constants.
2127 ** The new function `delete-and-extract-region' deletes text and
2130 ** The function `clear-this-command-keys' now also clears the vector
2131 returned by function `recent-keys'.
2134 ** Variables `beginning-of-defun-function' and `end-of-defun-function'
2135 can be used to define handlers for the functions that find defuns.
2136 Major modes can define these locally instead of rebinding M-C-a
2137 etc. if the normal conventions for defuns are not appropriate for the
2141 ** easy-mmode-define-minor-mode now takes an additional BODY argument
2142 and is renamed `define-minor-mode'.
2145 ** If an abbrev has a hook function which is a symbol, and that symbol
2146 has a non-nil `no-self-insert' property, the return value of the hook
2147 function specifies whether an expansion has been done or not. If it
2148 returns nil, abbrev-expand also returns nil, meaning "no expansion has
2151 When abbrev expansion is done by typing a self-inserting character,
2152 and the abbrev has a hook with the `no-self-insert' property, and the
2153 hook function returns non-nil meaning expansion has been done,
2154 then the self-inserting character is not inserted.
2157 ** The function `intern-soft' now accepts a symbol as first argument.
2158 In this case, that exact symbol is looked up in the specified obarray,
2159 and the function's value is nil if it is not found.
2162 ** The new macro `with-syntax-table' can be used to evaluate forms
2163 with the syntax table of the current buffer temporarily set to a
2166 (with-syntax-table TABLE &rest BODY)
2168 Evaluate BODY with syntax table of current buffer set to a copy of
2169 TABLE. The current syntax table is saved, BODY is evaluated, and the
2170 saved table is restored, even in case of an abnormal exit. Value is
2174 ** Regular expressions now support intervals \{n,m\} as well as
2175 Perl's shy-groups \(?:...\) and non-greedy *? +? and ?? operators.
2178 ** The optional argument BUFFER of function file-local-copy has been
2179 removed since it wasn't used by anything.
2182 ** The file name argument of function `file-locked-p' is now required
2183 instead of being optional.
2186 ** The new built-in error `text-read-only' is signaled when trying to
2187 modify read-only text.
2190 ** New functions and variables for locales.
2192 The new variable `locale-coding-system' specifies how to encode and
2193 decode strings passed to low-level message functions like strerror and
2194 time functions like strftime. The new variables
2195 `system-messages-locale' and `system-time-locale' give the system
2196 locales to be used when invoking these two types of functions.
2198 The new function `set-locale-environment' sets the language
2199 environment, preferred coding system, and locale coding system from
2200 the system locale as specified by the LC_ALL, LC_CTYPE, and LANG
2201 environment variables. Normally, it is invoked during startup and need
2202 not be invoked thereafter. It uses the new variables
2203 `locale-language-names', `locale-charset-language-names', and
2204 `locale-preferred-coding-systems' to make its decisions.
2207 ** syntax tables now understand nested comments.
2208 To declare a comment syntax as allowing nesting, just add an `n'
2209 modifier to either of the characters of the comment end and the comment
2213 ** The function `pixmap-spec-p' has been renamed `bitmap-spec-p'
2214 because `bitmap' is more in line with the usual X terminology.
2217 ** New function `propertize'
2219 The new function `propertize' can be used to conveniently construct
2220 strings with text properties.
2222 - Function: propertize STRING &rest PROPERTIES
2224 Value is a copy of STRING with text properties assigned as specified
2225 by PROPERTIES. PROPERTIES is a sequence of pairs PROPERTY VALUE, with
2226 PROPERTY being the name of a text property and VALUE being the
2227 specified value of that property. Example:
2229 (propertize "foo" 'face 'bold 'read-only t)
2232 ** push and pop macros.
2234 Simple versions of the push and pop macros of Common Lisp
2235 are now defined in Emacs Lisp. These macros allow only symbols
2236 as the place that holds the list to be changed.
2238 (push NEWELT LISTNAME) add NEWELT to the front of LISTNAME's value.
2239 (pop LISTNAME) return first elt of LISTNAME, and remove it
2240 (thus altering the value of LISTNAME).
2242 ** New dolist and dotimes macros.
2244 Simple versions of the dolist and dotimes macros of Common Lisp
2245 are now defined in Emacs Lisp.
2247 (dolist (VAR LIST [RESULT]) BODY...)
2248 Execute body once for each element of LIST,
2249 using the variable VAR to hold the current element.
2250 Then return the value of RESULT, or nil if RESULT is omitted.
2252 (dotimes (VAR COUNT [RESULT]) BODY...)
2253 Execute BODY with VAR bound to successive integers running from 0,
2254 inclusive, to COUNT, exclusive.
2255 Then return the value of RESULT, or nil if RESULT is omitted.
2258 ** Regular expressions now support Posix character classes such
2259 as [:alpha:], [:space:] and so on.
2261 [:digit:] matches 0 through 9
2262 [:cntrl:] matches ASCII control characters
2263 [:xdigit:] matches 0 through 9, a through f and A through F.
2264 [:blank:] matches space and tab only
2265 [:graph:] matches graphic characters--everything except ASCII control chars,
2267 [:print:] matches printing characters--everything except ASCII control chars
2269 [:alnum:] matches letters and digits.
2270 (But at present, for multibyte characters,
2271 it matches anything that has word syntax.)
2272 [:alpha:] matches letters.
2273 (But at present, for multibyte characters,
2274 it matches anything that has word syntax.)
2275 [:ascii:] matches ASCII (unibyte) characters.
2276 [:nonascii:] matches non-ASCII (multibyte) characters.
2277 [:lower:] matches anything lower-case.
2278 [:punct:] matches punctuation.
2279 (But at present, for multibyte characters,
2280 it matches anything that has non-word syntax.)
2281 [:space:] matches anything that has whitespace syntax.
2282 [:upper:] matches anything upper-case.
2283 [:word:] matches anything that has word syntax.
2286 ** Emacs now has built-in hash tables.
2288 The following functions are defined for hash tables:
2290 - Function: make-hash-table ARGS
2292 The argument list ARGS consists of keyword/argument pairs. All arguments
2293 are optional. The following arguments are defined:
2297 TEST must be a symbol specifying how to compare keys. Default is `eql'.
2298 Predefined are `eq', `eql' and `equal'. If TEST is not predefined,
2299 it must have been defined with `define-hash-table-test'.
2303 SIZE must be an integer > 0 giving a hint to the implementation how
2304 many elements will be put in the hash table. Default size is 65.
2306 :rehash-size REHASH-SIZE
2308 REHASH-SIZE specifies by how much to grow a hash table once it becomes
2309 full. If REHASH-SIZE is an integer, add that to the hash table's old
2310 size to get the new size. Otherwise, REHASH-SIZE must be a float >
2311 1.0, and the new size is computed by multiplying REHASH-SIZE with the
2312 old size. Default rehash size is 1.5.
2314 :rehash-threshold THRESHOLD
2316 THRESHOLD must be a float > 0 and <= 1.0 specifying when to resize the
2317 hash table. It is resized when the ratio of (number of entries) /
2318 (size of hash table) is >= THRESHOLD. Default threshold is 0.8.
2322 WEAK must be either nil, one of the symbols `key, `value',
2323 `key-or-value', `key-and-value', or t, meaning the same as
2324 `key-and-value'. Entries are removed from weak tables during garbage
2325 collection if their key and/or value are not referenced elsewhere
2326 outside of the hash table. Default are non-weak hash tables.
2328 - Function: makehash &optional TEST
2330 Similar to make-hash-table, but only TEST can be specified.
2332 - Function: hash-table-p TABLE
2334 Returns non-nil if TABLE is a hash table object.
2336 - Function: copy-hash-table TABLE
2338 Returns a copy of TABLE. Only the table itself is copied, keys and
2341 - Function: hash-table-count TABLE
2343 Returns the number of entries in TABLE.
2345 - Function: hash-table-rehash-size TABLE
2347 Returns the rehash size of TABLE.
2349 - Function: hash-table-rehash-threshold TABLE
2351 Returns the rehash threshold of TABLE.
2353 - Function: hash-table-rehash-size TABLE
2355 Returns the size of TABLE.
2357 - Function: hash-table-test TABLE
2359 Returns the test TABLE uses to compare keys.
2361 - Function: hash-table-weakness TABLE
2363 Returns the weakness specified for TABLE.
2365 - Function: clrhash TABLE
2369 - Function: gethash KEY TABLE &optional DEFAULT
2371 Look up KEY in TABLE and return its associated VALUE or DEFAULT if
2374 - Function: puthash KEY VALUE TABLE
2376 Associate KEY with VALUE in TABLE. If KEY is already associated with
2377 another value, replace the old value with VALUE.
2379 - Function: remhash KEY TABLE
2381 Remove KEY from TABLE if it is there.
2383 - Function: maphash FUNCTION TABLE
2385 Call FUNCTION for all elements in TABLE. FUNCTION must take two
2386 arguments KEY and VALUE.
2388 - Function: sxhash OBJ
2390 Return a hash code for Lisp object OBJ.
2392 - Function: define-hash-table-test NAME TEST-FN HASH-FN
2394 Define a new hash table test named NAME. If NAME is specified as
2395 a test in `make-hash-table', the table created will use TEST-FN for
2396 comparing keys, and HASH-FN to compute hash codes for keys. Test
2397 and hash function are stored as symbol property `hash-table-test'
2398 of NAME with a value of (TEST-FN HASH-FN).
2400 TEST-FN must take two arguments and return non-nil if they are the same.
2402 HASH-FN must take one argument and return an integer that is the hash
2403 code of the argument. The function should use the whole range of
2404 integer values for hash code computation, including negative integers.
2406 Example: The following creates a hash table whose keys are supposed to
2407 be strings that are compared case-insensitively.
2409 (defun case-fold-string= (a b)
2410 (compare-strings a nil nil b nil nil t))
2412 (defun case-fold-string-hash (a)
2413 (sxhash (upcase a)))
2415 (define-hash-table-test 'case-fold 'case-fold-string=
2416 'case-fold-string-hash))
2418 (make-hash-table :test 'case-fold)
2421 ** The Lisp reader handles circular structure.
2423 It now works to use the #N= and #N# constructs to represent
2424 circular structures. For example, #1=(a . #1#) represents
2425 a cons cell which is its own cdr.
2428 ** The Lisp printer handles circular structure.
2430 If you bind print-circle to a non-nil value, the Lisp printer outputs
2431 #N= and #N# constructs to represent circular and shared structure.
2434 ** If the second argument to `move-to-column' is anything but nil or
2435 t, that means replace a tab with spaces if necessary to reach the
2436 specified column, but do not add spaces at the end of the line if it
2437 is too short to reach that column.
2440 ** perform-replace has a new feature: the REPLACEMENTS argument may
2441 now be a cons cell (FUNCTION . DATA). This means to call FUNCTION
2442 after each match to get the replacement text. FUNCTION is called with
2443 two arguments: DATA, and the number of replacements already made.
2445 If the FROM-STRING contains any upper-case letters,
2446 perform-replace also turns off `case-fold-search' temporarily
2447 and inserts the replacement text without altering case in it.
2450 ** The function buffer-size now accepts an optional argument
2451 to specify which buffer to return the size of.
2454 ** The calendar motion commands now run the normal hook
2455 calendar-move-hook after moving point.
2458 ** The new variable small-temporary-file-directory specifies a
2459 directory to use for creating temporary files that are likely to be
2460 small. (Certain Emacs features use this directory.) If
2461 small-temporary-file-directory is nil, they use
2462 temporary-file-directory instead.
2465 ** The variable `inhibit-modification-hooks', if non-nil, inhibits all
2466 the hooks that track changes in the buffer. This affects
2467 `before-change-functions' and `after-change-functions', as well as
2468 hooks attached to text properties and overlay properties.
2471 ** assoc-delete-all is a new function that deletes all the
2472 elements of an alist which have a particular value as the car.
2475 ** make-temp-file provides a more reliable way to create a temporary file.
2477 make-temp-file is used like make-temp-name, except that it actually
2478 creates the file before it returns. This prevents a timing error,
2479 ensuring that no other job can use the same name for a temporary file.
2482 ** New exclusive-open feature in `write-region'
2484 The optional seventh arg is now called MUSTBENEW. If non-nil, it insists
2485 on a check for an existing file with the same name. If MUSTBENEW
2486 is `excl', that means to get an error if the file already exists;
2487 never overwrite. If MUSTBENEW is neither nil nor `excl', that means
2488 ask for confirmation before overwriting, but do go ahead and
2489 overwrite the file if the user gives confirmation.
2491 If the MUSTBENEW argument in `write-region' is `excl',
2492 that means to use a special feature in the `open' system call
2493 to get an error if the file exists at that time.
2494 The error reported is `file-already-exists'.
2497 ** Function `format' now handles text properties.
2499 Text properties of the format string are applied to the result string.
2500 If the result string is longer than the format string, text properties
2501 ending at the end of the format string are extended to the end of the
2504 Text properties from string arguments are applied to the result
2505 string where arguments appear in the result string.
2509 (let ((s1 "hello, %s")
2511 (put-text-property 0 (length s1) 'face 'bold s1)
2512 (put-text-property 0 (length s2) 'face 'italic s2)
2515 results in a bold-face string with an italic `world' at the end.
2518 ** Messages can now be displayed with text properties.
2520 Text properties are handled as described above for function `format'.
2521 The following example displays a bold-face message with an italic
2524 (let ((msg "hello, %s!")
2526 (put-text-property 0 (length msg) 'face 'bold msg)
2527 (put-text-property 0 (length arg) 'face 'italic arg)
2533 Emacs supports playing sound files on GNU/Linux and the free BSDs
2534 (Voxware driver and native BSD driver, aka as Luigi's driver).
2536 Currently supported file formats are RIFF-WAVE (*.wav) and Sun Audio
2537 (*.au). You must configure Emacs with the option `--with-sound=yes'
2538 to enable sound support.
2540 Sound files can be played by calling (play-sound SOUND). SOUND is a
2541 list of the form `(sound PROPERTY...)'. The function is only defined
2542 when sound support is present for the system on which Emacs runs. The
2543 functions runs `play-sound-functions' with one argument which is the
2544 sound to play, before playing the sound.
2546 The following sound properties are supported:
2550 FILE is a file name. If FILE isn't an absolute name, it will be
2551 searched relative to `data-directory'.
2555 DATA is a string containing sound data. Either :file or :data
2556 may be present, but not both.
2560 VOLUME must be an integer in the range 0..100 or a float in the range
2561 0..1. This property is optional.
2563 Other properties are ignored.
2565 ** `multimedia' is a new Finder keyword and Custom group.
2567 ** keywordp is a new predicate to test efficiently for an object being
2570 ** Changes to garbage collection
2572 *** The function garbage-collect now additionally returns the number
2573 of live and free strings.
2575 *** There is a new variable `strings-consed' holding the number of
2576 strings that have been consed so far.
2579 * Lisp-level Display features added after release 2.6 of the Emacs
2582 *** On window systems, `glyph-table' is no longer used.
2585 ** Help strings in menu items are now used to provide `help-echo' text.
2587 ** The function `image-size' can be used to determine the size of an
2590 - Function: image-size SPEC &optional PIXELS FRAME
2592 Return the size of an image as a pair (WIDTH . HEIGHT).
2594 SPEC is an image specification. PIXELS non-nil means return sizes
2595 measured in pixels, otherwise return sizes measured in canonical
2596 character units (fractions of the width/height of the frame's default
2597 font). FRAME is the frame on which the image will be displayed.
2598 FRAME nil or omitted means use the selected frame.
2600 ** The function `image-mask-p' can be used to determine if an image
2603 - Function: image-mask-p SPEC &optional FRAME
2605 Return t if image SPEC has a mask bitmap.
2606 FRAME is the frame on which the image will be displayed. FRAME nil
2607 or omitted means use the selected frame.
2610 ** The function `find-image' can be used to find a usable image
2611 satisfying one of a list of specifications.
2614 ** The STRING argument of `put-image' and `insert-image' is now
2618 ** Image specifications may contain the property `:ascent center' (see
2622 * New Lisp-level Display features in Emacs 21.1
2624 Note that +++ before an item means the Lisp manual has been updated.
2625 --- means that I have decided it does not need to be in the Lisp manual.
2626 When you add a new item, please add it without either +++ or ---
2627 so I will know I still need to look at it -- rms.
2629 ** The function tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors can be used
2630 to make Emacs avoid displaying text with bold black foreground on TTYs.
2632 Some terminals, notably PC consoles, emulate bold text by displaying
2633 text in brighter colors. On such a console, a bold black foreground
2634 is displayed in a gray color. If this turns out to be hard to read on
2635 your monitor---the problem occurred with the mode line on
2636 laptops---you can instruct Emacs to ignore the text's boldness, and to
2637 just display it black instead.
2639 This situation can't be detected automatically. You will have to put
2642 (tty-suppress-bold-inverse-default-colors t)
2646 ** New face implementation.
2648 Emacs faces have been reimplemented from scratch. They don't use XLFD
2649 font names anymore and face merging now works as expected.
2654 Each face can specify the following display attributes:
2656 1. Font family or fontset alias name.
2658 2. Relative proportionate width, aka character set width or set
2659 width (swidth), e.g. `semi-compressed'.
2661 3. Font height in 1/10pt
2663 4. Font weight, e.g. `bold'.
2665 5. Font slant, e.g. `italic'.
2667 6. Foreground color.
2669 7. Background color.
2671 8. Whether or not characters should be underlined, and in what color.
2673 9. Whether or not characters should be displayed in inverse video.
2675 10. A background stipple, a bitmap.
2677 11. Whether or not characters should be overlined, and in what color.
2679 12. Whether or not characters should be strike-through, and in what
2682 13. Whether or not a box should be drawn around characters, its
2683 color, the width of the box lines, and 3D appearance.
2685 Faces are frame-local by nature because Emacs allows to define the
2686 same named face (face names are symbols) differently for different
2687 frames. Each frame has an alist of face definitions for all named
2688 faces. The value of a named face in such an alist is a Lisp vector
2689 with the symbol `face' in slot 0, and a slot for each each of the face
2690 attributes mentioned above.
2692 There is also a global face alist `face-new-frame-defaults'. Face
2693 definitions from this list are used to initialize faces of newly
2696 A face doesn't have to specify all attributes. Those not specified
2697 have a nil value. Faces specifying all attributes are called
2703 The display style of a given character in the text is determined by
2704 combining several faces. This process is called `face merging'. Any
2705 aspect of the display style that isn't specified by overlays or text
2706 properties is taken from the `default' face. Since it is made sure
2707 that the default face is always fully-specified, face merging always
2708 results in a fully-specified face.
2711 *** Face realization.
2713 After all face attributes for a character have been determined by
2714 merging faces of that character, that face is `realized'. The
2715 realization process maps face attributes to what is physically
2716 available on the system where Emacs runs. The result is a `realized
2717 face' in form of an internal structure which is stored in the face
2718 cache of the frame on which it was realized.
2720 Face realization is done in the context of the charset of the
2721 character to display because different fonts and encodings are used
2722 for different charsets. In other words, for characters of different
2723 charsets, different realized faces are needed to display them.
2725 Except for composite characters, faces are always realized for a
2726 specific character set and contain a specific font, even if the face
2727 being realized specifies a fontset. The reason is that the result of
2728 the new font selection stage is better than what can be done with
2729 statically defined font name patterns in fontsets.
2731 In unibyte text, Emacs' charsets aren't applicable; function
2732 `char-charset' reports ASCII for all characters, including those >
2733 0x7f. The X registry and encoding of fonts to use is determined from
2734 the variable `face-default-registry' in this case. The variable is
2735 initialized at Emacs startup time from the font the user specified for
2738 Currently all unibyte text, i.e. all buffers with
2739 `enable-multibyte-characters' nil are displayed with fonts of the same
2740 registry and encoding `face-default-registry'. This is consistent
2741 with the fact that languages can also be set globally, only.
2744 **** Clearing face caches.
2746 The Lisp function `clear-face-cache' can be called to clear face caches
2747 on all frames. If called with a non-nil argument, it will also unload
2753 Font selection tries to find the best available matching font for a
2754 given (charset, face) combination. This is done slightly differently
2755 for faces specifying a fontset, or a font family name.
2757 If the face specifies a fontset name, that fontset determines a
2758 pattern for fonts of the given charset. If the face specifies a font
2759 family, a font pattern is constructed. Charset symbols have a
2760 property `x-charset-registry' for that purpose that maps a charset to
2761 an XLFD registry and encoding in the font pattern constructed.
2763 Available fonts on the system on which Emacs runs are then matched
2764 against the font pattern. The result of font selection is the best
2765 match for the given face attributes in this font list.
2767 Font selection can be influenced by the user.
2769 The user can specify the relative importance he gives the face
2770 attributes width, height, weight, and slant by setting
2771 face-font-selection-order (faces.el) to a list of face attribute
2772 names. The default is (:width :height :weight :slant), and means
2773 that font selection first tries to find a good match for the font
2774 width specified by a face, then---within fonts with that width---tries
2775 to find a best match for the specified font height, etc.
2777 Setting `face-alternative-font-family-alist' allows the user to
2778 specify alternative font families to try if a family specified by a
2784 Emacs can make use of scalable fonts but doesn't do so by default,
2785 since the use of too many or too big scalable fonts may crash XFree86
2788 To enable scalable font use, set the variable
2789 `scalable-fonts-allowed'. A value of nil, the default, means never use
2790 scalable fonts. A value of t means any scalable font may be used.
2791 Otherwise, the value must be a list of regular expressions. A
2792 scalable font may then be used if it matches a regular expression from
2795 (setq scalable-fonts-allowed '("muleindian-2$"))
2797 allows the use of scalable fonts with registry `muleindian-2'.
2800 *** Functions and variables related to font selection.
2802 - Function: x-family-fonts &optional FAMILY FRAME
2804 Return a list of available fonts of family FAMILY on FRAME. If FAMILY
2805 is omitted or nil, list all families. Otherwise, FAMILY must be a
2806 string, possibly containing wildcards `?' and `*'.
2808 If FRAME is omitted or nil, use the selected frame. Each element of
2809 the result is a vector [FAMILY WIDTH POINT-SIZE WEIGHT SLANT FIXED-P
2810 FULL REGISTRY-AND-ENCODING]. FAMILY is the font family name.
2811 POINT-SIZE is the size of the font in 1/10 pt. WIDTH, WEIGHT, and
2812 SLANT are symbols describing the width, weight and slant of the font.
2813 These symbols are the same as for face attributes. FIXED-P is non-nil
2814 if the font is fixed-pitch. FULL is the full name of the font, and
2815 REGISTRY-AND-ENCODING is a string giving the registry and encoding of
2816 the font. The result list is sorted according to the current setting
2817 of the face font sort order.
2819 - Function: x-font-family-list
2821 Return a list of available font families on FRAME. If FRAME is
2822 omitted or nil, use the selected frame. Value is a list of conses
2823 (FAMILY . FIXED-P) where FAMILY is a font family, and FIXED-P is
2824 non-nil if fonts of that family are fixed-pitch.
2826 - Variable: font-list-limit
2828 Limit for font matching. If an integer > 0, font matching functions
2829 won't load more than that number of fonts when searching for a
2830 matching font. The default is currently 100.
2833 *** Setting face attributes.
2835 For the most part, the new face implementation is interface-compatible
2836 with the old one. Old face attribute related functions are now
2837 implemented in terms of the new functions `set-face-attribute' and
2840 Face attributes are identified by their names which are keyword
2841 symbols. All attributes can be set to `unspecified'.
2843 The following attributes are recognized:
2847 VALUE must be a string specifying the font family, e.g. ``courier'',
2848 or a fontset alias name. If a font family is specified, wild-cards `*'
2849 and `?' are allowed.
2853 VALUE specifies the relative proportionate width of the font to use.
2854 It must be one of the symbols `ultra-condensed', `extra-condensed',
2855 `condensed', `semi-condensed', `normal', `semi-expanded', `expanded',
2856 `extra-expanded', or `ultra-expanded'.
2860 VALUE must be either an integer specifying the height of the font to use
2861 in 1/10 pt, a floating point number specifying the amount by which to
2862 scale any underlying face, or a function, which is called with the old
2863 height (from the underlying face), and should return the new height.
2867 VALUE specifies the weight of the font to use. It must be one of the
2868 symbols `ultra-bold', `extra-bold', `bold', `semi-bold', `normal',
2869 `semi-light', `light', `extra-light', `ultra-light'.
2873 VALUE specifies the slant of the font to use. It must be one of the
2874 symbols `italic', `oblique', `normal', `reverse-italic', or
2877 `:foreground', `:background'
2879 VALUE must be a color name, a string.
2883 VALUE specifies whether characters in FACE should be underlined. If
2884 VALUE is t, underline with foreground color of the face. If VALUE is
2885 a string, underline with that color. If VALUE is nil, explicitly
2890 VALUE specifies whether characters in FACE should be overlined. If
2891 VALUE is t, overline with foreground color of the face. If VALUE is a
2892 string, overline with that color. If VALUE is nil, explicitly don't
2897 VALUE specifies whether characters in FACE should be drawn with a line
2898 striking through them. If VALUE is t, use the foreground color of the
2899 face. If VALUE is a string, strike-through with that color. If VALUE
2900 is nil, explicitly don't strike through.
2904 VALUE specifies whether characters in FACE should have a box drawn
2905 around them. If VALUE is nil, explicitly don't draw boxes. If
2906 VALUE is t, draw a box with lines of width 1 in the foreground color
2907 of the face. If VALUE is a string, the string must be a color name,
2908 and the box is drawn in that color with a line width of 1. Otherwise,
2909 VALUE must be a property list of the form `(:line-width WIDTH
2910 :color COLOR :style STYLE)'. If a keyword/value pair is missing from
2911 the property list, a default value will be used for the value, as
2912 specified below. WIDTH specifies the width of the lines to draw; it
2913 defaults to 1. COLOR is the name of the color to draw in, default is
2914 the foreground color of the face for simple boxes, and the background
2915 color of the face for 3D boxes. STYLE specifies whether a 3D box
2916 should be draw. If STYLE is `released-button', draw a box looking
2917 like a released 3D button. If STYLE is `pressed-button' draw a box
2918 that appears like a pressed button. If STYLE is nil, the default if
2919 the property list doesn't contain a style specification, draw a 2D
2924 VALUE specifies whether characters in FACE should be displayed in
2925 inverse video. VALUE must be one of t or nil.
2929 If VALUE is a string, it must be the name of a file of pixmap data.
2930 The directories listed in the `x-bitmap-file-path' variable are
2931 searched. Alternatively, VALUE may be a list of the form (WIDTH
2932 HEIGHT DATA) where WIDTH and HEIGHT are the size in pixels, and DATA
2933 is a string containing the raw bits of the bitmap. VALUE nil means
2934 explicitly don't use a stipple pattern.
2936 For convenience, attributes `:family', `:width', `:height', `:weight',
2937 and `:slant' may also be set in one step from an X font name:
2941 Set font-related face attributes from VALUE. VALUE must be a valid
2942 XLFD font name. If it is a font name pattern, the first matching font
2943 is used--this is for compatibility with the behavior of previous
2946 For compatibility with Emacs 20, keywords `:bold' and `:italic' can
2947 be used to specify that a bold or italic font should be used. VALUE
2948 must be t or nil in that case. A value of `unspecified' is not allowed."
2950 Please see also the documentation of `set-face-attribute' and
2955 VALUE is the name of a face from which to inherit attributes, or a list
2956 of face names. Attributes from inherited faces are merged into the face
2957 like an underlying face would be, with higher priority than underlying faces.
2959 *** Face attributes and X resources
2961 The following X resource names can be used to set face attributes
2964 Face attribute X resource class
2965 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
2966 :family attributeFamily . Face.AttributeFamily
2967 :width attributeWidth Face.AttributeWidth
2968 :height attributeHeight Face.AttributeHeight
2969 :weight attributeWeight Face.AttributeWeight
2970 :slant attributeSlant Face.AttributeSlant
2971 foreground attributeForeground Face.AttributeForeground
2972 :background attributeBackground . Face.AttributeBackground
2973 :overline attributeOverline Face.AttributeOverline
2974 :strike-through attributeStrikeThrough Face.AttributeStrikeThrough
2975 :box attributeBox Face.AttributeBox
2976 :underline attributeUnderline Face.AttributeUnderline
2977 :inverse-video attributeInverse Face.AttributeInverse
2978 :stipple attributeStipple Face.AttributeStipple
2979 or attributeBackgroundPixmap
2980 Face.AttributeBackgroundPixmap
2981 :font attributeFont Face.AttributeFont
2982 :bold attributeBold Face.AttributeBold
2983 :italic attributeItalic . Face.AttributeItalic
2984 :font attributeFont Face.AttributeFont
2987 *** Text property `face'.
2989 The value of the `face' text property can now be a single face
2990 specification or a list of such specifications. Each face
2991 specification can be
2993 1. A symbol or string naming a Lisp face.
2995 2. A property list of the form (KEYWORD VALUE ...) where each
2996 KEYWORD is a face attribute name, and VALUE is an appropriate value
2997 for that attribute. Please see the doc string of `set-face-attribute'
2998 for face attribute names.
3000 3. Conses of the form (FOREGROUND-COLOR . COLOR) or
3001 (BACKGROUND-COLOR . COLOR) where COLOR is a color name. This is
3002 for compatibility with previous Emacs versions.
3005 ** Support functions for colors on text-only terminals.
3007 The function `tty-color-define' can be used to define colors for use
3008 on TTY and MSDOS frames. It maps a color name to a color number on
3009 the terminal. Emacs defines a couple of common color mappings by
3010 default. You can get defined colors with a call to
3011 `defined-colors'. The function `tty-color-clear' can be
3012 used to clear the mapping table.
3014 ** Unified support for colors independent of frame type.
3016 The new functions `defined-colors', `color-defined-p', `color-values',
3017 and `display-color-p' work for any type of frame. On frames whose
3018 type is neither x nor w32, these functions transparently map X-style
3019 color specifications to the closest colors supported by the frame
3020 display. Lisp programs should use these new functions instead of the
3021 old `x-defined-colors', `x-color-defined-p', `x-color-values', and
3022 `x-display-color-p'. (The old function names are still available for
3023 compatibility; they are now aliases of the new names.) Lisp programs
3024 should no more look at the value of the variable window-system to
3025 modify their color-related behavior.
3027 The primitives `color-gray-p' and `color-supported-p' also work for
3030 ** Platform-independent functions to describe display capabilities.
3032 The new functions `display-mouse-p', `display-popup-menus-p',
3033 `display-graphic-p', `display-selections-p', `display-screens',
3034 `display-pixel-width', `display-pixel-height', `display-mm-width',
3035 `display-mm-height', `display-backing-store', `display-save-under',
3036 `display-planes', `display-color-cells', `display-visual-class', and
3037 `display-grayscale-p' describe the basic capabilities of a particular
3038 display. Lisp programs should call these functions instead of testing
3039 the value of the variables `window-system' or `system-type', or calling
3040 platform-specific functions such as `x-display-pixel-width'.
3043 ** The minibuffer prompt is now actually inserted in the minibuffer.
3045 This makes it possible to scroll through the prompt, if you want to.
3047 The function minubuffer-prompt-end returns the current position of the
3048 end of the minibuffer prompt, if the minibuffer is current.
3049 Otherwise, it returns zero.
3051 ** New `field' abstraction in buffers.
3053 There is now code to support an abstraction called `fields' in emacs
3054 buffers. A field is a contiguous region of text with the same `field'
3055 property (which can be a text property or an overlay).
3057 Many emacs functions, such as forward-word, forward-sentence,
3058 forward-paragraph, beginning-of-line, etc., stop moving when they come
3059 to the boundary between fields; beginning-of-line and end-of-line will
3060 not let the point move past the field boundary, but other movement
3061 commands continue into the next field if repeated. Stopping at field
3062 boundaries can be suppressed programmatically by binding
3063 `inhibit-field-text-motion' to a non-nil value around calls to these
3066 Now that the minibuffer prompt is inserted into the minibuffer, it is in
3067 a separate field from the user-input part of the buffer, so that common
3068 editing commands treat the user's text separately from the prompt.
3070 The following functions are defined for operating on fields:
3072 - Function: constrain-to-field NEW-POS OLD-POS &optional ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE ONLY-IN-LINE INHIBIT-CAPTURE-PROPERTY
3074 Return the position closest to NEW-POS that is in the same field as OLD-POS.
3076 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
3077 If NEW-POS is nil, then the current point is used instead, and set to the
3078 constrained position if that is is different.
3080 If OLD-POS is at the boundary of two fields, then the allowable
3081 positions for NEW-POS depends on the value of the optional argument
3082 ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE: If ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE is nil, then NEW-POS is
3083 constrained to the field that has the same `field' char-property
3084 as any new characters inserted at OLD-POS, whereas if ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE
3085 is non-nil, NEW-POS is constrained to the union of the two adjacent
3086 fields. Additionally, if two fields are separated by another field with
3087 the special value `boundary', then any point within this special field is
3088 also considered to be `on the boundary'.
3090 If the optional argument ONLY-IN-LINE is non-nil and constraining
3091 NEW-POS would move it to a different line, NEW-POS is returned
3092 unconstrained. This useful for commands that move by line, like
3093 C-n or C-a, which should generally respect field boundaries
3094 only in the case where they can still move to the right line.
3096 If the optional argument INHIBIT-CAPTURE-PROPERTY is non-nil, and OLD-POS has
3097 a non-nil property of that name, then any field boundaries are ignored.
3099 Field boundaries are not noticed if `inhibit-field-text-motion' is non-nil.
3101 - Function: delete-field &optional POS
3103 Delete the field surrounding POS.
3104 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
3105 If POS is nil, the value of point is used for POS.
3107 - Function: field-beginning &optional POS ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE
3109 Return the beginning of the field surrounding POS.
3110 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
3111 If POS is nil, the value of point is used for POS.
3112 If ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE is non-nil and POS is at the beginning of its
3113 field, then the beginning of the *previous* field is returned.
3115 - Function: field-end &optional POS ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE
3117 Return the end of the field surrounding POS.
3118 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
3119 If POS is nil, the value of point is used for POS.
3120 If ESCAPE-FROM-EDGE is non-nil and POS is at the end of its field,
3121 then the end of the *following* field is returned.
3123 - Function: field-string &optional POS
3125 Return the contents of the field surrounding POS as a string.
3126 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
3127 If POS is nil, the value of point is used for POS.
3129 - Function: field-string-no-properties &optional POS
3131 Return the contents of the field around POS, without text-properties.
3132 A field is a region of text with the same `field' property.
3133 If POS is nil, the value of point is used for POS.
3138 Emacs can now display images. Images are inserted into text by giving
3139 strings or buffer text a `display' text property containing one of
3140 (AREA IMAGE) or IMAGE. The display of the `display' property value
3141 replaces the display of the characters having that property.
3143 If the property value has the form (AREA IMAGE), AREA must be one of
3144 `(margin left-margin)', `(margin right-margin)' or `(margin nil)'. If
3145 AREA is `(margin nil)', IMAGE will be displayed in the text area of a
3146 window, otherwise it will be displayed in the left or right marginal
3149 IMAGE is an image specification.
3151 *** Image specifications
3153 Image specifications are lists of the form `(image PROPS)' where PROPS
3154 is a property list whose keys are keyword symbols. Each
3155 specifications must contain a property `:type TYPE' with TYPE being a
3156 symbol specifying the image type, e.g. `xbm'. Properties not
3157 described below are ignored.
3159 The following is a list of properties all image types share.
3163 ASCENT must be a number in the range 0..100, or the symbol `center'.
3164 If it is a number, it specifies the percentage of the image's height
3165 to use for its ascent.
3167 If not specified, ASCENT defaults to the value 50 which means that the
3168 image will be centered with the base line of the row it appears in.
3170 If ASCENT is `center' the image is vertically centered around a
3171 centerline which is the vertical center of text drawn at the position
3172 of the image, in the manner specified by the text properties and
3173 overlays that apply to the image.
3177 MARGIN must be a number >= 0 specifying how many pixels to put as
3178 margin around the image. Default is 0.
3182 RELIEF is analogous to the `:relief' attribute of faces. Puts a relief
3187 Apply an image algorithm to the image before displaying it.
3189 ALGO `laplace' or `emboss' means apply a Laplace or ``emboss''
3190 edge-detection algorithm to the image.
3192 ALGO `(edge-detection :matrix MATRIX :color-adjust ADJUST)' means
3193 apply a general edge-detection algorithm. MATRIX must be either a
3194 nine-element list or a nine-element vector of numbers. A pixel at
3195 position x/y in the transformed image is computed from original pixels
3196 around that position. MATRIX specifies, for each pixel in the
3197 neighborhood of x/y, a factor with which that pixel will influence the
3198 transformed pixel; element 0 specifies the factor for the pixel at
3199 x-1/y-1, element 1 the factor for the pixel at x/y-1 etc. as shown
3202 (x-1/y-1 x/y-1 x+1/y-1
3204 x-1/y+1 x/y+1 x+1/y+1)
3206 The resulting pixel is computed from the color intensity of the color
3207 resulting from summing up the RGB values of surrounding pixels,
3208 multiplied by the specified factors, and dividing that sum by the sum
3209 of the factors' absolute values.
3211 Laplace edge-detection currently uses a matrix of
3217 Emboss edge-detection uses a matrix of
3223 ALGO `disabled' means transform the image so that it looks
3228 If MASK is `heuristic' or `(heuristic BG)', build a clipping mask for
3229 the image, so that the background of a frame is visible behind the
3230 image. If BG is not specified, or if BG is t, determine the
3231 background color of the image by looking at the 4 corners of the
3232 image, assuming the most frequently occuring color from the corners is
3233 the background color of the image. Otherwise, BG must be a list `(RED
3234 GREEN BLUE)' specifying the color to assume for the background of the
3237 If MASK is nil, remove a mask from the image, if it has one. Images
3238 in some formats include a mask which can be removed by specifying
3243 Load image from FILE. If FILE is not absolute after expanding it,
3244 search for the image in `data-directory'. Some image types support
3245 building images from data. When this is done, no `:file' property
3246 may be present in the image specification.
3250 Get image data from DATA. (As of this writing, this is not yet
3251 supported for image type `postscript'). Either :file or :data may be
3252 present in an image specification, but not both. All image types
3253 support strings as DATA, some types allow additional types of DATA.
3255 *** Supported image types
3257 **** XBM, image type `xbm'.
3259 XBM images don't require an external library. Additional image
3260 properties supported are
3264 FG must be a string specifying the image foreground color. Default
3265 is the frame's foreground.
3269 BG must be a string specifying the image foreground color. Default is
3270 the frame's background color.
3272 XBM images can be constructed from data instead of file. In this
3273 case, the image specification must contain the following properties
3274 instead of a `:file' property.
3278 WIDTH specifies the width of the image in pixels.
3282 HEIGHT specifies the height of the image in pixels.
3288 1. a string large enough to hold the bitmap data, i.e. it must
3289 have a size >= (WIDTH + 7) / 8 * HEIGHT
3291 2. a bool-vector of size >= WIDTH * HEIGHT
3293 3. a vector of strings or bool-vectors, one for each line of the
3296 4. a string that's an in-memory XBM file. Neither width nor
3297 height may be specified in this case because these are defined
3300 **** XPM, image type `xpm'
3302 XPM images require the external library `libXpm', package
3303 `xpm-3.4k.tar.gz', version 3.4k or later. Make sure the library is
3304 found when Emacs is configured by supplying appropriate paths via
3305 `--x-includes' and `--x-libraries'.
3307 Additional image properties supported are:
3309 `:color-symbols SYMBOLS'
3311 SYMBOLS must be a list of pairs (NAME . COLOR), with NAME being the
3312 name of color as it appears in an XPM file, and COLOR being an X color
3315 XPM images can be built from memory instead of files. In that case,
3316 add a `:data' property instead of a `:file' property.
3318 The XPM library uses libz in its implementation so that it is able
3319 to display compressed images.
3321 **** PBM, image type `pbm'
3323 PBM images don't require an external library. Color, gray-scale and
3324 mono images are supported. There are no additional image properties
3327 **** JPEG, image type `jpeg'
3329 Support for JPEG images requires the external library `libjpeg',
3330 package `jpegsrc.v6a.tar.gz', or later. Additional image properties
3333 **** TIFF, image type `tiff'
3335 Support for TIFF images requires the external library `libtiff',
3336 package `tiff-v3.4-tar.gz', or later. There are no additional image
3339 **** GIF, image type `gif'
3341 Support for GIF images requires the external library `libungif', package
3342 `libungif-4.1.0', or later.
3344 Additional image properties supported are:
3348 INDEX must be an integer >= 0. Load image number INDEX from a
3349 multi-image GIF file. An error is signalled if INDEX is too large.
3351 This could be used to implement limited support for animated GIFs.
3352 For example, the following function displays a multi-image GIF file
3353 at point-min in the current buffer, switching between sub-images
3356 (defun show-anim (file max)
3357 "Display multi-image GIF file FILE which contains MAX subimages."
3358 (display-anim (current-buffer) file 0 max t))
3360 (defun display-anim (buffer file idx max first-time)
3363 (let ((img (create-image file nil nil :index idx)))
3366 (goto-char (point-min))
3367 (unless first-time (delete-char 1))
3368 (insert-image img "x"))
3369 (run-with-timer 0.1 nil 'display-anim buffer file (1+ idx) max nil)))
3371 **** PNG, image type `png'
3373 Support for PNG images requires the external library `libpng',
3374 package `libpng-1.0.2.tar.gz', or later. There are no additional image
3377 **** Ghostscript, image type `postscript'.
3379 Additional image properties supported are:
3383 WIDTH is width of the image in pt (1/72 inch). WIDTH must be an
3384 integer. This is a required property.
3388 HEIGHT specifies the height of the image in pt (1/72 inch). HEIGHT
3389 must be a integer. This is an required property.
3393 BOX must be a list or vector of 4 integers giving the bounding box of
3394 the PS image, analogous to the `BoundingBox' comment found in PS
3395 files. This is an required property.
3397 Part of the Ghostscript interface is implemented in Lisp. See
3402 The variable `image-types' contains a list of those image types
3403 which are supported in the current configuration.
3405 Images are stored in an image cache and removed from the cache when
3406 they haven't been displayed for `image-cache-eviction-delay seconds.
3407 The function `clear-image-cache' can be used to clear the image cache
3408 manually. Images in the cache are compared with `equal', i.e. all
3409 images with `equal' specifications share the same image.
3411 *** Simplified image API, image.el
3413 The new Lisp package image.el contains functions that simplify image
3414 creation and putting images into text. The function `create-image'
3415 can be used to create images. The macro `defimage' can be used to
3416 define an image based on available image types. The functions
3417 `put-image' and `insert-image' can be used to insert an image into a
3423 Windows can now have margins which are used for special text
3426 To give a window margins, either set the buffer-local variables
3427 `left-margin-width' and `right-margin-width', or call
3428 `set-window-margins'. The function `window-margins' can be used to
3429 obtain the current settings. To make `left-margin-width' and
3430 `right-margin-width' take effect, you must set them before displaying
3431 the buffer in a window, or use `set-window-buffer' to force an update
3432 of the display margins.
3434 You can put text in margins by giving it a `display' text property
3435 containing a pair of the form `(LOCATION . VALUE)', where LOCATION is
3436 one of `left-margin' or `right-margin' or nil. VALUE can be either a
3437 string, an image specification or a stretch specification (see later
3443 Emacs displays short help messages in the echo area, when the mouse
3444 moves over a tool-bar item or a piece of text that has a text property
3445 `help-echo'. This feature also applies to strings in the mode line
3446 that have a `help-echo' property.
3448 If the value of the `help-echo' property is a function, that function
3449 is called with three arguments WINDOW, OBJECT and POSITION. WINDOW is
3450 the window in which the help was found.
3452 If OBJECT is a buffer, POS is the position in the buffer where the
3453 `help-echo' text property was found.
3455 If OBJECT is an overlay, that overlay has a `help-echo' property, and
3456 POS is the position in the overlay's buffer under the mouse.
3458 If OBJECT is a string (an overlay string or a string displayed with
3459 the `display' property), POS is the position in that string under the
3462 If the value of the `help-echo' property is neither a function nor a
3463 string, it is evaluated to obtain a help string.
3465 For tool-bar and menu-bar items, their key definition is used to
3466 determine the help to display. If their definition contains a
3467 property `:help FORM', FORM is evaluated to determine the help string.
3468 For tool-bar items without a help form, the caption of the item is
3469 used as help string.
3471 The hook `show-help-function' can be set to a function that displays
3472 the help string differently. For example, enabling a tooltip window
3473 causes the help display to appear there instead of in the echo area.
3476 ** Vertical fractional scrolling.
3478 The display of text in windows can be scrolled smoothly in pixels.
3479 This is useful, for example, for making parts of large images visible.
3481 The function `window-vscroll' returns the current value of vertical
3482 scrolling, a non-negative fraction of the canonical character height.
3483 The function `set-window-vscroll' can be used to set the vertical
3484 scrolling value. Here is an example of how these function might be
3487 (global-set-key [A-down]
3490 (set-window-vscroll (selected-window)
3491 (+ 0.5 (window-vscroll)))))
3492 (global-set-key [A-up]
3495 (set-window-vscroll (selected-window)
3496 (- (window-vscroll) 0.5)))))
3499 ** New hook `fontification-functions'.
3501 Functions from `fontification-functions' are called from redisplay
3502 when it encounters a region of text that is not yet fontified. This
3503 variable automatically becomes buffer-local when set. Each function
3504 is called with one argument, POS.
3506 At least one of the hook functions should fontify one or more
3507 characters starting at POS in the current buffer. It should mark them
3508 as fontified by giving them a non-nil value of the `fontified' text
3509 property. It may be reasonable for these functions to check for the
3510 `fontified' property and not put it back on, but they do not have to.
3513 ** Tool bar support.
3515 Emacs supports a tool bar at the top of a frame under X. The frame
3516 parameter `tool-bar-lines' (X resource "toolBar", class "ToolBar")
3517 controls how may lines to reserve for the tool bar. A zero value
3518 suppresses the tool bar. If the value is non-zero and
3519 `auto-resize-tool-bars' is non-nil the tool bar's size will be changed
3520 automatically so that all tool bar items are visible.
3522 *** Tool bar item definitions
3524 Tool bar items are defined using `define-key' with a prefix-key
3525 `tool-bar'. For example `(define-key global-map [tool-bar item1] ITEM)'
3526 where ITEM is a list `(menu-item CAPTION BINDING PROPS...)'.
3528 CAPTION is the caption of the item, If it's not a string, it is
3529 evaluated to get a string. The caption is currently not displayed in
3530 the tool bar, but it is displayed if the item doesn't have a `:help'
3531 property (see below).
3533 BINDING is the tool bar item's binding. Tool bar items with keymaps as
3534 binding are currently ignored.
3536 The following properties are recognized:
3540 FORM is evaluated and specifies whether the tool bar item is enabled
3545 FORM is evaluated and specifies whether the tool bar item is displayed.
3549 FUNCTION is called with one parameter, the same list BINDING in which
3550 FUNCTION is specified as the filter. The value FUNCTION returns is
3551 used instead of BINDING to display this item.
3553 `:button (TYPE SELECTED)'
3555 TYPE must be one of `:radio' or `:toggle'. SELECTED is evaluated
3556 and specifies whether the button is selected (pressed) or not.
3560 IMAGES is either a single image specification or a vector of four
3561 image specifications. If it is a vector, this table lists the
3562 meaning of each of the four elements:
3564 Index Use when item is
3565 ----------------------------------------
3566 0 enabled and selected
3567 1 enabled and deselected
3568 2 disabled and selected
3569 3 disabled and deselected
3571 If IMAGE is a single image specification, a Laplace edge-detection
3572 algorithm is used on that image to draw the image in disabled state.
3574 `:help HELP-STRING'.
3576 Gives a help string to display for the tool bar item. This help
3577 is displayed when the mouse is moved over the item.
3579 The function `toolbar-add-item' is a convenience function for adding
3580 toolbar items generally, and `tool-bar-add-item-from-menu' can be used
3581 to define a toolbar item with a binding copied from an item on the
3584 *** Tool-bar-related variables.
3586 If `auto-resize-tool-bar' is non-nil, the tool bar will automatically
3587 resize to show all defined tool bar items. It will never grow larger
3588 than 1/4 of the frame's size.
3590 If `auto-raise-tool-bar-buttons' is non-nil, tool bar buttons will be
3591 raised when the mouse moves over them.
3593 You can add extra space between tool bar items by setting
3594 `tool-bar-button-margin' to a positive integer specifying a number of
3595 pixels. Default is 1.
3597 You can change the shadow thickness of tool bar buttons by setting
3598 `tool-bar-button-relief' to an integer. Default is 3.
3600 *** Tool-bar clicks with modifiers.
3602 You can bind commands to clicks with control, shift, meta etc. on
3605 (define-key global-map [tool-bar shell]
3606 '(menu-item "Shell" shell
3607 :image (image :type xpm :file "shell.xpm")))
3609 is the original tool bar item definition, then
3611 (define-key global-map [tool-bar S-shell] 'some-command)
3613 makes a binding to run `some-command' for a shifted click on the same
3616 ** Mode line changes.
3619 *** Mouse-sensitive mode line.
3621 The mode line can be made mouse-sensitive by displaying strings there
3622 that have a `local-map' text property. There are three ways to display
3623 a string with a `local-map' property in the mode line.
3625 1. The mode line spec contains a variable whose string value has
3626 a `local-map' text property.
3628 2. The mode line spec contains a format specifier (e.g. `%12b'), and
3629 that format specifier has a `local-map' property.
3631 3. The mode line spec contains a list containing `:eval FORM'. FORM
3632 is evaluated. If the result is a string, and that string has a
3633 `local-map' property.
3635 The same mechanism is used to determine the `face' and `help-echo'
3636 properties of strings in the mode line. See `bindings.el' for an
3639 *** If a mode line element has the form `(:eval FORM)', FORM is
3640 evaluated and the result is used as mode line element.
3643 *** You can suppress mode-line display by setting the buffer-local
3644 variable mode-line-format to nil.
3647 *** A headerline can now be displayed at the top of a window.
3649 This mode line's contents are controlled by the new variable
3650 `header-line-format' and `default-header-line-format' which are
3651 completely analogous to `mode-line-format' and
3652 `default-mode-line-format'. A value of nil means don't display a top
3655 The appearance of top mode lines is controlled by the face
3658 The function `coordinates-in-window-p' returns `header-line' for a
3659 position in the header-line.
3662 ** Text property `display'
3664 The `display' text property is used to insert images into text,
3665 replace text with other text, display text in marginal area, and it is
3666 also used to control other aspects of how text displays. The value of
3667 the `display' property should be a display specification, as described
3668 below, or a list or vector containing display specifications.
3670 *** Replacing text, displaying text in marginal areas
3672 To replace the text having the `display' property with some other
3673 text, use a display specification of the form `(LOCATION STRING)'.
3675 If LOCATION is `(margin left-margin)', STRING is displayed in the left
3676 marginal area, if it is `(margin right-margin)', it is displayed in
3677 the right marginal area, and if LOCATION is `(margin nil)' STRING
3678 is displayed in the text. In the latter case you can also use the
3679 simpler form STRING as property value.
3681 *** Variable width and height spaces
3683 To display a space of fractional width or height, use a display
3684 specification of the form `(LOCATION STRECH)'. If LOCATION is
3685 `(margin left-margin)', the space is displayed in the left marginal
3686 area, if it is `(margin right-margin)', it is displayed in the right
3687 marginal area, and if LOCATION is `(margin nil)' the space is
3688 displayed in the text. In the latter case you can also use the
3689 simpler form STRETCH as property value.
3691 The stretch specification STRETCH itself is a list of the form `(space
3692 PROPS)', where PROPS is a property list which can contain the
3693 properties described below.
3695 The display of the fractional space replaces the display of the
3696 characters having the `display' property.
3700 Specifies that the space width should be WIDTH times the normal
3701 character width. WIDTH can be an integer or floating point number.
3703 - :relative-width FACTOR
3705 Specifies that the width of the stretch should be computed from the
3706 first character in a group of consecutive characters that have the
3707 same `display' property. The computation is done by multiplying the
3708 width of that character by FACTOR.
3712 Specifies that the space should be wide enough to reach HPOS. The
3713 value HPOS is measured in units of the normal character width.
3715 Exactly one of the above properties should be used.
3719 Specifies the height of the space, as HEIGHT, measured in terms of the
3722 - :relative-height FACTOR
3724 The height of the space is computed as the product of the height
3725 of the text having the `display' property and FACTOR.
3729 Specifies that ASCENT percent of the height of the stretch should be
3730 used for the ascent of the stretch, i.e. for the part above the
3731 baseline. The value of ASCENT must be a non-negative number less or
3734 You should not use both `:height' and `:relative-height' together.
3738 A display specification for an image has the form `(LOCATION
3739 . IMAGE)', where IMAGE is an image specification. The image replaces,
3740 in the display, the characters having this display specification in
3741 their `display' text property. If LOCATION is `(margin left-margin)',
3742 the image will be displayed in the left marginal area, if it is
3743 `(margin right-margin)' it will be displayed in the right marginal
3744 area, and if LOCATION is `(margin nil)' the image will be displayed in
3745 the text. In the latter case you can also use the simpler form IMAGE
3746 as display specification.
3748 *** Other display properties
3750 - :space-width FACTOR
3752 Specifies that space characters in the text having that property
3753 should be displayed FACTOR times as wide as normal; FACTOR must be an
3758 Display text having this property in a font that is smaller or larger.
3760 If HEIGHT is a list of the form `(+ N)', where N is an integer, that
3761 means to use a font that is N steps larger. If HEIGHT is a list of
3762 the form `(- N)', that means to use a font that is N steps smaller. A
3763 ``step'' is defined by the set of available fonts; each size for which
3764 a font is available counts as a step.
3766 If HEIGHT is a number, that means to use a font that is HEIGHT times
3767 as tall as the frame's default font.
3769 If HEIGHT is a symbol, it is called as a function with the current
3770 height as argument. The function should return the new height to use.
3772 Otherwise, HEIGHT is evaluated to get the new height, with the symbol
3773 `height' bound to the current specified font height.
3777 FACTOR must be a number, specifying a multiple of the current
3778 font's height. If it is positive, that means to display the characters
3779 raised. If it is negative, that means to display them lower down. The
3780 amount of raising or lowering is computed without taking account of the
3781 `:height' subproperty.
3783 *** Conditional display properties
3785 All display specifications can be conditionalized. If a specification
3786 has the form `(:when CONDITION . SPEC)', the specification SPEC
3787 applies only when CONDITION yields a non-nil value when evaluated.
3788 During evaluattion, point is temporarily set to the end position of
3789 the text having the `display' property.
3791 The normal specification consisting of SPEC only is equivalent to
3795 ** New menu separator types.
3797 Emacs now supports more than one menu separator type. Menu items with
3798 item names consisting of dashes only (including zero dashes) are
3799 treated like before. In addition, the following item names are used
3800 to specify other menu separator types.
3802 - `--no-line' or `--space', or `--:space', or `--:noLine'
3804 No separator lines are drawn, but a small space is inserted where the
3807 - `--single-line' or `--:singleLine'
3809 A single line in the menu's foreground color.
3811 - `--double-line' or `--:doubleLine'
3813 A double line in the menu's foreground color.
3815 - `--single-dashed-line' or `--:singleDashedLine'
3817 A single dashed line in the menu's foreground color.
3819 - `--double-dashed-line' or `--:doubleDashedLine'
3821 A double dashed line in the menu's foreground color.
3823 - `--shadow-etched-in' or `--:shadowEtchedIn'
3825 A single line with 3D sunken appearance. This is the the form
3826 displayed for item names consisting of dashes only.
3828 - `--shadow-etched-out' or `--:shadowEtchedOut'
3830 A single line with 3D raised appearance.
3832 - `--shadow-etched-in-dash' or `--:shadowEtchedInDash'
3834 A single dashed line with 3D sunken appearance.
3836 - `--shadow-etched-out-dash' or `--:shadowEtchedOutDash'
3838 A single dashed line with 3D raise appearance.
3840 - `--shadow-double-etched-in' or `--:shadowDoubleEtchedIn'
3842 Two lines with 3D sunken appearance.
3844 - `--shadow-double-etched-out' or `--:shadowDoubleEtchedOut'
3846 Two lines with 3D raised appearance.
3848 - `--shadow-double-etched-in-dash' or `--:shadowDoubleEtchedInDash'
3850 Two dashed lines with 3D sunken appearance.
3852 - `--shadow-double-etched-out-dash' or `--:shadowDoubleEtchedOutDash'
3854 Two dashed lines with 3D raised appearance.
3856 Under LessTif/Motif, the last four separator types are displayed like
3857 the corresponding single-line separators.
3860 ** New frame parameters for scroll bar colors.
3862 The new frame parameters `scroll-bar-foreground' and
3863 `scroll-bar-background' can be used to change scroll bar colors.
3864 Their value must be either a color name, a string, or nil to specify
3865 that scroll bars should use a default color. For toolkit scroll bars,
3866 default colors are toolkit specific. For non-toolkit scroll bars, the
3867 default background is the background color of the frame, and the
3868 default foreground is black.
3870 The X resource name of these parameters are `scrollBarForeground'
3871 (class ScrollBarForeground) and `scrollBarBackground' (class
3872 `ScrollBarBackground').
3874 Setting these parameters overrides toolkit specific X resource
3875 settings for scroll bar colors.
3878 ** You can set `redisplay-dont-pause' to a non-nil value to prevent
3879 display updates from being interrupted when input is pending.
3882 ** Changing a window's width may now change its window start if it
3883 starts on a continuation line. The new window start is computed based
3884 on the window's new width, starting from the start of the continued
3885 line as the start of the screen line with the minimum distance from
3886 the original window start.
3889 ** The variable `hscroll-step' and the functions
3890 `hscroll-point-visible' and `hscroll-window-column' have been removed
3891 now that proper horizontal scrolling is implemented.
3894 ** Windows can now be made fixed-width and/or fixed-height.
3896 A window is fixed-size if its buffer has a buffer-local variable
3897 `window-size-fixed' whose value is not nil. A value of `height' makes
3898 windows fixed-height, a value of `width' makes them fixed-width, any
3899 other non-nil value makes them both fixed-width and fixed-height.
3901 The following code makes all windows displaying the current buffer
3902 fixed-width and fixed-height.
3904 (set (make-local-variable 'window-size-fixed) t)
3906 A call to enlarge-window on a window gives an error if that window is
3907 fixed-width and it is tried to change the window's width, or if the
3908 window is fixed-height, and it is tried to change its height. To
3909 change the size of a fixed-size window, bind `window-size-fixed'
3910 temporarily to nil, for example
3912 (let ((window-size-fixed nil))
3913 (enlarge-window 10))
3915 Likewise, an attempt to split a fixed-height window vertically,
3916 or a fixed-width window horizontally results in a error.
3918 ** The cursor-type frame parameter is now supported on MS-DOS
3919 terminals. When Emacs starts, it by default changes the cursor shape
3920 to a solid box, as it does on Unix. The `cursor-type' frame parameter
3921 overrides this as it does on Unix, except that the bar cursor is
3922 horizontal rather than vertical (since the MS-DOS display doesn't
3923 support a vertical-bar cursor).
3927 * Emacs 20.7 is a bug-fix release with few user-visible changes
3929 ** It is now possible to use CCL-based coding systems for keyboard
3932 ** ange-ftp now handles FTP security extensions, like Kerberos.
3934 ** Rmail has been extended to recognize more forms of digest messages.
3936 ** Now, most coding systems set in keyboard coding system work not
3937 only for character input, but also in incremental search. The
3938 exceptions are such coding systems that handle 2-byte character sets
3939 (e.g euc-kr, euc-jp) and that use ISO's escape sequence
3940 (e.g. iso-2022-jp). They are ignored in incremental search.
3942 ** Support for Macintosh PowerPC-based machines running GNU/Linux has
3946 * Emacs 20.6 is a bug-fix release with one user-visible change
3948 ** Support for ARM-based non-RISCiX machines has been added.
3951 * Emacs 20.5 is a bug-fix release with no user-visible changes.
3953 ** Not new, but not mentioned before:
3954 M-w when Transient Mark mode is enabled disables the mark.
3956 * Changes in Emacs 20.4
3958 ** Init file may be called .emacs.el.
3960 You can now call the Emacs init file `.emacs.el'.
3961 Formerly the name had to be `.emacs'. If you use the name
3962 `.emacs.el', you can byte-compile the file in the usual way.
3964 If both `.emacs' and `.emacs.el' exist, the latter file
3965 is the one that is used.
3967 ** shell-command, and shell-command-on-region, now return
3968 the exit code of the command (unless it is asynchronous).
3969 Also, you can specify a place to put the error output,
3970 separate from the command's regular output.
3971 Interactively, the variable shell-command-default-error-buffer
3972 says where to put error output; set it to a buffer name.
3973 In calls from Lisp, an optional argument ERROR-BUFFER specifies
3976 When you specify a non-nil error buffer (or buffer name), any error
3977 output is inserted before point in that buffer, with \f\n to separate
3978 it from the previous batch of error output. The error buffer is not
3979 cleared, so error output from successive commands accumulates there.
3981 ** Setting the default value of enable-multibyte-characters to nil in
3982 the .emacs file, either explicitly using setq-default, or via Custom,
3983 is now essentially equivalent to using --unibyte: all buffers
3984 created during startup will be made unibyte after loading .emacs.
3986 ** C-x C-f now handles the wildcards * and ? in file names. For
3987 example, typing C-x C-f c*.c RET visits all the files whose names
3988 match c*.c. To visit a file whose name contains * or ?, add the
3989 quoting sequence /: to the beginning of the file name.
3991 ** The M-x commands keep-lines, flush-lines and count-matches
3992 now have the same feature as occur and query-replace:
3993 if the pattern contains any upper case letters, then
3994 they never ignore case.
3996 ** The end-of-line format conversion feature previously mentioned
3997 under `* Emacs 20.1 changes for MS-DOS and MS-Windows' actually
3998 applies to all operating systems. Emacs recognizes from the contents
3999 of a file what convention it uses to separate lines--newline, CRLF, or
4000 just CR--and automatically converts the contents to the normal Emacs
4001 convention (using newline to separate lines) for editing. This is a
4002 part of the general feature of coding system conversion.
4004 If you subsequently save the buffer, Emacs converts the text back to
4005 the same format that was used in the file before.
4007 You can turn off end-of-line conversion by setting the variable
4008 `inhibit-eol-conversion' to non-nil, e.g. with Custom in the MULE group.
4010 ** The character set property `prefered-coding-system' has been
4011 renamed to `preferred-coding-system', for the sake of correct spelling.
4012 This is a fairly internal feature, so few programs should be affected.
4014 ** Mode-line display of end-of-line format is changed.
4015 The indication of the end-of-line format of the file visited by a
4016 buffer is now more explicit when that format is not the usual one for
4017 your operating system. For example, the DOS-style end-of-line format
4018 is displayed as "(DOS)" on Unix and GNU/Linux systems. The usual
4019 end-of-line format is still displayed as a single character (colon for
4020 Unix, backslash for DOS and Windows, and forward slash for the Mac).
4022 The values of the variables eol-mnemonic-unix, eol-mnemonic-dos,
4023 eol-mnemonic-mac, and eol-mnemonic-undecided, which are strings,
4024 control what is displayed in the mode line for each end-of-line
4025 format. You can now customize these variables.
4027 ** In the previous version of Emacs, tar-mode didn't work well if a
4028 filename contained non-ASCII characters. Now this is fixed. Such a
4029 filename is decoded by file-name-coding-system if the default value of
4030 enable-multibyte-characters is non-nil.
4032 ** The command temp-buffer-resize-mode toggles a minor mode
4033 in which temporary buffers (such as help buffers) are given
4034 windows just big enough to hold the whole contents.
4036 ** If you use completion.el, you must now run the function
4037 dynamic-completion-mode to enable it. Just loading the file
4038 doesn't have any effect.
4040 ** In Flyspell mode, the default is now to make just one Ispell process,
4043 ** If you use iswitchb but do not call (iswitchb-default-keybindings) to
4044 use the default keybindings, you will need to add the following line:
4045 (add-hook 'minibuffer-setup-hook 'iswitchb-minibuffer-setup)
4047 ** Auto-show mode is no longer enabled just by loading auto-show.el.
4048 To control it, set `auto-show-mode' via Custom or use the
4049 `auto-show-mode' command.
4051 ** Handling of X fonts' ascent/descent parameters has been changed to
4052 avoid redisplay problems. As a consequence, compared with previous
4053 versions the line spacing and frame size now differ with some font
4054 choices, typically increasing by a pixel per line. This change
4055 occurred in version 20.3 but was not documented then.
4057 ** If you select the bar cursor style, it uses the frame's
4058 cursor-color, rather than the cursor foreground pixel.
4060 ** In multibyte mode, Rmail decodes incoming MIME messages using the
4061 character set specified in the message. If you want to disable this
4062 feature, set the variable rmail-decode-mime-charset to nil.
4064 ** Not new, but not mentioned previously in NEWS: when you use #! at
4065 the beginning of a file to make it executable and specify an
4066 interpreter program, Emacs looks on the second line for the -*- mode
4067 and variable specification, as well as on the first line.
4069 ** Support for IBM codepage encoding of non-ASCII characters.
4071 The new command M-x codepage-setup creates a special coding system
4072 that can be used to convert text between a specific IBM codepage and
4073 one of the character sets built into Emacs which matches that
4074 codepage. For example, codepage 850 corresponds to Latin-1 character
4075 set, codepage 855 corresponds to Cyrillic-ISO character set, etc.
4077 Windows codepages 1250, 1251 and some others, where Windows deviates
4078 from the corresponding ISO character set, are also supported.
4080 IBM box-drawing characters and other glyphs which don't have
4081 equivalents in the corresponding ISO character set, are converted to
4082 a character defined by dos-unsupported-char-glyph on MS-DOS, and to
4083 `?' on other systems.
4085 IBM codepages are widely used on MS-DOS and MS-Windows, so this
4086 feature is most useful on those platforms, but it can also be used on
4089 Emacs compiled for MS-DOS automatically loads the support for the
4090 current codepage when it starts.
4094 *** When mail is sent using compose-mail (C-x m), and if
4095 `mail-send-nonascii' is set to the new default value `mime',
4096 appropriate MIME headers are added. The headers are added only if
4097 non-ASCII characters are present in the body of the mail, and no other
4098 MIME headers are already present. For example, the following three
4099 headers are added if the coding system used in the *mail* buffer is
4103 Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
4104 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
4106 *** The new variable default-sendmail-coding-system specifies the
4107 default way to encode outgoing mail. This has higher priority than
4108 default-buffer-file-coding-system but has lower priority than
4109 sendmail-coding-system and the local value of
4110 buffer-file-coding-system.
4112 You should not set this variable manually. Instead, set
4113 sendmail-coding-system to specify a fixed encoding for all outgoing
4116 *** When you try to send a message that contains non-ASCII characters,
4117 if the coding system specified by those variables doesn't handle them,
4118 Emacs will ask you to select a suitable coding system while showing a
4119 list of possible coding systems.
4123 *** c-default-style can now take an association list that maps major
4124 modes to style names. When this variable is an alist, Java mode no
4125 longer hardcodes a setting to "java" style. See the variable's
4126 docstring for details.
4128 *** It's now possible to put a list as the offset on a syntactic
4129 symbol. The list is evaluated recursively until a non-nil offset is
4130 found. This is useful to combine several lineup functions to act in a
4131 prioritized order on a single line. However, none of the supplied
4132 lineup functions use this feature currently.
4134 *** New syntactic symbol catch-clause, which is used on the "catch" and
4135 "finally" lines in try-catch constructs in C++ and Java.
4137 *** New cleanup brace-catch-brace on c-cleanup-list, which does for
4138 "catch" lines what brace-elseif-brace does for "else if" lines.
4140 *** The braces of Java anonymous inner classes are treated separately
4141 from the braces of other classes in auto-newline mode. Two new
4142 symbols inexpr-class-open and inexpr-class-close may be used on
4143 c-hanging-braces-alist to control the automatic newlines used for
4146 *** Support for the Pike language added, along with new Pike specific
4147 syntactic symbols: inlambda, lambda-intro-cont
4149 *** Support for Java anonymous classes via new syntactic symbol
4150 inexpr-class. New syntactic symbol inexpr-statement for Pike
4151 support and gcc-style statements inside expressions. New lineup
4152 function c-lineup-inexpr-block.
4154 *** New syntactic symbol brace-entry-open which is used in brace lists
4155 (i.e. static initializers) when a list entry starts with an open
4156 brace. These used to be recognized as brace-list-entry's.
4157 c-electric-brace also recognizes brace-entry-open braces
4158 (brace-list-entry's can no longer be electrified).
4160 *** New command c-indent-line-or-region, not bound by default.
4162 *** `#' is only electric when typed in the indentation of a line.
4164 *** Parentheses are now electric (via the new command c-electric-paren)
4165 for auto-reindenting lines when parens are typed.
4167 *** In "gnu" style, inline-open offset is now set to zero.
4169 *** Uniform handling of the inclass syntactic symbol. The indentation
4170 associated with it is now always relative to the class opening brace.
4171 This means that the indentation behavior has changed in some
4172 circumstances, but only if you've put anything besides 0 on the
4173 class-open syntactic symbol (none of the default styles do that).
4177 *** New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
4178 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See the
4179 Gnus manual for the full story.
4181 *** The nndraft backend has returned, but works differently than
4182 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the nndraft
4183 group, which is created automatically.
4185 *** `gnus-alter-header-function' can now be used to alter header
4188 *** `gnus-summary-goto-article' now accept Message-ID's.
4190 *** A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
4191 outside the region: `C-c C-v'.
4193 *** You can now post to component group in nnvirtual groups with
4196 *** `nntp-rlogin-program' -- new variable to ease customization.
4198 *** `C-u C-c C-c' in `gnus-article-edit-mode' will now inhibit
4199 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
4201 *** New element in `gnus-boring-article-headers' -- `long-to'.
4203 *** `M-i' symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
4204 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
4206 *** `L' and `I' in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
4207 `a' to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
4209 *** `gnus-simplify-subject-functions' variable to allow greater
4210 control over simplification.
4212 *** `A T' -- new command for fetching the current thread.
4214 *** `/ T' -- new command for including the current thread in the
4217 *** `M-RET' is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
4219 *** \\1-expressions are now valid in `nnmail-split-methods'.
4221 *** The `custom-face-lookup' function has been removed.
4222 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
4223 rewrite them to use `face-spec-set' instead.
4225 *** Cancelling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
4226 `a' forces normal posting method.
4228 *** New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper text
4231 *** For easier debugging of nntp, you can set `nntp-record-commands'
4234 *** nntp now uses ~/.authinfo, a .netrc-like file, for controlling
4235 where and how to send AUTHINFO to NNTP servers.
4237 *** A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
4240 *** A history of where mails have been split is available.
4242 *** A new article date command has been added -- `article-date-iso8601'.
4244 *** Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
4245 `gnus-score-thread-simplify'.
4247 *** A new function for citing in Message has been added --
4248 `message-cite-original-without-signature'.
4250 *** `article-strip-all-blank-lines' -- new article command.
4252 *** A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
4255 *** A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
4256 `gnus-adaptive-word-minimum' variable.
4258 *** The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
4259 updated by the `gnus-start-date-timer' command.
4261 *** Web listserv archives can be read with the nnlistserv backend.
4263 *** Old dejanews archives can now be read by nnweb.
4265 *** `gnus-posting-styles' has been re-activated.
4267 ** Changes to TeX and LaTeX mode
4269 *** The new variable `tex-start-options-string' can be used to give
4270 options for the TeX run. The default value causes TeX to run in
4271 nonstopmode. For an interactive TeX run set it to nil or "".
4273 *** The command `tex-feed-input' sends input to the Tex Shell. In a
4274 TeX buffer it is bound to the keys C-RET, C-c RET, and C-c C-m (some
4275 of these keys may not work on all systems). For instance, if you run
4276 TeX interactively and if the TeX run stops because of an error, you
4277 can continue it without leaving the TeX buffer by typing C-RET.
4279 *** The Tex Shell Buffer is now in `compilation-shell-minor-mode'.
4280 All error-parsing commands of the Compilation major mode are available
4281 but bound to keys that don't collide with the shell. Thus you can use
4282 the Tex Shell for command line executions like a usual shell.
4284 *** The commands `tex-validate-region' and `tex-validate-buffer' check
4285 the matching of braces and $'s. The errors are listed in a *Occur*
4286 buffer and you can use C-c C-c or mouse-2 to go to a particular
4289 ** Changes to RefTeX mode
4291 *** The table of contents buffer can now also display labels and
4292 file boundaries in addition to sections. Use `l', `i', and `c' keys.
4294 *** Labels derived from context (the section heading) are now
4295 lowercase by default. To make the label legal in LaTeX, latin-1
4296 characters will lose their accent. All Mule characters will be
4297 removed from the label.
4299 *** The automatic display of cross reference information can also use
4300 a window instead of the echo area. See variable `reftex-auto-view-crossref'.
4302 *** kpsewhich can be used by RefTeX to find TeX and BibTeX files. See the
4303 customization group `reftex-finding-files'.
4305 *** The option `reftex-bibfile-ignore-list' has been renamed to
4306 `reftex-bibfile-ignore-regexps' and indeed can be fed with regular
4309 *** Multiple Selection buffers are now hidden buffers.
4311 ** New/deleted modes and packages
4313 *** The package snmp-mode.el provides major modes for editing SNMP and
4314 SNMPv2 MIBs. It has entries on `auto-mode-alist'.
4316 *** The package sql.el provides a major mode, M-x sql-mode, for
4317 editing SQL files, and M-x sql-interactive-mode for interacting with
4318 SQL interpreters. It has an entry on `auto-mode-alist'.
4320 *** M-x highlight-changes-mode provides a minor mode displaying buffer
4321 changes with a special face.
4323 *** ispell4.el has been deleted. It got in the way of ispell.el and
4324 this was hard to fix reliably. It has long been obsolete -- use
4325 Ispell 3.1 and ispell.el.
4327 * MS-DOS changes in Emacs 20.4
4329 ** Emacs compiled for MS-DOS now supports MULE features better.
4330 This includes support for display of all ISO 8859-N character sets,
4331 conversion to and from IBM codepage encoding of non-ASCII characters,
4332 and automatic setup of the MULE environment at startup. For details,
4333 check out the section `MS-DOS and MULE' in the manual.
4335 The MS-DOS installation procedure automatically configures and builds
4336 Emacs with input method support if it finds an unpacked Leim
4337 distribution when the config.bat script is run.
4339 ** Formerly, the value of lpr-command did not affect printing on
4340 MS-DOS unless print-region-function was set to nil, but now it
4341 controls whether an external program is invoked or output is written
4342 directly to a printer port. Similarly, in the previous version of
4343 Emacs, the value of ps-lpr-command did not affect PostScript printing
4344 on MS-DOS unless ps-printer-name was set to something other than a
4345 string (eg. t or `pipe'), but now it controls whether an external
4346 program is used. (These changes were made so that configuration of
4347 printing variables would be almost identical across all platforms.)
4349 ** In the previous version of Emacs, PostScript and non-PostScript
4350 output was piped to external programs, but because most print programs
4351 available for MS-DOS and MS-Windows cannot read data from their standard
4352 input, on those systems the data to be output is now written to a
4353 temporary file whose name is passed as the last argument to the external
4356 An exception is made for `print', a standard program on Windows NT,
4357 and `nprint', a standard program on Novell Netware. For both of these
4358 programs, the command line is constructed in the appropriate syntax
4359 automatically, using only the value of printer-name or ps-printer-name
4360 as appropriate--the value of the relevant `-switches' variable is
4361 ignored, as both programs have no useful switches.
4363 ** The value of the variable dos-printer (cf. dos-ps-printer), if it has
4364 a value, overrides the value of printer-name (cf. ps-printer-name), on
4365 MS-DOS and MS-Windows only. This has been true since version 20.3, but
4366 was not documented clearly before.
4368 ** All the Emacs games now work on MS-DOS terminals.
4369 This includes Tetris and Snake.
4371 * Lisp changes in Emacs 20.4
4373 ** New functions line-beginning-position and line-end-position
4374 return the position of the beginning or end of the current line.
4375 They both accept an optional argument, which has the same
4376 meaning as the argument to beginning-of-line or end-of-line.
4378 ** find-file and allied functions now have an optional argument
4379 WILDCARD. If this is non-nil, they do wildcard processing,
4380 and visit all files that match the wildcard pattern.
4382 ** Changes in the file-attributes function.
4384 *** The file size returned by file-attributes may be an integer or a float.
4385 It is an integer if the size fits in a Lisp integer, float otherwise.
4387 *** The inode number returned by file-attributes may be an integer (if
4388 the number fits in a Lisp integer) or a cons cell containing two
4391 ** The new function directory-files-and-attributes returns a list of
4392 files in a directory and their attributes. It accepts the same
4393 arguments as directory-files and has similar semantics, except that
4394 file names and attributes are returned.
4396 ** The new function file-attributes-lessp is a helper function for
4397 sorting the list generated by directory-files-and-attributes. It
4398 accepts two arguments, each a list of a file name and its atttributes.
4399 It compares the file names of each according to string-lessp and
4402 ** The new function file-expand-wildcards expands a wildcard-pattern
4403 to produce a list of existing files that match the pattern.
4405 ** New functions for base64 conversion:
4407 The function base64-encode-region converts a part of the buffer
4408 into the base64 code used in MIME. base64-decode-region
4409 performs the opposite conversion. Line-breaking is supported
4412 Functions base64-encode-string and base64-decode-string do a similar
4413 job on the text in a string. They return the value as a new string.
4416 The new function process-running-child-p
4417 will tell you if a subprocess has given control of its
4418 terminal to its own child process.
4420 ** interrupt-process and such functions have a new feature:
4421 when the second argument is `lambda', they send a signal
4422 to the running child of the subshell, if any, but if the shell
4423 itself owns its terminal, no signal is sent.
4425 ** There are new widget types `plist' and `alist' which can
4426 be used for customizing variables whose values are plists or alists.
4428 ** easymenu.el Now understands `:key-sequence' and `:style button'.
4429 :included is an alias for :visible.
4431 easy-menu-add-item now understands the values returned by
4432 easy-menu-remove-item and easy-menu-item-present-p. This can be used
4433 to move or copy menu entries.
4435 ** Multibyte editing changes
4437 *** The definitions of sref and char-bytes are changed. Now, sref is
4438 an alias of aref and char-bytes always returns 1. This change is to
4439 make some Emacs Lisp code which works on 20.2 and earlier also
4440 work on the latest Emacs. Such code uses a combination of sref and
4441 char-bytes in a loop typically as below:
4442 (setq char (sref str idx)
4443 idx (+ idx (char-bytes idx)))
4444 The byte-compiler now warns that this is obsolete.
4446 If you want to know how many bytes a specific multibyte character
4447 (say, CH) occupies in a multibyte buffer, use this code:
4448 (charset-bytes (char-charset ch))
4450 *** In multibyte mode, when you narrow a buffer to some region, and the
4451 region is preceded or followed by non-ASCII codes, inserting or
4452 deleting at the head or the end of the region may signal this error:
4454 Byte combining across boundary of accessible buffer text inhibitted
4456 This is to avoid some bytes being combined together into a character
4457 across the boundary.
4459 *** The functions find-charset-region and find-charset-string include
4460 `unknown' in the returned list in the following cases:
4461 o The current buffer or the target string is unibyte and
4462 contains 8-bit characters.
4463 o The current buffer or the target string is multibyte and
4464 contains invalid characters.
4466 *** The functions decode-coding-region and encode-coding-region remove
4467 text properties of the target region. Ideally, they should correctly
4468 preserve text properties, but for the moment, it's hard. Removing
4469 text properties is better than preserving them in a less-than-correct
4472 *** prefer-coding-system sets EOL conversion of default coding systems.
4473 If the argument to prefer-coding-system specifies a certain type of
4474 end of line conversion, the default coding systems set by
4475 prefer-coding-system will specify that conversion type for end of line.
4477 *** The new function thai-compose-string can be used to properly
4478 compose Thai characters in a string.
4480 ** The primitive `define-prefix-command' now takes an optional third
4481 argument NAME, which should be a string. It supplies the menu name
4482 for the created keymap. Keymaps created in order to be displayed as
4483 menus should always use the third argument.
4485 ** The meanings of optional second arguments for read-char,
4486 read-event, and read-char-exclusive are flipped. Now the second
4487 arguments are INHERIT-INPUT-METHOD. These functions use the current
4488 input method (if any) if and only if INHERIT-INPUT-METHOD is non-nil.
4490 ** The new function clear-this-command-keys empties out the contents
4491 of the vector that (this-command-keys) returns. This is useful in
4492 programs that read passwords, to prevent the passwords from echoing
4493 inadvertently as part of the next command in certain cases.
4495 ** The new macro `with-temp-message' displays a temporary message in
4496 the echo area, while executing some Lisp code. Like `progn', it
4497 returns the value of the last form, but it also restores the previous
4500 (with-temp-message MESSAGE &rest BODY)
4502 ** The function `require' now takes an optional third argument
4503 NOERROR. If it is non-nil, then there is no error if the
4504 requested feature cannot be loaded.
4506 ** In the function modify-face, an argument of (nil) for the
4507 foreground color, background color or stipple pattern
4508 means to clear out that attribute.
4510 ** The `outer-window-id' frame property of an X frame
4511 gives the window number of the outermost X window for the frame.
4513 ** Temporary buffers made with with-output-to-temp-buffer are now
4514 read-only by default, and normally use the major mode Help mode
4515 unless you put them in some other non-Fundamental mode before the
4516 end of with-output-to-temp-buffer.
4518 ** The new functions gap-position and gap-size return information on
4519 the gap of the current buffer.
4521 ** The new functions position-bytes and byte-to-position provide a way
4522 to convert between character positions and byte positions in the
4525 ** vc.el defines two new macros, `edit-vc-file' and `with-vc-file', to
4526 facilitate working with version-controlled files from Lisp programs.
4527 These macros check out a given file automatically if needed, and check
4528 it back in after any modifications have been made.
4530 * Installation Changes in Emacs 20.3
4532 ** The default value of load-path now includes most subdirectories of
4533 the site-specific directories /usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp and
4534 /usr/local/share/emacs/VERSION/site-lisp, in addition to those
4535 directories themselves. Both immediate subdirectories and
4536 subdirectories multiple levels down are added to load-path.
4538 Not all subdirectories are included, though. Subdirectories whose
4539 names do not start with a letter or digit are excluded.
4540 Subdirectories named RCS or CVS are excluded. Also, a subdirectory
4541 which contains a file named `.nosearch' is excluded. You can use
4542 these methods to prevent certain subdirectories from being searched.
4544 Emacs finds these subdirectories and adds them to load-path when it
4545 starts up. While it would be cleaner to find the subdirectories each
4546 time Emacs loads a file, that would be much slower.
4548 This feature is an incompatible change. If you have stored some Emacs
4549 Lisp files in a subdirectory of the site-lisp directory specifically
4550 to prevent them from being used, you will need to rename the
4551 subdirectory to start with a non-alphanumeric character, or create a
4552 `.nosearch' file in it, in order to continue to achieve the desired
4555 ** Emacs no longer includes an old version of the C preprocessor from
4556 GCC. This was formerly used to help compile Emacs with C compilers
4557 that had limits on the significant length of an identifier, but in
4558 fact we stopped supporting such compilers some time ago.
4560 * Changes in Emacs 20.3
4562 ** The new command C-x z (repeat) repeats the previous command
4563 including its argument. If you repeat the z afterward,
4564 it repeats the command additional times; thus, you can
4565 perform many repetitions with one keystroke per repetition.
4567 ** Emacs now supports "selective undo" which undoes only within a
4568 specified region. To do this, set point and mark around the desired
4569 region and type C-u C-x u (or C-u C-_). You can then continue undoing
4570 further, within the same region, by repeating the ordinary undo
4571 command C-x u or C-_. This will keep undoing changes that were made
4572 within the region you originally specified, until either all of them
4573 are undone, or it encounters a change which crosses the edge of that
4576 In Transient Mark mode, undoing when a region is active requests
4579 ** If you specify --unibyte when starting Emacs, then all buffers are
4580 unibyte, except when a Lisp program specifically creates a multibyte
4581 buffer. Setting the environment variable EMACS_UNIBYTE has the same
4582 effect. The --no-unibyte option overrides EMACS_UNIBYTE and directs
4583 Emacs to run normally in multibyte mode.
4585 The option --unibyte does not affect the reading of Emacs Lisp files,
4586 though. If you want a Lisp file to be read in unibyte mode, use
4587 -*-unibyte: t;-*- on its first line. That will force Emacs to
4588 load that file in unibyte mode, regardless of how Emacs was started.
4590 ** toggle-enable-multibyte-characters no longer has a key binding and
4591 no longer appears in the menu bar. We've realized that changing the
4592 enable-multibyte-characters variable in an existing buffer is
4593 something that most users not do.
4595 ** You can specify a coding system to use for the next cut or paste
4596 operations through the window system with the command C-x RET X.
4597 The coding system can make a difference for communication with other
4600 C-x RET x specifies a coding system for all subsequent cutting and
4603 ** You can specify the printer to use for commands that do printing by
4604 setting the variable `printer-name'. Just what a printer name looks
4605 like depends on your operating system. You can specify a different
4606 printer for the Postscript printing commands by setting
4609 ** Emacs now supports on-the-fly spell checking by the means of a
4610 minor mode. It is called M-x flyspell-mode. You don't have to remember
4611 any other special commands to use it, and you will hardly notice it
4612 except when you make a spelling error. Flyspell works by highlighting
4613 incorrect words as soon as they are completed or as soon as the cursor
4616 Flyspell mode works with whichever dictionary you have selected for
4617 Ispell in Emacs. In TeX mode, it understands TeX syntax so as not
4618 to be confused by TeX commands.
4620 You can correct a misspelled word by editing it into something
4621 correct. You can also correct it, or accept it as correct, by
4622 clicking on the word with Mouse-2; that gives you a pop-up menu
4623 of various alternative replacements and actions.
4625 Flyspell mode also proposes "automatic" corrections. M-TAB replaces
4626 the current misspelled word with a possible correction. If several
4627 corrections are made possible, M-TAB cycles through them in
4628 alphabetical order, or in order of decreasing likelihood if
4629 flyspell-sort-corrections is nil.
4631 Flyspell mode also flags an error when a word is repeated, if
4632 flyspell-mark-duplications-flag is non-nil.
4634 ** Changes in input method usage.
4636 Now you can use arrow keys (right, left, down, up) for selecting among
4637 the alternatives just the same way as you do by C-f, C-b, C-n, and C-p
4640 You can use the ENTER key to accept the current conversion.
4642 If you type TAB to display a list of alternatives, you can select one
4643 of the alternatives with Mouse-2.
4645 The meaning of the variable `input-method-verbose-flag' is changed so
4646 that you can set it to t, nil, `default', or `complex-only'.
4648 If the value is nil, extra guidance is never given.
4650 If the value is t, extra guidance is always given.
4652 If the value is `complex-only', extra guidance is always given only
4653 when you are using complex input methods such as chinese-py.
4655 If the value is `default' (this is the default), extra guidance is
4656 given in the following case:
4657 o When you are using a complex input method.
4658 o When you are using a simple input method but not in the minibuffer.
4660 If you are using Emacs through a very slow line, setting
4661 input-method-verbose-flag to nil or to complex-only is a good choice,
4662 and if you are using an input method you are not familiar with,
4663 setting it to t is helpful.
4665 The old command select-input-method is now called set-input-method.
4667 In the language environment "Korean", you can use the following
4669 Shift-SPC toggle-korean-input-method
4670 C-F9 quail-hangul-switch-symbol-ksc
4671 F9 quail-hangul-switch-hanja
4672 These key bindings are canceled when you switch to another language
4675 ** The minibuffer history of file names now records the specified file
4676 names, not the entire minibuffer input. For example, if the
4677 minibuffer starts out with /usr/foo/, you might type in /etc/passwd to
4680 /usr/foo//etc/passwd
4682 which stands for the file /etc/passwd.
4684 Formerly, this used to put /usr/foo//etc/passwd in the history list.
4685 Now this puts just /etc/passwd in the history list.
4687 ** If you are root, Emacs sets backup-by-copying-when-mismatch to t
4688 at startup, so that saving a file will be sure to preserve
4689 its owner and group.
4691 ** find-func.el can now also find the place of definition of Emacs
4692 Lisp variables in user-loaded libraries.
4694 ** C-x r t (string-rectangle) now deletes the existing rectangle
4695 contents before inserting the specified string on each line.
4697 ** There is a new command delete-whitespace-rectangle
4698 which deletes whitespace starting from a particular column
4699 in all the lines on a rectangle. The column is specified
4700 by the left edge of the rectangle.
4702 ** You can now store a number into a register with C-u NUMBER C-x r n REG,
4703 increment it by INC with C-u INC C-x r + REG (to increment by one, omit
4704 C-u INC), and insert it in the buffer with C-x r g REG. This is useful
4705 for writing keyboard macros.
4707 ** The new command M-x speedbar displays a frame in which directories,
4708 files, and tags can be displayed, manipulated, and jumped to. The
4709 frame defaults to 20 characters in width, and is the same height as
4710 the frame that it was started from. Some major modes define
4711 additional commands for the speedbar, including Rmail, GUD/GDB, and
4714 ** query-replace-regexp is now bound to C-M-%.
4716 ** In Transient Mark mode, when the region is active, M-x
4717 query-replace and the other replace commands now operate on the region
4720 ** M-x write-region, when used interactively, now asks for
4721 confirmation before overwriting an existing file. When you call
4722 the function from a Lisp program, a new optional argument CONFIRM
4723 says whether to ask for confirmation in this case.
4725 ** If you use find-file-literally and the file is already visited
4726 non-literally, the command asks you whether to revisit the file
4727 literally. If you say no, it signals an error.
4729 ** Major modes defined with the "derived mode" feature
4730 now use the proper name for the mode hook: WHATEVER-mode-hook.
4731 Formerly they used the name WHATEVER-mode-hooks, but that is
4732 inconsistent with Emacs conventions.
4734 ** shell-command-on-region (and shell-command) reports success or
4735 failure if the command produces no output.
4737 ** Set focus-follows-mouse to nil if your window system or window
4738 manager does not transfer focus to another window when you just move
4741 ** mouse-menu-buffer-maxlen has been renamed to
4742 mouse-buffer-menu-maxlen to be consistent with the other related
4743 function and variable names.
4745 ** The new variable auto-coding-alist specifies coding systems for
4746 reading specific files. This has higher priority than
4747 file-coding-system-alist.
4749 ** If you set the variable unibyte-display-via-language-environment to
4750 t, then Emacs displays non-ASCII characters are displayed by
4751 converting them to the equivalent multibyte characters according to
4752 the current language environment. As a result, they are displayed
4753 according to the current fontset.
4755 ** C-q's handling of codes in the range 0200 through 0377 is changed.
4757 The codes in the range 0200 through 0237 are inserted as one byte of
4758 that code regardless of the values of nonascii-translation-table and
4759 nonascii-insert-offset.
4761 For the codes in the range 0240 through 0377, if
4762 enable-multibyte-characters is non-nil and nonascii-translation-table
4763 nor nonascii-insert-offset can't convert them to valid multibyte
4764 characters, they are converted to Latin-1 characters.
4766 ** If you try to find a file that is not read-accessible, you now get
4767 an error, rather than an empty buffer and a warning.
4769 ** In the minibuffer history commands M-r and M-s, an upper case
4770 letter in the regular expression forces case-sensitive search.
4772 ** In the *Help* buffer, cross-references to commands and variables
4773 are inferred and hyperlinked. Use C-h m in Help mode for the relevant
4776 ** M-x apropos-command, with a prefix argument, no longer looks for
4777 user option variables--instead it looks for noninteractive functions.
4779 Meanwhile, the command apropos-variable normally searches for
4780 user option variables; with a prefix argument, it looks at
4781 all variables that have documentation.
4783 ** When you type a long line in the minibuffer, and the minibuffer
4784 shows just one line, automatically scrolling works in a special way
4785 that shows you overlap with the previous line of text. The variable
4786 minibuffer-scroll-overlap controls how many characters of overlap
4787 it should show; the default is 20.
4789 Meanwhile, Resize Minibuffer mode is still available; in that mode,
4790 the minibuffer grows taller (up to a point) as needed to show the whole
4793 ** The new command M-x customize-changed-options lets you customize
4794 all the options whose meanings or default values have changed in
4795 recent Emacs versions. You specify a previous Emacs version number as
4796 argument, and the command creates a customization buffer showing all
4797 the customizable options which were changed since that version.
4798 Newly added options are included as well.
4800 If you don't specify a particular version number argument,
4801 then the customization buffer shows all the customizable options
4802 for which Emacs versions of changes are recorded.
4804 This function is also bound to the Changed Options entry in the
4807 ** When you run M-x grep with a prefix argument, it figures out
4808 the tag around point and puts that into the default grep command.
4810 ** The new command M-* (pop-tag-mark) pops back through a history of
4811 buffer positions from which M-. or other tag-finding commands were
4814 ** The new variable comment-padding specifies the number of spaces
4815 that `comment-region' will insert before the actual text of the comment.
4818 ** In Fortran mode the characters `.', `_' and `$' now have symbol
4819 syntax, not word syntax. Fortran mode now supports `imenu' and has
4820 new commands fortran-join-line (M-^) and fortran-narrow-to-subprogram
4821 (C-x n d). M-q can be used to fill a statement or comment block
4824 ** GUD now supports jdb, the Java debugger, and pdb, the Python debugger.
4826 ** If you set the variable add-log-keep-changes-together to a non-nil
4827 value, the command `C-x 4 a' will automatically notice when you make
4828 two entries in one day for one file, and combine them.
4830 ** You can use the command M-x diary-mail-entries to mail yourself a
4831 reminder about upcoming diary entries. See the documentation string
4832 for a sample shell script for calling this function automatically
4837 *** All you need to do to enable use of the Desktop package, is to set
4838 the variable desktop-enable to t with Custom.
4840 *** Minor modes are now restored. Which minor modes are restored
4841 and how modes are restored is controlled by `desktop-minor-mode-table'.
4843 ** There is no need to do anything special, now, to enable Gnus to
4844 read and post multi-lingual articles.
4846 ** Outline mode has now support for showing hidden outlines when
4847 doing an isearch. In order for this to happen search-invisible should
4848 be set to open (the default). If an isearch match is inside a hidden
4849 outline the outline is made visible. If you continue pressing C-s and
4850 the match moves outside the formerly invisible outline, the outline is
4851 made invisible again.
4853 ** Mail reading and sending changes
4855 *** The Rmail e command now switches to displaying the whole header of
4856 the message before it lets you edit the message. This is so that any
4857 changes you make in the header will not be lost if you subsequently
4860 *** The w command in Rmail, which writes the message body into a file,
4861 now works in the summary buffer as well. (The command to delete the
4862 summary buffer is now Q.) The default file name for the w command, if
4863 the message has no subject, is stored in the variable
4864 rmail-default-body-file.
4866 *** Most of the commands and modes that operate on mail and netnews no
4867 longer depend on the value of mail-header-separator. Instead, they
4868 handle whatever separator the buffer happens to use.
4870 *** If you set mail-signature to a value which is not t, nil, or a string,
4871 it should be an expression. When you send a message, this expression
4872 is evaluated to insert the signature.
4874 *** The new Lisp library feedmail.el (version 8) enhances processing of
4875 outbound email messages. It works in coordination with other email
4876 handling packages (e.g., rmail, VM, gnus) and is responsible for
4877 putting final touches on messages and actually submitting them for
4878 transmission. Users of the emacs program "fakemail" might be
4879 especially interested in trying feedmail.
4881 feedmail is not enabled by default. See comments at the top of
4882 feedmail.el for set-up instructions. Among the bigger features
4883 provided by feedmail are:
4885 **** you can park outgoing messages into a disk-based queue and
4886 stimulate sending some or all of them later (handy for laptop users);
4887 there is also a queue for draft messages
4889 **** you can get one last look at the prepped outbound message and
4890 be prompted for confirmation
4892 **** does smart filling of address headers
4894 **** can generate a MESSAGE-ID: line and a DATE: line; the date can be
4895 the time the message was written or the time it is being sent; this
4896 can make FCC copies more closely resemble copies that recipients get
4898 **** you can specify an arbitrary function for actually transmitting
4899 the message; included in feedmail are interfaces for /bin/[r]mail,
4900 /usr/lib/sendmail, and elisp smtpmail; it's easy to write a new
4901 function for something else (10-20 lines of elisp)
4905 *** The Dired function dired-do-toggle, which toggles marked and unmarked
4906 files, is now bound to "t" instead of "T".
4908 *** dired-at-point has been added to ffap.el. It allows one to easily
4909 run Dired on the directory name at point.
4911 *** Dired has a new command: %g. It searches the contents of
4912 files in the directory and marks each file that contains a match
4913 for a specified regexp.
4917 *** New option vc-ignore-vc-files lets you turn off version control
4920 *** VC Dired has been completely rewritten. It is now much
4921 faster, especially for CVS, and works very similar to ordinary
4924 VC Dired is invoked by typing C-x v d and entering the name of the
4925 directory to display. By default, VC Dired gives you a recursive
4926 listing of all files at or below the given directory which are
4927 currently locked (for CVS, all files not up-to-date are shown).
4929 You can change the listing format by setting vc-dired-recurse to nil,
4930 then it shows only the given directory, and you may also set
4931 vc-dired-terse-display to nil, then it shows all files under version
4932 control plus the names of any subdirectories, so that you can type `i'
4933 on such lines to insert them manually, as in ordinary Dired.
4935 All Dired commands operate normally in VC Dired, except for `v', which
4936 is redefined as the version control prefix. That means you may type
4937 `v l', `v =' etc. to invoke `vc-print-log', `vc-diff' and the like on
4938 the file named in the current Dired buffer line. `v v' invokes
4939 `vc-next-action' on this file, or on all files currently marked.
4941 The new command `v t' (vc-dired-toggle-terse-mode) allows you to
4942 toggle between terse display (only locked files) and full display (all
4943 VC files plus subdirectories). There is also a special command,
4944 `* l', to mark all files currently locked.
4946 Giving a prefix argument to C-x v d now does the same thing as in
4947 ordinary Dired: it allows you to supply additional options for the ls
4948 command in the minibuffer, to fine-tune VC Dired's output.
4950 *** Under CVS, if you merge changes from the repository into a working
4951 file, and CVS detects conflicts, VC now offers to start an ediff
4952 session to resolve them.
4954 Alternatively, you can use the new command `vc-resolve-conflicts' to
4955 resolve conflicts in a file at any time. It works in any buffer that
4956 contains conflict markers as generated by rcsmerge (which is what CVS
4959 *** You can now transfer changes between branches, using the new
4960 command vc-merge (C-x v m). It is implemented for RCS and CVS. When
4961 you invoke it in a buffer under version-control, you can specify
4962 either an entire branch or a pair of versions, and the changes on that
4963 branch or between the two versions are merged into the working file.
4964 If this results in any conflicts, they may be resolved interactively,
4967 ** Changes in Font Lock
4969 *** The face and variable previously known as font-lock-reference-face
4970 are now called font-lock-constant-face to better reflect their typical
4971 use for highlighting constants and labels. (Its face properties are
4972 unchanged.) The variable font-lock-reference-face remains for now for
4973 compatibility reasons, but its value is font-lock-constant-face.
4975 ** Frame name display changes
4977 *** The command set-frame-name lets you set the name of the current
4978 frame. You can use the new command select-frame-by-name to select and
4979 raise a frame; this is mostly useful on character-only terminals, or
4980 when many frames are invisible or iconified.
4982 *** On character-only terminal (not a window system), changing the
4983 frame name is now reflected on the mode line and in the Buffers/Frames
4986 ** Comint (subshell) changes
4988 *** In Comint modes, the commands to kill, stop or interrupt a
4989 subjob now also kill pending input. This is for compatibility
4990 with ordinary shells, where the signal characters do this.
4992 *** There are new commands in Comint mode.
4994 C-c C-x fetches the "next" line from the input history;
4995 that is, the line after the last line you got.
4996 You can use this command to fetch successive lines, one by one.
4998 C-c SPC accumulates lines of input. More precisely, it arranges to
4999 send the current line together with the following line, when you send
5002 C-c C-a if repeated twice consecutively now moves to the process mark,
5003 which separates the pending input from the subprocess output and the
5004 previously sent input.
5006 C-c M-r now runs comint-previous-matching-input-from-input;
5007 it searches for a previous command, using the current pending input
5008 as the search string.
5010 *** New option compilation-scroll-output can be set to scroll
5011 automatically in compilation-mode windows.
5015 *** Multiline macros are now handled, both as they affect indentation,
5016 and as recognized syntax. New syntactic symbol cpp-macro-cont is
5017 assigned to second and subsequent lines of a multiline macro
5020 *** A new style "user" which captures all non-hook-ified
5021 (i.e. top-level) .emacs file variable settings and customizations.
5022 Style "cc-mode" is an alias for "user" and is deprecated. "gnu"
5023 style is still the default however.
5025 *** "java" style now conforms to Sun's JDK coding style.
5027 *** There are new commands c-beginning-of-defun, c-end-of-defun which
5028 are alternatives which you could bind to C-M-a and C-M-e if you prefer
5029 them. They do not have key bindings by default.
5031 *** New and improved implementations of M-a (c-beginning-of-statement)
5032 and M-e (c-end-of-statement).
5034 *** C++ namespace blocks are supported, with new syntactic symbols
5035 namespace-open, namespace-close, and innamespace.
5037 *** File local variable settings of c-file-style and c-file-offsets
5038 makes the style variables local to that buffer only.
5040 *** New indentation functions c-lineup-close-paren,
5041 c-indent-one-line-block, c-lineup-dont-change.
5043 *** Improvements (hopefully!) to the way CC Mode is loaded. You
5044 should now be able to do a (require 'cc-mode) to get the entire
5045 package loaded properly for customization in your .emacs file. A new
5046 variable c-initialize-on-load controls this and is t by default.
5048 ** Changes to hippie-expand.
5050 *** New customization variable `hippie-expand-dabbrev-skip-space'. If
5051 non-nil, trailing spaces may be included in the abbreviation to search for,
5052 which then gives the same behavior as the original `dabbrev-expand'.
5054 *** New customization variable `hippie-expand-dabbrev-as-symbol'. If
5055 non-nil, characters of syntax '_' is considered part of the word when
5056 expanding dynamically.
5058 *** New customization variable `hippie-expand-no-restriction'. If
5059 non-nil, narrowed buffers are widened before they are searched.
5061 *** New customization variable `hippie-expand-only-buffers'. If
5062 non-empty, buffers searched are restricted to the types specified in
5063 this list. Useful for example when constructing new special-purpose
5064 expansion functions with `make-hippie-expand-function'.
5066 *** Text properties of the expansion are no longer copied.
5068 ** Changes in BibTeX mode.
5070 *** Any titleword matching a regexp in the new variable
5071 bibtex-autokey-titleword-ignore (case sensitive) is ignored during
5072 automatic key generation. This replaces variable
5073 bibtex-autokey-titleword-first-ignore, which only checked for matches
5074 against the first word in the title.
5076 *** Autokey generation now uses all words from the title, not just
5077 capitalized words. To avoid conflicts with existing customizations,
5078 bibtex-autokey-titleword-ignore is set up such that words starting with
5079 lowerkey characters will still be ignored. Thus, if you want to use
5080 lowercase words from the title, you will have to overwrite the
5081 bibtex-autokey-titleword-ignore standard setting.
5083 *** Case conversion of names and title words for automatic key
5084 generation is more flexible. Variable bibtex-autokey-preserve-case is
5085 replaced by bibtex-autokey-titleword-case-convert and
5086 bibtex-autokey-name-case-convert.
5088 ** Changes in vcursor.el.
5090 *** Support for character terminals is available: there is a new keymap
5091 and the vcursor will appear as an arrow between buffer text. A
5092 variable `vcursor-interpret-input' allows input from the vcursor to be
5093 entered exactly as if typed. Numerous functions, including
5094 `vcursor-compare-windows', have been rewritten to improve consistency
5095 in the selection of windows and corresponding keymaps.
5097 *** vcursor options can now be altered with M-x customize under the
5098 Editing group once the package is loaded.
5100 *** Loading vcursor now does not define keys by default, as this is
5101 generally a bad side effect. Use M-x customize to set
5102 vcursor-key-bindings to t to restore the old behaviour.
5104 *** vcursor-auto-disable can be `copy', which turns off copying from the
5105 vcursor, but doesn't disable it, after any non-vcursor command.
5109 *** You can now spell check comments and strings in the current
5110 buffer with M-x ispell-comments-and-strings. Comments and strings
5111 are identified by syntax tables in effect.
5113 *** Generic region skipping implemented.
5114 A single buffer can be broken into a number of regions where text will
5115 and will not be checked. The definitions of the regions can be user
5116 defined. New applications and improvements made available by this
5119 o URLs are automatically skipped
5120 o EMail message checking is vastly improved.
5122 *** Ispell can highlight the erroneous word even on non-window terminals.
5124 ** Changes to RefTeX mode
5126 RefTeX has been updated in order to make it more usable with very
5127 large projects (like a several volume math book). The parser has been
5128 re-written from scratch. To get maximum speed from RefTeX, check the
5129 section `Optimizations' in the manual.
5131 *** New recursive parser.
5133 The old version of RefTeX created a single large buffer containing the
5134 entire multifile document in order to parse the document. The new
5135 recursive parser scans the individual files.
5137 *** Parsing only part of a document.
5139 Reparsing of changed document parts can now be made faster by enabling
5140 partial scans. To use this feature, read the documentation string of
5141 the variable `reftex-enable-partial-scans' and set the variable to t.
5143 (setq reftex-enable-partial-scans t)
5145 *** Storing parsing information in a file.
5147 This can improve startup times considerably. To turn it on, use
5149 (setq reftex-save-parse-info t)
5151 *** Using multiple selection buffers
5153 If the creation of label selection buffers is too slow (this happens
5154 for large documents), you can reuse these buffers by setting
5156 (setq reftex-use-multiple-selection-buffers t)
5158 *** References to external documents.
5160 The LaTeX package `xr' allows to cross-reference labels in external
5161 documents. RefTeX can provide information about the external
5162 documents as well. To use this feature, set up the \externaldocument
5163 macros required by the `xr' package and rescan the document with
5164 RefTeX. The external labels can then be accessed with the `x' key in
5165 the selection buffer provided by `reftex-reference' (bound to `C-c )').
5166 The `x' key also works in the table of contents buffer.
5168 *** Many more labeled LaTeX environments are recognized by default.
5170 The builtin command list now covers all the standard LaTeX commands,
5171 and all of the major packages included in the LaTeX distribution.
5173 Also, RefTeX now understands the \appendix macro and changes
5174 the enumeration of sections in the *toc* buffer accordingly.
5176 *** Mouse support for selection and *toc* buffers
5178 The mouse can now be used to select items in the selection and *toc*
5179 buffers. See also the new option `reftex-highlight-selection'.
5181 *** New keymaps for selection and table of contents modes.
5183 The selection processes for labels and citation keys, and the table of
5184 contents buffer now have their own keymaps: `reftex-select-label-map',
5185 `reftex-select-bib-map', `reftex-toc-map'. The selection processes
5186 have a number of new keys predefined. In particular, TAB lets you
5187 enter a label with completion. Check the on-the-fly help (press `?'
5188 at the selection prompt) or read the Info documentation to find out
5191 *** Support for the varioref package
5193 The `v' key in the label selection buffer toggles \ref versus \vref.
5197 Three new hooks can be used to redefine the way labels, references,
5198 and citations are created. These hooks are
5199 `reftex-format-label-function', `reftex-format-ref-function',
5200 `reftex-format-cite-function'.
5202 *** Citations outside LaTeX
5204 The command `reftex-citation' may also be used outside LaTeX (e.g. in
5205 a mail buffer). See the Info documentation for details.
5207 *** Short context is no longer fontified.
5209 The short context in the label menu no longer copies the
5210 fontification from the text in the buffer. If you prefer it to be
5213 (setq reftex-refontify-context t)
5215 ** file-cache-minibuffer-complete now accepts a prefix argument.
5216 With a prefix argument, it does not try to do completion of
5217 the file name within its directory; it only checks for other
5218 directories that contain the same file name.
5220 Thus, given the file name Makefile, and assuming that a file
5221 Makefile.in exists in the same directory, ordinary
5222 file-cache-minibuffer-complete will try to complete Makefile to
5223 Makefile.in and will therefore never look for other directories that
5224 have Makefile. A prefix argument tells it not to look for longer
5225 names such as Makefile.in, so that instead it will look for other
5226 directories--just as if the name were already complete in its present
5229 ** New modes and packages
5231 *** There is a new alternative major mode for Perl, Cperl mode.
5232 It has many more features than Perl mode, and some people prefer
5233 it, but some do not.
5235 *** There is a new major mode, M-x vhdl-mode, for editing files of VHDL
5238 *** M-x which-function-mode enables a minor mode that displays the
5239 current function name continuously in the mode line, as you move
5242 Which Function mode is effective in major modes which support Imenu.
5244 *** Gametree is a major mode for editing game analysis trees. The author
5245 uses it for keeping notes about his postal Chess games, but it should
5246 be helpful for other two-player games as well, as long as they have an
5247 established system of notation similar to Chess.
5249 *** The new minor mode checkdoc-minor-mode provides Emacs Lisp
5250 documentation string checking for style and spelling. The style
5251 guidelines are found in the Emacs Lisp programming manual.
5253 *** The net-utils package makes some common networking features
5254 available in Emacs. Some of these functions are wrappers around
5255 system utilities (ping, nslookup, etc); others are implementations of
5256 simple protocols (finger, whois) in Emacs Lisp. There are also
5257 functions to make simple connections to TCP/IP ports for debugging and
5260 *** highlight-changes-mode is a minor mode that uses colors to
5261 identify recently changed parts of the buffer text.
5263 *** The new package `midnight' lets you specify things to be done
5264 within Emacs at midnight--by default, kill buffers that you have not
5265 used in a considerable time. To use this feature, customize
5266 the user option `midnight-mode' to t.
5268 *** The file generic-x.el defines a number of simple major modes.
5270 apache-generic-mode: For Apache and NCSA httpd configuration files
5271 samba-generic-mode: Samba configuration files
5272 fvwm-generic-mode: For fvwm initialization files
5273 x-resource-generic-mode: For X resource files
5274 hosts-generic-mode: For hosts files (.rhosts, /etc/hosts, etc)
5275 mailagent-rules-generic-mode: For mailagent .rules files
5276 javascript-generic-mode: For JavaScript files
5277 vrml-generic-mode: For VRML files
5278 java-manifest-generic-mode: For Java MANIFEST files
5279 java-properties-generic-mode: For Java property files
5280 mailrc-generic-mode: For .mailrc files
5282 Platform-specific modes:
5284 prototype-generic-mode: For Solaris/Sys V prototype files
5285 pkginfo-generic-mode: For Solaris/Sys V pkginfo files
5286 alias-generic-mode: For C shell alias files
5287 inf-generic-mode: For MS-Windows INF files
5288 ini-generic-mode: For MS-Windows INI files
5289 reg-generic-mode: For MS-Windows Registry files
5290 bat-generic-mode: For MS-Windows BAT scripts
5291 rc-generic-mode: For MS-Windows Resource files
5292 rul-generic-mode: For InstallShield scripts
5294 * Lisp changes in Emacs 20.3 since the Emacs Lisp Manual was published
5296 ** If you want a Lisp file to be read in unibyte mode,
5297 use -*-unibyte: t;-*- on its first line.
5298 That will force Emacs to read that file in unibyte mode.
5299 Otherwise, the file will be loaded and byte-compiled in multibyte mode.
5301 Thus, each lisp file is read in a consistent way regardless of whether
5302 you started Emacs with --unibyte, so that a Lisp program gives
5303 consistent results regardless of how Emacs was started.
5305 ** The new function assoc-default is useful for searching an alist,
5306 and using a default value if the key is not found there. You can
5307 specify a comparison predicate, so this function is useful for
5308 searching comparing a string against an alist of regular expressions.
5310 ** The functions unibyte-char-to-multibyte and
5311 multibyte-char-to-unibyte convert between unibyte and multibyte
5312 character codes, in a way that is appropriate for the current language
5315 ** The functions read-event, read-char and read-char-exclusive now
5316 take two optional arguments. PROMPT, if non-nil, specifies a prompt
5317 string. SUPPRESS-INPUT-METHOD, if non-nil, says to disable the
5318 current input method for reading this one event.
5320 ** Two new variables print-escape-nonascii and print-escape-multibyte
5321 now control whether to output certain characters as
5322 backslash-sequences. print-escape-nonascii applies to single-byte
5323 non-ASCII characters; print-escape-multibyte applies to multibyte
5324 characters. Both of these variables are used only when printing
5325 in readable fashion (prin1 uses them, princ does not).
5327 * Lisp changes in Emacs 20.3 before the Emacs Lisp Manual was published
5329 ** Compiled Emacs Lisp files made with the modified "MBSK" version
5330 of Emacs 20.2 do not work in Emacs 20.3.
5332 ** Buffer positions are now measured in characters, as they were
5333 in Emacs 19 and before. This means that (forward-char 1)
5334 always increases point by 1.
5336 The function chars-in-region now just subtracts its arguments. It is
5337 considered obsolete. The function char-boundary-p has been deleted.
5339 See below for additional changes relating to multibyte characters.
5341 ** defcustom, defface and defgroup now accept the keyword `:version'.
5342 Use this to specify in which version of Emacs a certain variable's
5343 default value changed. For example,
5345 (defcustom foo-max 34 "*Maximum number of foo's allowed."
5350 (defgroup foo-group nil "The foo group."
5353 If an entire new group is added or the variables in it have the
5354 default values changed, then just add a `:version' to that group. It
5355 is recommended that new packages added to the distribution contain a
5356 `:version' in the top level group.
5358 This information is used to control the customize-changed-options command.
5360 ** It is now an error to change the value of a symbol whose name
5361 starts with a colon--if it is interned in the standard obarray.
5363 However, setting such a symbol to its proper value, which is that
5364 symbol itself, is not an error. This is for the sake of programs that
5365 support previous Emacs versions by explicitly setting these variables
5368 If you set the variable keyword-symbols-constant-flag to nil,
5369 this error is suppressed, and you can set these symbols to any
5372 ** There is a new debugger command, R.
5373 It evaluates an expression like e, but saves the result
5374 in the buffer *Debugger-record*.
5376 ** Frame-local variables.
5378 You can now make a variable local to various frames. To do this, call
5379 the function make-variable-frame-local; this enables frames to have
5380 local bindings for that variable.
5382 These frame-local bindings are actually frame parameters: you create a
5383 frame-local binding in a specific frame by calling
5384 modify-frame-parameters and specifying the variable name as the
5387 Buffer-local bindings take precedence over frame-local bindings.
5388 Thus, if the current buffer has a buffer-local binding, that binding is
5389 active; otherwise, if the selected frame has a frame-local binding,
5390 that binding is active; otherwise, the default binding is active.
5392 It would not be hard to implement window-local bindings, but it is not
5393 clear that this would be very useful; windows tend to come and go in a
5394 very transitory fashion, so that trying to produce any specific effect
5395 through a window-local binding would not be very robust.
5397 ** `sregexq' and `sregex' are two new functions for constructing
5398 "symbolic regular expressions." These are Lisp expressions that, when
5399 evaluated, yield conventional string-based regexps. The symbolic form
5400 makes it easier to construct, read, and maintain complex patterns.
5401 See the documentation in sregex.el.
5403 ** parse-partial-sexp's return value has an additional element which
5404 is used to pass information along if you pass it to another call to
5405 parse-partial-sexp, starting its scan where the first call ended.
5406 The contents of this field are not yet finalized.
5408 ** eval-region now accepts a fourth optional argument READ-FUNCTION.
5409 If it is non-nil, that function is used instead of `read'.
5411 ** unload-feature by default removes the feature's functions from
5412 known hooks to avoid trouble, but a package providing FEATURE can
5413 define a hook FEATURE-unload-hook to be run by unload-feature instead.
5415 ** read-from-minibuffer no longer returns the argument DEFAULT-VALUE
5416 when the user enters empty input. It now returns the null string, as
5417 it did in Emacs 19. The default value is made available in the
5418 history via M-n, but it is not applied here as a default.
5420 The other, more specialized minibuffer-reading functions continue to
5421 return the default value (not the null string) when the user enters
5424 ** The new variable read-buffer-function controls which routine to use
5425 for selecting buffers. For example, if you set this variable to
5426 `iswitchb-read-buffer', iswitchb will be used to read buffer names.
5427 Other functions can also be used if they accept the same arguments as
5428 `read-buffer' and return the selected buffer name as a string.
5430 ** The new function read-passwd reads a password from the terminal,
5431 echoing a period for each character typed. It takes three arguments:
5432 a prompt string, a flag which says "read it twice to make sure", and a
5433 default password to use if the user enters nothing.
5435 ** The variable fill-nobreak-predicate gives major modes a way to
5436 specify not to break a line at certain places. Its value is a
5437 function which is called with no arguments, with point located at the
5438 place where a break is being considered. If the function returns
5439 non-nil, then the line won't be broken there.
5441 ** window-end now takes an optional second argument, UPDATE.
5442 If this is non-nil, then the function always returns an accurate
5443 up-to-date value for the buffer position corresponding to the
5444 end of the window, even if this requires computation.
5446 ** other-buffer now takes an optional argument FRAME
5447 which specifies which frame's buffer list to use.
5448 If it is nil, that means use the selected frame's buffer list.
5450 ** The new variable buffer-display-time, always local in every buffer,
5451 holds the value of (current-time) as of the last time that a window
5452 was directed to display this buffer.
5454 ** It is now meaningful to compare two window-configuration objects
5455 with `equal'. Two window-configuration objects are equal if they
5456 describe equivalent arrangements of windows, in the same frame--in
5457 other words, if they would give the same results if passed to
5458 set-window-configuration.
5460 ** compare-window-configurations is a new function that compares two
5461 window configurations loosely. It ignores differences in saved buffer
5462 positions and scrolling, and considers only the structure and sizes of
5463 windows and the choice of buffers to display.
5465 ** The variable minor-mode-overriding-map-alist allows major modes to
5466 override the key bindings of a minor mode. The elements of this alist
5467 look like the elements of minor-mode-map-alist: (VARIABLE . KEYMAP).
5469 If the VARIABLE in an element of minor-mode-overriding-map-alist has a
5470 non-nil value, the paired KEYMAP is active, and totally overrides the
5471 map (if any) specified for the same variable in minor-mode-map-alist.
5473 minor-mode-overriding-map-alist is automatically local in all buffers,
5474 and it is meant to be set by major modes.
5476 ** The function match-string-no-properties is like match-string
5477 except that it discards all text properties from the result.
5479 ** The function load-average now accepts an optional argument
5480 USE-FLOATS. If it is non-nil, the load average values are returned as
5481 floating point numbers, rather than as integers to be divided by 100.
5483 ** The new variable temporary-file-directory specifies the directory
5484 to use for creating temporary files. The default value is determined
5485 in a reasonable way for your operating system; on GNU and Unix systems
5486 it is based on the TMP and TMPDIR environment variables.
5490 *** easymenu.el now uses the new menu item format and supports the
5491 keywords :visible and :filter. The existing keyword :keys is now
5494 The variable `easy-menu-precalculate-equivalent-keybindings' controls
5495 a new feature which calculates keyboard equivalents for the menu when
5496 you define the menu. The default is t. If you rarely use menus, you
5497 can set the variable to nil to disable this precalculation feature;
5498 then the calculation is done only if you use the menu bar.
5500 *** A new format for menu items is supported.
5502 In a keymap, a key binding that has the format
5503 (STRING . REAL-BINDING) or (STRING HELP-STRING . REAL-BINDING)
5504 defines a menu item. Now a menu item definition may also be a list that
5505 starts with the symbol `menu-item'.
5508 (menu-item ITEM-NAME) or
5509 (menu-item ITEM-NAME REAL-BINDING . ITEM-PROPERTY-LIST)
5510 where ITEM-NAME is an expression which evaluates to the menu item
5511 string, and ITEM-PROPERTY-LIST has the form of a property list.
5512 The supported properties include
5514 :enable FORM Evaluate FORM to determine whether the
5516 :visible FORM Evaluate FORM to determine whether the
5517 item should appear in the menu.
5519 FILTER-FN is a function of one argument,
5520 which will be REAL-BINDING.
5521 It should return a binding to use instead.
5523 DESCRIPTION is a string that describes an equivalent keyboard
5524 binding for for REAL-BINDING. DESCRIPTION is expanded with
5525 `substitute-command-keys' before it is used.
5526 :key-sequence KEY-SEQUENCE
5527 KEY-SEQUENCE is a key-sequence for an equivalent
5530 This means that the command normally has no
5531 keyboard equivalent.
5532 :help HELP HELP is the extra help string (not currently used).
5533 :button (TYPE . SELECTED)
5534 TYPE is :toggle or :radio.
5535 SELECTED is a form, to be evaluated, and its
5536 value says whether this button is currently selected.
5538 Buttons are at the moment only simulated by prefixes in the menu.
5539 Eventually ordinary X-buttons may be supported.
5541 (menu-item ITEM-NAME) defines unselectable item.
5545 *** The new event type `mouse-wheel' is generated by a wheel on a
5546 mouse (such as the MS Intellimouse). The event contains a delta that
5547 corresponds to the amount and direction that the wheel is rotated,
5548 which is typically used to implement a scroll or zoom. The format is:
5550 (mouse-wheel POSITION DELTA)
5552 where POSITION is a list describing the position of the event in the
5553 same format as a mouse-click event, and DELTA is a signed number
5554 indicating the number of increments by which the wheel was rotated. A
5555 negative DELTA indicates that the wheel was rotated backwards, towards
5556 the user, and a positive DELTA indicates that the wheel was rotated
5557 forward, away from the user.
5559 As of now, this event type is generated only on MS Windows.
5561 *** The new event type `drag-n-drop' is generated when a group of
5562 files is selected in an application outside of Emacs, and then dragged
5563 and dropped onto an Emacs frame. The event contains a list of
5564 filenames that were dragged and dropped, which are then typically
5565 loaded into Emacs. The format is:
5567 (drag-n-drop POSITION FILES)
5569 where POSITION is a list describing the position of the event in the
5570 same format as a mouse-click event, and FILES is the list of filenames
5571 that were dragged and dropped.
5573 As of now, this event type is generated only on MS Windows.
5575 ** Changes relating to multibyte characters.
5577 *** The variable enable-multibyte-characters is now read-only;
5578 any attempt to set it directly signals an error. The only way
5579 to change this value in an existing buffer is with set-buffer-multibyte.
5581 *** In a string constant, `\ ' now stands for "nothing at all". You
5582 can use it to terminate a hex escape which is followed by a character
5583 that could otherwise be read as part of the hex escape.
5585 *** String indices are now measured in characters, as they were
5586 in Emacs 19 and before.
5588 The function chars-in-string has been deleted.
5589 The function concat-chars has been renamed to `string'.
5591 *** The function set-buffer-multibyte sets the flag in the current
5592 buffer that says whether the buffer uses multibyte representation or
5593 unibyte representation. If the argument is nil, it selects unibyte
5594 representation. Otherwise it selects multibyte representation.
5596 This function does not change the contents of the buffer, viewed
5597 as a sequence of bytes. However, it does change the contents
5598 viewed as characters; a sequence of two bytes which is treated as
5599 one character when the buffer uses multibyte representation
5600 will count as two characters using unibyte representation.
5602 This function sets enable-multibyte-characters to record which
5603 representation is in use. It also adjusts various data in the buffer
5604 (including its markers, overlays and text properties) so that they are
5605 consistent with the new representation.
5607 *** string-make-multibyte takes a string and converts it to multibyte
5608 representation. Most of the time, you don't need to care
5609 about the representation, because Emacs converts when necessary;
5610 however, it makes a difference when you compare strings.
5612 The conversion of non-ASCII characters works by adding the value of
5613 nonascii-insert-offset to each character, or by translating them
5614 using the table nonascii-translation-table.
5616 *** string-make-unibyte takes a string and converts it to unibyte
5617 representation. Most of the time, you don't need to care about the
5618 representation, but it makes a difference when you compare strings.
5620 The conversion from multibyte to unibyte representation
5621 loses information; the only time Emacs performs it automatically
5622 is when inserting a multibyte string into a unibyte buffer.
5624 *** string-as-multibyte takes a string, and returns another string
5625 which contains the same bytes, but treats them as multibyte.
5627 *** string-as-unibyte takes a string, and returns another string
5628 which contains the same bytes, but treats them as unibyte.
5630 *** The new function compare-strings lets you compare
5631 portions of two strings. Unibyte strings are converted to multibyte,
5632 so that a unibyte string can match a multibyte string.
5633 You can specify whether to ignore case or not.
5635 *** assoc-ignore-case now uses compare-strings so that
5636 it can treat unibyte and multibyte strings as equal.
5638 *** Regular expression operations and buffer string searches now
5639 convert the search pattern to multibyte or unibyte to accord with the
5640 buffer or string being searched.
5642 One consequence is that you cannot always use \200-\377 inside of
5643 [...] to match all non-ASCII characters. This does still work when
5644 searching or matching a unibyte buffer or string, but not when
5645 searching or matching a multibyte string. Unfortunately, there is no
5646 obvious choice of syntax to use within [...] for that job. But, what
5647 you want is just to match all non-ASCII characters, the regular
5648 expression [^\0-\177] works for it.
5650 *** Structure of coding system changed.
5652 All coding systems (including aliases and subsidiaries) are named
5653 by symbols; the symbol's `coding-system' property is a vector
5654 which defines the coding system. Aliases share the same vector
5655 as the principal name, so that altering the contents of this
5656 vector affects the principal name and its aliases. You can define
5657 your own alias name of a coding system by the function
5658 define-coding-system-alias.
5660 The coding system definition includes a property list of its own. Use
5661 the new functions `coding-system-get' and `coding-system-put' to
5662 access such coding system properties as post-read-conversion,
5663 pre-write-conversion, character-translation-table-for-decode,
5664 character-translation-table-for-encode, mime-charset, and
5665 safe-charsets. For instance, (coding-system-get 'iso-latin-1
5666 'mime-charset) gives the corresponding MIME-charset parameter
5669 Among the coding system properties listed above, safe-charsets is new.
5670 The value of this property is a list of character sets which this
5671 coding system can correctly encode and decode. For instance:
5672 (coding-system-get 'iso-latin-1 'safe-charsets) => (ascii latin-iso8859-1)
5674 Here, "correctly encode" means that the encoded character sets can
5675 also be handled safely by systems other than Emacs as far as they
5676 are capable of that coding system. Though, Emacs itself can encode
5677 the other character sets and read it back correctly.
5679 *** The new function select-safe-coding-system can be used to find a
5680 proper coding system for encoding the specified region or string.
5681 This function requires a user interaction.
5683 *** The new functions find-coding-systems-region and
5684 find-coding-systems-string are helper functions used by
5685 select-safe-coding-system. They return a list of all proper coding
5686 systems to encode a text in some region or string. If you don't want
5687 a user interaction, use one of these functions instead of
5688 select-safe-coding-system.
5690 *** The explicit encoding and decoding functions, such as
5691 decode-coding-region and encode-coding-string, now set
5692 last-coding-system-used to reflect the actual way encoding or decoding
5695 *** The new function detect-coding-with-language-environment can be
5696 used to detect a coding system of text according to priorities of
5697 coding systems used by some specific language environment.
5699 *** The functions detect-coding-region and detect-coding-string always
5700 return a list if the arg HIGHEST is nil. Thus, if only ASCII
5701 characters are found, they now return a list of single element
5702 `undecided' or its subsidiaries.
5704 *** The new functions coding-system-change-eol-conversion and
5705 coding-system-change-text-conversion can be used to get a different
5706 coding system than what specified only in how end-of-line or text is
5709 *** The new function set-selection-coding-system can be used to set a
5710 coding system for communicating with other X clients.
5712 *** The function `map-char-table' now passes as argument only valid
5713 character codes, plus generic characters that stand for entire
5714 character sets or entire subrows of a character set. In other words,
5715 each time `map-char-table' calls its FUNCTION argument, the key value
5716 either will be a valid individual character code, or will stand for a
5717 range of characters.
5719 *** The new function `char-valid-p' can be used for checking whether a
5720 Lisp object is a valid character code or not.
5722 *** The new function `charset-after' returns a charset of a character
5723 in the current buffer at position POS.
5725 *** Input methods are now implemented using the variable
5726 input-method-function. If this is non-nil, its value should be a
5727 function; then, whenever Emacs reads an input event that is a printing
5728 character with no modifier bits, it calls that function, passing the
5729 event as an argument. Often this function will read more input, first
5730 binding input-method-function to nil.
5732 The return value should be a list of the events resulting from input
5733 method processing. These events will be processed sequentially as
5734 input, before resorting to unread-command-events. Events returned by
5735 the input method function are not passed to the input method function,
5736 not even if they are printing characters with no modifier bits.
5738 The input method function is not called when reading the second and
5739 subsequent events of a key sequence.
5741 *** You can customize any language environment by using
5742 set-language-environment-hook and exit-language-environment-hook.
5744 The hook `exit-language-environment-hook' should be used to undo
5745 customizations that you made with set-language-environment-hook. For
5746 instance, if you set up a special key binding for a specific language
5747 environment by set-language-environment-hook, you should set up
5748 exit-language-environment-hook to restore the normal key binding.
5750 * Changes in Emacs 20.1
5752 ** Emacs has a new facility for customization of its many user
5753 options. It is called M-x customize. With this facility you can look
5754 at the many user options in an organized way; they are grouped into a
5757 M-x customize also knows what sorts of values are legitimate for each
5758 user option and ensures that you don't use invalid values.
5760 With M-x customize, you can set options either for the present Emacs
5761 session or permanently. (Permanent settings are stored automatically
5762 in your .emacs file.)
5764 ** Scroll bars are now on the left side of the window.
5765 You can change this with M-x customize-option scroll-bar-mode.
5767 ** The mode line no longer includes the string `Emacs'.
5768 This makes more space in the mode line for other information.
5770 ** When you select a region with the mouse, it is highlighted
5771 immediately afterward. At that time, if you type the DELETE key, it
5774 The BACKSPACE key, and the ASCII character DEL, do not do this; they
5775 delete the character before point, as usual.
5777 ** In an incremental search the whole current match is highlighted
5778 on terminals which support this. (You can disable this feature
5779 by setting search-highlight to nil.)
5781 ** In the minibuffer, in some cases, you can now use M-n to
5782 insert the default value into the minibuffer as text. In effect,
5783 the default value (if the minibuffer routines know it) is tacked
5784 onto the history "in the future". (The more normal use of the
5785 history list is to use M-p to insert minibuffer input used in the
5788 ** In Text mode, now only blank lines separate paragraphs.
5789 This makes it possible to get the full benefit of Adaptive Fill mode
5790 in Text mode, and other modes derived from it (such as Mail mode).
5791 TAB in Text mode now runs the command indent-relative; this
5792 makes a practical difference only when you use indented paragraphs.
5794 As a result, the old Indented Text mode is now identical to Text mode,
5795 and is an alias for it.
5797 If you want spaces at the beginning of a line to start a paragraph,
5798 use the new mode, Paragraph Indent Text mode.
5800 ** Scrolling changes
5802 *** Scroll commands to scroll a whole screen now preserve the screen
5803 position of the cursor, if scroll-preserve-screen-position is non-nil.
5805 In this mode, if you scroll several screens back and forth, finishing
5806 on the same screen where you started, the cursor goes back to the line
5809 *** If you set scroll-conservatively to a small number, then when you
5810 move point a short distance off the screen, Emacs will scroll the
5811 screen just far enough to bring point back on screen, provided that
5812 does not exceed `scroll-conservatively' lines.
5814 *** The new variable scroll-margin says how close point can come to the
5815 top or bottom of a window. It is a number of screen lines; if point
5816 comes within that many lines of the top or bottom of the window, Emacs
5817 recenters the window.
5819 ** International character set support (MULE)
5821 Emacs now supports a wide variety of international character sets,
5822 including European variants of the Latin alphabet, as well as Chinese,
5823 Devanagari (Hindi and Marathi), Ethiopian, Greek, IPA, Japanese,
5824 Korean, Lao, Russian, Thai, Tibetan, and Vietnamese scripts. These
5825 features have been merged from the modified version of Emacs known as
5826 MULE (for "MULti-lingual Enhancement to GNU Emacs")
5828 Users of these scripts have established many more-or-less standard
5829 coding systems for storing files. Emacs uses a single multibyte
5830 character encoding within Emacs buffers; it can translate from a wide
5831 variety of coding systems when reading a file and can translate back
5832 into any of these coding systems when saving a file.
5834 Keyboards, even in the countries where these character sets are used,
5835 generally don't have keys for all the characters in them. So Emacs
5836 supports various "input methods", typically one for each script or
5837 language, to make it possible to type them.
5839 The Emacs internal multibyte encoding represents a non-ASCII
5840 character as a sequence of bytes in the range 0200 through 0377.
5842 The new prefix key C-x RET is used for commands that pertain
5843 to multibyte characters, coding systems, and input methods.
5845 You can disable multibyte character support as follows:
5847 (setq-default enable-multibyte-characters nil)
5849 Calling the function standard-display-european turns off multibyte
5850 characters, unless you specify a non-nil value for the second
5851 argument, AUTO. This provides compatibility for people who are
5852 already using standard-display-european to continue using unibyte
5853 characters for their work until they want to change.
5857 An input method is a kind of character conversion which is designed
5858 specifically for interactive input. In Emacs, typically each language
5859 has its own input method (though sometimes several languages which use
5860 the same characters can share one input method). Some languages
5861 support several input methods.
5863 The simplest kind of input method works by mapping ASCII letters into
5864 another alphabet. This is how the Greek and Russian input methods
5867 A more powerful technique is composition: converting sequences of
5868 characters into one letter. Many European input methods use
5869 composition to produce a single non-ASCII letter from a sequence which
5870 consists of a letter followed by diacritics. For example, a' is one
5871 sequence of two characters that might be converted into a single
5874 The input methods for syllabic scripts typically use mapping followed
5875 by conversion. The input methods for Thai and Korean work this way.
5876 First, letters are mapped into symbols for particular sounds or tone
5877 marks; then, sequences of these which make up a whole syllable are
5878 mapped into one syllable sign--most often a "composite character".
5880 None of these methods works very well for Chinese and Japanese, so
5881 they are handled specially. First you input a whole word using
5882 phonetic spelling; then, after the word is in the buffer, Emacs
5883 converts it into one or more characters using a large dictionary.
5885 Since there is more than one way to represent a phonetically spelled
5886 word using Chinese characters, Emacs can only guess which one to use;
5887 typically these input methods give you a way to say "guess again" if
5888 the first guess is wrong.
5890 *** The command C-x RET m (toggle-enable-multibyte-characters)
5891 turns multibyte character support on or off for the current buffer.
5893 If multibyte character support is turned off in a buffer, then each
5894 byte is a single character, even codes 0200 through 0377--exactly as
5895 they did in Emacs 19.34. This includes the features for support for
5896 the European characters, ISO Latin-1 and ISO Latin-2.
5898 However, there is no need to turn off multibyte character support to
5899 use ISO Latin-1 or ISO Latin-2; the Emacs multibyte character set
5900 includes all the characters in these character sets, and Emacs can
5901 translate automatically to and from either one.
5903 *** Visiting a file in unibyte mode.
5905 Turning off multibyte character support in the buffer after visiting a
5906 file with multibyte code conversion will display the multibyte
5907 sequences already in the buffer, byte by byte. This is probably not
5910 If you want to edit a file of unibyte characters (Latin-1, for
5911 example), you can do it by specifying `no-conversion' as the coding
5912 system when reading the file. This coding system also turns off
5913 multibyte characters in that buffer.
5915 If you turn off multibyte character support entirely, this turns off
5916 character conversion as well.
5918 *** Displaying international characters on X Windows.
5920 A font for X typically displays just one alphabet or script.
5921 Therefore, displaying the entire range of characters Emacs supports
5922 requires using many fonts.
5924 Therefore, Emacs now supports "fontsets". Each fontset is a
5925 collection of fonts, each assigned to a range of character codes.
5927 A fontset has a name, like a font. Individual fonts are defined by
5928 the X server; fontsets are defined within Emacs itself. But once you
5929 have defined a fontset, you can use it in a face or a frame just as
5930 you would use a font.
5932 If a fontset specifies no font for a certain character, or if it
5933 specifies a font that does not exist on your system, then it cannot
5934 display that character. It will display an empty box instead.
5936 The fontset height and width are determined by the ASCII characters
5937 (that is, by the font in the fontset which is used for ASCII
5938 characters). If another font in the fontset has a different height,
5939 or the wrong width, then characters assigned to that font are clipped,
5940 and displayed within a box if highlight-wrong-size-font is non-nil.
5942 *** Defining fontsets.
5944 Emacs does not use any fontset by default. Its default font is still
5945 chosen as in previous versions. You can tell Emacs to use a fontset
5946 with the `-fn' option or the `Font' X resource.
5948 Emacs creates a standard fontset automatically according to the value
5949 of standard-fontset-spec. This fontset's short name is
5950 `fontset-standard'. Bold, italic, and bold-italic variants of the
5951 standard fontset are created automatically.
5953 If you specify a default ASCII font with the `Font' resource or `-fn'
5954 argument, a fontset is generated from it. This works by replacing the
5955 FOUNDARY, FAMILY, ADD_STYLE, and AVERAGE_WIDTH fields of the font name
5956 with `*' then using this to specify a fontset. This fontset's short
5957 name is `fontset-startup'.
5959 Emacs checks resources of the form Fontset-N where N is 0, 1, 2...
5960 The resource value should have this form:
5961 FONTSET-NAME, [CHARSET-NAME:FONT-NAME]...
5962 FONTSET-NAME should have the form of a standard X font name, except:
5963 * most fields should be just the wild card "*".
5964 * the CHARSET_REGISTRY field should be "fontset"
5965 * the CHARSET_ENCODING field can be any nickname of the fontset.
5966 The construct CHARSET-NAME:FONT-NAME can be repeated any number
5967 of times; each time specifies the font for one character set.
5968 CHARSET-NAME should be the name name of a character set, and
5969 FONT-NAME should specify an actual font to use for that character set.
5971 Each of these fontsets has an alias which is made from the
5972 last two font name fields, CHARSET_REGISTRY and CHARSET_ENCODING.
5973 You can refer to the fontset by that alias or by its full name.
5975 For any character sets that you don't mention, Emacs tries to choose a
5976 font by substituting into FONTSET-NAME. For instance, with the
5978 Emacs*Fontset-0: -*-fixed-medium-r-normal-*-24-*-*-*-*-*-fontset-24
5979 the font for ASCII is generated as below:
5980 -*-fixed-medium-r-normal-*-24-*-ISO8859-1
5981 Here is the substitution rule:
5982 Change CHARSET_REGISTRY and CHARSET_ENCODING to that of the charset
5983 defined in the variable x-charset-registries. For instance, ASCII has
5984 the entry (ascii . "ISO8859-1") in this variable. Then, reduce
5985 sequences of wild cards -*-...-*- with a single wildcard -*-.
5986 (This is to prevent use of auto-scaled fonts.)
5988 The function which processes the fontset resource value to create the
5989 fontset is called create-fontset-from-fontset-spec. You can also call
5990 that function explicitly to create a fontset.
5992 With the X resource Emacs.Font, you can specify a fontset name just
5993 like an actual font name. But be careful not to specify a fontset
5994 name in a wildcard resource like Emacs*Font--that tries to specify the
5995 fontset for other purposes including menus, and they cannot handle
5998 *** The command M-x set-language-environment sets certain global Emacs
5999 defaults for a particular choice of language.
6001 Selecting a language environment typically specifies a default input
6002 method and which coding systems to recognize automatically when
6003 visiting files. However, it does not try to reread files you have
6004 already visited; the text in those buffers is not affected. The
6005 language environment may also specify a default choice of coding
6006 system for new files that you create.
6008 It makes no difference which buffer is current when you use
6009 set-language-environment, because these defaults apply globally to the
6010 whole Emacs session.
6012 For example, M-x set-language-environment RET Latin-1 RET
6013 chooses the Latin-1 character set. In the .emacs file, you can do this
6014 with (set-language-environment "Latin-1").
6016 *** The command C-x RET f (set-buffer-file-coding-system)
6017 specifies the file coding system for the current buffer. This
6018 specifies what sort of character code translation to do when saving
6019 the file. As an argument, you must specify the name of one of the
6020 coding systems that Emacs supports.
6022 *** The command C-x RET c (universal-coding-system-argument)
6023 lets you specify a coding system when you read or write a file.
6024 This command uses the minibuffer to read a coding system name.
6025 After you exit the minibuffer, the specified coding system
6026 is used for *the immediately following command*.
6028 So if the immediately following command is a command to read or
6029 write a file, it uses the specified coding system for that file.
6031 If the immediately following command does not use the coding system,
6032 then C-x RET c ultimately has no effect.
6034 For example, C-x RET c iso-8859-1 RET C-x C-f temp RET
6035 visits the file `temp' treating it as ISO Latin-1.
6037 *** You can specify the coding system for a file using the -*-
6038 construct. Include `coding: CODINGSYSTEM;' inside the -*-...-*-
6039 to specify use of coding system CODINGSYSTEM. You can also
6040 specify the coding system in a local variable list at the end
6043 *** The command C-x RET t (set-terminal-coding-system) specifies
6044 the coding system for terminal output. If you specify a character
6045 code for terminal output, all characters output to the terminal are
6046 translated into that character code.
6048 This feature is useful for certain character-only terminals built in
6049 various countries to support the languages of those countries.
6051 By default, output to the terminal is not translated at all.
6053 *** The command C-x RET k (set-keyboard-coding-system) specifies
6054 the coding system for keyboard input.
6056 Character code translation of keyboard input is useful for terminals
6057 with keys that send non-ASCII graphic characters--for example,
6058 some terminals designed for ISO Latin-1 or subsets of it.
6060 By default, keyboard input is not translated at all.
6062 Character code translation of keyboard input is similar to using an
6063 input method, in that both define sequences of keyboard input that
6064 translate into single characters. However, input methods are designed
6065 to be convenient for interactive use, while the code translations are
6066 designed to work with terminals.
6068 *** The command C-x RET p (set-buffer-process-coding-system)
6069 specifies the coding system for input and output to a subprocess.
6070 This command applies to the current buffer; normally, each subprocess
6071 has its own buffer, and thus you can use this command to specify
6072 translation to and from a particular subprocess by giving the command
6073 in the corresponding buffer.
6075 By default, process input and output are not translated at all.
6077 *** The variable file-name-coding-system specifies the coding system
6078 to use for encoding file names before operating on them.
6079 It is also used for decoding file names obtained from the system.
6081 *** The command C-\ (toggle-input-method) activates or deactivates
6082 an input method. If no input method has been selected before, the
6083 command prompts for you to specify the language and input method you
6086 C-u C-\ (select-input-method) lets you switch to a different input
6087 method. C-h C-\ (or C-h I) describes the current input method.
6089 *** Some input methods remap the keyboard to emulate various keyboard
6090 layouts commonly used for particular scripts. How to do this
6091 remapping properly depends on your actual keyboard layout. To specify
6092 which layout your keyboard has, use M-x quail-set-keyboard-layout.
6094 *** The command C-h C (describe-coding-system) displays
6095 the coding systems currently selected for various purposes, plus
6096 related information.
6098 *** The command C-h h (view-hello-file) displays a file called
6099 HELLO, which has examples of text in many languages, using various
6102 *** The command C-h L (describe-language-support) displays
6103 information about the support for a particular language.
6104 You specify the language as an argument.
6106 *** The mode line now contains a letter or character that identifies
6107 the coding system used in the visited file. It normally follows the
6110 A dash indicates the default state of affairs: no code conversion
6111 (except CRLF => newline if appropriate). `=' means no conversion
6112 whatsoever. The ISO 8859 coding systems are represented by digits
6113 1 through 9. Other coding systems are represented by letters:
6115 A alternativnyj (Russian)
6117 C cn-gb-2312 (Chinese)
6118 C iso-2022-cn (Chinese)
6119 D in-is13194-devanagari (Indian languages)
6120 E euc-japan (Japanese)
6121 I iso-2022-cjk or iso-2022-ss2 (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
6122 J junet (iso-2022-7) or old-jis (iso-2022-jp-1978-irv) (Japanese)
6123 K euc-korea (Korean)
6126 S shift_jis (Japanese)
6129 V viscii or vscii (Vietnamese)
6130 i iso-2022-lock (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
6131 k iso-2022-kr (Korean)
6135 When you are using a character-only terminal (not a window system),
6136 two additional characters appear in between the dash and the file
6137 coding system. These two characters describe the coding system for
6138 keyboard input, and the coding system for terminal output.
6140 *** The new variable rmail-file-coding-system specifies the code
6141 conversion to use for RMAIL files. The default value is nil.
6143 When you read mail with Rmail, each message is decoded automatically
6144 into Emacs' internal format. This has nothing to do with
6145 rmail-file-coding-system. That variable controls reading and writing
6146 Rmail files themselves.
6148 *** The new variable sendmail-coding-system specifies the code
6149 conversion for outgoing mail. The default value is nil.
6151 Actually, there are three different ways of specifying the coding system
6154 - If you use C-x RET f in the mail buffer, that takes priority.
6155 - Otherwise, if you set sendmail-coding-system non-nil, that specifies it.
6156 - Otherwise, the default coding system for new files is used,
6157 if that is non-nil. That comes from your language environment.
6158 - Otherwise, Latin-1 is used.
6160 *** The command C-h t (help-with-tutorial) accepts a prefix argument
6161 to specify the language for the tutorial file. Currently, English,
6162 Japanese, Korean and Thai are supported. We welcome additional
6165 ** An easy new way to visit a file with no code or format conversion
6166 of any kind: Use M-x find-file-literally. There is also a command
6167 insert-file-literally which inserts a file into the current buffer
6168 without any conversion.
6170 ** C-q's handling of octal character codes is changed.
6171 You can now specify any number of octal digits.
6172 RET terminates the digits and is discarded;
6173 any other non-digit terminates the digits and is then used as input.
6175 ** There are new commands for looking up Info documentation for
6176 functions, variables and file names used in your programs.
6178 Type M-x info-lookup-symbol to look up a symbol in the buffer at point.
6179 Type M-x info-lookup-file to look up a file in the buffer at point.
6181 Precisely which Info files are used to look it up depends on the major
6182 mode. For example, in C mode, the GNU libc manual is used.
6184 ** M-TAB in most programming language modes now runs the command
6185 complete-symbol. This command performs completion on the symbol name
6186 in the buffer before point.
6188 With a numeric argument, it performs completion based on the set of
6189 symbols documented in the Info files for the programming language that
6192 With no argument, it does completion based on the current tags tables,
6193 just like the old binding of M-TAB (complete-tag).
6195 ** File locking works with NFS now.
6197 The lock file for FILENAME is now a symbolic link named .#FILENAME,
6198 in the same directory as FILENAME.
6200 This means that collision detection between two different machines now
6201 works reasonably well; it also means that no file server or directory
6202 can become a bottleneck.
6204 The new method does have drawbacks. It means that collision detection
6205 does not operate when you edit a file in a directory where you cannot
6206 create new files. Collision detection also doesn't operate when the
6207 file server does not support symbolic links. But these conditions are
6208 rare, and the ability to have collision detection while using NFS is
6209 so useful that the change is worth while.
6211 When Emacs or a system crashes, this may leave behind lock files which
6212 are stale. So you may occasionally get warnings about spurious
6213 collisions. When you determine that the collision is spurious, just
6214 tell Emacs to go ahead anyway.
6216 ** If you wish to use Show Paren mode to display matching parentheses,
6217 it is no longer sufficient to load paren.el. Instead you must call
6220 ** If you wish to use Delete Selection mode to replace a highlighted
6221 selection when you insert new text, it is no longer sufficient to load
6222 delsel.el. Instead you must call the function delete-selection-mode.
6224 ** If you wish to use Partial Completion mode to complete partial words
6225 within symbols or filenames, it is no longer sufficient to load
6226 complete.el. Instead you must call the function partial-completion-mode.
6228 ** If you wish to use uniquify to rename buffers for you,
6229 it is no longer sufficient to load uniquify.el. You must also
6230 set uniquify-buffer-name-style to one of the non-nil legitimate values.
6232 ** Changes in View mode.
6234 *** Several new commands are available in View mode.
6235 Do H in view mode for a list of commands.
6237 *** There are two new commands for entering View mode:
6238 view-file-other-frame and view-buffer-other-frame.
6240 *** Exiting View mode does a better job of restoring windows to their
6243 *** New customization variable view-scroll-auto-exit. If non-nil,
6244 scrolling past end of buffer makes view mode exit.
6246 *** New customization variable view-exits-all-viewing-windows. If
6247 non-nil, view-mode will at exit restore all windows viewing buffer,
6248 not just the selected window.
6250 *** New customization variable view-read-only. If non-nil, visiting a
6251 read-only file automatically enters View mode, and toggle-read-only
6252 turns View mode on or off.
6254 *** New customization variable view-remove-frame-by-deleting controls
6255 how to remove a not needed frame at view mode exit. If non-nil,
6256 delete the frame, if nil make an icon of it.
6258 ** C-x v l, the command to print a file's version control log,
6259 now positions point at the entry for the file's current branch version.
6261 ** C-x v =, the command to compare a file with the last checked-in version,
6262 has a new feature. If the file is currently not locked, so that it is
6263 presumably identical to the last checked-in version, the command now asks
6264 which version to compare with.
6266 ** When using hideshow.el, incremental search can temporarily show hidden
6267 blocks if a match is inside the block.
6269 The block is hidden again if the search is continued and the next match
6270 is outside the block. By customizing the variable
6271 isearch-hide-immediately you can choose to hide all the temporarily
6272 shown blocks only when exiting from incremental search.
6274 By customizing the variable hs-isearch-open you can choose what kind
6275 of blocks to temporarily show during isearch: comment blocks, code
6276 blocks, all of them or none.
6278 ** The new command C-x 4 0 (kill-buffer-and-window) kills the
6279 current buffer and deletes the selected window. It asks for
6282 ** C-x C-w, which saves the buffer into a specified file name,
6283 now changes the major mode according to that file name.
6284 However, the mode will not be changed if
6285 (1) a local variables list or the `-*-' line specifies a major mode, or
6286 (2) the current major mode is a "special" mode,
6287 not suitable for ordinary files, or
6288 (3) the new file name does not particularly specify any mode.
6290 This applies to M-x set-visited-file-name as well.
6292 However, if you set change-major-mode-with-file-name to nil, then
6293 these commands do not change the major mode.
6295 ** M-x occur changes.
6297 *** If the argument to M-x occur contains upper case letters,
6298 it performs a case-sensitive search.
6300 *** In the *Occur* buffer made by M-x occur,
6301 if you type g or M-x revert-buffer, this repeats the search
6302 using the same regular expression and the same buffer as before.
6304 ** In Transient Mark mode, the region in any one buffer is highlighted
6305 in just one window at a time. At first, it is highlighted in the
6306 window where you set the mark. The buffer's highlighting remains in
6307 that window unless you select to another window which shows the same
6308 buffer--then the highlighting moves to that window.
6310 ** The feature to suggest key bindings when you use M-x now operates
6311 after the command finishes. The message suggesting key bindings
6312 appears temporarily in the echo area. The previous echo area contents
6313 come back after a few seconds, in case they contain useful information.
6315 ** Each frame now independently records the order for recently
6316 selected buffers, so that the default for C-x b is now based on the
6317 buffers recently selected in the selected frame.
6319 ** Outline mode changes.
6321 *** Outline mode now uses overlays (this is the former noutline.el).
6323 *** Incremental searches skip over invisible text in Outline mode.
6325 ** When a minibuffer window is active but not the selected window, if
6326 you try to use the minibuffer, you used to get a nested minibuffer.
6327 Now, this not only gives an error, it also cancels the minibuffer that
6330 The motive for this change is so that beginning users do not
6331 unknowingly move away from minibuffers, leaving them active, and then
6334 If you want to be able to have recursive minibuffers, you must
6335 set enable-recursive-minibuffers to non-nil.
6337 ** Changes in dynamic abbrevs.
6339 *** Expanding dynamic abbrevs with M-/ is now smarter about case
6340 conversion. If the expansion has mixed case not counting the first
6341 character, and the abbreviation matches the beginning of the expansion
6342 including case, then the expansion is copied verbatim.
6344 The expansion is also copied verbatim if the abbreviation itself has
6345 mixed case. And using SPC M-/ to copy an additional word always
6346 copies it verbatim except when the previous copied word is all caps.
6348 *** The values of `dabbrev-case-replace' and `dabbrev-case-fold-search'
6349 are no longer Lisp expressions. They have simply three possible
6352 `dabbrev-case-replace' has these three values: nil (don't preserve
6353 case), t (do), or `case-replace' (do like M-x query-replace).
6354 `dabbrev-case-fold-search' has these three values: nil (don't ignore
6355 case), t (do), or `case-fold-search' (do like search).
6357 ** Minibuffer history lists are truncated automatically now to a
6358 certain length. The variable history-length specifies how long they
6359 can be. The default value is 30.
6361 ** Changes in Mail mode.
6363 *** The key C-x m no longer runs the `mail' command directly.
6364 Instead, it runs the command `compose-mail', which invokes the mail
6365 composition mechanism you have selected with the variable
6366 `mail-user-agent'. The default choice of user agent is
6367 `sendmail-user-agent', which gives behavior compatible with the old
6370 C-x 4 m now runs compose-mail-other-window, and C-x 5 m runs
6371 compose-mail-other-frame.
6373 *** While composing a reply to a mail message, from Rmail, you can use
6374 the command C-c C-r to cite just the region from the message you are
6375 replying to. This copies the text which is the selected region in the
6376 buffer that shows the original message.
6378 *** The command C-c C-i inserts a file at the end of the message,
6379 with separator lines around the contents.
6381 *** The command M-x expand-mail-aliases expands all mail aliases
6382 in suitable mail headers. Emacs automatically extracts mail alias
6383 definitions from your mail alias file (e.g., ~/.mailrc). You do not
6384 need to expand mail aliases yourself before sending mail.
6386 *** New features in the mail-complete command.
6388 **** The mail-complete command now inserts the user's full name,
6389 for local users or if that is known. The variable mail-complete-style
6390 controls the style to use, and whether to do this at all.
6391 Its values are like those of mail-from-style.
6393 **** The variable mail-passwd-command lets you specify a shell command
6394 to run to fetch a set of password-entries that add to the ones in
6397 **** The variable mail-passwd-file now specifies a list of files to read
6398 to get the list of user ids. By default, one file is used:
6401 ** You can "quote" a file name to inhibit special significance of
6402 special syntax, by adding `/:' to the beginning. Thus, if you have a
6403 directory named `/foo:', you can prevent it from being treated as a
6404 reference to a remote host named `foo' by writing it as `/:/foo:'.
6406 Emacs uses this new construct automatically when necessary, such as
6407 when you start it with a working directory whose name might otherwise
6408 be taken to be magic.
6410 ** There is a new command M-x grep-find which uses find to select
6411 files to search through, and grep to scan them. The output is
6412 available in a Compile mode buffer, as with M-x grep.
6414 M-x grep now uses the -e option if the grep program supports that.
6415 (-e prevents problems if the search pattern starts with a dash.)
6417 ** In Dired, the & command now flags for deletion the files whose names
6418 suggest they are probably not needed in the long run.
6420 In Dired, * is now a prefix key for mark-related commands.
6422 new key dired.el binding old key
6423 ------- ---------------- -------
6424 * c dired-change-marks c
6426 * * dired-mark-executables * (binding deleted)
6427 * / dired-mark-directories / (binding deleted)
6428 * @ dired-mark-symlinks @ (binding deleted)
6430 * DEL dired-unmark-backward DEL
6431 * ? dired-unmark-all-files M-C-?
6432 * ! dired-unmark-all-marks
6433 * % dired-mark-files-regexp % m
6434 * C-n dired-next-marked-file M-}
6435 * C-p dired-prev-marked-file M-{
6439 *** When Rmail cannot convert your incoming mail into Babyl format, it
6440 saves the new mail in the file RMAILOSE.n, where n is an integer
6441 chosen to make a unique name. This way, Rmail will not keep crashing
6442 each time you run it.
6444 *** In Rmail, the variable rmail-summary-line-count-flag now controls
6445 whether to include the line count in the summary. Non-nil means yes.
6447 *** In Rmail summary buffers, d and C-d (the commands to delete
6448 messages) now take repeat counts as arguments. A negative argument
6449 means to move in the opposite direction.
6451 *** In Rmail, the t command now takes an optional argument which lets
6452 you specify whether to show the message headers in full or pruned.
6454 *** In Rmail, the new command w (rmail-output-body-to-file) writes
6455 just the body of the current message into a file, without the headers.
6456 It takes the file name from the message subject, by default, but you
6457 can edit that file name in the minibuffer before it is actually used
6462 *** nntp.el has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
6464 *** Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
6467 *** Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like
6468 `and', `or', `not', and parent redirection.
6470 *** Article washing status can be displayed in the
6473 *** gnus.el has been split into many smaller files.
6475 *** Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID.
6477 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
6479 *** New variables for specifying what score and adapt files
6480 are to be considered home score and adapt files. See
6481 `gnus-home-score-file' and `gnus-home-adapt-files'.
6483 *** Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics.
6485 *** Article editing has been revamped and is now usable.
6487 *** Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions.
6488 See `gnus-signature-separator' and `gnus-signature-limit'.
6490 *** Summary pick mode has been made to look more nn-like.
6491 Line numbers are displayed and the `.' command can be
6492 used to pick articles.
6494 *** Commands for moving the .newsrc.eld from one server to
6495 another have been added.
6497 `M-x gnus-change-server'
6499 *** A way to specify that "uninteresting" fields be suppressed when
6500 generating lines in buffers.
6502 *** Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with
6505 *** Scoring can be done on words using the new score type `w'.
6507 *** Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis:
6509 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
6511 *** Scores can be decayed.
6513 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
6515 *** Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The
6516 Date is normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first.
6518 *** A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
6521 `M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups'
6523 *** A new command for reading collections of documents
6524 (nndoc with nnvirtual on top) has been added -- `M-C-d'.
6526 *** Process mark sets can be pushed and popped.
6528 *** A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post
6529 even when the NNTP server doesn't allow posting.
6531 *** A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
6532 (DejaNews, Alta Vista, InReference) has been added.
6534 Use the `G w' command in the group buffer to create such
6537 *** Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard
6538 sorting functions, and each topic can be sorted independently.
6540 See the commands under the `T S' submap.
6542 *** Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently.
6544 See the commands under the `G P' submap.
6546 *** Cached articles can be pulled into the groups.
6548 Use the `Y c' command.
6550 *** Score files are now applied in a more reliable order.
6552 *** Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated.
6554 `M-x nnmail-split-history'
6556 *** More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk
6557 from incoming mail before saving the mail.
6559 See `nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook'.
6561 *** The nnml mail backend now understands compressed article files.
6563 *** To enable Gnus to read/post multi-lingual articles, you must execute
6564 the following code, for instance, in your .emacs.
6566 (add-hook 'gnus-startup-hook 'gnus-mule-initialize)
6568 Then, when you start Gnus, it will decode non-ASCII text automatically
6569 and show appropriate characters. (Note: if you are using gnus-mime
6570 from the SEMI package, formerly known as TM, you should NOT add this
6571 hook to gnus-startup-hook; gnus-mime has its own method of handling
6574 Since it is impossible to distinguish all coding systems
6575 automatically, you may need to specify a choice of coding system for a
6576 particular news group. This can be done by:
6578 (gnus-mule-add-group NEWSGROUP 'CODING-SYSTEM)
6580 Here NEWSGROUP should be a string which names a newsgroup or a tree
6581 of newsgroups. If NEWSGROUP is "XXX.YYY", all news groups under
6582 "XXX.YYY" (including "XXX.YYY.ZZZ") will use the specified coding
6583 system. CODING-SYSTEM specifies which coding system to use (for both
6584 for reading and posting).
6586 CODING-SYSTEM can also be a cons cell of the form
6587 (READ-CODING-SYSTEM . POST-CODING-SYSTEM)
6588 Then READ-CODING-SYSTEM is used when you read messages from the
6589 newsgroups, while POST-CODING-SYSTEM is used when you post messages
6592 Emacs knows the right coding systems for certain newsgroups by
6593 default. Here are some of these default settings:
6595 (gnus-mule-add-group "fj" 'iso-2022-7)
6596 (gnus-mule-add-group "alt.chinese.text" 'hz-gb-2312)
6597 (gnus-mule-add-group "alt.hk" 'hz-gb-2312)
6598 (gnus-mule-add-group "alt.chinese.text.big5" 'cn-big5)
6599 (gnus-mule-add-group "soc.culture.vietnamese" '(nil . viqr))
6601 When you reply by mail to an article, these settings are ignored;
6602 the mail is encoded according to sendmail-coding-system, as usual.
6606 *** If you edit primarily one style of C (or C++, Objective-C, Java)
6607 code, you may want to make the CC Mode style variables have global
6608 values so that you can set them directly in your .emacs file. To do
6609 this, set c-style-variables-are-local-p to nil in your .emacs file.
6610 Note that this only takes effect if you do it *before* cc-mode.el is
6613 If you typically edit more than one style of C (or C++, Objective-C,
6614 Java) code in a single Emacs session, you may want to make the CC Mode
6615 style variables have buffer local values. By default, all buffers
6616 share the same style variable settings; to make them buffer local, set
6617 c-style-variables-are-local-p to t in your .emacs file. Note that you
6618 must do this *before* CC Mode is loaded.
6620 *** The new variable c-indentation-style holds the C style name
6621 of the current buffer.
6623 *** The variable c-block-comments-indent-p has been deleted, because
6624 it is no longer necessary. C mode now handles all the supported styles
6625 of block comments, with no need to say which one you will use.
6627 *** There is a new indentation style "python", which specifies the C
6628 style that the Python developers like.
6630 *** There is a new c-cleanup-list option: brace-elseif-brace.
6631 This says to put ...} else if (...) {... on one line,
6632 just as brace-else-brace says to put ...} else {... on one line.
6636 ** In vc-retrieve-snapshot (C-x v r), if you don't specify a snapshot
6637 name, it retrieves the *latest* versions of all files in the current
6638 directory and its subdirectories (aside from files already locked).
6640 This feature is useful if your RCS directory is a link to a common
6641 master directory, and you want to pick up changes made by other
6644 You can do the same thing for an individual file by typing C-u C-x C-q
6645 RET in a buffer visiting that file.
6647 *** VC can now handle files under CVS that are being "watched" by
6648 other developers. Such files are made read-only by CVS. To get a
6649 writable copy, type C-x C-q in a buffer visiting such a file. VC then
6650 calls "cvs edit", which notifies the other developers of it.
6652 *** vc-version-diff (C-u C-x v =) now suggests reasonable defaults for
6653 version numbers, based on the current state of the file.
6655 ** Calendar changes.
6657 A new function, list-holidays, allows you list holidays or subclasses
6658 of holidays for ranges of years. Related menu items allow you do this
6659 for the year of the selected date, or the following/previous years.
6663 There are some new user variables for customizing the page layout.
6665 *** Paper size, paper orientation, columns
6667 The variable `ps-paper-type' determines the size of paper ps-print
6668 formats for; it should contain one of the symbols:
6669 `a4' `a3' `letter' `legal' `letter-small' `tabloid'
6670 `ledger' `statement' `executive' `a4small' `b4' `b5'
6671 It defaults to `letter'.
6672 If you need other sizes, see the variable `ps-page-dimensions-database'.
6674 The variable `ps-landscape-mode' determines the orientation
6675 of the printing on the page. nil, the default, means "portrait" mode,
6676 non-nil means "landscape" mode.
6678 The variable `ps-number-of-columns' must be a positive integer.
6679 It determines the number of columns both in landscape and portrait mode.
6682 *** Horizontal layout
6684 The horizontal layout is determined by the variables
6685 `ps-left-margin', `ps-inter-column', and `ps-right-margin'.
6686 All are measured in points.
6690 The vertical layout is determined by the variables
6691 `ps-bottom-margin', `ps-top-margin', and `ps-header-offset'.
6692 All are measured in points.
6696 If the variable `ps-print-header' is nil, no header is printed. Then
6697 `ps-header-offset' is not relevant and `ps-top-margin' represents the
6698 margin above the text.
6700 If the variable `ps-print-header-frame' is non-nil, a gaudy
6701 framing box is printed around the header.
6703 The contents of the header are determined by `ps-header-lines',
6704 `ps-show-n-of-n', `ps-left-header' and `ps-right-header'.
6706 The height of the header is determined by `ps-header-line-pad',
6707 `ps-header-font-family', `ps-header-title-font-size' and
6708 `ps-header-font-size'.
6712 The variable `ps-font-family' determines which font family is to be
6713 used for ordinary text. Its value must be a key symbol in the alist
6714 `ps-font-info-database'. You can add other font families by adding
6715 elements to this alist.
6717 The variable `ps-font-size' determines the size of the font
6718 for ordinary text. It defaults to 8.5 points.
6720 ** hideshow changes.
6722 *** now supports hiding of blocks of single line comments (like // for
6725 *** Support for java-mode added.
6727 *** When doing `hs-hide-all' it is now possible to also hide the comments
6728 in the file if `hs-hide-comments-when-hiding-all' is set.
6730 *** The new function `hs-hide-initial-comment' hides the the comments at
6731 the beginning of the files. Finally those huge RCS logs don't stay in your
6732 way! This is run by default when entering the `hs-minor-mode'.
6734 *** Now uses overlays instead of `selective-display', so is more
6735 robust and a lot faster.
6737 *** A block beginning can span multiple lines.
6739 *** The new variable `hs-show-hidden-short-form' if t, directs hideshow
6740 to show only the beginning of a block when it is hidden. See the
6741 documentation for more details.
6743 ** Changes in Enriched mode.
6745 *** When you visit a file in enriched-mode, Emacs will make sure it is
6746 filled to the current fill-column. This behavior is now independent
6747 of the size of the window. When you save the file, the fill-column in
6748 use is stored as well, so that the whole buffer need not be refilled
6749 the next time unless the fill-column is different.
6751 *** use-hard-newlines is now a minor mode. When it is enabled, Emacs
6752 distinguishes between hard and soft newlines, and treats hard newlines
6753 as paragraph boundaries. Otherwise all newlines inserted are marked
6754 as soft, and paragraph boundaries are determined solely from the text.
6760 The variables font-lock-face-attributes, font-lock-display-type and
6761 font-lock-background-mode are now obsolete; the recommended way to specify the
6762 faces to use for Font Lock mode is with M-x customize-group on the new custom
6763 group font-lock-highlighting-faces. If you set font-lock-face-attributes in
6764 your ~/.emacs file, Font Lock mode will respect its value. However, you should
6765 consider converting from setting that variable to using M-x customize.
6767 You can still use X resources to specify Font Lock face appearances.
6769 *** Maximum decoration
6771 Fontification now uses the maximum level of decoration supported by
6772 default. Previously, fontification used a mode-specific default level
6773 of decoration, which is typically the minimum level of decoration
6774 supported. You can set font-lock-maximum-decoration to nil
6775 to get the old behavior.
6779 Support is now provided for Java, Objective-C, AWK and SIMULA modes.
6781 Note that Font Lock mode can be turned on without knowing exactly what modes
6782 support Font Lock mode, via the command global-font-lock-mode.
6784 *** Configurable support
6786 Support for C, C++, Objective-C and Java can be more easily configured for
6787 additional types and classes via the new variables c-font-lock-extra-types,
6788 c++-font-lock-extra-types, objc-font-lock-extra-types and, you guessed it,
6789 java-font-lock-extra-types. These value of each of these variables should be a
6790 list of regexps matching the extra type names. For example, the default value
6791 of c-font-lock-extra-types is ("\\sw+_t") which means fontification follows the
6792 convention that C type names end in _t. This results in slower fontification.
6794 Of course, you can change the variables that specify fontification in whatever
6795 way you wish, typically by adding regexps. However, these new variables make
6796 it easier to make specific and common changes for the fontification of types.
6798 *** Adding highlighting patterns to existing support
6800 You can use the new function font-lock-add-keywords to add your own
6801 highlighting patterns, such as for project-local or user-specific constructs,
6804 For example, to highlight `FIXME:' words in C comments, put:
6806 (font-lock-add-keywords 'c-mode '(("\\<FIXME:" 0 font-lock-warning-face t)))
6812 Font Lock now defines two new faces, font-lock-builtin-face and
6813 font-lock-warning-face. These are intended to highlight builtin keywords,
6814 distinct from a language's normal keywords, and objects that should be brought
6815 to user attention, respectively. Various modes now use these new faces.
6817 *** Changes to fast-lock support mode
6819 The fast-lock package, one of the two Font Lock support modes, can now process
6820 cache files silently. You can use the new variable fast-lock-verbose, in the
6821 same way as font-lock-verbose, to control this feature.
6823 *** Changes to lazy-lock support mode
6825 The lazy-lock package, one of the two Font Lock support modes, can now fontify
6826 according to the true syntactic context relative to other lines. You can use
6827 the new variable lazy-lock-defer-contextually to control this feature. If
6828 non-nil, changes to the buffer will cause subsequent lines in the buffer to be
6829 refontified after lazy-lock-defer-time seconds of idle time. If nil, then only
6830 the modified lines will be refontified; this is the same as the previous Lazy
6831 Lock mode behaviour and the behaviour of Font Lock mode.
6833 This feature is useful in modes where strings or comments can span lines.
6834 For example, if a string or comment terminating character is deleted, then if
6835 this feature is enabled subsequent lines in the buffer will be correctly
6836 refontified to reflect their new syntactic context. Previously, only the line
6837 containing the deleted character would be refontified and you would have to use
6838 the command M-g M-g (font-lock-fontify-block) to refontify some lines.
6840 As a consequence of this new feature, two other variables have changed:
6842 Variable `lazy-lock-defer-driven' is renamed `lazy-lock-defer-on-scrolling'.
6843 Variable `lazy-lock-defer-time' can now only be a time, i.e., a number.
6844 Buffer modes for which on-the-fly deferral applies can be specified via the
6845 new variable `lazy-lock-defer-on-the-fly'.
6847 If you set these variables in your ~/.emacs, then you may have to change those
6850 ** Ada mode changes.
6852 *** There is now better support for using find-file.el with Ada mode.
6853 If you switch between spec and body, the cursor stays in the same
6854 procedure (modulo overloading). If a spec has no body file yet, but
6855 you try to switch to its body file, Ada mode now generates procedure
6858 *** There are two new commands:
6859 - `ada-make-local' : invokes gnatmake on the current buffer
6860 - `ada-check-syntax' : check syntax of current buffer.
6862 The user options `ada-compiler-make', `ada-make-options',
6863 `ada-language-version', `ada-compiler-syntax-check', and
6864 `ada-compile-options' are used within these commands.
6866 *** Ada mode can now work with Outline minor mode. The outline level
6867 is calculated from the indenting, not from syntactic constructs.
6868 Outlining does not work if your code is not correctly indented.
6870 *** The new function `ada-gnat-style' converts the buffer to the style of
6871 formatting used in GNAT. It places two blanks after a comment start,
6872 places one blank between a word end and an opening '(', and puts one
6873 space between a comma and the beginning of a word.
6875 ** Scheme mode changes.
6877 *** Scheme mode indentation now uses many of the facilities of Lisp
6878 mode; therefore, the variables to customize it are the variables used
6879 for Lisp mode which have names starting with `lisp-'. The variables
6880 with names starting with `scheme-' which used to do this no longer
6883 If you want to use different indentation for Scheme and Lisp, this is
6884 still possible, but now you must do it by adding a hook to
6885 scheme-mode-hook, which could work by setting the `lisp-' indentation
6886 variables as buffer-local variables.
6888 *** DSSSL mode is a variant of Scheme mode, for editing DSSSL scripts.
6891 ** Changes to the emacsclient program
6893 *** If a socket can't be found, and environment variables LOGNAME or
6894 USER are set, emacsclient now looks for a socket based on the UID
6895 associated with the name. That is an emacsclient running as root
6896 can connect to an Emacs server started by a non-root user.
6898 *** The emacsclient program now accepts an option --no-wait which tells
6899 it to return immediately without waiting for you to "finish" the
6902 *** The new option --alternate-editor allows to specify an editor to
6903 use if Emacs is not running. The environment variable
6904 ALTERNATE_EDITOR can be used for the same effect; the command line
6905 option takes precedence.
6907 ** M-x eldoc-mode enables a minor mode in which the echo area
6908 constantly shows the parameter list for function being called at point
6909 (in Emacs Lisp and Lisp Interaction modes only).
6911 ** C-x n d now runs the new command narrow-to-defun,
6912 which narrows the accessible parts of the buffer to just
6915 ** Emacs now handles the `--' argument in the standard way; all
6916 following arguments are treated as ordinary file names.
6918 ** On MSDOS and Windows, the bookmark file is now called _emacs.bmk,
6919 and the saved desktop file is now called _emacs.desktop (truncated if
6922 ** When you kill a buffer that visits a file,
6923 if there are any registers that save positions in the file,
6924 these register values no longer become completely useless.
6925 If you try to go to such a register with C-x j, then you are
6926 asked whether to visit the file again. If you say yes,
6927 it visits the file and then goes to the same position.
6929 ** When you visit a file that changes frequently outside Emacs--for
6930 example, a log of output from a process that continues to run--it may
6931 be useful for Emacs to revert the file without querying you whenever
6932 you visit the file afresh with C-x C-f.
6934 You can request this behavior for certain files by setting the
6935 variable revert-without-query to a list of regular expressions. If a
6936 file's name matches any of these regular expressions, find-file and
6937 revert-buffer revert the buffer without asking for permission--but
6938 only if you have not edited the buffer text yourself.
6940 ** set-default-font has been renamed to set-frame-font
6941 since it applies only to the current frame.
6943 ** In TeX mode, you can use the variable tex-main-file to specify the
6944 file for tex-file to run TeX on. (By default, tex-main-file is nil,
6945 and tex-file runs TeX on the current visited file.)
6947 This is useful when you are editing a document that consists of
6948 multiple files. In each of the included files, you can set up a local
6949 variable list which specifies the top-level file of your document for
6950 tex-main-file. Then tex-file will run TeX on the whole document
6951 instead of just the file you are editing.
6955 RefTeX mode is a new minor mode with special support for \label, \ref
6956 and \cite macros in LaTeX documents. RefTeX distinguishes labels of
6957 different environments (equation, figure, ...) and has full support for
6958 multifile documents. To use it, select a buffer with a LaTeX document and
6959 turn the mode on with M-x reftex-mode. Here are the main user commands:
6962 Creates a label semi-automatically. RefTeX is context sensitive and
6963 knows which kind of label is needed.
6965 C-c ) reftex-reference
6966 Offers in a menu all labels in the document, along with context of the
6967 label definition. The selected label is referenced as \ref{LABEL}.
6969 C-c [ reftex-citation
6970 Prompts for a regular expression and displays a list of matching BibTeX
6971 database entries. The selected entry is cited with a \cite{KEY} macro.
6973 C-c & reftex-view-crossref
6974 Views the cross reference of a \ref or \cite command near point.
6977 Shows a table of contents of the (multifile) document. From there you
6978 can quickly jump to every section.
6980 Under X, RefTeX installs a "Ref" menu in the menu bar, with additional
6981 commands. Press `?' to get help when a prompt mentions this feature.
6982 Full documentation and customization examples are in the file
6983 reftex.el. You can use the finder to view the file documentation:
6984 C-h p --> tex --> reftex.el
6986 ** Changes in BibTeX mode.
6988 *** Info documentation is now available.
6990 *** Don't allow parentheses in string constants anymore. This confused
6991 both the BibTeX program and Emacs BibTeX mode.
6993 *** Renamed variable bibtex-mode-user-optional-fields to
6994 bibtex-user-optional-fields.
6996 *** Removed variable bibtex-include-OPTannote
6997 (use bibtex-user-optional-fields instead).
6999 *** New interactive functions to copy and kill fields and complete
7000 entries to the BibTeX kill ring, from where they can be yanked back by
7001 appropriate functions.
7003 *** New interactive functions for repositioning and marking of
7004 entries. They are bound by default to M-C-l and M-C-h.
7006 *** New hook bibtex-clean-entry-hook. It is called after entry has
7009 *** New variable bibtex-field-delimiters, which replaces variables
7010 bibtex-field-{left|right}-delimiter.
7012 *** New variable bibtex-entry-delimiters to determine how entries
7015 *** Allow preinitialization of fields. See documentation of
7016 bibtex-user-optional-fields, bibtex-entry-field-alist, and
7017 bibtex-include-OPTkey for details.
7019 *** Book and InBook entries require either an author or an editor
7020 field. This is now supported by bibtex.el. Alternative fields are
7021 prefixed with `ALT'.
7023 *** New variable bibtex-entry-format, which replaces variable
7024 bibtex-clean-entry-zap-empty-opts and allows specification of many
7025 formatting options performed on cleaning an entry (see variable
7028 *** Even more control on how automatic keys are generated. See
7029 documentation of bibtex-generate-autokey for details. Transcriptions
7030 for foreign languages other than German are now handled, too.
7032 *** New boolean user option bibtex-comma-after-last-field to decide if
7033 comma should be inserted at end of last field.
7035 *** New boolean user option bibtex-align-at-equal-sign to determine if
7036 alignment should be made at left side of field contents or at equal
7037 signs. New user options to control entry layout (e.g. indentation).
7039 *** New function bibtex-fill-entry to realign entries.
7041 *** New function bibtex-reformat to reformat region or buffer.
7043 *** New function bibtex-convert-alien to convert a BibTeX database
7046 *** New function bibtex-complete-key (similar to bibtex-complete-string)
7047 to complete prefix to a key defined in buffer. Mainly useful in
7050 *** New function bibtex-count-entries to count entries in buffer or
7053 *** Added support for imenu.
7055 *** The function `bibtex-validate' now checks current region instead
7056 of buffer if mark is active. Now it shows all errors of buffer in a
7057 `compilation mode' buffer. You can use the normal commands (e.g.
7058 `next-error') for compilation modes to jump to errors.
7060 *** New variable `bibtex-string-file-path' to determine where the files
7061 from `bibtex-string-files' are searched.
7063 ** Iso Accents mode now supports Latin-3 as an alternative.
7065 ** The command next-error now opens blocks hidden by hideshow.
7067 ** The function using-unix-filesystems has been replaced by the
7068 functions add-untranslated-filesystem and remove-untranslated-filesystem.
7069 Each of these functions takes the name of a drive letter or directory
7072 When a filesystem is added as untranslated, all files on it are read
7073 and written in binary mode (no cr/lf translation is performed).
7075 ** browse-url changes
7077 *** New methods for: Grail (browse-url-generic), MMM (browse-url-mmm),
7078 Lynx in a separate xterm (browse-url-lynx-xterm) or in an Emacs window
7079 (browse-url-lynx-emacs), remote W3 (browse-url-w3-gnudoit), generic
7080 non-remote-controlled browsers (browse-url-generic) and associated
7081 customization variables.
7083 *** New commands `browse-url-of-region' and `browse-url'.
7085 *** URLs marked up with <URL:...> (RFC1738) work if broken across
7086 lines. Browsing methods can be associated with URL regexps
7087 (e.g. mailto: URLs) via `browse-url-browser-function'.
7091 *** Clicking Mouse-2 on a brief command description in Ediff control panel
7092 pops up the Info file for this command.
7094 *** There is now a variable, ediff-autostore-merges, which controls whether
7095 the result of a merge is saved in a file. By default, this is done only when
7096 merge is done from a session group (eg, when merging files in two different
7099 *** Since Emacs 19.31 (this hasn't been announced before), Ediff can compare
7100 and merge groups of files residing in different directories, or revisions of
7101 files in the same directory.
7103 *** Since Emacs 19.31, Ediff can apply multi-file patches interactively.
7104 The patches must be in the context format or GNU unified format. (The bug
7105 related to the GNU format has now been fixed.)
7109 *** The startup file is now .viper instead of .vip
7110 *** All variable/function names have been changed to start with viper-
7112 *** C-\ now simulates the meta-key in all Viper states.
7113 *** C-z in Insert state now escapes to Vi for the duration of the next
7114 Viper command. In Vi and Insert states, C-z behaves as before.
7115 *** C-c \ escapes to Vi for one command if Viper is in Insert or Emacs states.
7116 *** _ is no longer the meta-key in Vi state.
7117 *** The variable viper-insert-state-cursor-color can be used to change cursor
7118 color when Viper is in insert state.
7119 *** If search lands the cursor near the top or the bottom of the window,
7120 Viper pulls the window up or down to expose more context. The variable
7121 viper-adjust-window-after-search controls this behavior.
7125 *** In C, C++, Objective C and Java, Etags tags global variables by
7126 default. The resulting tags files are inflated by 30% on average.
7127 Use --no-globals to turn this feature off. Etags can also tag
7128 variables which are members of structure-like constructs, but it does
7129 not by default. Use --members to turn this feature on.
7131 *** C++ member functions are now recognized as tags.
7133 *** Java is tagged like C++. In addition, "extends" and "implements"
7134 constructs are tagged. Files are recognised by the extension .java.
7136 *** Etags can now handle programs written in Postscript. Files are
7137 recognised by the extensions .ps and .pdb (Postscript with C syntax).
7138 In Postscript, tags are lines that start with a slash.
7140 *** Etags now handles Objective C and Objective C++ code. The usual C and
7141 C++ tags are recognized in these languages; in addition, etags
7142 recognizes special Objective C syntax for classes, class categories,
7143 methods and protocols.
7145 *** Etags also handles Cobol. Files are recognised by the extension
7146 .cobol. The tagged lines are those containing a word that begins in
7147 column 8 and ends in a full stop, i.e. anything that could be a
7150 *** Regexps in Etags now support intervals, as in ed or grep. The syntax of
7151 an interval is \{M,N\}, and it means to match the preceding expression
7152 at least M times and as many as N times.
7154 ** The format for specifying a custom format for time-stamp to insert
7155 in files has changed slightly.
7157 With the new enhancements to the functionality of format-time-string,
7158 time-stamp-format will change to be eventually compatible with it.
7159 This conversion is being done in two steps to maintain compatibility
7160 with old time-stamp-format values.
7162 In the new scheme, alternate case is signified by the number-sign
7163 (`#') modifier, rather than changing the case of the format character.
7164 This feature is as yet incompletely implemented for compatibility
7167 In the old time-stamp-format, all numeric fields defaulted to their
7168 natural width. (With format-time-string, each format has a
7169 fixed-width default.) In this version, you can specify the colon
7170 (`:') modifier to a numeric conversion to mean "give me the historical
7171 time-stamp-format width default." Do not use colon if you are
7172 specifying an explicit width, as in "%02d".
7174 Numbers are no longer truncated to the requested width, except in the
7175 case of "%02y", which continues to give a two-digit year. Digit
7176 truncation probably wasn't being used for anything else anyway.
7178 The new formats will work with old versions of Emacs. New formats are
7179 being recommended now to allow time-stamp-format to change in the
7180 future to be compatible with format-time-string. The new forms being
7181 recommended now will continue to work then.
7183 See the documentation string for the variable time-stamp-format for
7186 ** There are some additional major modes:
7188 dcl-mode, for editing VMS DCL files.
7189 m4-mode, for editing files of m4 input.
7190 meta-mode, for editing MetaFont and MetaPost source files.
7192 ** In Shell mode, the command shell-copy-environment-variable lets you
7193 copy the value of a specified environment variable from the subshell
7196 ** New Lisp packages include:
7198 *** battery.el displays battery status for laptops.
7200 *** M-x bruce (named after Lenny Bruce) is a program that might
7201 be used for adding some indecent words to your email.
7203 *** M-x crisp-mode enables an emulation for the CRiSP editor.
7205 *** M-x dirtrack arranges for better tracking of directory changes
7208 *** The new library elint.el provides for linting of Emacs Lisp code.
7209 See the documentation for `elint-initialize', `elint-current-buffer'
7212 *** M-x expand-add-abbrevs defines a special kind of abbrev which is
7213 meant for programming constructs. These abbrevs expand like ordinary
7214 ones, when you type SPC, but only at the end of a line and not within
7215 strings or comments.
7217 These abbrevs can act as templates: you can define places within an
7218 abbrev for insertion of additional text. Once you expand the abbrev,
7219 you can then use C-x a p and C-x a n to move back and forth to these
7220 insertion points. Thus you can conveniently insert additional text
7223 *** filecache.el remembers the location of files so that you
7224 can visit them by short forms of their names.
7226 *** find-func.el lets you find the definition of the user-loaded
7227 Emacs Lisp function at point.
7229 *** M-x handwrite converts text to a "handwritten" picture.
7231 *** M-x iswitchb-buffer is a command for switching to a buffer, much like
7232 switch-buffer, but it reads the argument in a more helpful way.
7234 *** M-x landmark implements a neural network for landmark learning.
7236 *** M-x locate provides a convenient interface to the `locate' program.
7238 *** M4 mode is a new mode for editing files of m4 input.
7240 *** mantemp.el creates C++ manual template instantiations
7241 from the GCC error messages which indicate which instantiations are needed.
7243 *** mouse-copy.el provides a one-click copy and move feature.
7244 You can drag a region with M-mouse-1, and it is automatically
7245 inserted at point. M-Shift-mouse-1 deletes the text from its
7246 original place after inserting the copy.
7248 *** mouse-drag.el lets you do scrolling by dragging Mouse-2
7251 You click the mouse and move; that distance either translates into the
7252 velocity to scroll (with mouse-drag-throw) or the distance to scroll
7253 (with mouse-drag-drag). Horizontal scrolling is enabled when needed.
7255 Enable mouse-drag with:
7256 (global-set-key [down-mouse-2] 'mouse-drag-throw)
7258 (global-set-key [down-mouse-2] 'mouse-drag-drag)
7260 *** mspools.el is useful for determining which mail folders have
7261 mail waiting to be read in them. It works with procmail.
7263 *** Octave mode is a major mode for editing files of input for Octave.
7264 It comes with a facility for communicating with an Octave subprocess.
7268 The ogonek package provides functions for changing the coding of
7269 Polish diacritic characters in buffers. Codings known from various
7270 platforms are supported such as ISO8859-2, Mazovia, IBM Latin2, and
7271 TeX. For example, you can change the coding from Mazovia to
7272 ISO8859-2. Another example is a change of coding from ISO8859-2 to
7273 prefix notation (in which `/a' stands for the aogonek character, for
7274 instance) and vice versa.
7276 To use this package load it using
7277 M-x load-library [enter] ogonek
7278 Then, you may get an explanation by calling one of
7279 M-x ogonek-jak -- in Polish
7280 M-x ogonek-how -- in English
7281 The info specifies the commands and variables provided as well as the
7282 ways of customization in `.emacs'.
7284 *** Interface to ph.
7286 Emacs provides a client interface to CCSO Nameservers (ph/qi)
7288 The CCSO nameserver is used in many universities to provide directory
7289 services about people. ph.el provides a convenient Emacs interface to
7292 *** uce.el is useful for replying to unsolicited commercial email.
7294 *** vcursor.el implements a "virtual cursor" feature.
7295 You can move the virtual cursor with special commands
7296 while the real cursor does not move.
7298 *** webjump.el is a "hot list" package which you can set up
7299 for visiting your favorite web sites.
7301 *** M-x winner-mode is a minor mode which saves window configurations,
7302 so you can move back to other configurations that you have recently used.
7306 Movemail no longer needs to be installed setuid root in order for POP
7307 mail retrieval to function properly. This is because it no longer
7308 supports the RPOP (reserved-port POP) protocol; instead, it uses the
7309 user's POP password to authenticate to the mail server.
7311 This change was made earlier, but not reported in NEWS before.
7313 * Emacs 20.1 changes for MS-DOS and MS-Windows.
7315 ** Changes in handling MS-DOS/MS-Windows text files.
7317 Emacs handles three different conventions for representing
7318 end-of-line: CRLF for MSDOS, LF for Unix and GNU, and CR (used on the
7319 Macintosh). Emacs determines which convention is used in a specific
7320 file based on the contents of that file (except for certain special
7321 file names), and when it saves the file, it uses the same convention.
7323 To save the file and change the end-of-line convention, you can use
7324 C-x RET f (set-buffer-file-coding-system) to specify a different
7325 coding system for the buffer. Then, when you save the file, the newly
7326 specified coding system will take effect. For example, to save with
7327 LF, specify undecided-unix (or some other ...-unix coding system); to
7328 save with CRLF, specify undecided-dos.
7330 * Lisp Changes in Emacs 20.1
7332 ** Byte-compiled files made with Emacs 20 will, in general, work in
7333 Emacs 19 as well, as long as the source code runs in Emacs 19. And
7334 vice versa: byte-compiled files made with Emacs 19 should also run in
7335 Emacs 20, as long as the program itself works in Emacs 20.
7337 ** Windows-specific functions and variables have been renamed
7338 to start with w32- instead of win32-.
7340 In hacker language, calling something a "win" is a form of praise. We
7341 don't want to praise a non-free Microsoft system, so we don't call it
7344 ** Basic Lisp changes
7346 *** A symbol whose name starts with a colon now automatically
7347 evaluates to itself. Therefore such a symbol can be used as a constant.
7349 *** The defined purpose of `defconst' has been changed. It should now
7350 be used only for values that should not be changed whether by a program
7353 The actual behavior of defconst has not been changed.
7355 *** There are new macros `when' and `unless'
7357 (when CONDITION BODY...) is short for (if CONDITION (progn BODY...))
7358 (unless CONDITION BODY...) is short for (if CONDITION nil BODY...)
7360 *** Emacs now defines functions caar, cadr, cdar and cddr with their
7361 usual Lisp meanings. For example, caar returns the car of the car of
7364 *** equal, when comparing strings, now ignores their text properties.
7366 *** The new function `functionp' tests whether an object is a function.
7368 *** arrayp now returns t for char-tables and bool-vectors.
7370 *** Certain primitives which use characters (as integers) now get an
7371 error if the integer is not a valid character code. These primitives
7372 include insert-char, char-to-string, and the %c construct in the
7375 *** The `require' function now insists on adding a suffix, either .el
7376 or .elc, to the file name. Thus, (require 'foo) will not use a file
7377 whose name is just foo. It insists on foo.el or foo.elc.
7379 *** The `autoload' function, when the file name does not contain
7380 either a directory name or the suffix .el or .elc, insists on
7381 adding one of these suffixes.
7383 *** string-to-number now takes an optional second argument BASE
7384 which specifies the base to use when converting an integer.
7385 If BASE is omitted, base 10 is used.
7387 We have not implemented other radices for floating point numbers,
7388 because that would be much more work and does not seem useful.
7390 *** substring now handles vectors as well as strings.
7392 *** The Common Lisp function eql is no longer defined normally.
7393 You must load the `cl' library to define it.
7395 *** The new macro `with-current-buffer' lets you evaluate an expression
7396 conveniently with a different current buffer. It looks like this:
7398 (with-current-buffer BUFFER BODY-FORMS...)
7400 BUFFER is the expression that says which buffer to use.
7401 BODY-FORMS say what to do in that buffer.
7403 *** The new primitive `save-current-buffer' saves and restores the
7404 choice of current buffer, like `save-excursion', but without saving or
7405 restoring the value of point or the mark. `with-current-buffer'
7406 works using `save-current-buffer'.
7408 *** The new macro `with-temp-file' lets you do some work in a new buffer and
7409 write the output to a specified file. Like `progn', it returns the value
7412 *** The new macro `with-temp-buffer' lets you do some work in a new buffer,
7413 which is discarded after use. Like `progn', it returns the value of the
7414 last form. If you wish to return the buffer contents, use (buffer-string)
7417 *** The new function split-string takes a string, splits it at certain
7418 characters, and returns a list of the substrings in between the
7421 For example, (split-string "foo bar lose" " +") returns ("foo" "bar" "lose").
7423 *** The new macro with-output-to-string executes some Lisp expressions
7424 with standard-output set up so that all output feeds into a string.
7425 Then it returns that string.
7427 For example, if the current buffer name is `foo',
7429 (with-output-to-string
7430 (princ "The buffer is ")
7431 (princ (buffer-name)))
7433 returns "The buffer is foo".
7435 ** Non-ASCII characters are now supported, if enable-multibyte-characters
7438 These characters have character codes above 256. When inserted in the
7439 buffer or stored in a string, they are represented as multibyte
7440 characters that occupy several buffer positions each.
7442 *** When enable-multibyte-characters is non-nil, a single character in
7443 a buffer or string can be two or more bytes (as many as four).
7445 Buffers and strings are still made up of unibyte elements;
7446 character positions and string indices are always measured in bytes.
7447 Therefore, moving forward one character can increase the buffer
7448 position by 2, 3 or 4. The function forward-char moves by whole
7449 characters, and therefore is no longer equivalent to
7450 (lambda (n) (goto-char (+ (point) n))).
7452 ASCII characters (codes 0 through 127) are still single bytes, always.
7453 Sequences of byte values 128 through 255 are used to represent
7454 non-ASCII characters. These sequences are called "multibyte
7457 The first byte of a multibyte character is always in the range 128
7458 through 159 (octal 0200 through 0237). These values are called
7459 "leading codes". The second and subsequent bytes are always in the
7460 range 160 through 255 (octal 0240 through 0377). The first byte, the
7461 leading code, determines how many bytes long the sequence is.
7463 *** The function forward-char moves over characters, and therefore
7464 (forward-char 1) may increase point by more than 1 if it moves over a
7465 multibyte character. Likewise, delete-char always deletes a
7466 character, which may be more than one buffer position.
7468 This means that some Lisp programs, which assume that a character is
7469 always one buffer position, need to be changed.
7471 However, all ASCII characters are always one buffer position.
7473 *** The regexp [\200-\377] no longer matches all non-ASCII characters,
7474 because when enable-multibyte-characters is non-nil, these characters
7475 have codes that are not in the range octal 200 to octal 377. However,
7476 the regexp [^\000-\177] does match all non-ASCII characters,
7479 *** The function char-boundary-p returns non-nil if position POS is
7480 between two characters in the buffer (not in the middle of a
7483 When the value is non-nil, it says what kind of character follows POS:
7485 0 if POS is at an ASCII character or at the end of range,
7486 1 if POS is before a 2-byte length multi-byte form,
7487 2 if POS is at a head of 3-byte length multi-byte form,
7488 3 if POS is at a head of 4-byte length multi-byte form,
7489 4 if POS is at a head of multi-byte form of a composite character.
7491 *** The function char-bytes returns how many bytes the character CHAR uses.
7493 *** Strings can contain multibyte characters. The function
7494 `length' returns the string length counting bytes, which may be
7495 more than the number of characters.
7497 You can include a multibyte character in a string constant by writing
7498 it literally. You can also represent it with a hex escape,
7499 \xNNNNNNN..., using as many digits as necessary. Any character which
7500 is not a valid hex digit terminates this construct. If you want to
7501 follow it with a character that is a hex digit, write backslash and
7502 newline in between; that will terminate the hex escape.
7504 *** The function concat-chars takes arguments which are characters
7505 and returns a string containing those characters.
7507 *** The function sref access a multibyte character in a string.
7508 (sref STRING INDX) returns the character in STRING at INDEX. INDEX
7509 counts from zero. If INDEX is at a position in the middle of a
7510 character, sref signals an error.
7512 *** The function chars-in-string returns the number of characters
7513 in a string. This is less than the length of the string, if the
7514 string contains multibyte characters (the length counts bytes).
7516 *** The function chars-in-region returns the number of characters
7517 in a region from BEG to END. This is less than (- END BEG) if the
7518 region contains multibyte characters (the length counts bytes).
7520 *** The function string-to-list converts a string to a list of
7521 the characters in it. string-to-vector converts a string
7522 to a vector of the characters in it.
7524 *** The function store-substring alters part of the contents
7525 of a string. You call it as follows:
7527 (store-substring STRING IDX OBJ)
7529 This says to alter STRING, by storing OBJ starting at index IDX in
7530 STRING. OBJ may be either a character or a (smaller) string.
7531 This function really does alter the contents of STRING.
7532 Since it is impossible to change the length of an existing string,
7533 it is an error if OBJ doesn't fit within STRING's actual length.
7535 *** char-width returns the width (in columns) of the character CHAR,
7536 if it were displayed in the current buffer and the selected window.
7538 *** string-width returns the width (in columns) of the text in STRING,
7539 if it were displayed in the current buffer and the selected window.
7541 *** truncate-string-to-width shortens a string, if necessary,
7542 to fit within a certain number of columns. (Of course, it does
7543 not alter the string that you give it; it returns a new string
7544 which contains all or just part of the existing string.)
7546 (truncate-string-to-width STR END-COLUMN &optional START-COLUMN PADDING)
7548 This returns the part of STR up to column END-COLUMN.
7550 The optional argument START-COLUMN specifies the starting column.
7551 If this is non-nil, then the first START-COLUMN columns of the string
7552 are not included in the resulting value.
7554 The optional argument PADDING, if non-nil, is a padding character to be added
7555 at the beginning and end the resulting string, to extend it to exactly
7556 WIDTH columns. If PADDING is nil, that means do not pad; then, if STRING
7557 is narrower than WIDTH, the value is equal to STRING.
7559 If PADDING and START-COLUMN are both non-nil, and if there is no clean
7560 place in STRING that corresponds to START-COLUMN (because one
7561 character extends across that column), then the padding character
7562 PADDING is added one or more times at the beginning of the result
7563 string, so that its columns line up as if it really did start at
7564 column START-COLUMN.
7566 *** When the functions in the list after-change-functions are called,
7567 the third argument is the number of bytes in the pre-change text, not
7568 necessarily the number of characters. It is, in effect, the
7569 difference in buffer position between the beginning and the end of the
7570 changed text, before the change.
7572 *** The characters Emacs uses are classified in various character
7573 sets, each of which has a name which is a symbol. In general there is
7574 one character set for each script, not for each language.
7576 **** The function charsetp tests whether an object is a character set name.
7578 **** The variable charset-list holds a list of character set names.
7580 **** char-charset, given a character code, returns the name of the character
7581 set that the character belongs to. (The value is a symbol.)
7583 **** split-char, given a character code, returns a list containing the
7584 name of the character set, followed by one or two byte-values
7585 which identify the character within that character set.
7587 **** make-char, given a character set name and one or two subsequent
7588 byte-values, constructs a character code. This is roughly the
7589 opposite of split-char.
7591 **** find-charset-region returns a list of the character sets
7592 of all the characters between BEG and END.
7594 **** find-charset-string returns a list of the character sets
7595 of all the characters in a string.
7597 *** Here are the Lisp facilities for working with coding systems
7598 and specifying coding systems.
7600 **** The function coding-system-list returns a list of all coding
7601 system names (symbols). With optional argument t, it returns a list
7602 of all distinct base coding systems, not including variants.
7603 (Variant coding systems are those like latin-1-dos, latin-1-unix
7604 and latin-1-mac which specify the end-of-line conversion as well
7605 as what to do about code conversion.)
7607 **** coding-system-p tests a symbol to see if it is a coding system
7608 name. It returns t if so, nil if not.
7610 **** file-coding-system-alist specifies which coding systems to use
7611 for certain file names. It works like network-coding-system-alist,
7612 except that the PATTERN is matched against the file name.
7614 Each element has the format (PATTERN . VAL), where PATTERN determines
7615 which file names the element applies to. PATTERN should be a regexp
7616 to match against a file name.
7618 VAL is a coding system, a cons cell containing two coding systems, or
7619 a function symbol. If VAL is a coding system, it is used for both
7620 decoding what received from the network stream and encoding what sent
7621 to the network stream. If VAL is a cons cell containing two coding
7622 systems, the car specifies the coding system for decoding, and the cdr
7623 specifies the coding system for encoding.
7625 If VAL is a function symbol, the function must return a coding system
7626 or a cons cell containing two coding systems, which is used as above.
7628 **** The variable network-coding-system-alist specifies
7629 the coding system to use for network sockets.
7631 Each element has the format (PATTERN . VAL), where PATTERN determines
7632 which network sockets the element applies to. PATTERN should be
7633 either a port number or a regular expression matching some network
7636 VAL is a coding system, a cons cell containing two coding systems, or
7637 a function symbol. If VAL is a coding system, it is used for both
7638 decoding what received from the network stream and encoding what sent
7639 to the network stream. If VAL is a cons cell containing two coding
7640 systems, the car specifies the coding system for decoding, and the cdr
7641 specifies the coding system for encoding.
7643 If VAL is a function symbol, the function must return a coding system
7644 or a cons cell containing two coding systems, which is used as above.
7646 **** process-coding-system-alist specifies which coding systems to use
7647 for certain subprocess. It works like network-coding-system-alist,
7648 except that the PATTERN is matched against the program name used to
7649 start the subprocess.
7651 **** The variable default-process-coding-system specifies the coding
7652 systems to use for subprocess (and net connection) input and output,
7653 when nothing else specifies what to do. The value is a cons cell
7654 (OUTPUT-CODING . INPUT-CODING). OUTPUT-CODING applies to output
7655 to the subprocess, and INPUT-CODING applies to input from it.
7657 **** The variable coding-system-for-write, if non-nil, specifies the
7658 coding system to use for writing a file, or for output to a synchronous
7661 It also applies to any asynchronous subprocess or network connection,
7662 but in a different way: the value of coding-system-for-write when you
7663 start the subprocess or connection affects that subprocess or
7664 connection permanently or until overridden.
7666 The variable coding-system-for-write takes precedence over
7667 file-coding-system-alist, process-coding-system-alist and
7668 network-coding-system-alist, and all other methods of specifying a
7669 coding system for output. But most of the time this variable is nil.
7670 It exists so that Lisp programs can bind it to a specific coding
7671 system for one operation at a time.
7673 **** coding-system-for-read applies similarly to input from
7674 files, subprocesses or network connections.
7676 **** The function process-coding-system tells you what
7677 coding systems(s) an existing subprocess is using.
7678 The value is a cons cell,
7679 (DECODING-CODING-SYSTEM . ENCODING-CODING-SYSTEM)
7680 where DECODING-CODING-SYSTEM is used for decoding output from
7681 the subprocess, and ENCODING-CODING-SYSTEM is used for encoding
7682 input to the subprocess.
7684 **** The function set-process-coding-system can be used to
7685 change the coding systems in use for an existing subprocess.
7687 ** Emacs has a new facility to help users manage the many
7688 customization options. To make a Lisp program work with this facility,
7689 you need to use the new macros defgroup and defcustom.
7691 You use defcustom instead of defvar, for defining a user option
7692 variable. The difference is that you specify two additional pieces of
7693 information (usually): the "type" which says what values are
7694 legitimate, and the "group" which specifies the hierarchy for
7697 Thus, instead of writing
7699 (defvar foo-blurgoze nil
7700 "*Non-nil means that foo will act very blurgozely.")
7702 you would now write this:
7704 (defcustom foo-blurgoze nil
7705 "*Non-nil means that foo will act very blurgozely."
7709 The type `boolean' means that this variable has only
7710 two meaningful states: nil and non-nil. Other type values
7711 describe other possibilities; see the manual for Custom
7712 for a description of them.
7714 The "group" argument is used to specify a group which the option
7715 should belong to. You define a new group like this:
7717 (defgroup ispell nil
7718 "Spell checking using Ispell."
7721 The "group" argument in defgroup specifies the parent group. The root
7722 group is called `emacs'; it should not contain any variables itself,
7723 but only other groups. The immediate subgroups of `emacs' correspond
7724 to the keywords used by C-h p. Under these subgroups come
7725 second-level subgroups that belong to individual packages.
7727 Each Emacs package should have its own set of groups. A simple
7728 package should have just one group; a more complex package should
7729 have a hierarchy of its own groups. The sole or root group of a
7730 package should be a subgroup of one or more of the "keyword"
7731 first-level subgroups.
7733 ** New `widget' library for inserting UI components in buffers.
7735 This library, used by the new custom library, is documented in a
7736 separate manual that accompanies Emacs.
7740 The easy-mmode package provides macros and functions that make
7741 developing minor modes easier. Roughly, the programmer has to code
7742 only the functionality of the minor mode. All the rest--toggles,
7743 predicate, and documentation--can be done in one call to the macro
7744 `easy-mmode-define-minor-mode' (see the documentation). See also
7745 `easy-mmode-define-keymap'.
7747 ** Text property changes
7749 *** The `intangible' property now works on overlays as well as on a
7752 *** The new functions next-char-property-change and
7753 previous-char-property-change scan through the buffer looking for a
7754 place where either a text property or an overlay might change. The
7755 functions take two arguments, POSITION and LIMIT. POSITION is the
7756 starting position for the scan. LIMIT says where to stop the scan.
7758 If no property change is found before LIMIT, the value is LIMIT. If
7759 LIMIT is nil, scan goes to the beginning or end of the accessible part
7760 of the buffer. If no property change is found, the value is the
7761 position of the beginning or end of the buffer.
7763 *** In the `local-map' text property or overlay property, the property
7764 value can now be a symbol whose function definition is a keymap. This
7765 is an alternative to using the keymap itself.
7767 ** Changes in invisibility features
7769 *** Isearch can now temporarily show parts of the buffer which are
7770 hidden by an overlay with a invisible property, when the search match
7771 is inside that portion of the buffer. To enable this the overlay
7772 should have a isearch-open-invisible property which is a function that
7773 would be called having the overlay as an argument, the function should
7774 make the overlay visible.
7776 During incremental search the overlays are shown by modifying the
7777 invisible and intangible properties, if beside this more actions are
7778 needed the overlay should have a isearch-open-invisible-temporary
7779 which is a function. The function is called with 2 arguments: one is
7780 the overlay and the second is nil when it should show the overlay and
7781 t when it should hide it.
7783 *** add-to-invisibility-spec, remove-from-invisibility-spec
7785 Modes that use overlays to hide portions of a buffer should set the
7786 invisible property of the overlay to the mode's name (or another symbol)
7787 and modify the `buffer-invisibility-spec' to include that symbol.
7788 Use `add-to-invisibility-spec' and `remove-from-invisibility-spec' to
7789 manipulate the `buffer-invisibility-spec'.
7790 Here is an example of how to do this:
7792 ;; If we want to display an ellipsis:
7793 (add-to-invisibility-spec '(my-symbol . t))
7794 ;; If you don't want ellipsis:
7795 (add-to-invisibility-spec 'my-symbol)
7798 (overlay-put (make-overlay beginning end) 'invisible 'my-symbol)
7801 ;; When done with the overlays:
7802 (remove-from-invisibility-spec '(my-symbol . t))
7804 (remove-from-invisibility-spec 'my-symbol)
7806 ** Changes in syntax parsing.
7808 *** The syntax-directed buffer-scan functions (such as
7809 `parse-partial-sexp', `forward-word' and similar functions) can now
7810 obey syntax information specified by text properties, if the variable
7811 `parse-sexp-lookup-properties' is non-nil.
7813 If the value of `parse-sexp-lookup-properties' is nil, the behavior
7814 is as before: the syntax-table of the current buffer is always
7815 used to determine the syntax of the character at the position.
7817 When `parse-sexp-lookup-properties' is non-nil, the syntax of a
7818 character in the buffer is calculated thus:
7820 a) if the `syntax-table' text-property of that character
7821 is a cons, this cons becomes the syntax-type;
7823 Valid values of `syntax-table' text-property are: nil, a valid
7824 syntax-table, and a valid syntax-table element, i.e.,
7825 a cons cell of the form (SYNTAX-CODE . MATCHING-CHAR).
7827 b) if the character's `syntax-table' text-property
7828 is a syntax table, this syntax table is used
7829 (instead of the syntax-table of the current buffer) to
7830 determine the syntax type of the character.
7832 c) otherwise the syntax-type is determined by the syntax-table
7833 of the current buffer.
7835 *** The meaning of \s in regular expressions is also affected by the
7836 value of `parse-sexp-lookup-properties'. The details are the same as
7837 for the syntax-directed buffer-scan functions.
7839 *** There are two new syntax-codes, `!' and `|' (numeric values 14
7840 and 15). A character with a code `!' starts a comment which is ended
7841 only by another character with the same code (unless quoted). A
7842 character with a code `|' starts a string which is ended only by
7843 another character with the same code (unless quoted).
7845 These codes are mainly meant for use as values of the `syntax-table'
7848 *** The function `parse-partial-sexp' has new semantics for the sixth
7849 arg COMMENTSTOP. If it is `syntax-table', parse stops after the start
7850 of a comment or a string, or after end of a comment or a string.
7852 *** The state-list which the return value from `parse-partial-sexp'
7853 (and can also be used as an argument) now has an optional ninth
7854 element: the character address of the start of last comment or string;
7855 nil if none. The fourth and eighth elements have special values if the
7856 string/comment is started by a "!" or "|" syntax-code.
7858 *** Since new features of `parse-partial-sexp' allow a complete
7859 syntactic parsing, `font-lock' no longer supports
7860 `font-lock-comment-start-regexp'.
7862 ** Changes in face features
7864 *** The face functions are now unconditionally defined in Emacs, even
7865 if it does not support displaying on a device that supports faces.
7867 *** The function face-documentation returns the documentation string
7868 of a face (or nil if it doesn't have one).
7870 *** The function face-bold-p returns t if a face should be bold.
7871 set-face-bold-p sets that flag.
7873 *** The function face-italic-p returns t if a face should be italic.
7874 set-face-italic-p sets that flag.
7876 *** You can now specify foreground and background colors for text
7877 by adding elements of the form (foreground-color . COLOR-NAME)
7878 and (background-color . COLOR-NAME) to the list of faces in
7879 the `face' property (either the character's text property or an
7882 This means that you no longer need to create named faces to use
7883 arbitrary colors in a Lisp package.
7885 ** Changes in file-handling functions
7887 *** File-access primitive functions no longer discard an extra redundant
7888 directory name from the beginning of the file name. In other words,
7889 they no longer do anything special with // or /~. That conversion
7890 is now done only in substitute-in-file-name.
7892 This makes it possible for a Lisp program to open a file whose name
7895 *** If copy-file is unable to set the date of the output file,
7896 it now signals an error with the condition file-date-error.
7898 *** The inode number returned by file-attributes may be an integer (if
7899 the number fits in a Lisp integer) or a list of integers.
7901 *** insert-file-contents can now read from a special file,
7902 as long as the arguments VISIT and REPLACE are nil.
7904 *** The RAWFILE arg to find-file-noselect, if non-nil, now suppresses
7905 character code conversion as well as other things.
7907 Meanwhile, this feature does work with remote file names
7908 (formerly it did not).
7910 *** Lisp packages which create temporary files should use the TMPDIR
7911 environment variable to decide which directory to put them in.
7913 *** interpreter-mode-alist elements now specify regexps
7914 instead of constant strings.
7916 *** expand-file-name no longer treats `//' or `/~' specially. It used
7917 to delete all the text of a file name up through the first slash of
7918 any `//' or `/~' sequence. Now it passes them straight through.
7920 substitute-in-file-name continues to treat those sequences specially,
7921 in the same way as before.
7923 *** The variable `format-alist' is more general now.
7924 The FROM-FN and TO-FN in a format definition can now be strings
7925 which specify shell commands to use as filters to perform conversion.
7927 *** The new function access-file tries to open a file, and signals an
7928 error if that fails. If the open succeeds, access-file does nothing
7929 else, and returns nil.
7931 *** The function insert-directory now signals an error if the specified
7932 directory cannot be listed.
7934 ** Changes in minibuffer input
7936 *** The functions read-buffer, read-variable, read-command, read-string
7937 read-file-name, read-from-minibuffer and completing-read now take an
7938 additional argument which specifies the default value. If this
7939 argument is non-nil, it should be a string; that string is used in two
7942 It is returned if the user enters empty input.
7943 It is available through the history command M-n.
7945 *** The functions read-string, read-from-minibuffer,
7946 read-no-blanks-input and completing-read now take an additional
7947 argument INHERIT-INPUT-METHOD. If this is non-nil, then the
7948 minibuffer inherits the current input method and the setting of
7949 enable-multibyte-characters from the previously current buffer.
7951 In an interactive spec, you can use M instead of s to read an
7952 argument in this way.
7954 *** All minibuffer input functions discard text properties
7955 from the text you enter in the minibuffer, unless the variable
7956 minibuffer-allow-text-properties is non-nil.
7958 ** Echo area features
7960 *** Clearing the echo area now runs the normal hook
7961 echo-area-clear-hook. Note that the echo area can be used while the
7962 minibuffer is active; in that case, the minibuffer is still active
7963 after the echo area is cleared.
7965 *** The function current-message returns the message currently displayed
7966 in the echo area, or nil if there is none.
7968 ** Keyboard input features
7970 *** tty-erase-char is a new variable that reports which character was
7971 set up as the terminal's erase character when time Emacs was started.
7973 *** num-nonmacro-input-events is the total number of input events
7974 received so far from the terminal. It does not count those generated
7977 ** Frame-related changes
7979 *** make-frame runs the normal hook before-make-frame-hook just before
7980 creating a frame, and just after creating a frame it runs the abnormal
7981 hook after-make-frame-functions with the new frame as arg.
7983 *** The new hook window-configuration-change-hook is now run every time
7984 the window configuration has changed. The frame whose configuration
7985 has changed is the selected frame when the hook is run.
7987 *** Each frame now independently records the order for recently
7988 selected buffers, in its buffer-list frame parameter, so that the
7989 value of other-buffer is now based on the buffers recently displayed
7990 in the selected frame.
7992 *** The value of the frame parameter vertical-scroll-bars
7993 is now `left', `right' or nil. A non-nil value specifies
7994 which side of the window to put the scroll bars on.
7996 ** X Windows features
7998 *** You can examine X resources for other applications by binding
7999 x-resource-class around a call to x-get-resource. The usual value of
8000 x-resource-class is "Emacs", which is the correct value for Emacs.
8002 *** In menus, checkboxes and radio buttons now actually work.
8003 The menu displays the current status of the box or button.
8005 *** The function x-list-fonts now takes an optional fourth argument
8006 MAXIMUM which sets a limit on how many matching fonts to return.
8007 A smaller value of MAXIMUM makes the function faster.
8009 If the only question is whether *any* font matches the pattern,
8010 it is good to supply 1 for this argument.
8012 ** Subprocess features
8014 *** A reminder: it is no longer necessary for subprocess filter
8015 functions and sentinels to do save-match-data, because Emacs does this
8018 *** The new function shell-command-to-string executes a shell command
8019 and returns the output from the command as a string.
8021 *** The new function process-contact returns t for a child process,
8022 and (HOSTNAME SERVICE) for a net connection.
8024 ** An error in running pre-command-hook or post-command-hook
8025 does clear the variable to nil. The documentation was wrong before.
8027 ** In define-key-after, if AFTER is t, the new binding now always goes
8028 at the end of the keymap. If the keymap is a menu, this means it
8029 goes after the other menu items.
8031 ** If you have a program that makes several changes in the same area
8032 of the buffer, you can use the macro combine-after-change-calls
8033 around that Lisp code to make it faster when after-change hooks
8036 The macro arranges to call the after-change functions just once for a
8037 series of several changes--if that seems safe.
8039 Don't alter the variables after-change-functions and
8040 after-change-function within the body of a combine-after-change-calls
8043 ** If you define an abbrev (with define-abbrev) whose EXPANSION
8044 is not a string, then the abbrev does not expand in the usual sense,
8045 but its hook is still run.
8047 ** Normally, the Lisp debugger is not used (even if you have enabled it)
8048 for errors that are handled by condition-case.
8050 If you set debug-on-signal to a non-nil value, then the debugger is called
8051 regardless of whether there is a handler for the condition. This is
8052 useful for debugging problems that happen inside of a condition-case.
8054 This mode of operation seems to be unreliable in other ways. Errors that
8055 are normal and ought to be handled, perhaps in timers or process
8056 filters, will instead invoke the debugger. So don't say you weren't
8059 ** The new variable ring-bell-function lets you specify your own
8060 way for Emacs to "ring the bell".
8062 ** If run-at-time's TIME argument is t, the action is repeated at
8063 integral multiples of REPEAT from the epoch; this is useful for
8064 functions like display-time.
8066 ** You can use the function locate-library to find the precise file
8067 name of a Lisp library. This isn't new, but wasn't documented before.
8069 ** Commands for entering view mode have new optional arguments that
8070 can be used from Lisp. Low-level entrance to and exit from view mode
8071 is done by functions view-mode-enter and view-mode-exit.
8073 ** batch-byte-compile-file now makes Emacs return a nonzero status code
8074 if there is an error in compilation.
8076 ** pop-to-buffer, switch-to-buffer-other-window and
8077 switch-to-buffer-other-frame now accept an additional optional
8078 argument NORECORD, much like switch-to-buffer. If it is non-nil,
8079 they don't put the buffer at the front of the buffer list.
8081 ** If your .emacs file leaves the *scratch* buffer non-empty,
8082 Emacs does not display the startup message, so as to avoid changing
8083 the *scratch* buffer.
8085 ** The new function regexp-opt returns an efficient regexp to match a string.
8086 The arguments are STRINGS and (optionally) PAREN. This function can be used
8087 where regexp matching or searching is intensively used and speed is important,
8088 e.g., in Font Lock mode.
8090 ** The variable buffer-display-count is local to each buffer,
8091 and is incremented each time the buffer is displayed in a window.
8092 It starts at 0 when the buffer is created.
8094 ** The new function compose-mail starts composing a mail message
8095 using the user's chosen mail composition agent (specified with the
8096 variable mail-user-agent). It has variants compose-mail-other-window
8097 and compose-mail-other-frame.
8099 ** The `user-full-name' function now takes an optional parameter which
8100 can either be a number (the UID) or a string (the login name). The
8101 full name of the specified user will be returned.
8103 ** Lisp packages that load files of customizations, or any other sort
8104 of user profile, should obey the variable init-file-user in deciding
8105 where to find it. They should load the profile of the user name found
8106 in that variable. If init-file-user is nil, meaning that the -q
8107 option was used, then Lisp packages should not load the customization
8110 ** format-time-string now allows you to specify the field width
8111 and type of padding. This works as in printf: you write the field
8112 width as digits in the middle of a %-construct. If you start
8113 the field width with 0, it means to pad with zeros.
8115 For example, %S normally specifies the number of seconds since the
8116 minute; %03S means to pad this with zeros to 3 positions, %_3S to pad
8117 with spaces to 3 positions. Plain %3S pads with zeros, because that
8118 is how %S normally pads to two positions.
8120 ** thing-at-point now supports a new kind of "thing": url.
8122 ** imenu.el changes.
8124 You can now specify a function to be run when selecting an
8125 item from menu created by imenu.
8127 An example of using this feature: if we define imenu items for the
8128 #include directives in a C file, we can open the included file when we
8129 select one of those items.
8131 * Emacs 19.34 is a bug-fix release with no user-visible changes.
8133 * Changes in Emacs 19.33.
8135 ** Bibtex mode no longer turns on Auto Fill automatically. (No major
8136 mode should do that--it is the user's choice.)
8138 ** The variable normal-auto-fill-function specifies the function to
8139 use for auto-fill-function, if and when Auto Fill is turned on.
8140 Major modes can set this locally to alter how Auto Fill works.
8142 * Editing Changes in Emacs 19.32
8144 ** C-x f with no argument now signals an error.
8145 To set the fill column at the current column, use C-u C-x f.
8147 ** Expanding dynamic abbrevs with M-/ is now smarter about case
8148 conversion. If you type the abbreviation with mixed case, and it
8149 matches the beginning of the expansion including case, then the
8150 expansion is copied verbatim. Using SPC M-/ to copy an additional
8151 word always copies it verbatim except when the previous copied word is
8154 ** On a non-windowing terminal, which can display only one Emacs frame
8155 at a time, creating a new frame with C-x 5 2 also selects that frame.
8157 When using a display that can show multiple frames at once, C-x 5 2
8158 does make the frame visible, but does not select it. This is the same
8159 as in previous Emacs versions.
8161 ** You can use C-x 5 2 to create multiple frames on MSDOS, just as on a
8162 non-X terminal on Unix. Of course, only one frame is visible at any
8163 time, since your terminal doesn't have the ability to display multiple
8166 ** On Windows, set win32-pass-alt-to-system to a non-nil value
8167 if you would like tapping the Alt key to invoke the Windows menu.
8168 This feature is not enabled by default; since the Alt key is also the
8169 Meta key, it is too easy and painful to activate this feature by
8172 ** The command apply-macro-to-region-lines repeats the last defined
8173 keyboard macro once for each complete line within the current region.
8174 It does this line by line, by moving point to the beginning of that
8175 line and then executing the macro.
8177 This command is not new, but was never documented before.
8179 ** You can now use Mouse-1 to place the region around a string constant
8180 (something surrounded by doublequote characters or other delimiter
8181 characters of like syntax) by double-clicking on one of the delimiting
8186 *** Font Lock support modes
8188 Font Lock can be configured to use Fast Lock mode and Lazy Lock mode (see
8189 below) in a flexible way. Rather than adding the appropriate function to the
8190 hook font-lock-mode-hook, you can use the new variable font-lock-support-mode
8191 to control which modes have Fast Lock mode or Lazy Lock mode turned on when
8192 Font Lock mode is enabled.
8194 For example, to use Fast Lock mode when Font Lock mode is turned on, put:
8196 (setq font-lock-support-mode 'fast-lock-mode)
8202 The lazy-lock package speeds up Font Lock mode by making fontification occur
8203 only when necessary, such as when a previously unfontified part of the buffer
8204 becomes visible in a window. When you create a buffer with Font Lock mode and
8205 Lazy Lock mode turned on, the buffer is not fontified. When certain events
8206 occur (such as scrolling), Lazy Lock makes sure that the visible parts of the
8207 buffer are fontified. Lazy Lock also defers on-the-fly fontification until
8208 Emacs has been idle for a given amount of time.
8210 To use this package, put in your ~/.emacs:
8212 (setq font-lock-support-mode 'lazy-lock-mode)
8214 To control the package behaviour, see the documentation for `lazy-lock-mode'.
8216 ** Changes in BibTeX mode.
8218 *** For all entries allow spaces and tabs between opening brace or
8221 *** Non-escaped double-quoted characters (as in `Sch"of') are now
8226 Gnus, the Emacs news reader, has undergone further rewriting. Many new
8227 commands and variables have been added. There should be no
8228 significant incompatibilities between this Gnus version and the
8229 previously released version, except in the message composition area.
8231 Below is a list of the more user-visible changes. Coding changes
8232 between Gnus 5.1 and 5.2 are more extensive.
8234 *** A new message composition mode is used. All old customization
8235 variables for mail-mode, rnews-reply-mode and gnus-msg are now
8238 *** Gnus is now able to generate "sparse" threads -- threads where
8239 missing articles are represented by empty nodes.
8241 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
8243 *** Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server.
8245 To disable this: (setq gnus-message-archive-group nil)
8247 *** Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
8250 *** Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions:
8252 (setq gnus-use-grouplens t)
8254 *** A trn-line tree buffer can be displayed.
8256 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
8258 *** An nn-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
8261 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
8263 *** In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode:
8265 `M-x gnus-binary-mode'
8267 *** Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy.
8269 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
8271 *** Gnus can re-send and bounce mail.
8273 Use the `S D r' and `S D b'.
8275 *** Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
8278 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
8280 *** Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
8283 *** Caching is possible in virtual groups.
8285 *** nndoc now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews news
8286 batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything else.
8288 *** Gnus has a new backend (nnsoup) to create/read SOUP packets.
8290 *** The Gnus cache is much faster.
8292 *** Groups can be sorted according to many criteria.
8294 For instance: (setq gnus-group-sort-function 'gnus-group-sort-by-rank)
8296 *** New group parameters have been introduced to set list-address and
8299 *** All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used.
8301 *** There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on
8302 process marked articles on the `M P' submap.
8304 *** The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
8305 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
8306 bound to keys on the `/' submap.
8308 *** Articles can be made persistent -- as an alternative to saving
8309 articles with the `*' command.
8311 *** All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
8313 *** Article headers can be buttonized.
8315 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
8317 *** All mail backends support fetching articles by Message-ID.
8319 *** Duplicate mail can now be treated properly. See the
8320 `nnmail-treat-duplicates' variable.
8322 *** All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
8325 *** Frames can be part of `gnus-buffer-configuration'.
8327 *** Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process.
8329 *** Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to filter spam.
8331 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
8333 *** Groups can be made permanently visible.
8335 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
8337 *** Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
8339 *** Gnus respects the Mail-Copies-To header.
8341 *** Threads can be gathered by looking at the References header.
8343 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
8344 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
8346 *** Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
8349 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
8351 *** A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
8352 buffer to allow easier treatment.
8354 *** Gnus can suggest where to save articles. See `gnus-split-methods'.
8356 *** Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving.
8358 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
8360 *** gnus-uu can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
8363 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
8365 *** Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text.
8367 *** Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
8368 cited text to hide is now customizable.
8370 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
8372 *** Boring headers can be hidden.
8374 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers)
8376 *** Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
8378 *** Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
8380 The Gnus manual has been expanded. It explains all these new features
8383 * Lisp Changes in Emacs 19.32
8385 ** The function set-visited-file-name now accepts an optional
8386 second argument NO-QUERY. If it is non-nil, then the user is not
8387 asked for confirmation in the case where the specified file already
8390 ** The variable print-length applies to printing vectors and bitvectors,
8393 ** The new function keymap-parent returns the parent keymap
8396 ** The new function set-keymap-parent specifies a new parent for a
8397 given keymap. The arguments are KEYMAP and PARENT. PARENT must be a
8400 ** Sometimes menu keymaps use a command name, a symbol, which is really
8401 an automatically generated alias for some other command, the "real"
8402 name. In such a case, you should give that alias symbol a non-nil
8403 menu-alias property. That property tells the menu system to look for
8404 equivalent keys for the real name instead of equivalent keys for the
8407 * Editing Changes in Emacs 19.31
8409 ** Freedom of the press restricted in the United States.
8411 Emacs has been censored in accord with the Communications Decency Act.
8412 This includes removing some features of the doctor program. That law
8413 was described by its supporters as a ban on pornography, but it bans
8414 far more than that. The Emacs distribution has never contained any
8415 pornography, but parts of it were nonetheless prohibited.
8417 For information on US government censorship of the Internet, and what
8418 you can do to bring back freedom of the press, see the web site
8419 `http://www.vtw.org/'.
8421 ** A note about C mode indentation customization.
8423 The old (Emacs 19.29) ways of specifying a C indentation style
8424 do not normally work in the new implementation of C mode.
8425 It has its own methods of customizing indentation, which are
8426 much more powerful than the old C mode. See the Editing Programs
8427 chapter of the manual for details.
8429 However, you can load the library cc-compat to make the old
8430 customization variables take effect.
8432 ** Marking with the mouse.
8434 When you mark a region with the mouse, the region now remains
8435 highlighted until the next input event, regardless of whether you are
8436 using M-x transient-mark-mode.
8438 ** Improved Windows NT/95 support.
8440 *** Emacs now supports scroll bars on Windows NT and Windows 95.
8442 *** Emacs now supports subprocesses on Windows 95. (Subprocesses used
8443 to work on NT only and not on 95.)
8445 *** There are difficulties with subprocesses, though, due to problems
8446 in Windows, beyond the control of Emacs. They work fine as long as
8447 you run Windows applications. The problems arise when you run a DOS
8448 application in a subprocesses. Since current shells run as DOS
8449 applications, these problems are significant.
8451 If you run a DOS application in a subprocess, then the application is
8452 likely to busy-wait, which means that your machine will be 100% busy.
8453 However, if you don't mind the temporary heavy load, the subprocess
8454 will work OK as long as you tell it to terminate before you start any
8455 other DOS application as a subprocess.
8457 Emacs is unable to terminate or interrupt a DOS subprocess.
8458 You have to do this by providing input directly to the subprocess.
8460 If you run two DOS applications at the same time in two separate
8461 subprocesses, even if one of them is asynchronous, you will probably
8462 have to reboot your machine--until then, it will remain 100% busy.
8463 Windows simply does not cope when one Windows process tries to run two
8464 separate DOS subprocesses. Typing CTL-ALT-DEL and then choosing
8465 Shutdown seems to work although it may take a few minutes.
8467 ** M-x resize-minibuffer-mode.
8469 This command, not previously mentioned in NEWS, toggles a mode in
8470 which the minibuffer window expands to show as many lines as the
8471 minibuffer contains.
8473 ** `title' frame parameter and resource.
8475 The `title' X resource now specifies just the frame title, nothing else.
8476 It does not affect the name used for looking up other X resources.
8477 It works by setting the new `title' frame parameter, which likewise
8478 affects just the displayed title of the frame.
8480 The `name' parameter continues to do what it used to do:
8481 it specifies the frame name for looking up X resources,
8482 and also serves as the default for the displayed title
8483 when the `title' parameter is unspecified or nil.
8485 ** Emacs now uses the X toolkit by default, if you have a new
8486 enough version of X installed (X11R5 or newer).
8488 ** When you compile Emacs with the Motif widget set, Motif handles the
8489 F10 key by activating the menu bar. To avoid confusion, the usual
8490 Emacs binding of F10 is replaced with a no-op when using Motif.
8492 If you want to be able to use F10 in Emacs, you can rebind the Motif
8493 menubar to some other key which you don't use. To do so, add
8494 something like this to your X resources file. This example rebinds
8495 the Motif menu bar activation key to S-F12:
8497 Emacs*defaultVirtualBindings: osfMenuBar : Shift<Key>F12
8499 ** In overwrite mode, DEL now inserts spaces in most cases
8500 to replace the characters it "deletes".
8502 ** The Rmail summary now shows the number of lines in each message.
8504 ** Rmail has a new command M-x unforward-rmail-message, which extracts
8505 a forwarded message from the message that forwarded it. To use it,
8506 select a message which contains a forwarded message and then type the command.
8507 It inserts the forwarded message as a separate Rmail message
8508 immediately after the selected one.
8510 This command also undoes the textual modifications that are standardly
8511 made, as part of forwarding, by Rmail and other mail reader programs.
8513 ** Turning off saving of .saves-... files in your home directory.
8515 Each Emacs session writes a file named .saves-... in your home
8516 directory to record which files M-x recover-session should recover.
8517 If you exit Emacs normally with C-x C-c, it deletes that file. If
8518 Emacs or the operating system crashes, the file remains for M-x
8521 You can turn off the writing of these files by setting
8522 auto-save-list-file-name to nil. If you do this, M-x recover-session
8525 Some previous Emacs versions failed to delete these files even on
8526 normal exit. This is fixed now. If you are thinking of turning off
8527 this feature because of past experiences with versions that had this
8528 bug, it would make sense to check whether you still want to do so
8529 now that the bug is fixed.
8531 ** Changes to Version Control (VC)
8533 There is a new variable, vc-follow-symlinks. It indicates what to do
8534 when you visit a link to a file that is under version control.
8535 Editing the file through the link bypasses the version control system,
8536 which is dangerous and probably not what you want.
8538 If this variable is t, VC follows the link and visits the real file,
8539 telling you about it in the echo area. If it is `ask' (the default),
8540 VC asks for confirmation whether it should follow the link. If nil,
8541 the link is visited and a warning displayed.
8543 ** iso-acc.el now lets you specify a choice of language.
8544 Languages include "latin-1" (the default) and "latin-2" (which
8545 is designed for entering ISO Latin-2 characters).
8547 There are also choices for specific human languages such as French and
8548 Portuguese. These are subsets of Latin-1, which differ in that they
8549 enable only the accent characters needed for particular language.
8550 The other accent characters, not needed for the chosen language,
8553 ** Posting articles and sending mail now has M-TAB completion on various
8554 header fields (Newsgroups, To, CC, ...).
8556 Completion in the Newsgroups header depends on the list of groups
8557 known to your news reader. Completion in the Followup-To header
8558 offers those groups which are in the Newsgroups header, since
8559 Followup-To usually just holds one of those.
8561 Completion in fields that hold mail addresses works based on the list
8562 of local users plus your aliases. Additionally, if your site provides
8563 a mail directory or a specific host to use for any unrecognized user
8564 name, you can arrange to query that host for completion also. (See the
8565 documentation of variables `mail-directory-process' and
8566 `mail-directory-stream'.)
8568 ** A greatly extended sgml-mode offers new features such as (to be configured)
8569 skeletons with completing read for tags and attributes, typing named
8570 characters including optionally all 8bit characters, making tags invisible
8571 with optional alternate display text, skipping and deleting tag(pair)s.
8573 Note: since Emacs' syntax feature cannot limit the special meaning of ', " and
8574 - to inside <>, for some texts the result, especially of font locking, may be
8575 wrong (see `sgml-specials' if you get wrong results).
8577 The derived html-mode configures this with tags and attributes more or
8578 less HTML3ish. It also offers optional quick keys like C-c 1 for
8579 headline or C-c u for unordered list (see `html-quick-keys'). Edit /
8580 Text Properties / Face or M-g combinations create tags as applicable.
8581 Outline minor mode is supported and level 1 font-locking tries to
8582 fontify tag contents (which only works when they fit on one line, due
8583 to a limitation in font-lock).
8585 External viewing via browse-url can occur automatically upon saving.
8587 ** M-x imenu-add-to-menubar now adds to the menu bar for the current
8588 buffer only. If you want to put an Imenu item in the menu bar for all
8589 buffers that use a particular major mode, use the mode hook, as in
8592 (add-hook 'emacs-lisp-mode-hook
8593 '(lambda () (imenu-add-to-menubar "Index")))
8595 ** Changes in BibTeX mode.
8597 *** Field names may now contain digits, hyphens, and underscores.
8599 *** Font Lock mode is now supported.
8601 *** bibtex-make-optional-field is no longer interactive.
8603 *** If bibtex-maintain-sorted-entries is non-nil, inserting new
8604 entries is now done with a faster algorithm. However, inserting
8605 will fail in this case if the buffer contains invalid entries or
8606 isn't in sorted order, so you should finish each entry with C-c C-c
8607 (bibtex-close-entry) after you have inserted or modified it.
8608 The default value of bibtex-maintain-sorted-entries is nil.
8610 *** Function `show-all' is no longer bound to a key, since C-u C-c C-q
8613 *** Entries with quotes inside quote-delimited fields (as `author =
8614 "Stefan Sch{\"o}f"') are now supported.
8616 *** Case in field names doesn't matter anymore when searching for help
8621 *** Global Font Lock mode
8623 Font Lock mode can be turned on globally, in buffers that support it, by the
8624 new command global-font-lock-mode. You can use the new variable
8625 font-lock-global-modes to control which modes have Font Lock mode automagically
8626 turned on. By default, this variable is set so that Font Lock mode is turned
8627 on globally where the buffer mode supports it.
8629 For example, to automagically turn on Font Lock mode where supported, put:
8631 (global-font-lock-mode t)
8635 *** Local Refontification
8637 In Font Lock mode, editing a line automatically refontifies that line only.
8638 However, if your change alters the syntactic context for following lines,
8639 those lines remain incorrectly fontified. To refontify them, use the new
8640 command M-g M-g (font-lock-fontify-block).
8642 In certain major modes, M-g M-g refontifies the entire current function.
8643 (The variable font-lock-mark-block-function controls how to find the
8644 current function.) In other major modes, M-g M-g refontifies 16 lines
8645 above and below point.
8647 With a prefix argument N, M-g M-g refontifies N lines above and below point.
8651 Follow mode is a new minor mode combining windows showing the same
8652 buffer into one tall "virtual window". The windows are typically two
8653 side-by-side windows. Follow mode makes them scroll together as if
8654 they were a unit. To use it, go to a frame with just one window,
8655 split it into two side-by-side windows using C-x 3, and then type M-x
8658 M-x follow-mode turns off Follow mode if it is already enabled.
8660 To display two side-by-side windows and activate Follow mode, use the
8661 command M-x follow-delete-other-windows-and-split.
8663 ** hide-show changes.
8665 The hooks hs-hide-hooks and hs-show-hooks have been renamed
8666 to hs-hide-hook and hs-show-hook, to follow the convention for
8669 ** Simula mode now has a menu containing the most important commands.
8670 The new command simula-indent-exp is bound to C-M-q.
8672 ** etags can now handle programs written in Erlang. Files are
8673 recognised by the extensions .erl and .hrl. The tagged lines are
8674 those that begin a function, record, or macro.
8678 *** It is now possible to compile Emacs with the version 2 of DJGPP.
8679 Compilation with DJGPP version 1 also still works.
8681 *** The documentation of DOS-specific aspects of Emacs was rewritten
8682 and expanded; see the ``MS-DOS'' node in the on-line docs.
8684 *** Emacs now uses ~ for backup file names, not .bak.
8686 *** You can simulate mouse-3 on two-button mice by simultaneously
8687 pressing both mouse buttons.
8689 *** A number of packages and commands which previously failed or had
8690 restricted functionality on MS-DOS, now work. The most important ones
8693 **** Printing (both with `M-x lpr-buffer' and with `ps-print' package)
8696 **** `Ediff' works (in a single-frame mode).
8698 **** `M-x display-time' can be used on MS-DOS (due to the new
8699 implementation of Emacs timers, see below).
8701 **** `Dired' supports Unix-style shell wildcards.
8703 **** The `c-macro-expand' command now works as on other platforms.
8705 **** `M-x recover-session' works.
8707 **** `M-x list-colors-display' displays all the available colors.
8709 **** The `TPU-EDT' package works.
8711 * Lisp changes in Emacs 19.31.
8713 ** The function using-unix-filesystems on Windows NT and Windows 95
8714 tells Emacs to read and write files assuming that they reside on a
8715 remote Unix filesystem. No CR/LF translation is done on any files in
8716 this case. Invoking using-unix-filesystems with t activates this
8717 behavior, and invoking it with any other value deactivates it.
8719 ** Change in system-type and system-configuration values.
8721 The value of system-type on a Linux-based GNU system is now `lignux',
8722 not `linux'. This means that some programs which use `system-type'
8723 need to be changed. The value of `system-configuration' will also
8726 It is generally recommended to use `system-configuration' rather
8729 See the file LINUX-GNU in this directory for more about this.
8731 ** The functions shell-command and dired-call-process
8732 now run file name handlers for default-directory, if it has them.
8734 ** Undoing the deletion of text now restores the positions of markers
8735 that pointed into or next to the deleted text.
8737 ** Timers created with run-at-time now work internally to Emacs, and
8738 no longer use a separate process. Therefore, they now work more
8739 reliably and can be used for shorter time delays.
8741 The new function run-with-timer is a convenient way to set up a timer
8742 to run a specified amount of time after the present. A call looks
8745 (run-with-timer SECS REPEAT FUNCTION ARGS...)
8747 SECS says how many seconds should elapse before the timer happens.
8748 It may be an integer or a floating point number. When the timer
8749 becomes ripe, the action is to call FUNCTION with arguments ARGS.
8751 REPEAT gives the interval for repeating the timer (measured in
8752 seconds). It may be an integer or a floating point number. nil or 0
8753 means don't repeat at all--call FUNCTION just once.
8755 *** with-timeout provides an easy way to do something but give
8756 up if too much time passes.
8758 (with-timeout (SECONDS TIMEOUT-FORMS...) BODY...)
8760 This executes BODY, but gives up after SECONDS seconds.
8761 If it gives up, it runs the TIMEOUT-FORMS and returns the value
8762 of the last one of them. Normally it returns the value of the last
8765 *** You can now arrange to call a function whenever Emacs is idle for
8766 a certain length of time. To do this, call run-with-idle-timer. A
8767 call looks like this:
8769 (run-with-idle-timer SECS REPEAT FUNCTION ARGS...)
8771 SECS says how many seconds of idleness should elapse before the timer
8772 runs. It may be an integer or a floating point number. When the
8773 timer becomes ripe, the action is to call FUNCTION with arguments
8776 Emacs becomes idle whenever it finishes executing a keyboard or mouse
8777 command. It remains idle until it receives another keyboard or mouse
8780 REPEAT, if non-nil, means this timer should be activated again each
8781 time Emacs becomes idle and remains idle for SECS seconds The timer
8782 does not repeat if Emacs *remains* idle; it runs at most once after
8783 each time Emacs becomes idle.
8785 If REPEAT is nil, the timer runs just once, the first time Emacs is
8786 idle for SECS seconds.
8788 *** post-command-idle-hook is now obsolete; you shouldn't use it at
8789 all, because it interferes with the idle timer mechanism. If your
8790 programs use post-command-idle-hook, convert them to use idle timers
8793 *** y-or-n-p-with-timeout lets you ask a question but give up if
8794 there is no answer within a certain time.
8796 (y-or-n-p-with-timeout PROMPT SECONDS DEFAULT-VALUE)
8798 asks the question PROMPT (just like y-or-n-p). If the user answers
8799 within SECONDS seconds, it returns the answer that the user gave.
8800 Otherwise it gives up after SECONDS seconds, and returns DEFAULT-VALUE.
8802 ** Minor change to `encode-time': you can now pass more than seven
8803 arguments. If you do that, the first six arguments have the usual
8804 meaning, the last argument is interpreted as the time zone, and the
8805 arguments in between are ignored.
8807 This means that it works to use the list returned by `decode-time' as
8808 the list of arguments for `encode-time'.
8810 ** The default value of load-path now includes the directory
8811 /usr/local/share/emacs/VERSION/site-lisp In addition to
8812 /usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp. You can use this new directory for
8813 site-specific Lisp packages that belong with a particular Emacs
8816 It is not unusual for a Lisp package that works well in one Emacs
8817 version to cause trouble in another. Sometimes packages need updating
8818 for incompatible changes; sometimes they look at internal data that
8819 has changed; sometimes the package has been installed in Emacs itself
8820 and the installed version should be used. Whatever the reason for the
8821 problem, this new feature makes it easier to solve.
8823 ** When your program contains a fixed file name (like .completions or
8824 .abbrev.defs), the file name usually needs to be different on operating
8825 systems with limited file name syntax.
8827 Now you can avoid ad-hoc conditionals by using the function
8828 convert-standard-filename to convert the file name to a proper form
8829 for each operating system. Here is an example of use, from the file
8832 (defvar save-completions-file-name
8833 (convert-standard-filename "~/.completions")
8834 "*The filename to save completions to.")
8836 This sets the variable save-completions-file-name to a value that
8837 depends on the operating system, because the definition of
8838 convert-standard-filename depends on the operating system. On
8839 Unix-like systems, it returns the specified file name unchanged. On
8840 MS-DOS, it adapts the name to fit the limitations of that system.
8842 ** The interactive spec N now returns the numeric prefix argument
8843 rather than the raw prefix argument. (It still reads a number using the
8844 minibuffer if there is no prefix argument at all.)
8846 ** When a process is deleted, this no longer disconnects the process
8847 marker from its buffer position.
8849 ** The variable garbage-collection-messages now controls whether
8850 Emacs displays a message at the beginning and end of garbage collection.
8851 The default is nil, meaning there are no messages.
8853 ** The variable debug-ignored-errors specifies certain kinds of errors
8854 that should not enter the debugger. Its value is a list of error
8855 condition symbols and/or regular expressions. If the error has any
8856 of the condition symbols listed, or if any of the regular expressions
8857 matches the error message, then that error does not enter the debugger,
8858 regardless of the value of debug-on-error.
8860 This variable is initialized to match certain common but uninteresting
8861 errors that happen often during editing.
8863 ** The new function error-message-string converts an error datum
8864 into its error message. The error datum is what condition-case
8865 puts into the variable, to describe the error that happened.
8867 ** Anything that changes which buffer appears in a given window
8868 now runs the window-scroll-functions for that window.
8870 ** The new function get-buffer-window-list returns a list of windows displaying
8871 a buffer. The function is called with the buffer (a buffer object or a buffer
8872 name) and two optional arguments specifying the minibuffer windows and frames
8873 to search. Therefore this function takes optional args like next-window etc.,
8874 and not get-buffer-window.
8876 ** buffer-substring now runs the hook buffer-access-fontify-functions,
8877 calling each function with two arguments--the range of the buffer
8878 being accessed. buffer-substring-no-properties does not call them.
8880 If you use this feature, you should set the variable
8881 buffer-access-fontified-property to a non-nil symbol, which is a
8882 property name. Then, if all the characters in the buffer range have a
8883 non-nil value for that property, the buffer-access-fontify-functions
8884 are not called. When called, these functions should put a non-nil
8885 property on the text that they fontify, so that they won't get called
8886 over and over for the same text.
8888 ** Changes in lisp-mnt.el
8890 *** The lisp-mnt package can now recognize file headers that are written
8891 in the formats used by the `what' command and the RCS `ident' command:
8893 ;; @(#) HEADER: text
8896 in addition to the normal
8900 *** The commands lm-verify and lm-synopsis are now interactive. lm-verify
8901 checks that the library file has proper sections and headers, and
8902 lm-synopsis extracts first line "synopsis'"information.
8906 * For older news, see the file ONEWS
8908 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
8909 Copyright information:
8911 Copyright (C) 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
8913 Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim copies
8914 of this document as received, in any medium, provided that the
8915 copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved,
8916 thus giving the recipient permission to redistribute in turn.
8918 Permission is granted to distribute modified versions
8919 of this document, or of portions of it,
8920 under the above conditions, provided also that they
8921 carry prominent notices stating who last changed them.
8925 paragraph-separate: "[
\f]*$"